The Country of Swords

In the middle of nowhere, where one could only see the endless grass field, there stood the remains of what used to be a majestic castle: ruins, broken stone pillars, and a half castle gate. The iron teeth of time left their mark everywhere.

Everywhere, except the middle of these ruins, where eight intact stone pillars surrounded a magic circle, a boy was sitting there in the middle of this circle. He looked around in confusion and even tried to decipher the unknown symbols and words that surrounded him.

His clothes were torn, damaged, and old. His brown hair was messy, long, and unkept. Yet his shining golden eyes and naturally beautiful face gave his appearance a touch of charm. This poor man with a sense of mystery was Leo Vandrare. The disappointment of the Vandrare clan.

He became a severe alcoholic at the age of 17. In addition, his uncaring attitude caused his sword skills to drop drastically. In a clan of swordmasters, where swordsmanship was the essence of life, his behavior was simply unacceptable. Thus, the clan decided to exile Leo.

Without money, without a home, the little Leo became a hobo who lived from day to day. Three long years passed like this. Why didn't he search for a job? What happened in those three years? Nothing...

Leo Vandrare is a man who had plenty of opportunities to make a difference. He just didn't care. Be it wealth, recognition, or power. Anything that endangered his comfort was labeled useless by him. Was it laziness? No! Leo, the man capable of playing chess for 37 hours, was anything but lazy.

He simply lived life to his liking. If the laws were to force him to do something he didn't like, he wouldn't do it. Leo Vandrare completely disregarded everyone and everything else as long as he had the choice to do whatever he wanted.

Perhaps it's only because of this unique mindset that he stumbled upon this magic circle that sucked him into that particular white room one day amidst one of his drunken strolls.

The sudden turn of events still dazed the man in question when loud laughter abruptly reverberated inside his mind. This familiar voice caused him to snap out of his torpor and reflexively look towards the sky. "Tarinainda" noted Leo inside his mind.

"Tarinainda, if what it said is true, then I probably can't stay idle anymore. Perhaps it's time to take something seriously." Leo stood up and was about to grab his wine bottle, but he decided against it at the last moment and retracted his hand.

"Oops, I can't drink this anymore. It looks like this is where we part ways, my old friend."

Thus, Leo took off towards his home for the first time in 3 years. The Vandrare clan is located in the middle of the capital city of Santartia. The country of swords. Saying that this country gave birth to the first swordmaster would be no exaggeration.

After all, the country was created by the Sword God himself. The Sword God, Conah Santartia, was also the first-ever swordmaster to walk on the planet. He invented countless sword styles, and his direct descendants rule the country even to this day. According to the prophecy, the next sword god will be one of the direct descendants.

On the other side of the coin is the Vandrare clan—one of the four superpowers of Santartia. Their only goal is to produce a sword god. They don't bother with politics. Thus they are considered the weakest of the four.

Still, as a clan that emphasizes individual power over political power and money, their strength is not something one can ignore. In fact, the Vandrare clan holds many ancient secrets that only the clan members are aware of.

And even though they call themselves a clan, the atmosphere resembles what one would call a family rather than a clan... Reminisced Leo as he was about to walk through the gates of the Vandrare clan, but as he expected, the gate guards stopped him.

"Hold it! This territory belongs to the Vandrare clan. Identify yourself." Said the guard as he blocked the entrance with a longsword. Leo didn't stop, just tossed over a wooden token as a form of identification, and the guards immediately let him pass.

This wooden token was the ID token of the main branch of the Vandrare clan. Everyone who has this token is to be accepted without question. The tokens are bound by blood. Thus, if a person has it, that person is from the main branch without a doubt.

Leo continued on his way, and his old memories started resurfacing. The Vandrare clan was like another city inside the capital. Every clan branch lived together inside the walls of the clan. There were six streets inside the clan walls, and every one of them belonged to a clan branch.

Of course, the main street belonged to the main branch, and the house of the main branch was located in front of the front gate. Currently, Leo stood in front of the main branch house. Ready to kick open the door!