1 Chapter 1 - Ronald Silvermoon

In the center part of the Oakheart village, located at the southwestern side of the Everlast forest, there is a big event that is currently taking place. People were gathering at the center of the village, where a small temple of the goddess Era, the goddess of life and death, is located.

Among the small crowd, a young boy, with a noticeable midnight black hair and silver eyes, was quietly standing alone with a face full of excitement and nervousness.

The young boy was watching a small line made-up of 12 children at the age of 15.

This young boy is Ronald Silvermoon, a resident of the village that became an orphan at the early age of 10.

His father passed away before he was even born while his mother died due to an illness. However, this isn't the truth about his family.

Looking at the crowd, Ronald started walking to the end of the line to line up while recalling what had really happened five years ago.

---5 years ago ----

Inside a small house in the northeastern part of the Oakheart village, a woman with silver hair was embracing a crying 10-year-old child.

"Mom, don't leave me. I won't do anything that would make you angry again. Please... Please don't leave me," the child said while crying non-stop.

The woman just listened to her son and stayed silent while also crying silently on her own.

After some time, the child slept after crying so much on his mother's embrace.

Looking at her sleeping child, the woman slowly put him down on his bed, though the child didn't let go of her even when he is sleeping.

Looking once again at the child's face, the woman slowly removed the hand of the child that was embracing her. After removing her son's hands on her neck, she quietly and gently held the boy's hand and sighed. She then looked at the shadow created by the light of the lamp, and in there came a humanoid figure slowly emerging out of it.

"Jack, please take care of him while I'm away and make sure to protect him and always keep him safe... Also, please... If possible... Let him live a normal life, I'll let Anna stay too, so that, both of you can take care of him."

Hearing her speak, the humanoid figure, which had walked out of the shadows and had taken the form of a bear-like man, let out a deep sigh while still kneeling in front of her.

After sighing, the man slowly raised his head.

"My queen. Is this really necessary? Is there really no way to solve this situation without leaving the little prince?" he asked as the woman then looked at the full moon outside the window with a face full of confusion and uncertainties.

Moments later, she sighed and then looked back at him with a face of determination and answered, "Yes... Because I am not only a mother..."

With a slight pause, the woman looked at the sleeping child lovingly, then she continued, "But also a queen... I have a very huge responsibility to my people... And also, I don't want him to be involved in this mess."

Stopping a little, she looked again at the moon with a beautiful smile as she recalled some happy memories from her past. But moments later, her expression turned 180 degrees as sadness then anger replaced her beautiful smile. And then finally, she sighed.

Jack, who was an experienced warrior and assassin, clearly saw the many changes that happened in the queen's expression, but he didn't disturb her. He just clenched his fist very hard as he recalled all the tragedies that they have passed.

"If only his father hadn't gone missing, all these things wouldn't be happening. Those idiotic elders wouldn't even have the guts to make a move on me... It is quite fortunate though that at that time when we escape, they didn't know that I was pregnant and was still a little afraid and cautious of my powers... We can still hide him from their eyes... They have very little power in this place... And that would make it hard for them to dig every bit of information about us, we only need to be careful and hide all traces."

"Don't worry my queen, I would not let anything bad happen to the prince as long as I live and is walking on this earth, I will always be following and protecting him within his shadows."

Hearing Jack's oath, the woman let out a simple smile.

"I trust you."

She then again looked at the rising moon that is already at its peak.

"It is time, I need to move."

"Be careful, my queen."

"Don't worry... I have Rowan with me, and also, did you forget that I am far more stronger than you?"

The woman let out a small laugh and then for the last time, she looked at her sleeping child with a loving gaze, she then slowly brought down her head close to his face and kissed him on his forehead and then she slowly removed her necklace and put it on her son's neck. And finally, she put on the hood of her robe, covering her hair and ears and finally her eyes. And as the moonlight hit her, her figure slowly faded away along with another five hooded people that just came out of nowhere.

They suddenly appeared in the room, and just like her, as the moonlight hit their bodies, they also slowly faded away.

The scene of the six people slowly fading in the moonlight was a fascinating sight to behold, but Jack couldn't appreciate this beautiful scene because he knew that after this scene, he could meet neither the queen nor his brothers for an unknown period of time.

It took only about five seconds before the six people had completely disappeared from the small house.

--------

Thinking of the last night he had with his mother, Ronald touched the necklace with a silver moon on it, hidden inside his shirt.

Although he didn't hear her mother said anything that night, he knew that his mother didn't really want to leave him and that she was only forced to leave due to some circumstances. Though he knew some of it, as Jack, the butcher in the village and also the one who took care of him, told him about some things.

Steeling his self and removing his nervousness, Ronald watched the slowly but surely shrinking line and waited patiently for his turn.

----

In this world, all kinds of power, whether it is the power to save a life, to protect life, to destroy life, or for life to be easy, are present.

These supernatural powers can be gained in many ways, but the most common and easiest way of getting this power is by awakening.

Awakening is the way that "the will of the world" or some may call "the will of the heavens" gave to all human beings, that means that only human can use this way to have some supernatural powers.

Upon awakening, a human will awaken a class that is most suitable for himself according to his talent, knowledge, and finally experience.

There are eight basic fighting classes that can be awakened which are <Warrior>, <Guardian>, <Archer>, <Mage>, <Ranger>, <Assassin>, <Tamer>, and last but not the least <Healer>. But these weren't the only classes that can be awakened. There are many variations of the eight basic classes such as, <Berserker> which a variation of the <Warrior>, <Wind Walker> which is a variation of the <Ranger>, and many others.

Also, aside from these fighting classes, there is another category of classes which is called the production classes. It is in this category that the classes such as <Blacksmith>, <Fisherman>, <Farmer>, and any other class that doesn't major in fighting something belongs to.

---

While waiting for his turn, Ronald looked jealously at the other kids as they waited patiently along with either there mother or father or with both.

'How wonderful would it be if my mom was here with me.' Ronald thought to himself with sadness and longing inside his heart.

While Ronald was looking at the other kids, a man with a bear-like body came near him and patted his shoulder, which startled him and caused him to turn around quickly then looked at the man who did the deed.

"Uncle Jack! You're here! What about your shop?" Ronald said in surprise as he saw his uncle.

He knew that his uncle was a very busy man. His shop was the only one in the village that deals with the beast's corpse, specifically its meat.

Most of the residents of the village are hunters and farmers, but only his uncle is a full-fledged adventurer that has the skills <Disassemble> and <Purify>. Where the skill <Disassemble> is a must-have skill for a good quality beast material, while the skill <Purify> is a skill for those who aim to produce materials with the highest quality.

Materials gathered from beast are hard to deal with. Some materials are hard, some are tough, while some are so fragile that just touching it on the wrong place would lower the quality of the gathered material, or worse, destroy it. But this is not the only reason why an adventurer with a <Disassemble> skill is needed, some beast's corpse would explode if treated wrongly, so, being a butcher isn't really a safe and easy job, although, the income is huge.

"Why wouldn't I be here, today is a very special day for you. And I don't want to miss this day, so I close my shop today, to watch your awakening ceremony. You wouldn't shoo me away, would you?" Jack said with a joking laugh.

"No, I wouldn't. And also, I like you being here to accompany me, like other kids. But what about your shop?"

"Nahhhh... Don't worry about it, it's just for a day, no big deal. So, for now, don't think about other things. Focus on your awakening ceremony... Hmmm... What class are you hoping to awaken?" Jack curiously asked Ronald as he waited for his answer.

Ronald thought carefully about Jack's question before answering it.

"Hmm... I wanted to be a warrior just like you and my mom," Ronald said with certainty, as he recalled his mother practicing with her sword in their backyard.

While they were talking with each other, time slowly passed away.

An hour later, it was Ronald's turn to go inside the temple.

Ronald looked at the door as he saw a young man going out of the temple with a happy face.

"You're next... Go on... I'll pray to the goddess of luck and fortune that you would awaken the class that you hope for," Jack said as he stopped at the door and let Ronald continue walking inside.

---

Upon entering the temple, Ronald was led to a small room by a priest where a life-like statue of a beautiful woman is located. This statue is the statue of the goddess Era, the goddess of life and death, and beneath her statue was a glowing spherical object.

"Put both of your hands in the awakening orb, and relax your mind. Just let the energy in the orb enter into your body." A bald priest said to him as he slowly walked towards him.

This priest was a different one from the one who sent him inside. The one who sent him inside the temple had disappeared quietly without him noticing anything. Although it may be because his attention was being taken away by the statue.

Following what the priest said, Ronald put both of his hands in the glowing spherical object and slowly closed his eyes to relax his mind. The priest then put his hands together and started chanting.

As the chanting sound of the priest, which Ronald couldn't understand, grew louder and louder, the glowing light within the orb started getting brighter and brighter, which caused the small room to be filled with light. He then felt something entering his body from his hands.

Mysteriously, even if Ronald has closed his eyes, he could still clearly see the statue in front of him and also the unknown energy entering into his body.

The chanting sound went on for about a couple of minutes before the statue that Ronald saw, while closing his eyes, slowly walked towards him and touched his forehead.

Feeling the cool sensation on his forehead, Ronald slowly opened his eyes. And upon opening, Ronald directly saw some words inside the awakening orb.

***

Class: Tamer

Potential: B

***

Seeing the words inside the orb, Ronald felt disappointed as he wanted to become a warrior. But a moment later, he sighed and recalled what his mother taught him when he was still six-years-old.

'Any class can become what you want to be as long as you work hard. I had even once seen an unknown Fisherman using his pole like a sword to defeat a well-known Warrior.'

Remembering what his mother taught him, Ronald released a small sigh and started smiling, accepting the class that he awakened.

While Ronald was still thinking about his class, the bald priest behind him shook his head and sighed. 'What a waste of potential. He would at least become a master if only he didn't awaken the tamer class.'

The priest had this kind of thinking because it was a known fact among the knowledgeable people, that although a tamer has a great advantage over the other classes at the early stages, it is hard for them to achieve the advanced stages. Without a strong background to support a tamer, advancing would be like carrying a full-grown elephant while climbing a mountain.

Ronald, not knowing what the priest was thinking, walked out of the temple after saying his thanks to the priest.