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A young child watched as the old grandfather clock’s hands moved with the swinging of its pendulums. He had been there standing in front of it for the past half hour unmoving, almost as if he was a carved statue placed there for attraction purposes. You could only tell that he was indeed a living human with the constant rising and resting of his chest, and the blinking of his eyes every now and then.

The child was five years of age, wearing a simple brown shirt and dark gray pants. His dark brown hair was messy and unkempt. A pair of unwavering clear light brown eyes stared at the clock’s face.

This was inside a small wooden furniture store owned by an old man by the name of Gregor. Most of the products sold here were handcrafted by him and his disciples of the craft. Aside from wooden furnitures, he also specialized in mechanical clockworks and similar complex designs. That was a trace of the past, though, and all he does now were just still furnitures. Only the old grandfather clock in one corner of the store was a testament of his glorious talent in the past.

“Sievor,” he called out to the young child. “Don’t you get tired of watching the clock?”

The child had been entranced with the clock for the past few months, always standing there watching the hands move. The old man could never understand how the child could just keep on watching it without getting bored.

“But, grandpa, look!” Sievor said excitedly while pointing at the clock. “It keeps on moving and moving and moving! I’m waiting for it to stop!”

The old man smiled and motioned for the child to come to him behind the counter. The small child obeyed and ran to him. There was a small stool right beside Gregor, and the child sat on it.

“You’ll be waiting in vain then, for time never stops.”

“It doesn't?” Sievor tilted his head in confusion.

“No, it doesn't. All started to exist when time began, and all will cease to exist if it ever stops. That’s why time will never stop!”

“Why?”

“That’s just how it is.”

“Then the huge clock will not stop, too?”

“Well, it won’t unless it breaks down or gets damaged.”

“Then we have to take good care of the clock or else time will stop! Everything will not exist and grandpa will disappear!”

With a scared expression, the child stood and hugged the old man’s leg.

“I don’t want grandpa to disappear!”

Gregor smiled and patted the child’s head. He remembered the events of five years ago, when this young child first entered his life.

He had been in the woods at that time, looking for crafting materials. He found a huge tree which was nearing its late stages of maturity. He took note of it and planned to hire some woodcutters to cut it down for him. That was when he heard the cries of a baby.

Circling around the huge tree, he found a part covered with bushes. The sound seemed to come from behind. He pushed the bushes aside and found a hollow part in the tree’s trunk, and inside was a woman covered in bloody clothes with an infant beside her.

He could not tell how long the two have been in there, but he knew that their situation was dire. He approached them only to find out that the woman was already pale and cold. She was still alive, but it won’t be long before she breathed her last. With the last ounce of strength, she wished for the old man to take care of her child. Those were her last words.

Old Gregor was a kind old man. He burned her remains and buried them after taking the child home. He served as the child’s parent in the absence of its own, and loved the child as if it was his own grandchild.

As the child grew, he did not hide anything from him, like his origins, and their relation.

He named the child Sievor, named after his parents, Sielene and Vortel, whose names were inscribed inside the locket that his mother wore before her death. That was the only memento of the child’s true origins, and which the child now wore around his neck.

The sound of wind chimes accompanied the opening of the shop’s door.

“Welcome! How may I help you?” Gregor immediately greeted upon hearing the sounds. His warm expression was replaced by a grim one after seeing who the customers were.

“Old man, we’re here for the rent,” said a young man dressed in fine vibrant clothes. In contrast, behind him were two rough looking men wearing metal and leather armors. One had a long sword on his back, while the other had a pair of daggers. These two were Adventurers.

Adventurers were people who were blessed and branded by their worshiped God. They gain miraculous combat abilities which they use to conquer dungeons filled with monsters. They were heroic figures in the eyes of the masses. Why they were accompanying a young man in extorting an old man of his money, no one could be certain of the reason.

“Young Lord, we have not sold enough this past month and could not pay the due amount. Please, lend us more time.”

“That’s the same thing you said that past month!” Pretending to be angry, the young man addressed by Gregor as Young Lord stomped his foot as he strode to the front of the counter. “Put out everything you have right now!”

Nodding obediently, Gregor pulled out the drawer beneath the counter and laid the money on the flat surface. Before he could even start counting, the young man grabbed all the paper bills and stuffed them inside a pouch. He then gathered the coins and did the same.

“That’s half of the interest. You still have to pay this month and the past two month’s dues, as well as the remaining half of the interest.”

Gregor wanted to protest but upon seeing the vicious glint in the eyes of the duo behind the prince, all he could do was lower his head and furrow his brows.

“Yes…”

“What did you say?”

“Yes… Young Lord…”

“I can’t hear you!”

A dry sound resounded inside the room as the young man slapped Gregor. The two behind him let out snickers at the sight.

Suddenly, a high-pitched yell was heard accompanied by a quick set of footsteps. The young child, Sievor, ran out from behind the counter and circled around. He then latched on to the young man’s leg and started biting with all he had.

“Damn bastard!” With a backhanded slap, he hit the side of Sievor’s face, but he still wouldn't let go. One of the Adventurers, the one with the pair of daggers, stepped forward and stabbed Sievor on his hand. With a yelp, he let go. Seeing the wound on his hand, he fell on his rump and bawled out.

“Damn noisy brat!” With those words, he signaled the other two and left the store.

Gregor immediately treated Sievor’s injuries.

“Why did you do that?”

“Because… hick… they hurt… grandpa!”

“Stupid child…” Gregor wanted to scold him but did not have the heart to do so. He only hugged and comforted him until he fell asleep in the old man’s embrace.

The city they lived in was called Payton. It was the city closest to the Class C Labyrinth Payton, and was thus named after it. Because of the presence of the dungeon, there were many Adventurers that set this city as their base of operations.

Dungeons were either underground Labyrinths or rising Towers. They were ranked Class A to E depending on their size and difficulty, with A as the hardest, and E as the easiest.

The young man who had extorted money from Gregor was the son of an ex-Adventurer who was now the city's governor. After successfully conquering a Class D dungeon, he used the money to grab the position of governor and improved the city. He then focused on earning more money through slight tax increase and increasing the popularity of the city to increase customers. Most of the customers were Adventurers who came for the dungeon. As this was the closest city to the dungeon, they had no choice but to make use of the slightly expensive services of the city.

Gregor had been living in this city since he was small. The location of the shop he owned was lent to him by the previous governor. After the new governor took over, he used the deed of the shop to extort money from the poor old man.

Five years passed, and Gregor’s debt just continued to increase. Still, he persevered and tried to provide for anything that Sievor needed who was now ten years old. The boy had told him of his intentions of becoming an Adventurer so that he could pay for the old man’s debts. Seeing the seriousness within the child’s eyes, all he could do was to tell him not to push himself.

On one cold dawn, even before the sun rose above the horizon, a small figure could be seen jumping outside the window of Gregor’s shop. It was not a thief, but the ten year-old Sievor. He wore a slightly over-sized gray cloak as he sneaked out of his room and into the streets of Payton.

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He had spent the past five years sneaking out every morning to train, although his training would have been mistaken as simple child’s play by other adults. He would then return home before old Gregor woke. In times when the old man woke up early, he would sneak back in. Of course, Gregor knew that Sievor had been sneaking out, but as long as the child was not into any sort of misfit, then he pretended to have not noticed. Today, though, was for a different purpose.

The biggest building in Payton other than the Governor’s Manor was the Adventurer’s Guild. It was open 24 hours a day, allowing Adventurers to enter and leave at any time to submit materials, accept requests, and other guild-related things.

The guild appeared desolate at the moment, with the lack of incoming and outgoing traffic. Despite the visible lights through the windows, the building still appeared a little bit eerie with the dark sky as its backdrop.

Sievor stood in front of the guild’s entrance. Determination filled his eyes as he clenched his small fists tightly. With steady steps, he entered the guild building.

The lobby was a spacious well-lit room with wooden floorboards. In the center was a circular counter surrounding a cylindrical shelf. There were four people behind the counter, waiting to attend to anyone who approached. One of them, a female human, saw Sievor enter. As they made eye contact, she smiled at him and gestured at the counter in front of her. Sievor walked to her.

“Good morning, sir. My name is Faye. How may I help you?” she asked with a polite business smile.

“I-I’d like to register as an Adventurer.” He stuttered at first, but managed to state his purpose. His cheeks reddened a little, despite being slightly cold from the early morning air outside.

“Register? What is your name sir, and how old are you?” She was slightly surprised. There were no age requirements to register as an Adventurer, but this was the first time she encountered a child this young. The youngest that she last saw register was thirteen years old.

“Sievor. I’m ten.” He answered honestly. He had already noticed that he was smaller than other children his age, so there was no point to hide his age as it would easily be discovered.

“Have you already been branded?” This was the only requirement to be an Adventurer, the branding of a God. Unbranded people who still want to enter the dungeons could only register as helpers, and join an Adventurer’s party. Helpers have an age requirement of at least fifteen years old.

He shook his head.

“We have a priest on duty. Would you like to take a branding ceremony right now?”

He nodded.

The branding ceremony was the first step to become an Adventurer. With the help of a priest, the person undergoing the ceremony could receive the blessing of a God in the form of a brand. This brand will grant the Adventurer combat abilities beyond that of a normal person. Furthermore, by killing monsters in the dungeon, they could further increase the effects of the brand.

Different Gods would provide different abilities. For example, the God of Fire increases ones physical strength and grants them the ability to use fire magic. The God of Swords would increase ones overall physical abilities when using a sword. Some Adventurers could receive multiple brands, but that was a very rare occurrence.

Sievor was led into a room inside the guild. It was small and simple. Inside was an elderly man wearing priest robes sitting by a desk while scribbling on pieces of paper.

“Good morning Father Trag. Someone wants to take the ceremony.”

“Good morning Faye. Let the person in.”

Sievor who was standing behind Faye entered the room. The priest led him to stand in front of an ornate altar with a wide empty bowl on top.

“State your name,” the priest instructed as he poured a clear liquid from a jar, filling the bowl to its rim.

"Sievor."

“Do you have a specific God you worship?”

Sievor didn’t answer. He had been praying secretly to a certain God for a long time, but he had never let anyone know. Other children were boasting about the Gods they worshipped, and he noticed that none of them had mentioned the same God as him. He once asked old Gregor about this God, but he did not know anything about the said God.

He was afraid that the God he was praying to was an unlikeable God.

Seeing the complicated expression on his face, the priest smiled and said, “Don’t worry. You don’t have to say which God it is.”

He nodded and sighed in relief.

“Then, let’s start the ceremony.”

Not everyone are branded after conducting the ceremony. In fact, only less than ten percent of people who take the branding ceremony received a God’s brand. The branding ceremony could be taken again after a year’s time, so they would attempt again, hoping that a God would brand them.

After a long chant, the liquid inside the bowl glowed with a bright white light. It started to swirl around, and new colors appeared within the liquid. The priest’s eyes widened as a symbol appeared above the liquid. It was the symbol of a God that he had never seen before.

Suddenly, a thin stream of the colorful liquid left the bowl and hovered in the air. Then, it swiftly flew over to where Sievor was and landed on the back of his left hand. He felt a burning sensation, which then quickly changed to a cool comforting feeling.

The liquid in the bowl returned to it’s calm, colorless, and clear appearance. Strangely, it still filled the bowl to the rim.

“Congratulations. You have received the brand of a God,” the priest said as he gazed at the strange mark on Sievor’s hand. Quickly he returned the clear liquid to the jar and ushered the two out of the room. He was in a hurry to check his books and see which God had branded the child.

Sievor followed Faye back to the counter and they finished up the registration. It went without a hitch now that he had received his brand. When the time comes, he would once again go to the priest to increase the blessings he received through the brand.

“Now you’re officially an Adventurer,” Faye said with a warm smile. “Well, on paper that is. Before we allow you to enter freely into the dungeon, you first have to accept a beginner quest which also serves as a compulsory introductory lesson for new Adventurers beneath the age of twenty.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll sign you up. Your timing is just perfect as the lesson will be five days from now. Make sure to rest well.”

With a nod, Sievor left the guild. It went smoother than he thought.

The sun had already risen above the horizon when he came out. Old Gregor would still be asleep around this time, so he hurried home to catch a few more winks of sleep. He looked at the symbol on the back of his left hand and smiled. He knew that the God that had branded him was the same God he had been praying to.

Back inside the guild, the priest had left his room while carrying an old book which seemed like it would crumble at any moment. He went to the counter where Faye was and with an urgent expression showed her the page he had bookmarked.

“What is the meaning of this, Father Trag?”

“I do not know either. How old was that child?”

“Ten years old…”

“A ten year-old Adventurer... It’s not really something to be surprised about. In other places, some of them have received their brand as young as six, but what actually worries me is the God that gave him the brand.”

He then pointed out to one of the symbols on the page, exactly similar to the one that had appeared above the liquid and on the boy’s hand.

“Which God is it?”

“That’s the problem. This page lists the symbols of forgotten Gods. Some of these Gods have already reappeared and have been named, but the one on the boy, this was the first time.”

The two looked at the symbol in silence. After a while, the priest opened his mouth.

“Keep a close eye on him. Some of these forgotten Gods that have reappeared had caused a stir within the continent in the past.”

Faye nodded. She remembered the child’s appearance and could not in any way imagine him to become someone like that.

If the priest had only looked extremely closely at the symbol on the book, he would have noticed that it somehow resembled the face of a clock.