A young man looking around 14 years old, dressed in a rough dull black clothing which paled in colour against his jet black hair.

He emerged from a side of a forest separated by a large pathway. He looked both ways as each stretched down as far as the eye could see. As if he knew, he walked down the pathway stretched with wheel markings and footsteps.

From a glance you’d think he was walking, but it was as if every step he took was a leap as he quickly vanished from the area.

That was the seven ghost steps Kiran had learnt on earth, it enabled one to move a large distance silently with a series of footwork. Back on Earth, he had practiced everyday, and now it was like second nature to him.

Soon, he entered into a clearing as the pathway continued to stretch over several hills. He looked up, in the distance was a figure of a city. Though with his dragon eyes, he could still it fairly well. Not far away in front of him was a large group of around 30 people, they formed two lines on the side as they escorted the wagons and caravans in the middle. What Kiran noticed above all wasn’t the city in front of him. But the people around the wagons and caravans.

They were humans.

Kiran soon caught up to the back of the group as he silently followed them.

From his observation, they were traders. A little more than half were armed, and the rest were most likely servants.

But they were escorting more than cargo. Right in the middle of the wagons was a single caravan. Its sides were surrounded by the most people. Not the cargo.

With Kiran’s keen eyes, he could tell that the people surrounding the caravan were trained as guards. And they were all Disciple class. There were 2 chi users of 3rd cycle, the man leading at the front of the caravan a low 3rd cycle, and the man sitting on the outside of the caravan holding the rein, a high 3rd cycle.

Kiran could sense two people in the caravan, whoever they were, they seem to be important to need so much protection. One of them was Apprentice class, whilst the other, a 3rd cycle magician.

“AH!” a man from the back shouted as he finally noticed Kiran behind him.

The shout drew the attention of everyone as they stopped and turned towards the back. Several men at the back had their weapons drawn as they stared at the intruder.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” The middle-aged man who was at the front of the caravan had already made his way towards the back on his horse to deal with the commotion.

Kiran merely looked at him for a second, and paid him no attention as he continued to walking. This time, through the crowd of traders.

The middle aged man’s face filled with anger as he was not used to being ignored. He was a 3rd cycle chi user, a formidable power even within the prestigious Qin Family.

Kiran was prideful. More so than he ever was since his dragon nature had slowly changed him throughout the years. Being questioned by a 3rd chi user who he could undoubtedly crush easily, was like a normal human being questioned by a dog.

Like you would answer.

For Kiran, it didn’t matter who or what, no one ordered him. No one ever will.

As anger filled the mind of the middle aged, a colourless chi gathered around his body as it focused to his fist. The chi colour of one who was not affiliated with any elements.

“Enough!” A voice boomed across the crowd just as the middle aged man was ready to strike Kiran. The voice so impactful it dissipated his gathered chi. It was the old man leading the caravan.

Don’t think that just because they were both 3rd cycle chi users, they’d be the same in power. A subclass, low to medium, was a big difference at the power one is able to wield. And at even higher classes, the difference would be like night and day.

The middle aged man snapped back to his senses as he bowed apologetically at the caravan and returned to his position. Though giving Kiran a stare full of killing intent.

Meanwhile, Kiran kept walking. Soon, he was ahead of the group and finally, after some distance were between them, the old man instructed the group to move forward once again.

“Why did you stop Rafok grandpapa?” A small voice came from within the caravan as a tiny head peaked out of the curtains at the front. A girl of no more than 7 or 8, her face dissatisfied as she asked the old man.

The middle aged man having returned to his position also listened. He too, wanted to know why.

There was a brief pause as the group continued silently forward.

“He’s dangerous…” the old man finally muttered with a serious expression.

Rafok and the little girl’s face both lit up in shock as their brows knit together. How? They were obviously asking, but the old man never said a word more.

Out of everyone, he was the most shocked of all. He was essentially, the butler of the Qin Family and apart from the Head of the Qin Family, the most powerful individual. He had fought with the old head of the Qin Family and paved the way for what has become of it now. He had seen and been through countless battles, from the simple act of killing to the most gruesome and bloodlusted individuals. He had seen it all.

But Kiran… thinking back, he wasn’t going to stop Rafok from showing Kiran the way of the world. After all, the Qin Family was not someone to mess with. The Family had its pride to uphold. Even though he knew that the world was a big place and that the family were nothing compared to others, in this area, they were still a force to reckon with.

But just as Rafok was about to attack Kiran, fear struck the old man as he froze in place. A sudden burst of bloodlust, far greater than any he had seen engulfed his entire body. He could not breath. And in those seconds, he smelt it, felt it. The blood soaked ground as he fought in battle, the smell of iron, the taste of salt, he was momentarily back in the battlefield. All from one millisecond of bloodlust from that boy.

Without a second thought he shouted for Rafok to stop. He couldn’t tell them. He couldn’t tell them that if he hadn’t, he was sure they’d all be dead. And he was sure, the boy wouldn’t even bat an eye whilst doing it too.

Someone who could release a bloodlust of that calibre was not even in the realm of possibilities for them to trifle with. Either he was from a prestigious family or clan, or something else.

Even after the boy left, he could still feel it. The blood soaked bodies that piled 10 times higher than any mountain in front of him.

Just how was it possible for a boy to possess such strong bloodlust?...

The group made its way towards the city, the wheels of the caravan seemed to sink heavier into the ground. Not one more word was uttered between the group.

On the other hand, Kiran was already near the city gates as he lined up to enter the city.

If Rafok had really tried to lay a hand on Kiran, he would’ve no doubt killed him. And if the group attacked him too, they’d die too. It was as simple as that for Kiran.

You may wonder, how could Kiran kill humans without any remorse? Kiran had seen it all on Earth. Humans, were no more than slightly more intelligent animals. He had seen the worst.

To the majority of the world, life went on. But once you enter the belly of the beast, you finally realize what humans were. A sadistic, gluttony-driven pack of wolves hiding in sheep’s clothing. Kiran had been there, to the rich and powerful, the lives of others were no more than numbers on a piece of paper. If they were happy, nothing mattered.

“5 copper coins. And write your name down here.” A guard broke Kiran’s thought as Kiran had reached the end of the line. “Do not cause any trouble. Or we’ll find you.” The guard tried to look threatening whilst speaking to Kiran but it obviously had no effect.

Kiran quickly paid the fee with the money his parents gave him as he entered the large city, Port Zerim. It was the furthest city east of the central continent, and even though it was the closet to Dragoon, it still took Kiran months to reach here.

He walked in as he gazed at his surroundings. He wondered if all cities were this big as he made his way through town. What Kiran did first, was not enter into any shops or find lodging. He walked around the city walls in the area from the inside.

It was a routine for him back on Earth. Whenever he’d arrive at a place, he’d scout it to look for any spots or discrepancies. It would prove useful whenever he got into trouble.

It took Kiran most of the day to just simple scout around the area and he hadn’t even managed to look through the entire city. But it was enough, he had covered a thorough area around him.

“Room for one Sir?” A man asked from behind a counter as Kiran approached him.

It was a place of lodging, and from the conversations of the area, it was a popular place.

Kiran nodded in answer as he paid the man.

Before Kiran had left, his father handed him a silver ring. An item ring, forged from special minerals that held properties to enable a space to be opened within. It could contain almost anything. His parents had given him some currency as well so he wasn’t completely unprepared.

Soon the man led Kiran towards his room. The place was big, it was like a hotel. It had several floors at the main house for entertainment and food whilst the back buildings were quarters.

As Kiran made his way through the main building he could hear a banquet of sorts as a group of people drank.

Kiran’s head turned to his right as a door opened and a waitress walked out from behind it. The door left wide open as the people inside made eye contact with Kiran.

It was the group he had met earlier today. Only everyone was outside whilst the caravan people were inside the room.

An old man sat together with Rafok and two young girls. One around the age of 7-8 and the other in her late teens.

Their eyes locked as Kiran looked at each of them in the room as he passed by and slowly moved out of sight.

Everyones reaction in the room was different. The old man shivered at the sight of Kiran whilst Rafok felt anger boil inside him. The young girl’s face reddened with annoyance whilst the older girl had a mixed expression of confusion and wariness.

“That boy! Who does he think he is!” The young girl yelled as she smashed the table in a fit.

The others looked at her as if to say ‘boy? He’s older than you…’ But they were used to it. She was the Qin Family’s little princess. Everybody loved her and were protective of her. Maybe a little too much.

“Hmph! I really think you should’ve shown him Uncle Rafok. Shown him who’s boss.” She said as she punched her tiny fists in the air.

The old man shook his head as everyone looked towards him.

“Let’s get some rest.” He said as he got up and bowed towards the two young girls. Rafok followed suit as they retreated from the room.

The next day came quickly as Kiran started the day early.

He noticed several things as he walked around town. First, Meriks were high in numbers here, and it was normal for the humans. The city being the closest to the continent of the Meriks would explain that the people would have to be okay with it in order to trade and such.

Kiran remembered his father telling him that obviously some humans were dissatisfied with the merge of Meriks and humans. There are always people like that Kiran thought.

Soon Kiran stopped as he looked at the large building in front of him. The adventurer’s guild. Open to anyone who were looking for work, mission and the like.

He walked towards the counter through the large hall, by the side were tables with people in groups or individuals chatting, drinking and eating.

“How can I help you Sir?” A young girl from behind the counter asked with a smile.

“I want to register. And a map.” Kiran said with cold dead eyes.

“Right away Sir.” She replied undeterred with a smile. She handed Kiran a paper of registration and a map.

He immediately filled out the form and obtained a badge, with the letter F on it. The levels of an adventurer were separated by the beast classes. F-S. One can only take missions/quests from the same rank or one above and below. Kiran only needed it to make life easier.

He quickly found a table and sat down as he examined the map in front of him. It wasn’t that his parents didn’t tell him about the world, but the last time they were outside of Dragoon was centuries ago. A lot of things could’ve changed from that time.

The map only features the eastern part of the central continent. It was quite similar like his father described.

He didn’t quite know where he’d go, but he had an idea. He wanted to grow powerful, and to get there he needed information. He needed a place to learn.

And the best place for that in the continent, without a doubt, is the famous 4 schools. But obviously, Kiran was nowhere close to being able to enter them. Though he could choose to enter other the many schools that were subsidiaries of those schools.

He considered himself lucky as he walked out of the guild. Only earlier he had heard from the townspeople that within a weeks time, the school of Ekir was sending a recruiter to Port Zerim to find students.

It was his chance.