Volume 1: Warrior Association

“The tribes of Mundus have always been blessed by ignorant peace—especially those humans who dwell in the lush green flat lands of the western region. They have yet to learn the true terrors of the world… and why curiosity must always remain a mystery.”

…

Hitto sat atop a tree stump overlooking the slain forest with strained muscles. He drank excessively from his flask, reminding himself that today was the day.

Well then, he thought as a groan escaped his mouth.

The logger rose to his feet, letting out a little stretch. He then located his old, tattered axe that rested snugly beside a tree stump.

It was time to start again.

A quick scan of the forest revealed the boy's next victim—a rather imposing oak tree with a stem the size of a large convoy wagon. It utterly dwarfed him, casting an immense shadow as he marvelled at its grandeur.

Hitto readied the axe by its base as focus consumed him. He drew back with furrowed brows and swung down onto the juggernaut with excessive force. The impact cleaved its way into the bark as he repeated the frenzy until it fell amidst a mass of dust.

He then took a step back to appreciate his handiwork. The boy knew he was one of few people who could achieve this feat at Stenner’s Grove. A triumphant toot escaped his mouth as he rewarded himself with more water. Shoot, he thought. Nothing but droplets touched his tongue.

Hitto clicked his teeth as he dreaded returning to the town square just to refill. Having someone on standby to do it at the camp would be highly convenient. If he wasn’t mistaken, many other compound districts had this basic amenity, just not the loggers.

He trudged along the dirt trails of the lush forest. How was he supposed to leave today if he was constantly interrupted by redundant tasks?

And where are the other loggers?

Odd.

It was already midday, yet nobody else was out filling their quotas.

“Hitto? Is that you?”

The voice caught the boy off guard, and he looked back instantly in the direction it had come. Emerging from the dense thickets was a frail-looking middle-aged man shrouded in an all-black cloak. He waved excitedly at the boy.

“It is! Looks like you’ve been collecting your quota.”

“I have,” he answered. “But who are you?”

The rather suspicious-looking man reluctantly grabbed onto his hood and stood there without moving. In response, Hitto tightened the grip on his axe. He was already running out of time for today. There was no time to play around with suspicious-looking people.

“D-Don’t be alarmed!” the man stammered.

He quickly pulled down the hood, revealing a withered face with a distinct mole underneath his brown eyes that were covered by a set of messy black curls.

“Sunja?” Hitto questioned.

He wasn’t too sure. It could be. Or, for all he knew, it may even be someone else. When it came to remembering names and faces, if they didn’t leave a lasting impression, they weren’t someone Hitto bothered to remember much of.

“Yes, that’s me! I’m glad you didn’t forget!”

Oh, he had forgotten, but he was just reminded. Sunja was someone he was pretty familiar with at Stenner’s Grove. He and a few of his lackeys always took portions of people's lumber as some sort of ‘convenience payment.’ As Hitto was still relatively new to the Grove, he always followed suit and gave in to the demands.

“Are you here to take a portion of my lumber?” he deduced, crossing his arms in protest while purposely flashing the axe. “You can’t. I’m planning to leave the compound today, so I need well above my quota.”

“So?” Sunja shrugged. “You already know how things work here. Just hand over the lumber.”

Hitto sensed the aggression in his voice as a long, tense pause befell the forest. Usually, this sort of situation never occurred, but today was different. The boy just couldn’t fathom the idea of staying another day after working so hard to make it this far.

“You can’t,” he repeated. “I won't say it again.”

“You won’t have to,” Sunja sighed, shaking his head. “Farwell.”

Hitto spun on his feet, still sensing Sunja’s presence behind him as he continued through the forest. The rather suspicious figure didn’t follow him, but the encounter did leave a sour taste in the lumberjack's mouth. Is he the reason there are no other loggers out today?

It could be. For all he knew, they were extorted for fighting back or some other silly reason. Regardless, the task at hand remained the same: getting some water and continuing to fill above today's quota.

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It was very sudden and caught Hitto entirely off guard. A stray dagger grazed his cheek from behind and disappeared into the wildlife ahead of him. His eyes widened. If it weren’t for his animal-like reflexes, he wouldn’t have dodged that attack. The lumberjack’s body tensed in response as he turned to face his enemy… who wasn’t there. His eyes scattered throughout the forest quickly, reacting to any slight movements.

“I know it's you, Sunja,” the boy cried. “What’s your problem?”

Another dagger came darting towards him. This time, it was spotted from a mile away as Hitto bent out of its path. His eyes followed where the blade had come from as he spotted his cloaked foe amidst the bushes to his right.

A dagger launched from that spot – which he expected and easily parried away with the axe. However, while Hitto was busy parrying, Sunja leapt out of the bushes and into the air. The boy’s eyes widened more as his attacker flared open his cloak, revealing two daggers. Sunja aptly threw the daggers at Hitto from point-blank range. The first one grazed Hitto’s primary arm, and he dodged the second by a hair.

As Hitto took time to adjust himself, Sunja revealed two more daggers. The withered man closed in on the boy with a ferocious downward swing. The two foes were now locked in an intense exchange of blows. The sound of metal clashing vibrated throughout the forest as they both looked for an opportunity to one-up the other.

Despite Sunja’s overwhelming speed, Hitto could keep up and even began to overpower the dagger user. The way he fought was utterly primal, like an animal attacking its prey. He slowly sank his teeth into Sunja, who was forced to retreat from the close-quarters fight.

…

Sunja took a moment to regather his breath, slightly rethinking his decision to attack this peculiar boy. Had he always been this strong? He questioned. Why did I never notice?

As he dwelled on the boy’s power, a sudden, horrible realization hit him. Would he kill me? Right now, it looks like he would.

Sunja knew that Hitto was always unhinged – sorry – different. His irregular ruby-red eyes never looked like they were looking at you, or anything for that matter. His stance was also that of a wild creature ready to attack at any moment. And to top it all off, he literally appeared out of nowhere just under a year ago. He was never liked.

“You’re making things harder than they need to be. Just hand over the lumber, boy.”

Hitto didn’t even bother to speak. He simply shook his head in defiance as Sunja scowled, thoughts wracking throughout his brain.

Why is he being so difficult today? Usually, he just hands the wood over like everyone else. Sunja was starting to get impatient. They needed to hurry up and arrive.

He raised his daggers once more as he charged into Hitto’s range. The lumberjack was ready, swinging the axe into the air and preparing himself to strike down. Sunja continued his stride, not fazed by the incoming attack at all. He quickly began to mutter some words under his breath before looking upright as he was about to get hit:

“Release,” he stated.

A round black diagram with incomprehensible words appeared above his head as Hitto’s axe struck it, fazing right through it. Realizing that his foe was caught off guard by the Incantation, Sunja continued his dart past Hitto, slashing at his side torso on the way.

The cloaked man finally came to a trudging stop as his boots scraped in the mud. He quickly turned on an angle and darted back towards Hitto from behind – who was licking the blood off his hands with a disgustingly large smile. While his appearance bothered him, Sunja remained resolute and continued his advance. He began to mutter words to himself again, not reacting in time to the punch that had hit him square in the face.

His eyes felt like they were sinking into their sockets as the lumberjack drove the blow deeper in. He was smashed off of his feet, flying backward toward a tree. Sunja’s head slammed against the bark as he felt blood seep from his crown.

Though Hazy, he could make out Hitto slowly walking toward him, still smiling grotesquely like a predator about to devour its prey. Sunja sunk into his cloak, eyes stricken with fear of the man who stood before him. He quickly extended his arms out, flailing them about in every direction.

“W-wait,” he spat.

“No,” Hitto replied. “You started this first.”

His grip on the axe tightened as he held it in the air, ready to strike down for the final time.

…

“Stop right there!” The lumberjack heard from behind.

Hitto’s head twisted grudgingly to see the new arrivals. A group of six men, all dressed in silver chainmail attire, sporting a black vest with a golden dog on it, appeared from the wildlife. They quickly began to rush over once they noticed the battered Sunja.

Hitto shot them a little grin as they came before turning back over to Sunja and mouthing the words, you’re lucky. A little ‘eep’ escaped the frail man's lips as he hid behind his shaking hands.

One of the guards, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward and came between the two of them. He used his gauntlets to grab the axe and flashed the lumberjack a stern look.

“Hitto, right?” he started. “We’re members of the Mercenary Guild. What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

Hitto pulled his axe away from the guards' grip and sheathed it into his belt. He looked around at the other guards, who were clearly getting ready to apprehend him in case he tried anything. A frustrated sigh escaped his mouth.

“He attacked me first,” the boy protested. “I’m just returning the favour… and how do you know my name?”

If Hitto’s memory served him correctly, the Mercenary Guild was hired from the capital just three months ago at the request of the local Lord’s daughter. He had never had a conversation with them, let alone seen them until now. It was just a rumour that they were hired, a rumour which now turns out to be true.

“I don’t have to answer that,” the guard replied. “You’re under arrest for harming another individual.”

“What?”

Hitto gnashed his teeth. This was utterly ridiculous. Had the guard just completely ignored what he had said? That cowardly doofus is the one that should be taken in.

“T-thank you,” Sunja spluttered. “He-he was about to kill me, I swear! He’s a demon!”

“A demon?” Hitto chuckled, barely believing the situation he found himself in.

“That’s enough,” The guard intervened. “You’re both being taken into custody.”

“What?” Sunja gaped. “What did I do?”

As he began to ramble gibberish that no one paid attention to, his eyes constantly drifted around the surrounding scenery as if waiting for something or someone to show up. Upon seeing this, the guard smiled.

“Don’t expect anything,” he smirked. “Nobody is coming to help you, Sunja.”

Visible defeat paved its way onto Sunja’s face as he fell mute. Two of the other guards quickly apprehended him and began to drag him away. Hitto could not help but let out a slight chuckle for his pathetic appearance. Serves him right.

The other guards, still being there, quickly brought him back to his senses. It would still be a four-verse-one if he tried anything. But there was nothing wrong with trying, right? He thought for a moment, thinking about how hard he had worked to collect over today's quota of lumber. It was finally supposed to be the day he left this boring place.

The three other guards took out ropes and gestured for Hitto to extend his arms and give up his axe. He complied reluctantly. Fighting back would just remain a thought. Losing his life over something like this when he knew he wasn’t at fault was just plain stupid.

But why did the Mercenary Guild choose to show themselves today? And why are there still no other loggers out?

The thoughts pressed on as the ropes tightened around his wrists. He was then blindfolded and escorted out of the forest. His many questions, and most importantly, leaving Stenner’s Grove, would have to wait.