Chapter 1

What is a Hero?

A vast land of turmoil and grace, the Endless Continent encompassed all of the known human race. Across a varied landscape, large enough to be called it own world, roamed a population of nearly fifteen billion people . Here, where mankind was as numerous as pebbles on the earth, there was a small village on the outskirts of one of its most prominent kingdoms. The village of Gil sat on a cliff face of the Great Yamato Mountain. A yellow crested river ran through the village center. The sun rose beyond the horizon. The start of a brand new day.  

A young boy with a thick tousle of hair sat on a wooden chair in a garden. His eyes are glued to a leather bound book in his hand. Around him, children of various ages run around playing a game of tag.

"Grey, come and play!" A gentle hand said, tugging on his shoulders. Eyes sparkling as bright as the day. Her golden hair waving in the wind. "It is more fun with more people."

Grey shook his head, not bothering to look up.

"I want to finish this book."

The girl gawked at him, but shrugged and went off to play with the other villager kids.

Books were everything to young Grey. The adventure! The pain! The love! They were a window to another place and time. In them he could be anything : a hero, a monster, or even a lady! The possibilities were endless.

The book he was reading described the adventures of the famous Dungeon Seeker Abel who scoured the 138 Dungeon Worlds and single-handedly created the Iserian Ranking Chart that ranked dungeons by their difficulty: Primitive, Cursed, Hidden, Ancient, Chaos. This changed the world! Now adventurers who were previously all equal in the eyes of the common folk could be better judged on their achievements. But above glory and fame, adventurers sought the most coveted recognition: Hero.

Grey sighed inwardly as he read Abel's adventures. Hero? What a lofty title. A person recognized by the world as a guardian of mankind. If not for the Iserian Ranking Chart, how would anyone know how powerful an individual was? Previously, anyone who could walk into  a dungeon and come out in one piece could claim to be a true adventurer, worthy of all praise and adoration. With the ranking system, non-adventurers could now better judge the merits of adventurers based on the dungeons they've traversed. Those who venture into Chaos Dungeons, come back to showers of accolades and glory, earning the title of genius, of Hero. Grey wondered if he too would one day be able to venture out in the world and receive such praises. Of course, before that could happen, he would have to train his body and soul on one of the heroic paths.

The five heroic paths to ultimate power: the warrior, embodiment of physical strength, the priest, embodiment of health, the mage, embodiment of mental fortitude, the rogue, embodiment of dexterity, and the ranger, embodiment of agility. Five paths that lead towards one goal: to become the strongest in the land, to be the herald of mankind, a Hero!

Grey sat there in his chair and mulled over his present circumstance. On this day Grey would be five years old. Although there are known instances of geniuses reaching the coveted title in their teens, Heroes more often came of age in their thirties or forties, if at all. The path was long and difficult, and he knew he had only a few years left to set off on his path before he would become too old. After all, in the last three thousand years there hadn't been a single hero on the Endless Continent. Fifteen billion people and not one was capable of reaching the level of skill required to venture into a Chaos Dungeon. The last Hero was Avarice the Fast, whose arrows were known to move as fast as sound. If Grey wanted to achieve this title, he needed to start right away.

Grey closed his book and sighed again. One issue was which path he should take. His family was one of librarians, his father was a records keeper, his mother an accountant for the village treasury. He did not inherit a strong physique. While infinitely grateful for the opportunity his father provided him, namely a treasure trove of books, Grey could hardly compare his father to the heroes of legends. Thin, pale, with broad round glasses and a stout, bushy mustache. A friendly face with a friendly smile. Not at all daring or dangerous. He absolutely could not imagine his father ever holding a sword, much less slaying evil monsters with it.

Worst of all, Grey had not just inherited his father's friendly looks, but also his mother's figure. Slender, well-shaped, with small, delicate fingers and toes. As he was growing up, his mother would hold his hands and compare them to hers, giving him a teasing smile much to his disdain. He once had overheard some children murmuring that he'd look better growing out his hair and wearing a dress. He was definitely not suited for that path of physical strength.

Then perhaps he should become a mage. This thought pleased him greatly. Mages read lots of books. He read lots of books. Would not that be his dream job? He was neither crafty nor confident enough in his coordination to try his luck at being a rogue or a ranger.

There was a common saying: if you don't like it, don't do it. If he was going to train for several years, it might as well involve something he loved to do. He nodded to himself. That was the answer! He would set his eyes on becoming a powerful mage. Even if his magical capacity was not high, he would still be able to function as a priest, healing minor wounds. Now he only needed to find out how to train his magical potential so that if and when he left the village, he'd be ready to defend himself from roaming beasts.

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His father must have a book about cultivating magical talent somewhere. Grey jumped upright and  scrambled his little legs towards his father's study next door. In the distance, under a tree, a little girl clutching a book of her own quietly watches Grey through her long bangs.

~~~

"Father!" called Grey into his house. His voice echoes through the hallway. "Father!" Though Gil was a small village, his family lived in the library which was as large as three houses. It had long narrow corridors, every wall was a bookshelf filled to the brim, shelves and stacks of books forming the maze of walls crisscrossing his path.

It was unusual to not find his father working at this hour. His father was always in the library save for lunch and dinner. Maybe, someone had asked for his help outside? Grey walked down the halls and looked through the books. Though only five years of age, Grey had already read several hundred books in his 3 years of literacy. Some might call Grey a genius, but to him it was as simple as learning how to plow the earth or pluck a chicken. If you try many times it is only natural you will get better at it. It only made sense to Grey that after a year and a half of trying he would learn how to read books.

He looked over the stacks near his father’s desk. The table was often in various states of disarray. Grey would help out by putting back books left scattered about his father's belongings. Ruin Symbols, Monster Compendium Vol. III, The Witching Hour. Grey sorted them out and placed them back in their proper place along the shelves. As he looked through the titles under farming, he glanced up at a shiny cover in the corner of his eyes. It teased him from the third shelf on the wall and compelled him to grab it using a ladder.

Magical Theory - Vol. IV - Mana Cultivation Techniques.  

His eyes glistened with curiosity as he opened the book, but as he scanned the contents, he began to frown. Although he was a very bright child, this book used a lot of unfamiliar words. Second Heart? Magical Circuits? He didn't know any of these things. He sighed and placed the book on the counter so he could find it later. This happened from time to time. When a book was written as part of a series, the first books would teach the reader new words that they would use in the later volumes. Indeed, magic was a large field of study. Inventing new words to describe certain phenomenon was necessary to make explaining complicated subjects more simple.

Grey ventured off into the library again and after a few hours had gathered a stack of 12 books on the table. In them were books about magical items, schools, and even the third volume on Spell Formation. What was missing from the lot was the elusive Vol. I - Basic Technique. He was deeply troubled. Without the first book to teach him the meaning of certain words, would he have to try to learn straight from Vol. III? If he messed up his studies early on he might end up a cripple or worse. As these thoughts swirled in his head a wave of hair entered through the front door.

Her face was obscured beneath unruly hair, but her mouth could be seen, drawn tightly into a thin line. In her arms was clutched a book emblazoned in plain, dark lettering. Grey could make out Vol. I - Basic Techniques on the cover.

The boy squeaked and the girl squeaked back. She backed away and started turning to go back out the door.

"Wait!"

The girl hesitated. Her eyes peering back eerily through the long brown bangs over her head.

"W-Who?" she said, nervously.

"I need that book."

The girl continued staring silently.

"Um," thought Grey, "Please? Can I borrow it? I'll give it back! Please, it's important!"

The girl looked away towards the door. Grey had to think quickly.

"Please? I'll let you borrow one of my books, as many of my books as you want!" Grey said, pointing to his pile of books. "And then I'll give you back your book when I'm done reading it."

Grey went over to the girl and pulled her towards the table.

"Come look."

The little girl eyed pile of books Grey had made on the table. She looked through them and picked up the one he had been reading earlier.

"Tales of Abel, the Dungeon Seeker." she read longingly. "Okay, but you have to promise to give it back."

"I promise," said Grey. He then grabbed her hand and gave it two firm shakes. Her wide eyes stared back at the boy, not blinking even once before scurrying out the door.

Grey thought the girl was rather strange, but nevertheless the first volume was in his hands! Now, he could begin learning how to become a powerful wizard.