Author's Preface
Atop an artificially modified hill was a large living space. It was surrounded by thick and high wooden fences, encircling a total of three buildings, a small garden and orchard, as well as a larger empty area. A meticulously carved set of stairs led down to the foot of the hill, where a small village stood. The hill was so tall that in the distance, the other four villages could easily be identified.
Although the stairs were made to last, the structures were of lower quality. They were just barely standing and were in dire need of some repair. Especially the house closest to the stairs, the office, and the home of the owner of the orphanage.
Out of the other two structures, only one seemed to be well-maintained, and that was where the kids lived. It was located in the dead center of the hilltop. And the other, much smaller, but still larger than the owner's house, was a place designed for studying and training.
Moments before dawn. Although the sky was slowly being painted by reddish-orange colors, it was still early. Many would either be still fast asleep at this hour or be slowly waking up, but not them. Ceeo, Nini, and Manin.
Ceeo, the manager of the establishment, was a tall, good-looking man with long black hair; he was in his late twenties, but despite his age, he had been entrusted with managing the orphanage for almost a decade. He wore a plain, tattered set of clothes.
Nini and Manin were twin sisters; they both had shorter, shoulder-length pitch-black hair and an angelic smile. Manin was just a bit taller than her sister. Other than their heights, only their eye color made it possible to distinguish them. Nini's eyes were blue, with a slight green tint in them, while Manin had a darker, almost orange-like pair of eyes.
Three of them were up to train early in the morning. And despite being two against one, Ceeo still managed to win. Although the difference was only a single stage, the training was still one-sided. Ceeo managed to easily block and evade all of the twins' attacks, as if he saw them before they could even move.
Nini and Manin had recently reached the second stage of Sword-Main, the second realm, after Swordman, while Ceeo was only at the third stage of Sword-Main due to an incident, but that didn't mean he stopped practicing.
"It was a great early morning training!" Ceeo said as he blocked Nini's last attempt. "However, you are still relying too much on your newfound breakthrough power boost."
Hearing his words, the girls collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Their practice wooden swords were still clutched between their fingers.
"Although your footwork has improved, your breathing is still a mess." Ceeo pointed his wooden sword at Manin. "If you want to keep your promise of surpassing me and protecting the orphanage, you still need to work on your breathing. For now, the training session is over. I am heading down to the village. In the meantime, could you look after the others?"
"Of course!" The girls responded almost instantly, and then Nini added, "Please be careful!"
Ceeo only nodded and moved towards his small, old house. He moved swiftly; his motion was so fluid and quiet at the same time that, other than the quiet rattling of the grass, nothing could be heard at all.
Inside the house were two rooms. The one to which the door opened was something like a waiting room. There was a small desk beside the window and two chairs. The other room, which led from the first room, was his study and bedroom in one. A larger desk with a hand-carved wooden chair just by the window so he could stare at the stairs, and only a meter from it were two blankets and a pillow on the ground.
Next to the desk, there was a blade in a scabbard leaning against the wall. With a swift motion, he switched his practice sword with the real one and then left the house and started moving down the stairs. Despite consisting of hundreds of steps, Ceeo managed to get down relatively quickly. After all, this is where he grew up; he had probably moved up and down the stairs tens of thousands of times already.
"Master Ceeo, thank you for being so early again!"
An elderly man with a similarly tattered outfit stood by the foot of the stairs, waiting for him. As soon as Ceeo stepped beside the man, he slightly stretched his arms.
"Is there anything I can do for you today?" Ceeo asked with a smile. "Not to sound rude, but I hope there are a few tasks I can help with so I can replenish our granary."
The man could only laugh nervously and rub the back of his head. Then motioned forward, inviting Ceeo for a stroll. For a few minutes, the two men moved quietly, but once they got some distance behind them, the man finally spoke up.
"We are having some problems with wild animals. They started attacking our people, and although no one has died so far, even the guards are getting worn out. Also, most of our core soldiers still have yet to return from their mission."
"I think I see what you mean... I get rid of your wild monsters, and in return, we get meat on the table and maybe some alchemy materials? Still, if possible, I would like to get some vegetables or bread as well."
"Of course, I will see what I can do about it, but please hurry. We just managed to fend off another wave of wolves; we were lucky they decided to retreat only after having one of them slightly injured."
"Understood, please point me in the direction where the attacks came, and I will prepare to take them down!"
"Thank you very much, Master Ceeo! They came from the south; we still have a few exhausted guards stationed there. And I will do my best to get you bread AND vegetables; fortunately, our harvest was better than last year."