Zenith was dead, most likely anyways.

She had suddenly gone missing without any warning and her belongings were untouched. She either got lost or was kidnapped. So if she wasn't dead yet, that meant she was being held captive somewhere.

Rudeus wouldn't claim he held any significant amount of love towards the woman who birthed him into his new world, but he had been grateful for the second chance at life.

Zenith was certainly a beauty, and she was an excellent Healer, she had her uses. So he thought it would be for the best that she was dead, because otherwise that meant she was living a fate worse than death.

After his mother was officially declared missing, Hilda, the manager/director of the orphanage turned inn, informed him that he could continue to stay in the room his mother had been renting.

When he turned five, Monica baked him a cake for a celebration, not that she was in the mood.

A listless feeling guided him to eat.

He was disappointed in his life. Zenith and him had just started warming up to each other, and now she was gone. He couldn't do anything to change that.

More time passed slowly, and he had turned eight a few months ago.

Since four years had gone by without any sign that Zenith was alive, the Quest to locate her was taken down and she was declared dead.

With her death, Rudeus was given the rights and access to her Guild-Affiliated Accounts. So he received her bank account, and the life savings of 200 Balland Gold Coins (or 20,000 Balland Silver Coins) within.

He had some money now, and yet he wasn't happy. He didn't know what could make him happy.

Lifelessly, he trained his body and his magic. He was using a magic staff that Zenith had kept as a spare, the wooden body was carefully hardened, and the ends were encased in steel that had crude magic gems embedded in it.

Her main weapon was confiscated by the clinic she had worked at to make up for her absence during the diseased chaos.

Rudeus could use up to intermediate magic for the basic elements, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do them wordlessly.

Nothing made him happy, satisfied, or even content, yet he didn't know what he could do to improve his mental state. He would grow up, make money to support himself, and then die.

"Hey, you, are you up for a spar?" An energetically youthful voice nearly shouted.

Rudeus slowly turned his head to the side, where the voice had come from. He saw a brightly smiling young boy that appeared slightly older than himself, and a young girl with sharp eyes.

"I asked around, but none of the Adventurers wanted to train with me, and then a waitress told me I could find you here. Apparently you're pretty strong."

"He looks a bit small though, can't we go do something else today."

'A spar? A fight? Why bother? Training, I guess.'

He hadn't sparred with anyone before, he was just a small boy practicing magic after all.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to decline. I'm no good in a fight."

"But, your magic seems pretty strong for a kid though." The boy spoke firmly.

'So he was watching me for a bit then?'

"He said no, let's go now." The girl gripped the boy's arm and attempted to lead him away.

"C'mon, I need someone to spar against." The boy stood his ground and shook off the girl, then he turned back to Rudeus. "Please, I really need to get some training soon, I have five more years until I'm an Adventurer, I need to be ready for that."

When someone became a legal adult, they could sign up to become an Adventurer.

'If he becomes an adult in five years, that means he's ten right now.'

"Why do you need a sparring partner? And like I said, I'm no good in a fight, I don't have any training either."

"Really? Perfect! Then I can be your partner in return. It doesn't matter if we're any good, it's all about the effort we put forward. The requirements for most Apprentice Jobs are about five years of hard work, that's all."

Jobs were another part of the System that was left behind, they mostly just provided Attribute bonuses and increased proficiency in learning and leveling up related Skills.

Once a person selected a Job from the choices that appeared on a special item, it could only be changed after they Leveled it up all the to 100. People had to consider their futures, so only adults were allowed to select Jobs.

Kids couldn't be trusted to make logical decisions about the long term.

Like the boy said, Apprentice Jobs mostly required five years of training in their field on average. While other Jobs had more complex requirements.

Rudeus was currently Jobless, but he was sure he would have some beginner mage related Jobs when he checked in a few years. There was truly nothing in it for him to spar with a stranger.

"Fine, I'll train with you." Still, he had nothing else to do. "I'm Rudeus, I hope we get along." He extended his free hand.

"Great! You won't regret this! I promise!" The boy eagerly shook the offered hand. "I'm Luke, and this is my younger sister Daisy! I want to be a Swordsman, and my sister is trying to become an Alchemist!"

Both the siblings had dark hair and black eyes, and yet Luke's eyes seemed warm and soft, while Daisy's eyes were cold and sharp. She was practically glaring at him after he accepted the request to spar.

One of the reasons that pushed Rudeus to accept the offer, was because something was whispering to him that it might be fun watching these siblings.

"So are you going to use a sword? What style are you learning? How good are you so far?"

Sheepishly, Luke scratched at his hair and looked a bit embarrassed. "Ah, I'm just getting started from the basics."

Luke explained what had led him down this path. His small village fell apart from the Black Death and a monster raid, then he and sister roamed across the lands until they landed here. He wants power to protect his sister and to someday save villages.

Rudeus only half-listened to the tale, nearly all the young hot-blooded refugees who came to this town said the exact same thing. "I've gotten a few pointers over the years while I was training with a sword, so I'll teach you the basics."

"Really! Thanks man." Luke didn't seem bothered at all about being taught by a younger child.

Daisy just silently judged him from the corner of her eyes.

"When should we get started?" He had nothing else scheduled, so he was ready to start whenever.

"Right now if it's not a bother." Luke took a few steps back.

"I thought you wanted to be a Swordsman, don't you need a sword?" Rudeus asked the empty handed boy across from him, Luke didn't have a weapon on his body.

"It's fine." Luke closed his eyes and held up an open hand. After a moment passed, with a small bright flash, a wooden sword resembling a fresh branch appeared in his grip.

"Spirits of earth, answer my call, I ask of thee for a sword to break through stone. Stone Sword!" A heavy dark gray jagged slab of stone fell into his waiting grip. "Let's do our best."

He was only a bit jealous that Luke had silently summoned forth a sword. Just enough to beat him black and blue, then heal him and do it again until sunset.

…

…

It was unfair.

Even though Rudeus hadn't been focusing on swordplay since he started training, he didn't expect to be outmatched within a single year by a complete novice.

If he wasn't trying to become a better person than he used to be, he would've quit sword practice altogether. Trying to look on the bright side, he did also get better as time passed, just not as fast.

Luke had an exceptional talent when it came to swordplay. In a week's time, he grew from the previous spars and got more skilled.

It was a bit infuriating, Rudeus might've accepted a loss if he was just overpowered, but instead he was out skilled.

His STR and AGI Attributes were unmatched for his age range, mostly because he exercised until he was almost sore then Healed himself and exercised some more.

Still, his strength and agility meant next to nothing in the face of extraordinary skill, his moves were read and anticipated then parried or countered.

Luke was like a glass figurine dancing between his heavy strikes and swings, as he slowly chipped away at his opponent while avoiding being hit.

And in just a year, Rudeus was no match for him in pure swordplay.

Right after he made his opening move, he felt a sharp wooden point press against his neck. "I concede." He dismissed his Stone Sword and Healed the small wound on his neck.

By the time Luke turned fifteen, he would probably skip right past any Apprentice Job. Then he'd probably climb the ranks and become an A-Ranked Adventurer in a few years.

Thinking back on it, Rudeus realized that it was probably his own fault that Luke grew at an amazing rate. Not only did he push him to the brink early on, but then he Healed him and they fought multiple times a day.

By claiming it as his fault, he could then replace his jealousy with pride at creating such a talented swordsman. He hoped to convince himself of this.

"You're a bit quiet today, everything alright?"

"…Rudy, have you ever fought a monster or beast before?"

"No."

"I can fight you and win because your moves are familiar, but I'm worried I'll freeze up when I encounter something I don't expect in battle."

"Oh, I could try using magic some more, should I?" He had been restricting himself so he didn't immediately overpower his sparring partner, and so they both got something out of the training.

'Say yes, I'll beat and heal you until you give up.'

"No, I'm… thinking of sneaking out the gates and going into the woods. All the strong monsters nearby have been hunted down, and only small fry that aren't with the time are left. Do you want to come along?"

He has read about most of the monsters nearby, and overheard tales about them, but he had yet to see one with his own eyes. "Sure, sounds fun."

After the population of Tremaine exploded, new facilities were built, and they also constructed a large sewage system.

Utilizing a large river upstream, the heavy currents swept throughout the underground system and funneled the sewage to a center point.

Cesspools were built for collecting waste, and then using magic it was processed into fertilizer The excess kept going further downstream, into the wasteland.

As a pathway into and out of the town, the main tunnels were carefully monitored and controlled, but the system was too large for its own good.

Having been built in a rush, not every path was monitored and patrolled.

Luke led him down a small underground path in the sewers that supposedly led outside the town. The young boy had apparently found it while doing odd jobs to earn his keep.

The reason he was alone today was because he was supposed to unclog a sidepath with a shovel, and Daisy couldn't stand the smell, so she was staying in reading instead.

Rudeus used a Water spell to unclog the path, and then followed his sparring partner who was carrying a torch. He considered using a Fire spell to light the way, but after catching a whiff of smoke near the torch, he decided against it.

He didn't want the stench of burning sewage within his arms reach.

The further they walked up a winding path, the more rough the path became, and carefully compressed stone gave way to rough rocks.

A shiver rippled across his skin as he crossed some kind of threshold. "Where is this?" The air felt strange, like he was covered in an oily sap.

"Odd, right? I also got chills when I first came here too, so I looked into it, turns out this is normal for Dungeons."

"This is a Dungeon? And it's seriously connected with the town's sewers?"

"Yeah, but I checked around, and couldn't find a single monster last time, so I decided not to report it yet."

'Sounds risky.'

Dungeons were just a term for small subterranean monster's nests, and when multiple nests combine, they form a Labyrinth. The books he had didn't go into much detail about them otherwise.

"Did you find the surface entrance last time you were here?"

"No, I didn't have time, but we're only two stories underground, I'm pretty sure it won't be too hard to find."

"We probably should've brought a Scout. It's pretty dark in here, so either you'll be holding a torch or I'll be holding a Fireball, either way one hand will be busy."

"Don't worry, I already said there won't be any mo—" Luke didn't finish his sentence, as a person in a black cloak had sliced his head clean off of his neck.

A headless body holding the only light source was falling.

Rudeus felt something cold pressed on his neck.

He felt something hot spilling down his neck.

The torch hit the ground, the flames flickered and submerged the surrounding into darkness for the briefest of moments.

"Ah!"

As the fire danced back up, he saw the person in a black cloak staggering forth as a young girl was stabbing two daggers into where their eyes would be.

The cold thing on his neck wavered, the pain of his nerves being scratched brought him out of his shock. He violently expelled Mana out from his back. "Burn!" He closed his eyes and shouted as his Mana instantly caught fire behind him.

This technically wasn't a spell, but instead a controlled malfunction, if he wasn't careful, he could've also ignited the Mana within his body as well. But as a last resort, he didn't mind using it.

The results of his last resort were simple but effective. His Mana had instantaneously ignited at an extremely high temperature, and the intense flames were overwhelmingly bright.

If he was in a less desperate situation, and had a single extra second to spare, he would've shouted 'Flash' instead, the results were the same except for the lack of heat and the risk associated with it.

The instant after he shouted, he aimed his staff over his shoulder. "Let this fierce flame fly fast, Flame Spear!" In under a second he chanted his shortened version of the incantation.

A flaming spear shot forth from the top of his staff, a wave of heat washed over his neck.

If he missed he would die, this was his only chance to survive.

After a second passed, and he was still alive, he turned around.

A black cloaked figure on the ground was engulfed in fire. It was surprisingly far, it must have tried running back after being blinded.

Rudeus looked towards the other black cloaked figure, it was lying face down in a puddle of blood.

And next to it was a young girl holding a decapitated head, even through she was sitting next to a burning torch, her eyes looked pitch black.

'I guess Daisy was following us.'