Tears fell down his face, his gaze remained lost ahead. In his hands, a sharp dagger was tightly held. And his mind sank into a sea of thoughts.
He was trash, his gift was trash, his talent nonexistent. The world had abandoned him, the woman he loved had abandoned him, and in just a few hours he would be thrown out of his only home.
Everything had crumbled in just one day...
In just one moment.
Part of him still couldn't accept it, part of him still had hope, still wanted to reunite with her.
Unfortunately, that wasn't possible. Only soldiers and explorers could accompany a saint. Someone weak like him never could.
So what awaited him? Being useless, with no talent or future. His only hope was to sell himself as a slave and hope that someone kind would take him. In the worst case, they would treat him like trash, but at least he'd have a roof and food, after all.
That was the only future for the hopelessness, for the useless.
But was he willing to go through with that?
Obviously not, he'd rather leave his corpse behind than become someone else's slave.
Matt gripped the dagger tightly and raised it, the dagger reflected in the candlelight before suddenly falling.
A loud thud echoed in the stable as the sharp blade struck the wood in front of him.
With force and restrained rage, Matt scratched out the words engraved on it: "Property of Matt."
That stable no longer belonged to him.
So, what could he do to escape that cruel fate?
Ironically, it was to cling to what the world wanted to take from him to the only thing he was never willing to lose: hope.
In today's world, the weak and hopelessness are doomed to live in misery. But it wasn't always this way.
According to legends, in the beginnings of humanity, people were weak. Gifts were useless, and there were no powerful cultivators either. Humanity lived under the constant threat of extinction, running and hiding in caves from the fierce beasts that stalked them.
It wasn't until Hope gathered her people, tired of that life, and led them to the forests of Neviltis to fight against humanity's cruel fate in a heartbreaking battle against the beasts of the forest.
Logically, humanity was at a great disadvantage. The battle was a massacre; the beasts were ravaging their people.
However, at the last moment, when the final citizens were about to give in to the relentless assault, Hope emerged from the depths of the forest, burning with the faith of the people, and consumed each and every beast.
Since then, Hope reigned, and humanity no longer feared the outside.
Obviously, the one they call Hope was the first king of humanity, not a divine being who personified hope.
However, that wasn't what mattered. What truly mattered were those final moments of the story.
Hope found something in that forest—something that led him to evolve his gift and gain the power to destroy those beasts.
Even though no one really knew what it was, at the very least, it meant that there were things capable of increasing one's power, even if their gift was useless or they were crippled in cultivation.
And that was all Matt needed to keep going. He was going to place all his hopes in that possibility.
But it wouldn't be easy.
That's why he had prepared for a long time—as much as someone like him could.
Matt placed the dagger in a makeshift sheath on his waist. Then he picked up a bag from the ground. Both had been made with his own hands, using scraps of leather and fabric that people threw away on the streets. Although their design left much to be desired, he wasn't in a position to be picky.
'At least it serves its purpose,' he thought.
After all, inside he kept cans of food, blankets, coats, ropes, and even containers with water. Everything he had managed to gather over his years as a hopelessness.
Matt fastened the strap of the bag over his shoulder, making sure it wouldn't fall off easily. Then, from his pocket, he took out a small necklace.
On it was the figure of a wooden anchor, held by a black leather cord. Marie had left it behind before she departed—this was his last memory of her.
Matt looked at it for a moment, finding determination in that necklace. Then, he took a deep breath and put it away again.
He had no right to use it—
Not yet.
And so, with a new determination shining in his eyes and his hopes pinned on a legend, Matt left the stable he had lived in his entire life.
Of course, after so many years, the Neviltis Forest no longer existed. But Neviltis wasn't the only unexplored forest—there was an entire world to explore. Especially when that world changed every 100 years, revealing completely new and uncharted areas.
Coincidentally, one of them was located north of his position. That's where he was heading.
'An evolution of my gift—that's all I need.' In his eyes, there was only determination.
It wouldn't be easy, he knew that.
Entire groups of powerful explorers didn't dare venture into those unexplored places because of the danger they posed.
And he was going to do it completely alone and powerless—armed only with the strength of his hope. And he didn't care if he lost his life for it—after all, he didn't really have one.
Outside, the storm had lessened in intensity, but the wind was still violent. The sun was hiding in the west, while in the east the beautiful moon bathed the horizon with its stunning pink hue.
Matt admired its beauty for a moment before looking ahead.
The stable was located at the very back, so he would have to cross along the side of the orphanage.
Matt took a deep breath and slipped by quietly, sneaking beneath the orphanage windows. He didn't want anyone to know he was leaving—it would only cause trouble.
What he didn't know was that he had been watched the entire time—
From the orphanage's highest window.
…
His hands clenched tightly around the hem of his coat, his legs moved forward, leaving footprints in the snow as they trembled uncontrollably.
Even with his best coats, he couldn't withstand the cold.
As he walked, buildings passed by and he looked at them with disgust. The bad memories seemed to come alive with just a glance, and the anger grew with each one.
'The flower shop where they humiliated me when I tried to buy Marie a rose…' he thought, rage in his eyes, and kept looking at more buildings. 'The restaurant that kicked me out for being a Hopelessness…' He clenched his teeth.
The fury crawled up his chest, but he didn't stop walking. 'That alley's where they cornered me to beat me up… those bastards.'
By now, the lanterns were lit, partially illuminating the streets. The townsfolk had taken refuge in their homes and noisy bars. Outside, only Matt dared to walk in this cold.
And so, he made sure to look at each one of those establishments while imagining how it would feel to destroy them.
Part of him still wanted revenge for everything they'd done to him.
And with that rage burning in his chest, Matt kept walking… until he stopped dead in his tracks.
A shiver ran down his spine, and his muscles tensed at the memory of the traumas that had marked him.
When he looked up, five figures stood over the bridge he needed to cross—all of them with smiles he knew far too well.
Sweat ran across his skin; his scars burned as if awakening and his fist clenched tightly.
Among all those silhouettes under the dim light, one stood out above the rest: two blue eyes gleamed with arrogance.
A smile formed in the shadows, revealing two fierce fangs, just before the voice rang out:
"Where do you think you're going, useless Mundane?"
The voice of Garren Glory, the town's avatar, broke the silence of Glory's streets.