If you are looking for the perfect book about the most extreme, coolest adventurer of all time, then you’ve come to the right place. Everyone likes strong, fearsome warriors; people would do anything to be them. I mean, who wouldn’t want to dive head-first into countless raging armies of brutes or fight off savage beasts that would tear any creature's limbs off with no hesitation, as if they were made out of silk, merely to protect life? Or to go get a great deal at the food market? Okay, maybe adventurers wouldn’t fight their way to get some half-off deals, but me, on the other hand, is a different tale. 

         Speaking of brave warriors, I should introduce myself and where I am from since I am going down as a future legend after all. My name is Kaipo Apollo Fang. I'm twelve years old, and I am going to be the world's greatest explorer ever. Don’t  underestimate my skills for my age. But I also live in this wonderfully and slightly dangerous world we call Arkgore. 

Arkgore is the world we live in, with its mythic landscapes and different types of supernatural biomes while its feral creatures ramble throughout the land. But savage creatures aren't the only ones who control the ground, as the eight races of beings related to the biomes rule their separate territory of the land. 

  I was supposedly born in the nation of Bouer and later raised there in the middle of Arkgore, near the mountain region, where the creatures' intelligence are bigger than the mountains themselves as people say and also the homeland of the Harkens. Harkens are a race of short, friendly people who are frequently stubborn from time to time, but are mainly known for their enthusiastic passion for the forging of crafts and machinery. I was told long ago when I was an infant child, I was randomly found outside the village gates by the townsfolk and their chief leader: Udo Fang. 

     Harkens only chose their leaders out of leadership, toughness, and brilliance, as Udo represented each status physically and mentally. His hair was longish and blackened like a deadly serpent hiding half his face from the world. His chest and bottom half of his body were covered by his metal armor plates as he was always ready for a challenge to test his might. His slightly tall, robust body and long black hair made him look like an unstoppable bjorn, which only made people respect him more. Luckily for me, Udo wanted to keep and raise me as one of his own, while most of the villagers had thought of me as a "blooper” or what you call an outcast. 

          By the time I turned twelve years old, I had already gotten used to living with Udo in his home, but I also started to realize the villager's true nature towards me. During a peaceful morning, while I was sleeping, Udo kicked down my door with little force before he violently rattled my bed, as it felt like he was shaking the entire house. 

  “Rise and shine! Time for your big day, wee Kaipo" Udo yelled with excitement as he completely flipped me out of bed and onto the floor, forcing me to wake up. I slowly picked myself up as I gave Udo an annoyed and sleepy gaze. 

     “Agh! Can’t you let me sleep for a little while? Why are you so happy this early in the morning?” I rubbed my eyes as I tried to get rid of my sleeplessness before heading downstairs behind Udo, as he had a mischievous grin on his face. I sighed and I walked into the beautiful dining room filled with Udo's craftsmanship and artwork. I sat at the dinner table and Udo leaned against the kitchen counter. 

    “Do you know why I woke you up this early?” Udo said while he rubbed his thickened, long beard, as if he couldn’t contain what he was about to say. 

      “Is it because you're letting me leave the village to finally become an adventurer?" I replied with a tone that almost matched Udo's excitement. Udo simply paused for a moment before crossing his arms, giving off a bleak expression as he looked outside the window. He shakes his head slowly before he grabs a pot off the kitchen counter and stirs up morning soup on his open firewood. 

      "Oh, sorry, to kill your hope,” Udo said. “But today is the day you finally go to Bouer Academy since you are not as little as you used to be." As Udo placed my breakfast on the table, I was disappointed and shocked after hearing Udo's words.  

        Bouer Academy was a school that had all the children in the nation come and learn about their culture, craftsmanship, and strength once they reached a certain age. Overall, the school sounds super boring, as it could just be sitting at a desk and taking notes all day. Although I was adopted on their territory, I am still legally a Bouer citizen and am required to attend their school despite not having the same ancestry. I shoved my meal to one side of the table and turned to stare down at Udo again, irritated. 

       "But, Papa, must I really attend this school?" I inquired in a firm tone and I crossed my arms. "Why cannot I just be an explorer instead of spending my days studying how to make junk?" 

        Udo shakes his head in disappointment and returns my meal. "If you ever learn anything in that little brain of yours, that rubbish is going to save your life someday." Udo responded and stared back. “You never take my words seriously, as you only care about this adventurer nonsense ever since I told you those bedtime stories about the Guardians of Arkgore.”   

     Udo couldn’t be more right about my mind being carried away to dreamland about daring adventures, but who could blame me? The legends say the Guardians of Arkgore were formed long ago by a band of brave fearsome warriors who decided to fight as equals against a vigorously evil being known as Crago, “The Shadow Man,''. There were once rumors that said Crago was once a normal man until he created forbidden arts of dark magic and later on, quickly used his might to start his conquest over Arkgore.

     The battle against the sinister being went on for years without rest as Crago's strength grew with the flames of hope slowly withered away until the group of heroes one day stumbled onto an ancient underground temple. Not a single person knew of the temple's origins, but they felt the underwhelming presence coming deeper within it. 

    As they moved deeper and closer to the aura deep in the temple, they were shocked to find two massive holes ripped in space and time as if they were looking at gateways to life and death itself. While the guardians studied the spiritual doorways, they noticed colorfully crystals giving off energy to the portals. One of the guardians thought of a plan to harness crystal power and send Cargo down the darkened doorway instead of the lighter one as he thought it could have given him a worser fate. 

       The rest of the guardians all agreed and broke seven pieces off the crystals underneath the dark portal before forging them into keys. These keys would later on be known as the “Keys of Power'' by not only giving the guardians the power to open gateways to otherworldly places, but also an unbelievable amount of strength, durability, and capabilities beyond anyone's mind. 

   When the guardians finally arrived at Cargo's palace for one final battle, they took him by surprise and fought against him for hours until each guardian pulled out the keys and activated their power, trapping Cargo into a dark realm. With Arkgore being restored with peace, the guardians were celebrated as hero’s throughout the land and earning many respect and golden rewards for their heroism. After years passed, the guardians suddenly disappeared without a trace, but not before hiding the keys, fearing the power would bring another dark lord onto the world.  

      The main reason why I adored the legends about the guardians is because of how they put their lives on the front lines, facing death head-on, so the world today can flourish. And perhaps if I do follow in the footsteps of the guardians from long ago and be a mighty adventurer of today, people might recognize me for being me.

 I sighed and grabbed my spoon as I began to slurp down my stew, while Udo formed a smile on his face as he watched me gain nourishment. 

     “I have a surprise for you before I head off to my morning meeting since we are on the topic of adventurers,” Udo smiled softly before pulling out a shiny golden scroll as if he were handing me my destiny. “Is this really what I think it is?" I asked in a joyful tone while unrolling the scroll, witnessing and feeling its significance.

      “It is something that I have been working on for this special day,” Udo said before pushing my hands to fully reveal the paper. “It is your morning quest for Bouer Academy." Udo nervously chuckled as he saw my expression turn from exhilaration to dissatisfaction almost immediately.   

       I couldn't believe that I was tricked by Udo again, thinking he would at least take my dream at least a little more seriously. I frowned at Udo for a moment before reading off the scroll. “Before heading off to Bouer Academy, you must do these tasks, young explorer. First, change into your suit of armor upstairs, then grab your bag of arsenals at the front door. Finally, use the map of fate to guide yourself to the wise one's fortress." 

  I crossed my arms and went back to drinking up the rest of my soup while Udo only patted my head playfully. After I was done eating, Udo stopped walking, as he was close to leaving the kitchen’s back door. “And one more thing I forgot to add to the scroll,” Udo said as he grabbed his own large bag of tools at the door. “Have a great first day at school and don’t get into any trouble, you hear?” Udo laughed and closed the door behind him, as his laughter slowly faded away. I nodded my head in annoyance but still smiled at Udo's words before deciding to get ready for the day.

   After washing out my bowl and cleaning the table, I walked back upstairs to my room and slowly lifted the door that Udo had kicked down earlier. I leaned the door onto one side of the room before looking around for my so-called suit of armor. I kept looking for a while until I found folded clothes on my dresser that looked similar to Bouer national clothes, but were more formal and taller for my size. It wasn’t something a soldier or heroic wanderer of the world today would wear, but it looked nice at least. The pants and shirt were dark brown with stripes that had nice, warm white fur on the sleeves. I undress my night clothes and slowly dress myself before looking at the mirror in the corner of the room. 

    Even though my clothes were specifically made for me, my appearance is still off as my orange hair and tallness still stand out and look nothing like your everyday average hero. I stared at the mirror for a while before I started to question who I was:

Would I ever turn out like the great legends of the past? Could I ever become the great fighter I was so meant to be? Was my dream of adventure just only a wish waiting to never come true? 

    After a moment of staring at the mirror, I shook my thoughts away and continued getting myself ready for the day. I checked underneath my dresser for my shoes, but they weren’t there. As I kept looking for my shoes, I started to get frustrated while moving my action figures of knights and drawings of adventurers randomly placed around the room before tripping over onto the floor. “Wait a second, they were here the entire time!" I yelled out loud, even more, annoyed at the fact that my shoes were simply on the floor, and I just didn’t notice them at first. 

     After getting back up and putting on my shoes, I headed downstairs and saw the “bag of arsenals” hanging off the front door. I grabbed the bag off the door and opened it with curiosity in my mind. As I searched through the bag of tools, I opened up a folded piece of paper that seemed to be the scale of the town, with a red circle drawn around a large building. It didn’t take me long to figure out that this was the “map of fate” I had to follow to get to school. “I guess it's time to head out to the so-called wise ones and start my amazing journey that I very much wanted,” I bitterly said to myself before heading out into the village.