"My for such a young man to have such a big heart to adopt one of the children....it feels my heart with joy"

An old lady escorting him spoke as they toured the halls. She was the caretaker of the place and the one who keeps an eye on the children.

"For the children here, it's a blessing to be able to be adopted, and by your presence I say the one who will be picked will be lucky indeed."

Coming in one ear and out the other, he smiled and nodded as the old lady started to go into how the children have been waiting for someone to pick them.

He wouldn't be here and would still be at the ruins to level up if it weren't due to Merrick meddling.

"I really should never say or think that word...."

He mumbled

"Hmm? Did you say something dear?"

"Oh I was just admiring how you care so much for the children"

He said as if he was listening from the start, the old woman smiled and nodded as she continued both her story about how her husband wanted to help the children and the history of the place.

After a brief tour they stopped near hall where there waited numerous children of various ages, as they saw both of them entered they greeted them loudly as if rehearsing.

"Good morning Sir!"

The children stared at him with eyes full of expectation to pick them but as he saw it he felt a tug on his side and saw a little girl no more than five stare up at him.

Seeing this he had a gentle smile on his face and patted he girl's head and from his sleeve he took a candied apple he stored. With big eyes the child took it and slowly licked the apple but after tasting it took quick small bites, The others who saw it had jealousy shown on their faces.

He then faced the old woman.

"It's slightly early for lunch but if you don't mind, I would like to prepare something to eat for the children, it's free of course"

The granny was taken aback by his words, but with a smile she nodded.

"I wouldn't feel right declining an offer like that, please follow me to the kitchen"

The two moved but after hearing it was for food the children followed after them, he was led to a medium sized kitchen, it wasn't fancy but had the necessities to cook with. Taking off his coat and placing it on the side he then wore an apron given by the granny and moved towards a long dusty table he slid a finger on it and saw that it was dusty.

He then placed his hand on top of the table and a gush of water flowed and doused the surface, the ones watching were surprised but enjoyed the sight.

He move his hand and the flow of water followed sliding on every corner of the table until no dust was left, he then pointed to the sink and the water was drained. After that a strong gale came and dried the table.

"Wooooooooow"

The children said out loud, he then took out his ring and a chunk of meat was magically placed on the table.

"You wouldn't have any vegetables here? I would like them to eat something filling and nutritious"

The granny called out a few names and some children went towards him and pulled him towards the back of the building and there he saw fields filled with vegetables.

Nodding, he then looked towards the kids.

"Alright I'll make you the best meal you've ever eaten so I would like everyone to help out, the meal you did some work on taste better that way"

At his words the kids quickly lined and waited for his orders.

The preparation for the food went quickly as the kids picked the veggies and cleaned it, while some older ones helped him in cutting the meat and preparing the fire. They were making some hot pot for the children.

They watched as the pot was filled with various meat, vegetables and spices. The children were the ones placing the meat onto the pot, everyone got a chance to contribute and were happy to work even the ones that were trouble makers were quickly tamed by him.

As the children were waiting for the food to be done he glanced around and scanned every child. Some had exceptional talents and abilities they still don't know but the one he needed to get wasn't here.

"Are these all the children?, is someone not present here?"

To his words the old lady glanced and the children and gave a small sigh.

"There is one other child, but.....it will be hard to explain as he does even leave his room...."

The old lady seemed troubled, he knew who she meant as he remembered the dark area around the upper part of the building.

"If you don't mind, I would like to meet this child

The granny was slightly troubled to let him meet the problem child but she gave in and led him towards the inside of the orphanage and they ascended the stairs.

As they got near the second floor an eerie feeling crept through his thoughts. As a dark miasma started to cover the entire floor.

'Chaos......and so thick....can't believe a kid did this......then again I met a demon child that is a direct descendant of a god.....'

The granny seemed unfazed by the miasma and just kept a calm face.

'Seems like normal people don't get affected.....or are too oblivious for it...no....she isn't affected because....'

He saw the focus of the miasma and it wasn't the old lady, it was him. The cloud of chaos energy swirled around him and he could feel it trying to invade his body. He smirked as the energy that was covering him was slowly getting sucked into his body, Well, you should have not touched me.....

They walked straight into a corridor and spotted a lone room at the end, stopping at the door , he could see something dark and sinister oozing out from it and he spotted some runes all around the door. He then glanced towards the granny and she seemed a little downcast as she stared at the door.

"It seems that you would like to hear about the boy here....although I only met you today I can speak for I see that you are a man with a heart that would understand"

He nodded and listened, he had a high affection with the granny already due to the kind words and treating the children to a good meal,.

'To put it short, he had an affinity with chaos, not being able to control it, caused a disaster to happen.....now with no home, family or even a will to live, he’s stuck here....Merrick did say that there are those that choose chaos are some unfortunate people....but those that chaos chooses are in for something else.....'

He thanked the old granny for the story, he then knocked on the door and spoke.

"Hello there, we are having lunch outside and I would like to invite you, can I please come in?"

He waited for a few seconds and was only met with silence but he didn't move nor loose his cool and after knocking again the door opened slightly.

Seeing this as a sign to enter he did but the granny stayed outside at his request and left him to speak alone, as he entered he saw the room or what was a room as everything was tinged with black mist, the walls were covered with scratches and looked like it would collapse with just a slight push, the ceiling was oozing with some black ink as it dropped to the ground. After he entered and walked forward the door closed behind him like a cliche old horror movie.

He walked forward as he did he saw movement from all sides, black shadows lurked in various shapes. They had golden eyes that seemed to watch his everymove and as he glanced towards them they quickly disappeared to the shadows but he could still feel their gazes on him. He stopped in front of a figure sitting near a slightly opened window that stared outside.

A small amount of light shone through the window and Edward saw the child as he was clothed with a stained shirt, his hair was long as it reached towards his neck, if people saw the kid they would mistake him for a girl, he was thin like he hasn't eaten in weeks . His arms were covered with scratches and marks, possibly self inflected.

Then a voice came from the child as he kept his front hidden from Edward.

"Aren't you afraid?"

His first words weren't a greeting but a question, to which Edward casually answered.

"Of what?, I'm not afraid of anything, well except for a very impulsive god that I will not call out, so no I'm not afraid, not even afraid of you"

He jokingly answered at first and was met with silence, but as he spoke the last words, the boy suddenly turned his head and stared at him. A thin face, if he were possibly cleaned up he would look like a prince, but the most eye catching thing that Edward saw was his eyes. It had no light, as if it was a husk and it seemed to stare deeply into him, he didn't remove his gaze from the child’s eyes and met his with a strong stare. 

'I knew it....those eyes, there was no way in hell I would forget those dead eyes.......the eyes I used to have'

As he stared at the child a phantasm of a white haired child appeared beside the child and stared back at him, he saw his self during the time after he lost everything and was feeling nothing but lost.

"You aren't afraid of.....me?"

The child asked again, seemingly to verify his answer, the question wasn't aimed at anything but after he heard the story and thinking for a correct answer he correctly guessed. As he did he saw a pop up that said his affection raised by +.5

He smiled and sat down beside the bed, the child didn't seem to mind and was waiting for his answer, with a smile he spoke.

"Why would I be? if anything shouldn't you be more afraid of a stranger?"

With a smile he continued.

"I'm not a afraid of you or your power because I have that power aswell"

His words seemed to cause something to change within the child’s eyes and saw a hint of light come back within the dark shroud.

The child was about to speak when he closed his mouth quickly and turned around as a dozen pair of lights appeared at the edge of the room and movement could be heard.

"No.NONONONONON stay away!"

The child that was on the edge suddenly ran towards Edward and cowered behind him, he shook as he clung to his coat as figures slowly approached them both. And the figure of a monkey with four arms and 3 tails walked  but stopped at the line on runes that covered the bed, the other figures that tried to move inside the barrier were quickly repelled and had to stand back. An eerie voice echoed that came from the chaos monkey.

"oooooh why don’t you play with us? hihihihi you called us after all it's not polite to call guests and not play with them ooohohohoohoh!"

The monkey revealed his teeth as it banged on his chest, the other figures rampaged around the room as the cloud of chaos kept getting thicker and thicker outside the barrier.

Edward eyed the surroundings with a calm and blank face, he then turned around as saw the child shivering with fear as he scratched his arms as blood slowly poured from the wounds. Saying the kid was scared would be an understatement, Edward scowled at the sight and he moved his hand and stopped the child from harming himself.

"Stop doing that, it won’t do anything"

But as he did the kid flayed around as he began to shout. He had tears flowing from his eyes as he shook. But all of a sudden the eyes of the kid widened as he felt something wrap around him, he thought the monsters broke through the barrier and was on him, he shut his eyes and waited for the torment of voices and pains to follow but a warm feeling came from the one holding him. He slowly opened his eyes and instead of beasts he saw a white haired man holding him close and patting his head, he could see the monsters shouting and making a ruckus but he didn't hear anything as he felt calm as the man hugged him.

"Are you scared of them?"

The white haired man asked him, he patted his head as he felt reassured that he won’t let him go, to his question he glanced back to the dark images of monsters and when he did he quickly looked away and nodded.

"Have you been alone all this time?"

To his question, once again he nodded, after what happened to his family, he was added to the orphanage but due to this happening he had to stay away from others, even the ones that tried to befriend him, all this time he was alone, tears poured from his eyes as he clung to the man hugging him.

For a while the man stayed silent but he continued to pat him on the head and everytime he did he felt a sense of safety then after a while he spoke again and he couldn't believe his words.

"Don't worry, because now you don't have to be"

As he spoke he let go of him and then saw his blue eyes as he gave a smile that seemed to give him as sense of security.

The man then sat up and faced the barrier and all of  a sudden moved out of the barrier and into the fray of beasts. The boy reached out to him to stop him from going out and getting killed but what he saw wasn't a man being killed by countless shadow beasts but a single man overpowering the beasts.

The monkey who was the first to appear and always caused him torment by harming him both physically and verbally was now held by the throat by the man as it tried to break free. He could hear the man’s words as he slowly tightened his grip on its throat, the other beasts cowered at the sight of the man as a dark aura swirled around him, it was the same thing that he could use, the ones that cause the beasts to appear but his somehow seemed different and much much more powerful.

"Now.....you stupid monkey....., does threatening the kid make you feel superior? does it? well how does it feel to find someone more superior than you?"

"oohadhhhhh kkkkkkkk!"

The monkey tried to speak but he tightened his grip even more and after a few more minutes a loud crack echoed throughout the room, the monkeys body went limp and dropped to the floor as it dissolved into a haze and disappeared into the dark floor. He made the beast disappear the man in front of him! His eyes didn't look away and kept watch.

"now.....if anyone else want to die, I suggest you leave, NOW!"

A loud and deep voice came from him as the beasts quickly disappeared one after another until the only ones left in the room was him and the man.

"ahh.."

The boy uttered seemingly shocked at what happened, but the man kept looking at a certain spot in the middle of the room and walked towards it as he held out his hand.

"Seems like this is the cause for those bastards to come.....if I remove this part it should disperse"

A magic circle was on the floor, it seemed to act as a gateway for those chaos monsters to appear, and the one who uncontrollably opened the gate was none other than the child.

'A chaos summoner....hmmm a good skill but if the beasts don't obey they might cause more harm than good....then again a good obedience session could do the trick'

He thought to himself as his finger moved on top of the circle and a dark glow emerged from it as it distorted some runes around the circle and it slowly faded away. But the room was still filled with chaotic miasma, Edward then held out his hand and a small vortex was formed on top of it as the miasma from the room was being sucked in, after a while the dark and horror like room returned to a normal and worn out attic.

Closing his fist and the last of the aura was sucked in he mumbled to himself as he  glanced towards his hand.

"....Well that takes care of that....now then..."

The man then turned towards him, the child glanced all around the room and didn't saw an inch of darkness on a single corner, he kept looking around until his gaze landed on the man smiling in front of him. He wanted to speak but he was out of words, what could he say? Thank you? How did you do that? Who are you? Words he wanted to say but couldn't, but he didn't need to as the man spoke for him.

"You're welcome, like I said I have that power aswell well a certain version of it and it may be late but my name is Edward Dreyer, the champion of Chaos"

With a smile he spoke and then walked over to the child but stopped at the lines of the runes that covered his bed, he stared at the man full of awe and slightly of fear. He took care of it, the ones that kept harming him, the one that took everything away from him and forced him to stay away from others but he knew even if the man fixed it, the problem will appear again in the future, one day They might come again and he was powerless to do anything but cower, but an answer soon appeared when the man spoke his next words.

"Want me to teach you how to control the power?"

Once again the man spoke the words he wanted to hear and before he could speak he continued.

"But do not worry, I will not force anything upon you, I will teach you and you don't have to do anything for me, but know this the purpose of why I came here is to get you, any further explanations would require you to come with me, but I will not force you.....for I know, how the feeling of being powerless....I will never forget that"

He spoke and the child was left in thought, he was silent until a question popped out from his mouth.

"Is what you said true?"

The child asked him as his brown eyes peered through his hair and stared at him.

'Seems like I'm as untrustworthy as I look...heh....'

"yes, everything I said, guess I'll be teaching you and you don't have to see me again so why don't we-"

"Not that...."

but before he could finish his words the boy cut in, to this he raised a brow and the kid continued.

"is it true that I don't have to be alone anymore, if I come with you?"

Edwards eyes widened at his question, and  a smile and a laugh came from him that he had to cover his mouth as he started to laugh. The child puffed his cheeks as he the man laughed at him.

"Sorry sorry about that, hahaha I didn't believe you would ask that, but it is, you won’t have to alone, not anymore I can assure you of that"

Edward fixed himself up and looked the same as if the laugh didn't happen, the boy stopped and thought to himself for a moment and then reached a decision.

"please teach me........I want to learn how to control this..this power..I don't want to be powerless, I don’t want to be alone anymore so I..I'll go with you"

With a nod Edward stretched out his hand towards him.

"Now then, I still haven't gotten you name"

The child stared at his hand and then got off from the bed and walked towards him as he spoke

"My name is Nemia, Nemia Locke"

The child grabbed his hand and with a smile Edward gripped it softly.

"Nemia, it's nice to meet you, now then why don’t we eat? but first let's take care of your clothes you a mess also drink this, you’ll feel better after drinking that but you need to eat aswell"

To his words Nemia looked at his clothes, as it was full of stains and holes, his body was dirty and his hair a total mess. A hand patted him as the man then spoke.

"Alright, let's fix you up and eat with the rest, you'll finally go out for a longtime let's make you debut appearance something the kids will remember"

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The children were looking at the pot as their stomachs grumbled as the smell of the food permeated from the air into their noses, they wanted to eat but couldn't start without the man that appeared after all he was the one that gave them a chance to eat their meal.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"oh my, it seems he's having a hard time with Nemia.....maybe I shouldn't have let him in...."

The granny was voicing out her thoughts when all of  a sudden the door of the orphanage opened along with a voice.

"Sorry for the delay, I had to convince someone to join us, the more the merrier"

The children were happy seeing him again and the granny aswell, he walked outside the door but he wasn't alone as a child with black hair accompanied him as he held onto his hand. The boy had long black hair that would mistake him for a girl, he was wearing a white tunic and brown pants and sandals, even simple clothes he looked like a star, both the girls and boys stared at him as they forgot about their hunger momentarily.

He hid behind Edward as he felt the gazes of the children around him, even the granny looked shocked.

"I'll prepare the food so why don't you go and talk with them? This is your chance to befriend them"

He pushed Nemia to the kids like a a mother bird pushing it's child to fly, the kids squickly surrounded him and questioned him.

"Wow I didn't know we had someone like you here"

"You're  a guy right? but that hair style suits you so much....."

"Do you wanna play with us? oooh tell us your name first!"

He was taken aback by the childrens reactions and looked like he was about to cry bu he stopped himself and took a deep breath and looked at the kids while doing a courly bow.

"Ni.nice to meet you all my name is Nemia Locke, I've been here for a long time but due to problem I had to stay away from others...but now I'm fine so if you don't mind I  would like to befriend you all"

A nice formal introduction but that got  a huge laugh from the kids, but it wasa good laugh.

"My,what a great way to introduce yourself, alright everyone please treat Nemia here like one of our own"

The granny came and stood beside him and Nemia raised his head, he saw the smiled of the kids and oone of them took his hand which surprised him.

"Let's talk! come on we have so many question!"

'So this is what it feels like......friends.....'

Edward saw the whole thing as he walked to the pot and opened it up, the insides looked delicious as it smelled good. 

"Now it's been delayed but let's eat! you can have a nice chat during the meal so everyone fall into a neat line, no need to cut as everyone will be given as much as they can eat"

The kids quickly lined up and Nemia was in the front, he had a bowl given to him by one of the older kids and smelled the food which stimulated his appetite, Edward stretched out his hand towards the pot and it's contents quickly rose and moved to everyone’s bowls, he did the easiest and fastest way to serve the numerous hungry kids, they also enjoyed the scenery of flying foods coming to their bowls.

"Now before we eat, let's give thanks to a certain god that if it weren't for him I wouldn't be here, Merrick is his name and he is the one I serve"

His words stopped the kids from digging in as they looked towards eachother and back to him, seems like they don't know what to do.

'I can't believe I'm doing this, but even kids can be followers I guess....'

Before he could speak, the granny intervened and instructed the children, they followed her instructions and gave thanks to Merrick’s name, he had to do it aswell but as he did he felt something strange and when he opened his eyes he could see small particles come from the kids and flow upward, the sight was breathtaking like a beautiful star being formed, he had an idea to what it was but he shook it off and the feast started, the kids ate happily and quickly as they quickly took seconds.

The children chatted as they ate and Nemia was in the middle of it all, he looked worried but he had  a smile as the kids talked to him, Edward ate at the side as a thought crossed his mind.

'I could have taken a different more beneficial path, I could have used his fear to bind him to follow me, I could have lied and forced him under me while taking control of his ability I could have but I didn't.......I did the most farthest from beneficial and let my emotions get in the way this will be troublesome, but....'

He glanced towards the child, the one from before had eyes that seemed to have lost all life but now that same child had a big smile and eyes that held a spark of life within them. As he saw it a smile crept on his face.

'No, because I know how it felt and I couldn't force him down that path.....to be given no choice but to follow someone isn't something I can force onto him or anyone, still it worked out in the end.......well mostly thanks to me but.....I guess I owe him thanks asw- wait a fucking minute! this was his plan! he told me to gain  a priest without any method given I could have just forced it but....haaaaaaaaah I still have a long way before I can take him on....maybe I could spoil him on game of thrones.....'

They finished eating as the kids were fed happily, they helped in the cleaning of the dishes while they left him to chat with the granny along with Nemia.

"A god directed you......if others told me this I wouldn't believe them but....."

She glanced towards Nemia and had a warm smile on her face.

"I can believe your words, it would seem you have chosen him, i will prepare the papers so just relax"

 Edward nodded and he glanced towards Nemia aswell, he stared back at him.

"You can still refuse, I'll tell you now that god is a huge pain in the ass"

He asked one last time to make sure that Nemia chose and wouldn’t regret his decision, he nodded and stared back with eyes full of belief.

"I owe both you and him my thanks, even so for me to be chosen.....I will try my best so please help me in any way, sir Edward"

Edward had an annoyed look that he had a firm belief in Merrick already, but that was a needed qualification for  a priest of a god so he didn't press the issue anymore. As the granny was leaving, a loud crash was heard from the inside of the building as voices of men could be heard, without a second to waste he moved inside and saw several men wearing expensive garbs aswell as bodyguards glaring at a child that seemed to drop a plate.

"You better watch your step girly!"

The child was frightened by the fat man and was about to cry when the granny came in between them, she had a displeased look which was first for Edward to see, she bowed towards the man and apologized in behalf of the child.

"Please forgive her, she's just a child....."

"tch, so careless no wonder no one wants to adopt you"

he then glanced towards every kid in the room that glared at him, seeign this the man fumed up and shouted

"What the hell are you all looking at!? Is that anyway to treat the one who ows this place!? Heh but it's fine I'm not going to get mad over that....."

The fat man then grinned wickedly, as he held out a piece of paper.

"because everyone here will be sold! hahahahah I will demolish this house and build a new brothel! now everyone get out!"

The men then were about to take a child from the group when  a hand came and stopped one of the guards, and it was none other than Edward.

"Hmm, for such big men like yourselves to pick on children, have you no shame?"

Seeing this the big man glared at him

“who the hell are you!? heh, it doesn't matter as I have rights to do anything because I own this place, look at thi-"

"Who cares, and you own the place not the ones inside"

He cut in as he stared at the pig man, his words were cut short and he stuttered

"si..silence! how can you say that!? you have no proof! an outsider shouldn't meddle here"

At his words the guards quickly moved towards him, they surrounded him and tried to grab Edward but as they did they collapsed to the ground while holding their throats. 

“Wah wah what? eek!"

He stared at the pig man with cold chilling eyes but he quickly took in his bloodlust, this wasn’t the place to cause a commotion, instead he wanted a more peaceful approach. He saw the man had a deck of cards on his belt and a thought popped up.

"It seems you play cards"

"Eh..ah yes, yes I do, what's it to ya?"

He grinned

"Why don't we have a wager? We play three games and the stakes are The ownership for this place"

To his words the pig man that was flustered quickly regained his composure and had a smug grin on his face.

"hahahah I'll have you know I'm the best player in this city hahaha, but...what will you bet kid? I'll have you know this place isn't cheap"

"Then if I lose, you can make me your slave"

The pigman had a haughty laugh but soon stopped at his next words and continued with an even louder laugh.

"Hahahah, hmmm but you did take care of those thugs and they were mercenaries with some promise, fine then it's a deal"

"We need to have a written agreement and on paper aswell, if that's not too much trouble"

"hehehehe it won’t be plus I would do it without you telling me, I hope you had a good life because I'll work you to the bone!!!!"

The man already saw his win and didn’t see Edward as a threat, to this Edward had a calm face  but a new smile crept in that he didn't have in a while.

The old granny was the witness as the two wrote an agreement, the man signed it and without delay he did aswell.

“I know I shouldn’t be allowing you to do this….but please….please win”

The granny clasped his hand and he looked around, the eyes of the children were all on him. He gave a smile and a nod, without any words he faced the man.Now it was the time for the game.

"So what are the rules for the first match?"

Edward asked as the two sat down on a table, they were surrounded by the children as their home was on the line, they prayed for their benefactors win.

"a game of Poker, standard rules, we play one card each, I can't wait to make you work"

Hearing such simple rules, he nodded and extended a hand towards the man, to which the man smugly gave his hand to shake.

"make the best man win"

"heh naturally that would be me hehehehe"

'He has no idea, I didn't become the best player because of playing fair kekekeke I already prepared my aces....there’s no away...'

They both gave a firm shake as the pigman was in thought when all of a sudden Edward shook him faster, the man quickly pulled away and shouted

"Why you! I would have gotten my arm ripped off!"

He shouted towards him but Edward just gave a casual reply and pointed at the table. 

"You should pick those up"

The pig man glanced towards the table and saw his hidden cards fall from his sleeves, he had a cold sweat flow from his face as he tried to make an excuse, but it wasn’t needed.

"Come on pick up the cards for the deck, we don’t have all day"

"ahh. ye  yes! hahahah now let’s start"

'that was close, luckily he's an idiot heheheh even without those cards I still have a few tricks, now time to win'

The two started as the man gave the deck to Edward so he could check it, if anyone checked it would appear to be normal but the cards were tampered and to those that knew it could change what appeared on the card by applying a trick to it.

Edward took the cards and with nimble fingers flicked trough every single one, he then did a few tricks that sent the card flying to the air and back to the deck, the spectators clapped to this but the man was just annoyed and glanced towards the children not minding the man in front of him. After he finished juggling the cards he gave it back and the man with quick and practiced movements each placed the 5 cards for them.

The pig man placed several cards he planted a head of time that didn't fall from his sleeves to his hand, no one noticed or no one seemed to notice what he did and he was sure that the first round would be his victory. 

'Kukuku it's my win!'

The pig man was sure of his victory, on the other hand Edward gave a sigh as he changed his entire hand, seeing this the pig mans grin got even wider as he gave a chuckle.

"What's wrong boy? hahaha having bad luck? you can change on more time if you want"

"no, I'm good"

"well then, let's see! hahahahaha Full House! It's my win!"

The pig man flipped his cards and revealed Three kings and a pair of 5's. 

"Sorry about that, but"

A wild smiling Edward appeared as he flipped his cards, the pigmans face couldn't believe what he saw and his faced paled.

"Ro...royal flush? That's impossible! it's only 1/1,000,000 chance! its rigged!"

"Now don't be like that, there were your cards, or are you saying something’s wrong with them?"

To his words the pig man quickly closed his mouth and gritted his teeth

"So the first round is my win, what shall we play next?"

He stated as he gave a sigh, the pig man ignored his words and stared at his cards, he couldn't believe he lost! He even prepared the deck, but if he continued he might be caught cheating.

'What the hell!? wait no matter.....I can still win it, with the next game.'

"hmmmp, why don't you pick what we play, anything that involves a card"

The pigman was confident he won’t lose again, but he chose his words poorly.

"alright, then how about  a guessing game?"

To his words the pigman was confused.

"You did say any game that involves a card, so we each take one card from the deck and guess the card, the closes to the truth wins, simple as that"

He explained it simply and the pig man quickly agreed.

'You've just dug your own grave....'

The deck shuffling was left to Edward as he quickly shuffled it without any trouble and placed the deck on the middle of the table.

Before he picked a card, the pig man glanced towards one of his guards and seeing this he moved to the back of Edward. where his card was visible.

The two then randomly took a card from the deck, the pig man held his card with care and made sure that he wouldn't get a peek, while Edward just slid a card and laid it faced down on the table, seeing this the man behind him clicked his tongue but Edward slightly revealed the card to see what he picked and the guard saw a heart. With practiced motions to make it seem natural the guard signalled the pig man.

'Hearts....alright I'll make a safe bet and pick 6 of hearts, he won’t even guess my card!'

Edward just closed his eyes and glanced at his opponent, he had a calm face and seemed bored of the game already.

"Alright let's say our guesses, you first"

"kekekekke fine I bet your card is the 6 of hearts!"

Edward then flipped his hand and revealed a 4 of hearts, the man regained his smug smile and decided to think of the third game he didn't even pay attention to finish his game.

"Hmmm alright, your card is the ace of Diamonds"

Then the man’s thoughts crumbled as he heard what his white haired opponent said, with shaking hands he revealed his card, at this moment the area around them were full of cheers and shouting.

"I won two times so hand over the deed"

he stretched out his hand but the man swatted it away a a vein appeared on his head.

"Don't fuck with me! You can't be serious! you cheated you have to!"

The pigman accused him but Edward just shook his head

"Exactly how did I cheat?"

"I don't know but you definitely did!"

To his childish reason the crowd laughed and as he heard this he shouted again but words didn't escape his mouth as he felt a dread presence in front of him.

"We played, fair and square yet you tell me I cheated without proof? you on the other hand used trick cards.....like this"

He showed a 4 of hearts card and with a swipe it changed into an Ace, the man stared with disbelief at what he saw, but he couldn't speak because of the overwhelming presence infront of him.

"We have witnesses here, and you lost, and if you don't comply to our agreement....."

The air quickly became even harder to breath as he collapsed to the ground and a yellow color appeared on his pants.

"let's say you wouldn’t like what I would do...."

'eeeeeek!'

The presence then faded away as gasping could be heard from 6 people, he made sure not to affect the children around and targeted only the pigman and his lackeys. Experiencing that,the man didn't argue anymore, and with regret handed over the will alone with a written statement of a transfer of ownership.

After that they quickly left the area, but not without thinking of a way to get back at the man, as they were leaving a voice stopped them.

"Oh right you forgot this, catch"

Edward threw a card towards the man and it flew cutting his clothes and cutting deep into a concrete wall, the mens jaw dropped as they saw the card and their pants dropped to the ground. Then they ran away without a second to waste and the thoughts of going back here were quickly erased with fear.

.

.

.

.

"i can't thank you enough..."

"no there’s no need I only did what I felt is right"

"even so....to do such a thing as betting your freedom for us....we are in your debt"

"Like I said I only did what I deemed is right, and here’s the will"

As he was going to hand it over the granny stopped his hands and clasped it tight.

"No, keep it, I know this is a big request and we have only met today but...I would want you to-"

"I accept, well I'll act as the name holder but I already think someone would want to take my place in the future but for now I accept, please take good care of the children"

Hearing his words, tears of joy flowed from the granny as she gave his thanks. The children then came and thanked him one by one, and the last one that came was Nemia. He stared at Edward with a look that sees him as a hero, with a sigh he patted the kid

“Heh, don’t look at me like that, I cheated”

To his words Nemia had  a questioning look.

“He lost the moment he stated those simple rules, well even if he did come up with tournament class rules it won’t matter, you see, if you don’t make preparations you’ll only have 20% chance of victory but with preparations you can boost it up to a good 60%. But I have my own way to win, and that’s to cheat but that can wait because I’ll teach you later”

He then faced the granny and the other kids.

"We'll visit, I'll talk to you later granny"

With a smile he left along with Nemia.

"Alright, we'll start the tutoring right after, we meet up with my colleagues, I hope you get along with them”

“If they are like you, then I won’t have a hard time to befriend them”

Edward then glanced at him and smiled

“well you’ll going to have some trouble because they aren’t like me”

.

.

.

.

“So that’s the gist of it, I hope you three get to know each other in 5 minutes because we have some preparations to do”

Edward was sitting on a table sipping some tea as he explained to them their new companion. Nemia was eating some room service along with Aya, they had a hard time talking at first but after Edward ordered some snacks they quickly got chatty, as they chatted Lilac listened to Edwards explanation.

“I see……but master, please never to that again……”

Lilac said as a cold tone escaped from her as she gave a death gaze towards Edward. She still hasn’t forgotten his prank letter, and to top it off he appeared with a child and his next words made her extremely angry.

“Oh, I’m his guardian, his part of the family”

‘Honestly…..I really thought he was his child……I maybe outdid it with that punch but he deserved it. But I’m glad he’s back to his old self, something good must have happened when he was hunting’

Edward was sipping tea as a fist mark was visible on his cheek, he could have dodged it and healed it already but he let it stay as a sign of apology.

“yes, yes I apologize”

He then finished his tea as he stared at the ceiling.

“We’ve got a LOT of things to do, so I’ll be taking you out of your day off, I’ll make it up to you later”

“It’s no problem, truth be told, we haven’t really done anything other than go outside and do some shopping for clothes and food”

Hearing this Edward nodded, and then stood up.

“Okay, Aya, Nemia you two listen aswell”

To his call the cheerful little girl walked up with cookies in her mouth towards them along with Nemia carrying a bag filled with cookies.

“Okay, each of you will have a task to do, within the  week’s time or maybe less an army will destroy this city, I’ve been tasked by the o so gracious Merrick to prevent that. An a part of that is to find a priest for his religion which I finished. Nemia, you are to be the very first priest of Merrick, it’s a big responsibility but if you follow what I say and do well, I assure you that you’ll have no problems”

Nemia listened to his words and nodded.

“I understand, it is an honor to be picked by the a god, I am not worthy but please teach me”

‘Merrick you don’t deserve such a kind priest…’

Edward nodded and then continued.

“I’ll be teaching him everything he needs to know aswell as a few other things, we’ll be mostly out of the city to help him level up to access the class quest, so you two will be doing some errands while we’re out”

The planning went for a couple of hours as he explained everything that is need to be done, Lilac and Aya listened to what they need to do as their missions are the ones that will help in the flow of their plans.

“Will this work master?”

Lilac asked, she believed in him but facing an army like that and a champion like him, he was worried not for the plan to work but for his safety as it involved a great risk.

“It will, and don’t worry I won’t die, well maybe but that’s not likely to happen if all goes well. We’ll be separated for a while so let’s eat after we finish our jobs for today, now move”

“Aya won’t let you down brother!”:

She puffed her chest out with pride as she spoke, seeing this Edward couldn’t help but pat her head to which the little girl gladly accepted.

“But Nemia has it good…..he has to eat and rest and read books……”

The little girl continued sounding a little dejected, but then Lilac kneeled down and whispered to her.

“Aya….Nemia has to gain some strength that’s why he needs to eat and rest but…..it’s counted as training and you know how master trains someone…..”

To her words Aya then quickly gulped down and took back her words.

“Don’t worry, I will not slack off but will do my best to not shame sir Edward”

Nemia said as he gave a declaration, Edward patted his shoulder and gave a smile that gave Lilac and Aya a chill.

“I hope you do, I’m a teacher that has high expectations for their students, and if you like you two can join aswell~”

It felt like a grim reaper extending his hand to them, the two quickly shook their head and made their way to the door.

“we’ll be going now master, Please take care!”

“Aya will help sister, goodluck Nemia, well be praying for you”

The door locked, and the only ones left where Nemia and Edward.

‘Seriously those two….I’m not that much of a sadist of a teacher, I just want them to break through their limits’

He sighed as he then took out a book, and handed it over to Nemia. The very same book that Merrick gave him, he filled the notes with the necessary knowledge that Nemia needed to learn for being a priest and a brief summary of their goals.

“I’ll be gone for a while until then read this book, you have to finish by the time the sun sets because tomorrow control training starts”

He gave him a ridiculous order, but Nemia accepted nonetheless

“Also you should finish the food I left and drink the medicine aswell and don’t forget to…”

He then started to sound like an overly dotting father, even if they only met for  a day he felt Edward treat him like he knew him for years.

“yes I won’t forget, I’ll keep it in mind so do not worry”

After giving a few more notes and asking if he needed anything else, Edward finally left and headed to his first destination, the workers guild.

A wooden building that was located in the commercial district of Coron, a place where peddlers, hired mercenaries and workers of various go to acquire daily jobs to gain money. A part of the workers association was the miners association, a place that used to be filled with people that mined minerals and gems but now only a few were left due to the scarcity of good mines and monsters that made dens out of the only near mine they had. They tried a few times to clear the mine but out of the 50 mercenaries they hired none returned alive, due to that, the miners were left with mining out of the mines or switching jobs. But the usual quiet building was bustling with noise and activity and in the middle of it was a white haired man.

“The bosses has been cleared? There’s been a rumor going around that a group of adventurers cleared the mine and defeated the bosses. I didn’t believe it at first but one of my workers saw the corpses of the beasts…”

A small bearded man had a voice filled with disbelief as he spoke, he was one of the dwarves, a race that toiled and loved the earth and was the head of the miners association. He was one of the stubborn ones that kept mining on dead sites with only a few profit because he believed one day that the mine would be cleared and it finally came.

“It’s the truth and I have the proof”

With a flick of his fingers two bodies of wolfs appeared, he had stored the bodies in his personal storage, he can store bodies of dead beasts and tamed beasts if they agreed.

The miners stared at the two corpses with mouths dropped down,

“The-then we can finally mine again?”

“You fool! Even if the pack leaders are killed it is still a den of beasts!”

“Even so we only had a hard time due to those two but know we can finally hope for a good start”

The miners were noisy chatting, some were filled with joy while others were still unsure of what to do. They were silence with a hand by the black bearded dwarf.

“Then on behalf of the association I thank you, it seems you are now the owner of the mine”

The dwarf had  a warm smile as he spoke, his affection points were average and was slowly rising due to the news. Edward needed to gain a steady source of income and he had a mine to his name aswell as obedient wolfs.

“yes, and I came here with a proposition for you to mine there, with some rules ofcourse”

Hearing his words murmurs were heard, it was normal to give some terms if a worker were to use the mine. The boss dwarf silence the people once again before speaking.

“very well, we will hear your terms”

Hearing this Edward then started.

“First of, I’ll explain the current situation of the mine, it’s a fairly long and deep mine that houses several ores veins, mainly iron, copper, silver, gold aswell as various gems ranging from opals, rubies and sapphires”

As he spoke he took a pouch and poured its contents on the table and an assortment of gems with various sizes poured out. Seeing this, the people’s eyes coveted the shiny pile of stones.

“This is only what I unearthed from the first rooms of the mines, meaning a lot more can be taken if one were to earnestly dig. Now then let’s talk about the first of several terms”

The swallowing of saliva could be heard from about everyone, seeing the pile of gems they can surely earn a ton if they were to dig there but the terms might be too much for them.

“The entrance for everyone in the mine, is free”

“…”

The dwarf had a calm expression but his mind was full of questions along with everyone there they looked at him like an idiot.

“Good sir, can I ask, just why is there no fee at all? Surely you won’t let anyone just mine there, there would be no profit”

The dwarf spoke, he didn’t understand what his reason was for not applying an entrance fee, but his pride didn’t let this go unspoken even if it was favorable to them.

“The answer will lead us to the second term, on that for the first harvests of every session in the mines,it will be given as compensation and the mine sare divided to several sections the outer, middle area and innermost area. Everyone is free to mine at the outer area but to gain access to deeper parts they need to mine daily and when a certain time is met the next part of the mine is accessible but the rule for the first harvest is applied when entering again”

‘I see….so instead of having an entrance fee, he gets the first gains…..but to let anyone there….without a need to pay an entrance everyone will be able to mine, meaning more profits and the reward system will be accepted by most….’

The dwarf eyed him with respect, but there were still more terms and he needed to hear every last one of them.

“Third, it concerns the remaining wolfs in the mine, they can be used as a means of transportation for carts inside the mine aswell as bodyguards when travelling from the city to the mine and vice versa”

Once again the people were shocked at what they heard

“Hmmm…then you must be a beastmaster to control the wolves….”

The dwarf made a sound statement but Edward shook his head.

“No, I just have the skills associated with it, and for proof….well then, come forth my familiar, Raiju”

As he spoke, a black mist coiled around the room and a large black wolf appeared beside him. The men slowly backed away as a giant wolf appeared but couldn’t as it held an intimidating presence.

“Master, you have called?”

The wolf spoke, and the people were once again dumbstruck at the sight of a wolf wagging its tail like a little dog towards the man.

“Yes, how is the situation of the pack?”

“They are doing a better job at hunting all thanks to your guidance, even the new pups are able to hunt small creatures well, they haven’t harmed any humans aswell and followed all that you said.”

"And you seemed to have hunted fairly well, were you staying at teh ruins until I called?"

"yes, although I was about to leave, hunting the minotaurs were beginning to bore me and....I do not like being near the other one, she prefers to hunt alone"

"Well that's understandable, but I hope you and Slitherin become more acquinted because I'll be counting on you in the future"

"I will try my best, but I hope she doesn't eat me first"

“well good, now just stay there for a while and rest”

“As you wish”

Then wolf laid down on his side but the space he occupied was too big, he looked like a statue as he laid down. The men were quit as he had a normal conversation with a giant wolf and that wolf was even obedient.

“Any questions?”

The dwarf boss shook his head.

“Now continuing, fourth, do not under any circumstances harm the wolves in any way, I assure you that they won’t harm humans as long as they don’t get attacked first, and I will know who started the fight. It’s not for the wolves safety but for yours”

The miners had pale faces as they imagined the scene were wolves got pissed at them and tore them to pieces.

“Fifth, do not, and I mean DO NOT, betray my trust that I gave you by offering this. Because you won’t have a second chance”

To his words the presence of the wolf was washed away by an even stronger bloodlust.

The dwarf chief closed his eyes and weighed the odds, and finally decided.

“We of the miners association agree to those terms, we will look forward to working with you”

With a grin Edward extended his hand.

“As do I”

The two then continued with a friendly atmosphere, they talked about some more regulations and how to improve the efficiency of mining. And after signing the paperwork he headed out towards an alley and vanished into the shadows as the sun set and a full moon rose and illuminated the dark sky.

“It’s time to make his name known, I’ll spread your name Merrick!, in everyway possible hahahahahh!..................ah fuck it, I tried sounding like a devoted prophet but I hate it…let’s just kill someone already”

And at that night, several people went missing from criminals to crooked officials aswell as a pigfaced man that dealt in slaving activities aswell as kidnapping. Not only that but places that sickness and scarcity in the city were miraculously visited by servants of a god and healed the sick aswell as give simple rations.

That night, the city of Coron received a reminder that a god has watched the city whether for good or bad reasons.