12 Raidon!

Nardino Knights Meeting Room—

"The beasts of the forest are going berserk, and we have to go clean them up tomorrow. Do you understand that, Tauras?"

A man with a height of 1.83m (6') and broad shoulders stood around a circular table. On the table, a map of Antinia and the surrounding forest was spread out. The man had grey hair with a matching goatee beard, exuding a powerful aura. He was the 5-star aura knight, Count Nadino.

He had arrived in Antinia yesterday, and after resting for a day, he was now formulating a plan to address the issue of the beasts going berserk in the forest, a problem that had been bothering him for quite some time. He was discussing the plan with Tauras, the captain of the Nadino Knights.

"Understood, Lord Nadino. I will create a list of participating knights who are going to complete this mission with us," replied Tauras with confidence.

"Hmm, good. Get it done then," Count Nadino said plainly, already expecting this response.

"Father! Don't worry; I will take care of most of the beasts."

The son of Count Nadino assured his father. Valark Nadino was a 20-year-old considered a genius for becoming a 3-star knight at this age. The Count was very proud of his son. Valark also had grey hair like his father, with a sharp and handsome face.

"Yeah, I know Valark, you are a genius, and I can count on you," the Count praised, acknowledging his son.

"Hehe, what genius? Sir Adrian is only 15 and is already more powerful than any 3-star knight we have. That is what a true genius is," Tauras laughed inwardly. Before meeting Adrian, he also considered Valark a genius, but after seeing Adrian, his standard of a genius has somewhat become flawed, as Adrian is not a genius but a monster.

"Oh yeah, Tauras, do you know who was the man that took down the Red Loan Shark Business and executed their boss in the center of the city?"

The Count asked Tauras, who was leaving to get things done. The Count had heard about the hero of the citizens who brought justice upon the wrongdoers all by himself. The Count was also curious about him.

"Oh, him. That man is our vice-captain," Tauras replied with a proud smile on his face. He knew all about the hero. In fact, he was the one who suggested taking down that business.

"What? Vice-captain! Do you mean Viren? But isn't he only a 3-star knight? How can he take down the business all by himself?" said the Count with surprise in his voice as he asked about the details.

"No, sir, not Viren. He had been replaced a month ago by our new vice-captain – Sir Adrian. He was the one who took down that filthy business," Tauras replied, excitement showing on his face as if this was his favorite topic to talk about.

"Hmm, that makes sense. So where is he now? I would like to meet him." The Count expressed his desire to meet this new hero of the town.

"Sir, he is not here right now. When I told him about the mission, he told me that he had to visit his home to give his mother the money he earned. He will be back by tomorrow, so you can meet him when we leave for the forest," Tauras explained.

Adrian had collected all the money from the locker of the business and then hid the locker. Afterward, he reported to the city knights who took care of the bounty money as well as the money percentage he got as a reward. So, in total, he earned 5000 golds, 4000 from the locker, which he didn't report, and 1000 golds was the sum of his reward and bounties.

After collecting the money, he first paid for the bident, which he had bought in this city. Next, he went to Tauras to inform him about the details of the mission, and after Tauras told him about the mission, which was Adrian's goal, and about which he was dying to hear. He decided to return to his house to give the money to his mom so that she doesn't have to worry about money.

"Alright, I will meet him tomorrow. Now go and do your preparations."

---- At Adrian's House ----

"Adrian, where were you for this long? I was so worried." Freya hugged Adrian as soon as she saw him.

"Now I will not let you go anywhere." Freya spoke with motherly love as she kissed Adrian on the cheeks.

"Mom, let me go. I can't breathe, ah…" Adrian said as he gasped for air.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you are still a child." Finally, his mom let him go.

Adrian didn't have any problem with being hugged, but it was just that in his mom's arms, his strength left his body, and he couldn't get himself free from her.

Adrian reached into his pocket from which he took out a bag full of gold and handed it to his mom. "Here, Mom, take this." His mom, surprised, opened the bag, thinking of it as a gift from her son. But after looking at the gold inside, his mother asked in a loud voice, "Where did you get this much gold? You didn't do anything dangerous, right?"

Adrian assured his mother by shaking his head and answering, "No, Mom, it is the money I earned after I won a contest in the city. The count was impressed by me, so he gave me some extra gold. He also invited me to work in the city, so I will leave tomorrow morning."

"What? Can't you stay for some more time?" Freya asked, completely buying his excuse about the gold. He didn't give an unbelievable amount to his mother. It was only 500 gold coins, although it was a large amount for any commoner, but for a count, it was not that big of a deal.

"No, Mom. Count has asked for me to come tomorrow; otherwise, I will not get this chance again." Adrian replied, sounding urgent, as it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"**Sigh** Alright, I will not push it. Come, let's eat dinner. I will make your favorite dish," Freya said as she went into the kitchen.

In the nick of time, dinner was ready. Adrian had his dinner with his mother, sharing different stories, and later going to bed.

The next morning, he left in the morning for Antinia.

Nardino Knights-------

Adrian reached the Knight order. He got ready after meeting with Captain Tauras. Then he got to meet his new horse, as the captain and vice-captain both get to have a horse.

After everyone gathered at the entrance gate, they started to leave for the forest. Adrian was traveling at the back of the group. The Count and the captain were traveling in the center with Knights as the vanguard. Adrian was tasked with the duty to keep guard at the rear.

After half a day of travel, they reached the outskirts of the forest. The sunset was about an hour away as the surroundings were dim, and it was going to be dark soon. Adrian had set up his tent as he got ready to retrieve the thing which he had come here for.

'That thing' was one of the 7 elemental Primordial origin stones.

Even before Adrian died, only 5 were found. Before finding them, everyone considered them a myth because what the records said about them was something related to gods.

The story said:

There was a god of magic who commanded 7 elements and had control over other remaining elements. It is said that those 7 elements were brought into existence by him so he had absolute command over them, and no one could use those elements without his permission.

But one day, all the other gods and demon gods who feared his power created a plan to eliminate him. They sent a beautiful woman to make him fall in love, gain his trust, and then kill him. The beautiful maiden won his trust and love. And one day, looking for the right moment, she poisoned him with the most powerful poison from the god of poisons.

The god of magic was unable to use magic for a minute and knowing about the time limit. The maiden stabbed him in the heart while giving him a cold stare devoid of any love.

Before dying, he used his own flesh and parts of his body to create these 7 elemental primordial origin stones to carry out his revenge on that traitor of his.

It is said that these stones make the possessor ruler of the element they possess.

Adrian had fought two possessors of these stones in his previous life as a god of war. They were lightning and wind element possessors.

He had some difficulty in defeating them, but it was still possible for him as the stones didn't accept those humans as their masters. As a result, both those humans were unable to bring out the stone's full power.

"And Here is the Lightning Primordial Origin stone – Raidon."