It was a quiet and sunny day like any other in the world of Aezetia. The nameless ancient forest near Lindow village was tranquil and full of life as always. Once in a while, you could see a small animal like a rabbit or a fox run from one bush to another, or hear the chirping of birds in the trees. The trees in question were tall and lush, almost completely covering the sky while giving the forest an old, almost slumber like presence.

In a certain clearing of this forest, a bit further from the outskirts, an obvious trap could be seen on the ground. It was a rope tied in a noose, covered by a few leaves with a carrot in the middle of it. The craftsmanship of the trap was a bit shoddy but well practiced, and although it would not be called reliable by most, this noose was more than enough for trapping a small animal.

The rope leads to a bush situated at the side of the clearing. With a closer look, one could see that there was a person lurking inside of it. The person appeared to be calm and patient, waiting for something to stumble into his trap, not moving a muscle even when he noticed sounds of animals running around in the forest.

Soon enough the expected prey appeared. A rabbit rushed out of the forest and easily noticed the food which was left out in the open. But, before going to it, the rabbit made a quick survey of the surroundings. It inched closer only after making sure there was nothing around which could endanger it.

In the meanwhile, the hunter stayed put even when his target appeared right in front of him. He knew that until the prey fully enters his trap, the rabbit could still easily escape. That is why he continued to watch as the rabbit stalked closer and examined the carrot.

Thankfully, the rabbit did not realize the danger it was in until the very end. As it was ready to grab the carrot and run, the hunter sprang his trap. The rabbit tried to escape out of instinct, but it was too late, the noose managed to catch its hind leg and tighten around it.

As the rabbit was panicking while being dragged, the hunter did not dally. He sprinted out of his hiding spot towards the rabbit while drawing a dagger with his empty hand. It took mere seconds to reach the rabbit and with no hesitation to his dagger into the rabbit's throat.

The rabbit thrashed about, only when the animal lost all its strength and stopped resisting did the person pull out his weapon. He then stood up with a sigh while taking out a used piece of cloth. He then began to clean his tool covered in blood.

Under the sun it was now possible to make out the features of the hunter. He was actually a young, slim man, about 1.8 meters in height. He had short, dirty blond hair. The young hunter's face had a sharp look to it and could be considered above average by most people, while his green eyes which seemed to peer through your thoughts, at the same time held a spark of liveliness.

His clothes, unfortunately, were quite poor. All he had on was a rough linen shirt, a pair of trousers and a pair of sturdy leather boots. On his waist, there were some pouches that smelled heavily of herbs. On his back was a sack filled with some mushrooms, nuts and other things foraged in the forest.

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This young man's name was Lionel. He was an orphan. His parents were killed by some goblins when he was still very young. Due to that, his life was quite difficult. The people of his village took care of him due to the rules of the village, not because they wanted to. Even the traps he was using were learned by listening from the side, not by being taught.

It was very difficult for Lionel to survive. He had to regularly do odd jobs for anyone who had them. In his free time, he would go forage in the forest. He managed to learn to hunt not too long ago, but even though he was quite smart, no one wanted to teach him. Due to that, his hunting was quite primitive.

Lionel looked at the dead rabbit it mixed emotions. This was his several hours' work which made him both proud and frustrated. He acquired food for the upcoming days, but he had always dreamed of becoming an adventurer and earning a fortune instead of barely making ends meet with hunting.

Unfortunately, becoming an adventurer is not so easy. He could remember how happy he was when he found his rusty dagger, which could barely be called one anymore. He thought that it was enough to start his journey. However, his joy was crushed not long after.

Soon he realized that even getting to the town of Stresia would take several days of travel. The food, lodging, entry tax, equipment, together it was too expensive for an average person, not to mention an orphan like him. Soon this dream of his became more and more unrealistic.

"This rabbit's fur should get a couple of silvers at least."

While grumbling Lionel tied the rope around the rabbit more properly and hung it on a branch. He did not have anything to put the rabbit in, so he needed to drain most of the blood to not get his clothes dirty on the way back.

Him taking care of the scene and draining the blood did not take long. Everything was done in a couple of minutes. Lionel then fixed the rabbit carcass on his back and began his journey home while leaving his thoughts to wander.

He has never let go of his dream to become an adventurer. Working day by day he has tried save up some coin. However, even a proper dagger was worth 6 silver coins and an average leather armor set a staggering 5 gold coins. On top of all the other supplies...

Besides that, this is just all the things he had learned from elder Faf. he would certainly encounter various other problems after reaching Stresia.

"I still have a long way to go."

To clear his head a bit, Lionel shook his head and tried to relax while listening to the birds' songs. Thanks to that time quickly passed while he traveled down the road.

But when Lionel reached the outskirts of the forest, the sounds changed. At first, he thought that the screams were his imagination, but after they kept repeating, he grew worried.

Lionel began to sprint towards the village. Soon sounds of flames burning joined up with the screaming and after reaching the end of the forest he saw the fire, a lot of fire.