"Let me tell you little about Chaos Creatures…" Adrian looked at Jin seriously.
Jin put his hands behind his back and leaned back to relax a bit,
"ok sure."
Adrian smiled as he started to talk,
"Do you know Marta is the continent we live on?"
Jin looked at his grandfather mockingly.
"Oh no shit, I already know that!"
Adrian laughed and continued,
"Our continent is located on the eastern side of the planet and has been a source of comfort and security for about 500 years, but that did not last long"
As Adrian spoke, he stood up and sat beside Jin, then closed his eyes and placed his hands over Jin's eyes.
"Hey, old man, what's with this?" Jin was surprised by Adrian's hands.
Adrian replied, "Just be quiet and listen."
"Each continent is typically composed of great powers led by Saints."
"The term 'Saint' originally referred to the religious and followers of god."
"But later, the title 'Saint' was given to the extremely powerful figures who had powers that no one else could have at that time."
"They said that they were given that power by the gods because the gods chose them above all other humans"
"People respected and worship the Saints so they had become important figures to them."
Adrian pressed his hands firmly on Jin's eyes and added,
"There was once a temple of a Saint named Mira."
"Mira was one of the native inhabitants of a continent called Garcia."
"One night she gave birth to a blind, weak, and fragile child who was barely alive"
"Saint Mira couldn't bear to have such a weak child among her lineage, so she abandoned him in a forest in Garcia, now known as the Cursed Forest."
Adrian's voice became more tense.
"The child's name was Darko"
"But somehow, Darko became a corrupt entity and grew so powerful that he could easily kill saints."
"He wasn't just a terrifying entity, bu, according to historical evidence he was the reason for breaking the barrier between humans and the Chaos Creatures."
"Since then, the Chaos Creatures were able to invade human lands from unknown dimension through gated called the Abyssal of Disaster."
"Even though the history of the Chaos creatures is unknown and no one knows whether they existed in human lands before or not "
"Humans didn't know about their exciting until Darko appeared."
"Anyway the Chaos creatures kept increasing and destroyed many cities turning entire regions into dead continents, the Saints decided to train humans to become Awakened."
"The power of Awakening never has been exclusive to the Saints. Many humans had possessed it from the beginning… the Saints just hid that knowledge for their own benefit."
Adrian continued, "It is also said that Darko was so terrifying that anyone who mention his name would immediately lose their sight."
At that moment, Jin's heart filled with fear and panic as his grandfather's grip tightened over his eyes.
"Shit, then why are you telling me his name for saint's sake!"
Adrian laughed then continued,
"Some people thought Darko is dead because he just disappeared, but no one is sure about that. Some others say he is still alive somewhere in the lands."
Adrian removed his hand from Jin's eyes and said gently, "So, what do you think of that story?"
Jin opened his eyes and looked at his grandfather. "Ah, it's a really awful story. So why are you telling me this now?"
His grandfather smiled faintly, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"If the rumors you heard before are true, it won't be long before Anvil faces chaos."
"I want you to at least be able to escape with your life."
Jin looked at him as he stood up. "And what about you?"
His grandfather sighed in resignation.
"If chaos is really coming, I won't have any choice but to defend this land, even if it costs me my life."
"After all, this is where my beloved Hana is buried."
Jin looked at Adrian angrily and shouted,
"Isn't that really stupid? Are you daring to say my parents were stupid for dying while facing the chaos? And now you're telling me you're ready to face the same fate in the same foolish way?"
His grandfather laughed quietly, shaking his head.
"How ironic. I never expected my dear grandson to speak to me this way one day."
Then Adrian slowly stood up and gently patted Jin's head with a reassuring touch.
"Don't worry about me. I'm really strong, you know that, don't you?"
Jin felt embarrassed and then said,
"Put your hand down, I'm not a child anymore… And yeah, make sure you don't die, you can meet Hana later."
Adrian smiled. "Now go back to your training."
Jin continued his training for several more days with his grandfather, and his training became more intense and exhausting.
One day, he had to run continuously for 6 hours without a break.
"Agh fuck I'm gonna die," Jin panted, running without stop, his expression grim.
His grandfather ran beside him, laughing. "Think of it as motivation."
A raging bear was chasing them as Jin responded, "Motivation, my ass!"
Realizing the bear was getting closer, Jin yelled,
"Ah, it's getting closer, fuck you old man, why the hell did you throw a rock at that thing!"
That night passed safely when the bear got distracted by something else while Jin and his grandfather hid behind a rock.
On another morning, Jin woke up to find himself hanging from the top of a tree. "Why the hell am I hanging?"
"Get me down, get me down!" Jin swayed side to side while hanging, then saw a snake moving on the ground below him.
"No no grandpa please, get me down now, ahhh!"
Then there was the time when Jin had to lift heavy, round stones up a steep hill.
When he reached the top, exhausted, he lay on the ground filled with sweat.
"Ahh, I'm going to die, I'm really going to die," he breathed heavily.
"Oh, hello there, boy."
Jin jumped in fright and dropped the stones, which rolled down the hill as he watched.
"No, no, come back here, noooo!"
His grandfather bent over, laughing. "Ah! It looks like you'll have to climb up here again!"
Jin didn't eat his lunch that day because he didn't retrieve the stone.
One day, they were training on dodging.
Jin stood in the middle of a vast space in the forest. "Ah, what are we doing here? What's this training?"
His grandfather smiled mischievously,
"Ah, don't worry, it's light and simple training. Wait here for a bit."
Adrian returned, dragging a large bundle of watermelons in a big cloth.
"Watermelons? Are we training to eat?"
Jin wondered as he looked at the watermelons.
His grandfather looked at him. "No, you're training to dodge."
"Dodge what…" Jin didn't finish his sentence as Adrian started throwing watermelons at him.
"You mad!" Jin dodged the watermelons as his grandfather kept throwing more.
"Crap! Stop, you damn old man, don't you know how expensive watermelons are these days!"
Adrian laughed and continued throwing watermelons at him. "This is fun!"
Despite the absurd nature of his training, it was effective.
Adrian's playful yet strict methods pushed Jin to his limits but also made him stronger and more resilient mentally…
-----------------------------
In the military base, Soldier Sai was running through the corridors of the military compound towards Commander Morgan's office.
He reached the door and knocked forcefully. "Commander, there's something urgent."
Morgan responded, "Come in."
Sai pushed the door open and entered the room.
"Commander…" Sai's voice was tense.
He turned his body to the right and stood to the side. "You need to see this."
A girl who had once been extremely beautiful entered the room.
She had red hair, her armor was torn, and she was wounded with severe injuries all over her body.
Her left hand was severed, and she held the remains of that hand in her right hand. Her eyes were filled with pain and exhaustion as she wept bitterly.
Commander Morgan's breath caught in shock. "Elena…"
Elena's voice was weak and full of pain. "Morgan… we failed."
Then she collapsed unconscious on the floor.
Morgan shouted urgently, "Elena!" …