Chapter 1 : Hitaka Village

One night when the moon was shining with its beauty and magical light, a man heard the sound of a newborn baby crying in a small village located near the mountains.

The man brought him to a large building in the middle of the village, and the villagers gathered to see him. He was clean, tidy, and nice...which eliminated the possibility that he had been disposed of by his family. A paper was found with him with this child's name written on it.

The village people did not think much about this matter, as he was taken and cared for until his life extended and the years passed and this child had already completed 17 years.

- {Hikata Village} -

A village with acceptable agricultural income, located near high mountains

It is located in an area where there is a lot of snowfall. It can be seen that there is a forest on the right and left sides of the village, and a stone road extending from the village to the outside.

There are scattered houses made of wood, with thatched roofs, and in the middle of the village there is a large building made of stones called (the village council), to which the villagers go for special occasions and to obtain the supplies that come to them every month.

One day, there were two men in a wheat field, neither too large nor too small. They were working hard, with sweat dripping off their foreheads. One of them stopped and said in an annoyed tone:

"It's the end of the month already... When will the supplies come?"

The other man stopped, wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned to his colleague, and replied:

"You will be late as usual... Do not forget that there is one virtue that honors human beings."

He did not like his friend's response, so he started complaining, saying:

"Brother... I can't wait for that virtue to come again."

He replied sarcastically: "Heh~, you are already married, man..."

He felt embarrassed by what his companion said, so he responded in a sharp tone:

"Shut up!...I'm not the only one waiting for her to come, and I'm not thinking in that stupid way!"

While these two men were talking, a young man came running to them, looking tired and exhausted. The two men turned to him and one of them said, asking:

"Hmm? What's wrong with you, boy?"

"Isn't this the son of the village guard who stands at the gate?"

The boy caught his breath and said in a loud, excited voice:

"Virtue... Virtue... will arrive soon!!! She is on her way to the village!"

The two were surprised by what the boy said, so they left the field saying:

"Really?! Let's go quickly!"

"Yes! The field can wait a while."

The two men left the field, and the boy continued running until he told the rest of the village.

Somewhere, there was a man in his forties and a young man, sitting and drinking water while sweating.

The old man said while laughing:

"Tahahahahaha, exercise strengthens the body and soul... Don't forget that! A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Did you understand that? Roy!"

The boy replied, "Yes... I understand that, Uncle Hakishi."

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Koray Roy, a young man, was found 17 years ago on a night when the moon was full in front of the entrance to the village, where he was crying and sighing, and there was a paper on which only his name was written.

He was raised by Hakichi Rishin, a person known for his exceptional physical strength... and a former village guard.

Roy is characterized by black hair that is long in the back and short in the front, and on the sides it is of medium length, as it partially covers the ears.

He has distinctively shaped eyes, where red can be seen in his eyeball.

He has a cold face most of the time, but he is not depressed

He only acts like this instinctively.

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Rishin poured some water on his head, then raised his head and said:

"It is the end of the month, so virtue will come with this month's supplies."

"Oh...it's today," Roy replied coldly.

Rishin said, surprised by Roy's cold reaction:

"What's wrong, Roy? Is there a problem?"

"No...nothing, I'm just thinking about what we're going to get."

Rishin extended his hand and placed it on Roy's head, then said optimistically: "We'll get the usual, so don't worry about thinking about this every time."

"Yes...I will," Roy replied with a little enthusiasm.

Rishen stood up and raised his hands up to stretch, then lowered his hands and said, "Oh, before I forget... We have to discuss something specific after receiving the supplies. Don't forget that."

"Okay..." Roy replied quickly.

Roy and Rishen headed to the center of the village, where the village council building was located. After waiting for about half an hour, a group of vehicles came to the village from the entrance and headed directly to the village council.

After the carts arrived, some people wearing gray clothes bearing a golden emblem resembling a three-pointed spear and a white veil covering half of their faces from the bottom of the eye to the bottom of the chin got out. They carried supplies from the carts and brought them into the village council while the villagers looked on without saying anything. They are getting closer.

Roy was surprised by what was happening, so he asked Richen, saying: "Uncle... who are these?"

Rishen replied in amazement: "What?...Don't you know them? They come here a lot."

"I never asked about them before," he said, scratching his head.

Rishen asked, "Why?"

"I don't know...it suddenly came to my mind now."

So Rishin began to explain to Roy, saying: "Well... these are the servants of the Trident's League, and they are a League affiliated with Virtue that manages human affairs, as each Virtue has its own League."

Roy got an answer that generated another question in his mind. He said to Reishen: "Every virtue? Does that mean there are other virtues?"

Rishin replied while he was hesitant: "Well... I don't know honestly. I'm just telling you what I know."

Roy was satisfied and said sadly: "Oh... well that's okay, I just wanted to know the truth about these people anyway."

"Ahahahaha, you're not good at lying," Rishin said, laughing.

While they were talking... time had passed, and the servants of the Trident League had almost finished unloading supplies to the village council, and then...

A luxurious, eye-catching carriage arrived, made of white wood and wheels with a golden rim, pulled by bright white horses with long, silky hair.

It was clear to everyone that this was a virtue. The servants stood in an organized manner indicating respect, and the gathered villagers prepared to bow.

The carriage stopped and one of the servants came forward to open the door, and as soon as he opened it

Virtue got off the carriage and everyone bowed to her.

A girl... a girl with short, crimson red hair, wide golden eyes with a dazzling sparkle, and facial features still in her early teens.

Her clothes are distinctive and she has a dazzling appearance. She wears long white pants and a jacket in which the red and white colors blend together in a harmonious way, and a long robe that completely covers her back until below the knee. She wears a golden necklace with a bright blue gem in it.

Virtue began to look at those present, who were all bowed down... except for one person who stood and looked without any reaction. He said in a low voice: "That boy....."

One of the servants noticed Virtue, so he looked in the direction she was looking at and saw Roy standing and not bowing, so he shouted at him in a loud voice, "Huh?! Villager!! Bow down to Virtue right now!"

Roy replied in a cold and indifferent tone, saying: "Why should I do that? I don't understand."

Richen was shocked by what Roy said a short while ago, and he said to himself while he was very worried: "How negligent... Roy has never come to the village council before in the presence of virtue. I hope nothing bad will happen."

Virtue looked at him for a moment, then sighed and said coldly: "Why don't you want to bow down? Have I not lived up to your expectations, or are you superior to me?"

Roy answered in an indifferent tone and said, "Actually... I don't see any reason for me to bow down."

Rishen approached Roy and whispered next to him, saying: "Oh, Roy... I apologize and bow down now!"

Roy did not hear what Rishen said, and said in a clear voice: "My name is Korai Roy from this village, what about you? What is your name?"

Virtue looked at him with a frozen look: "Huh?"

Everyone present was shocked by Roy's crazy behavior. No one had ever dared to talk in this way with Virtue.

Virtue's servants were about to attack him, but Virtue said after closing her eyes and opening them:

"What would you get if you knew my name?" with a direct look.

Roy replied, "Simply...because I don't trust strangers, that's all."

The village people were terrified because of what Roy said to Virtue , so they said while whispering in a low voice

"Damn it...we're going to get killed because of it!"

"Rishen, do something!"

"Oh God, help... I don't want to die."

The virtue remained silent and did not respond to him this time, and then she went to the village council and entered inside, and a group of servants entered with her, and after a short while... these servants came out and one of them said in a loud voice: "The meal will be distributed." During the special monthly session, you will be admitted one by one, so stand in order."

Reishen was amazed at what happened and said to himself after the heaviness of his madness eased from him: "Nothing happened?"

"She's gone...she didn't tell me her name," he said in a tone full of regret.

The villagers flocked to Roy and Rishin and began to scold in a loud voice, saying:

"What's wrong with you, you crazy person?!! We almost died because of you!!"

"You should be thankful it didn't kill you! Or us!"

"Rishen… you must teach him how to respect virtue or else this entire village will be annihilated!"

Rishen started scratching his head, then raised his head and said, trying to calm the situation: "I apologize about this... He has never seen Fazila before. I will make sure he learns about this."

The villagers understood the matter after Rishin explained it to them, and one of them said: "Ugh, man... He is a good boy, but his problem is that he is childish in the eyes of the outside world."

Roy said, interrupting the man who was speaking: "Should I not know the name of the person I am talking to in order to trust him? And she did not say her name... This means that she may be a danger to us."

Richen responded with a smile to Roy, saying: "Listen, boy... No one knows the names of the virtues at all, and a virtue is not allowed to reveal its name to its subjects. This is an order from the high command that manages everything."

Roy was surprised again after he got a question from Rishin's answer again, so he said: "High Command? What is this?"

Rishin stopped talking and responded to Roy hesitantly again, saying: "I told you before about the existence of other virtues other than those that came here, and in light of the existence of this number of virtues... it is necessary to have a leadership that runs everything and so on."

"You know a lot, uncle," Roy said, impressed.

Richen said, "It's not what you think... I'm only telling you a little. There are a lot of things and information about virtues, and we humans have only a small part of this information."

Roy hummed a little, then replied to Reishen, saying: "Okay... I will be more polite next time, that's a promise."

"This is Roy...the golden boy, ahahaha," said Richen while patting Roy on the back and laughing out loud.

On the other side, there were some servants standing next to Virtue's carriage, where they were whispering among themselves.

"That is the boy who disrespected virtue a little while ago."

"I heard that this is the first time he has seen a virtue, as he was working at a time when virtue came in previous times."

"What? Hasn't he seen Fadila before?"

"This explains why he behaved like this... It seems that he thought that Virtue was just an ordinary person."

"If I had been the one who spoke to me in that way and heard his story, I would have forgiven him, but now we are talking about virtue, so... his reckoning may be difficult."

The villagers began to enter, one after another, into the village council in an organized manner, and after one person entered, another would enter after the first one came out carrying a closed wooden box.

Roy was surprised by this and began to wonder about that, as he wanted to ask Reishen about that, but he said to himself that Uncle Reishen might seem tired right now, so he would come in and introduce himself.

Time passed, as many people entered and left, including Rishen, and then it was Roy's turn.. .

One of the servants said suddenly: "Wait...we must search you first."

Roy was surprised by the servant's reaction, but he responded calmly and said: "I carry this stick with me." A small stick, 30 cm long.

"Huh? And why do you carry a stick with you?" He was surprised that there was a stick among the boy.

Roy said as he moved the stick a little: "It has been with me since I came here, and I did not know where to put it or throw it away, so I left it in my hand."

The servant looked at Roy for a while, then extended his hand and said: "Give it to me, I will find a place for it for you, just come in and finish."

"Okay... take it." Roy put the stick in the servant's hand.

Roy entered the council, where the place was tidy and had walls of rock, which he was not accustomed to being between before.

He looked forward and found one of the servants sitting on a chair with a pad in his hand, writing down some things on it, so he approached him.

The servant sitting on the chair raised his head and looked at Roy and said: "Well... what is your name, boy?"

Roy responded directly and in a calm tone: "Koray Roy... from the people of this village."

The servant continued, saying: "Well... how old are you?"

Roy was surprised by the question, but he responded naturally: "My age? .... Mmm, it's 17 years old."

The servant wrote down some things, then looked at Roy again and said: "Okay... give him that box over there."

Roy was surprised by the servant's statement and said: "Shouldn't I take the box myself?"

"Take it without discussion, and listen carefully.... Don't open it in front of anyone. You have to go home and open it without anyone seeing you, do you understand?" the servant said in a serious tone.

"Okay....I will do that," he replied without saying anything else.

Roy left the council holding the box tightly. He noticed that the box was a bit heavy.

A box was 30cm long, 45cm wide, and 10cm high. Roy looked at the rest and saw that everyone had gotten a box of the same size, so he went home, put the box on the table, and returned to the village center.

Roy looked around, but he only found people waiting in front of the council. He said, "Where is the uncle? I haven't seen him since he received his box." He said while he was puzzled.

Roy came across one of the villagers, and the villager said to Roy: "What are you doing here, boy? Haven't you received your share or what?"

Roy looked surprised for a moment, and he said: "My share? Do you mean the box? Yes, I got one and put it in my house."

The villager was amazed and said to Roy: "Why? It is the special monthly meal. You must eat it as soon as you get it. These are the traditions."

Roy took a few seconds to think, then replied to the man and said: "I now understand why uncle disappeared. It turns out he went to eat, but before I go... can I carry your box for a little while?"

"Huh? Well... hold it tight." He gave him the box.

He said to himself, surprised and confused: "He is... lighter than mine, why?"

"Are you done? I have to go," the man said to Roy.

"Yes... take it, I apologize for disturbing you." Roy returned the box.

"Let's go, boy, and don't forget to be thankful for this food." The man left.

"Huh? Well..." Roy replied.

Roy returned to his house and took out the box and sat contemplating and thinking about why his box was heavier than the box of the man he had met a short while ago, and then he decided to open it and see what was in it.

"Okay... let's see why the box is so heavy." Roy opened the box forcefully.

Roy was a little surprised by what he found in the box. He found grilled meat and some yellow bread, which is not available in this village, because yellow bread is produced from special wheat grown in areas far from the mountains.

But what made Roy surprised was...that there were two pieces of everything present, two meats and two loaves of bread.

Roy stopped thinking and started eating what he could eat and decided to keep the rest, and after finishing... Roy decided to take a nap because he was full and exhausted from the day's work.

Hours passed and Roy fell into a deep sleep. Suddenly, Roy woke up to the sound of knocking on the door. He quickly got up, washed his face, and opened the door.

"I...I'm coming." Roy came forward and opened the door.

"Koray Roy...isn't it?"

"Aren't you one of the servants of the Spear League?" The one at the door was one of Virtue's followers.

He presented a piece of paper to Roy and said: "We are here to give you this... I hope you are good at reading." He spoke in a cold tone.

Roy was surprised by the servant's words and said: "Yes... I am good at reading, but who sent it?"

"We can't tell you about this...you have to find out for yourself," he responded directly.

Roy grabbed the paper, then remembered about the box, so he took the initiative to ask, saying: "Hmm, well... So about my box that I got today."

"Everyone gets the same content so don't think too much about it, bye." The servant left after giving Roy a cold reply.

"Oh...well, bye." Roy entered and closed the door behind him.

Then he said: "I have to turn on the lamp... I can't read in the dark."

Roy left the letter on the table, and went to light the lamp through the fire of the stove. He lit it and returned to the table, sat down, then took the letter and opened it.

"Who could send me a message at this time?" Roy opened the message.

He was narrated as he read: "(On a night when the moon is full, where the earth is white and there is wood everywhere, the punishment will be carried out)"

Roy's mind stopped for a moment, and he said in a sarcastic tone: "What is this? Is this a riddle?"

Roy continued reading: "(It will be the night when your fate is determined. Either you fight to live or you submit to death)"

Roy was even more surprised after completing the message. He said in an annoyed tone: "What is this madness? It seems to be some kind of joke. Anyway, I will go to sleep... I wasted my time lighting the lamp to no avail." He turned off the lamp.

Roy went back to sleep, and spent the night with peace of mind, and when the morning came... Roy woke up to the sound of birds chirping that sing every morning immediately after sunrise, and dew drops sliding from the leaves of the trees.

Roy opened his eyes and started yawning and rubbing his eyes. "Huh? Is it… morning?"

He got up and moved off the bed, then said: "I had a really good night. Oh, I remembered... Did Virtue leave or not?"

He got down from his simple wooden bed, arranged it, and said: "She probably left...she is busy, isn't she?"

Roy washed his face and changed his clothes and headed towards the door and said: "Okay... I will go out and ask the village people about this."

He started walking towards Richen's house so that they could go to the field together.

The atmosphere was different from the rest of the days, as everyone was cautious and organized, unlike every morning Roy had passed.

He wondered to himself, "What's wrong with them? Did something happen without my knowledge?"

Moments later, he saw someone standing near the village council, and he said in surprise: "Wait...isn't that one of the servants of virtue?...What is he doing here? Or haven't they gone?"

Roy was standing alone until Reishen came up, extending his arms

And he says: "Good morning, boy. Did you sleep well?"

He turned and saw Rishin, and said: "Hello, uncle... Good morning. Yes, you slept well."

Then he said to himself: "Should I tell him about the letter?"

Rishen looked at Virtue's servants and said, "It seems that Virtue has spent the night here this time, unlike usual."

He narrated to himself, saying: "So she did not leave, but why did she stay here? Is it possible that there is a problem?"

After a while... Al-Fadhila left the village council and headed to the carriage. One of the servants went to the private carriage and opened the door. While Al-Fadhila was climbing into the carriage... she turned and looked at Roy briefly with an incomprehensible look.

As soon as Al-Fadila got up and closed the door of her carriage, her convoy began walking out of the village.

Roy said with his arms crossed: "And here she is gone, and I do not know her name until now."

"Do you like her or what?" Rishin said in a sarcastic tone.

Roy quickly responded, saying: "What do you mean like? I don't understand..."

"Forget it... Don't bother..." Reishen looked to the side, trying to suppress his laughter.

At the same time that Rishin and Roy were talking, there was a conversation between Virtue and another person covering his face with a mask in the carriage driving outside the village.

The owner of the mask was looking through the window: "Oh Virtue... why didn't you punish that boy?"

The Virtue replied calmly: "You mean the boy who asked me to tell him my name?"

"Yes, that boy... You usually ask us to punish anyone who crosses his limits with you," the mask owner said, looking at Virtue.

Virtue contented herself and said: "Well... it's just that I was in a good mood this time, so he's lucky, nothing more."

"So... I was very surprised by your behavior, so I asked this question."

The virtue opened her eyes slightly and said: "This is not important now..."

The owner of the mask replied, saying: "Yes, you are right... You should go back and get some rest after all this hard work."

Virtue's procession continued its way out of the village until it left permanently, and so the days passed normally as usual.

One day, while Roy was with Rishen in the field working...a question came to the boy Roy's mind, so he decided to go to the village sheikh with Rishen until he found the answer.

Rishin said in surprise: "Why are you dragging me at this time? We are supposed to complete the work in the field and then do our daily exercises."

Roy replied, "Actually... I've had a question on my mind for a while, and I decided today to go to the village sheikh to ask him."

Rishen said, looking at Roy, wondering: "And what do I have to do with this?"

"Because you are the grandson of the village sheikh, you can enter there without waiting a long time," he said while moving his right shoulder slightly.

"Hmm, a good reason, let's go then..."

Roy and Rishen headed to the village council to talk to the village sheikh. When they arrived, they found the village sheikh sitting in his wheelchair, the air caressing his long beard, which had become as white as snow.

"Hmm... Hello Grandpa, how are you today?" Rishin said in a respectful tone.

-Village elder Hakichi Riki-

"Hello, Rishen, aren't you supposed to be in the field at this time?"

"Actually, grandfather... I'm here for the boy Roy. He wants to ask you about something," Richen said while pointing his hand at Roy.

Ricky looked at Roy and said, "Roy?...What's going on, kid? Tell me what you want to know."

Roy took a deep breath and then said: "A while ago... a celebration was held for Hikono on the occasion of him obtaining a special ability, and he told me that he became strong after obtaining the ability, so I am wondering... when will I also get my ability like the rest?" "

Richen looked at Roy and said: "Roy..."

Riki remained silent for a few moments, then said: "So... you want to obtain a special ability like your peers. I will explain it to you, boy."

He continued, saying: "Distinctive abilities are a special power that enables a person to rise to higher levels of strength, intelligence, speed, etc.."

He added: "As for the possibility of obtaining it, this depends on two factors that have no third... The first is inheritance from one of the parents, and the second, which is the most difficult... is to obtain it according to your capabilities."

Roy listened expectantly, then began to speak, saying: "I don't know anything about my mother and father, so...explain to me the possibilities."

Ricky stroked his white beard and continued the conversation, saying: "Capabilities depend on several factors... intelligence, physical strength, will... If one of them is not available, obtaining a special ability will be impossible."

Rishin pointed at himself with his thumb and said: "I am an example... My father and mother do not have special abilities, and as a result I have become incapable."

"What about the second factor? What were you missing?" Roy asked in a curious tone.

"Oh, about that... I lacked willpower at the time," Rishin said, looking at his clenched right hand.

Roy said: "Will? How is this? And what exactly is will?"

Ricky sighed and said: "It is a difficult thing to explain, but I will only tell you what is obvious... It is more like a desire, a very strong desire for a certain thing and this desire pushes you to advance despite everything that may face you... This is what is called the will to "Most likely"

Roy raised his eyebrows and said, "This doesn't seem logical..."

Ricky replied: "I told you...it's something that's hard to explain, and not everyone has it."

Roy hummed a little, then said, "So...thanks anyway, that was helpful."

Then he continued, saying: "And you, uncle..."

Richen turned to Roy and replied, "Huh? What's going on, boy?"

Roy with a look of admiration: "Even though you have no special ability, you are a wonderful person... I really respect you."

Rishen replied sheepishly, saying: "H... well, thank you, boy... I will make sure to keep it like that, ahihihi."

Ricky smiled broadly: "That's great..."

A new day and a new lesson for the boy, Roy. After that... the days continued to go normally as usual, planting, harvesting, plowing, and learning... This is Roy's daily life in a nutshell.

Days and weeks passed until a period of time had passed, estimated at three months, by which time winter had knocked on the doors... and there were two months remaining until New Year.

During the two months preceding the New Year, the villagers make certain preparations... including making warm winter clothes and storing good food to prepare a banquet for the usual New Year's celebration every year, and this particular day... is one of the days that Roy longs for. In a big way, but on a snowy night

Something happened that changed everything for Roy.

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To be continued