Knock!
The sound of aunt Jeanna hitting Abbot's head with wooden ladle could be heard clearly by Kyle, and he laughed softly while putting a hand to cover his mouth.
"Watch your tongue Abbot," said aunt Jeanna as she sat in front of Abbot while holding a wooden ladle on her right hand.
"Tch," Said Abbot slowly as he rubs his head.
Kyle, invite by uncle Rupert went to the dinner table, which has 5 chairs and a wooden table. Kyle sat on a chair beside Abbot and said,
"Yo Abbot, still grumpy as usual.''
"You wanna go huh? Bring it on, lone child."
"You two, eat your dinner properly," said uncle Rupert as he sat next to aunt Jeanna and scoop warm soup into 4 small bowls. He then gave them to his family and Kyle.
"Yes father…," said Abbot.
"Yes uncle," said Kyle as he started dipping a bread into warm, light seasoned soup.
Aunt Jeanna, who is eating a bread said, "hey Abbot, you have reach 15 years old. When are you going to help your father in the farm?"
"That's right Abbot. Don't just be a lazy bull as you are. Go do farm work at least once in a while," Uncle Rupert chimed in.
"This topic again… can I at least choose want I want to be?" protested Abbot in a low voice.
"Oh, what did you wanna to be?" Kyle chimed in.
"I wanna find a job that I can do anytime I want while lazying around. Like…I don't know, princess husband or-"
"HahaHAHA!" Kyle laughed loudly while trying to hold his stomach.
"You fat lazy bull, you…princess husband. Haha-"
KNOCK!
Aunt Jeanna knocks both Kyle and Abbot's head with a wooden ladle.
"Kyle, behave yourselves at the dinner table and Abbot, stop daydreaming. Help your father tomorrow at the farm."
"Yes, mom," whine Abbot. Unsatisfied with his mother task.
"Yes aunt Jeanna," said Kyle while rubbing his head.
After Kyle finish his dinner with aunt Jeanna's family, Kyle went home under the darkness of night with the source of light only comes from the ray of the moon, torches of several passing guards and magical lamp post with glowing blue colour, separate 1 mile apart from each other.
As he entered his shack, he lit the small magic lamp on top of a wooden table near his door and carry it with him. He first went to the kitchen, pouring water into his mug from a small jar and drink it to quench his thirst. He then went to his hard, wooden bed with few straws covering on top of bed.
He lay on top of his hard, wooden bed, then he pressed a button on his magical lamp to turn the light off. He mumbled, while looking at his straw roof, "this is my life… working like a cow. Always be and shall be…," and close his eyes. Kyle only used a straw blanket to cover his body as he slept while shivering under the cold night.
Cockle-doodle-do!
The sound of rooster crowing announce the time was at the crack of dawn. Kyle opened his eyes and rubs his sleepy eyes slowly. He then sits on his bed, yawning and stretching. He slowly walked to his living area.
He first put a stack of firewood under the large pot, which is already filled with water and light the firewoods with a magic lighter.
Crackle- crackle.
After he began to heat water inside the large pot, Kyle takes rough towel to his bathroom. In the bathroom, Kyle began to brush his teeth with a piece of wooden stick. He went to a large jar of water, using wooden ladle inside it and began pouring water into his body.
"Brzzz- so cold," said Kyle as water rushes to his body. After repeating this process about 5 times, he wiped his shivering body with a rough towel and change into tunic clothes and wear his rag shoes.
When he saw water inside large pot at his living area had boiled, which took about 40 minutes, Kyle then uses ladle and scoop water into a big jar.
He then takes poor, rough wheat inside a small sack at his kitchen and began grinding it using grinding stone. After it has been crush into flour, He kneads them into a slimy dough using hot water, adding yeast and finally baking it into bread. He also makes a light seasoned soup by adding corns and salt into a bowl of hot water.
After finishing his breakfast, he went out of his shack. He saw and some townsfolk were wandering around to do their daily job. He then went to uncle Rupert farm with a sickle on his waist.
At sunset, Kyle returned home with a small sack of corn on his shoulder. And like always, at his shack, he bathe, he changed his clothes, he makes dinner, he lay on his hard wooden bed, and he sleeps. But tonight is different. Different for Kyle and different for Ragtown.
At eastern outskirt part of Ragtown, out of town border, in the jungle, 1 figure could be seen running.
He ran and ran. Without looking back. He ran and ran, as fast as he could. He ran and ran like there is a mountain of gold in front of him. No, it's not a gold mountain or anything precious that he ran to, as just about 3 miles in front of him is only a small town. A small town called Ragtown.
"Shit."
Said the figure as he ran.
"How the hell ‘The Order' know I'm here."
Curse the figure as he ran. Like tiger chasing its' prey, like a wolf hunting after a tasty rabbit.
But, the figure only has a small frame. As thin as stick his body is and as fragile as an old man his face seems. He continues to run along the path of the jungle. Ignoring wild animal that is watching him. Ignoring branches of trees hitting his face as he ran straight forward.
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He saw a wall, wooden wall. Twice as his height. Usually, people will enter the town by the main entrance. Although the wall is made only of woods, but no sane man will think this wall as town entrance.
But not this figure. He touched the wall with his hand, and the wall explodes. The wall breaks into tiny wooden pieces, and he ran inside.
"You'll never catch me, dog of The Order."
3 patrolling guards, who were patrolling eastern part of Ragtown's border saw him. Old man with White hair, wrinkles face, a black robe with stains of red blood and, emblem of snake eating its own tail on his robe's right chest-
"STOP!"
Bark the town guards.
Usually, when a town guard saw an injured man, especially such fragile old man, they will bring him to town medical facility first. But, those three reach the same conclusion when they saw the emblem.
‘Chaos art user.'
They pulled out their sword from its scabbard. No question need to be asked, no hesitation saw on their face.
‘Take him down first then ask the question later.'
Those three guards surround that old man from all sides. 2 guards swing their sword to old man's chest while the other guard tried to stab his stomach.
That old man strikes all 3 guards with his long stick first and chants, "chaos art, crumble," and all three of them break into tiny pieces including their leather armor and steel sword.
"Fool," said the old man as he looked at broken pieces of bodies nearby.
He then ran away.
One man could be seen inspecting piles of broken bodies. His mature face, seemingly in the early thirties, show no hesitation even when seeing blood and bones everywhere. Clean face and shiny black hair highly rare for townsfolk living in Ragtown. Even teenage girls here doesn't show that kind of cleanliness except for rich merchants' daughter. But, even they doesn't wear clothes as rich as that man.
Greatsword store in fine leather scabbard with golden thread on his back, white clothes made of fine silk with mithril chestguard, and animal fur around neck part of his body armour.
"This should be his work. Tch. I should kill him when I had the chance earlier," said the man. He then disappeared without any trace, as his previous existence was like a phantom.
The white hair old man then stop his running, catching his breath as he gasps for air. As he looked around, he saw a small wooden shack. He hesitated at first, looking back to see if his pursuer manages to chase after him or not. He only saw darkness, and several patrolling town guards far away. They seem not noticing his presence.
BANG!
He destroyed the shack's door and entered it.
Kyle, who was sleeping until now, wake up in shock. No dizziness could be seen on his face. Just shock, pure shock, as he heard a loud sound coming from nearby. In darkness, he reaches
a magical lamp beside his bed, turn it on and saw a creepy white hair old man with a black robe.
He saw chaos user emblem on old man's robe -
"ARRGH-"
As he was about to screams, that old man shut his mouth with his left hand.
"Shut up boy. I just want to take a rest here."
The old man then lift his other hand, "this boy, is called chaos art," and his right arm glowed in a red aura.
Beautiful as rose color, but that's not what Kyle felt –
‘DEATH!'
‘No way, will I die here?'
He saw a red glowing aura on old man right hand. He saw a creepy smile on old man face. He sees his poor living room. He saw everything. Even old man deathly hand seem very slow to his eye –
‘No way I will die like this.'
‘No way after all my hard work to live, I will just die right here.'
‘No way I will die before living my life in full.'
BANG!
The man who has greatsword strap on his back saw 1 man flying out of this town shack.
"What the –"
Surprised could be seen on his mature face, seemingly shocked at this event.
He went to the nearby flying man, who has fallen to the ground. He saw an old man with white hair, black robe with chaos emblem on his chest and deep fist mark on his right chest. Blood seems to trail from his mouth as the old man tried to stand up by using his hand to support his body.
"Shit…what, uhuk, uhuk!" the old man stand up trembling, coughing out blood as he tried to speak. He then reaches his pocket robe, taking 1 vial of blue liquid inside a glass, and drink it. As he drank the liquid, blood seems to stop flowing from his mouth and his pale complexion becomes much more normal.
"Never have I imagined seeing arcane art user here. I should kill that boy first before he becomes a threat later."
The old man walked slowly to the shack as his body rapidly heal -
"Yeah, not before I kill you, though."
And he saw a great sword penetrate his chest. As he falls slowly to the ground and tries to look back, he saw a man with the shield emblem on his right chest holding greatsword with his right hand.
"Conrad…you."