BOOOOM!!

  Zephyr watched in arm as the hulking man approached. His hands came crashing down like an axe, pletely obliterating the structure that Daisuke painstakingly crafted in the bzing sun.

  Even as the e made for safety, he s the people who had just undermined his panion’s hard-earned achievements. Anger surged through him like liquid fire, a visceral rea to the injustifolding before him.

  Vicious razor-sharp teeth peeked out from a creased snout. Pierg blue eyes stirred like a mighty wave, rearing back to build momentum. Then it would surge forth with the force of a thousand steeds. The distraught rolling off Daisuke was fuel that stoked the waves even higher.

  Reeza’s sudden appearand the shog revetion of her betrayal were the final straw. How dare she? Zephyr wasn’t just a mere beast; he had a sce, an uanding of emotions, and khe awful hand Daisuke had just bee.

  Without hesitation, he unched himself forward, his cws digging into the earth as he propelled his tiny body like a bullet. His sole purpose: to recim what was stolen, his target the despicable thief who clutched the Mana Crystal.

  But he was just a pup.

  In the blink of an eye, he found himself pinned beh the boot of the dreary-eyed man, his ribs and legs snapping by the excruciating pressure. As the agony seared through him, the fmes of his rage and fury gradually cooled.

  His singur regret weighed heavily on him—his own weakness, a failure that added to Daisuke’s loneliness and grief. But, no matter how much he willed it, his body wouldn’t respond.

  The enemy’s sword reflected in the oic depths of his eyes. Then, like a vicious viper, it struck out, pletely dousing the embers that were left of his rage… and his life.

  Daisuke’s voice rang out like thunder.

  Blood ed from his scalp to the tip of his toes. Red veins, like the gnarled branches of trees, reached for his quivering pupils. And he gnashed his teeth in sheer anger.

  The voices of the thugs entered his ears like the mog jeers of hyenas. With a crazed roar, Daisuke threw himself at them like a torpedo. His arm, pulled back taut, shot forward like an arrow from a bow. The speed and force of his blow was impressive.

  WHAM!

  But it was just a figment of his imagination—a cruel byproduct e and adrenaline. With ease, the men stole the wind from his sales and pummeled him into the ground, their ughs drowning out his cries as he ehe merciless assault.

  “Tu,” one man spat before taking his purse. Theurned on his heels and began leaving.

  Another man snickered. “Weak.”

  “Thanks for the crystal,” another mocked.

  “Che,” Reeza clicked her tongue.

  The woman who resumably her mother cast a fleeting look of sympathy and guilt before pulling the trolley away.

  SWAAAH~

  Daisuke coughed up a mouthful of blood.

  Through his swollen eyelids and the gray snt of rain, he looked in the distand saw Zephyr’s small and motionless body. He was slowly dematerializing into beads of golden light—a spectacle that was both mesmerizing and horrific.

  Despite the aches and pains flickering all throughout his body, Daisuke began crawling. He stretched out his arm, reag for his friend, but before his fiips could brush the pup’s fur, his body dispersed into a blinding n of light. And, all too soon, he was gone.

  Harsh tears spilling from his eyes, Daisuke slowly sat on his knees, gazing at the bloodied spot of ground where the e y just moments ago.

  As the rain drove into his skin like tiny needles, and sorrow and despair coiled around his soul, his heart gradually hardened into stone, and his eyes lost their on luster. Now from their dark depths, a new resolve emerged.

  ***

  The female clerk at the Adventurers’ Guild looked the silver-haired boy over assessingly. “How old were you?”

  “I just turwelve,” replied Daisuke in a monotone, pletely ign the pierg gazes of the people dotting the lobby area.

  “Mmm…”

  The girl evidently didn’t seem too vinced.

  In this world, the moment a male could father a child, he was deemed a man, which was around the age of twelve. And being a man was the prerequisite for joining the guild, which meant Daisuke was only just eligible.

  The Merts’ Guild wasn’t overly fixated on its members’ age; they reized the potential for individuals to receive training in the field from a very young age. Prodigies weren’t all that unoher.

  Merts were also known for employing meraries and adventurers as bodyguards, ensuring their safety during business endeavors. This was all the reassurahe guild needed.

  However, as far as the Adventurers’ Guild was ed, early training ious talents didn’t magically bestohysique that could shrug off motacks. So, rather than ying out an easy feast for monsters, the guild took more i in the applits’ age.

  “For now, go ahead and take these,” the clerk said, handing him a thin piece of polished wood and a sterile needle. “I’ll o verify ye with a drop of blood.”

  After stepping away to analyze the crimson fluid using a strange magical device, the girl returned with a polite smile. “All done. Now, to tinue, please go ahead and plete this form,” she instructed, sliding a part and pen across the wooden ter.

  Daisuke plied with the clerk’s instrus, and then she unched into an expnation that was written in the fine print of the dot, which also doubled as a tract.

  “Allow me to summarize,” the clerk begaone firm yet informative. “Adventurers are categorized into ranks ranging from S to F, with S being the highest tier and F the lowest. As a new member, you will e the entry level.

  Quests are posted on the bulletin boards,” she indicated, motioning towards the lobby area. “Simir to adventurer rankings, quests are categorized from S to F. However, you only uake a quest that matches or is one level above your current rank.

  For rankings between D and F, it is imperative that you accept and plete a quest at least once per month to maintain the validity of your ID. Additionally, please be aware that the guild ot be held atable for any injuries or fatalities that occur while uaking a quest.”

  The woman stepped away from the ter again, this time approag a device resembling the o the Merts’ Guild.

  Upon her return, she held out the same polished wood upon which Daisuke had pced his blood, but now it bore etched writings—his name, age, rank, and more, with the blotch of blood remi of a watermark in the background.

  The design was rustic yet simple.

  “I’ve also ehat your ID will be reized across all our branches,” the clerk informed, “and since your information is already listed on the Global sus Register, there won’t be any additional service fee for its inclusion. Moreover, the guild doesn’t impose aration fees.”

  I guess it would be terproductive to charge a registration fee when they’re always desperately on the prowl for new recruits. “Are we done here?” asked Daisuke, his tone aloof and unfriendly.

  The girl looked him ain, evidently ed about the many terrible bruises and cuts c his body. “Y-Yes, but are you—”

  “Where I find records about the monsters living in his area?” Daisuke interjected, cutting her off.

  “Oh. Umm. If you take the stairs off to the right, you’ll find a public library on the sed floor.”

  Before she could even properly finish her sentence, Daisuke’s footsteps were already fading in the distance.

  Unnecessary kindness has no pce here, he resolved, a dark scowl etg his features. I was betrayed by Brek, used by Reginald, and robbed by Reeza and her goons. I’ve lost everything again—first in the real world, and now in this one.

  Daisuke’s belief that his intellect could untangle any knot of trouble had crumbled beh the weight of reality. Now, it had bee painfully clear that power and strength were indispensable panions to his wit.

  It was unfortunate he had to learn this harsh truth only after losing those he held dear, but the agony of that loss would fuel his drive to bee sharper, fiercer, and more self-tered, no matter the cost.

  The paralyzing fear of death that once held him back withered uhe weight of his reckless fury. Throwing caution to the wind, Daisuke hurled himself into the library’s depths, dev knowledge about the local monster species—their strengths, vulnerabilities, and habits.

  , he turned his focus to the wild, delving into books that detailed survival teiques. He meticulously studied the se on fing, abs insights oifying edible pnts and steering clear of those with poisons.

  Finally, his research led him to the art of crafting traps. He poured over the pages detailing their stru, taking in every bit of information about various types of snares and pitfalls, until he stood before the one he had created himself.