the small border town of Xian

In a small, abandoned border village, between what was once Murim territory and the lands of the old great empire, lived a small five-year-old boy who scavenged among the bodies of dead soldiers and disciples of the great sects in search of some supply or something of value that he could later trade for food.

The war had forced a small and defenseless child to loot the belongings of the dead in search of something that would allow him to survive longer. This had been the case since his parents' death just two months ago. Out of desperation, the little boy had no time to mourn their loss. Now he had more pressing concerns, such as desperately trying to satisfy his hunger.

And though he still remembered the massacre carried out by the mercenary hired by the empire to destroy the border army stationed in the village of Xian, he still couldn't afford to leave the place.

Even if it meant seeing the massacre committed by the dark mage.

With effort, I moved one of the decomposing bodies that was preventing me from looting the squadron leader who lay dead under the bodies of his comrades. After a few minutes and using a stick as a lever, I moved the bodies to access the captain's loot.

I searched through the leader's clothes only to cut myself on the shattered iron armor.

"Ouch."

"Did something happen to you, little friend?"

Hearing the voice of what seemed to be an old man behind me, without thinking, I threw one of the daggers I had with me.

"Isn't that a bit of an aggressive greeting for someone you don't know, little friend?"

Stupefied, I saw how the dagger I had thrown barely a second ago was now a few centimeters from the old man's face, suspended in the air. A strange, pristine blue energy held the dagger from continuing its trajectory or simply falling to the ground.

Without time to blink, I turned completely and took a defensive position.

^^You're fierce, little one. Well, I shouldn't be surprised to see someone like this surrounded by corpses.^^

Sweat slid from my forehead down my neck. I was in such a high state of alert that I could hear the slow breaths of the toned older man. A soft breeze passed across my cheeks, distracting me with the fluttering hair of the older man.

'I should escape, there's nothing I can do.'

Before I could even start to run, I saw a relatively smaller figure than the older man appear behind him.

"Don't you get tired of intimidating people, Liang?"

I heard a soft female voice escape from the hooded figure.

'What's happening, and why does she sound annoyed?'

"Elara, for the last time, I'm not intimidating anyone."

"Then could you explain to me why the little boy there is in a defensive position? How does a small child even know you pose a threat?"

"First of all, the little one probably got scared because I spoke to him while he was looting a body, and second, I don't really know. From what I've seen, martial infants have a greater sense of danger than imperial infants."

"Sounds to me like you're giving me a cheap excuse, old man."

"What did you just call me, tomato head?"

I listened to the surreal exchange between the female figure and the older man for a few minutes, completely confused by the situation.

'Are they ignoring me?'

'I'd better take advantage and escape.'

Little by little, I retreated toward a viable escape route. When it was within my reach, I threw myself off the cliff that connected to the village river.

'This is going to hurt.'

I jumped off the cliff hoping to escape the peculiar duo, but before I could touch the ground, I found myself completely suspended in the air.

I looked back and saw the cloak covering the female figure fluttering inexplicably, revealing a woman with reddish hair and slight signs of maturity on her face. A dark blue energy surrounded her as she raised her hand in my direction. That woman was a disgusting mage.