Dongboyou, East China.
Somewhere in the midst of the mountainous terrain right outside the capital city of Bayou, existed a small, simple hut made of stone and wood. A young man could be seen walking out of the hut and stretching under the bask of morning light.
It was obvious the humble abode, if one could even call it that, was the place where the young man lived.
Unlike what one would usually expect from a person living in the middle of literal wilderness, Dangboyou Kingdom's citizens would be shaken if they could see the appearance of the young man. He was the third prince of the Dongboyou Kingdom.
It had been 2 years since he had banished from the palace and exiled to this god-forsaken place. Normal people would expect the man to go insane because of the inhumane treatment he received. After all, while it was easy to become extravagant from frugal, the same couldn't be said for the other way around.
But in reality, the young man actually felt the last two years he spent here were the happiest of his entire life. No more complicated court formalities he needed to go through every day, no more angry father and mean brothers, and, best of all, no more restraints and prohibition on his actions.
If it wasn't that he missed his mother, one of the king's concubines, he would definitely be enjoying himself to the fullest, being alone in the mountains.
Because of this place of exilement, that was basically ridden by people, he spent most of his time training the bow and sword skills taught by his esteemed mentor, while also cultivating the darkness element to the best of his ability.
The young man glazed over his palm, where a unique symbol could be seen on it.
[Chumo]
[Battle power 42 (31)]
[Spirit force 228 (158)]
[Darkness spirit - High foundation]
[Acolyte rank 7]
Looking at the number that etched on the familiar transparent window in his mind, the young man, Chumo, muttered, "I am not going to let Emery take all the attention again next year..."
After glancing over the stats one last time, Chumo was about to return to his routine, when something in this particular morning caught his attention. From afar, he could faintly hear a sound of rumbling.
Not long after, Chumo could see a group of horses slowly make their way towards his modest hut, as they traversed the rocky mountain path.
A group of soldiers, with an attire that was familiar to his eyes.
"Prince Chumo, His Majesty, the King has summoned you. Please come with us as per His Majesty's order."
And just like that, his two year of undisturbed peace had come to an abrupt end.
…
In all honesty, Chumo wasn't really excited about the prospect of returning, much less in order to see the King. However, it couldn't be denied, it had been two years since he last saw his mother - an opportunity he would definitely jump into at any chance.
When he once again entered the city where he was born, Chumo was surprised when he saw the commotion happening inside the city. It seemed there was a huge ceremony planned, as he could see many court officials making their way to the royal palace.
"There's no way they are welcoming me back with such a grandiose, right? There's no way..." Chumo muttered under his breath.
As Chumo had expected, there was indeed a reason for the King to summon him after all the years of exile. Apparently, he was recalled because there was an important event that he needed to join - one that carried extreme significance.
A journey in search of the Sacred Bow of Da Mul, a legendary weapon that existed in the Dongboyou Kingdom.
In addition, it wasn't only him who was being summoned.
All three princes of the kingdom were being summoned for the endeavor. The eldest prince, Prince Daeso, the second prince, Prince Yunso, and the third and last prince, Prince Chumo.
The moment the important officials and the princes entered the palace, the welcoming ceremony to begin this event was immediately held. It was a simple ceremony that was carried by the Shrine Priestess. However, the importance of this ceremony caused the princes to follow it carefully.
Under the eyes of the court officials, as well as the King, the Shrine Priestess spoke to the three princes of the Dongboyou Kingdom. "Heed these words, oh descendants of Your Majesty. The moment you leave the palace, you will no longer be the princes of Dongboyou Kingdom. You must never reveal your true identity, no matter how difficult the situation you face throughout the journey."
The Shrine Priestess retreated back after saying those words out loud. Shortly after, the voice of the Dongboyou Kingdom's absolute ruler resounded through the air.
"The journey in search of the Sacred Bow will be long and treacherous. Therefore, your strength and wits will be tested to see if you are worthy of the Sacred Bow. Do you understand?"
Together, the three princes replied. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing the positive reply, the King swiftly waved his hand and said, "Be on your way."
Chumo only had a limited amount of time to visit his mother, as he had to go on the journey before the sun descended, but he was happy to see her living quite well despite his absence for the past two years.
Knowing that his mother would be fine living in the city, Chumo gave her a goodbye hug, before going on the journey.
…
The three princes each took a horse from the royal stables and galloped together towards their destination.
If Chumo had to be honest, he didn't have even a speck of care about the throne, nor the so-called sacred bow. He was just happy he could spend some time with his brothers again.
Even though the relationship between them wasn't exactly the best, no matter how bad their relationship was, Chumo still remembered the time they played and grew up together.
Because of that, he was doing his best to be a good little brother throughout the journey.
However, it was apparent that what Chumo showed wasn't enough for his two older brothers. The two apparently came with a different purpose than the one the King gave to them.
Shockingly, the two of them wanted to deal with Chumo, who was still naively nice to them, both had been grudging over his existence, because of how Chumo's mother nearly made their mother lose the position she had. A situation where the queen lost the favor of the king due to one concubine, Chumo's mother.
It also wasn't helpful that Chumo was too trusting of his brothers. After all, who would expect their blood siblings to willingly do harm to them?
As a result, Chumo was poisoned by the two and thrown into quicksand in a swamp located somewhere.
"I'm sorry, brother. We will not let you return home."
"Blame it on your mother, brother."
The words of his two brothers struck Chumo's heart, deeply piercing it and leaving an unmended hole.
The paralyzed Chumo could only watch as his two brothers bolted away, abandoning him, whose body was slowly pulled by the quicksand.
At this moment, Chumo was entirely devastated. He was completely caught off guard by his brothers' cruel actions.
How could he be so stupid and trust them so blindly?!
Chumo felt so disappointed by what happened, but he also found amusing that he, an acolyte of the universe-renowned Magus Academy, would die because of quicksand.
Then, when he thought that he was going to spend his last moments in peace, Chumo heard a sound heading in his direction. A group of merchants passed through the area he was in and saved him.
It was then that Chumo met the beautiful young lady of the famous merchant clan.