1.

The 816th year of the age of the gods/816th year.

Pattimura Village, Republic of Samoa, Ankhofasia Continent.

The Pattimura region is at the end of the country, close to the border of the Uruk Empire which is only separated by Forest along the border area. Stultus Forest is a forest filled with wild creatures, which sometimes always attacks residential areas, therefore few people live in this area.

The beginning of the year after winter, I saw a news post on the adventurer's guild board that contained a story about a hero who managed to repel the Demon King's army. Everyone feels happy when reading it, they cheered with joy, parents raise their glasses of beer, children run around swinging swords and wooden shields, and acting like heroes. This is a turning point where previously humanity was adrift in the dark ages.

When I was sitting under a big tree, to wait for my parents who farm, the sun is very hot, I looked up at the sky which somehow seemed to shake like when I accidentally touched the calm water. It doesn't just happen today, I've seen it many times over the last few months, when I asked my parents they always said that it was the hero's strength but I didn't agree because the waves were always seen in the South while the Hero and his troops were in the North.

"What are you doing?" asked my playmate, Michael.

"I wonder, who is the person who can form such waves in the sky?"

Michael looked at the same sky as me, "That's clearly the work of a group of heroes, right? Who else in this world do you think has strength as great as the hero Iqbal?" he asked, with a statement that had little logic for someone living in this remote area. There could be a great person out there who always hides his strength, whose strength exceeds that of the Hero.

"The world is wide Michael, maybe there is someone out there who has strength beyond the hero Iqbal."

"I doubt it."

I saw the crowd on the main street cheering and it seemed Michael was also looking in the same direction as me.

"What is going on over there?"

"A grade adventurer has just returned from Stultus Forest. I heard from my parents that they managed to defeat," The cheers from the people became louder as the adventurers started to set foot on the main street. "I wonder why they want to sacrifice their lives for people like us?"

"Of course it's for money and fame, what else do you think it's for?"

"Money...fame? They should just go North or West if they want to get these two things. Instead of coming to a remote area like this, you would just be wasting your life. If I were them, I would never even think of setting foot in this territory at all."

I smiled at his words, "That's why you don't have great strength like them," I said, he should be grateful to the adventurers there, who have protected this village from the wild animals in the Stultus Forest.

"Yes, maybe." Michael burst out laughing. "What are you going to do in the future?"

"I don't know, I haven't thought about it too much. If you?"

"Maybe I will continue my parents' business as traders." His eyes suddenly burned. "If it were in my hands, I'm sure my parents' business would grow big and become the best on this continent. Therefore, if you don't have a dream to become anything, it's better to just come with me, I will give you a high position."

Our eyes met and we smiled. "I will pray to Goddess Ankhofiya so that your dream will come true." Michael clenched his hands tightly around his chest, posing like someone who was about to pray and praising Goddess Ankhofiya repeatedly.

Meanwhile, from a distance, he saw people gathered in a circle, then the adventurers climbed onto a podium that had been made by all the residents, so that the adventurers could tell about their heroic actions when fighting wild animals and to pray for their fellow adventurers. those who died. I immediately ran to sneak into the crowd, this small body made it easy for me to pass several adults.

When I was at the front, I saw the adventurers, some of them had lost one of their hands, some had half their faces badly injured, and there were some of them who only received injuries, then not far from where they were, there were the bodies of their comrades. His dead comrade lay next to him.

"All my friends, the people of Pattimura city. I am Einar Ragnarsson, son of Elias and all his other comrades standing in front of you carrying the corpse of the animal that caused havoc in your village. Even though some of us lost their lives, some lost a part of their body, our bodies were bathed in blood and covered in mud stains. We still tried our best to defeat this disastrous monster and succeeded in defeating it with great pride."

Everyone shouted very loudly at the speech made by the person named Einar.

"Therefore, for those who lost their lives, let us all pray together so that they enter heaven and after that let us bury their bodies with full honor."

Everyone clenched their fists on their chests as they bowed their heads, silent, focused on praying for the adventurers who had fallen. Upon the Lord Mayor's arrival they immediately prepared funerals for the fallen adventurers and I, who was not very interested, immediately withdrew, away from the crowd, went home to get a wooden sword that was lying in my room.

I'm just a farmer's son, but sword training is still a must. My father said that as a man I must have the strength to protect my family in the future.

I practiced swinging the sword while watching the waves in the sky.

Night will soon arrive, every child must immediately be at home with his family. But one of my friends asked me to come out of the house to see the adventurers who were gathered in the field, with just a campfire burning and setting up tents around it. I don't know why such highly decorated people are not given good enough facilities to rest.

"Look, they are extraordinary, aren't they?" said my friend Marco.

"Hey, wouldn't it be better if we didn't disturb their rest time?" asked Selena, the only woman in our circle of friends.

"Don't worry, after all we're just here to look around." Michael, who was initially skeptical of them, was much more interested than us. "I want to ask them who made those weapons and armor for them, with that I will have access to quite skilled forgers. That would be great for my business in the future."

Apparently that's what interested him.

"Didn't your parents' business focus on selling food? why do you want to sell swords?"

"In business, you have to sell whatever everyone needs. And weapons are something that everyone needs besides food and medicine."

Michael sees adventurers as his business, Marco sees them because he wants to be an adventurer when he grows up, it seems like Selena and I are the only ones here because they were dragged by the two of them. After we were satisfied with looking at the lives of adventurers, we decided to return to our respective homes. Actually, we wanted to approach the adventurers to ask about the curiosity that was on our minds, no, but the curiosity of Michael and Marco.

However, Selena forbade us from doing so because it would only disturb the adventurers who were resting.

Isn't the sky the palace of the gods? then, who would have the courage to disturb the god's place?

"See you tomorrow, Isaac!" Selena said softly, I'm sure in the future there will be many men whose hearts will be broken.

"Yeah, see you later!"

Since my house leads to a different road, I parted ways with them at an intersection. And that's why I had to walk home alone, on this dark street where only the moonlight illuminates your view, I didn't feel the slightest fear. I was not a child who easily believed in the fairy tales that parents often told before bed, they were just fairy tales to scare us, they weren't real.