Wesley wasn't sure of what had happened after he’d passed out, but the next morning he woke up with a dull stinging sensation throughout his body.

And he was hungry. Very, very hungry.

Then, as his mind cleared, he found more to complain about.

“Ahhh, why is this bed so hard? Are they trying to kill me?”

“Why is it so da—”

Then, he remembered what had happened the previous day. His family, his cousins, his parents, they had all… he couldn’t finish that train of thought. It hurt too much.

Whatever had happened, only he had made it out—and his only reward for doing so had been a grueling trek stumbling through the woods.

To make matters worse, he was now blind! Why? For all he knew, perhaps one of the enemy’s attacks, meant to kill him, and merely blinded him instead. Was he supposed to count himself fortunate?

Wesley wasn’t sure.

That aside, who had brought him here, onto this most uncomfortable bed? Who had bandaged his hands? And most importantly, did anyone have food for him?

He felt his way around the bed, then slid off onto his feet. He extended his hands forward, groping the air in front of him cautiously, hoping he wouldn’t run into anything.

He felt a wall. He turned to the left, only to come into contact with another wall. He continued to feel his way along this second wall until he hit something with his arm. He vaguely felt the object slip away, then heard the distinct sound of shattering glass.

“Uh oh.”

Wesley was too afraid to move. Once, when he was four, he'd accidentally stepped on some broken glass. He’d cried and cried, at the top of his lungs, until his mother had finally noticed and saved him. That day he’d experienced true pain and terror as the glass pieces were extracted painfully, one by one, from the bottom of his foot. Sure, his mother had healed his foot with a spell afterwards, but he could still vividly remember and feel the experience.

Pain! Pain! Pain!

Thankfully he heard footsteps approaching, in time with a woman's voice.

“Gust, if this kid wasn't goddamn blind I could’ve sworn you invited the goddamn devil into my house. First he shrieks like a demon when all I'm doing is applying some ointment, and now he's gone and broke my best vase!”

“What are you talking about ma'am, that vase was an atrocity! It's better that it is gone, otherwise the God of Vases would have come and cursed your family for ten thousand years!”

A stream of profanity followed as the door opened.

Seeing the blind child frozen in place, the woman’s fierce eyes softened. She walked up to him slowly, skirting around the glass shards.

“Hey kid, come here.” She reached out and pulled Wesley to the side, away from the broken glass.

“Stay right where you are, okay sweetie? I'll bring you downstairs and let you eat some food in a bit. You must be hungry…”

She quickly cleaned up the glass pieces, occasionally glancing towards Wesley, who stood in the corner patiently and quietly. A few minutes later, she led him downstairs, sat him at the dining table, and placed a fresh bowl of soup in front of him. The sound of a bowl hitting the table and the warm scent that filled his nostrils filled him with glee.

Between the blindness and the bandages on his hands, feeding himself wasn’t easy. After shamefully directing the first spoonful of soup into his nose, he'd given up and had simply put the bowl to his lips and tilted it back, finally gaining access to the delicious, fragrant soup.

“Ahhh.” Wesley leaned back and patted his stomach. He hadn’t felt so safe and full since…

Then he remembered what’d happened just yesterday, and suddenly he didn’t feel so safe. However, to his own surprise, tears didn’t fall.

For now, he was just a kid… but eventually he would find out why those people had come and attacked his family in the night. He would make them pay their dues!

But how?

He would have to become stronger, to refine his magical abilities. But what if his family’s attackers were still searching for him? Where would he be safe?

Then, he remembered one of the last things his mother had said to him, when he had asked where they were going.

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The Reiniad Kingdom!

Gust and the lady had been discussing Wesley's affairs while he’d been deep in thought.

Suddenly Wesley spoke up. “Do you know where the Reiniad Kingdom is?

“Huh?” Gust and the lady looked over. “Why?”

“No reason.”

However, his face betrayed his curiosity.

Gust and Elaine, the lady who had treated and bandaged Wesley, looked at each other with confusion.

Elaine had always stayed in the village to focus on studying medicine and medicinal magics. Gust, who knew more about the geography of the continent, responded.

“Well let’s see… there’s not much left to the Magmont Continent out West… we’re pretty much as far West as it gets. But, there are several countries East of here, including the Reiniad Kingdom, which is home to what many people believe to be the continent’s best Intermediate Magic Academy.

“But that’s at the very Eastern edge of the continent. Let’s see… in between, we have the tiny Kenta Kingdom, the Larwin Kingdom, as well as the Alaki Mountain Range… I’d say the Reiniad Kingdom is about two thousand miles away. Why?”

“No real reason. By the way, auntie, am I hurt anywhere or am I free to go?”

Hearing this, Elaine frowned. “No you’re not free to go. Gust said your family would come pay the fees for my services. Get them to come here and pay up. I’m not running a charity here.”

Hearing this, Wesley froze, then started crying. What family did he have to pay for his treatment???

Back in the city, everyone knew him as the prized genius son of the Gia family. As such, he was able to grab whatever he wanted from any shop without hesitation; the shop would find a Gia family representative afterward to secure their payment.

Hence, Wesley never had a reason to carry money with him, and didn’t have any on him currently either.

Elaine was shocked by Wesley’s tears. Asking for payment wasn’t unfair, was it? But the kid’s reaction, perhaps he was…

An orphan? Homeless? Surely not. The child’s clothes, though tattered, had been made from decent cloth.

The old auntie sighed, but glared at Gust, who adopted an innocent expression.

“Fine, fine. I'll let you off the hook this one time, Gust. Tell two stories to the village children tonight and I'll let this pass.”

Gust simply smiled.

…

Later that night, Wesley sat with the village’s children as they listened to Gust’s tales.

“And so, the young hero ventured across the lands, seeking opponents to test his skills against. But alas, he was too strong, and no opponent could last more than a single exchange of skills.

“At first, the young hero was elated every time he won in such a manner. With every victory, those around him showered him with praises and gifts. But as time went on and the young hero never failed in any of his ventures, the excitement associated with each victory quickly diminished, and the praises and gifts from those around him no longer gave him a sense of accomplishment, but rather a feeling of emptiness.

“Seeking stronger foes, he challenged the heavens; even they were no match for his monstrous strength and ability.”

Gust paused to take a small sip of water and examined his audience, then continued.

“After the heavens were destroyed, the world entered a period of chaos. Kings abolished the religious institutions that had been restricting their power, and their wrath and greed led them to wage war against their neighbors.

“Many warriors used this warring era to make names for themselves; yet, our hero refused to participate. He had long lost hope in finding a worthy opponent. Instead, he spent his days wandering from village to village, city to city.

“One day, as he strolled through a village, he saw an old man sitting at a chess table in front of a house that looked older than he. Although the old man did not have an opponent, he cheerfully moved the pieces around the board.

“Seeing this, the young hero was intrigued. He walked over to the old man and asked, ‘Hey, old man. Mind if I join you for a match?’”

Gust paused again, this time for a few long seconds as he slowly chewed on some bread.

“The old man looked up and examined the young hero, then nodded.

“Although the young hero had little experience with military chess, he was confident as he had previously commanded thousands of men on the battlefield.

“Yet, from just the first move, he felt outclassed. During the entire match, there was not a single moment when he was confident in winning.

“He quickly lost the first match. Unhappy with the outcome, he challenged the old man again. A few minutes later, he lost again. And so, the young hero, frustrated, challenged the old man again.”

Gust paused and took another sip of water, another bite of bread, and tore into a chicken leg.

“Hours later, the two, young and old, were still playing chess. By now, a third person, the old man’s granddaughter, had come to watch. Although the young hero had improved, he was still unable to defeat the old man.

“‘Why can't I beat you?’ asked the young hero.

“‘This’, the old man replied, ‘I don't know, but I stopped trying about six matches ago.’”

Hearing this, Wesley and the other children laughed. What kind of hero was this? He could vanquish the heavens but couldn’t best an old man in chess? Furthermore, it was an old man who'd lost interest already!

Gust continued. “Frustrated, the young hero left the old man and his granddaughter, and rented a room in the village for the night.

“Later that night, a battle erupted some distance away from the village. Amidst the chaos, a group of soldiers fled and in their escape, came across the village.

“They proceeded to ransack the village for money. In mere minutes, the entire village, aside from a certain old man's family, had been robbed.

“Why wasn't the old man’s family robbed? It was because as soon as the soldiers had approached the old hut, a young hero stood in their way. With his fighting prowess, he had quickly disarmed the soldiers.”

Gust flicked his wrist to throw the chicken bone in his hand far away, picked up an apple from one of the nearby tables, and then chomped into it.

“Then the hero killed all of the soldiers and in the following days would keep playing military chess against the old man until he finally won the-end-thank-you-for-the-meal-bye.”

With that, Gus quickly grabbed Wesley and ran away.

It took a few moments for the kids to register what had just happened, but the parents that had come with their children realized what had happened immediately.

That Gust! He’d just used some crappy story to stall for time as he feasted on the food!