Chapter 9 Friend

When Nico opened the dorm room, he found a white-skinned, brown-haired boy lying on the left bed, reading a novel. On the right side of the room was another bed, but it was piled up with lots of stuff and bags. When the boy saw Nico enter, he sat up startled. He had a young and innocent face, looking about 14 years old. He was small-bodied, just like Nico, and when he smiled, his two front teeth were visible.

"You. Don't tell me you're the new candidate?" the boy asked.

Nico simply nodded.

The young boy stood up and shook Nico's hand. "Great! I'm Arfin."

"I'm Nico."

"Thank goodness you're smaller than me," Arfin said, looking pleased.

His words sounded insulting, but his face looked innocent when he said it, so Nico couldn't be angry with him.

"I've been scared here for a week. Everyone is like bodybuilders, so strong. I thought I was the only kid here."

"Oh," Nico finally understood why he was happy earlier. "I'm also glad you look about the same age as me. Everyone here is already adults."

"Do you want to be friends with me?" Arfin asked innocently.

"Of course."

Arfin then cleaned up his belongings on the right bed and gave the space to Nico.

"You take the right side. I'll take the left. You can put your things in that locker," said Arfin, pointing to the cupboard in the corner of the room.

Nico sat on the bed, feeling confused. He didn't have anything. So he simply didn't do anything and remained silent. On the other hand, Arfin, who looked like a rich kid, was piling up his belongings in the corner of the room.

"Where are your things? I can help you carry them," Arfin asked.

Nico just grinned. "I don't have anything."

Arfin looked stunned. "What about your spare clothes?"

"No. Just this," said Nico, spreading his arms. It's the one that the shop keeper gave to him. He had already thrown away her old clothes.

"Ah. I'm...sorry. I didn't know. But ... maybe you can wear my clothes?" Arfin asked.

"No need. I'm okay," Nico said shyly.

Although he said that, Nico's clothes were old, worn out, and the color had faded. The clothes he wears basically are leftovers. It made Arfin feel sorry for him. He couldn't let Nico continue to look like that.

"I don't know what happened to you. Wear it. I can ask Geralt for more clothes. My parents brought me a lot of money."

"You can ask for clothes here?" Nico asked in amazement.

"Of course. But it's not free. Usually, it's deducted from the first assignment salary. You'll get paid depending on how satisfactory your work is."

"First assignment? What task?" Nico asked in surprise. Nico suddenly became scared. What if his first task was to kill a monster in the Erteria forest? He couldn't do anything yet. "Is the task difficult?"

"No. Many residents around here ask for simple work. Yesterday, I dug in the tomato garden. Their payment were enough to buy daily necessities," explained Arfin as he took out his clothes.

"Let me show you the bathroom," Arfin said, handing his clothes to Nico.

After bathing, Arfin asked what Nico had done to get here. Nico happily explained what had happened to him. How he was hunted by the government and met Arman. Arfin listened attentively. He was very interested; his pupils widened every time Nico told the chilling details of his experience.

"Cool," Arfin said innocently.

"What's cool about it? It's terrifying, you know!" said Nico, dumbfounded.

"Compared to me? I met my Guardian Knight at the mall. He felt there was something special about me. He then talked to my parents and I was immediately brought here," explained Arfin.

"Did anything happen?" Nico asked.

Arfin simply shook his head and said, "It's really boring."

Arfin then took Nico around the castle, introducing him to various places from the cafeteria to the training area. Nico was amazed at the level of dedication and discipline of the people there. They spent hours practicing their swordsmanship and agility, honing it to perfection.

Arfin had only been there for a week, but his knowledge of Erteria was already extensive. He had met several adults and received various basic training from them. Apparently, his innocent demeanor and face made it easy for Arfin to make new friends. Even the people there said that Arfin had a great talent for archery. He rarely missed his target even from a distance of one hundred meters. This made Nico jealous and feel left out. Nico was ashamed that he didn't have any abilities. Since the car accident, no other power had emerged from within him. It seemed that his power only emerged in critical conditions. Even the wooden sword used for training there felt very heavy. Nico was worried that if this continued, he would be the first person to be sent home.

"Don't worry, Nico. The elimination process is held every three months. It's still a long way off. There are many opportunities that you can get," said Arfin.

"But Lady Ephelia said the elimination is held every week," Nico said.

"I think she's just trying to scare you so that you practice harder," said Arfin.

Arfin then told Nico that he often saw the top-ranked knights practicing. They all had extraordinary and different abilities. Some had swords that were on fire, some could move with super speed, and some could penetrate solid objects with their mind power.

In addition to knights, Arfin had also met many non-knight humans with special abilities, such as elves or dwarves. They did not use law streams like knights, but used ancient magic spells or alchemy. They all respected each other and worked together with the knight confederation to maintain security and order in this world.

According to Arfin, the world of Erteria was very different from the world he had known before. The world of Erteria was filled with magical creatures and supernatural beings that could not be found in any part of the world. There, miracles and mystical powers were very common and could be found anywhere. Just yesterday, before Nico arrived, there was a magical rabbit that happened to enter Arfin's room. The rabbit could sneeze fire!

The creatures in the world of Erteria lived side by side and interacted peacefully with each other. There were fairies who lived in the forests and brought good luck to those who treated nature well. There were dragons who guarded treasure and kept it secret from greedy humans. There were elves who were skilled in magic and dwarves who were good at making medicinal potions that could cure all kinds of diseases.

The land of Eteria was vast and varied, with its terrain ranging from rolling hills and grassy plains to dense forests and towering mountains. The landscape was as diverse as the people who called it home, and each region had its own unique charm and beauty.

In the north, the rugged peaks of the mountain range known as the Titan's Spine towered over the landscape, their snow-capped summits visible from miles away. The mountains were home to hardy clans of warriors and hunters, who braved the harsh winters and treacherous slopes to eke out a living from the land.

To the east lay the Great Forest, a vast expanse of ancient trees and verdant undergrowth that stretched for hundreds of miles. The forest was teeming with life, from the smallest insects to the mightiest beasts, and was home to several elven communities who had lived there for centuries.

In the south, the grassy plains of the Golden Vale stretched out as far as the eye could see, dotted with small villages and farms. The Vale was the breadbasket of Erteria, providing food and resources to the rest of the land, and was fiercely defended by the knightly orders who swore to protect it.

In the west, the rolling hills of the Heartland rose and fell like waves on the sea, covered in fields of wheat and barley and dotted with small towns and hamlets. The Heartland was the cultural and political center of Erteria, home to the grand castle of the Prime Minister and the halls of the powerful Merchant's Guild.

The location of Aurora Castle itself was situated on the border of the eastern and southern regions.

Despite its many regions and diverse peoples, Erteria was united by a shared history and culture, forged in the fires of countless wars and struggles. It was a land of knights and heroes, of merchants and artisans, of scholars and adventurers, and of countless other professions and trades.

The people in the world of Erteria respected each other and maintained a balanced life with nature. They viewed the power of the law stream as a gift and tried to use it for the good of all living beings in this world.

However, as everywhere, there were also groups of evil who wanted to take advantage of the power of the law stream and use it for their own purposes. This group consisted of various things; otherworlder creatures, monsters, criminals who were not satisfied with what they had and wanted to gain greater power. They often threatened the peace of the world, and that was why knights were desperately needed to protect this world.

Arfin then took him to the job board located on the outer side of the castle. The board was very long, and he saw many posters put up by the locals for knights there. From the orc extermination, the hunt for dangerous criminals, or even just hunting cockroaches in an old lady's kitchen. Nico could see that there were rankings of knights, starting from wood to platinum. Nico and Arfin were wood ranked knights. Their salary increased depending on the difficulty level of their mission.

Arfin also explained that tomorrow, there would be a Sword bearer ceremony. Every year there was a ceremony to send knights who were not destined yet to the sword grave. There, people would try to pull out thousands of swords stuck in the ground. Like the legend of Excalibur, all swords there could only be pulled out by worthy people. Ordinary people would not be able to do it. If you had managed to find your sword, they would have evaluated and determined the ranking of your destined sword, and which side of the castle you had to reside in.

Some people who succeeded would know their destiny, just like Sir Arman, who had once successfully pulled out a guardian knight sword. His destiny would be a knight in accordance with the sword they pulled out and gained some abilities from it. What Nico knew was that a guardian knight had the ability to detect someone's destiny and could heal their wounds from his sword. A gatekeeper could create a portal and was responsible for guarding the portal they created

However, despite there are so many swords in the graveyard, not everyone could obtain their destined sword. Some unlucky individuals failed to find their sword, and if they were too weak, they were not worthy of becoming a knight and had to be sent back to their hometown.

"Many cannot pull out their sword?"

"Not many. But if you can't, there's no need to be ashamed. With enough training, we can be strong without our destined swords. Even the leader of the candidates, Geralt, has not been able to obtain any sword to this day."

As the days passed, Nico began to feel comfortable living in Aurora Castle. He started to get to know the places there and get acquainted with some new people.

That night, as Nico lay in bed, he felt peace and contentment. He had made friends with Arfin and got to know Arman. Nico felt happy that he had finally become a part of a family. He would try to protect this opportunity in any way possible, even if he had to train all day or pull out every sword in the tomb to find his destined sword.