"Ha! You owe me 100 glas!"

"Tsk" Two shadows blurred into existence with the murky surroundings as Shura slowly regained consciousness. One of the shadows was leaving what was shaping up to be the interior of a simple hut. Shura was lying on a straw bed in a corner near a fire pit, the dancing light of which felt a little harsh to the boy's waking eyes, on top of the fire pit some kind of herbal stew was bubbling, it's smell made Shura's stomach rumble and helped to finish awake him.

"Do you know you always smile little warrior ?" The shadow that had not left turned to be a larger than life old man, he grinned a large grin and his voice boomed every time he spoke. His eyes were gentle and blue, contrasting strongly with his tough leathery and scar covered skin.

"I've been told" Shura answered with a wince, as sitting up reminded him about his side being pierced by the beast. His upper garb was gone replaced with heavy bandages wrapped from navel to neck and all along both arms. Placing a hand on his side he finished righting himself and faced the old stranger legs crossed. "The beast got me then ? Did someone stop it ? Did the girl get out?"

"Har har! Slow down there kiddo" seemingly un-phased by the bandages on the boy the stranger gave a friendly slap on Shura's shoulder "Get you ? No well not exactly, you got impaled on some fencing when you crashed in the farmhouse. You also got lacerated from splinters but other than some nasty bruises and a cut on your shoulder the beast did naught to you." The smile on the man widened as he spoke. "Yes someone stopped alright. You did. Dead in it's tracks! HAR HAR HAR!" He suddenly leaned forward face to face with Shura, his eyes electricity "How did a brat with no ki core take down a rank 2 demon beast ?"

"No core ? I don't ?" Shura was confused, mainly by the situation and still being a little groggy, but also because he could feel the usual strength of ki thrumming through his body. Especially around his various wounds he noticed.

"No. No you don't, but yes you do have ki. Har har har! You don't know ?! I don't either !" The old man leant backwards again, his dark hair, tied in a bun, brushed against the ceiling Shura was surprised to see. The man was sitting! "Oh and the girl will be fine thanks to you. Also you haven't asked but that" with a thumb the man pointed to a large wrapped bundle next to the open entrance of the hut "is this month's donation of meat for the orphanage. With extra or the old lady will have our heads for tardiness ha !"

"So... You're a rancher then ?" Shura asked, his curiosity ever rising about the strange giant before him.

"Ha ? HAHAHAHA ! A rancher ! Me ?" it took a several minutes of hut shaking thunderous roaring laughter before the man continued, tears in his eyes "Haa... No I'm Gargan. Leader of the Guild of Free Hunters. Did you think Wild Peak was a cattle farm peak ?" As he talked Gargan had slid sideways slightly to face the fire pit "No my boy, this is a peak for Hunting and where actual cattle and fowl farms send there older animals." From the pot of stew the man filled a bowl and handed it to Shura, who took it with a hungry thank you. Then the man ruffled in his clothes and produced a large smoking pipe. He lit it with a burning ember that his fingers seemed to not mind the heat of at all. And puffed at it for a little while whilst Shura started wolfing down the savoury stew. "You know that animals absorb ki naturally and ascend of course" Gargan continued, smoke from his pipe starting to look like clouds around his large wrinkly face "If they absorb too much, something weird or for long enough they'll get to a level where they turn to demons, you saw one version of a demon Earth-ox, Obsidian stone-ox we call those forms. Classified in rank, the higher the rank the more dangerous the demon. Usually for a rank 2 we'd send at the very least small band of mid level warriors to be safe. Somehow a little brat of an apprentice managed to subdue it by himself though hehe. Something's been happening though lately." Gargan took a deep puff from his pipe. Shura had finished his bowl and laid it by his side on the bed.

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"The something being the reason mother Petal sent me here ?" Asked the orphan

Gargan smiled as he exhaled herbal smoke "Aye, that's why the butchering has been taking a little lateness. Demons have been rushing out of the peak for some reason and, more dangerously, the animals have been transforming more suddenly than they are supposed to. So here I am with my guild, and now here you are too..."

"Free hunters..." Shura pondered out loud then finished his question " You said the guild of Free Hunters ? Free of what ?"

"Free of clans boy. No lords giving us orders. No merchant house counting our glas over our shoulders. We work hard and feed and take care of our own. And the work his the huntin' of demons aye."

"Alright that's enough chatting!" Whom must have been the second shadow stepped back into the hut. A young woman with long white hair, wearing what would be simple martial clothed if it weren't for straps all over her holding varieties of bags, small weapons and flasks. "Shura you need to rest some more, if mother Petal sees you come back with any kind of wound she'll go mental on us."

"You aren't all giants then ?" Shura asked with a wink to Gargan

"Har har ! You brat !" Gargan replied, slapping Shura on the back with a dished size hand "There's more to this kid than meets the eye !"

As if to confirm Gargan's last sentence Shura uncrossed his legs, hopped off the bed and stretched in one fluid movement. He spoke up his smile widening when he saw the start of a protest coming from the woman. "Seeing how bright it is outside I'm guessing I've been out of it all night at least ? So mother Petal must already be livid against you, your guild, me and all demons of Cloud City." He walked towards the entrance, having to walk around the imposing sitting from of Gargan, effortlessly picked up the bundled meat and bowed respectfully towards the two people of the hut. "Thank you for everything I will send your love to mother Petal"

"Ha! You will come back as soon as you can young Shura" replied Gargan "We could use you here"

"Yes, I will be back soon. And you'll be telling me about how you know about my core old man" Shura turned and started on his way back towards the orphanage, roaring laughter fading behind him. The boys thoughts were ablaze. Had he really defeated a demon ? He had no ki core ? Why did he feel so much stronger ? And why did it feel like his wounds were burning from the inside by his ki ?

The welcome he got from the orphanage was a mixed one. At first joy and tears from everyone around when he arrived, followed with the wrathful scolding by mother Petal. She seemed somehow more threatening than the demon, she was also not amused by the receiving of the guild of Free Hunters' love. Shura new not to push his luck then and spent the day helping out in the orphanage, making sure to be under mother Petal's gaze at all times. Come the afternoon recess, after Shura had retold for the hundredth time his adventure to the other children, mother Petal seemed to have exhausted her motherly anger.

"You are going back there aren't you ?" she asked her face a fixed mask of blankness

"I'm sorry to worry you guys and mother Petal. I think they can tell me stuff about me and that I can help." Shura answered lowering his gaze to his closing fist. After a couple of heart beats he lifted his eyes towards those of his mother's tearing up. "I promise I will come back!" Before he was overwhelmed with mother Petal's worry he beamed and waved at everyone in the Orphanage's courtyard, his feet were restless as he headed once again for Wild Peak. He ran faster than he had ever before to return to the promise of adventure, and hopefully answers to his martial condition.