Chapter 5

Derek could be called as the hero of a tragedy drama, an unwanted child born between a prostitute and a clerk.

His mother had just finished her night's work, dealing with a customer who made her drink and had come out, when she had an encounter with a similarly drunk man, who became her next customer for the night.

The next morning was like any other morning following a one - night stand for her, he paid her for her work, and they both went their separate ways. However, soon after that, she fell ill, and after a few days, she found out she was pregnant.

Since she didn't do it with anyone other that that man, she surmised he was the father of the child. Finding him from what little clues he had left her during their drunk conversation, she informed him about the child.

She was ready for him to refuse to acknowledge the child, and was ready to abort it, when the man surprisingly accepted responsibility and asked her to give birth to the child.

She knew that her youth was declining day by day, and this was a good opportunity to get out of the quagmire that she was living in. She accepted, and they moved into a house near the slums.

The experience of childbirth proved to be a big hurdle for both of Derek's parents. Day by day, they saw their savings declining as they spent their money on buying healthy food, dealing with mood swings, pains and doctor's visits. Looking at the constantly declining savings, they decided to take a loan from a reputed moneylender, at a low interest rate.

It turned out to be a wise decision, as by the time Derek was born, the money was totally spent.

Working tirelessly to earn money, and not having spent much of the time with either the mother or with the baby, the family did not have a string of love holding it together, and his father soon found himself unable to love Derek anymore. And his mother had to return to her previous work soon after she recovered, as the financial conditions of their households was getting worse.

With her back in business, Derek was soon left alone at house, a neglected child.

When he was able to walk by himself, he started wandering outside to find a source of warmth. Alas, his search ended in failure. Being a child of a prostitute, even in the low - class area they lived, prevented him from making any friends his age.

Sometimes, he would hear stories about the slums, how a child was found dead because he was abused by his dissatisfied parents, how a woman was raped in the dark alley, how a man was murdered because he did not hand his money over to the thugs, and the like.

These stories created a deep trauma in Derek about the outside world, and a deep fear of his parents, who came home with scowls on their faces and fought each other frequently at night. He was afraid that his fate will be same as the others whom he had heard about in the stories. Fortunately, his fears never came true as his parents did not abuse him. But that's not to say that they vanished, no. They stayed and grew, enclosing his heart in their grasp, making him a recluse who did not interact with anyone.

One night, his parents did not fight, which had become a routine for them, but instead talked in whispers to each other. Derek did not hear what they were talking about, but he found out the next day when both of them returned home early.

They took him to a big building. It was occupying a large space, had a large garden enclosed by a high wall, and a big building made like a mansion with many windows.

Inside, there were many children similar to his age. Some were playing, some were reading, and some were just idling around. It was an orphanage.

That day, his parents left him there, never to return.

Derek lived a few months of his life among those children, and started opening up to them slowly. But it soon came to an end when he was brought to another place, this one in the middle of a forest, along with other children who were either the same age as him or older.

Each of them was put into a carriage, with friends being place on different ones. Derek was placed on one such carriage, which transported him to a campsite in the middle of a forest somewhere else.

The children there were made to fight for almost everything, from food to water to sleeping space and other amenities. Derek, at first was afraid of others, but soon, the madness of the group took over him, and he found out that he had much more strength than others present there.

He easily dominated over them for years to come, and became the top merchandise among the slaves there. However, despite the bravery and courage he showed, he was still timid at heart. He could face his fear, but he wasn't fearless.

As the best in his group, which was sold to the Seeker's academy, Derek had access to some information which others didn't, even if they were the top group.

He learned that every time the academy accepts students, there will be some 1st grade students who would sell tips to the newcomers at the cost of valuable things like money, gold or weapons. The one who bought them had given him a little amount of money, and he used a major portion of that to but those tips to survive at the academy.

However, before he could look through them, he had noticed that someone was coming towards him from behind, and fast at that. He immediately and quickly turned around, so as to confront the culprit, but as if having predicted his action, the assailant moved along with him – always staying at his back. Moreover, he had also felt a touch at his shoulder, which made his hairs stand on end.

If the assailant had a knife or other weapon, he would have been dead, that was for certain. Tuning around, he saw that it was someone he knew, a boy from the same group as him, though at a lower rank. He remembered his name was Aizen.

"Aizen?" Derek called out, not particularly angry, or even cautious about Aizen, despite his actions. When he thought that he will show aggression towards Aizen as the act could be taken as an attack, a voice appeared in his heart, telling him to 'trust Aizen' again and again. This voice made Derek hesitate, about what he should do, and he became indecisive. This opened a momentary gap in their interaction, which Aizen filled by speaking to Derek.

"Hey Derek, since we're from the same group, that makes us brothers, and as fellow brothers, shouldn't we help each other? What do you say?"

Listening to Aizen speak, Derek became cautious, as the first thing that they had to do at the camp was to fight the brothers for almost anything. However, once again his hear started leaning more towards 'trusting Aizen'. This feeling made Derek feel conflicted. At one side, he clearly 'wanted' to help Aizen, but on the other side, his mind was telling him to stay cautious.

"What do you need my help for? And what will I get for helping you?"

Initially Derek wanted to refuse Aizen, however, with the constant nagging feeling in his heart, he gave in, but not completely. In some small corner of his mind, he hoped that Aizen will not be able to provide him with a proper answer, and then he will be able to refuse him.

As if pleased by Derek's answer, Aizen's face started adorning a small smirk as he said in a confident tone, "How about I help you with some training? You did see how you weren't even able to see me when I came from behind you. If I had a dagger, I could've slit your throat."

Finally, Derek's emotions got over the top as his face changed into an angry, toothy grin, "You, and help me with training? I'm at the top, and you're barely in the middle. Who're you kidding?"

Hearing Derek's answer, though Aizen's face retained the same smug expression, his thoughts were something else, 'So you're a character who increases your effort along with the pressure? No matter. The real concern here is that my ability has gotten so weak that even someone with less mana than me can oppose its influence.'

However, even when his thoughts were busy analyzing the effectiveness of his tier 1 soul ability, his confident expression did not waver, and he replied to Derek by saying, "You think I can't? Then why weren't you able to properly react? Don't tell me it was because you weren't ready? Well, let's assume that's the case. Then what do you say about a match of tag, right here? If you catch me in five minutes, I won't say anything, but if I win, you'll have to help me. Do you dare?"

If he was normal, Derek wouldn't have accepted such a one - sided bet, but under the effect of Aizen's ability which made him more inclined to trust his words, along with his aggressive feelings, Derek did not think even for a moment about the bet, but instead agreed on it immediately after Aizen finished saying his piece.

"I accept!"