Written By: Mizuraki Hochizuka

Akuro's eyes shot wide open as an excruciating pain erupted from his torso. His whole body writhed as he pressed down on his chest.

Suddenly, he was wide awake; the pain dispersed his drowsiness away.

He then continued to sit on the side of the bed, his body hunched forward as he rested his arms onto his thighs while bearing his head with both of his palms.

He had the appearance of a middle-aged man contemplating life.

That is in fact what he was doing.

In a moment, he got up. Then directed his gaze towards his left, where rested a mirror. It was nothing fancy; just a large, arched mirror, on the floor, with black borders.

It represented a great deal on the living conditions of Akuro.

He lodged in a diminutive cabin. It was barely enough for one person.

Akuro remains to be small, yet his just head nearly misses the roof.

This proved that Akuro did not have any decadence in his heart.

Far from it.

The boy was born alone in the streets. He dreads dying in them.

This could be a well enough reason for him to join the ranks of the Valens; so that he can live a decent life.

Valens are like hunters. But rather than hunting animals for survival, they kill monsters that pose a threat to humans, or any other race.

Akuro then proceeds to examine himself in the mirror. He could not refrain from eyeing the most discriminative part of his body.

The giant mangled scar reigned down from the top of his chest, down towards his pelvis. It forever reminded him of the nightmare he had to witness just a few days prior.

He shoots a disgusted look in the mirror, dead center in the eyes.

Before he could derail too much, he spanked himself on both his jowls, lightly, and squeezed his face; as a means to snap back to reality.

   [Well, even after going through all that, I must say, I deserve better. I have never said something like this before.]

   [I always took what was provided as a blessing because I know some people have it worse than me.]

   [That said, I should repress my feelings and hope for the best. I mean, that is all I'm good at.]

   [If I recall correctly, the next dungeon raid is in three days. Or how the guild master called it: A Dungeon Sweep.]

He recollected his feelings and started putting on some clothes.

*At The Valen's Guild*

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The Valen's Guild is in charge of every Valen, on the planet.

They hold absolute authority over every Valen, and resisting them is the same as conspiring against the Empire.

Why do they have such authority? Is a question that has been left unanswered.

Akuro makes his way towards the Guild's Contingent Manager.

There are multiple contingents in the Valen's Guild. Each contingent contains a different number of Valens, and each has its respective rank. And each contingent has its respective Contingent Manager.

As for Akuro, he was a class D Valen, the weakest of the weakest.

  *knock**knock*

A deep voice emerged from behind the door.

  [Enter!]

Akuro opens the door to enter the room.

Before his very eyes, he beheld the silhouette of a man sitting on the window, looking down as in a disappointment, his aura was spewing imaginary daggers towards Akuro.

All Akuro could make out before groveling in fear, was that person sitting on the window was no mere human, heck he could wrestle 10 demons at once and still come out triumphant.

  [Save your groveling for some other time, kid! The Guild Master has summoned you! We shall meet her at once!]

These sudden words were full of rage. Like the roar of a lion after its prey has been taken away from him.

Akuro was already swooning in despair, but when he heard those words come out of the man's mouth, he almost fainted.

   [WE MUST GO AT ONCE!]

Without a moment's notice, Akuro jumped to his feet. His face was paler than snow.

  [SIRE!]

Akuro saluted while standing upright like a bamboo stick.

As soon as they opened the doors of the GM's office, it felt as if intense winds were gushing out from within. Wherever they swept again Akuro, it gave off a strange burn-like sensation. It was confusing as the affected area got numbed, he couldn't determine if the winds were so chilly that they did that or were they superheated?

He shuddered at the thought of that.

After stepping into the room, the wind came to an abrupt end.

It was only after the GM had laid eyes on Akuro.

At that moment, Akuro realized that these tremendous winds were just a part of the aura of the GM.

The expression of Akuro represented veritable fear.

The belle sitting in front of him, eyeing him from the corner of her eyes was the epitome of power. She might as well be the strongest person in the world.

Her hands were intertwined under her nose as her arms laid flat on the table in front of her.

She then assumed a more prim demeanor and stood up.

After laying eyes on her completely Akuro realized that she was no monster, but the definition of beauty.

She was covered in tight sable attire from top to bottom.

Just looking at her divine red long hair, Akuro was mesmerized.

Her pearl-like green eyes made him feel like he did not worry about the world.

With a smile that seemed to be veritable, she said

   [Mr. Akuro, please sit down. I would like to hear about your incident in depth.]

After hearing that Akuro lurched weirdly as if a spell was lifted off of him.

  [Yes... yes mam!]

He then proceeded to sit down on the chair in front of the desk.

Akuro then started to tell her about the tale of disparity.

  [So...]

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*1 month ago*

After retreating from yet another successful dungeon raid, Akuro and his partners were completely impaired out to the point that they had to request backup.

Never once have he called in reinforcements.

Each of the Valens was concentrated in a small group.

  [This was one heck of a raid, eh?]

One particular Valen spoke while smiling as he stood up to stretch out his fatigue.

But to no shock, he didn't receive any feedback but a sight that looked like the aftermath of war; men bleeding, diseases, people on their last breath thinking of their loved ones back home. Truly a horrible sight.

Akuro occurred begrudged beyond words.

  How could you say that, huh, how can you say such a thing with a smile on your face? How can you act like this is just another Tuesday for   you? The things we saw there, the horrifying creatures we saw. THE BLOODY MASSACRE THAT ALMOST JUST HAPPENED. HOW CAN   YOU JUST COPE WITH IT AND ACT AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED???

He then shuddered conspicuously while gawking at the ground. The monsters he saw were completely different than the ones he usually fights. Their stratagem was something no one could surmise.

The number of comrades he lost was higher than ever before.

He reflected that he might have reproached some enigmatic force, which is presently acting against him by demeaning him.

He had the sudden urge to crumble into himself and grovel on the floor. This implied that he wanted to laud this 'force' because he desperately dreaded demise.

The Valens, or should we say Akuro, confronted entirely unusual kinds of monsters, unlike anything he has discerned.

These monsters attacked their group with coordination that he thought was not even possible. Their might was unlike the meager imps he had faced before. They were as if they had a tactician who raised them to their limit and taught them how to fight and strategize as well as improvise.

  Now I see why they sent me with such a big batch this time. Our numbers were in the hundreds when we first arrived, looking at us now, you   can probably count the healthy ones on your fingers. Conceivably, I received no significant injury.

  I just wanna go home, man, I just want to go home and live a normal life.

  [The carriages are here, we are leaving.]

Some men cried to whatever remained of the Valens.

The backup's here? Do we finally get to go home?

The mood livens up as everyone's hope reignites as they see their comrades pulling up with supplies.

The medic squad tended to the wounded. Subsequently, they all loaded their equipment into the carriages along with themselves and took off to their homes.

But that wasn't it. The main event is yet to start.

Chapter 1 Fin~