LENIN

I dug and dug until I couldn't anymore.

That's what I usually do in my free time. After all, I am a farmer for a reason, you know?

Especially since Fons was coming right around the corner, it would be nice to be early and ready to dig out the Solum that was getting more and more fertile by the day.

As I dug the last remaining Purpura Solum for the day, I took a step back and took in everything.

That should be enough as I placed all the Purpura Solum in Thesaurus, ready to be packed and shipped to the markets.

I quickly wiped the sweat off my face when I entered our little cottage. I understood that when most people see this fine establishment of a house, they are curious as to why anyone would want to live here, and I can give one good reason.

It was simply peaceful.

No one ever came here because it was so isolated from the rest of the world, and that was exactly what Kassie and I wanted, but most importantly, for Maro.

I want him to learn about Vestiga too soon, as he was just a baby.

I would protect his innocence if it were the last thing I did.

Kassie was sitting in her chair, watching over Maro as he slept peacefully and soundly. As I began watching over him, a gentle smile formed on my face.

He had Kassie's angelic looks, but Maro would have my ravishing and dashing hair colour.

A blondie.

He might be getting all the girls Vestiga had to offer him shortly.

He would be a lady's man.

"Long day?"

I nodded, trying my best to smile. " It was a long day, but it was pretty worth it. I'll head to the markets to sell some of the Solum we got today."

The markets opened early in the morning, and I would have to be there before every other merchant came in to set up a good location.

If there was one thing I learnt, it was that merchants were either the kindest or most greedy people I knew.

"You should take Maro along with you?"

"Maro?" I tilted, "Wouldn't that be a bit unsafe?'

Kassie chuckled in delight, covering her mouth and shaking her head. "We all know that if Maro is with either of us, he'll be more than safe, " she answered.

I couldn't help but return the grin as I knew what she said was utterly authentic. "I bet we can then!"

It was settled. I was going to show Maro a little more of this world, as all he knew was that it was simply this little cottage of ours.

It was about time I gave him something more interesting, but, of course, with moderation.

MARO

It was time for a grand adventure!

Never had I been more excited as I could finally go on an adventure, this time with my father and mother.

I had heard a little about his conversation with Mum, but I couldn't listen to it as much as I wanted to; after all, my ears were still unable to hear everything.

The loudest voice was the thoughts that I could hear in my head. I was so curious to see what Vestiga had to offer.

Father had placed me inside a little makeshift bag, holding me as I prepared to see something more than a small cottage.

Could we also discuss how my father put me in a bag? Isn't that a little bit dangerous?

That could be what they did in this world; who knows?

Still, I was excited to see the outside world for once.

But that wasn't the only good part of this adventure; I would spend even more time with them now.

For the first time, as my parents waited outside patiently, someone else had arrived. A carriage was currently arriving at our cottage, but it didn't blend in with the environment of our humble estate—but never mind that now.

A man stepped foot outside the carriage. He gave a deep bow to my parents, and they returned the favour without saying any words to each other.

That was interesting; not a single word was said, but a simple exchange was enough to show respect for both parties.

Soon enough, I entered the carriage with my parents, who were talking about all kinds of things and bantering with each other.

As I watched their little conversation, I couldn't help but feel that through these simple moments, I got to see their connection and why they were such a great team.

I was loving this life more and more now.

The road the carriage was taking us was deep into the luscious forest. I couldn't help but analyze and look at everything in my surroundings.

Everything here was new to me: the plants and even the animals. They were all unique and different from what I usually saw in my old life.

Soon enough, we made our way to the market, which was bustling with people, walking past each other with smiles of joy on their faces.

It almost reminded me of how people would shout to the other side to communicate their message.

However, I was expecting a different market.

Despite the market being flooded with people, it was clear that this was far from the level of an actual market in the Kingdom of Juvo.

From what my mother had read about the Kingdom of Juvo, it was said that the markets there were on a whole other level, with transactions being done in the blink of an eye.

Compared to a local market like this, it was nothing.

But still, I could see the local transactions that people were making with one another as we ventured deeper into the markets.

The deeper we went, the more I could experience the culture in these markets. People's ingenuity and innovations were displayed here for us to see with our own eyes.

A couple of guards were present, wearing the emblem of the Juvo Kingdom on their armour. They scanned the area, ensuring everything was in place and order.

However, I noticed that my father and mother were doing their best to stray away from them whenever they had the chance.

Finally, we stopped as my father examined what the merchants had for us.

As we approached the front line, crowds came to this store to look at whatever this merchant was selling.

My father had gotten a closer chance to look at his product.

"The best Purpura Solum that Juvo has ever seen!"

The merchant boasted proudly with a crooked smile on his face.

If anything, he looked more homeless than an actual merchant.

"Hey, Kassie?"

"I know what you're going to say." She smirked, giving a nod of approval.

While the merchant continued boasting about the product he was selling, my father stood there looking at it, and something told me he wasn't impressed.

"Where did you get the Purpura Solum?" My father asked. "Finding Purpura Solum is extremely rare, especially in these parts."

The crowd slowly died down as they heard my father's question.

With an expected grin on the merchant's face and his chest puffed, he was ready to give him an answer: "I found in the mighty dungeon of Exsupero!"

All of the people surrounding us began to murmur in awe.

From their facial reactions, Exsupero seemed to be something out of the ordinary.

I had only learned a few things about it.

It was known to be one of the most dangerous dungeons, and many people had tried to enter it, but only a few had ever escaped.

You were lucky if you returned with your whole body intact.

A slight grin was worn on my father's face. . .

The energy was about to shift.

"You're lying," he chuckled. "You seriously don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"What!" The merchant declared, "You think I lied about going to Exsupero! Have you not seen the scars that I was left with?" He showed his arm to see deep wounds etched on his skin.

Everyone around us was too quiet to know what to say next.

Everyone except my mother was still determining where this conversation was heading.

Despite not showing it on her face, she felt the same way my father did.

This merchant standing right before us, so proud, was nothing but a liar.

"Is that so?"

WHOOSH

In the blink of an eye, the little store and the merchant that came along with it flew in the air, and my father landed a swift punch to his chest as the merchant hit himself against the rock.

My father's fist was left with purple traces, but it was so quick that no one could see it.

Holy sh*t, I was surprised that I didn't entirely fall off.

I was also surprised he didn't kill the merchant with that punch.

"Sorry, kiddo." He chuckled, ruffling my hair, which was already messy enough from everything that had just happened. "I am certainly not a good father," he joked.

Who came up with the idea of putting me in a bag?

That was seriously a dangerous and stupid move that any parent could do.

I sunk deeper into the bag, accepting my fate.

"How could you do that?" A stranger shouted at my father from the back.

The crowds had grown disheartened by the events unfolding.

I was almost happy that someone called out my father's reckless behaviour until...

"You could've killed him!"

They pointed at the merchant.

Seriously?

I sunk even deeper into the bag, where I couldn't see anything happening in the outside world.

To them, that merchant was nothing but innocent, but to my family, he was a liar spewing venom to these innocent people who would believe in his words.

"Watch closely," my mother whispered as the merchant's skin returned to normal as if the scars had never existed.

Everything seemed perfectly normal from what I saw of him, but traces of Caeruleum came from the merchant, probably gained by him drinking it before the crowd had been here.

"He's just a fraud, that's all." My father answered as he looked at her, "Why don't you grab Maro? It's about time I let loose." He smiled faintly

Mother returned that same smile and nodded, picking me out of the bag.

Alas! Sweet freedom, I could finally see the situation unfold.

She held me in her arms and stepped back with the crowd, giving me a gentle smile; all I needed to know was that something extraordinary would happen here.

"Now!" My father clapped his hands together. "That man there is one hell of a liar." He chuckled, looking at the crowd. "I'm just saying, if I were you guys, I'd be pissed having to hear those words that come out of his mouth."

My father laughed, raising his hand in surrender.

I could see the crowd's eyes looking at the merchant with daggers, with such venom.

The merchant clenched his fist, almost looking as if his head were to explode, which was practically about to happen here now.

"You are angry, aren't you right now?" He smirked, looking over his shoulder with a great grin. "How long do you think this will take?"

"Hmmm... Forever." My mother gently smiled, and my father sighed, drooping his shoulders in defeat.

"You have no faith in me, huh? I thought we were on the same page here." He chuckled as he looked at the merchant charging at him.

"I'll give you 10 seconds," my mother said smugly.

"Give me five seconds, Kassie... five."

WHOOSH!

The merchant threw a fierce punch, Caeruleum escaping his fist.

Father dove under his attack.

2 seconds 

WHOOSH 

With impressive speed, the merchant threw a swift kick that could knock out anyone if it landed right, but somehow, my father easily evaded the attack.

4 seconds 

The merchant attempted to throw a furious series of punches, which my father could fairly dodge with minimal ease. It was then that his eyes glowed purple. . .

That the energy was about to shift.

BOOM! 

5 seconds 

The merchant's face had begun to turn white as he had gotten the wind blown out of him.

All my father needed was a simple, solid connection, and that other guy was out for the count.

The crowd stood silently, not knowing what to say or how to react to what they had just witnessed.

It wasn't every day that I got to see my father knock someone out; it was even better that Mom made it seem like it was just a typical day for her.

In the corner of my eyes, I noticed the guards swiftly approaching us.

"That's our time to go!" My father chuckled as my mother ran with me in her arms.

Seriously? Where was the caution?

You don't run with your child at your fastest pace because it's pretty dangerous, you know. . .

Oh well, who am I kidding? Like that was going to stop them from doing anything stupid.

Parents these days. . .

It didn't take us long to return to the haven that was our home while we recovered from what my father had done.

But there was one thing that sparked my interest.

How was my father able to use Purpura Solum without even drinking it?

Now, that was something that I needed to know.

Soon enough, we got home, and my father relaxed in his chair, grabbing a book to read. I just sat on the ground as he noticed me staring at him.

My father scooped me up in his arms, holding the book with one hand and holding me with the other.

"This might be a long time, kiddo, but hopefully, you will enjoy this story." He smiled, tapping his chin. "Who am I kidding? You probably don't understand a word I'm saying." He chuckled, poking my nose.

Little did he know, I understood every word he said.

Thankfully, it wasn't just any kid's book. It was the book I had always wanted to continue, so thanks, Dad.

After a few hours, I finally understood more about our world in Vestiga.

I discovered why and how my father could use Purpura Solum without drinking any of the liquid, and it was all based on a legend.

Huh, what a coincidence! The question I had meant to ask somehow answered just like that.

This world did favour me, treating me like some sort of prince in absolute luxury.

However, our home was far from any luxury.

It was said that deities, also known as Deus, owned the planet on which we lived.

These Deus were the ones who gifted Solum to everyone who lived on Vesitga.

While some had to drink it, it was purely genetics for others.

They already had Solum within them, which was passed down, which meant that my father was one of the lucky few who could have it with him.

But that also meant that I, too, could have that gift.

I won't be able to monopolize it now, but once I can walk around with my little legs, I will start preparing to activate this Solum within me.

Just give me a couple of months to do so