My memories of the events that followed were blurry.

It seemed to me as if I were in some kind of trance.

When my hand clasped the spear that Tobi had stuck into the forest floor, I was overcome with a strong feeling of euphoria.

At the same time, my head cleared up. No trace of the fear and nervousness that paralyzed me a moment before remained.

I knew what I had to do and how I had to do it.

I took the spear in my right hand, my fingers grasping the roundish handle a few inches below the center.

I swung my right leg backward in a fluid, semi-circular motion and I placed my right foot perpendicular to my line of sight. At the same time, I swung my spear arm back so that the tip was pointing at the forest floor behind me, the shaft was gently resting against my back with the blunt end sticking out over my left shoulder. I raised my left arm to shoulder height and angled my forearm vertically. Then I squatted slightly.

It was a movement that seemed as natural to me as breathing. I didn't understand why, but I didn't question it either.

At that moment, I knew only one thing with absolute certainty.

I was strong.

♦ ♦ ♦  RALF  ♦ ♦ ♦ 

Before I awakened, I was a nobody. I was born into a normal family of non-hunters and led an ordinary life in the capital city of Berlin. 

Since my ancestors were not Awakened, I knew my chances were slim.

However, I always had a tall build and a beefy physique. My physical strength was the only thing that set me apart from the other children my age. Maybe, I thought, that was a sign. So I prayed. I prayed for a chance at a better life.

And my prayers were answered. On my 17th birthday, I woke up from a sharp pain in my back. It hurt so much that I thought I would faint. But after a few minutes, the pain subsided and what was left was a brownish, tattoo-like ring on my skin, just over my spine in the upper part of my back.

I knew exactly two things.

First. I had just awakened. The first ring sealed a pact with the gods, people said. One was chosen. 

I was chosen.

On average, out of a hundred people, only one person awoke, and that person was me.

Second. I had an affinity for earth. A brown ring meant that my potential for earth magic was particularly high. However, this was not of great importance, as it was rare for hunters to be able to use magic before their second ring.

Nonetheless, I was now an Awakened. The first of my family. The first of my name, as they say. Of course, my parents were incredibly proud and my friends looked up to me.

A year later, I went to a hunter's academy. It wasn’t comparable to renowned schools like the Wilhelm-Academy, but it was an academy nonetheless. I was glad.

I wasn't very smart, so the theoretical exams always caused me problems, but my physical attributes made up for my weaknesses. Of course, there were always some who were stronger, faster, better than me, but I did well enough.

Then, after three years, I graduated. I finally held the hunter's license in my hand. Already, I was regarded as a kind of hero by ordinary people. After all, I would protect them from the invaders.

But that was not enough for me. I wanted more. So, full of enthusiasm, I applied to the large guilds in Germany – together with Aileen and Tobi, whom I had met at the academy.

Without success.

We realized that a hunter's license alone was not enough to play in the upper leagues.

We lacked strength.

So we trained to improve our skills and gained practical experience in the field. We joined a small guild and did all kinds of missions we were given – mostly it was monster hunting in the Manto-Forest or similar harmless areas.

When we became stronger, we left the guild and joined a larger one.

That's how 5 whole years went by.

Then, last year, the time finally came. We awakened our magic affinities. Tobi received his second ring and was promoted to the rank of Aes. He awakened his wind affinity and began to use it in battle. Aileen and I were also promoted and were now at the Probatio-I level, one stage before rank advancement.

This was enough to be accepted into one of the larger guilds in Germany. The Eagles guild was ranked 43rd nationally at that time, making it a colossus in the world of hunter guilds.

We knew that we would start at the bottom. Just because we were official members of the guild, we were not among the elites. We had to work our way up slowly.

But the reality was still disappointing. Instead of being stationed closer to the front lines, our field of activity didn't change much from the previous years. Monster hunting, resource gathering, and mana-crystal searching in the Manto-Forest were all we were allowed to do.

I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but in reality, I already knew. We were only accepted into the Eagles guild to do the work for them they didn’t want to do.

Today was not going to be any different. We would hire a Mendax to help us gut the goblins and carry our stuff. Then we would spend a few hours in the forest, and at the end of the day, we would turn in our spoils to the guild and collect our wages.

But nothing turned out the way it was supposed to.

Our Mendax, as it turned out, was just a boy. Normally boys his age should be addending the academy but his family probably couldn't afford it. There were always those outcasts.

Granted, he looked like he was in good shape, and he did his chores without complaining. But as an experienced hunter, it scratched my pride a bit to have to work with such a novice.

But that thought quickly faded. Because our Mendax, I believe Hektor was his name, actually found a mana-crystal. I couldn't believe our luck. A mana-crystal was the best thing that could be discovered in a monster. Even a small stone was worth a fortune. The crystal we found was medium in size.

We would receive a gigantic amount of silver and gold coins from the guild and maybe even get promoted. We could buy better equipment and would probably be redeployed. Nearer at the front lines, we could make a name for ourselves as hunters. More money, more fame.

I saw it clearly before my eyes. All the hard work of the last few years would finally pay off in the end.

But just as we were making our way back, something impossible happened. We encountered hobgoblins. As level B- monsters, they should never have made it to the Manto-Forest.

At the far front, the strongest monsters – S- to S+ level monsters – were intercepted. This is why it was called the S-front. Beyond this line were areas classified with the danger level S. Here you were in the land of monsters, and going into the land of monsters meant certain death – at least for ordinary hunters.

Located further inside the country was the A-front. Here monsters of level A- to A+ were blocked. Areas between this line and the S-front were thus classified with danger level A.

Following the same principle, there was then the B-front and the C-front.

The C-front enclosed the heart of Germany – which included Potsdam, Berlin, and the Manto-Forest – like a protective ring with a diameter of about 300 miles.

The fact that we encountered hobgoblins inside this ring could only mean that somewhere the C- as well as the B-front had been breached. It would be a huge, unprecedented scandal of the EHO.

But that was the last thing I was thinking about at the moment.

Because right now I was lying on the ground, huddled under my shield, while a huge monster was hitting me over and over again with a club.

I didn't know how much time had passed. All I heard were the heavy impacts of the massive club on my shield and the occasional breaking of my bones.

Blood shot incessantly from my mouth, my nose, my ears. My internal organs had to be badly damaged. Yet, there was nothing I could do. No matter how hard I tried, my body would not move.

I didn't know if this was the result of my injuries or simply the fear of death paralyzing me. I long ago stopped worrying about where the others were – where Tobi was. All I could think about at that moment was that I didn't want to die.

Right. I did not want to die. I was not allowed to die. I still had so much to do and had achieved so little so far. This just couldn't be the end for me.

»Please... please... pl– …ease…« I whispered again and again, but the blows would not stop.

I felt my body going numb. The pain slowly subsided and my eyelids became heavier.

'Ahh, is it time?'

I was slowly losing consciousness. I tried to fight it because I knew if I closed my eyes now, I would never open them again.

»Hel... pe… hel…«

And it was at that moment that the impacts on my body stopped.

At first, I thought that I had died, but of course, that made no sense. In death, one could not think.

I opened my eyes slowly. The first thing I saw was that the hobgoblin had turned its back on me and was looking in another direction. With the last of my strength, I followed the monster's gaze.

There, a few meters away from us, was a... young man.

He stood slightly crouched – in an obvious fighting stance.

In his right hand, a long spear.

»Ahh...«

My entire body began to tremble and I felt the hair on my arms stand up. I swallowed subconsciously.

I didn't know exactly what it was. Maybe it was my severe blood loss. Maybe I was starting to lose my mind from the pain.

But at that moment, the person in front of me, who seemed to be much smaller than myself, was more fear-inducing than the monster standing over me. 

And yet… I could not take my eyes off him.

The space around him seemed to distort and his whole body steamed, like hot water in the cool winter air. His entire being exuded so much pressure that it was hard for me to breathe.

And then there were those eyes, those glowing, silver eyes that could not have been calmer as they studied the enemy. Like they have seen anything. Like nothing could hide from them. Like a wolf lying in wait for its prey. 

Danger, my body screamed. My instincts as a hunter told me to run, to flee. They told me that before me stood an enemy against whom I could not win – no matter what I did. Death was the only thing that would await me if I chose to fight.

The two hobgoblins seemed to have recognized this danger as well as they didn't move from the spot and just stared at the young man with wide-open eyes. And maybe it was my imagination, but they even seemed to be trembling slightly.

»Come. And die.«

At that moment, a calm, deep voice rang out. Even though the young man did not speak loudly, his words echoed clearly in my ears. He seemed to have put magical energy into his voice. 

Endless relief flooded through me as I realized that I was not the recipient of his words, but the two monsters standing between me and the man.

For a few nerve-wracking seconds, nothing happened. The two hobgoblins, who had been aggressively attacking us just moments before, didn't move a muscle.

Then, I heard a slight exhale, followed shortly by a soft whisper.

»As you wish.«

What occured next happened in a split second.

The man squatted a little lower. Then he disappeared from the spot where he was standing. It was as if he had suddenly vanished into thin air. Shortly after, I heard a deafening bang, as if something had broken the sound barrier. I felt a strong rush of air and had to close my eyes for a moment. Something liquid and warm splashed in my face. After that, silence returned to the forest.

When I could see clearly again, the lifeless remains of the hobgoblins fell to the ground. Entire limbs were missing and lying on the forest floor, spread throughout the area. Their bodies looked as if they had been run through a meat grinder. The ground was tinged in a sea of red.

A few seconds passed. Only then realization struck. 

The young man with the silver eyes was responsible for this. He had slaughtered the two monsters before I even realized what was happening around me. My eyes could not possibly follow him in any way. Even sound seemed to lag a few beats behind compared to his speed.

It was truly frightening.

And now the same man was standing directly above me, looking down at me. His face, covered in splashes of red blood, was cold and completely devoid of emotion. No anger or pity was visible on it. Nor did he make any attempt to help me.

He just looked at me.

But now that he was standing right in front of me, I felt the full force of the magical energy he was constantly emitting. My weakened body was not able to withstand such pressure.

I averted my eyes as I began to lose consciousness. I did not know what would happen to me now.

Would the man take me to a hospital? Or would he slaughter me like he had slaughtered those monsters? There was no point in thinking about it. My life was now in his hands and I had no right to question his decision. Such was the nature of things. I learned that much today.

A slight smile reluctantly formed on my face as I realized how meaningless my existence as a hunter was.

»Long live the king…« I whispered.