The Explorer’s Guild, a continent spanning organization formed after the Second Calamity, is well-known to the masses for exterminating dangerous monsters and for exploring the ruins and remnants of ancient civilizations.

The Explorer’s Guild in Merchant’s Rest is a massive stone structure with white stone columns on its sides with a sword, shield, and staff at the front. A statue of a tall, bearded warrior can be seen on the left at the entrance. The light from inside the building allows Adam to see the statue. Adam walks through the double, black-iron doors and looks at the rowdy explorers drinking to their heart’s content.

All types of explorers can be seen from scouts to warriors to mages and everything in between. Some are wearing heavy plate armor while others are wearing enchanted robes or monster skins. Others are debating competing theories concerning the origins of dungeons, while some are just punching each other. There are even explorers debating archaeological theories and punching each other. Looking at the laughing, fiery-haired woman and the man on the broken table, he sees that the man is still smiling and laughing.

“Dead drunk,” he thought.

He then tried to pass through this drunken party to find the receptionist for the guild.

Bam!

A drunk mage falls in front of him and spouts nonsense. He steps over him and after a few such encounters he makes it to the front desk. Unfortunately, the receptionist is nowhere to be seen. He rings the small bell on the desk.

Ding!

“Coming!!”

A voice can be heard within the ramble. After five minutes he sees a tall, athletic woman with fiery, red hair. It was the one he saw earlier who smashed the man on the table.

“Whad isss it!” she says drunk.

She jumps above the table and looks at Adam.

He says, “Here is a mana stone of a royal blue boar. I want…”

“I don’t need a dumb blue jewel, Manuel. I just want your heart!”

She bursts crying.

“I just want a temporary explorer’s card,” he says.

“What’s with this emotional wreck?” he thinks looking at her sloppy appearance.

“Fine, Manuel. Take it!”

An object wizzes past Adam’s check and hits the drunken mage he passed by earlier in the head. He is done on the ground again.

“Crazy woman.”

“Thanks.”

The drunken wizard tries to stand up again.

“Shut up, Manuel. Lea’ve mae be!”

She throws coin purse at the drunken wizard again hitting him again.

He is out cold.

She faceplants on the receptionist desk and sobs.

Adam goes to the fallen wizard, takes the blank identification card and the small bag of coins, and heads out of the Guild passing by some giggling elves and a laughing dwarf. The man who was smashed through the table is back on his feet and yells, “Take this Rachel!”

“Huh,” she says looking up.

A wooden chair is thrown crashing into her face causing her to fall back.

Thud!

“Not my problem,” Adam says as exits the large stone building.

As he walks away, the sounds of laughing, yells, and crashes can be heard behind him.

Passing by several run-down alley ways and some brothels, Adam eventually finds a respectable-looking inn to sleep.

Entering the inn, the innkeeper says, “Ten coppers.”

“Five,” he replies.

“Cheapskate,” the innkeeper thinks.

“You think this is some kind of charity,” the innkeeper says.

“I passed by several brothels and suspicious characters. I think the area speaks for itself,” Adam says.

After a brief silence, the innkeeper says, “Nine coppers.”

“Five.”

“No deal at five,” the innkeeper says sternly.

“Six.”

“No, nine.”

After an intense battle of wits and bluffs, the innkeeper and Adam agreed at seven coppers a day for seven days.

“A real penny-pincher,” the innkeeper thinks as Adam walks up the stairs to his bedroom.

Tired, after wandering out in the wild, Adam relaxes, washes up, jumps into the soft, cozy bed, and sleeps.

While he sleeps, grey fog stars to appear in the room.

White mists blanket the North Sea. The smell of sea foam permeates the air and snow lightly falls from the sky melting into black waters beneath the fog. An ominous quiet permeates the region like the calm before the storm.

BAANNGGGG!!!!!

The sound of canon fire and magical explosions can be heard. In the mists, flashes of reds, yellows, and blues can be seen. A fierce firefight occurs in the fog. Two ships can be seen. One flying the colors of the Kingdom of Baudren, the other a black flag. The ship with the black flag is a pirate ship. The kingdom ship rapidly approaches it.

“Damn Baudrenni bastards!” says a giant of man with a long red beard and a red trench coat.

Screams of pain and fear can be heard on deck and below deck as well.

“Captain, they are quickly approaching starboard!! They are going to ram us!” says a crewmember on deck to him.

“Damn it all! Dorian, turn her faster!” the captain says.

“I can’t anymore!! The rudder’s damaged!”

“Starboard Ho!”

“Brace for impact!” the captain says.

SHIINNNGGG!!!!

CRRRAAAASSSHHHH!!!!

A black-iron bow of the approaching ship shatters the magical wards surrounding the pirate ship crashing into the ship’s hull causing pieces of wood and metal to fly everywhere. A jolt of electricity explodes out of the black-iron bow causing many people on the pirate ship to be fried to a crip or if they were several yards away, paralyzed.

A man jumps down from the black-iron bow of the ship onto the enemy vessel. Leathery skin but a somewhat handsome face. The man is wearing a blue captain’s coat and an untidy uniform and has two sabers and pistols at each of his side. A long-brimmed hat almost covers his green eyes. The aura of predator radiates from him. He looks up and approaches the red-haired captain. The sailors are silent and make way for him as he approaches their leader on the forecastle.

He says while walking, “Bruce ‘Red Blood’ Tate – wanted for theft, assault, murder, rape, damnable heresy, and conspiracy against the Kingdom of Baudren.”

Bruce says to him, “Who are you! Why am I being charged with heresy and conspiracy!”

“So, you don’t deny theft, assault, murder, and rape.”

“Fuck you!”

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

He draws out two battle axes and charges straight at the intruder. The axes doused in blood light up in flames. Flashes of blue electricity appear around the enemy captain and flies toward Bruce.

Bruce with his battle axes held high breaks through three waves of electricity, but the fourth one pushes him back.

“HAAAAAAAH!!!!”

Bruce then activates his signature magic which transforms his axes into a massive flaming battle axe. He charges forward disregarding the electricity approaching him. He jumps and slashes.

However, a giant white saber filled with electricity barrels at him. Their blades meet.

BOOOOMMM!!!

Bruce falls to the ground his axe shattered and his head now ashes. The ship’s forecastle behind falls into the sea. The captain in the blue coat looks at the remnants of Bruce’s crew.

“We… we surrender!!” a crewmember of Bruce’s crew says.

Other people join the fray and drop their weapons.

He nods his head.

“You handle the rest, Klein.”

“Hah… fine. Next time, don’t scare them so much, Captain,” Klein replies.

“It’s not my problem that they are so weak and chicken-hearted,” the captain says.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it, Captain,” Klein says.

“All right everyone, shackle the prisoners and detain them in cargo hold for now.” Klein says to the crew.

“Yes, Sir!”

Adrian Adler, captain of the hunter ship, Samuel, and a rising star in Baudren’s Royal Navy, is currently back in the captain’s quarters sorting out paperwork after killing Bruce ‘Red Blood’ Tate.

The stolen treasures that Bruce acquired through theft and murder is lying across the captain’s desk. A knock comes from his door in front of him.

“Come in,” he says.

Klein and another crew member walk through the doorway and seat themselves in front of the captain’s desk.

“So, how are you doing, Captain?” Klein asks.

“Busy, as usual. Writing a report, for His Grace about today,” Adrian replies.

He sneaks a peak at the young man who is really a boy. Billy is his name.

Billy looks back at him with a hint of nervousness.

“This one’s called, Billy, Sir!” he replies.

His eyes seem to be trying to look for something.

“Hah,” the captain sighs.

“The loot is right behind you,” Adrian says.

Billy, then, looks behind. Klein seeing the predicament of the situation yanks on Billy’s collar.

“You idiot,” he says.

“Sorry,” Billy replies.

Adrian sighs and letting go of formalities says, “Look, I know that you guys want a piece of that loot back there, but you guys should know that the penalty for theft is steep. Even death of you and your relatives can be involved.”

A chill went down Billy’s spine.

“Sorry, for bothering you!”

He gets up to leave.

“Sit down,” Klein says to him.

Klein puts his hand on Billy’s shoulders and makes him sit down. He then looks straight at the captain and says, “What’s the harm with taking a few of the valuables? Do we not deserve it for serving His Majesty on the high seas?”

“Theft is theft. If we take the treasure of pirates as ours, what separates us from those brigands? Nothing, but legality. There is no justice for the victims in that,” Adrian says as he stares right back.

“You should know that His Grace has allowed all captains to take a small portion of the booty as compensation for their work. It’s legal and should not the captain reward his subordinates for their work?” Klein says.

Billy can see some sparks flashing past the captain and Klein. The captain eventually sighs and says, “Fine, take the loot up here so we can divide it properly.”

Klein smiles and does so, while Billy heaves a sigh of relief.

After dividing up the treasure, Billy received a little bit of gold and a small black stone with some weird symbols on it.

“This must be some ancient artifact.” Billy thought.

He and Klein then returned to their own quarters.

Captain Adrian looks out at his window at the sunset and sighs.

Some storm clouds can be seen toward the East as the sun falls below the horizon, reds and oranges on one side and black and blues on the other, a line of division between light and gloom.

“I feel that there’s a storm brewing on the Continent. May the Great Pas protect us all.”

Meanwhile, during the night, as Billy sleeps in his small bunk bed with the black stone in hand, an invisible grey fog pours out of the stone.

The Holy Ezna Empire, the central powerhouse on the Continent, a pillar for humans in the world of Arda. It was here where mankind first started anew after the Second Calamity and where the religion of the Pantheon has its Holy City. In the great city of Tel-Vana within the lofty castle with its flying buttresses and stone gargoyles, a tall lady with raven-black hair and a white gown can be seen on the castle’s walls.

“Please get down there, my Lady!” an old butler yells at the base of the castle.

“I agree with Mr. Mordecai, Princess! Please come down!” a young maid with brown hair says.

The lady does not listen and instead looks at the city of Tel-Vana. The great cathedral breaks the skyline and the great walls of the city divides nature and civilization. She looks down first at her subordinates and then at other people right outside the castle’s inner walls. They look like ants, always hurrying to where they need to go. No time to dwell on what is most important. She looks at the sky, the great sun beams her golden rays on all things. The wind makes music to ears. The wind becomes stronger. She slips.

The butler and maid yell in terror.

“My Lady!”

“Princess!”

She is knocked unconscious hitting a statue jutting out of the castle. The statue breaks and an invisible fog surrounds her. Everything becomes black.

Ha Rin wakes up and opens her eyes once more

“Raiba!?!?”

She looks around her. Only fog can be seen.

“Wait!” she says.

“Is anybody here! Jin! Subaru! Alice! Are you guys here!” she yells.

No one responds. There is an oppressive silence in the air. A sense of dread envelops her.

“Am I dead? Is this Hell? Since Jin, Subaru, and Alice aren’t here were they able to land the killing blow on Raiba?”

The smell of incense permeates her nose and soon the tolling of the bells can be heard.

She follows the sound.

“Hah! To think Korea’s top hunter can’t even tell where she’s going or where she is. I can’t even sense any mana fluctuations in the area.”

She looks around at her surroundings again. Grey fog billows from the black, stony ground and the smell of incense and the ringing of bells creates an oppressive atmosphere. Like the home of a deity.

She feels her hand.

“Wait, have my hands always been this small?”

Soon, two gargantuan doors appear before her. White, fiery words are inscribed on their surface.

“Come on, Ha-Rin. Focus.”

They are not in Korean and in fact, Ha-Rin doesn’t think they are language she has ever seen before. But she could read some of it.

“What lies behind Unapproachable Light?”

It was written in English.

The door opens and two people are sitting at an ancient, dark brown conference table. Their faces are obscured by the fog. One is much taller than the other and is sitting at the head of the table.

“Is that table made of wood from the World Tree!!!” she thinks mouth wide open.

She hurriedly closes it acting like nothing happened.

“Is- is that the last person to arrive, my Lord?” says the person who sounds like a boy.

The mysterious figure nods his head and beckons the newcomer to sit at the table.

Chills rise up from her back and a sense of dread even greater than the Storm Dragon of the End, Raiba, overwhelms her mind. Drops of sweat form on her forehead.

Tightening her hands into fists, she nods her head in response and sits across the one who appears to be a boy.

She needs to find out why she is here and where this place is.

“And who knows. Maybe that thing can return me to Earth?” Ha Rin thinks.

The large doors close and the bells fall silent.

The stage has now been set and the wheel of destiny shall now accelerate to its predetermined course.