"Bean, shake. Shake."
A boy with blue eyes, fair skin, and black hair sat on the porch of a small cottage, playing with his least favorite dog.
"Bean, shake. Shake," he repeated, but Bean didn't even budge at his command.
Meanwhile, Leo and Mark—his most and second-most favorite—came pouncing at him as they circled the house for the fourth time.
Leo and Mark gave him sloppy licks on the face before darting off again, tails wagging wildly as they started their fifth lap. Bean finally joined them, trailing behind like he'd just remembered how to have fun. Eren wiped the dog slobber from his cheek, then stood up from the chair.
With a quiet sigh, he wandered over to the side lawn, where Anto the cow was munching on a haystack. As Eren approached, Anto tilted her head up and looked at him. Then she started nodding up and down as if asking, "What's up?"
Eren patted her head and kept walking, heading to the back of the house where Klara and her chicks were flicking grains around like there was no tomorrow.
Klara didn't even look at him like he didn't exist.
Eren watched the chicks for a moment, then left the back of the house.
And of course, Leo and Mark came charging at him again, pouncing at him like they hadn't seen him in years.
Eren came and sat on the porch again.
"Eren!"
A middle-aged female voice called from inside the house.
"Eren, come inside and check your bag. If I missed anything, collect it and put it in the second-hand bag," his mother, Sabine, said while preparing something in the kitchen.
Eren came in to check the things. It looked like luggage meant for three people.
"Mom, I can't carry this bag. I'll reduce some of the clothes and blankets," Eren said.
Sabine didn't respond. Eren took a lot of duplicate items like blankets and mufflers.
After some time, his mother walked out of the kitchen, holding a bowl of something warm.
"Once you're finished packing, eat this soup," Sabine said, placing the bowl on the table.
Eren trimmed down the luggage to about a third of its size—something he could manage on his back.
He sat down on the nearby chair and glanced at the soup. It was chicken soup.
'Mmm... chicken... One of Klara's kids, maybe. That's probably why Klara didn't even look at me,' Eren thought.
Eren tried to drink the hot soup, blowing on it between sips while his mother stood nearby with a concerned look on her face.
"Eren, do you remember what I told you?" Sabine said while looking at her son.
Eren nodded his head, just like Klara pecking at her grains while concentrating on the soup.
Sabine sighed deeply. "Don't speak unless it's necessary. And watch your tone when talking to your teachers and instructors," she said.
She started her usual lecture while Eren quietly ate his soup, listening without complaint or even a hint of irritation on his face. Sabine was a single mother. She had no [Verse] awakened, living alone ever since Eren's father died when Eren was just three.
She was very concerned about her son leaving the village he grew up in without knowing the cruelty of the outside world. She didn't have the strength to protect her son if some powerful person decided to hurt him—especially since his awakened Verse was one of the weakest, or to say he didn't have a Verse when it awakened.
She hated the idea of Eren going to the city to attend the Academy for Awakened Children, with no proper awakened Verse, where royal and noble kids would be, and there was a chance of getting bullied.
But Eren was adamant about attending the academy. Sabine's only guarantee of Eren's safety was that he was a very rational boy. He knew what he could do and wasn't the type to be easily triggered. She only wished for a peaceful life in the village, far from conflict.
But after Eren's constant hunger strikes, she finally agreed to send him to the academy.
"Remember, always treat the stronger and nobler's kids like the instructors. We don't want to offend anyone," Sabine said, her face full of worry.
Eren nodded as he finished the last of the chicken soup.
Eren stood up and hugged his mother for a long moment before trying to lift the heavy luggage onto his shoulder.
"Give it to me. I'll carry it until the meeting point," Sabine insisted.
"No, Mother. The academy senior said parents don't need to come for the send-off," Eren argued.
"At least let me carry it halfway," she said.
Eren gave in, handing her the bag. Before leaving, he gave three quick kisses to Leo, Mark, and Bean.
They closed the gate carefully so the dogs wouldn't escape; otherwise, they might follow Eren to the academy. Eren and his mother started walking toward the meeting point of the other village kids, while Leo was barking like crazy.
They hadn't even gone 100 meters before Eren stopped. The village houses were starting to thin out, and they were almost at the edge of the village.
"This is far enough, Mother," Eren said quietly.
Sabine didn't argue. She returned the luggage to him, and Eren swung it onto his back.
"Go straight to the meeting point and wait for the others. Don't go visiting your friends' houses," Sabine said in a firm, warning tone, Sabine knew her son is very dependent on his friends and his friends are the main reason why he very adament of attending academy with them.
It wasn't that Sabine disliked Eren's friends. It was their parents who didn't like their talented children being bothered by someone like Eren—someone with no real Verse to awaken.
Eren didn't say anything. He just gave his mother one final hug.
She kissed him goodbye, tears already falling. And then, Eren left her behind, beginning his journey to the Academy where he'd study for the next three years. He wouldn't see his mother again until the holidays, a year away, Sabine was string her son dispering into village while crying.
…
Eren stopped in front of the grandest house in the village. The gate alone was as large as his entire cottage.
He didn't dare to enter. Instead, he stood quietly off to the side of the entrance, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
Then, with the sound of soft crying from within, the door opened.
A girl, around Eren's age and height, stepped out carrying a small piece of luggage. She was elegant and beautiful, with long hair, an oval face, brown eyes, and a perfectly straight Grecian nose.
Anneliese—the daughter of the village leader, and one of the strongest Awakened [Verse] in the whole village, and Eren's close friend.
Anne noticed Eren standing awkwardly by the gate and waved her hand at him. She kissed her mother goodbye and joined her father outside.
Her mother lingered in the doorway, her eyes falling on Eren with a thoughtful, unreadable expression.
Eren felt her gaze and immediately tilted his head down, too shy to meet her eyes.
"When did you get here?" Anne asked softly. "Why didn't you come inside?" Anne walked outside of the gate with her father.
Eren greeted Anne's father politely but didn't answer her question. Instead, he shifted his heavy bag on his shoulder and asked,
"Give me your luggage. I'll carry it."
Anne shook her head, refusing. Eren's pack already looked like it weighed more than he did. She wasn't about to make it worse for him.
"Ahem." Anne's father cleared his throat. "You two head to the meeting point. I'll catch up with you there after I speak with your academy senior."
They nodded and departed together, leaving the grand house behind.
As they walked, Eren asked, "Should we stop by Bean and Leo's house?"
"No need," Anne replied. "They'll go straight to the meeting point."
After walking about three hundred meters past the edge of the village, they spotted a small group of kids standing on the open ground.
Leo noticed them first and beckoned them over with a wave.
Waiting with him were Mark and Anto—a girl with sharp eyes and a messy braid, leaning lazily on the ground, chewing on a blade of grass.
Eren glanced at her and couldn't help but think of the cow back home, munching on hay in the same way.
It wasn't like he meant anything bad by it. He'd just… sort of named the cow after her. Not that Anto knew. And not something he was ever planning on telling her.
"Everyone's here?" Anne asked.
"Klara will be along soon," Mark said. "Her grandma made her finish some chores first."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a sharp voice called out from down the path. A tall girl came running toward them, quick and loud, her sturdy frame making the boys glance away with red cheeks.
"Sorry, sorry!" Klara shouted. "Grandma wouldn't stop crying while handing me chores, thinking the academy senior would leave without me!" Klara said, laughing.
She skidded to a stop beside them and gave Eren a strong pat on the back that nearly knocked him forward, then gave him a gentle head pat and handed him a snack that looked like dried meat. Eren didn't hesitate—he took it and started chewing right away. Meanwhile, Anto, the small beast at Klara's side, began nudging her, making soft noises as if demanding hir share of the dried meat.
Nearby, a group of kids were chatting, but the little commotion caught their attention. One of them snickered and said loudly,
"I didn't think this guy would bother coming to the academy. I honestly thought you were joking when you said that waste of space was coming too," one of the boys commented while looking at Eren.
The group erupted into laughter.
Klara shot them a glare. "Watch your mouth, Noah, or I'll give you a beating," she sneered.
Anne and the others didn't say anything or show any reaction because they just didn't bother with their comments, which were very common every time they came across these kids.
"Oh, look! The other waste speaks!" Mia, one of the girls in the group, added mockingly.
"What? Noah didn't say anything wrong," another boy chimed in, smirking. "It's true. That guy doesn't even have any Verse, so on what basis is he coming to the academy?"
"Academy senior is okay with that. Why do you care about it?" Klara said angrily.
"He should just stay where he belongs, in his little cottage kitchen, playing with his little NullVerse flame, instead of humiliating us and the village," Noah said, laughing.
From another nearby group, a girl asked, "NullVerse flame? What is that?"
"It's the name I've given to that waste fellow. He doesn't have a Verse to begin with, but he can cast cooking fire," Noah mocked again.
"Cooking fire? Do you mean the kind of fire you use to cook dinner?" another girl commented.
Noah laughed while nodding.
"Hahaha! What use is there when the fire you cast is candlelight strength?"
"Wow, I didn't know that. After all, he'll be useful in the academy kitchen," another one commented.
"Hey, give him some credit. At least he'll be an igniter for cooking and save some flint stones,"
Eren and the others didn't listen to their comments. Klara started chewing something, facing the other way.
More laughter followed, with plenty of eyes turning to stare and whisper about Eren.
But Eren didn't respond. He didn't show anger. He didn't even seem bothered. He just chewed his dried meat like it was just a normal routine.
As the chatter and mockery continued, from a short distance away, two kids observed the scene with disapproving shakes of their heads.
One was Clara, the girl who held the second most powerful Verse in the village.
Beside her was Luke, the strongest of them all—his awakened Verse was Tier 2 [ThunderFlame].
Then, as if on cue, two figures appeared from the distant path. The village leader and the academy senior had finally arrived at the meeting point.
The moment the academy senior approached, everyone quickly stood at attention.
"Is everyone present? Shall we depart?" the academy senior asked, his gaze sweeping over the group of eighteen kids.
"Yes, Zweilicht!" the group answered in unison. Zweilicht was the name given to people who awakened the second Verse, which was a little rare in rural areas.
He gave a nod and moved to the empty horse-drawn carriage. Then he took white, yellow, green, and red-colored stones and moved away from the group of kids and crushed them with his hands.
The stones crunched loudly as he crushed them in his hands.