A tavern in Coco Village, a village east of the Swamp Forest…
"Gugugugugu…, ahh…!" The white-haired young man sighed in satisfaction as he emptied the bottle of beer down his throat.
"Joro, play us a song".
"Yes, boss, what type of song?" The black-haired man in the crew with a funky hairstyle asked as excitement showed on his face.
He always had a guitar strapped on his back; he was clearly a music lover.
The white-haired man looked at the ceiling in thought, then seemingly having remembered something, he smirked. "Play us traveler".
Joro grinned, then standing up before the crew and the little kid who kept on observing them with brightly shining eyes like a boys scout, he started his performance, humming a tune as he struck the chords of his guitar the next moment.
###
Lalala…, lalalaland…!
I'm just a traveler on this earth
Sure as my heart's behind the pocket of my shirt
I'll just keep rolling' 'till I'm in the dirt
Cause I'm a traveler, oh, I'm a traveler
…
Joro bent his body the next moment, changing his stance as he struck the chords of his guitar faster, rapidly increasing the tempo and striking the bass cords.
###
When I'm gone
Somebody else will have to feel this wrong
Somebody else will have to sing this song
Somebody else will have to sing along, sing along!
…
He started tapping his feet the next moment even as his crewmates around him laughed at him while cheering him on at the same time.
Joro did not give a damn though as with a grin on his face, he continued.
###
Lalala…, Lalalaland…!
I'm just a traveler on this earth
Sure as my heart's behind the pocket of my shirt
With no sword around my neck
And my beast hunts rollin' in the cheques
I'll just keep rollin' 'till I'm in the dirt
###
"Woah! Joro, you added that line you mother*cker!" One of the young men in the crew, a fat brown-haired young man laughed loudly as he accused his mate.
Joro stood proudly, then he rapidly flicked his head to the side the musician style with a grin on his face. "That's the mark of a true musician".
"Get lost you fraud! It's not even your song!" They mocked him.
"Hahaha…!" Joro laughed loudly, not paying attention to them as he went to sit down beside the boss then he finally paid attention to the kid.
"Hey, kid, how did you rate my performance?"
"…" The little kid did not pay attention to him though, he instead looked down as he seemed to be deeply troubled by something and was in deep thought.
"Hey, kid, are you ok?"
"…" He still didn't answer.
As the attention of the crew of 5 was attracted, Ramon suddenly looked up with brightly shining eyes as he glared at the leader of the 5, the white-haired man.
"You're astral travelers, are you not?!" He roared.
"…!"
The crew was stunned.
A lot of eyes in this tavern turned this way but they quickly retreated.
Speechless for a second, the next moment the white-haired man burst out laughing. "Hahaha…, impressive kid, how could you tell?"
"How else did you kill that Porcupine?!" He roared at him, staring intensely like he wanted to devour him with his eyes.
"The patriarch told me that only astral warriors working for the Lightning Manor and evil astral travelers can be that strong!"
Ramon could never forget that moment.
"Gather round, let's kill the beast".
Instantly after that sentence, he experienced an unforgettable moment in his life as the 5 warriors of this crew geared into action.
The white-haired young man who saved Ramon from the Porcupine's quills was the leader of this crew. His name was Joel, he was a warrior who used 2 cutlass whose blades were square-shaped.
Joro, well, he was the musician of this crew. Not just any musician either, Joro was a powerful warrior as demonstrated to Ramon in the battle.
Apart from his guitar bag that was always tied across his back, this musician had mystical powers that completely wowed Ramon in battle.
Apart from Joel and Joro, the rest members of the crew were Lynx, Augustus, and Meyer.
Lynx wore all black like an assassin that blend with his black hair, and with his thin physique, he had this ability of blending into the shadows like he was not there. He had 2 daggers that he always played with while interacting with his crewmates.
Meyer was the only female member of the crew. She was vibrant and always energetic. Well, she was a mage and had an astral staff.
Augustus, well, this heavy fat young man with rough brown hair was the cook and butcher of this crew. He wielded 2 short axes that were always strapped to his short black jean shorts, his upper body was mostly exposed, leaving his fat belly dancing after him as he moved.
As soon as Joel gave the order to attack the astral beast, Augustus showed that he was a mage as grabbing Ramon, a white barrier was erected that protected them from what followed.
With the kid protected, the others went on the attack.
In the end, Ramon was right, he was not the one who angered the Porcupine. This crew angered it as they came to the Swamp Forest and stole her golden egg.
Powerful astral beasts apart from giving birth normally had the ability to condense all their life essence into giving birth to a super baby through golden eggs that was superior to their base bloodline form on every facet, but the penalty was sacrificing their lives for it after the baby hatched.
This Porcupine aimed to create a golden egg that would hatch into a super Porcupine after living most of her lifespan already.
Before the egg hatched though, Joel's crew stole it which angered it, implicating Ramon but now though, they came back to right their mistake.
For a moment, while watching, Ramon felt like he was dreaming.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The angered Porcupine launched out more quills like daggers as they shot everywhere with terrifying power and force.
With Augustus protecting Ramon with his shield, the others showed superhuman agility, rapidly evading even as Joro did something unexpected.
Placing his hands before his lips in a funnel shape, Joro whistled and the next moment, a violin and a drum set materialized to life out of nowhere.
This violin played and instantly, a sword materialized out of the violin's melody, rapidly accelerating before cutting into the hide of the Porcupine.
BANG!
The drum set played and instantly, a hammer appeared above the Porcupine, hammering it into the ground and briefly leaving it disoriented.
This was the last moment of the Porcupine as Ramon saw electricity appear out of nowhere, surrounding the twin cutlass that Joel wielded.
WHOOSH!
One swing and the gigantic Porcupine was cleanly sliced in twain.
That moment was forever imprinted in Ramon's head.
"Hey boss, you're so stingy, you didn't even let us land a blow!" Meyer complained even as Joel rubbed his head awkwardly but he paused on noticing something.
"Lynx, he's already dead, why did you still stab him?"
"An assassin must do a clean job". Lynx said while solemnly cleaning his daggers' blades. "What I did was double-checking to confirm that it was dead".
"…!" Throughout, Ramon could not say a thing, he was speechless.
When Joel asked Ramon about why he was alone in the forest, he did not lie, telling them the truth and Joel made the most random of decisions.
"3 days is your punishment, right? We have nothing doing, you can follow us during the duration of your punishment to entertain us with baby cuteness, it'll be exciting".
"I'm not a cute baby! I'm a man!" Ramon glared at him.
He followed immediately though as he wanted to leave the forest and now, here he was, with his saviors in a tavern as he saw their true personalities.
Ramon did not care though, only 1 thought reverberated in his mind.
"Teach me!" He stared at Joel intensely. "I also want to become an astral traveler, let me join your crew!"
"…" They paused for a moment before bursting out in laughter.
"You? Hahaha…, you said you're just 5".
"5 to be soon 6…! I'm not a baby!" Ramon roared.
It only made them laugh more.
After much pestering, Joel patted him on the head. "Sorry Ramon, you can't become an astral traveler now".
"You can't even get your chance at unlocking astral energy until you're 10 so at least wait till then".
"When you're 10, ask me again and I'll think about it again".
"Promise?"
Joel laughed. "Promise".
Ramon pouted. "You said you're astral travelers, tell me about it. The patriarch hates astral travelers but I want…, no, I shall become the next King of astral travelers so I need to know".
The 5 astral travelers looked at him again before bursting out in laughter, Joel emptied another bottle of beer. "You're so funny Ramon, I like you".
"Don't laugh at me! I'm the strongest!"
"But you can't even beat a Porcupine".
"I-I'll become the best!"
For the next few days, Ramon became this crew's newest companion as he followed them on their adventures to the Swamp Forest and the nearest villages.
After 2 days of this, Ramon asked. "What do you want?"
"Well, we already told you a lot about our crew so we trust you".
Ramon blushed fiercely. "Don't praise me! I'm not a kid, just tell me!"
Joel laughed. "We heard of sightings of a young Fire-Breathing Dragon; we came to hunt it. You know, they are really expensive".
"If we can capture 1, we'll become rich overnight".
Ramon's eyes widened. "A Dragon?!"
"Yeah".
"I want to see a Dragon!" Ramon was excited.
These 3 days was the most exciting period of Ramon's short life as he completely bonded with his fated new friends then on the 3rd day, as they returned to Coco village after another day in the Swamp Forest, they heard it.
"ROAR…!"
From afar, they saw flames rising from the distance.
Meyer's eyes narrowed. "That's Coco Village!"
Joel became serious for the first time since Ramon met him. "It's the young Dragon!" His eyes narrowed. "The nearest outpost of the Lightning Manor is 2 towns away; their warriors won't get here in time".
"Boss?" Augustus asked as his muscles tensed.
"We're attacking!"
"Augustus, protect Ramon and follow us from behind".
"Yes, boss!"
Whoosh!
Leaving Augustus, the 4 other members of this crew rapidly ran away at superhuman speed, leaving Ramon feeling even more flabbergasted.
Ramon wanted to complain but hearing that roar, he felt his heart shake.
2 minutes later, he heard it.
BOOM!
The clash against the Dragon started.