"You damn Bastard get back here! How dare you put shame on your family's name and more importantly, how dare you steal from my shop!?"
The shop keeper screamed as he chased Noboru throughout the busy streets of the first stronghold.
Noboru let out a scoff as he kept running vigorously, passing through the masses of people easily with his agile and young body. He couldn't help but think to himself:
"Put shame on my family's name? Even if they didn't die during that mission, I wouldn't care. An honourable man is like a dog on a leash. Why would I want to be honourable?"
The shop keeper naturally couldn't know that Noboru's parents have been dead for quite some time. They were a wealthy and strong bunch. However they weren't prepared for the horrors beyond the first stronghold. It isn't known wether they were killed by a group of other Enlightened or murdered by Monsters. Not that Noboru would care.
The the true hassle is that, due to his premature age, he couldn't receive the wealth they had amassed which led him to lose everything aside from his name, the clothes on his body and most importantly, his own, young and talented body.
In order to survive, Noboru was forced to become a stealer. In his first years, he merely stole small valuables and necessities such as food. As he got better at stealing, he started to steal anything that he thought would earn him enough money to warrant the act of stealing. With the help of a friend, he managed to buy a small house to live in. Stealing is still his only source of income nonetheless.
Noboru kept on running throughout the streets, increasing the space between him and the shopkeeper. He turned around a final time to make sure the distance is sufficient before finally coming to a stop.
As he looked around further, he saw no Enlightened nor any other person who could potentially punish him for his actions and thus, he climbed onto the roof of a nearby house and sat down, relaxing after the intense chase just a moment ago.
He peacefully pulled out the two cooked rats on a stick which he had just stolen and ate them slowly, savouring the tenderness of the meat as it almost melted away in his mouth. It had the perfect temperature and made his mouth water as he chewed.
From this roof he had an excellent view of the entire first stronghold. Since he could be at ease for the time being, he started gazing at its entirety.
The streets were full of life. Some people cheering and laughing with their loved ones. Others arguing over the price of small valuables and some getting blackout drunk.
The stalactites, filled with the essence of strong Enlightened, were shining a bright white, illuminating the city. Without these, there would be no light in this city whatsoever.
There was plenty going on to be seen and yet in the eyes of Noboru, there was nothing going on at all.
It was all just the meaningless and plain existence of the poor for which he beared no interest.
Noboru's focus was on but a single thing in this city. It was the central and tallest building. Here, the richest family resides alongside the strongest Enlightened of the first stronghold. It combined the comfort and luxury of a lavish mansion with the security and untouchability of a military base.
In order for him to even just be invited into that building and thus also become an influential figure, he would have to become an Enlightened first which is precisely his goal for now.
If he were to reach merely the first rank and choose his primary element then he would have it far easier surviving in this unforgiving society.
Noboru, at that stage, would already be considered above every normal mortal in this city. Not just in strength but also in social class. After all, despite having laws, this city only truly follows one. Strength.
Becoming an Enlightened isn't a matter of skill or inherent talent. Of course, climbing the ranks and becoming a strong Enlightened does have to do with these things.
In order to become an Enlightened, one merely needs to absorb the essence of a specific and extremely rare stone. Once a person did so, their body will accept this essence as its own and start producing the exact same essence on its own.
Aquiring such a stone is no easy feat. Because of the rarity, it's barely ever seen on the market. Especially in such an insignificant and unsafe city such as the first stronghold. Whenever it does, the price is so high that buying it is out of the picture unless a person is rich.
Stealing it wouldn't be a smart move either. People would immediately start a manhunt and try to execute the criminal. If you were to sell it immediately, you may get away with it through a lot of luck and skill combined but in Noboru's case, other Enlightened would notice his change in aura and be alarmed by it, realising that he is an Enlightened.
Naturally, they would question him and eventually, his crime would be found out and he would be executed. Another way of becoming an Enlightened would be that a family member with blood relation transfers some of their essence into their relative.
Following that, their body would start producing the same essence as the relative who gave the essence. This way of ascending and becoming an Enlightened is common among the rich.
However, once more, this method is out of the picture for Noboru. He has no alive relatives left.
He will have to go through a lot of hardships merely to aquire the title of a rank 1 Enlightened. In this world, even if you have talent, it doesn't matter. The circumstances that you're born into is what truly matters to begin with.
As Noboru finished eating the rats on a stick, he casually jumped down from the rooftop and smiled gently, looking at the stone ceiling of the first stronghold as he thought:
"This world is the perfect example for a world plagued by injustice. Yet, I can't bring myself to hate it. If all were treated equally, wouldn't life become plain and boring?"
"A truly just world would require every person to stop acting out of love, out of anger, out of hatred and out of every other emotion for that matter. Everyone would have the same. Everyone would act the same towards everyone. Exclusivity wouldn't exist. Maybe that would be a good thing sometimes but I sincerely believe it in my heart, it would make living dreary."
"The people you love, they'd be the same as the next person. That person would naturally also be just like the next one. Individuality would be eliminated. Emotions and differences are both things that make us human and yet some wish to practically erase them."
"I have a question that I'm dying to ask all of those that want a truly equal world. How could living in such a world be remotely fun or enjoyable?"