The sound of flames can be heard. Screams of despair and pain. The palace of the paladin Lin Keeper was burning... The scent of burning filled the entire kingdom of Alahead, a low-tech kingdom but with very precious infrastructure.

  "Get out quickly! All of this will turn into nothing in no time!" shouted Elio as he pointed toward the exit. He was a man with red hair, blue eyes, and a height of 177 cm. He wore a silver trench coat, a black vest, black pants, and brown boots. His neck and hands seemed to have some kind of red shell. "Damn it, why did it have to be this magic? I hope the necklace works," he thought as he kept walking desperately, searching for his son while lava and flames consumed the place.

  Outside the palace, it was clear that in a very short time, nothing would remain. A large number of mages used water and earth magic to prevent the lava from spreading further throughout the kingdom.

  "Everything will be fine, the necklace will be delivered soon," shouted Rei, the most powerful mage in Alahead.

  "Please, Rei... Help Elio," expressed the paladin Lin through tears, kneeling on the ground.

  "It's too dangerous, Lin... I'm very sorry, but we must wait," he said, approaching her to comfort her.

  Suddenly, the lava began to turn blue, and everyone was terrified by this catastrophe, as the entire palace started to disappear at great speed.

  "My God... This is getting worse," said Rei with concern, rising into the air with his magic and beginning to create a large green shield that covered the entire palace. "Dig very deep holes around the shield!" he shouted as he watched the lava consuming what was left of the palace.

  Rei's green eyes reflected astonishment and concern at such a catastrophe, while at the same time, they were illuminated by the intense blue color of the lava. From those bright green eyes, we transition to eyes that were blue on the right and red on the left.

  *6 years later*

  The rain fell with that soft sound, but it only brought sadness when remembering the past. A boy walked along the sidewalk with nothing to cover himself from the small drops of water that fell; his hair was red, and he wore dark purple pants. He had black boots, black gloves, a blue shirt, a red vest, and a blue trench coat. Additionally, on his belt, there was a recognition insignia. He walked under the rain with a large backpack on his back. His gaze was empty and only reflected sadness; the rain only intensified it.

  Louis had just arrived in the eastern lands, in a kingdom called Ystir. He was looking for a place to stay, but they didn't accept his money because it was from a kingdom not many knew about.

  "What will I do now...? I didn't expect this to happen. They didn’t accept the gold I have either. Should I introduce myself to the king?" Louis thought as he kept walking on the sidewalk. "Huh... It seems the rain is starting to clear... I’d better solve this on my own."

  As he continued walking, he caught a glimpse of a piece of paper offering something... "A fast and careful package delivery person is needed. Location: Kingdom center, North Street... Hmm, I could do it and earn the money I need for lodging." As he was reading, a person with an umbrella passed by his side.

  "Hey, kid, you should find a place where the rain won’t fall on you, or you’ll catch a cold," said the man, who then continued on his way.

  "After turning twelve, I never caught a cold again..." he murmured sadly and then continued walking.

  As Louis headed toward the center of the kingdom, he saw incredible things: technology he had never seen before in his kingdom. But what amazed him the most were the cars.

  "How incredible...! They're like carriages but without horses. This place is wonderful!" he thought, unable to help but smile. "I also see many people with their rune companions. I remember that those who have rune magic have a mark somewhere on their body, and thanks to that mark, they can summon their companion... Well, enough distractions, I must continue." Louis managed to reach the address mentioned on the sign, though he had to ask around a lot since he knew nothing about this place.

  "This must be it... I hope no one has taken the job," he said, putting his backpack aside and concentrating to dry all his clothes using his magic.

  Louis took a large bag from his backpack and then used his hand to completely dry the backpack. Then, he rang the doorbell and waited... until a short man with a mustache and brown hair, dressed in a gray suit, opened the door.

  "Well... Do you need something?" the man asked, surprised to see Louis.

  "Good... uh... afternoon. I’d like to know if the delivery job is available," Louis responded with little expression.

  "Yes, come in... The interview is conducted by Professor Maxwell. I’ll take you to his office," he said kindly, letting him in.

  "Thank you very much. My name is Louis A. Keeper," Louis said seriously, lowering his head slightly after entering the house.

  "Uh? Nice to meet you, Louis. I'm Hanks Morthener, this way..." he said respectfully and kindly. "I felt... warmth? How strange," Hanks thought.

  Inside, the house had a large wooden staircase upon entering. The walls were completely wooden, and there was a window stretching from left to right. Hanks led Louis to Professor Maxwell’s office.

  "Professor, a young man is here for the delivery job," he mentioned after knocking and opening the door upon hearing the professor say to enter.

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  "Perfect, let him in..." said a man with a wise, calm, and moderate voice.

  "Come on, Louis," said Hanks, letting him in.

  "Good afternoon, sir. My name is Louis A. Keeper," Louis said seriously, lowering his head slightly again.

  "Nice to meet you, Louis. I’m Professor Maxwell. Do you have a résumé?" he asked while sitting at his desk. "Hmm, I felt something strange... Warmth?" the professor thought.

  Professor Maxwell was a tall man with white hair and a white beard. He wore a gray vest and a black jacket, and additionally, his right arm was mechanical.

  "Curri...? No, what’s that?" Louis asked, a bit confused but still maintaining his seriousness. "Whoa, his arm is mechanical," he thought without showing signs of surprise.

  "Heh, you’re not from here, are you?" Professor Maxwell smiled slightly upon hearing his question.

  "No, sir... I'm from the northern lands," he replied sincerely.

  "Northern lands... Interesting, the Kingdom of Alahead, right?" he said after thinking for a moment and recalling the news he had read.

  "How did you know?" Louis asked seriously.

  "There was news about a church affiliation with your kingdom," he replied frankly while closing a book that was on his desk.

  "Eh? Really?" he said, a bit surprised by the news.

  "You didn’t know? Heh... Well, I'd like to give you the job, but you’re not from here..." he said without much interest.

  "Give me at least one job, please. I need a place to stay, and they didn’t accept my money at any hotel," he replied sincerely, his words filled with warmth.

  "Huh? Again... this warmth," the professor thought as he listened to Louis's words. "Hmm... Well, the rain has cleared, so I need you to bring some parts to a forge nearby. If you manage to bring them back within the estimated time, I’ll hire you," he said as he stood up and handed a letter to Louis.

  "Alright, I accept." Louis took the letter and opened it immediately.

  "Perfect. The address is in the letter. You have 20 minutes starting... now," he declared while checking his wall clock.

  "I’m off then!" Louis quickly left the office and ran toward the exit. Professor Maxwell watched him leave the house through a window in his office.

  "Let's see... Glomequería Forge, located in... kingdom center, South Street... It shouldn't be too difficult," Louis said as he read the address and ran, dodging a few people.

  After the designated time, Louis failed to arrive on time, as he got lost and had to ask many people for directions to his destination.

  "I shouldn't have expected anything from that boy," said the professor while looking at the clock.

  "Call your boss, old man!" The sound of a door slamming against the wall was heard.

  "What’s going on?" Surprised, the professor got up from his chair and quickly headed toward the entrance.

  A group of six men entered the professor's house. Two of them stood out: one had a golden gun and wore a golden mask, along with a hat, a blue shirt with gray stripes, black pants, and black shoes. The other, with a spear on his back, wore a gray mask and completely gray clothing.

  "You need to leave, or I'll call the guards!" Hanks said angrily.

  "Please, those idiots are useless. If you don’t want to walk out with a bullet in your head, call that Maxwell guy," said the man with the golden mask while pointing his weapon at Hanks' head.

  "Who the hell are you?" asked the professor furiously, arriving at the entrance without stepping down the stairs.

  "You must be Professor Maxwell. I need you to hand over the piece that Boss Yeynos ordered," replied the one with the spear on his back and a gray mask.

  "Yeynos…" he muttered, a bit fearful.

  "I took too long… I hope they can exchange the gold I have… Huh?" Louis thought as he arrived at the professor's house with the items he had requested and saw the six men.

  "Hey... Who are you guys? Professor, is everything okay?" he asked while observing everyone's weapons.

  "Louis... I mustn't let him get involved," thought the professor. "You need to leave, Louis. We'll talk later."

  "No, not now... This kid is in this. Wow, look at his eyes, they’re different… Hey, are you some kind of freak or what?" said the man with the golden mask mockingly as he approached, showing Louis the gun.

  "Maybe I am…" Louis responded, grabbing the barrel of the gun.

  "Let go, bastard!" the masked man shouted, trying to pull his weapon away.

  "Louis!" Professor Maxwell yelled.

  Louis released the gun and punched the man in the stomach, making him stagger back and fall to the floor.

  "Idiot! How dare you!" shouted the man with the gray mask, charging at Louis and forcing him out of the house.

  "Damn it! Ahh, my gun! Catch the brat!" yelled the man with the golden mask when he saw his weapon's barrel crushed, quickly dropping it due to the heat.

  Before the others could get out, two smoke bombs fell beside the door, and Hanks shut it.

  "Idiots… You come to my house and treat me and my employees like trash… Now no one will leave without a bullet to the face!" he said angrily while descending the stairs, his mechanical arm beginning to charge energy. With his left hand, he put a mask over his face.

  Meanwhile, Louis kicked the man with the gray mask to get him off. Quickly, he pulled a katana from his backpack and kicked the backpack alongside the professor’s items. In the background, many people were seen fleeing the scene, and the professor's house door closed.

  "You think you're brave for attacking a man of Lord Zthur," said the man with the gray mask, grabbing the spear from his back.

  "I don’t know who that is, and I don’t care," Louis replied, beginning his attack. His sword clashed against the spear at high speed. Clearly, the spear had the advantage due to its longer attack range, but Louis was only testing his opponent's skills.

  Gunshots rang out inside the house; some bullets flew through the windows, shattering them.

  "What’s wrong? Not so tough anymore?" mocked the masked man, slamming his spear into the ground.

  Louis stepped back as the masked man used the spear for support to propel himself and launch a kick. Louis dodged, but his opponent reacted quickly, freeing the spear and aiming it at his neck. With a swift move, Louis blocked with his katana and pushed back forcefully, making him retreat.

  "You're good, but not better than me!" he shouted furiously and lunged again, attacking from the side. Louis positioned the blade of his sword low and countered the attack. The weapons clashed, and sparks flew from the impact.

  "You think you can beat me?!" he yelled, trying to win the struggle.

  "Of course, it’s very… simple!" Louis responded seriously as his other hand generated heat and his black glove turned red.

  Louis lifted the spear’s blade with his sword using all his strength and struck his opponent in the chest, burning his clothes and leaving burns.

  "Bas…tard…" he groaned in pain, kneeling and placing his head on the ground.

  He tried to lift his head, but Louis stepped closer and struck him with the hilt of his katana, making him collapse completely to the ground.

  Meanwhile, the professor and Hanks had captured everyone, tying them up with ropes.

  "You'll pay for this, old man!" said the man with the golden mask.

  "You better shut up. I can shoot you in the head just as easily as you aimed at my friend and the boy. Besides, didn’t you say the guards were useless?" the professor said angrily, aiming his mechanical arm while removing his mask.

  "Damn it…" he muttered, surrendering. "Tryl will defeat the kid and then take down the old man, I'm sure!" he thought while Hanks tied him up with the others.

  "Here’s another one," Louis said, opening the door and leaving the spear-wielding man on the floor.

  "No way, Tryl lost… Huh? His chest is burned. What did you do to him, freak?" he asked, angry and greatly surprised to see his friend.

  "He’s fine, but he had no chance against a paladin," Louis said seriously while storing his katana in his backpack.

  "Paladin, you?"

  "What happened here?" a knight asked as he arrived at the scene.

  "I am Professor Maxwell. These idiots broke into my house with weapons, and I simply defended my home. Apparently, they work for Zthur," said the professor, making his mechanical arm return to normal.

  "Zthur, huh? Guys, come on! We need to take these men to the cell," the knight shouted. "Good thing we were nearby."

  "Yeah, because normally, they don’t even show up when called. Your security has been dropping a lot," the professor said indifferently, turning his back to the knight.

  "I’m sorry about that, sir…" the knight expressed, saddened by what had happened.

  "I’d better go; I don’t want to be a bother… I’ll have to present myself to the king," Louis thought while the professor spoke with the knight. "Here you go, professor," he said, handing him a bag.

  "Thank you so much, Louis, for everything. By the way, you said you were a paladin. What are you doing here?" the professor asked, taking the bag.

  "I’m trying to change my life… Well, I’m leaving," Louis expressed sincerely, remembering why he came as he stepped out of the house.

  "Wait, are you planning to present yourself to the king?" the professor asked, grabbing his shoulder.

  "Yes, I have no other choice," he replied, turning to look at the professor.

  "Don’t do it. The current king won’t help you at all and might even kick you out of the kingdom. I have a proposal: stay at my house while you’re in the kingdom, and in return, you’ll only have to deliver my packages. What do you think?" he said with seriousness and concern.

  "Really? You’d do that for me?" Louis asked, surprised.

  "Of course. Besides, you’re a paladin, and having you here will be a great help," Professor Maxwell said, convinced.

  "Alright, then I accept, and I thank you as well," Louis said, bowing his head. "Wait a minute! If I had said from the start that I was a paladin, would you have accepted me?"

  "Of course, immediately," the professor replied, laughing as he patted his head.

  "Wow… Well, it’s time to start this new life," Louis thought as he entered the house, and Hanks closed the door.

  End of the chapter.