Kenzo woke up in the middle of the night. He slept in the top of a bunkbed at one of Advent World’s guild rooms. From the way things looked, it wouldn’t be long before the place was finally built once and for all. Finn had recruited mages and warriors from all Fiore to unite them under one banner. Kenzo knew his guildmates were strong. Perhaps, they were all stronger than him. However, he knew that being the weakest only meant one thing. He had to work harder than anyone else in order to make up for their difference in experience and strength. For that reason, Kenzo was motivated. It had been a while since he had something that moved him forward. He had felt stagnated a couple of years ago. The blue haired mercenary’s usual drive and muse to do things and tackle challenges had disappeared from him while he still was a mercenary in Joya. Two years later, Kenzo knew he had been an arrogant fool. The battle experience he had while being part of the mercenary group of Joya was nothing special after all. He had lived with a blind on his eyes for many years. He thought that he had seen everything Joyan’s had to offer. However, he felt into a realization one year before.

It had been a late night in Crocus. It was probably Kenzo’s second or third week in Fiore, he couldn’t remember. One night, while coming back from a quest he received from the inn keeper Batra, Kenzo found the place had been completely organized to hold an event. Live musicians played jazz while booze flowed freely between the tables. A royal was turning 20 that day, and all the people of Batra were invited to the celebration. Kenzo was staying at the place, so he naturally joined. There was no way he was going to pass up on some free booze.

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However, he never expected that night would change his life from that point onward. After a rather peculiar incident, Kenzo met Noel and Finn. From that point onward, the men had bonded and decided to support Finn in the creation of his guild. Fast forward a year, and he was now here. Even if Kenzo could definitely say that meeting both men was the highlight of his night, there was something else that would come to change him completely. While drinking at the Inn, Kenzo established a relationship with Mumbasa, the royal that was celebrating his birthday. The men played poker, and the blue haired mercenary was able to best him from a large number of jewels. However, they became fast friends after he helped Noel and Finn save Mumbasa from an overdose.

Following the week, the royal reached out to Kenzo and told him about a certain underground fighting ring that was popular within the city’s elites. He assured the mercenary that he’d be able to make a killing by participating in the fights. Naturally, the warrior joined the fray. He met with four uninteresting opponents during his fight run. Bored about the whole thing, he was prepared to simply beat his last opponent and go to sleep. Instead, he met a stranger that brought along quite the surprise. Kazimir Seiryu, captain commander of the rune knights had also joined the fights in an undercover operation to gather information. Being cuffed by a magic restraining device, both men fought in melee combat. Kenzo was definitely superior when it came to close quarters. However, he knew something was amiss the match. Kazimir seemed to be someone way more experienced in fighting than what he demonstrated. After deciding to end the match in a draw, they were attacked by the goons of the fight night organizer. Both men temporarily allied between them and decided to join forces to escape the place. They were quickly surrounded, Kaz was injured and Kenzo was starting to get tired. In his mind, there was no plausible way for the two of them to make it out.

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However, the rune knight commander had an ace up his sleeve. Breaking free from the cuffs, the S-Rank mage destroyed the enemy forces with ease. His previous fight could not be compared to the one Kenzo was able to presence. After a fierce fight and barely making it out of the ring alive, the mercenary learned that Kaz was actually from the country of Joya. Furthermore, this also explained the feeling of stagnation Kenzo felt. For years, the male had lived under the impression that the battles that he fought were any indication of the true strength of the land. However, he failed to realize a detail that was right in front of him the whole time. So obvious in fact, that when he finally realized it while speaking with Kazimir, it hurt. The samurai of Joya were prideful people. The strongest of warlords of the country would never resort to employing foreign mercenary forces to fight in their wars. For that reason, all the fighting Kenzo had known was between small scale clans that didn’t have enough strength to be considered major players. This realization was like that of a pond fish meeting the sea for the first time. It was terrifying, but at the same time it was exciting.

That was the reason Kenzo was up so early. Being finally exposed to the reality of the sea, he noticed how much he still had left to grow. His own guildmates were proof of this fact. He was undoubtedly, the weakest of all. But that would soon change. He was prepared to do anything necessary to grow stronger and catch up to them. One day, he’d even surpass Kazimir. He promised this to himself. Either way, the present called, and with the dawn of morning a new quest was at hand. Kenzo had been called again by Dr. Stephan Mabuz. He had heard from Remy that he had made a great job while helping out with the Majura Gallery auction mission. Today, he had been recommended by the doctor to the Marino’s. Enemies to Remy’s criminal group, the Marino family was the oldest and most respected gangster mafia in Oak. For a city known for its dark mages and criminals, the Marino’s were quite the big deal.

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Kenzo was briefed by Frankie Marino about the mission at hand. Everybody in Oak knew that the man was Vincenze Marino’s right-hand man. In a sense, he was the second in command in the family. He was requested to stealthily follow two men through the streets of Oak that day. They were newcomers, looking to cause trouble to the Marino family. Kenzo noticed them from afar as they traveled around town. Like complete gangster wannabes, the men stopped from shop to shop threatening the owners. They were just your run of the mill thugs. Their obnoxious and aggressive behavior was out there for everyone to hear and notice. They first stopped at a weapon’s shop. They threatened the owner to burn his shop if he refused to pay them money when they came by again. They warned him that he only had a week to save the sum before they came back for it. After their message was delivered, they moved onto the next store. Kenzo approached the store when it was safe, assuring the owner that they would be dealt with accordingly.

For the rest of the day, Kenzo would repeat the same thing with every store owner they threatened, gathering information along the way. After the two men decided to head back to their just outside of Oak, Kenzo approached them with sword in hand. The mercenary quickly submitted both men to the ground after a short of fighting. He was far stronger and faster than either of them, so making them fall to the ground posed no effort for him. He threatened the thugs with the information he had gathered through the day. Kenzo promised them that if ever returned to Oak, he would have their heads. Like the cowards they were, both men promised to never lie foot again in the city and ran for their lives. Kenzo sheathed his sword and returned to Frankie to receive his reward from him. One more day, another quest completed. The day Advent World’s guildhall was finally completed was growing closer.

-EXIT-

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