In the city of Astrael, under the Tenkuu-no-Kyōkai (Sky Boundary), voices filled the city. Voices from the merchants on the streets, the clashing of swords from adventurers training, and magicians practicing. Children playing, the sound of water gushing and moving around, footsteps from different locations on the worn-out stone ground. Laughter and arguments broke out. The city was bustling, and different things were happening at the same time.
Rin Avel walked through the city looking for adventures to pick up, and like any other curious boy, he was just interested in anything fun close by.
He carried his sword and a bag filled with equipment, ready to go for a training session. As he walked, the weight of the sword and the bag reminded him that the days were not easy, but he didn't have any other choice but to push through.
Above the city, the sky was stretched endlessly and so bright.
Rin Avel looked up and thought to himself, "Nobody looks up anymore. The sky is just there, unchanged, and nothing happens. But I think we should all be focused on life on the ground, because this is where we live, and there's no need in wondering what happens above in the Sky Boundary when we can't see it."
As he thought to himself and walked to his training center, he passed a group of adventurers in shining new armor talking about their next job. As he walked past, someone said, "Lucky." He heard it but didn't turn, as he didn't really care. Rin didn't respond. He just adjusted his sword strap and continued his walk.
He wasn't in a hurry, but he wasn't idle either. He just continued his journey. He passed through parts that looked like a plaza, stopped at a small bridge, looked at the fish there, smiled, and continued his walk. The training center was a bit far, even though it was a stone's throw away. The city had been divided in the past based on tribe and people, but now, because different clans had mixed, it was separated based on money, class, and bloodline.
Rin Avel looked at the tall buildings and the short ones, but he didn't have a thought in mind when he did so. He just loved the peace in the air. Apart from that, he also loved the smell of food from bakeries and some cafes. Even though he liked peace and quiet, he didn't like the heat. For him, it was a silent killer. He especially didn't like the smell of metal too. Walking through the city had different feelings to it. There were some really noisy places, some really quiet places, and some really spooky ones. Rin didn't like the really spooky and quiet places. Obviously, this city had slums. This was where most vermin stayed. It was an awful place to be, as everything went wrong in that place. Just thinking about it gave one the shudders.
He was passing the dungeon and saw some adventurers returning, and also some that had a few casualties. Some of the adventurers had already lost an arm or two, some a leg, or even their eyesight. In the dungeon, you don't always enter and come out for free. Of course, it paid, and a lot at that, but it was really dangerous. He saw people of mixed races and tribes walking together. Among them were some guards for the rich and royal, and among others were healers and carriage men. He said to himself, "Is it really a good thing for us to mix up like this? Well, I couldn't care less."
He finally reached the training center. Adventurers were getting their stats updated, and an adventurer activated his sigil briefly. It shined bright, then stopped. He was given a class, because the sigils evolved based on rank. The adventurer was set aside for a higher-rank mission and was given a new badge, which he pasted on his chest plate to show his rank. He was B-rank. Of course, because he was B-rank, his armor was shiny and looked top-tier. It was made of metal, with a marking that said Leon on it to show the maker.
On the other hand, Rin was F-rank and still training. All F-ranks had been banned from entering the dungeon, because the dungeon evolved and they would not be able to handle it. So, he did his normal training and decided to go home. It was already evening, and on his way home, he met his good friend and only friend, Aren Bellis, and they went home together.
While on the way home, Rin thought back to the training. He wished he was like the B-rank adventurer. He adjusted his sword strap and continued his thinking. He also avoided eye contact with any high-ranking adventurers. As a matter of fact, at the training site and almost anywhere, F-ranks were just seen as weaklings. They always complained, but not like their complaints could change the fact that they were weak, so nothing happened.
Aren was a D-rank and two years older than him. They were both from the same bloodline, so they lived together. Yes, there were other people, even girls, from the same bloodline, but Rin didn't have the interest to know them, as he saw it as stress.
He told Aren that he could head home and that he wanted to do something else. Aren went on like nothing happened, only waving afterward. Rin went to a blacksmith to get a sword of his desire. That was what he wanted, but he didn't have the money for it, so he was desperate to train and earn it, especially because his sword was now old and chipped.
The blacksmith was an old man that Rin ran errands for after the day's training to earn money and pay for his dream sword. The blacksmith's shop was large, at least in Rin's eyes. To the left, swords were hanging, and to the right, armor. Some were on display, while others were kept because they were custom-made. Some other equipment the old man made included staffs for mages and some magic items. The old man also had potions for sale, but he didn't make those, as you would need to know magic to do that. Like most people in the city of Astrael, the old man was just a normal human.
The old man turned to Rin and told him to pick up some materials for sword making, some potions, and some armor. Rin hurried on, and on the way back, he met some adventurers. They saw him as weak and wanted to bully him. They went up to him and said, "Hey you, what's your rank?" Rin said, "I'm F-rank." They laughed at him and wanted to make fun of him, but he quickly disappeared, because he knew nothing good would come out of an encounter like that.
It wasn't something that happened for the first time. Even in the peaceful city of Astrael, there were a lot of evil people who took other people's lives for sport or just loved to bully the weak.
When Rin was younger, he wanted to be a hero that could stop all the vermin and remove the wrong. But he didn't start strong, didn't get any specialties, and woke up to reality. He knew it wasn't for him. So even if he saw something going wrong, he would turn a blind eye to it, because he no longer had the willpower and never had the strength.
He reached the old man's shop right on time before he closed and gave him the goods. The old man asked him if he faced any trouble, and Rin said he didn't, and that there was no need for the old man to worry. Now it was time for him to head home.
The night was calm, like any night should be. The lights lit up the city, making it shine a little brighter under the dark sky and the white moon. The streets looked longer and scarier as the silhouettes of different buildings and people grew taller and shorter based on distance. Rin was just tired from all of that and wanted to reach home so badly.
His house was large, with two floors and a lot of rooms. A lot of people lived in it together. Even though they were not all from the same parents, they were put into the bloodline and lived together.
As he set his sights on the house and reached closer—
The house exploded.