001

Beside a glistening river, stood a mighty oak tree, with it's branches spread so far out, that it's bright leaves decorated the surface of the water. Everything surrounding the area was serene, or at least, it was for a moment.

The wind carried about the sound of children's laughter, children who stood in a circle with someone sitting in the middle.

"Tell us Quiv, how many times in total did you get rejected by the royal academy?." A red hair boy having deep brown eyes asked, prodding the one known as Quiv on his shoulder.

The one whom the question was being directed to, hissed at his questioner and tried to leave the clutches of the older looking children.

"I'll tell you, six times now! Each time he applies, they reject him without even going through his exams. It'd be a horrible waste if you ask me." Another with green hair and pointed ears chimed into the conversation, clearly full of himself.

"That's why nobody asked you Eldon." Quiv retorted staring directly at the shortest boy amongst his bullies.

"And if you could read, you'd know that I rank highest every year in the exams." He furthermore went on to say, standing to his wobbly feet.

"Who said you could get back up? Huh?." Eldon asked shoving Quiv back to the dirt with all his might. His ego had definitely been bruised by Quiv's snarky remark.

In the kingdom, it wasn't a lie that Quivier always ranked highest in the royal academy entrance exams. But because of his low upbringing, he was yet to receive a scholarship from any of the academy's instructors. Admitting a low born into the academy was one thing, but admitting one with such a weak power level was an insult to the academy.

"Let's see what the high scorer of the entrance exam can do when he's drowning." The red haired boy announced, exchanging devilish grins with the rest of the group. Without sparing a second, about five to six young boys, hoisted up the timid looking Quiv, and tossed him into the nearby river!.

"Use your brain and get out of this one!" Taunted Eldon, who was an elf but surprisingly not as smart as the other elves from his clan.

Quiv who was fairly good in swimming, had to toss and flap his arms uncontrollably to put up a good enough facade. He even went as far as allowing himself sink a bit to convince the others he was actually drowning.

"Let's get out of here."

"My dad just bought a spellbook let's try and conjure up some lady panties."

Once Quiv heard his bullies leave, he raised his head above the water and sprung up in one swift movement. Water droplets dripping from his black hair down to his pointed nose. He blinked his eyelids open, to reveal his sparkly blue eyes that stood out most on his plain looking face.

"Curses!" He spat out as he fought against the strong river currents, trying to walk back to the riverbank. Quiv slumped hard against a bed of flowers, his arms stretched far apart from each other.

"Damn it! Damn it all!" He cursed under his breath, allowing the droplets of water to disguise the tears that flowed freely from his eyes. His frail body had turned pale from that little dip in the river, and goosebumps had formed all across his skin.

He was weak, that much was obvious, and the fact that that was his greatest weakness haunted him ever since childhood.

"Curse this damn body! I hate it all" he cried out, curling his fingers around the grasses underneath him, with the intention of pulling them out to vent out his frustrations.

Little did he know they were grown with Mana and were impossible to uproot. After a couple of tries, the youngster gave up in frustration, panting for air.

"I can't even uproot stupid grass! Just how useless am I?" He sat raised his shoulders and sat up straight, resting his back against the large oak tree. The calming effect of the magical tree helped to soothe his nerves, subsequently calming him down.

"It's funny how they're not wrong, in this world, power is everything, and being smart alone won't get you anywhere. No matter how hard you work to achieve something, others who were born strong will always be one step ahead of you." He lamented to himself, wiping away his tears with the back of his palm.

For the rest of the day, Quivier spent it beside the glistening river reflecting on his life, casually tossing stones into the river, forming ripples.

*Evening*

"My clothes finally dried up." He exclaimed, standing up from where he sat, dusting off the dirt from his brown shorts.

"Where'd I drop it?" He surveyed the area searching desperately for something, he supposedly dropped somewhere.

It was only after several minutes of searching that realisation hit him. "Damn it! Damn it all! I left my sachel at the trade stall!" He cried out in shock, taking to his heels to reach said stall before all trading ended.

Quivier lacked the basic athletic skills of an twelve year old and usually lagged behind his peers. While running through the less crowded marketplace, Quiv's gaze landed on boy about a year or two younger than himself, cornered against a roasted pork stall.

The men cornering him were fully grown beast men, belonging to the bear clan. It seemed as though the youngster failed to pay them enough for the chunk of meat in his hand, and was about to have his ass handed to him.

Quiv who knew all too well how useless he would be in such a situation thought it best to walk away and hope someone else stepped into the situation to play hero.

"Sorry kid." He mouthed, turning to take his leave, only to stop in his tracks at the sound of a mighty punch.

Quiv looked over his shoulder immediately at the situation, his shaky gaze landed on said boy writhing in pain on the floor. Whilst a well built beast man raised his fist over his head to land another punch to the child.

Without batting an eye, Quiv rushed to the scene and jumped on the smaller looking child, spreading his arms out to protect him.

A might punch landed on his back, causing him to curl his back and cough up blood. "That hurts like hell!" He yelped, biting his lower lip in pure agony.

The younger one furrowed his brows at him, scanning Quiv from head to toe, sizing him with his hazel eyes.

"Hey kid, get out of the way and let us give that little demon a good trashing." The tall lion beast man chided, pulling Quiv by the collar.

Not wasting a single second, he gathered sand in both fists and sprayed them in the eyes of the beast men. According to his knowledge, beast people were most sensitive about their eyes.

"Move!" He cried, pulling the younger boy by the arm, leading him away from the market place, their weak little legs running as fast as possible.

The shouts and beckons from behind them slowly faded away as the distance between the two and the market grew wider. Wide enough for Quiv to stop and take a breather, both his hands resting on his laps as he took in heavy breaths.

"You saved me from those insufferable beast hooligans, so I'll have to reward you for it." Quiv heard the younger boy tell him, in an overly formal tone.

Quiv who had left his precious sachel behind to rescue this kid was seriously rethinking his decision.

"You're quite scrawny for a boy your age, must be tiresome being the object of everyone's amusement." He went on to say, mocking his savior's frail body.

"You're one to talk, if I hadn't stepped in and saved your ass, then those beast men would have beaten you till you coughed up copper coins." Quiv retorted, standing up straight despite the stretch he felt at his upper back.

The younger one scoffed and folded his small arms around his chest, refusing to admit he was saved by a weak looking child.

"Just why would a little kid go picking fights with beast men?" Quiv asked, finally gaining full control over his senses.

"I am not a little kid, I'm one of the greatest demon Lords and I owe you a favor." The pompous child oh so flamboyantly said, a devilish grin spread across his lips.