".........

--Hmm...hmm...ah...What is this, what place is this *AI*, damn my head hurts, and I can't feel my legs, what happened?

Zyfir woke up completely lost and in pain, unable to remember what happened before he passed out.

Startled by the situation he was in, he struggled to move his head and look around. Zyfir saw that he was inside a not-so-large stone room, with several bunk beds, enough for about 100 people.

As he looked around, completely lost, Zyfir noticed the chaos in the room, with people dressed in white clothes and wearing masks that covered only their mouths, running back and forth while attending to dozens of injured people lying on the bunk beds.

The scene was very strange and scary for Zyfir, who knew nothing about what was happening.

"Oh, you're awake, kid, how are you feeling? Any pain anywhere?"

A woman in her 50s, with brown hair and wearing white clothes, spoke to Zyfir who was lying down with some bandages wrapped around his body.

"What is all this?? Where am I?? Why all this?"

Zyfir couldn't keep his composure in the strange situation he was in and bombarded the woman with questions.

The woman patiently waited for the boy in front of her to calm down. And when the boy calmed down, she began to explain the situation to him.

"Calm down, young man, it's a nurse station inside the city's emergency tunnel, and I am a nurse who takes care of the injured after the disaster."

Zyfir, still a bit confused, questioned the woman who was extremely calm, as if she had witnessed this situation many times before.

"Disaster? What disaster?"

The woman, still maintaining her usual calmness, began to explain to Zyfir what had happened before he passed out. As the woman explained what had happened, Zyfir slowly began to remember everything he had experienced, and with each word spoken by the kind lady, Zyfir's face grew darker, and his chest hurt as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest.

"Aaa... mother, father, because of me, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry I didn't want this" *Sniff Sniff*

After hearing everything the woman said and remembering the events about his home being destroyed, his friends and acquaintances dying and screaming, the bodies of everyone scattered on the ground, and especially his parents deciding to stay behind and sacrifice themselves to save him, Zyfir's tears began to fall endlessly from his eyes as he clenched his teeth tightly and grabbed the necklace around his neck, a necklace that once belonged to his beloved and beautiful mother.

"Don't think about it, kid, your parents surely love you very much, and wouldn't want you to feel this way."

"Now lift your head and compose yourself, kid, your parents did it so you could live as much as possible and be happy, that was surely their only wish for you, now gather strength and courage and honor your parents' wish!"

The lady who was with Zyfir sympathized with the poor boy.

And having witnessed this scene many times before, she suggested counseling Zyfir and tried to calm him down as best she could.

After seeing that the boy was able to compose himself, she stepped away from him and returned to her hard work.

And Zyfir, with swollen eyes after crying so much, began to digest the information and over time was able to think more clearly, especially after the advice of the kind lady.

Even so, his mind was still very heavy, and his body sore, so he lay his head down, and unknowingly, he quickly drifted off to sleep.

..........

A few hours later, Zyfir woke up to the sound of someone shouting loudly inside the infirmary.

"ATTENTION ATTENTION, ALL THOSE WITH MINOR INJURIES WHO CAN WALK, TAKE YOUR BELONGINGS AND CONTINUE YOUR WAY IN THE TUNNEL!!!"

A man shouted to everyone in the room. The man was wearing a full plate armor, with a symbol of an eagle on his chest, a symbol that characterized the House Verone of Duke Lafir Verone.

The soldier did this because there was a large influx of people with severe and emergency injuries, so freeing up space was essential.

Everyone with minor injuries grabbed their belongings and began to walk out of the room, including Zyfir.

Zyfir, only with his necklace and the clothes on his body, began to wander through the underground tunnel, which was about 4 meters wide and 2.50 meters high, large enough for a considerable number of people to walk through.

He and several hundred others made their way to the tunnel exit, where there was a road made of cobblestones with humans and horses pulling carts passing by.

Zyfir, afraid, extremely sad, and with a somewhat lifeless look, continued to walk down the street with several other people.

After walking for a few hours, Zyfir's stomach began to growl incessantly and a huge hunger struck him.

--Damn, I'm so hungry, and the worst part is I don't have any food with me, what do I do now? If only I had my parents... Still very sad after assimilating everything that happened, and without having anything with him except the clothes on his body, Zyfir was forced to continue his journey, despite the hunger.

.........

*After a few hours*.

--Ah....finally, I managed to reach Bassim.

Zyfir and all the other refugees were relieved at the sight of the great walls of the beautiful and bustling Bassim, the second largest city in the Duchy of Verone.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Men and women shouted with joy, there were people who cried and knelt down praying to the gods.

"THANK YOU MY LORD, ETERNAL BE PRAISED"

Elderly people danced with joy, despite their age and injuries, and children hugged their parents in a ritual of joy.

"Daddy and mommy look!! It's Bassim, we're saved."

"Yes, my daughter, we are saved!"

And meanwhile, Zyfir looked at the many similar scenes happening, feeling a huge pain in his heart, and with his head full of thoughts and emotions about his parents, whom he had lost in the tide of beasts that took everything he once had. He just clenched his fists until blood came out, lowered his head so no one could see his teary eyes, and continued his way.

.......

Zyfir, shortly after entering the city and seeing the large flow of people walking and bumping into each other, realized that besides his insatiable hunger, he now had another problem.

--And now, where the hell am I going to sleep without even a single coin? The refugee camps are already full from what I heard, and there's nowhere else but the street...

Realizing that there was no other choice, the poor and hungry Zyfir, to avoid starving, began to wander through the huge city, looking for shelter and food.

..........

"Sir, please give me some food, I can help wash dishes and scrub the floor."

The poor Zyfir said to the restaurant owner while offering his services for a meal, but received nothing but insults from the old man and the other people in the establishment.

"DO YOU think you can work in my upscale establishment as a mere beggar?! Get out of here, you cursed brat."

"That's right,

get out of here kid, you're ruining my food with your shitty smell."

"What's a beggar doing in here!"

Having gained nothing but insults and some kicks from the old man, Zyfir ran out of the restaurant and went to his next place.

The boy, all dirty and ragged from walking for more than a day and having suffered a beast attack, without the opportunity to change clothes, began to enter all the establishments he saw, looking for shelter and food, but received the same treatment every time.

"Stinky kid, get out!"

"WHO LET THIS THIEF IN? GUARDS!"

"Get out of here, you brat, you're scaring off the customers!"

For days, his results were the same, and each day he grew less hopeful. And after another full day of effort, Zyfir found himself with no other option but to sleep hungry on the cold, dirty, uncomfortable ground of the street once again.

--Ah, what a crap, no damn place accepts me, nothing works out, I have no choice, I'll have to sleep on this shitty ground, I'll look for a more suitable place for tonight at least.

Finally, after some searching, he found an empty alley and sat on the dirty ground, his stomach growling and his mind buzzing incessantly. Seeing the situation he was in, he began to think deeply about everything that had happened and what he could do.

--My parents are gone, I have nothing to eat, no money, and nowhere to sleep, what a great situation I'm in.

After complaining for a while, he composed himself and began to think about his future and his actions.

--Okay, right, Mom and Dad wouldn't want to see me like this, COME ON, ZYFIR slap slap, time to wake up, let's start thinking about now.

--First, I need to rest and think about what to do, tomorrow morning I'll look for a job again, and if I don't find one, I'll join the Adventurer's Guild, it might be very dangerous, but I don't have any other choice anyway.

When he finished organizing his plans for tomorrow, he leaned against the wall, bowed his head between his legs, and fell asleep.

.......

Early in the morning, Zyfir went to a branch of the Adventurer's Guild, a place designed for independent individuals or small groups of people who aim to make money by adventuring through the world using their strength and skills, whether by exploring dangerous places, looking for specific items, hunting beasts, or mercenary work.

The Adventurer's Guild is the ideal place for those who want to start their lives from scratch, push their limits, venture out, and explore the vast world they live in, or simply earn money and fame through strength.

--sigh aaa what a cool place, look at all these people, that guy has a huge axe, look at that cool sword and that woman holds a very cool staff uaaaa.

As someone who didn't have a good sense of the world he lived in, Zyfir was amazed by the scene he saw. Seeing Zyfir, a fifteen-year-old boy, skinny and about 5 feet 3 inches tall, the adventurers sitting at the tables laughed among themselves and wondered what a child was doing here.

"What's a kid doing here?"

"I have no idea, dude, seems like just a lost beggar, ignore it."

"Yeah, you're right, must be.

Ignoring the mocking and questioning looks of everyone inside the huge hall, big enough to fit almost two hundred people without being crowded, he walked up to the reception desk and pressed the metal bell above it *Ding Ding*.

"Hello, is anyone there, please, hello can someone help me?"

After waiting for a few moments, a slightly shorter woman than Zyfir, wearing a somewhat comical hat, appeared at the counter.

"Hello, kid, what do you want in our Adventurer's Guild?"

The woman asked the ragged and skinny boy in front of her, whom she thought was just a beggar asking for alms.

"My name is Zyfir!! And I really want to become an Adventurer, please, can I become one, how do I do it?"

The woman, who seemed to be in her twenties, looked at the boy and said.

"Kid, if you want to be an Adventurer, you need to be at least a Two-star Mortal Warrior or a One-star Apprentice Mage, something I highly doubt you are."

"I didn't know that...but could you let me stay here, I just need food and I'll do whatever you want, please I need this!"

Zyfir asked the woman to let him stay at the guild, but it didn't get him much.

"Unfortunately, we don't need staff here, kid, now take this bread and go outside, there are more people needing my services."

A big lie, considering the simple fact that Zyfir was the only one near the counter.

"Okay, I'll leave then..."

Zyfir, sad for not having been able to register at the Adventurer's Guild, left holding a loaf of bread the attendant gave him, sad, but now with his stomach a little full, he was going to look for a way to make money. Just as Zyfir was about to take his first step after leaving the Guild, a man grabbed his arm and spoke to him.

"Hey kid, your name is Zyfir, right? How are you, let me introduce myself, I'm Rafael, and these two behind me are Diana and Falmos."

The man who wielded two daggers and wore light armor spoke, pointing to his two companions behind him, an archer with greenish hair and a bald man with a mallet.

"Yes, my name is Zyfir, what do you guys need?"

"We heard back there that you were looking for a job as an Adventurer, by the way, we need one more member for our group, what do you think of joining our group?"

Observing the whole situation of the man offering him a way to make money, and seeing that the rogue and his companions seemed to be good people, he decided to inquire and find out more about the offer.

"Yes, I want to be an Adventurer too!

He said with an excited and hopeful look for salvation.

"What do I need to do to join you guys?"

Zyfir asked Rafael the rogue.

"Simple kid, you just need to come with us and carry our luggage and provide support in the camp, besides collecting the spoils along the way for us."

When Rafael finished explaining Zyfir's job, Diana and Falmos behind also spoke.

"If I were you, I would take the offer, kid, we'll give you five silver coins per month."

Diana said, followed by the bald man with a mallet.

"Yes, yes, and besides, you'll get free food and our protection, a great offer, right kid?"

Seeing all this, Zyfir, thinking about the situation he was in, orphaned, penniless, and soon to be hungry again, quickly accepted the offer.

"Yes, I accept! Please, I really want to fight with you guys."

Excited about the great offer he had received, Zyfir felt his vigor return and his sparkle rekindle. And Rafael, Diana, and Falmos, seeing this, couldn't help but laugh maliciously in their minds.

Little did the now radiant Zyfir know that this would be a terrible choice for him.