"Of course, I'm eight years old starting from yesterday. Call me big brother, you lot".

The children bantered; however, he had no time for this. Reinhardt questioned the children, his eyes now a little grave.

"Tell me how long this village has been giving its blood?"

"Eh? Uhm.." The children looked at each other, thinking hard. Finally, the girl gave the answer

"Ah, it was when my little brother was born. It was two months ago when the new priest came and the blood ritual started".

Crack… one of the candies that was in his hand shattered. Seeing this, the children complained, but he paid them no mind. His eyes were shining with the [Eyes of Divine Clarity].

His ashen looking face darkened by the moment. Swiftly, he grabbed the children and looked at their arms. With no surprise, all of them had a mark of twin fangs, a sign that showed they were all marked for death.

No, it was not only the children, all the adults, and the old in this village too. The people, along with this entire village, were marked for death. When he looked up at the sky, he saw a gigantic snake biting its own tail.

Given by the fact that it has been going on for more than two months, the curse had already taken root deep within the village and its people. What's more, given how potent it had become to take the shape of Ouroboros, even high ranking knights would die if exposed to it.

"Tell me where old man Tollivar is?"

Hearing his question, the children all tilted their head.

"An old man with big muscles, gray beard," Reinhardt tried to describe how Tollivar looked, but it still rang no bells.

"An off putting old man who always shouts at you".

"Ah!!" Finally, the children seemed to have realised who he was talking about.

"If you are talking about that thin, weird old man, then he lives up that hill and shouts at anyone who comes into his territory".

For a second, Reinahrdt furrowed his brows; nevertheless, he gave the children their promised reward and went up to the hill they mentioned.

Finally, memories seemed to have aligned, and he saw some vague familiarities to the place that had changed a lot since he last visited it more than ten years ago.

Bamboo trees, a small hut, a handpump, and a vegetable garden out front. He remembered all these things from his memories. That said, after not being taken care of for so long, they started to rust and fall apart.

Is he too late? Reinahrdt knocked on the door of the hut that looked far too dingy for anyone to live inside. There was no answer. In the end, he pushed open the door and headed in.

The place was filled with dust accumulated over time and spiderwebs everywhere. No trace of human activity could be detected. The kitchen and the front room hadn't been used in a long time, and so was everything else.

Just as Reinhardt gave up any hope of meeting him, his senses detected a breath, very faint but still alive. Immediately, he made his way over and looked at the bed.

Sleeping there was an old friend of his, big as a mountain, with brawny muscles, bulging veins, and a long grey beard.

Tollivar Stout, a high ranking level 8 knight who used to serve as a knight in the kingdom of Aetherion in his heyday. However, after retirement, he came to this village.

More than ten years ago, when Reinhardt was just a high ranking level 7 knight, he came on a mission to the border of the Aetherion. It was a mission where the knights of the coalition of the Seven Kingdoms would go on an expedition deep inside the Tainted Lands.

The horrific event that would later be known as the Rainy Day by the rest of the world.

In any case, as one of the few knights who luckily survived that incident, Reinhardt found himself wandering in this village, tired and traumatised. It was then that he met Tollivar. A former knight who, with just a single look, knew exactly what the young knight had witnessed and gone through to make such a deathly and despairing face.

Even though he had no obligation to, the man looked after him and even allowed Reinhardt to stay in that hut of his until he got better. That said, having witnessed insanity far more despair inducing than anything, the latter at that time had completely given up hope.

It was not easy to overcome that fear; no, that despair that everything was meaningless. Days like this would continue, and before Reinhardt knew it, he had stayed in the village for over a month.

Tollivar would train with him sometimes, sharing his experience and story. Slowly, he started to snap out of that terror and see the world clearly again.

Having lost his family, wife, his children, comrades, and basically everything to the demons, the man had every reason to wallow in despair. However, Tollivar Stout, the mountain of a man, never budged from his ideals.

With the hammer in his hands, he threw the gauntlet against the world and fought and fought. Of course, the knight was no famous man, nor were his feats legendary, like the ones children liked to listen to.

He was a knight whose talent could bluntly be said to be average. His skills, his level, experience, it was not gained from fighting a series of epic battles; no, they were accumulated over time with numerous inconspicuous but important missions.

According to Tollivar, knights are not just the ones who shine brightly in battles; there are even those like him who never get to step into the spotlight their entire lives. That said, is their life meaningless?

No, his mission, his contributions to the world, were equally important compared to any knights.

Tollivar Stout the man never left his name in his history; however, his numerous contribution left its own unique mark in the world.

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