Avant

The two stared at each other for a while, until the armored man started to shake, unable to contain his laughter.

"Pfft, hahaha! I can't be serious when you make that expression, Aunt." The man started laughing as he hugged her.

"You have to grow a lot to reach my level." Florence also hugged him while ruffling his hair, as if he were still a child instead of an adult.

The man in front of her was actually her nephew, a young man barely in his 16s. The two had an inside joke that whenever they met, they would insult each other and the first one to laugh would buy the other a drink.

Until now, Florence was undefeated.

His nephew worked as a guard in the city-state across from him, as did several of the young men who were born here. The city offered training to young warriors and mages free of charge, on the condition that they worked as soldiers and city guards for a period equal to their training time.