___ Lechtane Continent ___
____ Natsumi Empire ____
___ Yakano Kingdom ___
___ Renoko Town ___
Unlike the three great empires that dominate the throne of ranking, in the far south lies the continent of Lechtane.
Yes, the south—poverty, famine, destruction, an endless desert… this is what many believe.
But it is completely the opposite.
In terms of development, this continent has held the top position for more than ten years, which is what distinguishes it from the other lands.
Despite not occupying one of the top three positions among the great continents, it managed to secure only fifth place.
However, this does not matter at all to its people, as they are considered among the happiest of all continents.
Unlike the prevailing system adopted by others, which relies on strength for ranking, Lechtane has a different view.
Instead of focusing solely on physical strength, it gave supreme importance to intellect and science, which is why most scientific discoveries were born here.
In the Natsumi Empire, located in the northwest of the continent and possessing an important maritime orientation for both economy and military, lies the Yakano Kingdom to the east of this empire.
It is globally famous for its role in the production of fabrics, clothing, and everything related to fashion—from designs to innovations.
On the outskirts of the royal capital lies a small town called Renoko, which—unlike the rest of the continent—focuses on physical strength and martial arts, especially swordsmanship.
It is said that most of the continent's generals were born there.
It is night.
The reflection of moonlight on the sand dunes makes the golden grains of sand shine like pearls under sunlight.
The fresh, clean air, with a playful touch of cold.
Oases can be seen—tall palm trees near water illuminated by the moon, appearing like a reflective mirror.
It is a beautiful night in Renoko.
As usual: calmness, tranquility, breathtaking nature…
…(sound of striking)
In the midst of this calm, while everyone is asleep, there was someone… one person.
A tall boy in his twenties, with a weak build, pale skin, bright blue eyes, and dark black hair.
He is still training… again… and again…
He falls… gets up… gets tired… gives up… returns again…
But he never stopped.
The sound of his training can be heard—using an old, worn wooden sword his father gave him before leaving.
He keeps striking the straw dummy repeatedly, every day, every night like this.
He barely even has time to sleep.
The townspeople have grown used to him.
He always dreamed of becoming the best—of surpassing the legend of his grandfather, known as the King of Death, who was a general in the imperial army.
______Boy______
(panting) …Damn it… (falls to the ground) …I think… I should take a break… maybe… a little sleep won't hurt…
Lying on his training ground, on the sand that retained the morning's warmth—it was warm, comfortable.
The boy looked at the sky filled with stars, admiring the beauty of the view, before closing his eyes from sheer exhaustion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
________Woman_________
(slams the table while speaking loudly in an angry tone)
Didn't I tell you?! No, you're not going out again!
________Boy__________
(trembling)
But Mom, I don't want to stay in this place forever!
________Mother________
I didn't tell you to stay here forever! All I said was… (sighs) …fine…
(approaches her son and hugs him)
Listen, my son… Riko…
I never meant to deprive you of your dream… but… your condition doesn't allow you to go out often! Everything your mother wishes for you comes from her love for you…
So please… don't leave me like the others… please… (crying)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun rose, casting its gentle morning light on Riko's face as he slept outside on his training ground, waking him from a sleep that barely lasted three hours.
__________Riko_________
Hmm… I don't want to get up (yawn) …I'm tired…
Hmm, but I have to become stronger! I shouldn't rest too much!
Riko stood up, exhausted but with a clear goal in his eyes—to become stronger.
As soon as he reached for his sword, his stomach growled with hunger.
__________Riko_________
…Ah… looks like I'm hungry.
I think I'll go back home… I wonder what Mom prepared!
Riko headed to the house near the town fountain and center—their grandfather's only inheritance and remaining wealth.
It was not a simple house at all—built with refined architecture, thick walls, and a steel front door for protection.
It had a courtyard his mother turned into a paradise, arranging various flowers and roses, along with a tea area for guests.
The house was spacious: ten bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, two kitchens—one inside and one in the backyard for barbecues—a public bath, and a massive living hall that welcomes you upon entry, furnished with sofas and a television considered among Lechtane's latest technology.
Stairs then lead to the first floor where the bedrooms are located.
Riko arrived home and rang the doorbell.
___________Riko_________
I'm back! …Mom, open the door!
Minutes passed with no answer.
Riko grew worried, but suddenly remembered it was market day, so most mothers were out.
He entered the house. As expected, his mother was out.
She had prepared food on the table along with a note: "I love you, my son."
Riko didn't care much—he threw the note in the trash, ate, and immediately went back to training.
Hours passed as Riko trained.
He looked at the sky and saw the sun nearing sunset. Evening had come, and he began to feel tired.
_________Riko_________
(sighs) …I'm really tired… I think that's enough for today…
I'll go home, take a hot bath, have dinner, then sleep right away…
__________Boy 1_________
…Hmm? …What's that? Giving up already?!
Riko heard a familiar voice behind him.
Neither the time nor the place was right.
He turned around to face them—just as expected, people he disliked.
The first was a tall young man with brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin.
The second was slightly shorter, with black hair, brown eyes, and pale white skin.
Both had strong builds—heirs of noble families who came to waste time and money in the town.
For some reason, they had made Riko their target.
_____________Riko___________
(nervous, face pale)
…You… don't you ever get bored?!
I thought you finally stopped… seems I was wrong.
____________Boy 2____________
Ooooh… what a poor thing… isn't that right, Haroki?! Hahahaha!
_________Haroki_________
Hahaha… truly pathetic… (sighs) Is this what you call training?
Training every day, yet look at your skinny body! Compared to me and Sekkai—the true nobles—we don't even need training to build perfect bodies! Hahahaha!
________Sekkai________
Hahahaha… exactly.
A filthy peasant like you should know your place and stay where you belong…
Yes… a place for poor trash like you!
_________Riko_________
…(sighs) …Are you done now?!
I don't know what you gain from this, but whatever…
I'm not in the mood today. Goodbye. Another day.
As Riko tried to leave, Sekkai stopped him and blocked his way.
Riko stopped and looked at Sekkai, who stared at him with contempt and a disgusted smile.
Riko was angry but restrained himself.
___________Riko__________
…What do you want, you—
Before he could finish, a powerful punch struck the back of his head.
His vision blurred and he fell to the ground.
Looking up weakly, he saw Haroki.
________Haroki________
Ah, how annoying you are…
You're lucky today—I'm in a good mood.
So you'll only get a few punches! Hahaha! (smirk)
_________Riko_________
…You… (anger) (panting) …You'll regre—
He couldn't finish.
They began beating him with all their strength.
Riko tried to resist, but reality is reality—he was truly weak.
Each attempt only earned him more blows.
It lasted over half an hour.
Riko was covered in bruises, completely drenched in blood, unable to stand.
They threw him to the ground like trash—he couldn't even look at them.
__________Haroki_________
Huh?! Say that again, "strong man"!
I can't hear you! (punch) Hahaha!
_________Sekkai_______
Hahaha… trash!
Come on, Haroki—let's go. Enough wasting time on this garbage!
Haroki scoffed and they left.
Riko was left in a pitiful state—unable to even open his eyes.
Soon, he lost consciousness.
Hours passed.
Riko woke up, his entire body screaming in pain.
He forced himself to open his eyes and found himself lying where he had fallen.
He looked at the star-filled sky—it would have been a perfect night if not for those bastards.
__________Riko's POV____________
Ah… damn those bastards…
(raises his hand to the sky with difficulty as tears fall down his cheeks, gasping while trying not to cry)
I swear… (gasp) …I swear… I will become the strongest… and I will kill you, you bastards.
Riko screamed—not only from physical pain, but psychological pain as well.
He screamed at his fate for being born with a weak, sick body, and at his fate for being bullied daily by a handful of scum.
After some time, Riko pulled himself together and decided to go home.
But not like this.
He struggled to his feet and went to a nearby oasis, washed himself to at least look better, then slowly headed home.
He could barely walk—leaning on his sword, using it like a cane, staggering like a frail old man.
Finally reaching home, he entered quietly, not wanting to worry his mother—it was late.
He went to the table but found nothing.
This surprised him—his mother always prepared food for every meal.
She also hadn't removed or cleaned the plate from his breakfast.
Riko didn't think much of it—she was probably tired or upset.
He checked the fridge, ate whatever he found, then went straight to bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Time passed.
Riko woke up—he hadn't slept well in a long time.
His body screamed in pain.He went to wash his face and saw his bruised reflection. Not wanting anyone to see him like that, he covered them with his mother's makeup, which he kept hidden for such situations.
It took time since he was a beginner, but the result was satisfactory.
He looked out the window—the sun was high in the sky, he checked the time: two in the afternoon. He went downstairs to the dining room.
______Riko______
Ah… Mom, I'm sorry, I—
Mom! …Mom!!!
That's when he realized something was wrong. For the first time, his mother wasn't home at this time, Dirty dishes remained, no sign of her anywhere.
What shocked him more was how late he noticed her absence.
Why didn't he realize earlier?!
That's when he understood how neglectful he had been, guilt and fear overwhelmed him—tears formed, his body trembled. He slapped himself, reminding himself this wasn't the time , he had to find his mother.
Riko rushed out, asking everyone who knew her—the market merchants, everyone.
__________Riko__________
Uh… excuse me, sir… have you seen my mother?
You know her—Selina Mon!
__________Man_________
Ah… yes, I saw her yesterday morning at the market, but not after that.
Are you her son? Is there a problem?
Riko ignored the man's question and kept running, asking everyone.
Unfortunately, there was no trace of her.
Night fell.
He returned home hopeless—the house he once avoided because of his mother's excessive worry.Now he understood how ungrateful he had been, how important she was.
Now that his "used to be wish" became true , that warm house had become… cold.
Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from his bedroom.
Life rushed back into him.
He ran—she must be there. She must just be angry.
________Riko's POV_________
Yes… (running, panting, his sick body trembling, eyes full of tears and hope, a smile barely forming from anxiety)
This time I'll be a good son…Please, Mom… I'm sorry!
He ran to his room—the door was open.There was a sound inside.
He pushed the door open eagerly.
________Riko_______
Mom! I—! (scream) Huh?! Wh—
Before he could finish, a powerful blow struck his head from a masked man in black.He immediately lost consciousness.
_______Somewhere______
________?????______
(punch) …Hey—! you! Wake up!
Riko felt intense pain—the damage from earlier made it worse.
He opened his eyes to find himself tied to a chair in a cold, dark room.
With him were the black-masked man and another wearing a white fox-shaped mask covering only the upper half of his face.
The latter sat confidently, like a leader—large build, wearing a suit, smoking a cigarette.
Riko couldn't speak—his mouth was taped shut. He struggled and screamed.
After a while, he noticed the boss signal the masked man—he thought the tape would be removed, but instead, the masked man punched him, knocking him and the chair to the ground.
Riko thought this was the end, they kept beating him for a while.
Then the boss gestured again, and the tape was removed.
Riko lay on the floor, gasping.
_________Boss___________
Hmm? So you're Selina's son, huh?
Interesting… you're really weak—despite your parents being among the strongest agents on the continent.
Riko couldn't respond from the pain, he stared blankly—his only concern was his mother, he didn't care if he died now. Life without her was worse than death.
________Riko________
…M…Mo…M…Mom… Mom… Mom… (barely breathing)
The masked man kicked him, causing Riko to vomit blood and struggle to breathe, yet the word "Mom" never left his lips.
The boss signaled him to stop.
________Boss_________
Your mother, huh? She means that much to you?
_______Riko________
…M…Mom…
The boss stood up angrily, lifted Riko's face, spat on him, and burned his cheek by extinguishing his cigarette just below his tear-filled eye.
He turned toward the door, then stopped, looked back, and smiled—a truly demonic smile.
___________Boss_______________
Hahaha… well then, since you don't know what's going on here…
(to the masked man)
Bring him his mother.
Looks like he misses her. (mocking, satisfied grin)