Chapter 5 : Elina Liliwood
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My name is Elina Liliwood, adopted daughter of Valerius Liliwood. I've spent my entire childhood at the bottom of the barrel, occasionally stealing both food and money just to perform those actions the next day. I would steal from both commoners and from fellow thieves like me.
Usually, I would steal 3 loaves of bread, when I'm lucky I'd steal 5. But, there are certain days when I would be beaten up by the people whom I steal from, those are my unlucky days. Sometimes, I would save one loaf of bread, most of the times I would have none.
Those people up there, the nobles, the royals, the very gods and goddesses which granted us everything we prayed for, they never cared about us, they never cared about me. No matter how much I prayed for help, no matter how much I begged, no matter how many stars I wished upon, I would never live the life I longed for.
I would sleep on a comfy woolen bed tucked by my soft warm blanket, only to be waken up by the beautiful voice of my mother. Everyday, I would be draped with dazzling clothing that would sway as I moved throughout the town. I would laugh alongside other children as we play numerous games throughout the town. I would eat countless loaves of bread, only to be stopped by my parents when our budget is at risk. I would be scolded, but I know that my parents would continue to love me. That was the life I longed for, the life I would never achieve. Or so I thought.
It was one cold evening. The bright crescent moon stood at the peak of it's position, bathing the entire town with it's soft moonlight. I lay on a pile of crates awkwardly placed at the corner of one alley. The thin rags which draped my small body could barely be called "clothes". I shivered from even the slightest wind that would blow towards my direction as my belly yearned for food. It's excessive groaning would only stop when I would eat so I jumped off from the stack of crates in search for any edible object.
I trekked towards the backdoor of a nearby inn. Littered across the dirt were the numerous unwanted objects the innkeeper threw away, one of them were leftovers. I placed my hand over the heaps of trash, searching for anything that would put an end to my stomach's continuous growling. In the corner of my eye, something caught my attention.
A man laid down on the dirt beside the backdoor. As to why I didn't see him before, I don't have a single clue. But one thing was for sure, he wasn't a beggar like me. His eyes were tightly shut signifying that he was in slumber. His hair -which was as black as the night- was slicked back, revealing his small forehead.
He wore a tight gray long sleeve which was padded with white-iron armor. One eye-catching symbol was engraved on the right side of his chest plate, it was a large bird. It's wings were spread wide revealing it's large beak and equally large talons. Using it's talons, the bird carried a small hammer.
I recognized the symbol, but I didn't have the luxury to think about it. My gaze fell on the man's legs, he wore brown pants which were also padded armor. Attached to the right side of his belt was a sword safely tucked in it's hilt. Meanwhile, on the other side of his belt were numerous pouches, each were dyed in a color different from one another.
One was green while the other was red. But out of all the pouches, one pouch caught my interest, a pouch dyed in a bright shade of yellow. The sounds of coins slamming onto each other reverberated throughout the small area around the man, signifying that this yellow pouch contained money.
I abandoned my search for leftovers as my body loomed over the man. I bent down and carefully reached for the yellow pouch. I quickly untied the pouch and pulled it from his belt. I could no longer remember the last time I touched money, thus I silently celebrated and faced my back towards the man's snoring body.
Suddenly, I felt a force slam onto my back as I skidded across the dirt. I released my grasps on the pouch causing all the coins to scatter throughout the surface. My face slammed onto the dirt floor causing pain to flourish on my nose.
"Who are you?!" the man said.
I turn around to see him fully awake. A strange feeling emanated from the man, telling me to stop moving. But, I just shrugged this strange sensation off. His blood-red eyes pierced my frail body as I scrambled on the floor, taking the nearest coins before I ran away. I managed to take in an incredible amount due to the fact that the man just stood there.
Before I took a turn towards the nearest alley, I looked towards the direction of the unknown man. His face wasn't angry, annoyed, it wasn't even baffled. His face was similar to that of someone who was surprised. It contained tiny bits of curiosity and, for some unknown reason, hope.
After numerous minutes of running, I realized that I created a fair distance from me and the man. I stopped and hid in one corner after I took a glance towards the direction I ran from. No one was nearby so I took out the shiny coins from a make-shift pocket I made and began counting. Although I never received proper education, I was still able to perform basic reading, talking and counting.
"35 copper coins and 19 silver coins." I mumbled to myself.
"Actually, its 36 copper coins." a familiar voice echoed behind me.
I twist my head only to find the man whom I stole money from standing meters in front of me. He blocked my only exit as he pointed a stray coin between us. Just like before, I felt a strange sensation course through my veins. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that this strange feeling emanated from the man. Without hesitation, I swiped the coin out of the ground as my eyes pierced his. I wasn't going to give up this money to him.
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It was odd that this man was able to follow me without me realizing it. Judging from the armor and sword he proudly wore, this man was an adventurer. Mercenaries hired to perform dubious tasks such as subjugating the monsters outside the walls, escort people over large distances, etc.
I was aware of this due to the fact that when I would steal food, adventurers would sometimes stop me. Some are sadistic bastards that would endlessly beat me up whilst others were righteous people that would either leave me alone or give me money.
"How did you do that?" the man asked me.
"W-what?" I asked with confusion.
"Two times..." the man paused "Two times I've released bloodlust imbued with mana directly at you, that bloodlust would- no, should be enough to kill a kid like you. Yet, you still managed to survive."
"At first I thought you were sent by some organization to assassinate me. But, as I continued stalking you, I realized that you were just some hobo brat that stole some money."
"Its surprising that you managed to not only survive the bloodlust of a highly ranked adventurer, you also managed to steal something from him as well."
I admit, I had no idea what "bloodlust" was. Was it that small sensation I felt before? If so, why was it that big of a deal? I could barely feel it yet this man seemed proud about it. The man slowly walked towards me, and stopped directly in front of me. I flinched when he started to move from that position, but I quickly realized that he just took a knee. His eyes were at a level similar to mine.
"Kid, do you have a name?" he asked
I hesitated to tell him my name, but when I realized his intention wasn't bad, I began to introduce myself to him.
"Elina..." I said when suddenly, he placed a hand over my shoulder.
I didn't flinch nor did I try to escape. He didn't feel disgusted when he touched me. Unlike him, other adventurers would feel disgusted that they would touch even my clothes, even those righteous ones.
"Elina, you have a gift. I have no idea why no other people are aware of this, but you are special. You have unlimited potential, something not any normal person could attain."
"I will give you two choices, you would remain here as a street child, begging and stealing from other people. But, I would leave to you those 36 copper coins and 17 silver coins." he pointed towards the coins on my hand.
"Or, you would be adopted by me. You will sleep on a bed under a roof, free from the harsh environment of the outside world. You will eat 3 meals a day, receive proper clothing. But, not only will a take those 36 copper coins and 17 silver coins, you will train everyday. I will mold you into the perfect warrior. With your gift, you would easily rise in rank and you would be an unstoppable force that would be feared even by high class warriors like me."
The man stood up facing me with his red eyes.
"I would take the second choice." I proudly said.
"But, I don't want to give you these coins." I placed the coins in my make-shift pocket.
"Hahaha! Stubborn just like I was! I like it! My name is Valerius Liliwood, from now on, you shall bear the surname 'Liliwood'!" the man said with a large grin.
Ever since that night, I've lived inside the small manor of Valerius. Turns out that not only was he a high ranking adventurer, he is also an influential member of the Smithing organization "Whitesmith Legacy." There was an uproar when his friends found out he adopted a slum girl. But, their anxiety faded away when they saw my potential.
In day, I would train with Sir Valerius in swordsmanship and occasionally, magic. But, when the sun sets and the moon takes control, I would increase my knowledge. Slowly, not only was I getting stronger, but I was getting smarter. Eventually, when I reached the age of 14, I followed the footsteps of Sir Valerius and became an adventurer.
With my ability, I put an end to numerous underground illegal organizations and services. I also performed numerous subjugation quests and saved countless lives from the hands of both monsters and from fellow people. Thus, my popularity soared like no other.
I've met numerous people in my ardous life. Some were friends and rivals that I would constantly come in contact with whilst others were enemies that would relentlessly target me. Eventually, I managed to make a name for myself. I recieved a title
This was due three reasons. The first reason is a bit cheesy. Due to the fact that I've saved numerous people, I was revered to as a saviour. To them, I seem like a star in the night, contributing from keeping their entire world from being enveloped with complete darkness.
The second reason was because when I engage in battle, I rarely recieve any damage. None of my attackers would be able to even slice of a strand of my hair, thus to them I may seem unnatainable.
The other reason was due to my party.
"You should really tone down your violence! Breaking all the guy's fingers isn't humane!" Rick said.
"Eh?! That guy was about to grope Elina's behind! I cannot allow anyone to dilute Elina's purity!" Kiara retaliated.
James didn't want to say anything about the matter so he continued walking along side me.
"Elina is already 17 years old! She doesn't need to be protected from everything! She knows how to protect herself from molesters!" Rick angrily replied.
"You know Elina is incredibly dense! That old fool didn't even bother to teach her commo-"
Their petty argument continued as we continued our search for our target. Recently, a high ranked monster attacked a party of aventurers in this forest. Out of 6 of the amateur adventurers, only one survived to warn the authorities. He described the monster as a large gray bear-like creature with four arms portruding out of it's sides, each hand having a set of white claws. Large similarly colored spikes emerged from it's large back extending down towards it's waist.
The guild immediately labeled this monster as the "Mountain Bearcupine", judging from the report of the survivor. Although they didn't question as to why a monster that only lives on mountains would come down to the forests, they do know that it was a danger that should be subjugated. The guild immediately filed a quest for subjugating the monster and we accepted it. Well, there were problems such as that incident where Kiara broke one guy's fingers on our way out of the Guild Hall. But it was a trivial matter.
As the argument between our healer, Rick, and our archer, Kiara, began to slowly die out. I managed to smell the faint scent of smoke. Without hesitation, I used my skill [Penta-up] which heightened my five senses. I immediately picked up the distant sounds of swords slamming onto each other and spells being released. My ears also caught of a shriek and eventully, the fighting began to stop.
"What do you kno- Hey Elina! Where are you going?!" Kiara instantly caught me as I quickly sprinted towards the direction of chaos.