Before the legend, or notoriety, of the strongest party grew to what it was, it started from somewhere. It was also started by someone unlikely.

"Hey, wake up already!"

A blonde young man wearing only the bottom half of his armor kicked the bed of someone else. There was still someone sleeping under the sheets of the said bed. They were inside a bedroom with its walls made of large stone bricks.

"Don't bother me… I want to sleep some more…"

The guy under the sheets, a slender young man with brown hair, rolled around in his bed after mumbling a response.

"Damn, this is because of the special treatment they give this guy… Don't complain to me if you get grilled for being late in the assembly of the Knight's Order later!"

The young man wearing the armor left the room and slammed the door behind him.

"Huh…? Assembly…? Oh, crap! He's really going to scream at me later if I'm late!"

The sleepy guy immediately sat on his bed and then jumped off of it. He went to the shared bathroom near his room and quickly took a bath. Afterwards, he wore some thin clothes and then put on the chain mail for his whole body.

Before putting on his armor, he realized that he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. His stomach grumbled loudly. He then rushed down toward the mess hall.

The sleeping quarters of the knights and the mess hall were all located inside the Garrison of the Knight's Order. The Garrison was the headquarters of the Knight's Order. It was built with stone bricks and wooden doors with metal frames.

Throughout the world of Chrona, there were smaller stations of the Knight's Order located in each city and town. Or it should be like that. But unfortunately, reality was vastly different.

---

Once he reached the mess hall, he went straight to the head server to ask for food. The head server was an older woman, plump with curly brown hair. She stood behind a counter and had her back turned on the hungry knight.

"Hey, good morning. Can you give me some food? I'm going to be late to the Assembly!"

The slender knight leaned closer to the woman to get her attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We've run out of ingredients to make more food…"

The woman turned around and looked at the frantic knight. She rested her cheek on top of her hand.

"What?! You've got to be kidding, right?"

"I'm afraid it's true. And our kitchen helper is sick today, so no one can pick up the ingredients we already ordered from the market stalls."

The woman shook her head.

"I can't believe my luck. I'm really going to get chewed out by that guy at this rate..."

He clenched his fists and closed his eyes.

"It seems you have some free time now. How about you get the ingredients for us? Then I can ask the cooks to quickly prepare something for you… How does that sound?"

The woman gently smiled at the knight.

"A-are you asking me to do this task for you?"

The knight opened one of his eyes and looked at the woman.

"Well, yes… That's my intention…"

The woman confusedly stared at the knight.

"Grr… Fine!"

The knight scratched his hair before slamming the counter with both hands. The woman then clapped her hands together. Afterwards, she handed him the list of stalls he needed to go to for the ingredients. The woman then remembered that she had a small piece of bread. She quickly turned around to get it and then planned to give it to the knight as early payment.

"Here, have some bread first—"

When she finally turned around to face the counter, the knight was no longer there.

---

The knight arrived at the market and went to the specified stalls one after the other to get the ingredients the head server needed.

When he arrived at the last stall to get some potatoes from the vegetable vendor, he temporarily placed all the brown paper bags full of ingredients on top of the stall counter. The counter had several types of round and leafy vegetables stacked on top of it. There was a man wearing a round cloth cap standing beside the vegetable stall.

"Hey there, mister vendor. I'm here to pick up the potatoes the Knight's Order kitchen requested."

The knight turned his head to look at the man that seemed to own the vegetable stall. Suddenly, a voice came from behind the counter.

"Oh, I thought you won't be coming since it's already late. Let me get your order…"

There was a middle-aged man crouching on the ground behind the counter.

"So, you're the one in charge of this stall…? I thought it was this guy over here—"

Just as when the knight looked at the man beside the stall, the man wearing a cap suddenly grabbed some vegetables that were displayed on the counter. The man then ran away as fast as he could.

"That guy is a thief! Come on, go after him and get back my vegetables!"

The middle-aged man pointed at the fleeing thief while looking at the knight.

"Y-you want me to get your vegetables back from that man…?"

The knight stared at the middle-aged man while pointing at himself.

"That's what I am telling you! Aren't you some knight from the Knight's Order? Do your job!"

The vegetable vendor slammed the counter with his closed fists.

"Sure, whatever! Just wait here for a second."

The knight sighed for a moment. He then looked at the thief who was getting further and further away.

The vendor also looked at the direction of the thief. Suddenly, the thief tripped on himself and fell to the ground face first. When the middle-aged man looked back at the knight in front of him, the knight was already holding the vegetables.

"Here. Watch over your produce carefully next time. I'll be taking those potatoes now."

The knight put down the vegetables he retrieved on top of the counter and then grabbed the sack of potatoes the vendor was holding in his hands. The middle-aged vendor was still in shock from what he just witnessed and just stared at the knight.

The knight then grabbed the remaining ingredients he put on the counter earlier and walked away from the vegetable stall. Finally, the vendor was able to talk.

"Hey… What just happened…? And what about that thief? Shouldn't you take him to the prison?"

The vendor pointed at the knight. Upon hearing this, the knight stopped walking and looked behind him toward the middle-aged man.

"I did what you asked me to do and got your vegetables back. So, my task is done."

The knight then continued to walk away.

---

The city of Unowne, where the Garrison of the Knight's Order was located, was also the capital city of the Belthorne Kingdom.

In the castle grounds located at the center of the city, the King was about to talk to its people, who were now waiting with excitement.

"Good day, my dear citizens!"

A man with long, purple hair clothed in regal wardrobe addressed the crowd that gathered in front of the balcony of his room. The balcony was facing a large garden area accessible to the townspeople.

"It pains me to inform you that I have received some very troubling and regrettable news from my Lord Knights. Monsters have been more aggressive and dangerous as of late. No… Ever since before I inherited the throne from my father, this has been a rising concern for our kingdom."

He paused to lament the situation that seemed there was nothing he could do about. He closed his eyes and stood still for a few moments before speaking again.

"But fear not, for I have yet to let this state of affairs worsen without proper recourse. I have ordered the knights of the kingdom, and all that are willing to help, to actively hunt and eradicate these monsters!"

The King raised his hands as he displayed his eagerness and resolve. The people cheered for their king in response.

"Your Highness, Lord Knight Greyve has come."

The King's attendant, standing behind him, whispered the message. The King nodded silently. Afterwards, the attendant stepped back inside the room through the curtains that blocked the view of the room from the outside.

"Rest assured, we will be protecting the citizens and this kingdom with all our might!"

The King waved his hand to the crowd's delight, and then returned inside his quarters.

"I apologize for coming so early in the morning, Lord Julianos."

A burly middle-aged man wearing large armor, with dark blue hair and a full beard was waiting for him. He was kneeling on the floor with his head bowed down.

"Do not be foolish, Greyve. It was I who called you at this hour."

The King walked towards the kneeling knight and ushered him to stand up.

"So, about the matter I discussed with you. Is everything going smoothly?"

"Yes, my Lord. I have prepared to give out instructions to the Knights' Order to dispatch all available knights that are not assigned to protecting the Capital."

Greyve looked straight at Julianos.

"Very well, I see. Unowne does have the most capable knights protecting its gates. I'm also sure the citizens will feel much more secured if we take the initiative."

Julianos nodded as he closed his eyes and slightly smiled.

"I agree, my Lord. I have also asked for the assistance of the other Job Class Organizations. I have received positive response from some of them."

Greyve was still standing straight, with only his eyes following the slight movements of his king.

"Some, you say? That is expected."

The king had a faint smirk on his face. He then walked away from Greyve and stood in front of a family portrait that was hanging on the far side of the room. The portrait showed a woman sitting on the throne while carrying a baby in her arms and a man standing behind her.

"My father did his best to protect this kingdom and all of the land with his power. I do not wish to let him down, nor the people who are depending on us."

Julianos turned around and faced the Lord Knight.

"I expect great results."

The King was now smiling genuinely.

---

At the Garrison of the Knights' Order, several knights were gathered and lined up inside an assembly hall. They were waiting for the return of Lord Knight Greyve.

While a senior knight was inspecting the lined-up knights to see whether they were complete or not, he spotted a vacant space in the line. There were about ten rows of knights with five in each line, standing closely to each other. The vacant spot was right in the middle of the formation.

The senior knight had to pass through several other knights to reach the spot, pushing aside those knights to reach his destination. When he reached the spot he saw, there was someone standing there. Feeling confused and irritated, he went outside the formation hastily.

"Where were you, Jaegar?"

A knight with short blond hair asked the other knight who suddenly appeared inside the formation. The two of them were standing side by side.

"Don't sweat the details, Stevan. You know I hate this armor. It took a long time to put on."

The slender knight with brown hair, who was now wearing bluish armor, showed no remorse.

"Took a long time? I woke you up earlier—"

"Attention, everyone!"

A knight in front of the formation exclaimed as Lord Knight Greyve entered the hall. Greyve then stood in front of everyone and looked at them directly.

"As I have discussed the other day, you all will be dispatched to other cities and towns of Chrona. At this moment, Lord Julianos has formally given your mission: to eliminate as many monsters as you possibly can. You may take on job requests at the towns or enter servitude under monarchs and nobles. As long as they involve killing monsters, you are free to do so."

After Greyve's announcement, some knights started to chatter among themselves.

"Finally, a mission!"

Jaegar clenched his fist and smirked.

"Are you serious? We are living the good life here in the capital. Now, we're being sent away on a mission that clearly has no end."

Stevan shook his head.

"Missions are what give our lives meaning. Without it, we can't be considered alive."

Jaegar then furrowed his eyebrows while still clenching his fists.

"More likely we'll be dead before we finish this mission. Oh, I'll miss those lovely ladies in the tavern downtown."

Stevan looked up at the ceiling as longing filled his face instantly.