《I just want to live, so I will!!!》 Leap of faith *huff, huff... Everything is so dark... I''m scared. Mom... Dad... Older brother... H...hel...elp me! I don''t want to die, i don''t. They''re catching up, I can''t rest my legs, must keep going. I thought to myself as my left arm gets warmer and colder at the same time, my consciousness is leaving me but I can''t stop running now knowing what is there, chasing me. Blood still flows from my wounds. The pain is what is keeping me from fainting. Sounds of branches yells at me telling me they grow closer as it breaks from the foot of my assailants, their howls and growls sounds as though they are mocking me. As I breathe through my burning lungs I fell. I hear wet sounds coming right infront of me mixed with growling and then a whimper. Two hell hounds are fighting over something, fangs dug deep to what ever it was. "No..."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I forced myself up after realizing what it was and continue running as more footsteps comes from behind. The pain in my arm felt different and my body got lighter, how much farther must I run through this forest of darkness to find refuge. ''someone... Anyone... Please... S-save me!!'' [WARNING! Due to status effect: Bleed. Hp is now under 10%] A cold mechanical voice anounced. I don''t want to die!!! I want to live!!! I run and run for all I''m worth not caring for the new scratches and cuts from low branches and twigs. I don''t want to die like this!!! Not to be food for those hell hounds. Not as miserable as I am now. I still need to avenge them. [ACTIONS CONFIRMED, WILL CONFIRMED. New skill earned: Will to Live] "Come..." Huh? I thought I heard a voice after the mechanical one. "Come" I changed directions, now following the voice. I kept going until I reached a clearing, the moon lights up the darkness with a yellow eerily glow as it looked like a smile. "You shall be my child and I your mother." I see her, a woman standing just ahead of me, covered in pitch black robes. "I will save you, but you shall be my child and I your mother." She offered, hands spread as if to embrace me. I didn''t even need to think of it, I wanted to survive and here is someone offering her help. "Yes!" I managed to scream as I continue to run. Her lips twisted to a horrific grin, eyes squinted in amusement. The sight nearly made me stop but I didn''t feel frightened of her visage. "Jump unto your mothers arms." She said. I did as I was told, just in time as a hell hound have come out of the forest. I jumped towards the figure as I reach my lone arm out to reach her. I did what I was told and yet why? A sense of weightlessness Assailed my body. I passed through her body. my eyes widened, an Illusion? I thought as the speeding scene of the sea of trees under me grows closer. When I twist my body to look up I see a hell hound looking down on me from the top of a cliff. Ahh... I''m so stupid. I fell, to the darkest forest in the world but I had no way of knowing it at the time. Peaceful life(?) I grunted awake as the heat of the sun burns my face, someone opened the window and invited the sun''s heat and light in. "Come on Ciro, it''s time to get up. You too Beron." Our older brother Amon is standing in front of the window. "Five more minutes." Beron said as he covers himself with the blanket. A vein pop on Amon''s forehead and pulls the blanket. He may have pulled a little too hard as Beron got dragged and fell on the floor. "Ow, what gives" "We have a lot of work to do. Let''s get down before breakfast gets cold." Amon ignored the glare he received and started folding the blanket. I got up from bed and tidied my bed as well. "Oh you guys are awake, breakfast is ready" mother announced. A delicious smell wafts in from the kitchen as we climbed down the stairs. Our dad, muscles built through the years of doing farm work seats at the table. Bread, eggs and bacon were on each plate. When all of us were seated, we thanked the gods for our food and dig in. "So Amon, when are you going to marry Sara?" Beron had a teasing grin on his face. "Oh my" mother smiled at this. "That''s none of your business!" We laughed as his ears turns red and looked away. Our meal time continued on like this, we shared this and that. I went to the chicken coop too feed the animals, we all had our work to do. I feed the animals and Amon and Beron helps father out in the fields. I help them from time to time but they insist that I help mother around the house since I''m still too young and can''t handle hard labor yet. Amon is already 22 this year, Beron is 20, me? I''m still 12. They say that I had an older brother after Beron but he was stillborn and my parents got depressed. Which explains why I have a big gap with my brothers. They dote on me for being the youngest and hardly gives me any hard work, they say kids should play and let the grown ups do the work. So at times like this I go to my friend''s house, Papo the son of the head hunter in the village and the younger brother of Sara who my brother got the hots for. "Hey, do you really plan on being an adventurer?" Papo asked, we are heading for the forest to hunt rabbits He had his bow and I have a dagger. Even in our village everyone is armed to some extent since monsters roam the forest and some even goes for the farm animals. "Yeah, since I''m the youngest and all." Sigh, Amon will get to inherit the farm. So Beron chose to be a soldier but he is aiming for knighthood to get a better pay, why is he here? Because there is a rise in bandits attacking villages. But he got a few days off so he ended up helping dad and Amon. "What, you don''t even have any skills yet, did you find what you have an affinity for?" "Gruhh, I already have an affinity though..." "You mean your [sneak]? So you plan to be a thief or something?" Grrr. We all have skills and doing certain actions could even get you one, Papo has [Marksmanship] [Aim] and [Accuracy] leveled at 5, 4 and 2. Amon has [Breeder] and [Agriculture]. Beron has [Swordsmanship] and [Shield wielding]. Among other skills that they have. I have [Sword wielding] [Aim] [Accuracy] and [Green thumb] all at level 1, sword wielding and green thumb are weaker versions of what my brothers have, they may evolve after reachin level 10 but having weak affinity means they will level up slowly. He probably meant that I still don''t have skills that would help me as an adventurer and I can''t counter that... The only reason I found out I have affinity for [Sneak] is when we played hide and seek. Now it''s at level 5 i also have [Hearing] enhancement] at level 3 [Trap setting] level 4 [Trap detection] level 3 [Trap disarming] level 2 and [Analysis] level 1. That''s why the head hunter had an interest in training me how to hunt. "But I want to go on amazing adventures where I slay monsters or demons and save the princess and end up as a hero!!! Not the side character who can get intel and other sneaky jobs!!!" "Wow, I can''t believe you can say that out loud without getting embarrassed. And apologize to all the thief class out there!!!" "Oh shut up." We continue to banter until I hear a rustle. I lift my hands up and Papo understood and draw his bow. "Where?" He whispered. I pointed at the bush to our left. He aimed and shoot in one fluid motion, such elegance. Must be the work of [Marksmanship] no wasted movements. I can''t help but be jealous okay?! Our bounty? Two rabbits, why two? Because they were doing it... I''m not gonna tell what though. We looked at each other and burst out laughing. We''re still pre-pubescent kids ok. When we returned home we have 5 rabbits and 6 pheasants. The sun was starting to set. I got to level up my [Hearing enhancement] and each of us gained [Presence detection]. We divided our catch, 2 rabbits and 3 pheasants for me. Since we had an odd number and I was only the spotter. I presented my catch to my family. Beron gave me an approving thumbs up and dad and Amon patted me on the shoulders congratulating me. Mom took the animals to prepare for dinner, I already told her earlier what we were hunting so she already had all the ingredients set and it won''t be long until dinner.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Want to hear some stories?" Beron asked. "Yes!!" "How about that time where an ogre who was leading a group of goblins attacked a horse stable" Beron told us a story of how they fended off a few monsters, we all seated in the living room and mom could hear his story from the kitchen. 10 goblins and an ogre vs 15 soldiers and 5 archers. They won at the end but lost a few from the ogre''s might. As he ends his story dinner was ready. We thanked for our meal and started eating. It was my turn to tell a story, I shared Papo and my hunting trip today, how he killed 2 rabbits with one arrow, how I nearly fell from a tree branch. We laughed and laughed, Beron teasing Amon again since Sara is Papo''s older sister. Our peaceful life continued on for another week. Dad, Amon and Beron is in a carriage with some of our produce in the back. Beron''s leave is now over and he needs to report back, dad and Amon are going to sell the produce in town. It would take four days for them to come back. "Good bye dear be sure to stay safe, Amon you drive carefully now. Beron you come back home anytime you want you hear me?." Mother says her farewells. They all nodded and replied "we will." "Oh right, Ciro this is for you." Beron handed me a wooden sword. It was light but hard, it even has a sharp edge to it. My eyes sparkled as I held it. "Thank you!!!" "Now protect mother while we''re away okay?" "Yes!!!" I gave him a salute. They smiled warmly as they saw this. "Good bye then." "Good bye, we''ll be back soon." "Good bye dear, bye son." They finally said their good byes and I waved and said mine too. They met up with another carriage, seems to be Papo, his sister and the head hunter. They probably need to buy weapons from town since we don''t have any blacksmiths here. Papo''s eyes and mine met and we waved at each other good bye. A day has passed and now mom was preparing dinner, the sun has long since set. Exchanging stories as we eat our supper. "Sigh... Your brother Amon sure takes from your father," mom started "Did you know that it was me who asked your father out," my mother puffed her chest. "No way." "Yes way, he was serious most of the time. Even compared to the others our age. But he had the cutest reactions when I was around hehe. It became an open secret that he like me. And I liked him back so I saw no reason not to ask him out!" She said with a slight blush. "It''s a good thing that Beron and you took after me! You have to chase what will make you happy, because if you don''t then who will?!! Hahhh... I remember the day your older brother said he would be a knight, he had determination in his eyes that neither I nor your father could say no. He even had a plan to get connections and help out the farm to have a buyer for our produce, he said it will help Amon out too. And Amon has plans to cultivate a larger plot of land, he is already saving up to buy it." She grins like a proud mama Guess she is. "They''re both amazing." I said in admiration, then I looked down as I am no where close to any of them. "Ciro... My adventure loving boy, your already amazing the way you are. And I know that somedays you''ll be more so." "Really? How do you know that?" "Hehe because I''m your mother!" she answered as took a bite out of the pheasant. I can hunt on my own too!! Then we saw it, it was me who noticed it first. The village was alight and smoke rising, seeing it through the window. Our home was a good distance away because of our animals. My mother quickly stood up and closed the window and blew out the candle we were using. "Shhh, stay quiet." She held my hand, I nodded but wasn''t sure if she saw it. I hear footsteps drawing closer, because of my Hearing enhancement I heard it first, four pairs and an animal, dog maybe? As they grew closer even mom can hear them now. A moment later the door got kicked open and the men rushed in with weapons drawn, they all wore leather armor. "The two of you search the 2nd floor, you and the mutt go around the house see if they escaped through any back door." A bald guy with a scar that scrathed his right eye, like he was attacked by a lion. These must be the bandits that were being hunted by the soldiers. Why haven''t we escaped through the back you ask? For some reason the back door is stuck and my mom and I can''t seem to open it, like someone boarded the other side. The reason why they haven''t seen us yet is because mom is hiding under the table while I was crouching in the shadows, my sneak skill is level 5 so I was praying that they don''t find mom. "There is no need to check." A fifth man appeared out of nowhere, he was wearing a red robe adorned with golden streaks and a mask with an anguished look on it. Two horns were protruding from his forehead. "Huh. What makes you say that?" "They''re here." The masked man looked at our direction, this send shivers down my spine. They know where we are now. One of the bandits with a scar on his left cheek started walking towards us and getting closer, ever closer. I didn''t realise when my mom got out of the table and was now holding a kitchen knife. Holding the knife with both hands she charged at the startled bandit. My mom is no warrior so she doesn''t know how to hold a weapon but with her momentum she was able to plunge the the knife piercing through the leather armor and to the man''s chest. "Gruhh, C-crazy bitch!!" The bandit slapped my mother away but it became his undoing. When he slapped her away the knife was still in her hands. The bandit started coughing blood. "Jack!!!" The bald guy screamed "Well, I guess what I''m looking for isn''t here either." The man in robes turned around, undisturbed at what just happened. "Oi! Where do you think your going?! Heal him!!" "Sorry, I can''t heal fatal wounds." His tone sounded disinterested and slowly vanishes from sight, on the spot. "BASTARD!!!" The bald guy stood up, veins threatening to pop from his head as he looks at my mother still sprawled on the floor. No you don''t!! I threw my dagger at him, and he just caught it in mid air. "Ohhh. So you weren''t alone eh..." The bald guy looked at me and then my mom, a horrific grin rose to his face. "The two of you get him." At his words they charged at me, catching up and pinning me down in no time at all. "Are ya really ganna let the kid watch boss?" The man pinning me down asked, I can hear in his voice that even this question was just a joke. "Noooo! Don''t hurt my mom!!" I screamed from the top of my lungs as I struggled to get away. This got me a hit from behind my head. "Gahahaha a tough kid, I like that. Oi Bort, don''t kill that kid or you won''t get a turn gahahaha." "Come on boss don''t be like that." The bald guy slowly walks toward my mother. Looks at the hand still holding the knife and stomped at it. The sound of flesh and bones being crushed echoed across the room, the pain woke my mother up as well with a scream. But with what will happen next it would have been better if she never have waken up. "Oh shut up." The bald guy punches my mother. "Hahaha" This made the other two laugh. "Your mom killed my friend here and you don''t want me to get my revenge huh?" He then lifts my mother up with her hair, the place where she was slapped earlier and where she was punched were starting to swell, blood dripping from the cuts. She tries to claw the hand lifting her up with her intact hand. "Ow. This bitch!" He let go of her hair and kicked her in the stomach pushing her to the wall making her cough and gasp. "STOP!!" I yelled again but this just earned me a beating and laughter from the two bandits. [Actions confirmed] [Endurance lv.1 earned] [Pain metigation lv.1 earned] [Mental preservation lv.1 earned] The mechanical voice got drowned by the laughter and my anger towards them. The bald guy walks towards mom again. "Let''s get started shall we." Bald guy then rips mom''s clothes. The others applaud this action. "Whoa, boss ripped it apart with ease." "Go boss!" "Gahaha praise me more." This happens while my mom''s chest lay bare for everyone to see. I looked away, but this action seems to anger the bandits. "What do you think your doin, huh?!" They hit my head again and raised it so I can see my mom. " Try to close your eyes and we''ll peel your eyelids off." [Experience accumulated] [Mental preservation lv.1-> lv.2] "You''ll miss the best part if you do." .... .... That night... I saw my mom get toyed with by both the men and the hell hound they had. I was covered in my own vomit for how sick it was. The only thing that eased it a bit is knowing my mom bit her tongue and dying before experiencing any of it. I have the [Analysis] skill at level 1. And I saw at my mom''s status as corpse before they started and the blood trickling down her mouth. She really was something else, she didn''t want me to see her in a broken state and to die by her own means. I''m sorry Beron I failed my promise.. Five days and nights have passed everyone captured from the village and some other beasts are loaded in cages to be sold as slaves or pets. All of us were dispirited and had no energy to talk. There were 50 raiders originally but now 36 remained. They have suffered casualties when they attacked our village. One was mom''s kill the others were of the other hunters who were still in the village. The women caught alive have been raped every night. "What?" "I told ya, we don'' have enough food fer the dogs." I overhear the conversation of the bald bandit and another one. He was silent for a moment, thinking what to do next. "Let them hunt." "What?" "Release some prisoners and let the hell hounds hunt them. It''s a good way to dispose of the women who broke and it would mean less mouth to feed." .... .... .... Ahhh why am I remembering all this. Is this what they call your life flash before your eyes as your about to die? Those were my final thoughts as I continue to fall. After the night It feels cold. I thought to myself, for some reason I was lying down on the edge of a pond. ¡°Where am I?¡± Looking around as I got up, there were a lot of glowing moss lighting up the area a little, tall trees stretched so high that they block any light from coming through from above. The only source of light I have was the moss and a few other glowing flowers. The pond ends on a rocky wall, it¡¯s peak hidden by the trees. Broken branches and leaves scattered on it¡¯s surface. ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± Intense pain stabs my head. I crouched down, cradling my head, then it hit me. The memories from before rushed in, I quickly checked my left arm, and it was there. It made me question if everything was just a bad dream and I just fell asleep in the forest¡­ but, the memory of what happened to our village was so vivid. I started remembering what happened to my mother and tears slowly blurs my vision, as anger, fear and disgust for what have happened and for what I couldn¡¯t do rushes in me. I cried for a few minutes until¡­ [Experience accumulated] [Mental preservation Lv.2 -> Lv.3] The mechanical voice snapped me back to my senses. I wiped the tears and snot off my face and took another look around. The branches might have been what broke my fall. Then I stared at my left hand flexing it, it didn¡¯t feel odd in the least and no scars from where it was torn is visible. ¡°So it wasn¡¯t a dream¡± the lady in black, the hell hounds. She kept her promise, I¡¯m still alive and she even healed me¡­ but¡­ why am I naked? Searching around the pond I¡­ haven¡¯t found my clothes. Then I noticed it, the forest was supposed to be pitch black since no light can enter it and yet when I looked out, I can see everything just fine, even better actually. Hmmm¡­ let¡¯s check what my stats are like. ¡°Status¡± < Name: Xyrus (Son of Ilim) Age: 12 Race: Abyss dweller Lv. 01 (Exp. 0/300) Hp: 100/100 Mp: 30/30 Sp: 200/200 Str: 12 End: 10+1 Int: 7 Wis: 7 Dex: 32 Agi: 34 Vit: 10 Luck: 13 Status points: 0 SKILLS [Mental preservation Lv. 3] [Sneak Lv. 5] [Analysis Lv. 1] [Sword wielding Lv. 1] [Green thumb Lv. 1] [Aim Lv.1] [Accuracy Lv. 1] [Endurance Lv. 1] [Pain mitigation Lv. 1] [Presence detection Lv.1] [Trap setting Lv. 4] [Trap detection Lv. 3] [Trap disarming Lv. 2] [Hearing enhancement Lv. 4] [Will to live Lv. 1] [Abyss vision] [Cook Lv. 4] [Grudge Lv. 1] TITLE [Avenger] [Child of Ilim] [Apprentice hunter] [Cook] Condition: normal > My eyes nearly popped out. This isn¡¯t me, is it? First off my name is Ciro not Xyrus, what¡¯s with the ¡®child of Ilim''? My race was even changed and my level reset! I was finally level 3 before. As I was thinking about it, the memory before I fell imposed itself. ¡°I will save you, but you shall be my child and I your mother.¡± The lady in black¡­ her words came back to me, I feel calmer and relaxed for some reason. Does this mean that I¡¯m her child now and that¡¯s the reason for the change in my status? Just who was she? What was she? I continued checking my status aaaaand the skills [Abyss vision] [Grudge] [Will to live] [Mental preservation] [Endurance] and [Pain mitigation] were all new to me, well maybe not all, I saw the last 3 back when I was still in the cage. [Endurance] is a buff skill which passively increase my total endurance by 10% [Pain mitigation] well mitigates the pain I receive and the pain I would continuously feel. Now [Mental preservation] is scary, it helps preserve ones mentality, it says it gives great resistance to anything that concerns my mental state, like fear, anger, guilt, charms the whole shebang. This was probably the skill that helped me calm down earlier. The new skills were nothing to be scoffed at either. [Will to live Lv. 1] the proof of the perseverance and great will to live by one who have suffered hardship and have faced death and escaped him or actively defying him, skill effect: increase all resistances by 10-50% (dependent on ones will). Second effect: increase all resistances by 40-80% once hp drops below 30% and dmg reduction increase by 100-150% (dependent on one¡¯s will) [Grudge Lv. 1] a skill which aids the user to satisfy one¡¯s feelings for revenge against his enemy. Skill effect: Increase all attack magic or physical dmg by 10-50% and increase all healing efficacies by 500-700% when targeting one¡¯s enemy (dependent on one¡¯s animosity) Side effect: affects one¡¯s mental state to deteriorate proportional to one¡¯s lust for revenge. It was messed up, and I understood immediately why the healing was better than the damage increase. A grin slowly creeped up. I was thankful for it, no joy or justice will come from giving them a quick death.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Last was [Abyss vision] as a dweller of the abyss one can see those who walks it¡¯s plane. Skill effect: can see through the abyss and creatures hidden from mortal sight. If it can see through the abyss I can see why the forest seems bright to me now. Still an abyss dweller huh¡­ *Grrrrwl A chill wind made me shiver, forgot I was still naked, and my stomach growled. ¡°Let¡¯s stop thinking hard about it for now. I need food, guess I have to hunt or gather?¡± I am in a forest and that was a little assuring. I was in a way an apprentice to the head hunter and I¡¯m pretty good if I say so myself. I usually just hunt with Papo and when alone use traps. I drank from the pond before leaving. The forest is big! I''ve been walking for a while now and I still haven¡¯t found any prey. Mushrooms were a gamble since none of what I have found so far resembles any that I was used to and the head hunter have strongly advice us never to experiment with it on our own, it was a matter of life or death, or so he said. As I was resting the tree branch I took as a club, I picked up on the rustling sound not so far away to my left. I activated [Sneak], growing closer [Presence detection] finally picked up on it. A giant rat was feasting on a fruit, I unconsciously took a step back. Crushing a twig beneath my foot. The giant rat stopped eating and searched for where the sound came from, it spotted me in no time. It was as big as a hunter¡¯s hound back at the village. It crouched low and puffed out it¡¯s fur and launched at me. ¡°SQUUUUEEE!!¡± I instinctively brought my club up blocking the rat''s attack. Its momentum pushed me down to the ground, teeth dug deep on my club threatening to snap it in half. I didn¡¯t want to imagine what would have happened if I failed to block it. It started gnawing on my club as it stretched its arms to scratch my chest, blood flowed, then¡­ *Snap¡­ The sound of my club breaking drained the blood from my face but I had no time to dwell on that as I leaned my head to the right as the rats maw closed to where it was a moment ago. I dodge and dodged, the rat¡¯s whole body on top of me pinning me down. I cursed my lack of strength, and me being on the short side even for a 12 year old. ¡°Gaaaah..¡± A scream escaped when I blocked one of its attack with my left arm, I just got this back! I thought to myself. It shook its head violently to tear off my arm, I struggled as intense pain assaulted my arm. I kept slamming my right hand still holding on the club¡¯s broken handle on its head, then as a last ditch effort I aimed for its eyes, the sharp point from the handle where it broke pierced seamlessly through its eyes breaking bone behind it and straight to the rats brain a critical strike. The rat died instantly. [Experience accumulated] [Pain mitigation Lv. 1-> Lv. 2] ¡°Huff¡­ hufff¡­ and all I wanted¡­ was some¡­ food huff.¡± I wiggled out under the rat. I''ve never seen one this large before, at most they would grow a little bit bigger than a house cat. ¡°I need a rest.¡± I said as I look at my left arm bent at a wrong angle. I straightened it out by pulling at it. I wish I know some healing spells¡­ this hurts so much. Looking at the rat corpse I decided to drain it¡¯s blood first which was hard to do with one hand. Using its sharp claws to cut off its head, it was really tedious specially when I reached its spine, that¡¯s where my broken club came in handy. After lifting its hind legs up, blood just gushed out of the neck. That done I started skinning and cutting up the parts, Kind of ironic how this work was made a little easier thanks to the rats claws. The very same that scratched my chest. I wonder when I''ll get my [Butcher] skill? The head hunter once told me that it was a skill that anyone can learn regardless of affinity, all you need was to satisfy the required conditions. Mostly butchering at least a hundred worth of boars to earn level 1. Pheasants were valued as four of them equals one boar. Mom was always the one to prepare the ones I hunted. I heard from Beron that [Butcher] is one of the most essential skill to learn for any chefs along with [Cook] or [Chef] in the capital, not to mention hunters who sold pelts to clothes makers. High quality pelts were the product of master butchers after all. ¡°All done¡± The crudely butchered rat was now in front of me. I separated the organs from the meat. I placed the meat on the skin to carry home and chose to leave the organs behind, I brought the head with me as well. I was hungry but I know how dangerous it would be to eat here, so I decided to go back to the pond. Oddly enough there were no animals to be seen as I reached the pond. The gentle glow from the pond reaches me. Maybe dark dwelling creatures don¡¯t like the light? Nah, couldn¡¯t be, could it? After drinking water I collected a lot of firewood, dry leaves, long sticks and a couple long straight wood to try making a spear. Then I realized as I was going to clean my chest wound that it was already closed, I checked my left arm and it was slowly healing itself. What in the world? As I was about to check my status my stomach growled it¡¯s loudest yet. So I decided to follow its orders and just check later. I set up the fire first, by making a circle out of rocks and placing the firewood at the center. Rubbing a stick to a small piece of wood until I got an ember which I placed to the pile of dry leaves, blowing on it softly to start up the fire. Skewering the meat and letting it cook on the fire. My [Cook] skill actually helped me to know when it would be done, so as I wait I decided to make my weapon. Skinning the bark out I was able to get a few long fibers, braided them and now they were as good as any strings. I took out the rat¡¯s skull, I took its skin, meat and brain away. Split its lower jaw in two and tied it to a short handle to make a small scythe, this reminded me of when I got to help out with harvesting in the farm. Making another one with the other half, I was able to create a pair. Using my [Trap setting] skill and tying technique I learned from the head hunter, the jaws seem to have a nice fit for the handle. The meat was done! Finally I can eat. Ughh¡­ the meat has a weird aftertaste and even if I had bled it a strong nasty smell still persisted. Sad to say I was only able to eat two skewers. Then stored the others for tomorrow. There was no sun here so I just placed the rat¡¯s skin near the fire to dry it. I am still naked and would really want to at least cover up. Though I find it weird that even buck naked I still don¡¯t feel cold. Guess my body itself changed. I decided to try out my new scythes after making my short spears with rat bones and wood. Using the sword swinging practice my brother taught me it felt off and odd. It didn¡¯t match with my scythe. Remembering that he also mentioned before to imagine an enemy in front of you to help with learning how to swing it and where to aim. Closing my eyes and focused on the face of the bald bandit. ¡°fwooosh¡± my scythe traced the air where I imagined his neck would be, I¡¯m feeling a new thrill with this, never before have I felt it. Just the image of his head being cut off as a fountain of blood showers out. I swung again, this time with my left arm. Pain surges but I was in a trance, that swing cut off his legs, and then another to his arm. The image I had of him was long dead after the first strike cutting his head off. ¡°tsk¡± clicking my tongue. Fragile piece of shit. I started over again, he was wearing his armor and the smug look on his face. I swung my scythes again only to kill him on the second swing after bashing his face in. [Experience accumulated] [Grudge Lv. 1-> Lv. 2] I ignored the message as I reset again and started. A cycle of kill, reset, kill, reset and kill again continued until I lost track. Just kidding, I have killed him fifty seven times, died to him thirty-four times. Not knowing how he fought was a problem, but the only person I ever saw fight was Beron. So mid way through I made the bandit move like Beron, this got me killed multiple times. Killing a bandit with Beron moves was hard, I learned how to dodge his attacks more efficiently through trial and error. The drive to keep doing this was getting stronger and stronger, what stopped me was when my body refused to move any more. The fire I used for cooking was long gone by this time. When the trance was over my body felt like lead so heavy that I dropped on the spot, it was aching and sore all over. I couldn¡¯t move at all, then I passed out. Going home... It has been about five days since we left to sell our produce to town, I''ve been traveling with my father a-and a childhood friend of mine along with other hunters. ¡°Amon eyes on the road¡± ¡°R-right!¡± She said with a teasing grin on her face. A girl with short chestnut colored hair leaned on my shoulder, arms wrapped around mine. I feel two soft things pressed against my arm as her sweet scent drifts to my nose, if I focused hard enough I can even feel her heartbeat. Which was fast or is that mine? We were seated at the front of our wagon, at the back of the line of three wagons heading home. I see dad stealing glances from the wagon in front of us beside Partus the head hunter of our village. Let¡¯s list off how I ended up in this situation. After selling our produce and the other hunters buying what they needed we decided to return home. We were resting in an open space a little ways from the market we used to park while loading up. Beron my ever annoying brother whispered something to dad, dad nodded and went to the head hunter Partus and talked to him about something. Partus nodded and called out to Sara, she looked at her father and then at my old man and nodded as well. Ohh she¡¯s coming towards me? Wonder what they need. ¡°heya, Amon, dad told me that mr. Biro will be riding on our wagon to hang out with my dad¡­. A-and um uh¡± She was blushing and kept glancing at me, holding down her clothes hands clenched pulling it a little lower along with her collar, leading to more of her skin visible. By the gods she¡¯s adorable. I couldn¡¯t help but blush and looked away, I was already on the drivers seat and well when talking to her I was kind of looking down. From above I couldn¡¯t help looking at her two bountiful chest. I feel guilty all right. Looking behind her I saw my dad and Mr. Parus giving me thumbs ups, Papo was admiring his new bow, too absorbed by it to care. ¡°A-and I didn¡¯t want to travel with a lot of guys! And I don¡¯t want you to travel alone either¡­¡± her voice became softer and softer on the end there but I heard her damn it! I was so happy I could die. ¡°W-would you have me?¡± she asked giving me while looking up, giving me her best puppy dog eyes. ¡°Yes.¡± She was shocked at first when I answered fast, honestly so was I but I can¡¯t falter now. What¡¯s done is done. This is Beron and mom''s fault! ¡°really?!¡± she exclaimed, not waiting for an answer she climbed up and seated next to me like it was the most natural thing in the world. My god does she smell good! A sweet fragrance wafted, she was so close I could smell her. Oh shit! Can she smell me too? I hope I don¡¯t smell bad. I looked behind us, seeing Beron grinning at us. ¡®Thank you¡¯ were the words I could never freely say to him, it just felt like I would lose and I didn¡¯t know why. Probably because of his smug look. ¡°Everyone set?!¡± The chief''s eldest son asked, he drives the third wagon. We only had 3 wagons, there was safety in numbers so we usually travel in groups. Our journey here felt safe since we were traveling with two soldiers. Beron and another from our village. Right now the front wagon has four village hunters (three women, one man) and the chief¡¯s son, followed by my dad, the head hunter, his son Papo and another hunter using the second wagon. Last was just me and Sara. ¡°Yeah!¡± we all responded. I looked behind me again to wave good bye to Beron as he waved back at us, Sara was waving too. ¡°Give me cute nieces and nephews!!!¡± Beron shouted What the hell is he shouting, have he no shame? When I looked at Sara our eyes met and we looked away. Her face was red and I was guessing so was mine. I feel my face burning. The horse pulled wagons slowly crept forward. Then I hit a rock rocking the wagon. ¡°Eeeep!¡± Sara let out a cute squeak and grabbed my arm. ¡°Hey, you be careful! Sara don¡¯t let go of his arm or you might fall off! Hehehe¡± Came the warning from the other hunter with dad or more like teasing. That all happened yesterday and now for some reason the shame that Sara felt was gone as she starts to enjoy leaning her head on my shoulders and holding unto my arm. Her being closer meant I can smell her clearly and the two soft breasts that is pressing against me and jiggles when we hit rocks or bumps on the road. It was hard trying to hide it from her. hey if a girl you like is so close to you and is physically touching you, your body would react a certain way. I¡¯m just normal! Nothing wrong with it okay? Okay.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. We were drawing closer and closer to our home and then.. ¡°Stop!¡± the front wagon ordered. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s happening?¡± Sara asked looking up at me ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like this¡± Sara said as she lets go of me, I honestly felt a little sad about it. I pulled the reigns to stop our wagon. The front wagon has four hunters each having [Sight enhancement] or the better [Keen sight] they would spot trouble from far away. The head hunter and the other hunter with him both have a high level [Keen sight] both being able to see at a minimum five kilometers away. Everyone got off their wagons including us. One of the female hunters came running towards us looking worst for ware. ¡°T-the town has been attacked¡­¡± she told us with a pained expression. ¡°Wait, wait¡­ what? Vanessa this isn¡¯t a nice joke!¡± ¡°A-amon I-I am not kidding.¡± She replied stammering. ¡°Wha? M-my my¡­ brother.. mom¡­¡± Ciro and mom were left in the village. ¡°What¡­ happened to them?¡± ¡°W-we still don¡¯t know. I only saw signs of the attack a-and a few b-bodies. Bwegh.¡± Vanessa soon threw up, probably remembering the sight of corpses littering the village. Sara went and rubbed Vanessa¡¯s back, waiting for her to calm down and was offered water to drink. I looked forward and saw my dad being restrained by Mr. Partus and the other hunter Karn. Another female hunter came to us. ¡°We sent Kasyo to scout the town right now, we still don¡¯t know if they¡¯re still there or not. So let us wait until he returns.¡± Sara and I nodded. The female hunter returned to the first wagon, she was barely holding her anger in. We all had families there, this was supposed to be a short trip to sell our goods, buy equipment for the hunters and other tools for the village people who couldn¡¯t come with us. Sara looked at me with a pained expression, she was comforting a bawling Vanessa. Vanessa herself lived with her little sister along with her parents, this was her first time going to town after turning sixteen. She was given extra money to spend as a birthday gift. ¡°Uwaaah, M-mila! Hu hu¡­ mother *sniff father!¡± Vanessa continued crying under Sara''s embrace, she was holding a new doll with a red dress and golden locks for hair. Mila, Vanessa¡¯s younger sister was still eight and from time to time would play with Ciro and Papo along with the other kids. Sara''s mom had died giving birth to Papo, she was very sickly to begin with, that being the reason for Sara and Papo''s age gap. That was also why Mr. Partus was overly protective of them, bringing both to town. They were everything he had left. I was barely holding my feelings down, but seeing my father in distraught and Sara''s presence kept me from exploding like my father did. I looked at Sara then to Vanessa and back to Sara, silently asking if she will be okay, she nodded and I left her to go to my father. ¡°Amanda! Ciro! I''m back! Partus let go of me!!!¡± dad''s shouting was so loud I didn¡¯t doubt it would reach our home. It took everything Partus had and the other hunter Karn to subdue father, they were still trying not to hurt him after all. Dad is a farmer, the hard work of plowing the fields, lifting water and feeds for the animals, and carrying fertilizers made him stronger than most. ¡°Amon! Help me, we need to go find your mother and brother!!¡± dad shouted, his eyes bloodshot red. ¡°Dad, we still need to wait for Kasyo to say it¡¯s safe-¡° ¡°Safe?! We were attacked by bandits and you still want to wait until it¡¯s safe?!¡± my dad got a burst of energy and was able to shake Karn''s grip and grabbed my collar. ¡°Your mother and brother could be endangered and your worried about us?!¡± Then as if timed, my savior Kasyo returned looking tired and stressed. He reported to the chief¡¯s son first, then came to us. ¡°They¡¯re no longer there or in the immediate vicinity to launch an ambush, it¡¯s safe but-¡± He was cut off when my dad made a mad dash towards our home. I followed after him no longer able to hide my own worry. We ran our fastest ever, I thought my legs would have given up on me, we reach our home seeming untouched from the outside. I grimaced, there was a foul stench in the air, I was fearing for the worst and so was dad. None of us wanted to open the door ourselves, frozen with fear I stood there for what seemed like hours. My father was sitting on the floor, unresponsive, eyes dazed not focusing on anything. His quiet murmurs that grew a little louder snapped me back to my senses. After a while I was able to collect my courage and slowly reached for the door, preparing myself for the worst. The door squeaked as I slowly opened it and the foul stench resting in the house burst out from the door''s opening. A gruesome smell assaulted my senses and I vomited on the spot. Shaking, I tried steeling my resolve again, I stood on my shaking legs which threatens to fall by the most gentle of breezes. Pushing the door in further, the interior of our home was a mess. The first thing I saw was a man dead on a pool of dried blood a knife near his body, he was wearing leather armor but it was filthy and damaged here and there, his face was not among those he knows who live in the village he must have been a bandit. I wasn¡¯t prepared to see what was ahead. My mother sprawled on the ground, arms and legs twisted in angles it never should and she was missing her thumbs and big toes¡­ her body was hardly recognizable it was battered, bite marks from a dog could be seen and scratch marks as well. Losing strength in my legs I dropped down. My stomach was empty at this point after vomiting all it¡¯s content and nothing but stomach acid threatens to come out now. Partus and Karn along with Papo came after us, worried. Karn stretched his hand to stop Papo from entering after knowing what the smell was and chose to wait outside along with my father. ¡°That¡¯s fourteen¡­ and twenty-one. Lad can you get up?¡± Partus asked me, he probably knew I wasn¡¯t alright so he never asked me that. I just stared at him, not knowing how to answer. ¡°Go get clothes for your mother, I''ll¡­ haah¡­ I''ll clean up here.¡± He grabbed my arm and pulled me up. ¡°Just go get the clothes.¡± Given purpose I nodded and went upstairs to pick up my mothers clothing. I was moving mechanically not sure what else to do other than to get my mom¡¯s clothes. The room was a mess, among it, I saw a small wooden box, its contents spilled. A preserved flower, a shiny rock, a twig ring, a smooth rock and other things people would call junk. It was her treasure trove. I couldn¡¯t help the tears streaming down, the ring Beron gave, the flower I have given her that time we had a picnic long before Ciro was born. ?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã?¡ã? ¡°Are you worried about them that much Biro?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it Partus. Haaah, you and I know why Beron came back.¡± Two men at the driver¡¯s seat chatted, one with long chestnut colored hair tied to a bun. Dark, green, sharp looking eyes used to peer through great distances and prey alike was steadily looking ahead while driving the wagon. Body built not to have too much muscles to be lighter, but not weak, he is the head hunter Partus of a small village near the great forest. The other a man with a stern appearance, dark brown hair with a few white strands scattered around, cut short and neat. Eyes the color of sapphire, had a more gentle look compared to his companion. His body built through hard labor around the farm had a more muscular appearance. He owns one of the few farms in the village and a childhood friend of the village head hunter. Beron, second son of Biro, and Warren a young soldier son of one of the village hunter''s, once reported to the village chief along with a select few of the village hunters about the growing threat of a band of brigands running amok.