- VOL 1 – THOSE UNITED BY THE FATE -
Chapter 1: A New Journey! (1/10)
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- A few weeks later -
''Huhhh...''
The boy at the front of the crowd took a deep breath. He had a very excited and curious expression on his face.
''Let's see if it lives up to my expectations!''
As the boy said this aloud in the crowd, some people looked at him strangely, others opened their mouths and whispered insults.
But the boy did not notice any of these expressions about him. His focus could not easily be diverted from the city walls that covered the city in front of him. It was the first time he had ever been in a big city and he was mesmerized by the sight.
His amber eyes sparkled as he looked at the entrance of the city. Were his eyes sparkling because of the boy's excitement, or were they naturally like this all the time? The answer to this question was not very important, because whatever the answer, his eyes were rather pretty.
This boy, who had embarked on an adventure at an early age, stood out clearly from the crowd. He was not very tall and his body was not comparable to that of an adult. There was no one around his age, and the crowd at the entrance to the city seemed to be all very mature and experienced.
The boy's eyes were shining innocently among these experienced people. He continued walking without a care in the world.
‘This place is definitely much bigger than I imagined. Look at these huge walls! And there are so many people around!’
Shin was the name of this young boy who was examining his surroundings with great curiosity. Unlike the people walking around with big loads, he had nothing but the sack on his back.
Talking about big loads, there were several carriages on the wide road leading to the city. Shin was surprised to see so many people and loads together. He had spent most of his life in his village and had never been in a large community.
A few guards stood at the entrance to the city gates, asking questions of those entering and inspecting their cargo. There was no particular order of control at the entrance, but most of the people coming in were checked. Since there was no strict control, there were some who slipped through the gaps.
Shin, unlike those people, was one of those who were stopped for inspection.
''Hey you! What's your purpose here?”
One of the guards had called him before he passed through the gate. Without hesitation, Shin quickly went to the guard and started answering the simple questions he was asked.
''I just came to the city, I don't have any special purpose.''
He didn't really know what to say because he hadn't come here to do anything in particular. He had chosen to come to this city because it was the only city he knew in the vicinity of his village, namely Katim. The guard gave him a strange look when he heard the boy's answer. But he didn't have time to chat with one person all day. So he didn't question the answer too much.
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''So what's in the sack you're carrying? You have to show your belongings before entering. For security.''
The guard glanced at Shin as he opened the sack. The strange expression on his face slowly disappeared as he looked the boy over again.
''You must be on an adventure to come at such a young age. Let me say you didn't pick a very good place to begin your adventure.''
Shin heard the guard speaking in a low voice as he was grabbing his pouch to show it next. Confused, he tried to understand the conversation.
''Did you say something?''
The guard in front of him gave a small smile and brushed it off.
''Don't worry too much about me. Just show me what you carry.''
Hearing this, he opened his pouch without thinking any more about the guard. Besides this pouch, he had a knife and a canteen to carry water. Inside the sack were some clothes he could wear, while the pouch had some fruits and materials he had gathered from the forest.
"You may pass."
After informing the guard about everything he had on him, he was simply granted permission to pass.
‘It was shorter than I expected.’
He had not expected it to take so short a time to be checked by the guards. He was certainly not overloaded, but he had assumed that he would be interrogated a little longer.
‘There is no need to think too much. Let's see what's inside the city!’
He was even more excited as he made his way inside. All the way here, he had been thinking about what the city might be like. That's why he was anticipating to see it so much.
When he walked through the gate, he froze in surprise. After standing still for a few seconds, he said out loud the first thing that came to his mind.
"A mountain inside the city?!”
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After a quick survey of his surroundings, he started to follow the people in front of him. He knew almost nothing about this city so he wasn't sure where to go. There was a big crowd in front of him and for some reason, all the people were going in the exact same direction. So he decided to follow them too.
As he continued walking, he was observing his surroundings with great curiosity.
‘This place is indeed beautiful. It's much different and bigger than I expected!’
There were lots of buildings around and the streets were very well organized. Despite the huge crowd in front of Shin, the city was still relatively spacious.
Apart from the buildings, another thing that stood out was the mountain in the middle of the city. Since this mountain was not extremely large, the city walls prevented the mountain from being seen from the outside. Nevertheless, it was a mountain and the city was built and fortified around it. Shin was really impressed that there was a mountain inside a city.
''I think we have reached our destination.''
He didn't know where the crowd was going. He didn't think he could find anyone in such a crowd to ask questions to find out any information. Soon, however, he realized that the crowd was gradually dispersing in a large clearing in front of him.
A small smile formed on his face as he made his way to that space. He took a deep breath and tried to figure out where he was.
‘Ahh. I guess I'm too excited about arriving in the city. Actually, when I was with the guards, I could have asked them questions about the city. Anyway, I'll take a guess and try to figure out what's going on here.’
This was the first thing that passed through his mind when he reached the large area ahead of him. He put aside his previous carelessness and began to look around. Since this was where the entire crowd was moving, it could be assumed that something was happening here.
There were many tables around. People who came to the area were sitting at the tables and eating.
‘I think something like a celebration is going on. Also, this must be the center of the city. It's quite large and it looks like many different streets lead to here.’
These were his thoughts as he looked around. In this area, apart from the tables, there were stalls serving food. There was also a platform in the very center of the area. Shin didn't think it would do much good to stand where he was and observe more. Therefore, he headed towards one of the stalls.
‘I haven't eaten today, so since it's a celebration, I'll join in. I'll figure out what to do after that.’