"Hahaha! Is this an apology! Hahaha! It's too late! I'll rule this entire province and anyone who stands in my way will die!" as he furiously mocked life he laughed maniacally. Unbeknownst to him, he was going to do exactly what life wanted. 

THUMP 

The man abruptly fell to the ground facing down. The red smoke that had seeped into his core could be seen spinning around inside it as he fell unconscious. It was unknown or if he'd wake up.  

----------------------------------------

The sun was quietly setting while two boys were quickly speeding through a misty pine forest. Amory and Martin had been running straight for a while. They wanted to reach the place the four young adults had come from. Amory deduced that it was an academy and it was a good start for them if they could enter it. If he didn't like it or if it wasn't big enough for them they could always leave secretly and travel to other areas. The goal was only to set a foothold on the current situation and plan what they were going to do. 

They currently didn't know where they were and if they wanted to reach the top they were going to need to train and if they wanted the best results, a sort of 'sponsor' was needed which could be further described as something or someone that could guide them and give them support, be it with martial techniques, currency or just spirit medicine amongst other things. 

Martin slowly came to a stop, it was getting difficult to see and it would be wise to rest. He turned to look at Amory and spoke up, "Amory, we'll rest and continue tomorrow. I need to recover my strength as well." having said this he looked around and turned towards two thick pine trees. He abruptly made a series of slashes with his hands before stopping and doing the same to another pine tree. 

It had to be said that the pine trees were incredibly hard and sturdy, but Martin cut them like it was nothing. If Amory tried the same thing his hand would most likely be turned into meat pulp right when it collided with the tree. As Amory looked at the pine trees he realized why Martin had struck them. Martin had cut out a small gap in both trees, it was just the right size for someone to get in. It was a two by two space and it allowed them to rest in a more protected place. It hid them from the view of any wandering beasts and was cozy enough for one to rest. 

The trees demonstrated their sturdiness by not breaking apart even with a hole in them. Martin looked at Amory and spoke in a clear soft voice while pointing at the trees he had struck, "We will each rest in one of these and early tomorrow we will continue." having said this he waited to hear Amory's response, Amory nodded and walked into the gaping hole in a tree. 

Seeing this, Martin went into the other tree and like this they each peacefully slept as the pine forest would every so often sway its leaves by the soft winds going about their own way. The night quietly passed by as Amory and Martin rested. 

Amory, who was currently sleeping was unaware of the presence inside his core. If someone normal looked at his core they'd see nothing but if a heaven defying being looked at it he'd be shocked to find that very deep inside there was a dark egg. Thick strings of energy glimmering in purple enveloped the egg as it floated in midair with the strings stretching away from it in different directions. Red energy leaked from the egg, it proved to be an other worldly existence. It hadn't hatched and yet it demonstrated such power already. 

What was even more shocking, however, was that the egg seemed to be shaking and clearly demonstrated fear. If one looked at the red energy it leaked out and followed the path, one would eventually see two oval shaped jewels floating even deeper inside. One was an extremely pure white and the other was a soul eating black. The energy the egg released was being absorbed by these foreign objects. They showed no response, however, to all the energy they were each absorbing. They were like bottomless pits as they sucked in the smoke. 

If one looked at the egg once more and inspected it very closely, over time they'd notice its energy was very slowly losing color. Although it was extremely slow, over a long period of time it would eventually lose all of it. 

"Amory! Hey Amory.. we got to get moving." a soft sharp voice echoed in Amory's head as he wiped his eyes. Martin had awoken him and was already standing in front of him with his bare back facing him. It was his cue to get on. Getting up, Amory slowly stretched his body and hopped onto Martin's back. 

Martin continued running through the forest, the sun had just begun rising and the forest was cool, but Martin wasn't bothered by it as he had been running, making his temperature rise. Amory on the other hand had only been grabbing on from the back and could feel the speeding cold air strike him as Martin rushed through the forest. He had no choice but to withstand it and lowered his head as it brushed by his hair. 

Martin continued like this for hours and took small breaks in between to recover his energy. The pine forest had smaller trees now and they weren't as dense anymore. He had run for who knew how many miles and they both were already starting to feel nervous as to whether they were actually heading to some place or not. Without a choice he continued and after another couple or hours Martin started to feel hopeless. He turned towards Amory who was on his back and spoke with uncertainty in his voice, "Amory... do you think we'll really find something in this direction...?". 

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"We had to go a certain way anyway, and this direction is as good as any." said Amory with a clear voice, he had been dubious as well as to whether they were actually going anywhere now but Martin couldn't be told this as it would hit hard on his moral. 

Amory thought of an idea and suggested to Martin with expectancy in his clear squeaky voice, "I know! Martin, climb a tree and then jump as high as you can so you can look around us.". As his words arrived in Martin's ears. Martin was filled with excitement as he nodded several times with a smile on his face and quickly climbed a tree. 

As Amory watched, his fingers were crossed, and his face was solemn as he stared at Martin. He was originally certain there would at least be a small academy but now his thoughts had been wavered by the long trial. 

Martin had reached the top of a pine tree and slowly crouched as he prepared to jump into the air by using his martial power as a boost. 

POOF 

Martin vigorously cut through the air as the previous branch he had been standing on broke apart under his explosion of strength. As he pierced through the air he spun around to look at his surroundings. His eyes suddenly stopped in the direction they were originally headed, and they slowly spread open with an enchanting smile slowly spread on his face. What caused his excitement was a large town a few miles away from them. It filled Martin with excitement as he could finally make his first step onto the path of his father's wishes. 

As he started falling back down he exerted strength into his legs and arms as he pierced them into the pine tree, slowing him down, so he could safely land on the ground. As he landed Amory saw his excited expression and was sure they were close to a settlement or better yet an academy. 

Martin ran up to Amory and loudly spoke, unable to hide his excitement, "Amory! You were right, there are some buildings up ahead! Let's go!" as he spoke he gave his back to Amory so they could continue their journey. Amory had expected this and hopped on as soon as Martin finished. 

Martin rushed through the forest at even quicker speeds than before, he was clearly in a rush to reach the said buildings. The sun was still up in the sky as the continued towards the large town ahead of them, Amory guessed it was just passed lunch time. 

As they infinitely neared the large town, pine trees were even more scattered and white smoke could be seen rising in the sky. Their eyes shined at the sight of this and after a few moments they could finally see the buildings ahead of them. In front of them was a defensive wall made of stone and men in armor with sheathed weapons stood atop it. Behind the wall many buildings could be seen 'peeking' over the wall 

"We're here! Finally!" shouted Martin in excitement as he looked at the large town ahead of him. 

Oh...I thought he'd reject anything not 'noble' enough.. hmm, oh I think I get it now, maybe he has an innate cruel nature with how he manages his prey... or enemies too. 

As they neared the town Amory suddenly remembered something and spoke to Martin, "Hey Martin, hide your cultivation to a few levels above mine so we don't get a lot of attention.". They didn't yet know the average martial strength people possessed in this area and it could summon unneeded attention if Martin was too strong for his age. 

Back when the four young adults had appeared along with the other people, Martin had said the only threat was a lone man. That meant the four young adults were weaker than him and he was many years younger than them too! It would be even more shocking if it was revealed that five years' worth of cultivation were also lost! 

Martin quickly figured out the intention of this and lowered his cultivation to the third level of martial student realm, also known as the fluent level. Amory thought his level wasn't a problem, so he didn't hide it, it was only at the first level after all, the trainee level's elementary stage. 

Martin, however, spoke against Amory's thoughts as he said, "Amory, hide your cultivation as well. Father told me once that normal people can only start cultivating at the age of ten. Our bloodline permits us to start at a much younger age than anyone else." as he said this he slowed down. Allowing Amory to do as he said. Amory had a confused look but did as he was told. 

Oh? But I've always been able to cultivate from a young age. Unless this world has different mechanics. 

While he had been thinking, Martin stopped dozens of meters away from the town and looked at Amory. Amory who had been on his back didn't understand what was happening. After staring back at Martin for a few seconds he realized what he wanted and shyly laughed as he got down on his own feet. After getting off they both turned towards the town and walked towards its entrance. It wasn't too eye catching and could even be described as dull but to the two young boys it was like seeing a delicious meal in front of them after not eating for days. 

As they neared the town's gate two men in armor standing below the gate looked at the two nearing nude boys. They were confused and startled. The Misty Forest was filled with beasts and these two nude boys had clearly appeared from it. Some rumors had raised about beasts that could take human appearances, but they were only rumors and the present two boys had joyous expressions, so the guards were unaware of what to do. 

One of the men decided to question the two boys before they got too close, he couldn't deny the existence of human copying beasts since rumors would sometimes prove to be true whilst this world was just much too big, and a stubborn person would only believe so much they allowed themselves to. He was also the captain of the defensive line and he couldn't allow any mishaps to take place on his watch. 

As he cleared his throat and took a few steps forward the man shouted at Martin and Amory, "Stop! Don't come closer before answering my questions or I'll be forced to act on my own accord! Archers in position!". Above him atop the defensive wall many men heard his shout and hurried over. They each had a bow in their hands as they stood in a straight line across the defensive wall. There were more than twenty men aiming their bows at two young nude boys in front of them a few dozen meters away. 

The men atop didn't look startled as they looked at their targets. Many rumors had spread amongst the town about beasts that took human forms from merchants who said to have witnessed it themselves. This caused uneasiness to spread amongst the townspeople and what made it even worse was the sudden meltdown of neighboring villages. 

Amory and Martin were dumbstruck at the sudden turn of events. They had imagined a scene where they would be immediately escorted inside by a few people since they were just small boys.