Volume 1 Chapter 1: Part 1:

"Hey, Onyx! Quickly come over here! Let's eat our lunch at the top of the hill." A cheerful and sweet voice calls out to the boy following behind her. 

"Irene, don't run so quick, or you're going to trip. We don't need to get there so quickly. It's not like the day is going to end." Onyx continues with his slow pace as he sighs.

I want to sleep more. Rather than running around, Onyx would rather be in the comfort of his bed. Seeing how Irene runs around, he can't understand how she has this much energy.

Despite Onyx's tired look, Irene kept calling out, "We gotta get there quickly! The afternoon is the best time to see the clouds! At the rate we're going, we'll make it there by midnight!"

You're not the one carrying all of this stuff! Onyx wanted to scream out. He's holding a picnic basket with their lunch inside. His mother gave it to him and told him to stay out of the house for the whole day.

And Irene was waiting for him at the front door, asking him to hang out. 

She didn't have to pack so much. Onyx looks down at the basket. Rather than their lunch, it felt like a chunk of iron instead. His mother might have packed enough food to last them a whole month.

Seeing him dragging his feet, Irene pouts and walks next to him, "Come on. Let's go, slowpoke!" She grabs his free arm and drags him. Right now, the two are passing through the village stalls. 

Passing through it, an old granny calls out, "My, my, Irene. Are you and Onyx going out on a date again?"

Irene blushes, "Granny, we aren't dating yet. We're just going to the old hill to look at the clouds."

"Then be safe, you two. And here," The granny hands them two apples, "Take some apples with you along the way." Irene's face sparkles, 

"Yay! Granny's apples are the best!" "Thank you, granny."

But the apples aren't the only thing the two will be taking along. 

"Irene, take some cucumbers with you as well. They're fresh and delicious."

"Have some bread and braised meat as well."

"Take some peaches too. They'll definitely go well with the other things."

As the two walked through the stalls, the sellers gave them snacks and food. Everyone had a heartwarming smile as they gave it to them. 

Irene gives a warm smile, thanking them as she accepts it. However, Onyx makes a wry smile,

Are your stalls going to be ok?

...

"I'm beat!" Onyx drops to the ground when they reach the top of the hill. The number of things they got was no joke. From what he brought, there's a total of eight bags filled to the brim!

"Good job taking all these bags up here." Irene gives him an apple. Onyx munches down on it as he scolds, 

"They need to stop giving us stuff so easily. Seriously, those owners will go broke if they keep handing them out." Every time they walk through the stalls, they come out with a bunch of stuff.

Irene sits beside Onyx and takes the other apple, "Can you blame them? We're family."

Their village is between the borders of two kingdoms; the Espoir Kingdom and the Holy Land. Yet, despite being between the two, there were rarely new people coming to their village.

Merchants would come to their village at least once a month. And that was it. 

They live in a peaceful village. That made the villagers friendly with each other. Seeing Onyx and Irene grow up, the older generation saw them as their own child. 

Laying down on the grass, Irene shouts out, "I can't wait for tomorrow." Anybody can hear the excitement in her voice. Tomorrow was a special day for her. 

No, for the both of them. 

Unlike the exciting expression Irene has, Onyx has a more carefree look. He finishes the apple, 

"Tasty."

"..."

Just looking at how relaxed he was, Irene's trying so hard to hold herself back from slapping him. She gets up and stands over him with her hands on her waist.

"You're blocking the view."

Ignoring what he said, Irene scolds him, "Onyx, Can't you show some life for tomorrow?!"

From how long she knew Onyx, he was usually enthusiastic about everything. But when it comes to tomorrow, he turns dry.

Do I really need to care about tomorrow? We're just getting our skills." Tomorrow is just another ordinary day for him, "Now, move out of the way, Irene. I thought I just saw a lion in the sky." 

Seeing how Onyx was more focused on the sky rather than on tomorrow made Irene mad.

"Just getting our skills? How can you say it like it doesn't matter?! It's the most important moment in everybody's lives!" Irene moves closer to Onyx. The only thing Onyx could see was Irene's face and nothing else. 

Today is the two's 15th birthdays. When a child turns 15 years old, they receive the gods' blessing, granting them skills.

Everybody wants skills. Some skills can turn an ordinary person into a hero overnight. 

Well, everybody except one right now.

"It's just getting skills. And besides, do you think we can get any good skills?" Onyx has the lowest expectation with the skills he'll get. He rolls over to the bags and takes out a sandwich his mother packed.

"So juicy." He's more excited about the food in front than the date tomorrow.

Ignoring Onyx's focus on the sandwich, Irene continues, "Of course! You're such a downer. Don't you think it'll be cool to get something like a magic skill? Maybe even a super jump skill! Or maybe even both!"

Irene jumps around as she can't help but imagine the skills she would be getting. When a person checks to see what kind of skills they'll be getting, the person has a chance to get up to 3 skills.

"Maybe super strength would be better." The scene gets more embarrassing as Irene flexes her arm. It didn't match her body at all. Instead of looking cool, it's rather cute. 

"....I could even get the hero skill!" Picking up a stick, she points it up to the sky, "With this sword, I will save the world from the demon king!" Compared to the cute image she had before, Irene looks all pure and majestic now. Like an actual hero.

What's in her hand isn't an ordinary wooden stick. But a holy sword instead. If Onyx didn't giggle, the whole scene would have been perfect.

"The only thing you'll be saving is the sheep from getting their wool shaved off." Despite her heroic stance, Onyx chuckles at her more. 

Almost everybody in the village worked as a farmer. That includes their families as well. Onyx's father is a farmer. While Irene's father raises domestic animals, supplying others with fresh meat and wool for the 

winter. 

And as their children, the two helped around, tending to the farmlands. Onyx's been tending to the land since he was 5 years old.

While Irene didn't have the same job as Onyx. She helped by knitting clothes and tending to the animals as well. 

All of it was hard work.

Irene pouts, "I'll definitely get a hero skill, and I will beat every bad guy out there!" If those words came out from another person's mouth, everybody would think it was just another fantasy talking. 

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

But with Irene's serious expression, it wasn't a joke. 

"What kind of bad guys are you going to face? There isn't any trouble in the world." From time to time, Onyx followed his father to a bigger village to sell goods. 

And from what he saw, the whole world was peaceful. 

"Did you forget about dungeons? We can hunt down treasures and riches and have exciting fights with monsters!" Just talking about it got Irene all excited. She heard about dungeons from reading books.

Instant gains in wealth and fame when one explores it. 

Onyx makes a strange expression, "We?" How did he become a part of this?

"Mmhmm. You'll be my second in command. Don't worry about getting into trouble. I will treat you well. And the bad guys will never get close to you." Irene puffs her chest up with pride. 

"I'll be fine. And getting into trouble? It's always been the other way around." Onyx flicks her forehead.

"Ey!" Irene grabs onto her forehead with tears, "It's not my fault guys keep coming after me!"

"Kinda is. And I'm taking the brunt of it even now." Onyx doesn't know whether to laugh or cry in this situation. 

Everybody in the village sees Irene as an angel.

With her bright emerald eyes shining through the night, staring at them shows a person their inner peace. Porcelain white skin shows no signs of her working or tiredness at all.

But what makes Irene really stand out is the color of her hair. It's bright platinum gold. Every thread of her hair was made out of gold and silver. 

It's rare to have such a color in the village, and Irene's the only one with it. 

All of her features combined made her the most beautiful girl in the village. 

Her looks are one of the reasons why the previous incident happened. All the grown-ups love her, and they couldn't help but treat her like the most precious jewel in the world. 

And then came the first of many problems. The moment Irene hit the age of 12, it became armageddon. Almost every child in the village tried to court her. 

Even though Irene rejected the guys kindly, it didn't stop them. They just keep coming like a bunch of flies. There were also forceful ones who wouldn't take a no for an answer.

However, they never caused a problem the next day. Irene's die-heart fans would always have a "chat" with them.

This woman ain't no angel. She's a succubus.

"You're thinking of something rude about me, aren't you?" Feeling the disturbance in the air, Irene squints at him. 

"!" Are you serious!

This wasn't the first time Irene was able to read his thoughts. It's been going on from the moment they met. Onyx finds it astonishing. The first second he thinks about something, she could guess it.

Again, Irene reads his thoughts and explains, "Onyx, you are so naive. You still don't realize the power I got in my hands?" 

"....The power of friendship is not a real thing." When Onyx first heard it from Irene, he didn't believe it. 

But with how much it's been happening, Onyx felt that what she says might be real.

Sorta

Well, he'll never tell her that, though. 

"It's not friendship. It's childhood friendship!!!" Irene explodes as she continues, "Besides that, do you know what kind of powers you actually have?!"

"What? I don't have any powers?" With how clueless Onyx looks, Irene sighs,

"That's why I can't let people near you. Do you know how many vixens and guys and even more vixens will take advantage of you the moment you are alone?!"

That face alone is enough to charm even the coldest of queens!

Onyx's looks weren't a slouch either compared to Irene. As his name suggests: his hair is pitch black, darker than the night sky. Contrasting to his dark hair are his beautiful amber-gold eyes. And his face was like a statue, perfection at its finest. 

If staring at Irene's eyes allows a person to have inner peace, Onyx's eyes did the opposite. Staring at them makes all their deepest desires come out. 

"Don't call people vixens. That's rude. And how would I get taken advantage of?"

Onyx's appearance is one of the best, but that wasn't the reason that made him so eye-catching. It was with his personality combined with it. Despite his age, Onyx was more mature and understanding. But he was also very kind to people.

"That's not what I meant." You're the problem! Irene wanted to scream this out at this dense person.

Despite him being mature, it might have been a little too much. When Onyx helped people out, it was out of his goodwill. But 90% of the time, people didn't think that way. 

Especially the girls.

Because of this, many girls were smitten with him, and the guy didn't seem to even realize it. 

And Irene has been hissing at the girls who've been coming towards him. That's why there weren't any girls near his vicinity for now. 

Onyx backs away a bit when he sees Irene's devilish expression. Then he grew curious. 'Vixens? Does she mean those girls who handed me-,

"Don't you think about those girls when I'm around! And no! I'm not talking about the girls who handed you those chocolates 2 weeks ago under the tree next to the church."

"..."

Seriously? Is the power of friendship really a thing? So specific too. Even when he didn't finish his thoughts, the accuracy was downright scary.

The incident 2 weeks ago didn't happen with only one girl. The number of girls there during that day was on a squadron level. 

And Irene did it again!

"Stop thinking about them! Only look at your childhood friend right here!"

Grabbing him by the shoulders, Irene pushes him to the tree and points the stick at his neck, "If you think about any girls besides me, I'll show you the consequences of getting me mad!"

Despite all the good qualities Irene has, there is one bad quality. That was...jealousy. Irene is an incredibly jealous person.

And especially things that are related to Onyx. 

Onyx didn't look her in the eyes. He turns away and shouts, "I don't know what you are talking about? I haven't thought about any girls who gave me chocolates."

Oh no! Onyx knew he messed up.

"Huh?! Say that one more time! Say it while you're looking at me!" Irene got pissed off. She smooshes Onyx's cheeks as she forces his head around, making them look face to face with each other. 

"Irene, your face is too close!" Seeing her emerald eyes gazing down at him, he couldn't help but blush. 

The two aren't just childhood friends. But childhood sweethearts. They were inseparable the moment they saw each other. 

Irene would follow Onyx around. While Onyx watches over Irene. They did everything together to the point that the villagers considered them the perfect couple. 

Even though some guys and girls were jealous of them, they couldn't say a thing about it. 

Onyx is handsome and sensible, while Irene is beautiful and energetic. Their emotions match well with each other. 

And what makes it better is that Onyx's in love with Irene. From the moment he met her, he felt something in his chest. 

Noticing him blushing, Irene moves closer to him, "Promise me that you won't think about any other girls."

"Move away first, and I'll answer!" Onyx couldn't stand being so close. It was bad for his heart. 

Why are her lips so red? He couldn't believe how beautiful Irene's lips were.

"Answer first." Onyx was going to refuse again. But he notices that there's a tint of red on her cheeks. 

You're embarrassed by this too! Seeing how the two are blushing with embarrassment made them look like fools. Onyx sighs, "Alright."

He knew he couldn't win against her stubbornness. 

Irene moves back with a bright smile on her face, "Good."

"But Onyx, I'm serious. I want to go on an adventure with you." Once the two go on an adventure together, all the other girls in the village wouldn't be able to follow after them. She would have Onyx all to herself, and nobody could do a thing about it.

"...What if I get some kind of bad skill?" Going on a trip with his crush doesn't sound bad for him, but he doesn't want to become an anvil. Becoming a dead weight for Irene is something that he never wanted to do. 

"I don't care about what skills you get!" Irene's expression turns red as she continues, "I just want to go on an adventure with you."

"So promise me that we'll stay together forever!" Irene holds up her pinky.

When Onyx saw her stinking up the pinky, he laughed a bit. It was something the two would always do when they wanted something really badly.

An oath that can never be broken; that's what the pinky promise meant for the two. Whoever breaks it will face severe consequences from the other. 

Linking his pinky with hers, Onyx says, "I promise I will always be with you forever." 

With his refreshing smile, Irene quickly looks away from him. Onyx was about to play the same trick that she pulled on him, but he stopped.

Chu!

Before Onyx could tease Irene, he got intercepted by a kiss on the cheeks.

A blushing Irene didn't say anything anymore as she sat down and started eating, leaving Onyx standing there all stunned. 

It didn't take him long to get back his sanity....well, mostly.

Onyx looks at Irene, "Ahdskjhsdfihjnnoqiej." His brain was still partially broken. 

Laughing at how cute he looks, Irene pulls him down gently, "Come on, let's have our lunch now."

Onyx could only nod like a zombie as he got stuff with another sandwich. The entire scene became peaceful, like a scene in a picture.  

...

After hanging out with Irene at the top of the hill, the sun began to set. When Onyx returns home, the moment he opens the door, the first thing he heard was,

"Suprise!" Onyx looks in shock at what he saw. In front of him was a feast. Roasted beef wellingtons, a bowl full of mashed potatoes, and there was a giant roasted chicken. All of his favorite foods were on the table. And right in the center was a large cake. 

"What's all of this?" Instead of having a happy expression on his face, Onyx makes a confused one. 

"This is all for your birthday, Onyx." Onyx's mother, Emilia, says as she continues, "I have worked really hard today." With Onyx out of the house, she used all day to work on making the feast.

From how delicious the food looked, of course, Onyx understood how hard his mother worked to make it perfect for him. But the question in his find is;

Why? 

Even though he's happy that his family has done so much for him on his birthday. But he was more worried about the amount of money spent on it. He was afraid his parents wasted a lot more than they should have. 

Knowing how frugal her son was, Emilia explains, "Why can't we give you a party? Tomorrow you will be getting your skill. Of course, we have to celebrate this day!"

'Then why didn't we do this for second and eldest brother's birthday too?' Onyx is the third oldest of five children. His oldest brother, William, and second brother, Noah, were naturally seated by the table. But both of them were too focused on the food to even look at him. 

"Let's just eat. Today is your birthday. We just wanted to celebrate this occasion." His father, Douglas, says as he brings his son to his seat. 

Onyx couldn't say anything else as he was getting hungry even after eating all that food with Irene. After everybody was seated, all of them clapped their hands, 

"We thank you for this meal." And the family begins to eat. As they eat, Onyx's little brother, Wyatt, asks him,

"Big brother, what kind of skills will you get?" For the most part, Onyx could only tell every sixth word coming out of his mouth. 

"Wyatt, I don't get to decide what skills I'll get. For all I know, I could be getting some weird skills." Grabbing a napkin, he wipes his little brother's untidy mouth.

But Noah interrupts, "At least you would get something better than mine. I only have two skills!" Even after 4 years, Noah still felt frustrated with the skills he got. 

The skills he got are:

Arm enhancement -Elementary

Vitality - Novice

William says, "Even if you only have two skills: if you use your skills properly, you can definitely become the best farmer in the village." 

"I knooooowwww. But it would have been better if I had gotten another skill. Like your skills, William." 

"My skills aren't that good. Your skills are much better than mine." Unlike his little brother, William got three skills. They are,

Woodworking - elementary

Fire magic - Novice

Wind magic - Novice

"How can you say your skills aren't good? Can't you make my chicken leg crisper?" Noah hands William his chicken leg. Seeing this, William sighs, and his fingertip burns with a small flame. He places it under the chicken, turning the skin crisper.

Handing it back to his little brother, 

"See, isn't your skill useful?" Eating the chicken leg, Noah continues to praise, 

"I wish I had your fire skill." 

But William shakes his head, "But that's the only thing I could do." William can only make a small flame on his fingertip with his skills. And with his wind magic skill, he could make a breeze to cool himself off. 

Hearing the two talk about their skills,

"When I grow up, I'll get a hero skill and become a champion!" Wyatt says as he waves his arm around. 

But Noah scoffs and shatters the child's dream, "Oh please, do you know how difficult it is to get hero skills?! They don't grow on trees."

But how could a child believe his words? Wyatt screams in denial, "I will definitely get the hero skill!" 

"No, you won't." Noah teases harder, making Wyatt start to tear up.

"Noah, stop bullying your little brother! And Wyatt, sit back down at the table!" Douglas shouts at the two of them, making them quiver like two shivered kittens. But it wasn't enough as a long lecture awaited them.

Onyx laughs at the scene, but he stops as he feels a slight tug beside him. Turning over, Wyatt's twin little sister, Lily, says in a tiny raspy voice that only the two can hear, 

"Big brother, I want to get skills that will help me protect mommy and daddy better." 

Who is this little angel? Onyx couldn't help but smile at her, "I know you will get something special, Lily." 

After giving the two a good lecture, Douglas turns over to Onyx, "But Onyx, I hope you get something good that will help you in the future." Unlike the other children, Onyx and Lily were the most sensible with everything. He hopes his third son will get something helpful.

Biting onto a piece of chicken, Onyx replies, "I hope so."