The cries of the crow can be heard as it flies through the orange sky.

Xiao opened his eyes, still feeling sluggish as he just awoke from a long nap.

"It's already evening," says Xiao as he slowly stood up from the white goat, which was dyed red by its own blood.

Xiao then jumps down from the Chimera corpse. He looks back at the result of his action.

"What a mess..."

Xiao was surprised that he could sleep in with the stench coming from the Chimaera organs that scatter around the ground.

Xiao took a look around the area. Almost everywhere he looks got destroyed. Trees got mowed and burned down, grasses and flowers either got burned or poisoned, and cratered around the ground.

"I should find somewhere to spend the night," Xiao says to himself as he starts walking.

There was no destination in his mind as Xiao just kept walking forward. He was too exhausted to think of anything.

All of Xiao's equipment was either broken or completely disintegrated from the battle with the Chimera. Xiao was half-naked with only his pants and boots left.

Not only his equipment, but Xiao was also hungry and sleepy as he literally went into overdrive with his brain to overcome the battle.

Xiao stumbles upon a narrow road beside the path he was walking. Not expecting what lies ahead, Xiao turns to the narrow road.

The narrow road was covered with thick and tall bushes along the path. As the sky became darker and darker, the road became harder for Xiao to walk.

"Shit, so tired and hungry..." Xiao says it out loud as he drags his lifeless body, trying to find a place to lay down and sleep.

After a few minutes of walking, Xiao found a cave beside the road. It was a lucky find as the cave entrance was covered with trees and tall bushes, beside the cave was an unusual giant boulder.

"Let's take a look." Xiao went inside the cave as the sky was already dark, thinking that he could spend the night inside.

Xiao cast Fire Seed to serve as the light source to navigate the dark corridor of the cave.

As Xiao ventured deeper for another minute, he found out that it was actually a workshop hiding inside the cave.

There was a cabinet and table with books and paper on it and various tools and gadgets, mostly glass cylinders.

"What's with all these books and paper lying around." Xiao picked up one of the books on the ground, which the title was written "The Fundamental of Alchemy".

Besides the books, there were also various tools and gadgets that were kept in the cabinet.

"It was just like my science lab in high school," said Xiao as he blew away a layer of dust that stuck at the cabinet for ages.

Xiao continues to explore the workshop and make sure the place is safe before he calls it a day.

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There were multiple rooms as he went deeper in. Each room was filled with different tools, gadgets and books.

"This place was either abandoned for a long time, or the owner REALLY hates cleaning." The dust's density was so thick that Xiao had to cover his nose and mouth as he looked around each room.

Xiao found a big hole in one room that leads to the outside, and there was a foul stench coming from the liquid on the floor.

"What's this?" Xiao picks up a bunch of paper lying around the floor.

It was a drawing, like a blueprint for the Chimera. Xiao also notices a giant broken glass tank beside the big hole.

"Don't tell me, this is where the Chimera was born? Who in their right mind creates that abomination?!" Xiao immediately got wary as he looked around for any other suspicious living creature hiding in the room.

As there was nothing left in the room, Xiao continued to explore all the workshop sectors.

After spending some time, Xiao concluded that he was the only person in this workshop. This workshop has already been abandoned for quite some time.

There was one door that was heavily sealed with an iron chain and a magic barrier. Xiao didn't bother to crack it open as he thought it was a waste of time doing it.

"Well, seeing as there is no second Chimera or any other monster in this workshop, I think it's safe to assume that I'm safe in here." Xiao did a quick sweep for one last time before he finally sat on a wooden chair and relaxed.

After sitting for a while, Xiao stood up and stacked many books together to form a bed shape. He then took a thick cloth, hit it against the wall to blow away the dust on it, and placed it on top of the book stack, forming a makeshift bed.

"I'll think of food later, right now..." Xiao slowly took off his boot and proceeded to lay on his makeshift bed.

Though it was less comfortable than any of the beds Xiao had slept on before, his fatigue was enough to convince him that this was the bed he could ask for.

The surrounding was pitch black because Xiao no longer cast Fire Seed, there were candles on the table. Still, Xiao was too tired to light it up, and he prefers to sleep in completely dark surroundings.

Although Xiao shut his eyes and tried to sleep, his mind was still running with thoughts.

Now that Xiao was in a safe and relaxed situation, he kept thinking about everything that happened one day.

The first thing was the real meaning behind his platoon. He and the others were meant to die in the first place. All the daily drills and training were just an act to trick them and the empire's people.

Lieutenant Carl was appointed as the moderator to ensure all of them carry out the "mission".

(And here I thought that Carl was already terrible enough, I never felt that he exceeded my expectation of being the perfect Douchbag.)

The second was Owen, whether he could survive the injury, whether he ended somewhere safe, whether someone in the village treated his wound.

(I'm sure we will see each other again, one day, for sure.)

And lastly, what is he going to do from now on. Though the people in the empire were unaware of his undying skill, Xiao was expected to be dead in this mission.

(I can't just go back to the empire and expect people to welcome me, who knows what kind of shit they are going to put me through next. Guess I should just spend my time here for the time being.)

Deciding that he will be using this workshop as his hideout, Xiao opens his eyes and looks around his new lair.

(And here I am, hiding in this God-forsaken workshop, from a student, then a murderer, followed by a Hero, a soldier, and now, a deserter. I REALLY come a long way from home.)

Xiao chuckled as he traced back all the things that happened until now, all the bizarre incidents that ended in mystery, leaving him clueless and trying to cope with everything.

The culprit behind Xiao's family tragedy and Lars' death, Xiao thinks that there was definitely a connection between these two incidents. Something big was already starting behind the scene.

(But that will be for another day, right now, all I care about is to live on.)

Xiao grips his fist, thinking back how he got pushed around by others like a weakling. Yet, he manages to survive for this long, and he is sick of pretending to be an obedient fool.

(I've come this far, from running to another world, to killing monsters, and even dying a few times in the process. From now onward, no one is taking control of my life.)

Now that Xiao was truly alone, he can finally do whatever he wants in this world.

This may be the real starting point of Xiao's life in the world of Aora.