1 Rulid Village

The Rulid Village was a peaceful village located on a small elevated hill and was surrounded by a grove of trees, its location being surrounded by a range steep of mountains in the north, east, and west. It was a small village located in the Kingdom of Eldria, a kingdom lush with forests and a relatively peaceful one.

Located in its outskirts were two children underneath a giant oak tree, having a picnic of some sort.

"Hey Alice, have you heard about that time when the Crest Knights slew the Tyrant Lion yet?" a young boy, with his mouth still full, looked towards the little girl beside him with stars in his eyes.

The little girl, Alice, pouted and looked away. "Raziel, you've told me that a million times already! Everything that comes out of your mouth is always something about the Crest Knights!"

The young boy, Raziel, scratched his head and laughed embarrassingly. He himself knew how obsessed he was with the legendary Crest Knights, a group of legendary knights chosen by the gods to protect the realm long ago.

He placed his hand on top of Alice's head and brushed it against her long, bright, and beautiful golden hair. "I'm sorry alright? You know how I get when it's something about the Crest Knights!"

Alice meekly nodded as she turned red. She had already gotten used to Raziel's antics and talkative personality when it comes to knights. Just like she was whenever she talked about magic.

Raziel stood and extended his hand towards Alice, gesturing her to stand up as well. Alice took his hand as he started to run.

"W-wait, where are we going?! Slow down!" The poor girl shouted in surprise, but Raziel didn't stop running.

He looked back at Alice and grinned. "I'll show you something, so we have to hurry up!"

Alice sighed in response but she looked forward to what he wanted to show her. Whenever Raziel had shown her something, it was always something she liked.

The two of them headed into the thick forest grove. The forest was especially beautiful during the spring season, the trees bloomed beautifully, and it was a truly beautiful sight to behold.

As the area slowly started becoming clear of trees, Raziel suddenly stopped as he looked upwards.

"Why are we stopping?"

"Because we're here."

Alice suddenly noticed where Raziel was looking at which left her shocked. Directly in front of them was the biggest tree she had ever seen. It looked like some type of olive tree and was very fragrant to smell.

"That's not even the best part yet, follow me!" Raziel headed towards behind the tree and pulled out an orb-like object that glowed yellow.

"Raziel that's...!!" Alice gasped in shock and couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Raziel nodded and stretched the hand that was holding the orb towards her. "A rune orb, and a very powerful one. I was exploring here and I suddenly found it in the tree's roots. I wanted to give it to you because it reminded me about you."

"Raziel... this is a powerful rune orb! Didn't you want to become a Crest Knight? This would aid you greatly! I can't accept that, it's too precious." Alice shook her head and rejected. She knew how rare a rune orb was, not to mention this one seemed to be a high-class one.

A rune orb was said to be blessed armaments provided by the gods. Once a rune orb fused with a person, that person would be able to use the "System Call" ability to check the magical and physical abilities of a person, as well as their vital health. That wasn't all. Once mastered, the person that fused with the rune orb would be able to shape it once into a weapon the owner wishes to use and which allows it to use the full potential and power of the rune orb.

In the village, only her dad, the village mayor, had fused with a rune orb and even it wasn't a very good one.

"Just take it, I feel like it would be more suitable for you. Otherwise, you can just leave it here and reject my generosity." Raziel visibly faked tears.

The young girl was hesitant at first but decided to accept in the end. She jumped into Raziel's arms and gave him a hug, as she buried herself in his bosom. "Thank you," she whispered.

Raziel hugged her back and patted her back. "Better fuse with it now before we get back to the village. Don't tell your dad yet, unless you want to shock the life out of him."

"Mhm. I won't." After their little hug, Alice held the rune orb in her hands as she stared at the bright yellow ball.

"Fuse!"

Light suddenly started to erupt from the ball as it got absorbed into Alice's body. Yellow olive leaves suddenly appeared and circled her furiously, slowly getting engulfed by it. Suddenly erupting, it blew away the leaves as Alice reappeared from the olive leaves surrounding her earlier.

"Fragrant Olive Tree..." She whispered as she stared at her hand.

"What?"

"Fragrant Olive Tree... its the source of the rune orb. It's a tree planted thousands of years ago by a very powerful knight who blessed it with the power of light. This is something that a lot of light-based mages and knights would want!" Alice exclaimed vaguely. Although she was just a child, she knew the value of a rune orb in her village, not to mention something as rare as the one she had just fused with.

Raziel observed Alice with a smile. "I'm glad that it's suitable for you. Someday, you'll surely become a great light mage."

"And someday, you'll be a Crest Knight," said Alice.

Once their conversation was over, they quickly went back to the village before nightfall came. The outskirts of the village were mostly safe in the day, but it was different during the night. Most beasts lived deep in the forest and were nocturnal, only coming out of their hiding spots in the night.

Seeing a beast was rare, but not impossible. Encountering one was extremely dangerous if you weren't someone who could fight. Most of the encounters ended in extreme injuries or even death.

Once they arrived back in the village, Raziel and Alice had to go separate ways. Raziel was an orphan and therefore lived in the church, cared for by the sisters. While Alice had to go back to her family's home, where her dad was most likely worried again along with her little sister, Selka.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Usual time and place?" Alice turned back to face him.

"Usual time and place." Raziel nodded.

The two of them always met at a specific area and time due to their busy schedule. Alice had her magic studies, and Raziel had his weapon training. His dream was truly not for naught, Raziel was an extremely talented child in magic, armed and unarmed combat.

At the age of 12, he was already a skilled swordsman and even an expert with the spear. His magic aptitude was very high but unfortunately, he had no one to teach him magic. He didn't want to be a bother with Alice's magic training with the sisters and besides them, there was no one else in the village to teach him and therefore kept it a secret.

"You're late once again, Raziel Auserwalt." As Raziel arrived in front of the church, a middle-aged woman wearing church robes approached him. He immediately knew he was in trouble the moment she spoke his full name.

She was the head sister of the church in their village and looked after Raziel and the other orphans. She was a strict but kind woman, often caring for the children in their times of need.

"I'm sorry Sister Myrcella, me and Alice had to do something important and had just arrived," he explained.

Myrcella, the head sister, sighed. "Of course, involving Alice in your antics again. She's probably at home right now, getting a load of scolding from her father."

"Sorry, Alice." Raziel inwardly apologized.

"Come on in now, supper should be ready by now." Sister Myrcella walked towards the church as she held Raziel's hand.

"What's for supper?"

"Your favorite." she smiled.