Rain. Some people love it, others absolutely loathe it. On most days, people would generally stay indoors with warm blankets and even warmer food. However, for the residents of Jikaj Village, they didn’t have a choice but to detest the sparkling kaleidoscopes that dripped from the heavens. The Worldquake decimated the small village, sending half of the stone houses into ruin. On rainy days, families would have to squeeze into the few homes that still had a roof, but even that wasn’t enough. Attacks from wild boars became more frequent, and the little crops that the village had left were all dried up.

Jikaj Village was at the end of their ropes. Children were dying from malnutrition, while many able men abandoned their families in search of a better life. The few that remained had to huddle up together and protect what little they had left, which wasn’t much.

Pitter patter… Pitter patter…

A small boy, less than a metre in height, gazed out at the grey sheets that blinded his world. It was breathtakingly beautiful yet frightening at the same time. No one knew what lay beyond the deadly rain. Would it be a knight in shining armour? Or would it be a messenger of death, coming to reap their souls away? It was scary not knowing one’s fate. However, the boy still stared into the glorious rain like a mesmerised deer.

“Justin! It’s time for breakfast!” A shrill voice called the young boy, breaking him from his silent contemplation.

“Coming!” The boy shouted back. He leapt to his feet and tip-toed his way towards the dining room. The stone home was about a hundred square metres. Not too small for a family, and neither was it too large. However, there were currently five families sharing the same brick home, making it more cramped than it should have been.

Justin took several steps, meandering through all of the luggage that was prevalent in the area. Eventually, when he made his way into the dining room, he was presented with no seat on the already loaded table. A moderately obese woman walked over to the seven-year-old and handed over a metal plate.

“Mom… Is that all?” Justin looked at the small portion that he was given. There was a small slice of bread with a slice of butter on top with an equally small bowl of porridge on the side. It was quite pitiful, to say the least. Even as a child, Justin knew that his breakfast wouldn’t be able to fill him up at all.

“We have no choice, rations are getting really low...” Tenderly stroking her son’s hair, Justin’s mother felt her heart sink deeper into her chest. “Endure this for now… I’ll try to give you a bigger portion for lunch.” What Justin didn’t know was that his mother had chosen to skip her morning meal to give Justin two full ‘meals’. The bowl of porridge was meant for her burly body, and Justin was only meant to be given that slice of bread.

“Okay...” However, as a child, Justin knew none of that. He pouted, tempted to raise another complaint, but silenced himself after seeing all the other kids gulping down their portions. With no place on the table, Justin slowly sauntered back to his favourite place in the entire house… At the familiar window he’d just came from.

Chomp… Chomp… Chomp…

Justin bit down on the stale bread that had been enhanced with a little flavour by the butter. It was putrid and barely edible, but Justin knew better than to throw it out. Inhaling the slice of bread, the young boy moved on to the next item on his menu while voices rang out behind him.

“Chief! Our supplies are running desperately low now! Don’t you think that we should appeal to the Earl for help?” One voice boomed with concern.

“Do you think I don’t know that?! I’ve been sending help requests since the day of the Worldquake!” Another masculine, anxious voice echoed back. “However, all of the requests had been met on deaf’s ear! Not a single soul had made their way to our Jikaj Village, not even a single response!”

“Hmph! That fucking Earl! We’ve been toiling away in his fief for generations now and the moment tragedy strikes he abandoned us? What use are the nobles of Highgarden?” A totally different voice exclaimed with all that he had.

“It can’t be helped...” This time, an aged voice cut into the conversation. “The Worldquake isn’t just affecting our village. All of the other villages, towns… capitals even! They’re all crippled by the Allfather’s nefarious schemes.”

“But Elder!” The agitated man tried to retort but was stopped by the old man’s raised hand.

“You’re still too unlearned to understand the matters of the world, George… The Earl has to take care of our village, as well as the hundreds of villages in his fief. However, fret not. In all my years of servitude, not once had the Earl betrayed my trust. Not only that, the Marquess above him will be funnelling down resources at any moment now. But you have to be patient. Logistical work from the higher levels takes time.”

“That’s time that we can’t afford to lose!” George protested. “In twenty days, our supplies will run out! What then? Are we to eat our own dung and drink our own piss?!”

“George has a point, Elder.” The Chief of the village interjected while stroking his beard. “Although I understand the hardships of the Earl, we have to put our survival above everything else. We can’t just rely on the help that would likely never come.”

“What do you suggest then?”

“I say we move our entire village people to another region.”

“Blasphemous!”

Knowing that his Elder wouldn’t take the news lightly, the Chief covered his ears and turned his head the other way. Everyone in the chamber could see that the Elder was fuming. His nostrils flared, and his eyes dilated. If there were ever an agitated person, the Elder would be a prime example. “You! The Chief of the Village, want us to abandon our sacred home and discard our duty to the Earl?!”

“Elder! That’s the only way that we can survive!”

“The Chief is right, Elder!” George spoke out on behalf of his friend. “Even if the Earl is going to send help, we would all be dead by then! We can’t just stay in this land forever! We...”

Justin looked back at the arguing adults before finally letting out a resigned sigh. The noise was far too loud for the boy to eat in peace. He lifted up the window pane and slowly climbed out, careful not to spill any single ounce of porridge. During these times of crisis, every single drop of food was equivalent to that of gold.

The young boy was sheltered by the overhang, but the gushing winds of the rain still managed to wet his cotton pants. Howling winds deafened the noise from the stone house, allowing Justin to get the best peace he has had in weeks.

“I like rain...” Justin muttered out mindlessly. Yes, it may be hard to play outside when the rain was out. However, at least it gave the young boy some peace of mind.

“Hmmm, do you really?”

Not expecting an answer, Justin jumped to the source of the foreign voice. Standing at the doormat, a black-haired man donned in simple breathy robes looked down at Justin while wearing a kind smile. He was drenched from head-to-toe, but the man didn’t seem to mind. In fact, it looked like he enjoyed the feeling of clothes being stuck to his skin.

“Who are you, mister?” Justin cautiously asked the stranger.

“Just a wandering visitor,” the man replied.

“A wandering visitor? Why would you visit our village?” Justin knew the state of his village. People were starving, and arguments were as common as the raindrops that fell. There was nothing to be seen or had in the village. So why would anyone come to visit?

“For business issues, I guess?”

“Business… Mister, from the looks of it, you must be a vagrant.” Justin looked at the man and instantly came to a conclusion.

“A vagrant? What makes you think that?”

“Mister, vagrants aren’t welcome here!” Justin thought back to the incident that happened a few days back. A wandering traveller came to Jikaj Village, seeking shelter and food. However, instead of welcoming the man with open arms, all of the villagers chased him out with pitchforks and shovels, not willing to accept another burden into their already crumbling society. “You should leave before the others see you!”

“Haha, you sure are wise for your age!” The black-haired man chuckled. “But I really have some business to attend to. So would you guide me to your parents or the highest Elder here?”

“No can do! They’ll kill you, Mister!” Justin was getting increasingly incensed. Why couldn’t the man tell that he was trying to save his life? Gulping, the boy peeked back into the window, only to see the adults still amid a heated conversation.

“Quick! You have to leave! While they’re not looking!”

“Boy, you misunderstand! Really, I’m here to...”

“GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!”

Before the man could complete his sentence. A deafening roar came from the woods next to the village. Stunned, every single adult in the stone hut emerged from the front door, barely missing the black-haired man and Justin who were located at the rear.

“Chief that is!” George was the first to notice the titan swinging out from the jungle. It stood at five metres tall and had weighty arms as long as its entire body length. Light gold in colour, the monkey was a muscular specimen, one that could easily uproot trees and swing them like bananas. However, the main distinguishing feature that the Spirit Beast had… Was the four spider-like eyes that painted its face.

“A Four-Eyed Golden Ape...” The Chief spat. “A Tier Four Spirit Beast… It’s not an opponent that we can take on!”

“Tier Four?! Have the Gods really forsaken us?!” One woman cried in complete horror. The strongest cultivator in their village was their Chief, who was only at the Rank 22 Spirit Core realm. The hunters, which could be counted on one hand, were Rank 10 Spirit Apostles, while the remaining members were all just Spirit Practitioners. None of them had the capability of matching a Tier Four Spirit Beast, especially one as ferocious as the Four-Eyed Golden Ape.

“Hide underneath the floorboards! Quick! George and I will try to fend it off for the time being!”

“Fend it off?! How are you going to fight a Tier Four Spirit Beast?! Hmph! Knowing you two, you would try to give your lives to sate its hunger, right?!” The Elder immediately figured out his juniors intentions. “Don’t be stupid! You’re still needed for the defence of Jikaj Village! Follow the youngsters in hiding! Let these old bones be the sacrifice!”

“Elder!” The elites of Jikaj Village continued to argue like noisy sparrows even in the face of complete annihilation.

“T-Tier F-Four?” Justin stuttered as he caught sight of the humongous beast. To a commoner like him, Tier One Spirit Beasts were dangerous enough, let alone a Tier Four. “W-Will I die here today?”

“Boy, that’s why I really said that you should listen to me.” On the other hand, the black-haired man was as calm as a lake. He didn’t seem perturbed by the presence of the dangerous beast. “If you would have let me in earlier, all of this mayhem could have been avoided.”

“M-Mister! C-Can you save us?” At this point, the shaken boy wasn’t listening to the man at all. He was just begging… Begging for a miracle.

And fortunately… He was going to get one.

“Hah… Child, what’s your name?” The black-haired man’s voice turned softer and much more tender after hearing Justin’s tearful plea.

“J-Justin...”

“Justin, huh? That’s a fine name!” The man smiled as he stroked Justin’s oily hair. “My name is Shin! Shin Iofiel!”