Aiden climbed over the wall of the run-down orphanage that was run by the church of Kara, Goddess of Children. He was destined to explore the forest on the city's edge today. He was lucky the sisters were busy with the other children so he could sneak out unseen. They always warned him about the forest and the dangers which live there but he was tired of spending his days locked up inside. He cared little for their teachings and he did not want to join their ranks. 

Making it past the guards at the gate was a simple affair they would not stop him since he looked like one of the many other street urchins, which roamed the city and they cared little if people like him died, those who have no one to miss them if they died, it only took him ten minutes to reach the forest’s edge. 

Aiden did not know why but he always felt at peace in the forest and today was no different. 

After walking around for a while looking for berries to forage so he could sate his hunger he found a man leaning up against a tree trunk asleep. Aiden was surprised that someone would be dumb enough to sleep in the forest. The man looked like a hobo. His clothes were dirty and ragged. The only thing that was clean and in great condition was his sword scabbard. The thing which caught Aiden’s eye was the fish being cooked on the campfire. Aiden debated with himself the man looked dangerous but he was asleep and if he succeeded he would have more food than he has had in days. 

Aiden slowly crept closer to the fire and just when he was about to grab the stick which held a fish the man spoke. 

“You know it’s wrong to steal?”

Aiden froze in place and looked at the man who was now staring at him with a smirk. Aiden's blood ran cold when they made eye contact.

“I am sorry sir I was starving and I could not stop myself” Aiden blurted out as fast as he could while taking a few steps back from the fire. 

The man laughed at his sorry excuse of a response. He grabbed one of the fish and held it to Aiden. 

“I will give you one if you stay and talk to me. How about that?” 

After a few seconds of debating inside his head, Aiden took the fish and sat down across from the man. 

“So kid, why are you out in the forest alone? It is pretty dangerous for people who have not unlocked their systems”

“I hate the orphanage I live at, and when I am in the forest I truly feel like myself”

The man looked at him with raised eyebrows; after a few seconds his eyes glowed, and he mumbled to himself. 

“Did you just use a skill on me?”

“Yes” 

“Why?”

“I was just checking something” 

Aiden stared at the man he was sharing a meal with. He did not know much about skills and the system since he has not unlocked his yet, but he knew it was rude to use skills on other people without their consent. 

“You know it is rude to use skills on people without their permission”

The man laughed “So is taking someone’s food”

Aiden let out a small chuckle “Touche old man” 

Aiden pointed to the man's sword “So are you an adventurer from the guild?”

The man scratched his neck “Yeah something like that”

“Could you train me how to use the sword?”

The man looked down at his sword “Why do you want me to train you? The life I lead is not one many people dream of”

“I do not want to be a priest in the church, the sisters from the orphanages say after we unlock our system we will start our training. Also, I do not believe in their god”

The man scratched his chin and stared at Aiden. “The orphanage is run by the church of Kara right?” 

Aiden nodded while taking another bite of his fish. “I know the gods are real but I do not have the faith to follow one of them”

“Kid, how old are you?”

“I turn fifteen tomorrow, why?”

The man nodded to himself so your system would unlock tomorrow. Did you plan to run away today?”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Aiden threw his stick into the fire and sighed “No I just wanted to visit the forest one more time before I had no more free time”

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yes,”

The man stood up and drew his sword, and tossed it to Aiden. I will train you if you can land a single hit on me. 

Aiden held the sword and stared at the man holding the stick which once held the fish as a sword.

Aiden charged him. 

After an hour of trying to land a single hit on the man, Aiden was breathing hard and weak in the knees. The sword he held felt like the heaviest thing in the world, but he did not want to give up. Aiden charged the man once more on wobbling legs. 

Aiden then proceeds to fall on his face and pass out. 

Torin looked down on the child he met today in the forest. “He definitely has the drive for it”

He picked up his sword and sheathed it.  

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

Aiden woke up to the orange and purple sky of dusk, his whole body was in pain. The scent of cooking fish was the first thing to catch his attention. He slowly sat up and followed the scent to the campfire where the man was sitting reading a book. 

Aiden crawled over the campfire and stared into the fire. “So I guess I need to go back to the orphanage… I could not even get close to touching you” 

Torin closed his book and handed a fish to Aiden. “You never had any chance of landing a strike on me kid but you showed the drive that is needed to train with the sword so I will train you but there are some things that you will need to decide on quickly” 

“Do you want me to train you in the art of sword or do you want to be like me?”

Aiden swallowed a chunk and fish and pondered the question 

“Well I want to become an adventurer like you so how are they different?”

Torin smirked, “I’m not an adventure at least not what you want to imagine when you think of one.” 

“I belong to a guild of sorts which has many names but to be a true member you must have the marking needed to call it home” 

Torin pulled up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of a monster that Aiden has never seen or heard of. “Do you know what this monster is called?”

Aiden shook his head “So what monster is it?”

Torin lowered his sleeve and grinned “ It is known as a basilisk and it is a nasty creature with an even nastier venom.”

“If you want to be like me then there are things that I need to explain to you and tell you why I can even train you like I was”

“You have not unlocked your system yet is the main reason and you have a talent for mana is the other”

Aiden was in shock he had no idea he had the talent for mana, but before he could ask the man how he knew he had it he continued speaking. 

“I am honestly surprised the church has let you out of their sight, I am guessing they never knew you had it”

“You will unlock your system at midnight so you do not have a lot of time to decide”

Aiden took all the information in and pondered for awhile

“Which one should I choose?”

Torin shook his head “This is a decision for you to make but since we are strapped for time I will tell you this… The Order will give you a place to always call home. It will give you training and power which you are unlikely to find on your own… but remember this some power comes at a cost” 

“Every mark will give the person power but it will take something from them”

“For me, I can no longer bear children or taste the flavor of food. You might think that is not so bad, but I have lived for so long without enjoying something everyone else gets to have every single day. I also will never be able to have a family to call my own”

Aiden looked down at his half-eaten fish and felt bad for the man who sat across from him

“Will I be able to know beforehand what mark I get and what it takes?”

Torin shook his head “ The mark you receive and what it takes is up to fate”

Aiden wanted to be free and be able to do things on his own. He would need power for that and this man was willing to give it to him for free, with nothing in return which caused Aiden to ask his next question. “Why would you do this for me?”

The man was quiet for a few minutes before he responded “The Order is always looking for new members we are few in number compared to other groups like the Adventure guild and it's not often we find people who meet the requirement to become one of us, So when we do find someone who can join we always offer it to them” 

Aiden took the man's words in and came to a decision after a few minutes of debating with himself on the pros and cons of accepting the man's offer. “Ok I want to be trained to be a member of your Order”

Torin pulled a potion out of mid-air uncorked it and handed it to Aiden “Drink”

Aiden took the potion. It was pitch black as the night is with no moon, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly then proceeded to chug the potion in one go. It tasted horrible but it went down quickly. “That tasted horrible but I do not feel any different” 

Torin laughed and grinned “Oh you will start feeling it soon child” 

A few seconds later Aiden started to feel pain all over his body. After a few minutes, he started to bleed everywhere on his body. It only took a couple of minutes after the bleeding for him to pass out from the pain. 

Torin looked down at the child who he had not even taken the time to learn his name before giving him the dangerous potion. The mark on Torin’s arm glowed and a woman appeared behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It is best not to know his name because he could not survive the baptism few do anyway”

Torin enjoyed her embrace for a few minutes before breaking the silence “So you have finally decided to come out Alyce, do you think he will make it through the baptism?”

Alyce unwrapped her arms and walked over to the boy who was still slightly shaking on the ground. “He has gotten past the part where his body accepts the change now it is just up to her accepting him and him accepting her”

“Do you still remember our first meeting Alyce, If we made it work so can those two”

“Yes, I remember it like it was yesterday…, Also I did not know I was a nasty creature….” 

Torin started to sweat as Alyce gave him a death glare as she stalked her way back to where he was sitting on the ground.