In the seventh millennium, between the 3rd and 4th centuries, the world met a hero who called himself Vagus. A wanderer skilled with the sword, he traveled through the three great empires fighting against the corruption of the emperors, defending the freedom of the peasants and legal slaves. After his death in 7430, the Order of Vagus emerged, a quasi-military organization. 

From a young age, many dreams of joining this order. A minority use this privilege for evil, taking advantage of soldier-like permissions to do whatever they want. The majority, on the other hand, seek to help people wherever they go, increasing their influence and rising through the ranks. 

A group of people gathered in the center of a dirt square, shouting and screaming as if they were chanting a ritualistic song. They watched a sword fight with interest. 

One of the fighters, drenched in sweat, took a step back, analyzing his opponent's movements for an opportunity to attack. His opponent, on the other hand, maintained a confident smile. 

'You agreed to fight for money, so why are you avoiding confrontation, villager?' a man in the audience scoffed. 

A wheat-haired boy circled the inner perimeter, watching the fight, as the crowd cheered as the villager was beaten. The villager was thrown into the crowd and pushed to the ground by a burly man. 

"Uuh…" the boy grumbled. "That hurt." 

The other fighter, a Vagus agent, seemed to be gloating over the whole situation. With open arms, he nodded to the viewers, begging for more screams. 

'Can I borrow your sword? I promise I won't break it,' he muttered, taking the villager's sword. 

Vagus' agent sensed the boy and quickly turned to see him. 

"Who are you?" asked the agent. 

"I'm Theo, a rookie agent from Vagus. And you, sir?" 

"I'm Sigmore, agent fourth grade," he replied with a smile. 

"May I challenge you to a duel?" 

Sigmore nodded.

'He's two grades above me… Probably an experienced fighter. It'll be a good opportunity to gain experience and practice in combat. But that sword…' Theo mused, looking at the villager's sword. 'A Xifo… It seems to be of a quality well below standard.' 

'This boy thinks too much,' Sigmore mused, advancing towards Theo. He threw a blow towards the boy, who deftly dodged it. 

"Sir, I haven't finished my reasoning yet," complained Theo, avoiding Sigmore's blow. 

"Will you have time for that in a real fight?" Sigmore retorted, attacking again and bringing the blade dangerously close to Theo's face. 

Theo leaned back, escaping the attack, and quickly knelt down. He then trapped Sigmore's left arm, holding his sword. 

"I don't know. We'll only find out if we try, right?" A smile appeared on his face. 

"What's the point of trying and ending up dead?" 

"Death is the end, anyway. Well, that's what they say..." 

Theo threw Sigmore's arm back and walked away. 'How am I supposed to handle that sword? I should have brought my own,' he thought. 

Sigmore advanced agilely, striking with his sword, seeking to hit Theo. The boy remained on the defensive, skillfully dodging and looking for an opening in his opponent's movements. 

Noticing that nothing would change just by attacking with the sword, Sigmore tried to hit the boy with kicks. 

Locking swords, Sigmore delivered a kick with his left leg, supporting his body with the support of his right leg. Theo, in turn, grabbed his opponent's leg before being struck in the ribs. 

Exploiting the boy's defensiveness, Sigmore abruptly pulled back his left leg, pulling Theo along with it. As he unbalanced the boy, Sigmore tried to strike with the side of his sword, but failed. 

'What's he going to do? Move forward? Normally that would be it. But he's a fourth-tier agent, he's already ranked enough not to act in such a predictable way. So…' 

Sigmore threw the sword into the air, making it spin against its axis. Slapping the weapon's pommel hard, it was thrown at high speed towards the boy. 

Theo was forced to take the initiative and counterattacked, defending the projectile, throwing it to the ground and preparing an attack on Sigmore, who, however, had already moved from his old position. 

Sigmore ran to retrieve his sword, but Theo acted suddenly, landing a kick to the agent's chest. When thrown back, Sigmore returned to a fighting stance as he waited for Theo to approach. 

In a simple move, the boy attacked with an attempted right jab, but failed. The two agents began to exchange punches and kicks, with Theo having the advantage, as he still had a weapon. 

The senior agent landed a knee to Theo's stomach, while Theo jabbed his opponent's cheek. The two hits were enough to force them to retreat. 

They both threw themselves back a meter. 

Sigmore took advantage of the moment and advanced, going after the sword he had lost again. Theo still tried to intervene, however, the other agent was more agile and managed to recover his weapon. 

Retrieving his sword, Sigmore turned sharply and slashed through the air toward Theo, who didn't have enough reaction speed to dodge. Throwing his weight down, Theo threw himself to the ground. However, Sigmore's blade cut off a lock of Theo's hair. 

Theo's amber eyes fell in anger. 

Theo reacted, driven by such feeling, hitting Sigmore with a kick to the chin, followed by an elbow to the stomach, pushing him back. 

Sigmore retaliated, trying to attack, but Theo dodged and slid across the ground. 

A wave of cold, bone-chilling wind swept over Sigmore, literally pushing him back. Gesturing with his fingers, Theo reached out his arms toward Sigmore. 

"Huh?!" Sigmore muttered, surprised. 

'A deviant!' he pondered. 

With a quick movement, Sigmore rolled to the other side. Surprised, he broke the silence of the audience with a smile: 

"Who would have thought you would be so mad just because I cut your bangs…" 

'I almost stirred up an unwanted storm…' 

"My hair is sacred," Theo retorted, examining the cut. 

"So, you're challenging other martial artists to gain combat experience?" 

"Exactly. At just fifteen years old, it's recommended for beginners to fight other agents as much as possible. I was lucky to run into you at the edge of the city." 

"Theo, take him home?" Sigmore asked, pointing at the fallen villager while giving Theo a one-sided wink. "Take this, you win. I promised five hundred coins to whoever beat me." 

"But sir…" protested a subordinate. 

"This kid is a deviant. Do you think I'm going to stand up to him? Even if he's a teenager, it would be foolish." Tossing the bag of money toward Theo, Sigmore asked one last question. "Hey, do you have an alias yet?" 

Theo tied the bag of money around his waist, looking into Sigmore's eyes and making a gesture of greeting, he replied: 

"Yes. Call me Lumen." 

"Lumen, huh?" He gave a sarcastic smile. "See you later. Come on, guys, do you want to spend the night at the bar?" 

As Sigmore and his subordinates walked away, Theo approached the fallen villager and asked: 

"How will I find out where your house is?" 

The crowd gradually began to disperse, with each villager taking a different path. However, one was different. A hunchbacked old man, suffering from overweight. His eyes were closed, his body covered by a leather apron. 

"Sir Sigmore… That stupid little worm," the villager muttered. "Always making a mess and putting it on the backs of the naive. I want to know what he will do when he is promoted by the king." 

Theo watched the man walk towards him, touching the lock of hair cut by Sigmore. 

"Boy, since it's already getting dark…" The villager pointed to a steep street. "At the end of Rudsir Street, the last house after the hill. It's this friend's house. Good luck…" 

"Thanks…" 

As he gestured with his fingers, the wind lifted the villager into the air and carried him to the boy's back. Theo walked with the old man until beyond the dusk.