REMEMBER OUR PROMISE

Leon was struck in his own world. The result had forced him into a psychotic trauma where his whole life flowed in front of his eyes. His earliest memories flooded in reminding him of his happy family, his father and mother being strong hunters, his little sister coming in.

He was reminded of the day when the news of his father's disappearance, his mother going insane. All the torture he had to bear, his sister's cries. All the memories that had been locked in just broke the gate open.

The only sound he could hear was his sister's cries that day. " Save me, brother." She was hanging static in Lily's hands, her condition unknown. He tried his best to prevent the thing from happening, but he couldn't lift his body. Lily's disgusted eyes filled with malice.

"Come save her after becoming an S-ranker. Snatch her from me with your own power" Those were the last words Lily left him.

"How will I save my sister? How can it be? The instrument must have been read wrong. Yeah... that should be the case. I should ask them to conduct the test once again. I can't fail here. Who will save Mia?"

He looked at the controller and held his legs.

"Let me try the tests once more. The result must have been a wrong reading. Please." He begged the controller to conduct it once again.

The controller's expression was pitiful. he had seen this scenario before. he understood the meaning of being a trash meridian holder in this era where power was everything. The result must have been traumatic for the child. He looked at his supervisor who seemed calm and decided to let Leon perform it once more.

Leon followed the same procedure twice, but there was no change in the result. He tried it again and again, but the results were the same. Leon fell on his knees, unable to accept the result.

The controller felt sad for the boy. He was truly pitiful. He was also a teacher in the academy and he knew Leon. He saw how much effort Leon had put into his training for the day. The boy suffered day and night and yet fate had something else in the bag for him.

"Get that bastard off the stage. A trash meridian holder like him is just wasting our time. We need to end the ceremony fast." One of the delegates spoke up, yet Leon couldn't show any movement. He was lost in trauma.

'He must have received quite a shock from this.' The controller was still trying to console Leon.

"Get him off."

"get that bastard out. We need to proceed with the process."

"Get out of our site you useless trash."

"Is this how your academy conducts itself? Stop wasting our time on wasteful melodrama." The delegates were shouting their lungs out. They were pissed at being shown such a disgraceful thing. In a world of hunters, trash meridians were scoffed at.

"Get him down on the stage." The principal instructed the controller to get on with the ceremony. The control made Leon stand up and direct him towards the stairs. To his surprise, another guy was already climbing it. It was none other than Liam.

"I will take him from here." Liam grabbed Leon's shoulder and escorted him down the stairs. "It's going to be alright buddy. You need to calm down. We still have a long life ahead of us." Liam was constantly consoling Leon.

"Do they know each other?"

"How could an S-ranker be acquainted with some trash? They are people of two different worlds. truly a dog trying to acquaint himself with a lion."

"I have heard that they were friends from the same class. They hang out all the time."

"Such a pity. A friend is a top-class hunter candidate, while the other one is just a waste." Many voices could be heard within the hall, discussing the scene before them. Liam didn't even respond to them. he was too busy trying to console his dear friend.

"I need to be alone." Leon finally spoke up when they were finally alone in one of the classrooms.

"What are you talking about? I know you were disappointed with the results, but life is not over man. There are too many treasures in the world to think that your condition is permanent. There must be a treasure out there which can awaken your true power." Liam couldn't leave his friend at this time.

Leon didn't respond for some time. If one looked at his eyes for some time, they would see a slight sparkle of hope shining in them, but soon it blew off.

"I will travel to the end of the world to find the right treasure for you. Never give up hope man."

"Will you do that for me?" Leon asked him while his head was down.

"Always remember our promise. We are brothers who will always be there for each other." Liam said in a serious voice.

"Just you saying those words is enough for me," Leon said with a wide smile on his face. He knew how much Liam cared about him.

"I am not kidding you man. When I say I will, I will find the treasure required for your body to awaken. In the world of dungeons, nothing is an impossibility." Liam's expression didn't change a bit. It showed how motivated he was to stand up for his friend.

"I truly need to be alone this time. I need to get my head straight." Leon said in a slightly normal tone. He turned around and was about to leave the room.

"Can I do something for you?" Liam asked.

"I just have one request from you. Since I am incapable of handling it anymore, I will have to burden it on your shoulders. Do it as a last favor to your brother." Leon said without even turning around.

"What is it?"

"Take care of my sister Mia. Protect her from the danger of this world." Leon said. Liam walked in front of him and looked him in the eye.

"This is not a favor you need to ask. Asking a brother to protect his own sister is not required. My power exists for my family, and I have three brothers and two sisters. I will use all my power to protect them."

Leon's face was filled with a small smile, and he patted Liam's back. He then got out of the door and left. Never did Liam imagine that this was the last time he would see his friend.