“Hey there fellows. Mind if I join in? " Erin inquired not breaking face in the slightest. “Who are you ?! What is the meaning of this ?! ” Roderick shouted in surprise as he jumped off his seat like a spring. "How did you get here?" Alisha asked looking confused. “I asked around. As soon as I saw you two, I was sure that this scumbag would attempt something shady. ” Erin explained as he casually walked in between Alisha and Roderick, in the middle of the room. "Almost everyone in the mercenary guild knows how much of a fraud this guy is." Erin claimed while looking at Alisha. “Me? A fraud ?! I'm a realist! I do what I have to! " The grown man quickly replied while almost growling at the young man. “Yeah a realist…” He scoffed as he turned to look at the man behind the desk. “I knew you were scum but I didn't think you would have gone to such lengths to prove it. Kidnapping a naïve and innocent girl. ” Erin threw back while staring daggers at him. "I'm not naïve!" Alisha almost immediately replied. “Well your situation says otherwise…” The young man replied trying to hold back a smile. “ENOUGH OF THIS! I HAD NO INTENTION OF USING VIOLENCE BUT MY PATIENCE HAS WORN OUT! YOU EITHER LEAVE THIS INSTANT OR YOU WILL FACE THE WRATH OF THE BEST SWORDSMAN IN FALLAND! " Roderick threatened Erin, clearly fuming in rage. “Unfortunately for YOU I can't do that. I can't let her dream end. " Erin sternly replied without flinching. “Then so be it! Get him! ” The grown man swiftly ordered his goons as he grabbed hold of his own sword's hilt. Without even wasting a moment, the man who was standing behind Alisha this whole time, charged at Erin holding his blade above his head. "Watch out!" Alisha tried to warn him as soon as she caught on the enemy's movement. The young man, dodged the downwards slash from his enemy by taking a small step to the right and with a swift movement swept the man's leg, letting him hit the ground. "Damn you guys are weak!" Erin said with a hint of disappointment in his voice as he rested his foot, stomping it down at the head of the guard lying on the floor. “In fact, I won't even draw my sword! How does that sound? " The young man taunted his enemies cockily, as he removed the sword, which was still inside it's scabbard, from his belt and held onto it with both arms. "You insolent brat!" Roderick spelled out as he clenched his teeth in frustration. “What are you waiting for ?! ATTACK !! ”The grown man growled at his goons while pointing at the arrogant young man standing in the middle of the room. The goons, almost as if they were woken up by their boss' order, sprang into action, with the first one being the man presumably named Julio. The goon attacked head first, imitating Hugo's earlier attack by bringing down his sword in a slash towards Erin, but he swiftly evaded the attack just like earlier, almost immediately smashing his undrawn weapon right at his opponent's stomach almost like a bat, leaving him unconscious ... "He used his sheathed sword as a blunt weapon ?!" The young girl watching the fight thought to herself in surprise. Seconds after that, another goon charged at him pointing the sword's edge directly at Erin's vitals, but the young man deflected the attack with his weapon and smacked the enemy in the head with it immediately after. “Two more. You sure you wanna continue? ” He said once again adding fuel to the fire burning inside the grown man's head. Unlike, their boss the two remaining goons swiftly fled the scene by running away, tossing their weapons away in the process. “These fools! Fine I'll do it myself! ” Roderick hissed in anger as he drew his sword and jumped over the table coming closer to the young mercenary. 'Show me what you got, gramps. ” Erin said with a cocky smile. "I'll rip that smile off your face, kid!" The grown man growled once again swiping his sword right at his head in an attempt to decapitate him. The young man in a swift movement ducked under the attack hitting his opponent with his still undrawn sword in the back of his knee. "Damn you!" Roderick hissed angrily as he charged at the young man, attempting to stab his face with a fast slash. But the attempt failed as Erin tilted his head, avoiding any damage, as the blade grazed his cheek slightly drawing some blood as Alisha in the background gasped in surprise. The young man quickly kicked his opponent in the stomach making him stagger a few steps backwards. "Okay that's enough playtime." Erin said as he wiped the red liquid off his cheek with the back of his hand. Then, the young man speedily took a step forward closing in the distance between them as he hit Roderick's right arm with the scabbard of his sheathed blade, causing the man to lose the grip around his weapon and throw it upwards. Erin didn't stop there as he smashed his opponent's stomach with the edge of his weapon making him kneel in pain, while simultaneously grabbing his enemy's loose sword. Before the grown man had any chance to react the teenager hammered the weapon into the ground, as the cutting edge of the sword was nailed only a couple of millimeters away from his face. As Roderick looked up he felt the freshly drawn blood from his forehead drip down the blade and hit the ground directly in front of his open legs. “I could have sliced ​​you in half you know. So don't go picking a fight with me, or the girl next time. " Erin said starring right at the man's eyes, which were filled with horror after almost witnessing his death. As Roderick looked up he felt the freshly drawn blood from his forehead drip down the blade and hit the ground directly in front of his open legs. “I could have sliced ​​you in half you know. So don't go picking a fight with me, or the girl next time. " Erin said starring right at the man's eyes, which were filled with horror after almost witnessing his death. As Roderick looked up he felt the freshly drawn blood from his forehead drip down the blade and hit the ground directly in front of his open legs. “I could have sliced ​​you in half you know. So don't go picking a fight with me, or the girl next time. " Erin said starring right at the man's eyes, which were filled with horror after almost witnessing his death.

After he dealt with the men, the young man casually woke over to the table and grabbed the key for Alisha's cuffs. “Thanks… I mean about all that…” The young girl said as she rubbed her freshly sore wrists. "Don't worry about it." Erin replied casually. "But why did you save me?" Alisha asked looking genuinely curious. “I'll explain later. Let's just get out of here. ” He replied as he etched towards the door. "What about him?" Alisha said as he looked at Roderick and noticed he was laying unconscious. “Never mind…” She continued, realizing her question was completely unnecessary. “Never mind him. He's too shocked to move. " Erin exclaimed while casually gesturing his hand around. "I presume that this belongs to you?" The young man asked pointing towards a satchel at the far corner of the room. “Yeah, that's my bag! ”Alisha said in surprise as he walked over and picked it up. "Okay then let's get moving." Erin announced as he took the lead and stepped outside the room, and ultimately, the building.

The exit of the building led the two teenagers in a spacious back alley of the city that was lit by the sunset sky. “The sun is already setting ...” Alisha pointed out as she didn't know the exact amount of time she was unconscious. "Yeah, you were in there for quite some time." Erin stated as he started walking towards a more crowded part of the city. "Wait!" The young girl voiced as she caught on with him. “You said you were going to tell me why you helped me once we were outside ...” She continued looking sincerely curious. However the young man had no time to reply as a big humanoid figure appeared between the alley and the crowded city street, blocking their path. "Who ... or what is that?" Alisha asked as they both stopped walking. "They just don't know when to give up, do they?" Erin said followed up by an exasperated sigh. "So you were the one that ruined the boss' plan ?!" The tall man with the extremely broad shoulders and heavy build asked in a hoarse voice. "Yes he is the one, Gruut!" The goons that had fled earlier explained as they came into view. “Gruut? The name suits him so well that it's kinda funny ... ”The young girl commentated while looking at the side. “You're mocking Gruut too ?!” The tall man raised his voice in anger. “Let's just get this over with!” Erin said as he unsheathed his sword for the first time today. The blade was a silvery white, as the setting sun gently hitting it gave the blade a yellowish tint. The young man tightened the hold around the big dark blue grip of his weapon as the man named Gruut removed his own sword, hanging behind his back, from it's scabbard. The gigantic man charged at his enemy slamming his huge greatsword on the ground directly underneath the young man's feet, as he jumped to the side dodging the attack. "You'll be crushed like an ant by the almighty Gruut!" He shouted as he missed his first attack. “Man your boss is pathetic. Talking like he is the best swordsman in town while he isn't even the best swordsman in his group! ” Erin said mockingly, while giving credit to his opponent. Almost immediately after that, he attempted a swift sideways swing, but his blade stopped at his opponent's weapon. After blocking his opponent's attack, Gruut countered with a fist at the young man's stomach making him stagger back. "You can't match Gruut's strength shrimp!" The tall man shouted, taunting his opponent. “Can you please stop talking in third person? It's kind of annoying you know! ”Erin said as he brought his hand to where he was punched. "I'll help you Erin!" Alisha exclaimed as she started searching her satchel for her folding magical staff. "No you won't!" One of the two goons said holding out her staff mockingly. “You looking for this? The boss told us to get it from your bag while you were still out cold! ” The other goon explained while laughing. "Oh come on!" The young girl burst out clearly frustrated. “I didn't think I would have to use this but it seems you leave me no choice.” Erin said as he stood up straight and held out his sword with both hands. "Gruut doesn't get what you're saying but Gruut will kill you!" His opponent said as he charged at him. “Karma, lend me your strength! ”Erin said in a loud voice as he was enveloped in a light blue aura that deflected Gruut's charge and sent him flying on the wall directly behind him. "MAGIC ?!" The goons shouted while feeling completely overwhelmed, dropping Alisha's staff in the process. "Is that an enchantment ?!" Alisha thought to herself while looking at the blue aura around him, the mysterious yet beautiful blue glow of his blade. The young man casually walked towards his opponent who had made the wall he hit collapse due to the impact, and was starring in horror towards his direction. “It's over. I'm always going to be the last on standing. ” He said pointing the edge of his sword at his opponent's face who was terrified after locking eyes with him. Even a stare by these glowing demonic eyes can make a normal human tremble in fear. Moments later, Erin disarmed the force he had summoned with a simple "That's enough, Karma." seathing his sword back into place, as his enemy had fled with his tail between his legs. "What was that ...?" Alisha asked looking overwhelmed. "Could that have been an ancient enchantment ?!" She continued as she almost jumped while posing her question. "How did you guess that?" Erin asked looking quite surprised. “No way! Ancient enchantments are a form of magic that has been lost for a while now. The last usage was reportedly 30 years ago! ” Alisha said while showcasing her knowledge of the matter. "Yeah but you're not answering my question ... How did you come up with that guess?" The young man pressed on with his questioning. “I don't know I just… felt it? I mean it was pretty obvious that it wasn't just a normal enchantment. No enchantment has such great magic power that it would send someone flying without the slightest of touch from the user! " Alisha explained enthusiastically. "I see ... Anyway let's get out of here." Erin said skeptically as he walked towards the street ahead of them once again. “Still it's amazing how you're an ancient enchanter! Which one is it? How did you get it? Is the sword related to the enchantment? " The young girl followed him with stars in her eyes as she picked up her stolen weapon from where it was dropped. It's the Sky Force enchantment. It was handed down by my father and yes the sword is the item that holds the enchantment. Its name is Tyrfing. ”Erin answered briefly. “Handed down by your father? Is there more to that story than you've let on perhaps? " Alisha continued asking successfully dodging all of the hints. “OKAYY! No more questions about that! Anyway, why are you so keen on learning about this? " The young man asked changing the subject. "Well I've always loved studying about magic and to see a historic relic like this up close is amazing It might even be the last one to exist!" Her sparkling curiosity illuminated her face once again. “It is actually. I'm the only ancient enchanter left. " Erin answered sincerely. “The only one… There used to be 10 of them…” She whispered clearly disappointed. “Anyway. Before we part ways ... ”Erin said as they finally reached a main street of the town, which was surprisingly quiet and uncrowded“ The truth is I also have a mission to search for the Seven Magical Gems, but I quit two years ago. I couldn't find anything related to them, didn't have any money and everyone kept laughing it off when I brought it up. So I started working as a mercenary as a means to gain some coin and search for them later on. So I just wanted to say that what you said to Roderick really had an effect on me and I'm ready to start my search all over again. So thank you! ” The young man explained as he genuinely smiled at her. “No… Without your help I would still be inside that creepy place with that fraud… So thank you! And I'm pretty sure you will have no problem finding them ... ”The young girl replied with the same genuine smirk“ But not before I do! ” She continued with a full-on cocky smile. "We'll see about that!" Erin replied with a chuckle and a playful smile of his own. “Well I'll be off then. Take care… uhm…. ” He said as he didn't even knew her name. “It's Alisha. Alisha Leonheart. " The young girl said as she quickly caught on. “Erin Reiner. ”He replied in the same fashion. “Take care!” They both said simultaneously as they turned to leave, each of them in their own respective direction.

Why do I feel the need to turn around? Why do I feel like I have to catch up with him? Why do I feel like I shouldn't let her go? Why? Why ..?

"Someone please help me!" A woman's voice broke them free of their thoughts as a young female came running down the street and fell to her knees exhausted right in front of the young man. "What's wrong?" Erin asked. “They've taken her! They've kidnapped my sister! ” The young girl explained as much as she could with her short breath. “They? Who are THEY? ” Alisha asked looking clueless as she came over. “This must be related to the recent kidnappings… Where did this happen?” The young man quickly continued with his questioning. “In the alley next to the herbalist ...” The girl out of breath explained “You'll help me?” She quickly asked after drawing fresh air to her lungs, with a look of desperation in her eyes. "Of course !!" Both Erin and Alisha replied without hesitation as they looked at each other shortly after.

"Helping other people can be a cure, not just for those who are in need, but for your own soul as well."