I jump across the rooftops and reach the wall of Lagoon. I jump onto the wall and see a guard.
"What was that scream?", I ask the guard."It doesn't matter," the guard says.
I clench my fists and hit the guard hesitantly, who then immediately calls the others. I jump in the direction of the scream while the guards watch me. One guard raises his hand so the others stay quiet.
"This boy doesn't care about himself, only about others," says the guard raising his hand, then lowers it again.
I smile slightly and see a carriage and guards around it, protecting it from B-rank monsters: rabbits on two legs with small daggers, very fast and strong. "Okay, 100 of these creatures are here," I think and hesitate for a moment. I ignite my mana. This time it appears like a sphere. The guards freeze, turn toward me fearfully and begin to tremble.
"Stop right there!", the guards shout.
I remain silent and walk closer. The guards point their swords at me. I cast a fireball and kill 25 of the rabbits. A window pops up showing "LEVEL-UP". I ignore the message. I blur and appear in the rabbit army and cast a thunder disk that shoots lightning in every direction. The guards are startled and accidentally fall to the ground, staying seated in fear, while 65 rabbits die. I finish the last 10 physically myself. I disappear again and appear in front of the rabbits and slit them open with my dagger. I walk slowly toward the guards and let my mana fade. The guards raise their weapons toward me. "They don't trust me — understandable," I think and stop.
"Who are you?", one of the guards asks.
I'm about to answer when I see the crest of the royal family. I flinch and look at the window where the princess is watching.
"You're the princess' guards?", I ask."Oh right, and I'm Min," I say calmly.
The guards nod and open the carriage door. "They trust too easily," I think and watch as the princess steps out of the carriage hesitantly. She clearly doesn't trust me, which is a good mindset. I bow. The princess' pink hair sparkles in the sunlight, and the light breeze sends strands flying. Her green eyes are partly covered by her hair. She looks at me, moves her hair back, and her eyes shimmer.
"Hello, Princess," I say with my head bowed."Hello, um… Min, right?", the princess asks uncertainly.
I nod and stand back up. The guards look at us briefly.
"The boy saved you," one guard says."Yes, I know that," the princess says sharply to the guard.
I chuckle quietly and quickly straighten up again. The guards point at the carriage as if they want me to get in. The princess enters and looks at me as if I really should climb inside.
"Why do you trust me?", I ask the princess."You saved us. That's why we're taking you to my father," the princess says as she sits down.
I walk forward, enter the carriage slowly and put away my dagger."Why are you so strong? You look young," the princess asks me.
I think for a moment whether I can trust her with this, since I haven't known her long. I hesitate again.
"Okay, I'll tell you," I say. "It's like this: Two years ago, when I was 10, my parents were killed by humans. Since then, I've trained and gotten stronger and stronger, and that's how I reached this strength. And since then, I've already killed two humans," I say, burdened and hesitant.
The princess nods understandingly and points at a book beside her.
"This is a book about a legend. Take a look at it," the princess says.
I nod and take the book containing the legend of the hero: a boy who trains because he lost something and eventually… "The page is blank from here," I think and put the book down.
"Why is the page…?", I ask the princess.
I let magic flow into the book, and it lights up, and the page expands with the last 15 words: "… the demons appeared, who were slain by the hero, which will become a problem."
"Okay, that was the first part of the legend," I say."Yes, I've heard that after each calamity mentioned in this part, the second part appears in the book," she says.
At that moment, we pass through the capital gates and head straight toward the palace where the king and the rest of the royal family are.
"But who is the hero?", I ask the princess.
"Is he stupid or just pretending?", the princess thinks while looking around. After a few minutes, we arrive at the palace. The princess stands up and points at a large gate. I stand as well and look at the gate — the entrance to the palace. We walk slowly to the gate, and two guards stand there and point their swords at me.
"Who is that, Princess?", one guard asks."That's Min," the princess says.
The guards still don't let me through the gate because they distrust me. Behind them comes the prince, who can sense evil intentions. He looks at me with his magical eye and sees none.
"He's fine, everyone," the prince says and gestures for me to enter.
I accept the gesture and enter the palace hall. I look around and everything is decorated with gold and wood. Two maids welcome the princess. She leads me into a hall with a throne. An older man with a gray beard and gray hair enters and sits on the throne.
"Oh, Luna, who is that?", the king asks distrustfully.
"Why is everyone so distrustful — but that's good," I think and bow before the king.
"I am Min, and I saved your daughter's life," I say.
The king lifts his hand as a sign that I may stand. I rise and smile faintly. A guard who was at the carriage enters and reports everything that happened. The king thinks for a moment. "If all that is true, he's dangerous," he thinks.
"It was only 100 rabbits. They aren't that difficult," I say to the king.
The king thinks for a moment, then looks at me and points at Luna.
"If Luna agrees — would you want my daughter?", the king asks.
"If he's with my daughter, we'll be safe from him," the king thinks. And Luna turns bright red. I look at her. "She's cute, but I barely know her," I think and consider.
"I wouldn't mind," Luna says, turning even redder.
The king looks at me joyfully, and Luna too, while I'm still thinking. "I saved her once two years ago and then disappeared," I think and make a decision.
"Can you remember the incident from two years ago?", I ask Luna.
She thinks for a moment, and the king looks at me thoughtfully as well. They both remember a day when Luna was on her way to a neighboring village. When they entered the forest path, they were attacked by 20 shadow wolves. Back then, I appeared, killed the wolves quickly and disappeared. Luna even called after me: "Wait, stop!", she had shouted back then.
"And since then, I've been in love with you," I say hesitantly.
Luna turns even redder and looks down shyly while the king chuckles and strokes his beard. I shake my head. "Can I even trust them?", I think, but dismiss it as nonsense.
"So yes, I would — but only if you promise not to make it public," I say, looking at Luna and then at the king."Alright, we promise," the king says.
Luna jumps up and down in joy, still slightly red. When the king and I look at her, she turns bright red again, stops jumping and buries her face in her hands. I chuckle quietly and look out a window, seeing the sun at its highest point.
"Okay, but I have to leave quickly. Something important," I say to both of them.
They simply nod, and Luna accompanies me to the big door to say goodbye. I wave to her from afar and disappear behind the wall of a house. I jump onto the roof again and see the huge crowd below. I jump from roof to roof and land in front of the magic school.