Kravon Town

"Oh, what's that?" Alex was intrigued by what was to be inside the bag that Kana was carrying. He walked closer to see what it was.

"Hey, can you just calm down a little bit and be patient bro. What's with the hurry? There is still time before you depart," Kana said as he put the bag on the table. He opened it and removed a tiny, silver metallic box. From the way it looked, it was easy to note that it seemed ancient. Kana handed the box to Alex with a smile. "Open it," he said as he sat down on the mat on the floor as there was no chair in the room.

Alex took the box and also sat cross legged on the floor. He then touched the lock of the box which wasn't locked. With a 'click!' sound, the box opened. Within the box, there laid a small golden dagger. It was currently sheathed with a golden scabbard with blue stripes. The handle was also golden with some silver stripes here and there. Alex picked up the dagger and tried to unsheath it but it was so hard that it couldn't.

"Hehe, Alex, it's not yet time to unsheath it. The dagger itself will release the seal that's locking it in place when the right time comes. Well, that's what my dad always tells me. Well, to say the truth, that dagger has always been passed down our family line but so far, no one was able to take the dagger out, leave alone open the box," Kana explained with a happy expression.

"You mean no one has ever opened this box?" Alex asked with disbelief.

"That's not right. It has never been unlocked till today,and you unlocked it and took hold of the dagger. Well, it seems I made the right choice.

Alex stood there in a daze. 'Does this mean something? Or is this the case where a weapon possesses someone and takes control of his body? Well this is strange, generations after generations yet no one succeeded in opening the box let alone wielding the dagger itself!" Alex's thoughts went wild when he thought about such occurrences. "By the way, why did you decide to give it to me? You said it was passed down the family line," Alex asked not understanding his friend's motive.

"Just take it. What is the use of it being in our family if there is no one who can use it? Don't you see that now that it is out of my hands it has landed in the right hands? Well, just to let you know, don't show it off to anyone, just keep it until the time you'll be able to unsheath it," replied Kana as he stood up.

"Ok, I get it. I'll take good care of it. Thank you Kana for the gift," Alex got up and gave his friend a hug. "Take care bro when I am away, I'll be back before you know it so we can go out on adventures," Alex said after he took a step back from the hug.

"Take care bro, train hard okay? Don't you dare give up. Although I am sure you won't do that," Kana said as they left the house. They headed straight towards the exit where Simon was waiting for Alex to finish packing.

"Oh, you're done? We better start now if we want to arrive early in our destination and have a good rest. Remember, where we are going isn't somewhere you can just reach in a matter of seconds," Simon said as he saw Alex arriving.

"Yes, I am done. We can leave now," Alex said as he placed the bag on his back.

"Then let's get moving. Kana, take care, we'll see each other soon," said Simon as he entered the carriage that would be use for transport. It was a carriage used by the elders of the family and it was usually pulled by griffons.

"See you when I come back," said Alex as he also entered the carriage.

"Sure," Kana replied as he waved them good by. But when Alex saw it, it looked like they'll never see each other again. He just hoped that he was wrong.

'Good bye my friend. I don't know if I will ever meet you again but I hope so. I am leaving but I am not allowed to tell anyone. My grandpa called for us and we're leaving for good. Maybe if you come to Sintok we'll meet again. Sorry for not letting you know,' Kana muttered in his heart as he saw his friend leaving. A small tear fell from his eyes but he didn't bother to wipe it away. He let it until it fell on the ground. After that, he left without looking back.

Alex on the other hand looked back as he saw his home disappearing from his sight. Even though life wasn't good, home is still home after all. He promised himself to work hard so that he won't be seen as trash any more. That's a promise he had to keep.

Kravon town, where they are headed is four days away by carriage. It was indeed a great distance even for the griffons which had to take a rest at least once a day. They continued on the journey using the only path known, but it was also infested by bandits. Good thing that Simon released his aura thus no bandit tried to hijack them, only a few monsters which were taken care of very fast.

They usually made a camp at night where they rested to have dinner and have some sleep. And finally, on the fourth day, they arrived in Kravon town. This was one of the popular towns known for its adventurer guilds, forests, alchemist guilds, high class restaurants and many more. When they arrived, they had to register themselves first before they enter the town.

There was a long queue where we had to wait for almost an hour. When our turn came, we entered a small office near the gate where registration is done. "Hello, can you fill in your details please," said a man who was wearing a guard's uniform. He had a well built body. He had black hair and blue eyes with tanned skin. He had a well shaven chin.

"Sure, " replied Simon as he took the paper and began filling in our details. When he was done, he gave back the paper and paid the entrance fee of ten bronze coins for both of us. When we we were done, the gate was opened and we entered the town.

"We will first look for an inn where we can park the carriage and have a rest tonight and training will commence tomorrow morning," Simon said just as they entered the town.

"Yes, elder," replied Alex as he looked around. Truly, this town deserves its popularity as the town had well built houses. The roads were all in a good condition with no potholes. The stores on the side of the road selling different types of commodities attracted his attention. Comparing this town to his hometown, his can only be called a village. Yes, the infrastructure was indeed good and the streets were clean.

"Hey, don't look around like a fool, just relax. You'll have time to look around so don't open your mouth so wide like that, you'll end up swallowing a fly or two," said Simon as he took hold of Alex and pulled him out of the carriage. They had already arrived at the inn but Alex never noticed this as he was still looking around.

They got off the carriage and entered one of the inns in town known as Pilmals. When they entered, they were welcomed by a lady who was the receptionist. She wore a red blouse and a black skirt. There was a name tag on the left side of her blouse, 'Jane.'

"Welcome, how can I assist you?" asked Jane.

"We need a room for two, is it available?" asked Simon as they moved towards the counter.

"Yes, it's available for four gold coins for a month, food and other necessary requirements are included," replied Jane with a smile.

"Ok, we'll take it," Simon said as he took four gold coins from his pouch and handed it to the lady. After filling out the details, Simon was given the key to room 19 on the first floor. The two thanked the receptionist as they headed towards the room. The room wasn't that fancy but it had all one would need. Three chairs, a table, two wardrobes and two beds.

Alex unloaded his things but left the box he was given by Kana inside. Simon didn't carry anything as he had his storage ring. Simon then left Alex to rest as he went out to find a stable to park the carriage. Alex was left alone in the room as he laid down on the bed to have a good rest from the journey.

'Tomorrow training will start. I don't know what kind of training will be there but I hope I can take it. I just have to, this is my life,' Alex thought about this as he drifted to sleep.