Greetings

The sun shone brightly over the skies as it lit up Rutz Avenue, the busiest street in the city of Zielitz. And in the middle of the crowd, a red blur could be seen darting between people like the wind — it was Samo.

"Sorry... Excuse me," he said repeatedly as he accidentally bumped into everyone in his path.

Damn, I'm late. Gotta hurry!

After several minutes of running, he finally spotted the massive sword — the symbol of the Knights' Order. Without wasting time, he entered the building. Inside, he saw everyone lined up — ten columns in total. At the front stood a man in gleaming silver armor, reading what appeared to be a roster.

Samo joined the first column on the left.

"Oliver Roost!" the knight called. A young man stepped out of line and went through the back door of the Order's hall, disappearing into another area.

I don't get it. Is the list alphabetical? And that door — where does it go? Samo wondered.

"Orion Avgni!" the knight shouted. Another boy exited through the door.

Okay! Looks like it really is in alphabetical order. Lucky for me my name starts with 'S'. But... is the list for those who are staying? Or leaving? Maybe I should ask someone...

Samo leaned in closer to the person in front of him.

"Excus—"

"Samo Gorynych!"

The man called out his name.

Oh crap. Well, here goes nothing...

Samo followed the flow. As he passed through the door, he saw a vast open training field in front of what looked like dormitories. New lines were being formed — now only with those who had been called. He joined the one on the right, which was still incomplete.

Silence took over. Time seemed to slow.

Then, the same knight who had called the names entered through the door and took his place at the front.

"Attention, everyone!" he shouted as loudly as he could. Suddenly, several soldiers exited the dormitories — enough to form a circle around the recruits.

"You have been chosen to become the next knight trainees."

Lucky I made it in time! Samo grinned, thrilled by what he'd just heard.

"From this moment on, you'll spend the next year and a half inside the Knights' Order headquarters. And giving up... means DEATH!"

What?! It starts now?! Damn, I left all my stuff back at the inn!

"Hohoho... That's right," said a familiar voice that emerged behind the knight.

Samo was stunned by who he saw.

It was Erik Duboir — the innkeeper. He now addressed the group with great formality.

"My name is Erik Duboir, Commander of the Knights' Order of the Kingdom of Sestri. A pleasure to meet you all."

Commander?! But he was just a waiter?! Damn. I should've listened to him when I left the inn...

"This will be a new journey for you all. Difficult, but not impossible," he said, looking over the recruits.

He gestured — and all the soldiers surrounding them removed the upper halves of their armor, remaining only in pants and greaves.

"And to celebrate... your upperclassmen from the previous class will give you their greetings."

The veterans stepped forward, stretching, getting ready.

"I now declare the 60th Year of Knight Training officially open."

The veterans charged the recruits — and began beating them mercilessly.

Samo quickly found himself surrounded by five of them.

Oh, come on!

"Hey! This one's a giant, huh?" said one of the veterans. "And he brought his own sword!"

Then the five of them pounced on Samo, punching and kicking him. The boy, unable to react, simply took the hits.

Man... I didn't even bring anything to stay here for a year and a half, Samo thought, detached from the pain. And these guys... Are they holding back so they don't hurt me?

"Huff... huff..." — the veterans began to tire from hitting him, but Samo remained still.

"Where... huff... did this monster come from?"

Damn, I'm starting to attract attention... Maybe I should fake some pain to avoid trouble later.

So he dropped to the ground.

"Aaargh!" he cried out, pretending to be in agony.

"HEHEHE, not so tough now, huh?" they mocked, kicking him while he stayed curled up on the floor.

I should probably win an award for this performance.

"And this sword? You don't deserve to carry something like this."

The strongest of the veterans knelt down and began to tug at the sword strapped to Samo's back.

"Give me that."

But as he pulled, a hand clamped tightly onto his arm.

It was Samo.

Even curled up, the boy looked him straight in the eye — a cold, piercing gaze that felt like it reached into the soul. And as the veteran locked eyes with the newcomer's icy blue stare, he suddenly found himself in a dark, shadowy place.

He couldn't tell what he was standing on. From the shadows, three serpent heads emerged, their eyes glowing in three different colors — gold, blue, and green.

And at the same time, they growled at him.

"...Let go."

Samo whispered it softly, but even with all the noise around them, the veteran heard it clearly.

And he felt it — as he returned to reality.

He swallowed hard, the hairs on his arm standing on end.

He released the sword immediately, stepping back several paces, pale as snow.

"Alright! That's enough of a 'greeting'."

Erik Duboir's voice rang out across the field.

The five veterans backed off, retrieving their armor. One of the others, noticing the state of his teammate — wide-eyed, shaking from head to toe — asked:

"What's wrong? Catch a cold?"

But the veteran, still staring at Samo from afar, replied:

"No... I just saw a demon for the first time."