The three of them, Bell, Marc, and Juro, stood at the entrance of the village, ready to embark on their journey and continue their training. Juro couldn't help but smirk as he patted both boys on the back.

"Aren't ya nervous?" Juro teased. "The two of you will be leaving the village for some time. You sure you won't get homesick?"

Bell scoffed at the notion. "Nervous? Me? Nah, it's actually the opposite. I'm excited... to kill that bastard..." His voice held a steely determination.

Marc, on the other hand, felt a twinge of nervousness. It was his first time leaving the village for such a long period, but his desire for revenge overshadowed any apprehension he felt.

Juro looked at their determined faces and smiled slightly. "Alright, you two have said your goodbyes, right?" Both Bell and Marc nodded.

=======================

Before they were about to set off, Bell and Marc decided to pay one final tribute to their lost family. They dug a hole inside the orphanage, in the same room where their family had perished, in the sleeping room. With utmost care, they gathered their family's bones and placed them in the hole, covering them with a blanket. A good peaceful silence surrounded them for a couple of minutes before they gently covered the hole, saying their final goodbye's.

==========================

"Alright, no going back now. Hehe, let's go," Juro declared. And with that, the three of them stepped out of the village, memories flooding their minds, fueling their determination to grow stronger.

As they walked together, Bell couldn't help but ask Juro about their destination. To his surprise, Juro looked at him with a smile and said, "I do not know🗿."

Marc: EHH?!?

Bell: HUH??!!

Juro: 🗿

Juro burst into laughter. "HAHAHA, man... I just thought it'd look badass if I suddenly decided to take on disciples. I didn't think too far ahead about this. Hahaha."

.

Marc looked at Bell, concern etched on his face, and Bell returned the gaze with a nervous smile. Both of them couldn't help but wonder if they had just chosen a crazy man as their teacher. Bell let out a sigh of disappointment and stupidity, and Juro, observing the situation, reassured them, "It's fine, it's fine," while playfully ruffling Bell's hair. "Ugh, what are we supposed to do now?" Bell voiced his frustration. Juro simply smiled and responded, "Well, let's go to where your enemy's base is the Kingdom of Nielism!"

The words caused both Bell and Marc's eyes to widen in shock, and they simultaneously blurted out, "HUH??" Juro covered his ears and calmly said, "Calm down, calm down. Let's first go to that kingdom since it's the closest one to this village. While we're traveling, we'll also train along the way. Hehe."

Exhaustion twitched in Bell's and Marc's eyes just from listening to Juro's plans. They let out synchronized sighs and continued walking, following the path that's leading  to the kingdom. Bell's mind was occupied with thoughts about what to do next and worries about his current limitations. There was a 50/50 possibility that, even with years of training, he wouldn't regain even a fraction of his previous powers. Bell let out another sigh, reminding himself that he could think about those stuff later.

Then, a realization struck him. He hadn't checked the system ever since the incident. Bell called out for his stats to see if there were any changes.

𝑪𝑼𝑹𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑻 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑼𝑺

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name - Bell Aize

Age - 9

Gender - Male

Race - Human

Attribute - Mix mana

Title - Survivor of the Flame

Old Title - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆

(locked)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Strength: 29

Speed: 29

Vitality: 38

Intelligence: 72

(locked)

(locked)

(locked)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Euk... why the title 'Survivor of the Flame'? That just brings back bad memories. I definitely don't want this to be my title," Bell murmured to himself. Curiosity got the best of him, and he delved deeper into the system. It seemed that a new location had been unlocked on the map, so Bell decided to check it out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Map:

(Ishka Village) Population: 200+

(kingdom of Nielism) Population 1.2M+

(Locked)        (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked)        (Locked)

(Locked)        (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked)        (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked)          (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked)        (Locked)

          >More<

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hmm, what a strange kingdom name. I haven't heard of that kingdom in my past life. Maybe it's because it isn't that famous. I mean, it only has a population of one million. Most kingdoms I've visited probably had at least 50 million," Bell ponder to himself. Regardless, he thought it was worth a visit. Bell then instructed the system to display currency information.

System: affirmative, showing currency info

=========NOTICE========

CURRENCY:

BRONZE

SILVER > 1K BRONZE

GOLD > 20K SILVER

OBSIDIAN GOLD > 500MILLION GOLD

=====================

The system complied, and Bell's jaw dropped upon seeing the final currency value. "Fi-five hundred MILLION??" Bell stammered, accidentally voicing his surprise out loud. Juro and Marc looked back at Bell, both asking, "Huh?" Bell turned his attention to them and asked about the changes in currency. Juro looked at Bell with confusion and said, "You didn't know? Aren't you, like, 9 years old?" Bell's face displayed a hint of nervousness as he replied, "I- uh, well, I don't pay attention to that kind of stuff," using it as an excuse.

Marc: "Hmm, well, many things have changed since one of the greatest and strongest being suddenly disappeared."

Bell's eyes widened, curiosity piqued, and he eagerly asked Marc to explain more on what he meant. 

Marc looked at Bell, a hint of annoyance in his voice, and said, "Man, why are you suddenly asking multiple questions? I'm 9 years old. I only know the basics."

Bell scratched his head embarrassed and replied, "Oh, uh... hehe.. my bad..."

Marc continued, "Well, I only know that he was greatly appreciated and feared by many others. Even kingdoms, kings, and lords were scared or worshiped him. But suddenly, 7 years ago, he disappeared without leaving any traces behind. Some say he died, while others claim he left for another planet."

Bell's curiosity grew, and he pondered, "Hoh... hmm... what's his name?"

Marc paused, thinking, and then responded, "His... name?"

Bell pressed, "Yes, his name. Do you know it or not?"

Marc: his.. name?

Bell: 💢yes. his name.

Marc: hmm his name...

Bell: 💢💢do. you. know. or. not?

Marc shook his head, "Nope, I don't. I only know that much from reading one of the books Jenny gave me."

Bell sighed, feeling a sense of defeat in his attempt to gather more information about the mysterious being. However, a thought lingered in his mind that Marc might have been referring to him. There was a great chance that the being who disappeared suddenly 7 years ago could have been him. Bell turned his attention to Juro, and to his surprise, he saw Juro sitting down, listening intently to Marc's story about the great being.

"Hey.. 💢. I thought you knew who he was!" Bell exclaimed.

Juro chuckled and replied, "Hahaha, sorry. It's just that I didn't know they made a book about him. Well, I'm kind of in the same boat as Marc. I don't know much, but I do know that even in the heavens and hell, he was feared just by his name... But I don't know his name, hehe."

Bell couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "You useless teacher..."

Juro's laughter filled the air as he responded, "Heyyyyy... don't say that, ahahah! Why were you even curious about him in the first place? Are you trying to reach his level? If you are, just give up. You ain't getting anywhere close to his powers, and if you do, that means you're stronger than me, which we both know won't happen."

Juro teased Bell, his chuckles echoing. He then glanced at the darkening sky and suggested that they should camp for the night.

Confusion clouded the faces of both Bell and Marc as they wondered if it was safe to camp out in the open. Juro quickly clarified, "You idiots, not here. Over there." He pointed towards the glowing forest. As they approached, they noticed that many adventurers, travelers, and merchants had set up camp for the night. Juro explained that the specific spot was a popular resting place for newcomers who had to sleep outside without paying for inns.

As they entered the forest, they felt countless gazes upon them. Juro assured them that it was normal, and they found a cozy spot under two trees where they could lean and rest.

Both Marc and Bell were too tired to complain, so they sat down. Marc remarked, "Ugh... it's kinda cold." Juro ripped out a piece of wood from the tree and swiftly rubbed two pieces together, so fast that it's igniting a fire. The warm flames provided comfort, and both Bell and Marc leaned against the trees, just accepting the unexpected turns of their journey with their crazy teacher.

.

.

.

.

.

.

𝑪𝑼𝑹𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑻 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑼𝑺

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name - Bell Aize

Age - 9

Gender - Male

Race - Human

Attribute - Mix mana

Title - Survivor of the Flame

Old Title - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆

(locked)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Strength: 29

Speed: 29

Vitality: 38

Intelligence: 75 (+3)

(locked)

(locked)

(locked)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SKILL SETS:

(Dark Regeneration)

(Cut)

(Dark Claw)

(Mix Mana Regeneration)

(Mana Leap)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Map:

(Ishka Village) Population: 200+

(kingdom of Nielism) Population 1.2M+

(Locked)        (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked)        (Locked)

(Locked)        (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked)        (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked)          (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked).        (Locked)

(Locked)        (Locked)

          >More<

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

=========NOTICE========

CURRENCY:

BRONZE

SILVER > 1K BRONZE

GOLD > 20K SILVER

OBSIDIAN GOLD > 500MILLION GOLD

=====================