The landscape changed from green meadows to depressing pampas with little vegetation and several mountains. The plains disappeared and gave way to slopes. The temperature dropped as they advanced.

—Damn ruins, they couldn't be in a nicer place— complained Erica for the umpteenth time— Where are we going?

—To a small village in the mountains— said Arturo.

—Oh, I love small towns— commented Liliana— The people are usually nice, everybody knows each other... the bad thing is that almost nothing is secret, so Erica, please don't do anything too bad.

—What are you talking about? I'm always a good girl!

Liliana and Arturo looked at each other, puzzled. They didn't know what to say.

—It was a joke— she pleaded.

Her friends sighed, somewhat relieved.

-------------------------------------

In a short time they arrived at Tentorri, a town in the middle of nowhere, with ugly houses and buildings, muddy streets, low temperature all year round, and not very friendly people. Tentorri was small, you could cross from one end to the other walking calmly in less than an hour. The children made their way to the only inn in the area. Upon entering, they found it almost completely empty. Besides the innkeeper and his young assistant, who were at that moment clearing the tables, there was a little man at the bar, with a drink left half-finished to check his knapsack.

The children went to ask for a room. Erica and Arturo wanted to leave as soon as possible, but Liliana preferred to stay, curious about the absence of people. Her friends accompanied her. The three of them sat two seats away from the little man.

Erica examined him out of the corner of her eye, he was of a species she had not seen so far; his head and hands were large in proportion to his torso, his height was no more than a meter, his legs were short and his large eyes made him look like a child. Similar to the lumini, but he lacked that glow of superiority. His skin was not yellow either, but light green, like sour apples.

—Yes, yes, what can I do for you?— asked the innkeeper, approaching them reluctantly.

—We would like information— said Liliana— Why are there so few people around?

—Did something bad happen?— asked Arturo.

The innkeeper seemed surprised, but answered anyway.

—Well... yes...— he approached them to speak softly, although there was almost no one in the room, —rumor has it that two days ago someone saw a certain monster a few kilometers away from the village.

Erica frowned, puzzled.

—And what's wrong with that? On the trip here we hunted about six of them.

—Five— Arturo corrected her— the bilantrich fell down with its wings tangled and died alone.

—It was our rope anyway— said Erica.

—Hey, the gentleman hasn't finished yet— Liliana scolded them.

—Oh, right, sorry.

But the noni looked at them with a certain joy.

—Ah, so you are hunters?— he asked— Because the monster that was seen in the distance was not just any monster. It looked like a noni, but without flesh or muscle, with fingers as long as swords and skin as black as oil.

The children's eyes widened as they recognized this description.

—A territi!— they exclaimed in chorus.

The innkeeper nodded.

—That explains why no one is here— commented Liliana.

—We are not sure, though; they are only rumors— claimed Arturo.

—I admit that it is possible that anyone could come one day and say that there is a territi, maybe in a normal town they would not believe them, but here it is different.

The noni asked them to wait for a moment with a wave of his hand and went to the cellar to look for something. When he returned, he brought a map, which he left on the bar to show them. It was not a holographic map, but one made of paper, like the ones they knew. It was very old and the thousands of wrinkles had deteriorated it, but they could still identify the places inside. The innkeeper showed them the village of Tentorri with one finger, then an area further up in the mountains that they had not seen before.

—This is a timitio fountain— he said.

Erica grabbed the ends of the map and brought her face so close and so fast she almost hit the bar.

—A fountain?!— she exclaimed.

—It's true, the timitio must come from somewhere— Arturo thought aloud— and if there is a fountain, there must be people who have taken more timitio than they should have, or who have fallen in.

The girls looked at him, while the innkeeper nodded.

—And if there are people who overdo it with timitio— Erica remembered— there are territi.

—It's true, the fountains of timitio usually have a lot of territi— explained the noni— But there are usually security measures. The fountains are very popular, there are many warriors who pay huge amounts of money for a chance to go and collect timitio. Vast businesses have been built around them. However, the one in these mountains has been closed for decades. The territi have no way out.

—Why not?— asked Arturo.

—Well, I'm not sure, but that's usually the case; they stay in their caves, thanks to the Chainer. I think it's hard for them to separate from their source, from who they are.

The children nodded, the innkeeper was talking sense. Erica was about to ask what the Chainer had to do with it all, but then she realized it was an expression: "thank god."

Suddenly, the little man two seats away approached them and examined the map. The others looked at him, curious.

—Have you made up your mind? Are you gonna go hunting in the territi?— asked the innkeeper.

The children looked at him strangely, but the little man shook his head.

—Come on! Why not?!— said the noni— you already have a pulse weapon, don't you?

The children turned to him, curious.

—A pulse weapon?— repeated Arturo.

—It's a type of weapon that lets you break through territi's armor to reach the brain more easily. They are effective, but you still have to strike the blow.

Erica turned to the little man.

—And does he have a weapon to take out territi?

However the little man shook his head, reached into his backpack and pulled out something to show them. In his hand he had something similar to a glove with a special protection on the knuckles. It looked like the protection could emit something, as it looked similar to the barrel of the laser guns, but the one he had was broken.

—How did it break?— the bartender pleaded— You can get a new one anyway, I'm sure. At least give it some thought, man.

As if in reply, the little man took out a holographic device from his pocket and opened it. Out of the device came a screen with a huge list, which the innkeeper and the children examined.

—"Steal eggs from a rakukui"— read the noni.

—"Avenge Silvana".

—"Get the materials for the love potion".

—"Find the golden rooster"? What is this?

The little man looked at it for a while, then stuck his finger into the list and slid it down. The list moved with his finger and crawled up. At the top was the heading: "Unfinished side missions: 67".

—Side missions?— Erica and Arturo pleaded.

—And what is the main mission?— the mage asked.

—Oh, you don't know him? He is the legendary hero— said the noni.

—Legendary hero?!— exclaimed the children.

—Yes, the legendary hero of the prophecies. He appeared a few months ago, when the evil Gamborar destroyed an entire village. Then he went into hiding to carry out his plans to wipe out the level 9 creatures and start a new civilization from scratch... You've never heard of him? It's all over the news.

The children looked at each other.

—I heard something like that— Liliana admitted— but I thought it was a joke.

—Oh, no, it's very real. If this little guy doesn't do something, Gamborar will wipe us all out.

The children looked at the little man. He was adorable, with his big eyes and little feet; he hardly gave the image of a "legendary hero".

—Why isn't anyone else going to stop Gamborar? Why don't they lock him up in prison or execute him?— Arturo asked.

The innkeeper shrugged his shoulders.

—What do I know? He must be very powerful or something. All we know is that this guy is on a mission to foil his evil plans, right...?— he paused for a moment— What was your name, again?

Then the little man showed a badge on his chest: "Gilql16".

—Of course, of course! Mr. Gilql... Mr. Gil!

Liliana thought it was a very strange name, but she supposed it was part of their culture, while Erica and Arturo looked at each other, puzzled. Both thought the same thing, but neither dared to say anything.

—Are you mute?— asked Liliana.

Gil nodded.

—Sometimes he makes sounds, but he can't speak— explained the noni— he communicates with gestures and by writing in his holographic notebook.

—And what are all these secondary missions?— Liliana asked— I don't want to sound bossy, but if you have a mission as important as defending all the species of level 9, wouldn't it be better to concentrate on accomplishing it first?

Gil folded his arms, apparently offended.

—I heard that he takes side quests to get money and experience to have a better chance of defeating Gamborar— commented the bartender.

—Ah, that makes sense. Sorry, Gil.

—Will you take any job?— Erica asked.

Gil nodded, Erica smiled.

—How about rescuing my dad? Bring him to me and I'll give you all the money I have.

Gil gave it some thought, with a gesture he asked for more information. Erica didn't tell him the whole story, but she gave him a summary of the important parts. In the end, Gil nodded and added Erica's request to the extensive list of side missions on his holographic device. Soon after, he left without a word. Later, the children would discover that he belonged to the ancient species of the Fufos; peaceful beings from a small world, in a corner of the network of worlds. Yet how that little man had come to become the legendary hero was a mystery to all.