Atop the hill, a youthful, lean, and athletic figure was hunched over. The hair, a disheveled white-colored, cascaded over one side of the face, framing the left eye. This slender form was clad in black attire, with a mask obscuring the entire visage, rendering its identity hidden.
The youthful figure let the sword slip from his grasp, reaching instead for a stone, which he threw into the vast expanse of the open sky.
This youthful form belonged to a boy, of no more than eighteen years old.
As he observed intently, he ensured the stone he had thrown afar reached its mark, before he applauded himself with a smirk.
One cannot reach the gates of the divine realm without meticulously adhering to the established rules of the game, even if one were to transform into a bird.
"So, they say."
Hmmph.
The boy, who leaned forward, lifted his gaze, a smile playing upon his lips as he gestured to the area in front of him.
"And who are the fucking owners of those gates down there?!"
The boy erupted into laughter, so uproarious that it caused a pang in his stomach, compelling him to stop.
Subsequently, he seized yet another stone and threw it into the distance once more. He observed intently, ensuring that the stone traversed the gates before finally descending to the ground.
"You see, I am an exception."
The wind swirled, carrying with it a blend of dust that danced through the air. It whistled past the boy's ears, lifting his hair in its power.
Then, there was the scene that displayed the boy with his hands and legs bound with chains, boarding a ship with a crowd.
However, shortly after the ship's voyage began, when the moment arrived to disembark, he found himself unshackled. In contrast to the others, who remained with their hands and feet still fettered by chains.
He giggled.
"Help makes one look like a coward...yet it made me a Hero..."
The light reveals a boy who, in a swinging motion, journeyed through the forest, entwined with the roots of banyan trees. Unfortunately for the boy, his carelessness led him to collide with a tree.
As he fell, his eyes snapped open, beholding a menagerie of beasts of varying sizes drawing near.
"Help! Help!! Help!!!" The boy had shouted.
Then, this very boy suddenly imbued with immense strength, found himself battling a monstrous creature with the head of a dragon and the body of an octopus—an exceedingly formidable foe.
The battle persisted until the very moment when this boy abruptly skidded to a stop, the sword clutched in his hands scraping along the ground.
"...but I disagree to be a Hero."
"They acquire their abilities, necessitated by the trials they must endure, yet they remain constrained, alas," the boy lamented, gently tapping his forehead with his hand thrice.
"Yet, I acquire mine without necessity, and I am unrestrained."
The young lad rose to his feet, gazing intently at the towering building that loomed at the foot of the hill where he stood, his hands clasped thoughtfully behind his back.
Then, light shows on a young boy walking beside an elf, with two other elves trailing in his footsteps.
The scene dismissed to unveil the boy leaping into the chamber of an Elfin girl through her window.
Disregarding the astonishment in the girl's eyes, who had been startled from her repose on the bed, the boy softly closed the windows and turned his attention to her.
"Shall we... cultivate?" he had requested.
Then, there was this same boy in an intense blood-filled field, moving intentionally, swinging his swords carefully in the air, meeting with the heads of different beasts and monsters and slicing them with precision.
Then, before him, three screens materialized, each displaying distinct notifications.
The boy smirked, lowering the sword he grasped to rest beside his leg.
Moreover, there existed another realm—a majestic metropolis adorned with venerable industrial edifices, exuding an Eastern ambiance. A diverse array of birds glided through the sky, some emitting high-pitched squeaky sounds while others melodiously chirped.
Still in the air, a masked body floated, pointing the sword in its hands to the boy standing over a lifeless body.
The boy disregarded this structure and murmured, "Ansa—drr."
Immediately, smoke began to emanate from the lifeless body he stood over. Smokes of thick purple mist enveloped his body for a moment before disappearing.
The boy's form radiated with a luminous golden light as he drew a deep breath and then, exhaled.
"I don't mind instructions. Yes, perhaps I exhibit a certain rebelliousness. Or so to say, I'm effortless, against the rules and conventions of this game. Yet, I live. I thrive."
The modest space of a well-arranged room comes into play, with a cozy bed resting upon a wooden holder, cradling the body of the boy.
He was fast asleep, not merely sleeping, but was deep in rest.
Meanwhile, other players were scattered across the field, earnestly seeking the object they had been tasked to find.
One of them discovered a crystal glass orb ball and, moments thereafter became captivated by a domain conjured by the orb.
The clank sound of swords was heard after, and the survivor, who was engrossed in the domain, seemed to be fighting his way through.
Another survivor faces the same fate, but he keeps running non-stop. He continued running, around different forming walls and repeating paths.
And like these two, other survivors were facing their fates, except this boy, who slept like a god.
The boy let another smile tug on his lips.
"And I, alone, is entitled to a ride."
Light shows where the boy raised his sword against the dragon-headed monster he had initially fought with, the sword he held in his hands glowing with brilliant, bright energy.
Upon striking the ground with his sword, he unleashed concentric waves of force that radiated outward, reaching the monster in its place.
Instantaneously, the creature was overwhelmed by the surge of energy unleashed by the sword's blow, as barriers materialized around it, confining it to a fixed position.
The bearer of this power, the young lad, was observed shortly thereafter standing before the creature, murmuring words in an attempt to commune with the monster.
Before long, the fearsome creature was freed from its cage. The boy was soon seen soaring through the air alongside this bizarre beast, an amalgamation of a dragon-headed monster with an octopus body and bird wings.
"Oooouiuiuiui," the boy shouted as he flew.
"Lol, I act unserious from the start."
The boy, who had been standing for some time, suddenly leaped from the hill.
Landing gently, his left knee met the ground as the sword clasped in his right hand provided support, while his left hand delved into his tousled hair.
"I have come this far."
Tsk.
"And there is no turning back now," the boy rose from his landing position and scratched the back of his head.
He deftly flipped his sword, gripping its hilt with resolute firmness, while meticulously adjusting the mask that concealed his nose fittingly.
"I still remember vividly how it had all begun."
"..."