'Hurry with those supplies!' Loud burly voices cut through the moment of a blissful memory bringing our protagonist to the cold clutches of reality.

Kaluar, a young elf of sixteen years, marched through a dark cave, tailing the backs of his superiors, his heavy boots marching against the stone cold floors, cyan eyes narrowed in fatigue, gritting his teeth together as he carried their heavy supplies, the weight causing his knees to buckle.

Each step proved a challenge, as he pressed on, determined to see it through, finally coming to a point rewarded with the view of a lifetime, the view of an adventurer, of a ruin hunter that he always wanted.

His eyes widened in amazement, chills running up his spine as he felt the child in him coming out once more, face to face with an underground ravine. Water droplets fell like liquid gold against the glowing stones and Light crystal, colors of blue, pink, and gold adorning the cave in a massive festival of light, a beauty one couldn't possibly write down in literature or capture in one's mind but we can certainly paint a picture.

As its holy glow danced along the ravine walls, the stones illuminated the cave in a powerful ray of light, creating a mesmerizing spectacle. Kaluar's lips fell agape as his eyes tried to capture everything, to think something so beautiful would be hidden away in something so dark and dreary only to enhance it's beauty ten fold.

His gaze observed from a distance, the weight of his burden taken off of him by his superiors, tons and tons worth of pickaxes leaving his back as he sighed from relief, sitting down against the cold floor, his brown baggy pants now damped for it's hard surface.

He looked down as the adventurers would take their time, lashing away at the stones which marked this cave their home, a smile on his face as he knew one day that would be him, leading the charge of his own team and become ruin hunters.

Times when the voice of defeat crept up by the ear of our hero, the times where giving up would lurk in the back of his mind. He would remember the words of his father all those years ago, picking him up when things would leave him behind, a smile on his face after each long rest, eyes always set to the future as he sprinted ahead in a burst of power. Taking in a deep breath as he announced his arrival, screaming his god given name to the heavens to let the world know who was coming, Kaluar, the great tinkerer of legends, was marking the path for future generations to follow, the path to greatness.

'So you're finally thinking of stepping up in the world.'  Commented a woman of the guild, her posture nonchalant against the wooden walls, a smile on her face. 

The guild was as lively as ever, the roaring of adventurers after completing a mission, singing merry songs of old after making it back alive. They would clap to the beat of their own rhythm, playing games of cards or downing beer until they couldn't stand anymore.

The young lad smiled a blush on his cheek from the comment.

'Yup! I've gotten my rank to D so I should be able to get a team going right?' He asked, his eyes filled with hope as he looked at our mistress. 

As she leaned off the wall she looked at the young boy in his eyes with her green gaze, orange hair cascading down her back, following her movements as she spoke.

'Hold on there. You need to be a C+ to make a team, also you need to  fill this out before you can officially make a guild, but after that, you're free to adventure the world with your party at your side.' She said, sliding a form and a weird trinket his way with a grin. 

'Think you can do that?' She asked, her smile challenging. 

'Yeah.' Kaluar smiled back taking the form from her hands.

His mind would always wander to stories his father would tell him as a child of the four great adventurers, elves that had survived A great battle a mere five hundred years ago, heroes to the nation of Elvendoria that slain the monster from another dimension a seal that was ripped with the power of magic. It was a momentous occasion celebrated in song and dance every five years. 

Kaluar would walk out of the guild only for his eyes to always fall on him, Gerard, the warrior of legends, his iconic pose set in stone, his blade forever unsheathed against the sun. The cracks of time started to set in within stone. he's the man who Kaluar hopes to be. His sword always facing towards danger, a determined glint in his eyes as he screamed to the heavens his name. His famous lines known by all,

'My body may be battered and broken! It may be filled with scars from battle, but I wear them with pride knowing that no matter what happens I'll never have a scar on my back! For I always face my foes!' Kaluar recited, his voice barely that of a whisper as his heroic voice echoed in his mind, saying it along with him.

'Gerard, the warrior of legend,' Kaluar muttered under his breath, admiring the statue in the town's square, his gaze focused on it's intricate design, cracks adorning it's figure as the mark of time rows on. The sun beaming down on him a triumphant smile to the end.

'One day, that'll be me.' His voice trailed off in a sense of wonder, soon exploding into a confident smile as he set off out of the village, his feet marching against the stone pavement of the village to the soft grass of the fields.

They danced to the wind, their movements in tandem as dew drops fell from their soft blades, the blue sky stretching far across Elvendoria, Kaluar running across the fields with the same determined grin and smile. His hands holding the straps of his oversized bag a musket strapped to the side, adorned with makeshift gloves, goggles running through the strands of his fiery red hair and his ears pointed to the sky.

'I just realized.' He muttered as he stopped, his gaze looking around the field, 

'Where am I going?'

His pace slowed as he thought, the trinket that was given to him glowing in his bag. Kaluar's eyes widened in shock, taking the bag off his back and quickly searching it's contents, his hand burrowing through everything he hand until he had it. 

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'I'm still in here!' A voice screamed at him from the bag.

Turning it upside down, Kaluar dumped everything out into the fields, there fell a little elf girl, the size of his palm. Her body as illuminated in blue, her clothing looking of that of a simple white gown.

'Are you stupid or something?!' she squealed, though it was more cute than threatening for her small size.

'S-sorry.' Kaluar murmured, sitting down in the grass, his legs crossed with each other as he looked down upon the young elf, extending his hand out to her. 

With a huff she got on, her little fingers wrapping around his thumb for support. 

'Hi, I'm Kaluar,' He introduced, his other hand to his chest and a small endearing smile spreading the cross of his lips.

'So you're the adventurer I'm tasked to help this time.' She sighed, a screen appearing before her made out of mana, Kaluar looked in a silent awe and shock as her hands glided across the air.

'What's your team name?' She pondered, looking up at our hero.

'Team Rekka! Raging flames.' He announced with a sense of pride in his eyes.

'That's a dumb name.' She mumbled under her breath. Her eyes darting over the screen.

'So you're supposed to go to the Eldrian Ravine and mine Lightcrystal. Who knows maybe if you're lucky you'll get some Gravinite.' She informed, the screen closing before her. 

'Edrian Ravine.' Kaluar murmured, his gaze set up to the sky as he tried to remember such a place, the wind brushing through his hair with soft caring hands. With a steady pace, he got up from the ground, lifting the small elf girl on his shoulders and running off to his next destination with a steady pace. His hands on the straps of his bag, his hair taken in the direction of the wind, feet marching in a steady rhythm.

Their travels continued the landscape changing with time. A flat plain field turning into the region of mountains that reached for the sky, the area littered with ravines as the grass continued to dance it slow steady rhythm.  

With a grin, the young elf sat on the edge of the ravine looking into the cracks, the place scattered with Lightcrystal.

'These should be enough, yeah?' He grunted as he climbed down the ravine, his gaze set on the Lightcrystal below, plopping down eventually, landing on his feet from the height he had climbed.

Taking long confident strides throughout the ravine, walking under a arch made out of stone, leading to the other side of the ravine. He lashed away at any Lightcrystal he could find, his pickaxe digging into their hard outer shell as fragments and sparks fly, his hands guiding the tool in a steady beat, of his own drum, loading everything onto his back until he finally had enough.

'Great, now we just get out of here,' He said, wiping the sweat off his brow as he continued forward.

'You make it sound so easy, yet you have no idea where you're going do you?' The elf muttered under her breath, her face held up by the palm of her hand.

'I'll figure something out..' He sighed, walking through the ravine. 

A deadly silence would fall upon them, a silence that couldn't be easily broken, Kaluar's footsteps echoed in the ravine, the young elf on his shoulders lightly kicking her legs in idleness.

'Come to think of it,' Kaluar muttered, 

'You never gave me a name did you?' He looked at the young elf hoping she would answer his inquiry, the little girl sighing before shaking her head.

'I don't have a name.' Her voice felt a bit down, as if reminded of something she wanted to forget causing Kaluar's brow to furrow.

'Okay then!' He announced, his hands pumped into the air as he walked, hoping to hype her up.

'From now on! You shall be called Celi, the girl who's tale shall live forever!'

A smile etched on Celi's face, quickly turning away from Kaluar to hide her happy grin, but he already noticed, a small smile playing at his lips too.

'Was that really the best you could come up with?' Celi mocked him.

'A thank you would be nice.' He muttered bitterly but soon burst out into a soft laughter, Celi too joining him not too long after. Their laughter would only get louder as time progressed, soon to be cut short by something moving in the distance.

Kaluar's ears perked up at the noise, his gaze turning to the dark corners of the ravine, light bouncing off of shimmering blades, hollowed eyes staring into theirs, bones rattling, working like machines just to move out of the shadows.

The tension thickens, the air mimicking the cold touch of their blades as they got closer. A sense of red splashed against the canvas danger approaching ominously, the screeching of their blades against the stone floor filled the air as sparks fly. 

'Woah! What are those things!?' Kaluar exclaimed, stepping back holding his musket close to him, his feeling weak as his gaze landed against the horrific sight.

Skeletons wearing the armor of the fallen, adorned with their scars and experiences all laced into a mark within steel, holding stories of promise and adventure before meeting their end. 

'They're ruin skeletons! Weak but dangerous when in high numbers, they normally form at damp places near ruins!' Celi panicked, holding on to his ear for support of his sudden movement.

'There are ruins near by?!' Kaluar shouted back in a panic.

'Didn't you hear what I just said!?' Celi shouted.

As if in a second, adrenaline kicked in as the skeletons charged forward, their feet digging into the ground, their blades swinging at our hero. He stumbled further back, the wind whistles in his ear as the blades narrowly avoid his face, falling onto his back, quickly fumbling with the straps that held his musket to his bag. 

His fingers ran along it's intricate design as he found the trigger, his fingers pressing against it, the device shooting off an explosion of fire. The skeletons falling back shielding their hallowed eyes from the blinding light, some of them crushed by the force of the explosion.

Kaluar raised his arm shielding both him and Celi from the falling ruin skeleton debris.

'Ok time to go!' Kaluar shouted, holding his musket close as he ran, pushing off the ground with all his might, each step deliberately adding momentum running as fast as he could with his teeth gritted as hard as he can. The sound of rattling approaching him, the skeletons giving chase from behind, their blades still held high, chasing after him.

'Wait.' Kaluar thought to himself, gripping the handle to his musket as tight as he could.

'What am I doing? Gerard would never run away.'

His grip got tighter and tighter the wooden handle cracking under the pressure of his grasp. He looked behind him, his teeth gritting looking at his foes, soon stopping in his tracks, standing under the arc above him.

'H-hey what are you doing!? They're getting closer!' Celi cried, but Kaluar didn't say a word, slowly he raised his musket to the sky, aiming at the arch and pulling the trigger.

A stream of concentrated flames shot out of the musket, the flames sniping through the arch causing it to crumble, rocks fall into the ravine, the stones serving as a second grave to his foes.

Kaluar breathed heavily, the adrenaline finally wearing off as he stared at the skeletons he defeated.

'Are you crazy? What if that didn't work! Celi shouted at him, watching as the young hero slowly puts his musket on his back, his heart still pounding threatening to rip out of his chest at any moment.

'If it didn't work.' He murmured, catching her attention as he finally spoke.

'I'd stand my ground. I'd fight till the very end.' Kaluar lifted his hand to the sky, his fist attempting to catch the sun as he looked at it, a determined glint in his eyes. Breathing heavily as he felt the fear left his body. 

'I don't care how many scars I get in the process, I'd wear them all with pride because i'll never get a scar on my back. For I always face my foes.' Celi looked at him, her lips slightly agape as she remembered those words, her gaze softening, seeing this side of a child she'd just met. 

'Jeez,' she muttered to herself a soft smile playing at her lips.

'What kind of Ruin hunter did I get drafted to this time.'