Chapter 3: I Don't Have a Home
Valerius. Diplomatic Calendar: Year 5027, Month 10, Day 2.
One week later.
Inside of Dakilon City, there was a certain bar which was rowdy and excited, per usual for the place. Inside, there was a whole mix of people. This included crude-looking mercenaries with muscular chests, sorceress' in tight-fitting robes, etc. etc.
In a corner, there was a short, homeless man who was sipping on a cup of water. He seemed quite out-of-place.
In actuality, he was only twelve. However, the cold look in his eyes and messy hair made him look more like an experienced street rat more so than a young boy.
"Hey, did you hear? The Third Prince managed to defeat a white-scaled dragon! Can you believe it? He's only fifteen!"
"Well, it's only expected. After all, the children of royalty are on a completely different level compared to us."
"Ah, it really makes me ashamed to be in the same world as them..."
Whilst overhearing the conversation, Valerius continued to drink the water with his ever-so cold look. Despite this, his mind was actually in a slightly imbalanced state. The two people conversing gradually got deeper into the subject, eventually peering towards the other children of the Demon King. At this point, Valerius left the bar.
The sky was nearly completely black, and the only form of light was the radiant moon which caressed over the world, like a mother with her child.
Valerius walked through the dark streets alone. His only companion was a bronze coin which he occasionally flipped. Every time it reached the peak of its height, the coin would momentarily shine from the moonlight before falling down once again.
The coin wasn't anything special, just a mere fidgeting toy.
'To think that Daferien has already reached the level where he can slay a dragon... Meanwhile, I'm incapable of even using any of the three paths.'
In the world where Valerius lived, there were three main 'paths' which had the ability to grant powers which defied common sense.
The (Faith Path), which is dependent on the energy of the gods, known as (Faith Energy).
The (Magic Path), which is dependent on the energy of the world, known as (Magic Energy).
Lastly, there is the (Vitality Path), which is dependent on the energy of one's body, known as (Vitality Energy).
There are nearly infinite amounts of variations to each path, but in general, these are the significant ones.
Typically, a normal person is capable of training in at least one of these paths. Those who are capable of training in two out of the three are elites. Those who are capable of training in all three are monstrous talents, the elite of the elite.
'And I, Valerius, the one who inherits the blood of the Demon King, have no talent in any of these paths - at least, that's what I was told.'
Normally, someone's affinities are tested at an early age, somewhere near the age of six. However, Valerius never got the opportunity to test his affinity.
In Stigma's eyes, Valerius was merely an ingredient for the eventual summoning that was bound to happen. To let such a thing develop even the slightest bit of power to resist was a foolish move in the Demon King's mind. Therefore Stigma sealed Valerius' talent so that he was incapable of training in any of these paths.
But, with Stigma's death came the release of this seal.
Valerius eventually stopped aimlessly walking in the streets and turned towards a common-looking inn. He headed up to the second floor, and then opened a door with a key he retrieved from his pocket.
The room wasn't too special, having the basic things like a bed and desk. The only thing slightly noticeable was the presence of a glass, sphere-shaped orb the size of a child's head on top of the desk.
Valerius closed the door behind him and then sat down in front of the desk. His expression was cold as he placed his right hand on the orb, closing his eyes whilst immersing himself in silence.
He motionlessly sat there for exactly thirty minutes. After that, he opened his eyes and then bit his lip in frustration. The boy swept his arm across the desk, knocking the orb off. Then, he became calm.
'So, unexpectedly, I only have affinity with the (Vitality Path), huh?'
He absentmindedly tapped his finger to a lullaby which his mother had taught it to him. It was named, "The Soothing Blessings of the Grand Priestess".
'No use in despairing over what's already been done. Rather than that, I should be looking towards the future... But, sometimes, looking back at the past is also helpful for the future.'
Valerius quietly muttered,
"Status Screen."
Instantly, a red, computer monitor-like rectangle appeared in front of him. It was illusory, and Valerius could clearly look past it and see the wall behind the screen.
The screen was about the length of Valerius' arm, and the width was about the length from his fingertips to his elbow.
On that screen, there were the words:
"Initiate System?"
Under those words, there were the options of 'Yes', or 'No'.
Instead of proceeding with anything, Valerius looked deeply at the two letters before selecting the 'No' with his finger. The screen made a strange, eerie buzzing sound, and then disappeared from the boy's vision.
He placed his fingers on the side of his face and then crossed his legs.
'This 'Status Screen' thing first appeared in front of me yesterday. This thing... What is it, exactly? There are records of mages creating these sort of disguised contracts in order to trick people into agreeing to certain things. But, those require some sort of signature... And for what reason would a mage want to trick me to do something?'
Valerius sighed and then shook his head, "Although I want the answer, at the same time, it's too out of reach for the current me. Right now, all I know is that I shouldn't select the 'Yes' option until I learn what it is, or if I get into a last-resort situation. After all, I don't even know what it does."
***
In order for a bird to properly soar through the sky, they first must go through painstaking training. This doesn't only apply to birds, but also all other living beings.
In fact, Valerius actually had a harder time than most living beings. While training, he also had to run away from his seven siblings, all of whom were at the peak of the world in terms of talent. Well, one of those siblings was a rather lazy and cowardly figure who didn't care about the throne.
Anyways, even a single one of any of those people's subordinates were already enough to kill a Valerius a hundred times over in a single second.
Therefore, he had to make use of all the time he had possible.
After living a day in Dakilon, he had already chose to leave. His destination wasn't a city, town, or village, but rather, a forest.
It went by the inconspicuous name of 'Redbeak Forest'. Despite the atypical name of the place, it was still a dangerous area.
Roaming inside of that forest, there were wild animals, poisonous insects, and also, a rumored 'Redbeak Eagle' which had the capability to kill a human with one jab. Not everything about the place was deadly, though. In the folk tales told by people who lived in a village near the forest, there was a great waterfall which was said to have a beautiful rainbow near it.
Still, no sane man would go to the forest just to see a waterfall. Valerius had another intent - to train himself.
'A true villain who pursues power treats others cruelly, and one's self even more so! Since I have such low talent and equally low resources, I can only sharpen myself with the pressure of possibly being killed.'
With this in mind, Valerius headed towards the place armed with a steel shortsword, a plate-sized round shield that could be fastened on the arm, a few healing potions, antidotes, and a belt which held all of these things together.
Lastly, he wore a brown cloak which had the ability to conceal his face in the night sky. Although, in reality, any cloak with a hood can do that...
Oh, he had dried jerky and water with him, too.
'The trip to the forest will take half a day. So, with that in mind, I'll split my walk into four portions, one-and-a-half hours each. After each portion, I'll take a ten-minute rest. When each ten minute passes, I'll train myself by exercising. Then, after that, I'll repeat starting from the first step.'
With this in mind, Valerius began his journey towards Redbeak Forest.
***
"Huph! One!"
"Shuing! Two!"
"Fue! Three!"
...
"H-hah, twenty!"
Valerius let out a tired breath and released the sword in his hands. He fell to the ground, and next to him, the steel blade fell to make a clanging sound.
Right now, Valerius wasn't training in any secret or powerful technique. Rather, he was simply repeating the same motion of swinging his sword.
Swing, swing, until you're too tired to do so anymore.
He had read about needing proper footwork to accompany his sword swings, but the boy didn't know what footwork really entailed. Movements? There were all types of movement techniques. Valerius didn't know anything about martial arts, so he couldn't just go and try to develop his own from scratch.
After a ten-second break, he got back up and began continuing the same thing he was doing before.
"Twenty-one."
"Twenty-two."
"Twenty-three..."
...
"F-fifty..."
...
"N-ninety-eight..."
"A-and, f-finally, one hundred..."
After taking a short rest, he continued on his journey.
***
Near the outskirts of Redbeak Forest, there was a middle-aged man with a burly body and graying hair who was preparing to head home. Hung on the right side of his waist, there was a crossbow. In his hands, there was a rope which was tying a huge black bear, 7 feet tall!
It was no longer alive, though. There were multiple bloody holes in it, most of the blood being dry. Most noticeably, there was a bolt stuck in its cranium.
The middle-aged man's name was Jose, and in the local area, he was known as 'Jose the Beast Pounder.'
In his youth, he had actually managed to wrestle a bear to defeat!
Aha, of course, Jose didn't like that nickname.
Anyways.
Jose was a hunter now, obvious from his garb. Naturally, as a hunter, he was capable of hearing things from many feet away.
'Footsteps?!'
Jose heard the sound of feet heading in his direction from behind. He quickly released the rope in his hands and grabbed his crossbow, spinning around and aiming it in the general direction the footsteps came from.
Standing still, there was a short, hooded figure. Their face was covered by the shade of the hood so that only the mouth and chin could be seen.
The figure didn't seem very intimidated by the crossbow and pointed to their left, saying calmly, "Is this Redbeak Forest?"
The man absentmindedly responded, "Y-yeah."
The cloaked figure nodded. Their hood shifted in position because of the movement, which let Jose notice that the figure was just merely a youth.
He lost his wariness and slung the crossbow on his waist. Jose wanted to apologize, but then, he stopped and thought of something.
"Kid, that place is dangerous. You should return home instead of risking your life. Even if you're seeking an adventure or something, go to a place safer."
The boy leisurely smiled.
"I don't have a home to return to. As for coming to seek an adventure... That's not my purpose. Old man, I'm not that foolish."
After saying this, the boy casually waved his hand and headed into the forest.
Jose was left in awe. Only after a dozen seconds did he stomp his feet, shouting,
"I'M ONLY THIRTY!"
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