After the past events, Ryusei and Aoi return to the village. Aoi receives a big scolding from her parents and Ryusei is punished with more tasks by the village chief. Days pass, and after thinking a lot about everything, Ryusei makes a request to the chief: he wants to explore the world and find the Arcane Hunters that the girl with the scarlet blade talked about.
The chief allows Ryusei to follow this goal and gives him information about how to reach the Central City.
When Ryusei was about to leave for his journey, Aoi appears, looking desperate.
“Are you really going?”
The girl looked like she had been running a lot to find him.
“I need to go, Aoi. I think this is what I was looking for. This is my goal.”
Ryusei says with determination.
Aoi looks down. Her expression shows sadness, like she could cry at any moment. Ryusei approaches her, touches her face gently and lifts it so their eyes meet.
“Ryusei, let me go with you!”
Aoi says, almost crying. She had always been with Ryusei, so why did they have to separate now?
“Aoi, when I couldn’t protect you, I felt desperate. That’s why I’m going. I’m going so I can become stronger. If you come with me, I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you.”
Ryusei says this trying to comfort her while slowly walking away.
“You will come back, right? Promise me!”
Aoi places her hands on her chest. She wants to see Ryusei again, but she doesn’t know when that will be.
“I promise. I will come back!”
He continues walking while making that promise, full of determination.
Ryusei waves goodbye to Aoi. Now his journey was beginning.
A long time passes. The village was very far from the cities, but that didn’t stop Ryusei. He walked for days and nights. Weeks pass until he finally arrives at the City of Mijel.
Ryusei looks around with fascination. Everything was new: the shops, the people, the buildings. But he was there for a reason.
In a building a little far from the center, Ryusei enters. It was the Arcane Hunters Department. There were many people there. Some tall men, women who looked like they could kill you at any moment, and also some normal people walking around.
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Ryusei walks to a large reception desk. Behind it there was a young man who looked frustrated with his job, like he couldn’t stand dealing with people anymore.
“Hello sir, I want to become an Arcane Hunter!”
Ryusei speaks in a friendly way, not even noticing the receptionist’s expression. In his mind there was only one thing.
“Are you kidding me? Just looking at you makes me think I could become a hunter too. Now get out of here, country boy.”
He says in an aggressive tone while looking at Ryusei with disgust.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean? I came from very far away, you know?”
Ryusei looks irritated by the receptionist’s comments.
“So what? Every day idiots like you come here asking to become Arcane Hunters.”
The receptionist says, not even looking at Ryusei anymore. It looked like he just wanted the boy to leave.
“Ah… are you serious?”
Ryusei becomes disappointed. Was his whole trip for nothing? What would he say to Aoi?
“I’m very serious. If you don’t need anything else, leave already.”
The receptionist makes a gesture for Ryusei to leave the place.
“Okay…”
Ryusei walks out with his head down. The disappointment in his eyes was clear. He had barely arrived and it seemed he would already have to leave.
While Ryusei was leaving the building, an old man sees him from afar. A small smile appears on the old man’s face, like he had sensed something in Ryusei.
In a park near the city center, Ryusei was sitting on a bench with his head down, without hope. Then someone approaches him. It was the same old man.
He was tall and looked around forty or fifty years old. His hair was almost completely gray and he had a short beard. But beyond that, it was possible to feel that the old man was someone very powerful.
“Hey kid, what happened? The word ‘discouraged’ is written all over your face.”
The old man says while laughing a little. Not in a mocking way, but like he wanted to help.
“Ah old man… don’t bother me.”
Ryusei didn’t seem interested in talking. After what happened, it didn’t matter anymore. He just wanted to go back home.
“Well, I saw you leaving the department. You wanted to become an Arcane Hunter, right?”
The man asks sincerely, maybe this could give Ryusei some hope again.
“That’s right. How do you know?”
Ryusei pays a little more attention to the man now.
“Young people like you come here with that goal all the time.”
The old man laughs a little while answering.
“Yeah… I noticed…”
Ryusei remembers the receptionist’s words and becomes even more discouraged.
“Calm down. The problem is that you chose the wrong method to become an Arcane Hunter.”
The old man gestures with his hands while explaining.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Ryusei looks confused but curious.
“Alright. In two months there will be a tournament. Young people from many kingdoms will come and compete to become Arcane Hunters.”
The man explains briefly.
Ryusei immediately becomes excited again. His determination returns instantly, like he had never been discouraged before.
“But calm down kid. The participants will be strong. Are you ready for that?”
The old man reminds him.
“That’s true… I’m very weak. I couldn’t even protect Aoi…”
Ryusei starts to feel discouraged again.
“I can train you, if you want.”
The old man suddenly says.
Ryusei almost couldn’t believe it.
“Really old man?! Thank you so much!”
He becomes very excited.
“It’s good to see you motivated. But stop calling me old man. My name is Seijuro Kurogane. And you, kid?”
The name sounded familiar to Ryusei, but he didn’t think too much about it.
“My name is Ryusei Kuroda!”
He says with ambition.
“Well Ryusei, I think we will get along well! Haha.”
The two shake hands.
Now Ryusei has two months to become stronger and fight in that tournament, so he can finally become an Arcane Hunter.
To be continued.
