Planning my Next Move and an Old Memory

With the Crystal in my hand, I sit down next to the corpse to plan my next move.

"First i have to find a way back to the city. I have no food or water, and I only have six days till the awakening ceremony. Even with this crystal, if i don't make it in time, i will lose my chance"

But first of all i have to think who is it that tried to kill me.

I don't recognize that baldie that pushed me, i don't think i ever met him.

So that means that, he's either is a homicidal maniac or he's someone else hatchet-man.

The first person that comes to mind is Mark, even if I don't think that he hates me so much as to send someone to kill me, I wouldn't put it past him.

I doubt that someone else would try to kill me, after all, I'm just an orphan who hasn't even awakened.

Whatever the case might be, I can't be careless and give whoever wants me dead another chance. So I should be careful to not reveal myself until the day of the awakening ceremony. At that point, the school will protect me, and after that I will at least have the power to protect myself.

One way or another, i will lay low until i find who the master mind is, and then i will take my revenge, both on the boss and that f*ucking baldie.

Feeling the pain my body is in i can't help to expect for the ceremony to come sooner, after that my body will be reformed by the elemental energies, at that point these wounds will be just a bad memory.

"I can't forget about Little Rat" I remind myself.

He's my best friend and good brother, who has been with me through thick and thin, helping each other during our school years.

His real name is Corey Hamps, he got his nickname for the small whiskers he sports with pride, even when he gets mocked for them. He's a shameless guy that hides his pride behind a clown facade.

He comes from a small family of farmers, the only one with elemental talent, and an average one at that.

He's got the 10th place of our grade, the 3rd grade, out of the seven there are. The higher the grade the better the talents you find, like Lana, who is in the 1st grade.

With the Low Earth Crystal he's got from the school, plus the ones I have now and the money his family can gather, he will be able to buy a Middle Level Crystal, or maybe even a High Level one.

I should find him when I get out of here, that way I will have where to hide until the ceremony.

"Alright I should get going" I said as I stood up from the ground.

At that moment, my sight fell on the corpse that was laying on the floor.

"i should thank you, whoever you are, you gave me a new future, i wish i could bury you, but this place is full of rocks there's no way for me to do that, after i find my way out and go through with the ceremony i will come back and give you a proper burial"

As i'm saying these words, i spot a ring in one of its boney hands, after i take a closer look at it, i realize

"It's a Storage Ring!!!!"

Seeing this ring, I realize that whoever he or she was, it was a powerful figure, after all there are only three known spatial rings in all of Meran City.

I carefully pick the ring from the hand to examine it, it's completely black made of some unknown metal, with a small relief of a Feather.

"Luckily it's not showy, that way others won't show interest in it" I sighed in relief.

Giving one last look at the skeleton, I start following the path, to look to where it leads.

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With no day or night inside the cave, i can't tell how much time i spent walking.

I could only continue walking, bearing with the pain and hunger I'm feeling. At some point, I got too tired to continue walking, so I lay down on the ground for a nap.

After I fell asleep, I started dreaming that old memory...

"Hurry Leon, hurry" I heard Lana giggling to me.

We were five years old at the time, playing in the backyard of our house. It seemed like a normal day, our parents had gone out to the fields to work, while we stayed home to wait for them.

They were supposed to come at sunset, like everyday, but all of sudden we heard horses galloping. It's the city guard passing in the direction of the fields.

A bad feeling overcomes me, while litle Lana looks confused and scared.

A couple of hours later we get the news, a pack of Magical Beasts attacked the fields of the settlement, killing many of the farmers. Both Lana's parents and my dad died during the attack, only my mom barely survived.

The city guard just brought her home and left her there, with the grievous injuries she had. I could only watch her die.

Since that day I understood that only the powerful are given respect, only them receive care, and resources.

What are a couple of farmers life's for the rich folks of the city, just manpower, an ant that lives or dies for them.

Days after me and Lana were taken to the orphanage, the once cheerful and carefree little girl, became timid and gloomy, scared of everything that surrounds her. But time heals all wounds, and only a bitter memory remains, she has become a confident and beautiful girl, with a talent high enough to match her beauty, and me, I can only continue to be his friend, to care for her even when she doesn't need me anymore.

It was that day that I swore I would become strong, strong enough to protect the people I love, to make sure no one can make her sad again.

"sigh... It was that dream again" i sighed as i woke up

"Time to keep going, I can't stop here" I said to myself as I stood up and continued walking in the darkness.