Arriving in front of the door, Adrain sighed. Finally, he found his room. It was at the top of the building. Climbing the stair with a heavy backpack sure consumed his stamina.

He wiped the sweat and placed the backpack on the floor. He knocked on the door lightly.

Knock! Knock!

It echoed in the hallway. He met various people in the hallway. They all shot mean glances at him. Seem like they have their mini-group here.

It was natural as weak people formed teamwork in this world. Adrian will also have to join those groups. But not now, his mind was focused on the current situation.

His unknown goal and future.

He knocked again. This time a little harder.

No answer! Adrain sighed. ‘ Guess I need to open the door myself. I just trying to be nice. ’

As he was about to open, he heard a hurried step coming inside his room. “ Coming. Coming. Wait a second. ”

Adrain was taken a step back. He frowned.

That voice belonged to the woman. ‘ I thought they separate the men and women for potential problems. ’ After thinking for a bit, he relaxed. It's not like this will affect his life.

The door opened.

The first thought that entered his mind was ‘ She is young. ’ Maybe it was because of her facial structure, she looked young. At minor 16, that is the age, Adrain guessed.

Her eyes scanned across Adrain and nodded. “ You are my roommate? ”

“ Yes. My name is Adrain. ” He replied.

“ Call me Rowan. I hope you are a civil man, otherwise, you need to go to the other room. ” Rowan said as she made a soft threat.

“ I don't know what you mean by that. ”

Rowan sighed as if a huge load just dropped. “ Are you from the outer land? ”

“If you mean, I live in the forest then yes. I am from Tero. ” Adrain answered. “ I should enter the room. I need to take a shower. You don't want to talk to a smelly person. ”

“ I don't mind. ” Rowan said as she opened the door fully for Adrain.

“But I do. ”

Adrain grabbed the backpack and said. “ Thank. ”

The room was larger than his tiny tent. There was one window on the wall and one door. Light entered from the window and he saw the lamp placed on the small table. A few pieces of paper scattered on the table along with some feathers soaked in ink.

The two bedrooms were placed in the corner of the room. One had a blanket and pillow, it must be Rowan. His eyes shifted to the empty bed and placed the backpack.

He heard the door closed. Searching through the backpack, he placed the necessary items on the bed.

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Shirts and pants. A book. Lighter. Needles and ink. And more importantly a sharp knife. He didn't find a blanket or pillow. That didn't concern him that much as he could just cover himself with the shirts.

“ Shower is behind that door. ” Rowan said as she sat on her bed.

“ Oh. ” Adrain nodded.

“ You don't have anything with you? Other than that backpack. ” She pointed and asked.

Adrain shook his head, “ I am poor. I just awaken my core today. ”

“ Oh, then congratulation. You must be 18. I am 18 too. I just turn last week. ” She was rather talkative which Adrain didn't expect her to be.

Adrain grabbed a shirt and a nice pair of pants and entered the shower.

After entering a fresh bath, Adrain sat on his bed. His eyes looked at Rowan. His hand was holding the needle.

“ Want me to tattoo? ” Rowan asked.

“ Thank. ”

Adrain walked toward her and sat on the floor. She grabbed the ink on the table and dipped the needle.

“ 301-B. ” Adrain said.

“ Aren't you feel like a slave? ” Rowan suddenly asked an interesting question Adrain.

Yes, he felt like a slave. Branding himself for the Empire, training to fight the war for nobles which he didn't care about. They would not know his existence and didn't care to think about people like him.

But he needed Empire to thrive. That is his future.

His goal was to live in the war and get stronger. That was the shallow goal. He chuckled at himself.

“ Why are you laughing about? ” Rowan frowned. She asked a rude question. She knew that. She expected the reaction would be anger or denial. Not laughter.

“ Nothing. I just saw my infinite future. ”

Rowan grabbed the wet towel beside her, “ You are a strange man. Never met someone like you. ”

Wiping off the neck, she grabbed the needle.

“ You will find people like me a lot. ” Adrain ignored her surprise.

“ You mean outsiders? ”

Adrain thought for a moment. Thinking deeply about outsiders, he realized that he was indeed strange. Outsiders were people who lack ambition and the will to live. But they didn't even end their miserable life because they hope someone good would come into their life.

That was the worst kind in Adrain's eyes. Even though they had the will to live, they were not truly living. Just empty flesh and blood moving.

Inside that environment, he dreamed of a life where he can move freely. Where food will be tasty.

And he will search for it. Even if he had to lose his life.

“ Now that I think about it, I am an oddball. And what is your mysterious past? ” Adrain asked.

Rowan froze for a moment. “ I am the illegitimate daughter of a noble. ”

“Oh. ”

Adrain had nothing to comment on that one.

“ You must feel angry. ” Rowan said.

“ Angry? What do you mean by that? ” Adrain asked.

“ Nobles are born with a silver spoon. The difference between noble and commoner was so vast that the only way a commoner can become noble was to become as great as Hero of Light. Which is impossible. ”

“ And that is why Nobles treasure bloodline. As you see I am an illegitimate child, which means I had two paths. The easiest one was to die. Ending the bloodline that was flowing in me. The second was to follow the path of the Hero.”

Her voice slowly softer as if she lose her confidence. Adrain sighed.

“ There is a third option. ”

Rowan nodded. “ Yeah. ”

“ Kill everyone. ”

“ Escape from the Empire. ”

They both said at the same time. Adrain turned around, and their eyes met.

“ You are right. ” Again, they repeated.

Silent enveloped the room. Adrain broke the silence. “ Yeah, killing everyone is the opinion but you need invisible strength. ”

Adrain had listened to the mighty Empire feat since at a young age. He knew that one person can't overthrow the system unless, of course, that person was stronger than Empire itself which was impossible for her. But he didn't know the future so he might be wrong.

Rowan picked up the needle and tattoo silently.

“ I am focusing on swordsmanship. My ability suit with the sword. ” She said. “ But that would mean I will lack a long-range attack. ”

Adrain felt a tingling pain in his neck. “ I need a friend who can back me up in the fight. ” She said.

Adrain frowned. “Don't count me in that friend yet? I am busy trying to find a way to live in the upcoming war. So you can choose the weapon you wish to learn here? ”

“ I thought Major will teach us every basic weapon. ”

“ Correct. I am different from others. Since young I finished my training with every weapon.”

The soft pain stopped. “ Finish. I tattooed it lightly. So that in the future, you can brush off the ink easily. ”

“ I appreciate your thought. ” Adrain got up from the floor.

He looked at Rowan for a second and made up his mind. “ Let's have a deal. ”