《Satan's Little Helper》 The Contract Twas the night before Christmas, a snowstorm was brewing about while the wind was howling and blowing fiercely. A little boy was fighting his way through this storm. He was walking home and excitedly clenching onto what seems to be a chocolate bar in his tiny hands. His winter coat had patches all over, and his shoes with holes...in fact, his whole attire had either patches or holes in them. Wtf? How poor is this kid¡­? Battling through the storm trying to get home, little Timmy held on and kept going with a big smile on his face. Why did he have a big smile on his face in a raging snowstorm? Well, it''s because he had spent the last dollar he saved up to buy a Christmas present for his little brother, Danny. Living alone with just the two of them in a big town was hard for the two brothers. With Timmy just turning 8 years old and his younger brother at the age of 5, life was a real struggle for the brothers. What happened to their parents or family? They never knew any of this...little Timmy and Danny were all alone for as long as they could remember. Making his way back home, you could see Timmy''s home was just a small shack on the outskirts of town. Even his home had holes and patches...feelsbadman¡­.Well, at least they had a small fireplace lit with a flame to keep them warm. Timmy quickly swung open the front door and closed it with excitement while screaming, "Danny! Danny! Look what your big bro got you for Christmas!" There was no response from Danny, not even a peep. Danny was in bed fast asleep, due to his weak body and malnutrition the two brothers have been going through. Little Danny was covered in a big pile of sheets, clothes, old coats, and towels to stay warm. Timmy shook his little brother awake to show him the present. It was a Kit-kat candy bar, green tea flavored! Their favorite! Awoken from his slumber, little Danny screamed with excitement, "WOW big bro! Thank you! But let''s share this together, it''s our favorite!" "Ok ok, let''s eat it together. But you''re going back to sleep right after, got it?", replied Timmy. "Okayyyy!" said little Danny. After tucking little Danny back into bed, Timmy suddenly thought of an idea. He wanted to write a letter to Santa Claus in the spirit of Christmas. With a paper that looked already crumbled up and a thin piece of coal to use as a pen, he began to write his letter to Santa¡­. Dear Satan, Mery Kristmas! My name is Timmy n my bruthrs name is Danny. We r liveng a lone jus teh 2 of us. Wun yu grant our wish? We juss need hot food to fill our stomaks. Mery Kristmas Santa! Frum,If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Before Timmy could finish writing his letter, the fierce wind blew open the front door and everything in their little home was flying around. The letter he was writing had slipped out of his hand and flew into the small fire within their fireplace. Timmy couldn''t care for the letter as he had to quickly close the door before the wind blows the fire out! After struggling for a few minutes, he managed to close the door shut and lock it tightly. Now their home was a huge mess as if a tornado had gone by blowing all of their belongings all over the place. The sudden sounds had even woken up little Danny. Timmy was tired of successfully closing the door and decided to sleep. "Oh no! What happened big brother?" asked Danny. "Don''t worry Danny it was just the wind. Let''s clean up in the morning, I''m really tired from today''s work too," exclaimed Timmy. Little Danny simply nodded and went back to sleep with his brother by his side. In the middle of the night unbeknownst to these two youngsters, a mysterious light came from the fireplace¡­.it was resonating from the letter that Timmy had written that was burned into ashes. The light became brighter and brighter, with a flash. Then the whole house shook¡­. The two brothers were suddenly awakened by what felt like an earthquake! Little Timmy was confused rubbing his eyes as he was seeing a dark figure in his sight. "Big bro, what''s happening?! Who is that??!!" cried little Danny. "I don''t know! Stay behind me, Danny! I''ll protect you!" said Timmy. The two brothers were scared out of their wits as they saw a towering figure in the darkness right in front of them with two blood red eyes glowing. Timmy screamed with horror, "WHO ARE YOU?! What are you doing in our house??!!" A deep and monstrous voice responded back, "Hmph! Are you the kid that wrote the letter to me?" ''Letter? What the hell is that thing talking about?'' thought Timmy. "Listen, kid, I don''t do charities so let''s get down to business. I don''t usually help humans but I''m going to make an exception this time, since you had the good sense to write a letter to me, the great ruler of hell, Satan! HA HA HA! I know you meant to write to Santa Claus, but that halfwit doesn''t have any real power to help you kid! "Pledge yourself to me, the great ruler of Hell, Satan! And I''ll make sure you little pipsqueaks never starve again!" Startled, Timmy thought, ''What the hell is happening? What did that thing say? Never starve again?! Oh, my god¡­.'' He replied to the thing in the darkness with desperation, "Wh-wh-what do you want me to do? I''ll do anything except for harming others! If you''ll only just feed us warm meals every day! PLEASE!!" The figure in the dark grinned, you could see a huge smile forming as if it were a moon in the darkness right under the two blood red eyes. "Call me Satan! I am the great ruler of Hell. Sign here with your blood and you shall work for me for eternity! Oh, wait¡­.you''re just a puny human...nevermind, I meant you shall work for me until the day you die! Meals provided, fair wages, yadi yadi yada¡­.Oh! and don''t forget to initial here...here...and...here as well. Lawyers you know? Gotta have the proper paperwork done so the big guy upstairs would leave me alone and let me do what I want, you get my drift?" Little Timmy listened carefully to Satan''s instructions, biting his index finger and inking in his signature and initials as instructed without even reading all the terms. He just knew that he and his little brother will never starve again as long as he worked for Satan and he wouldn''t be doing anything to harm other humans. ''What a great deal!'' he enthusiastically thought as he signed the contract. The Transformation "What is that big bro? What are you doing?" Danny whimpered while tucking on to Timmy''s shirt. "Shush, Danny! I''m solving all of our problems!" replied Timmy enthusiastically, while signing the contract without question. Two eyes moved around to get a better look at its surroundings. "What a mess...how do you even live in such filth," thought the figure, as it was disgusted by what he saw. Yeah, well your home would look the same if you were poor af living in an already shabby house and the wind from the blizzard came in like a wrecking ball and blew everything everywhere. SNAP! The figure snapped his fingers, and suddenly everything in the room started moving and floating on their own, while neatly organizing themselves. Danny was pleasantly surprised and held onto his brother even tighter. Timmy paid no mind to his little brother''s sudden affection. He was too fixated on signing the contract, and he didn''t even bother to ask the contents of the agreement. Well, Timmy can''t read very well after all, and this thing was offering him their salvation. He didn''t know any better; he just wanted to be able to feed himself and his little brother. Ahh...kids, ignorance is bliss. But the dark figure who claimed himself to be Satan was internally filled with joy, thinking to himself, "I''ve fooled another one." After Timmy had finished signing the contract, Satan snatched it away with haste. "Now that you are under my employment. I''ll leave the rest to my assistant, Alastor. He''ll show you the ropes, and tell you what your job entails," said the dark figure. "Thank you! Thank you, Sa¡­" Before Timmy could finish thanking his savior, with another snap of his fingers, the dark figure had vanished along with the contract. The brothers, dumbfounded at the sight as if it were all a dream, could not believe what had happened. A dark figure was suddenly appearing before them claiming to be Satan, the ruler of Hell, visited their home and offered them a job and a way to stay fed. This thing even cleaned up their house in an instant with just a snap of his fingers. ''What in the world was going on?'' The brothers thought. "Danny we''re saved! We''re saved I tell you! I don''t know what we have to do for Satan, but we''ll be able to fill our stomachs from now on," said Timmy with excitement. Danny nodded in agreement and replied, "as long as we don''t hurt other people, right big brother?" "That''s right, that''s right...now let''s get some sleep," assured Timmy. Just as the brothers were about to go to sleep, another sudden flash happened within their home, and the figure came back¡­ "Oh, I almost forgot. Just hold still," said the dark figure. This thing reached its hand out from the dark towards Timmy. You could see its hand had demon-like claws for nails, and it was red, really red. As its'' hand got closer and closer, he etched his index finger onto Timmy''s forehead. Timmy screamed in pain as the claw-like nails of this thing''s index finger lodge deeper and deeper with every second passed. A faint glow appeared around the wound as it was happening.. Timmy felt a warmth surge throughout his entire body. A minute later, the figure''s finger pulled out of Timmy''s forehead. Timmy fainted at this moment. As little Danny was caught with surprise, he lifted his brother and struggled to get him to bed, and he rubbed his brother''s forehead to check if there was a hole there. After witnessing such a sight Danny had to check, but there was no wound, not even a scratch could be felt or visible. But he noticed that his brother felt hot like he was touching a hot stove. With worry in his eyes, he turned to the dark figure.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Don''t worry kid, now let your brother rest and remember, a person named Alastor will come and explain to your brother about his new job, got it?" exclaimed the dark figure. Danny nodded furiously. "Good." The figure snapped its figures and disappeared out of sight again. Danny looked around with surprise again and quickly tended to his brother, making sure that he was comfortable as he slept. Danny realized his brother was like a personal heater, so he held onto him right away as he also decided to rest. Early the next morning. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! Little Danny was woken up by the loud banging at their door. "Hey! Wake up, kid! Open the door!" yelled, the voice. Danny pushed his brother to wake him up, but there was no response. He tried to wake his brother up to no avail while rubbing his eyes to rid of excrements and be able to see clearly. Suddenly, he realized there was something wrong with his brother. "Omg, big bro wake up, wake up, somethings wrong," screamed Danny while shaking his brother. Timmy finally woke up and with a tired voice, he answered, "Wha-what? What''s going on Danny? what''s wrong?" Timmy got off the bed, and Danny with his eyes wide open said to him, "Big bro how did you get so big?" "Huh? what are you talking about Danny?" asked Timmy. More knocks and banging came from the door. "Wh-who is it? Why are you banging our door so early in the morning?" yelled Timmy. "Open up!" the voice yelled back. "Ok, ok, hold your horses. I''m coming¡­" answered Timmy. As he walked away from the bed and towards the door to open it, Timmy felt his surroundings were a lot smaller than he remembered. He looked at his hands and was shocked. "What the hell? why are my hands so big?" Bang bang bang came from the door to snap him out of his daze and hurriedly opened the door. A middle-aged man was at the door, he looked mysterious and had an air of nobility about him. "Please excuse my lateness, my lord. What can I help you with?" Timmy said with respect as he thought the man before him was of noble descent and had to be treated with respect or he could be in a world of hurt. You know how those Nobles are usually like¡­ "I see the transformation has completed. The name''s Alastor, and I''m sure the boss has told you about my arrival?" Said the man at the door. "Huh? What are you talking? What transformation? who are you?" Timmy asked with his thoughts filled with confusion. "Let''s talk inside." Alastor pulled Timmy inside and closed the door behind them. "My name''s Alastor¡­" "Oh! Oh, the man from last night said you would come! Nice to meet you Sir Alastor!" said Danny, excitedly interrupting as he heard the man''s name. "Alastor? whos that?" asked Timmy towards his little brother. "Ahem! My name is Alastor, I''ve been sent by the boss to be your guide. You signed the contract, didn''t you? I see the transformation has completed, cause you know you''re supposed to be an 8-year-old kid, but standing before me is a stellar young man. Don''t worry. It''s for the best. A child''s body isn''t any good in our line of work after all." explained Alastor. Timmy was shocked once again, "What? What are you talking?" he looked around as he was asking, checking every inch of his body. The man was telling the truth, his whole body has "transformed." He was no longer in the body of an 8-year-old kid. His body has grown to that of an adult. He posed in front of his window to see a faint reflection to get a better look at himself. "What''s gonna happen now?" Timmy asked the man. New Clothes Timmy was struggling to get a good look at his transformed figure through the poor reflection of the window. Alastor watched with disdain and decided to help him. He moved his index finger with a circular motion, and a bright light shone from the tip of his finger, suddenly a full-sized mirror appeared in the room. "Use that, kid," said Alastor. The two brothers were surprised by the sudden appearance of the full-sized mirror. Timmy could now see his new body very clearly. He was quite tall, about the average height of an adolescent male in their early 20s. His new grown body had some muscle but was still in a thin shape. His primary concern was his new face. "Who is this? Is this me?" thought Timmy. "Big bro, you''re so tall and handsome now!" cheered Danny. "Yeah¡­ " replied Timmy. "Alright, enough of that. Let''s get down to business," said Alastor. The three sat around the table. Timmy was still getting used to the size of his body as he had never experienced something like this before. The sudden drastic growth of the human body happening overnight was something only the top wizards of the continent could do. What were wizards? And in what continent were they on? Heck, what world were they in? This was set in a world similar to ours in many ways. Also with the same sun in the sky during the daytime, but there were two moons during the night. The people from this world called the planet they inhabited, Urth. Same as ours just spelled differently. (lazy writing and lack of creativity detected.) Now unlike ours, their earth is filled with mana. Not only the land and nature itself but the elements were filled with mana, but there was also mana residing in human beings and many other intelligent species as well. Only a select few had the potential even to feel the presence of mana, let alone master and manipulate it. Now controlling this mana within them was the only way for anyone to take their next step into a whole other dimension. Just like ours, "the strong ruled the weak." Unlike ours though, their "strong" were the most powerful of wizards and knights, who had an abundance of mana flowing through their veins and their vast knowledge of controlling mana. Each wizard or knight capable of toppling over even the largest of kingdoms, as their powers were limitless. Now ordinary people, of course, aren''t capable of such strength, maybe less than 10% of the populace is capable of feeling the presence of mana and even less for those who have mastered the usage of mana. Alright, let''s get back to the story. In a shabby house at the outskirts of the town of Ravenport, Timmy was listening to Alastor''s every word with diligence. Little Danny was getting a cup of water for their visitor, as they were too poor to afford any tea leaves to brew a proper greetings tea to show their respect. Alastor slightly nodded and thanked little Danny, before grabbing the cup for a sip to quench his thirst, "Ahh, I needed that. Thanks for the water, kid." "So, first thing''s first¡­ here''s your uniform. This is the identification badge for your position, do not lose it! Well, even if you misplace or get it stolen, it would just reappear in your possession," said Alastor while handing him a small pin. An unusual item in the shape of a circle with what seems to be two horns protruding from the top and a tail at the side pointing up. Timmy examined and admired the pin before he put it on his ripped up shirt. Alastor groaned with disgust, "No, no, no, please get something proper to wear."This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "B-but¡­ I''m sorry mister, this is all I have to wear¡­ " Timmy answered embarrassedly. "Sigh, don''t worry about it. Here¡­ " Alastor waved his index finger in the air, again in a circular motion with a small light brightening from his fingertip and a wardrobe appeared behind him. He picked an everyday black outfit from the selection similar to what he was wearing and handed it off to the boy. The wardrobe magically disappeared soon after. Timmy''s eyes glowed with excitement and quickly put the new outfit on, stripping off his old clothes right then and there. "My god, can you do that privately?!" Alastor yelled. "Hehehe, sorry this room is the only space we have... " Timmy shyly answered while bowing before the man and covering his private parts. Alastor rolled his eyes while saying, "Fine, be quick about it." Timmy put on his new outfit and looked at the full-sized mirror to get a good look. To his disappointment, the suit was too big for his body. The sleeves of the shirt were too long, the size of the pants was too wide and falling off. Timmy had to grab ahold of the pants to keep them up. It was as if this outfit was made for a giant. Yes, giants do exist in this world. "Give it a second; it''s a special suit. I designed it myself, with my magic engraved into the fabric. As long as you control a little of your mana to flow into it, it will resize to fit you perfectly. It even has a self-cleaning function!" explained Alastor. "Just a little of what? Mana? How do I do that?" Timmy asked with confusion. Alastor was only surprised for a moment before continuing to explain, "Well you''re aware of magic right? Like shooting a fireball out of your hands, making it rain, and even being able to fly? All of these things are possible because of mana, and this world is filled with mana. As long as you can tap into your potential, you will be able to cast magic. Everyone can do it, but at the same time, not everyone is capable of doing it either. Nevertheless, you''re a special case now. Remember what ''he'' did to you last night? ''He'' cast a special type of magic on you, a sort of curse if you will, to help you break out of your potential. You should be able to tap into your mana pool with ease. Anyways, why don''t you give it a try¡­ first, close your eyes and try to feel something different about yourself. Like a warm and steady stream of water is flowing through your body." "Like when you pee in your pants?" asked Danny while standing on his chair with his hands on the table leaning forward with beaming eyes of excitement. "Danny! Stop with your nonsense!" yelled Timmy. Alastor looked at Danny with a smile and said, "Yes, exactly like that except you don''t actually pee yourself." "I knew it!" said little Danny, while sticking his tongue out at his brother. Timmy paid no attention to his little brother and nodded towards Alastor as if he understood and closed his eyes. He began to try and feel this mysterious force Alastor was talking about. Minutes passed, and Timmy could not feel anything. "There''s nothing. I don''t feel anything hot, warm, cold, or what have you. I just feel nothing," Timmy said with frustration. "Don''t worry, just keep trying," said Alastor, as he continued to drink his water. "You can do it big brother~!" cheered little Danny. This continued for another hour. Alastor checked his watch, it was almost noon, realizing he could not stay here any longer. Just as he was about to stand up and let the boys know he''ll be back again the next day, Timmy screamed with excitement with his eyes still closed, "I did it! I think I feel it! It feels wonderful, what is this feeling?" Alastor looked at Timmy with a face of disgust, "Open your eyes dummy. You''ve wet yourself." "Huh? Oh no, my new clothes!" Timmy opened his eyes while looking down. Alastor rolled his eyes, got up from his seat and headed for the door, "Don''t worry, just keep trying. I have to go and attend to other matters. I''ll be back tomorrow morning. I hope you''ll figure it out by then." "I will! I will! Please do come back tomorrow, sir!" said Timmy as he couldn''t help but keep bowing towards Alastor as a sign of apology. Before Alastor reached the door, he suddenly remembers, "Oh right, almost forgot I had this thing. Here¡­ " He reached into the empty space and pulled out a book in the thin air, threw it at Timmy and waved goodbye, "I''ll be back." Timmy caught the book and tried to read the title to no avail while thinking, "But I can''t read¡­ " Kind and Pure? "Mana for D*mmies" was the name of the book, but Timmy had no clue at all. After realizing that he could not even read the cover of the book, let alone its contents, Timmy gave up and tossed the book on the table with great frustration. Little Danny grabbed hold of the book and held it in front of his brother while cheering, "Big bro, you can''t give up! I believe in you!" "Danny, please, you know I can''t read¡­ tell you what, how about you hold on to it for me?" Timmy groaned. "Ok!" answered Danny, sitting down while opening the book and attempting to understand the words on each page. Unbeknownst to Timmy, a miracle was happening right before him; his little brother was completely enticed by this very book. This kid is seriously clueless... smh... Timmy walked to the sink and started to hand-wash the new outfit that he had just sullied with his own bodily fluids. At that moment, he remembered one of the functions of the outfit, self-cleaning. After realizing this, Timmy went back to practicing the method instructed by Alastor. He closed his eyes and began the attempt to feel this "mysterious force" once again. To his surprise, this time he was actually able to feel something. It was strange, it felt as if a worm was crawling all over his body. Slowly he realized it was more like a small stream circulating through his entire body. This was it, he finally did it! He finally felt "it"! Timmy was overjoyed and proud of himself to be able to finally comprehend the feeling. However, even if he understood what it felt like, doesn''t mean that he was able to use it. He tried to get a hold of this power within him and somehow use it as his own. After a while, he was once again dumbfounded as he could not find any way to tap into his newly discovered source of power residing inside him, known as mana. Suddenly, he felt the suit shrink to fit perfectly, the wet stains had dried and were cleaned. Timmy opened his eyes and looked down as he felt the suit wrapped perfectly to his size all over to see that the suit had actually somehow reacted and activated the magical features Alastor had embedded in with his magic. Alastor must''ve made this thing "foolproof." Get it? Fool? "Oh! I did it. I did it! Hmm, but how? All I did was try to get a better feeling¡­ I have to figure this out!" wondered Timmy as he continued to keep trying. As Timmy was trying to figure out how to use his mana properly to no avail, he could only keep trying to grasp the actual feeling of it, little Danny was flipping through the pages of the "Mana for D*mmies" book carelessly. A strange dim glow was appearing in Danny''s eyes, as the pages were flipped one by one. Timmy was far too busy to notice any of this due to his consciousness entering a state of trance as he earnestly practiced. Little Danny could not understand this overwhelming familiarity as he flipped through the pages either. He wanted to tell his brother about this strange phenomenon, but did not dare to bother his older brother as he was fraid to break his concentration. At this moment, Timmy started to feel a lot warmer than usual, his body temperature rose, and sweat began to form on his forehead. Strangely, at the same time little Danny awoke from his stupor after hearing bells chiming. The bell sounds were from the church, announcing to the public that it was noon and today''s congregation was about to begin. "Bro, wake up. We have to go and help out at the church. It''s already noon! And... and¡­I''m getting kind of hh-hungry... " asked little Danny while shaking his brother awake not caring of his brother''s deep slumber any longer, as they needed to hurry to the church and tend to their jobs. The sudden interruption from his brother instantly brought him back to reality. Timmy woke up feeling refreshed and exhaled deeply. "Oh! I almost forgot! Yeah, it''s time for lunch. Let''s get to work, Danny." The two brothers left their humble home and headed toward the sounds of the chiming bells. Religion was at the top of all the institutions ever constructed by man, in all of the history of Urth. "God" was worshiped worldwide. Oddly enough, there was only one religion on Urth; opposite of ours, which has thousands, all with different names, scriptures, and teachings. Hailed as the "Order of the Dawning Light, ''may its light shine ever so brightly and guide us on the righteous path.''" Their vast influence reached even to the four corners of this planet, like a bright light. Even Kings and Emperors had to bend their will to the church.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Upon arriving at the church, the two brothers hurried inside through the backdoor to help with the congregation amassing within. Their jobs consisted of handing out pamphlets of the daily sermon, directing attendees to their seats, and cleaning the whole building; from polishing the stained glass windows to sweeping the courtyard. Tough jobs for a couple of brats, don''t you think? Well, it paid the bills or in this case, it filled their stomachs; plus the church was the only place these two could find work that offered daily meals of bread and soup. It wasn''t much, but it was enough for the brothers to stay alive. Something was amiss during the today''s congregation. An unknown young man was greeting the visitors and directing them to their seats diligently as if he was working for the church. The clergymen paid no attention as they were preparing to start the sermon. However, a young priestess took notice; glaring at this young man with curious eyes. She was the one incharge of the employment for the church, and she did not recognize who this person was. "Who the hel¡­? Oops! Forgive me, Oh, Dawning Light, for I have strayed from the righteous path." blurted the priestess as she crossed herself. She quickly approached the young man and brought him to the kitchen, far away from the parish as not to disturb anyone. "Who are you and what are you doing in our church? Oh, Dawning Light, please forgive this poor soul before me for his intrusion," the priestess interrogated. "Sister Marie, it''s me! Timotheos Haborym! Remember me?! I-I I mean, Timmy! I''m Timmy!" answered Timmy with great frustration, trying to convince this pure maiden of such a blatant lie that this tall young man, seemingly to be in his 20s, claiming to be the small and hard working 7-year-old little Timmy she had known the past few years. "Sir, please do refrain from your deceitful ways, for we are within the confines of the Light. Oh, praise the Dawning Light, please forgive this poor soul before me, for he has gravely strayed from your guidance," protested the priestess. "No, no, Sister Marie, it''s really me. I can prove it! Remember yesterday night, when you were doing the dishes in the kitchen, and I was the only one there helping you clean up? You gave me an extra silver coin so that I could buy Danny his very first Christmas present. You even gave me a wink and told me to keep this a secret from the other clergymen. You especially told me to avoid the head priest of this matter! ''This never happened'' was you were saying as you did this," said Timmy as he imitated the priestess'' gesture of air quotes with his fingers. The priestess was shocked with thoughts in disbelief, "Oh my goodness... no one would know this but little Timmy¡­ If the head priest found out that I slipped a silver coin to him, it would mean the end of me! No, no, I mustn''t worry about myself... Ahem... It would mean the end of little Timmy and his innocent little brother! How would they then survive in this cruel world? Yeah, that''s the right mindset. Way to go Marie!" She patted her self on the back. What is wrong with this girl? Is she a legit priestess of the church? Sister Marie calmed her nerves and collected her thoughts before asking, "Is it true? Are you really Timmy? But, Wh-what happened? How did you grow so big overnight? That''s unheard of! Give me an explanation! Oh my lord... Wait a minute, did you stray from the path of Light and sell your soul to youknowwho?!" Upon realizing what Timmy had done, the priestess began to pray wholeheartedly for poor little Timmy. Timmy could not answer back at all for he knew that he had disappointed the pure maiden. This person had always gone out of her way to help him and his brother in every way that she possibly could. He knew he could never lost her trust. As he was in a daze thinking about how he had betrayed the person who had always given her all to help others, this priestess reached and held his hands together tightly. She decided to help this lost soul one last time. Sister Marie instructed Timmy vigilantly, "Listen, Timmy, you mustn''t reveal this truth to anyone! Especially not any one of the church! Unspeakable things would happen to you and your brother as well. They may even lynch you in the town square in the name of the Dawning Light! What''s done is done, let''s try and figure this out. I''ll try my best to help you." She then gave him a thumbs-up. Timmy was confused and yet relieved. This person didn''t condemn him for his foolish actions and was trying to help him as she always did. Ahhh, a kind and pure maiden... so kind... so pure... A New Mentor Fear struck Timmy''s heart. Just as the two brothers had finally averted the crisis of starvation, another problem arose. All sorts of thoughts of ridicule and public condemnation: "Did I really make the right choice? What if people found out that I have strayed from the Light? What would happen to me? Will I be burned at the stake like all of those blasphemers? Worse, what would happen to Danny? No! I will persevere! I must do so¡­ for Danny''s sake¡­ " Although the overwhelming fear was spreading throughout his consciousness, his will sparked a new resolution within. At this moment, he made another vow. He promised that he would become stronger, no matter what. Stronger to protect himself and his little brother. He was in deep thought for a while until the priestess continued her questioning. "What is that?" the priestess asked while pointing at the peculiar badge on Timmy''s chest. "Oh, this? Nothing, nothing," answered Timmy with a nervous smile, as he quickly unclipped the badge and pocketed it. "Mmhmm, it better be nothing. Have you two eaten today? Go bring your brother, and I''ll make get you guys something to eat." said the priestess as she began preparing some leftover soup and bread for the two brothers. "Ok, be right back. Thanks, Sister Marie!" said Timmy, as he rushed back to the church''s main hall to find his brother. After a short while, the two walked to the kitchen and happily ate their late lunch. "Go home, after you''re done. I''ll clean up," said the priestess. "No, we will clean up before we go," declared little Danny with a big smile on his face and Timmy nodded in agreement. "Alright, see you boys tomorrow," said the priestess as she headed back to the main hall of the church. Timmy and Danny returned to their homes before the sun went down. As they approached their home, they found that the door was open. The two looked at each other with confusion and slowly opened it with caution. They saw two figures sitting at their dining table and smelled a strong alcoholic odor. "You boys back? Sorry, we let ourselves in after waiting a little while before realizing you guys weren''t home. Oh, this is--" greeted Alastor. BANGBANGBANG "Drink Ally, you lost!" a woman screamed while banging on the table. Alastor was startled and felt embarrassed, he then chuckled while picking up a cup and drinking from it. ''Glupglupglup.'' "Happy? Let''s end the game here; the boys are back." Alastor said to the wild woman sitting across from him. "Whatever, you explain everything. I''m gonna keep drinking!" the woman exclaimed before picking up her cup on the table while her other hand was grabbing hold of a bottle, and continued to drink. Spoiler Alert! It''s alcohol. Timmy and Danny were both wholly taken aback by the scene before them as they entered their home. "Ahem! Timmy, this woman here is your new mentor. She will be teaching you the skills that are more suitable for you, and for you to perform well at your job. Come and greet your new mentor, Her name is F-" before Alastor could finish, the woman''s hand covered his face and pushed him away. She drunkenly approached Timmy to get a better look at the boy. Timmy could not help but pinch his nose to block the strong alcoholic scent coming from her. Meanwhile, Danny rushed to the table to get a drink for himself. ''Gulpgulpgulp.'' He must''ve been really thirsty because he chugged the bottle on the table without hesitation nor complaints. Then, a sudden crash happened; a bottle breaking into pieces sounded with a thud of a body falling to the floor.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Danny!" screamed Timmy as he ran to help his brother. Alastor waved him to the side to check Danny''s condition himself. "He''s fine, just passed out from the alcohol. He''ll wake up after some sleep. Don''t worry too much." Alastor assured as he waved his finger in the air and a dim light appeared from the tip. A glow of light surrounded Danny as his body started floating in the air and slowly moving towards the bed in the corner of the small home. Alastor set Danny down and pushed the sheets to cover him in the same way, with a simple twirl of his finger. "Hahaha! What a man! I like him!" cheered the woman. ''Smacksmacksmack.'' The woman smacked Timmy on the back and said, "Hey! Your brothers got some guts! Ha ha ha!" Timmy was startled, "Ow¡­ " "Stop giving him such a hard time, Fee. He''s just a kid. He may look like a grownup but keep in mind that he''s still 7-years-old." said Alastor. The woman waved him off and ignored what Alastor had just said to her. She turns to Timmy and says, "He''ll be fine¡­ Listen, kid; the name''s Felicity Anhur-Tyr. You can call me master from now on, and I''ll be your new mentor." Upon hearing those words, Timmy quickly got on his knees to show respect and proclaimed, "Yes, Master! I will do my best, master!" The woman patted his shoulders with a bright expression and said, "good, good. Now get up, your training starts now! Pack your things and let''s go!" Timmy got up hurriedly and was confused. "Go? Pack my things? Huh? What?" he asked. SMACK The woman smacked his head again and pointed out the window. Once again, Timmy rubbed his head in pain and followed where his mentor was pointing to. ''Is she pointing at that mountain?'' Timmy thought. "I''m gonna whip you into shape in no time! Well, it''ll probably take a couple of years, but you won''t have the energy to even think of anything else other than the training I''ll be beating into you! HA! HA! HA!" "What? A couple of years? What about my brother? Can he come with us?" Timmy''s mind was filled with confusion. "That one too? Am I running a nursery?!" the woman protested while rolling her eyes. Alastor pushed the woman with his elbow and convinced, "C''mon Fee, you promised¡­ " "Ok, ok! We''ll come back tomorrow then. Be ready to set off tomorrow, kid. Alright, alright. Let''s get outta here and find a nice place to drink some more, and you''re paying, Ally!" she said while dragging Alastor toward the exit. While his brother was still passed out on the bed, Timmy started to pack their things for their departure. As he was going through everything in the home, he realized they really didn''t own much. The next morning, there was no knocking. Noon came, and there was still no knocking. The two brothers waited and waited all day, but no one came to get them. Then, finally, a knock came from the door. Timmy opened the door with excitement only to be greeted with more confusion and a little disappointment. It was not his new mentor at the door; it was Alastor. Leaning against the side of the door while holding his temple, Alastor greeted Timmy lazily, "Sorry for being so late, kid. This and that happened¡­ ''Huuuuurgh.''" Alastor retched and was about to burst. It seems he had drunk too much the night before. Timmy reacted by holding Alastor up, keeping him from falling over. "I''m fine... I''m fine¡­ go get ready and let''s go," assured Alastor while rushing the brothers to ready their trip to the mountains. After a short while, they were ready. "Ok. We''re ready to go, sir," said Timmy with his brother by his side. The two had nothing in their hands. Not big luggage, not small luggage. They were poor after all. Possessions were privileges for those who had money, and these two brothers did not even have one cent. The house they lived in was their only ''belongings,'' but they can''t bring that with them. Therefore, they decided to go empty-handed. "Better this way, fewer things to carry on their journey up and down a mountain," they thought. Alastor didn''t care that the brothers had nothing with them. He merely nodded and performed a spell. Circling his finger in the air, and with a bright light, the three suddenly disappeared from the house. Boulders have legs?! Mount Akmi, the most massive mountain sitting on this continent, at the edge of the Hieros Kingdom. It was just north of the town of Ravenport, where our young mc lives. This great monstrosity inhabits countless dangers from beasts to man-eating plants, but the most dangerous of all was the ''king'' of the mountain; Dunamis. This ''king'' that lives at the peak of the mountain was one of the strongest, most powerful, and one of the oldest dragons to have ever lived. Yep, there are friggin'' dragons ya''ll; you know, those overgrown fire-breathing lizards with dry skin, big flappy wings, with sharp claws, and big a*s teeth. Apparently, this Felicity Anhur-Tyr also lives on this mountain, and near the top nonetheless. Maybe she''s friends with this dragon king? Anyways, our heroes suddenly appeared at the doorsteps of her home. A door was in front of their faces. Timmy and Danny looked around and was surprised at where they were. One second they were at home and the next they were in front of someone''s house in the wilderness at the top of the biggest mountain, ever. Knockknocknock The door suddenly opened, and there was a beautiful maiden. "Hello, miss Nadya. Has your aunt waken up yet?" asked Alastor. She merely answered with a nod and made a gesture inviting them into the house. Alastor entered first, and the boys nervously followed him from behind. They then seated themselves in the living room. Timmy looked around curiously while thinking, ''is this where we''re going to live from now on? It''s such a nice house¡­ '' It was a reasonably clean home. Probably a hundred times better than their old home. Of course, it was; Nadya cleaned the home every other day and made sure that the home was nice and tidy. BANG Suddenly, a loud bang sounded from the floor above, and seconds later, Timmy''s new mentor came to greet them. She looked like she had just woken up; her eyes were barely opened, and she was wearing her pajamas. "Yawn. Oh, you''re here," said Felicity while walking sluggishly toward them. Then she shouted, "Nadya, get me some coffee, please!" She sat down and immediately dozed off. The woman named Nadya came over with a cup of coffee in her hand. SLAP. She slapped Felicity''s leg to wake her up. Felicity woke up again, grabbed the cup from her and started drinking from it. After just two sips, her eyes opened. Like really opened¡­ from -_- to O_O. "Ok, I''m awake now," said Felicity. Alastor could not help but shake his head at her behavior. Then he said, "can you let them boys know where they''ll be staying and the likes?" "Oh, that''s right. Nadya¡­ " she called for the maid. "This is my great-niece, Nadya. She''ll show you where you boys will be staying. It''s late so go get some rest. We can sort everything else out tomorrow." Nadya made a gesture for the boys to follow her. She started heading for the second floor, and they quickly followed her after respectfully bowing to Alastor and Felicity. As the boys were walking away, Alastor noticed at the corner of his eye that little Danny was holding onto the book he had given. ''Hmm, interesting¡­ '' he thought.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Nadya led the boys to the third floor; it was more like the attic, but it seemed rather cozy. She left soon after. There was a big bed in the middle with a lamp table on one side and a study desk paired with a chair on the other. The big bed had clean white sheets and beddings on it, and the size was more than big enough to fit the two. The boys were overjoyed and turned to look at each other after seeing their new home. Filled with emotions, they excitedly ran toward the bed and jumped on it. Moments later, the boys fell asleep holding each other. Literally from the slums to this, what they would call heaven. The next day... The birds'' were happily chirping away to welcome the morning sunrise. A gentle breeze flew by, and it was tranquil throughout the area. Suddenly, everything shook, and a loud bang sounded. Timmy and Danny were abruptly woken up. After quickly getting dressed, the two made their way downstairs to check what was going on. There was a huge boulder, with dimensions of 5x5 meters, in front of the house that wasn''t there the day before. Then they saw another boulder in the distance, but this one had legs and was walking toward them. CRASH The boulder landed right next to the big one that was already there but was slightly smaller, 1x1 meter to be exact. It turns out that it was Felicity, Timmy''s new mentor, that was moving these boulders there with her brute strength. The reason? Who the hell knows¡­ Who in their right minds would carry these giant a*s boulders and place them in front of their house? Smh, don''t answer that. Before Timmy could utter a word to question her actions, she quickly ran off. To do what? Yep, you guessed it, to get more boulders. Minutes later, she came back with a smaller boulder in her hands, about the size of 3x3 meters. After setting it down next to the other two, she ran off again. Hours had gone by as the boys waited for her return, and it was already noon. Nadya came out and waved the boys to come in for lunch, so they followed behind. Timmy asked Nadya what his mentor was up to by gathering those huge boulders in the front yard, but she shook her head and shrugged, suggesting that she had no clue. She then abruptly said, "prepare yourself, young man." Timmy''s heart skipped a beat when he heard these words. He began to tremble in fear and nervousness overcame him. This time around, it took quite a while for Felicity to return. Lugging two boulders, one in each hand none the less. One in her left hand was about 2x2 meters and one in the other hand roughly 1x1 meters. Now there were a total of five boulders orderly placed next to each other in front of the house. "Finally, phew, what a workout!" she exclaimed. She then dragged her tired body toward the house, kicked the door open and screamed, "Nadya! Food!" The boys were startled again, paused their spoons in mid-air and stopped their chewing. Nadya patted the boys'' shoulders to get them out of their stupor and gestured them to continue their meal. Felicity was completely exhausted and slowly approached the dining table, and Nadya helped her to her seat. Felicity tried her hardest to reach for the utensils and start her meal with no avail. It couldn''t be helped, she was spent from carrying those boulders all morning. "Nadya! Food!" she cried while struggling to point at the food and then pointing in her mouth. Nadya rolled her eyes and began to spoonfeed her like a baby. Nomnomnom "Th-mm-ks¡­ Mm... N-mm-ya..." SMACK Felicity tried to thank Nadya with a mouthful of food only to get smacked in the back of the head by her for having such bad table manners. After finishing their meal, Felicity brought Timmy outside. She then enthusiastically pointed toward the boulders and proudly said, "TA~ DA~ these are going to be your new training tools." Sweat and Tears Five huge boulders were uniformly lined up in front of Timmy. He was confused at the idea of these different shaped, sized, and weighted boulders were his ''training tools.'' "First, you''ll start with this small one," Felicity said while patting the 1x1 boulder and continued, "then, you''ll gradually move on to the next one¡­ " she pointed at the 2x2 boulder next to the 1x1. "...and then¡­ " yep you guessed it¡­ she pointed to the 3x3 and then the 4x4 and then the 5x5 meter-sized boulders. What the h*ll kind of training is this? Timmy seemed as if his soul had left his body, with his eyes rolled back. Each of these boulders weighed a substantial amount. Felicity saw his expression and walked over. SLAP. She slapped Timmy''s shoulder to snap him out of it. THUD "Oh, no¡­ " However, he didn''t just snap out of it though... Timmy fell to the ground face first and fainted. Felicity had used too much strength without realizing¡­ Due to exerting herself moving those ''training tools,¡¯ she lost control of her strength. Scratching her head while figuring out what to do with him, she then decided to throw him over her shoulder and started walking inside their home. Little Danny was at the top of the stairs coming down, and he screamed as he saw his brother being lifelessly carried in the house on Felicity''s shoulders. "Big bro! Oh no! What happened?!" Felicity waved him away, "don''t mind it, kid, he''s just asleep. Move aside; I''m gonna set him on the couch. Go get Nadya." Little Danny ran to find Nadya as fast as he could! Meanwhile, Felicity set Timmy down on the living room couch. A huge visible bruise on Timmy''s forehead could be seen and blood drooped down his nose, but he was still unconscious. Soon, Nadya arrived with a pan of fresh warm water and a towel, while little Danny followed behind her carrying a first-aid kit in his tiny hands. After cleaning up the blood and dirt off of Timmy''s body, she tended to his wounds to make sure they weren''t serious. Little Danny waited in anticipation while helping Nadya, hoping for her to reassure him that his older brother was ok. To his delight, he got the answer he wanted. Nadya told him to get his brother a blanket and let him sleep. Felicity, however, didn''t care much. She just went on with her business as if nothing was wrong and poured herself a drink. "He''s gotta toughen up, too fragile¡­ " she groaned. Nadya turned around with sharp eyes, almost as if her eyes could shoot lasers. Cy...clops? Felicity felt the glares like daggers to the face and immediately turned her head to ignore her deathly stare. She continued to take more sips of her drink to keep her mouth shut. Nadya soon finished tending to Timmy''s wounds, and again she reassured little Danny, when he returned with the blanket, that his brother was completely fine and just needed to sleep it off. Nadya then dragged Felicity away for details of how it happened and not to bother the two brothers any longer. But, little Danny was still worried. He had never seen his big brother get so hurt before, and he was completely shocked by such a thing for the first time in his life. ''I could lose my one and only brother... What would I do without him? What can I do to prevent such a thing from happening in the future?'' These thoughts were scrambling in little Danny''s mind, as he watched over his brother all night without a wink of sleep. A new flame of resolution sparked in little Danny''s heart that night.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Scene change to their bedroom upstairs, the little book, ¡°Mana for D*mmies,¡± glowed at that very exact moment. Scene change to a dark room of man sitting in front of a fireplace reading his book as he felt a slight jolt in his heart. ''Interesting¡­ '' thought the man. It was Alastor. He felt his connection to his creation slowly severing and tethering its link to a new master, but it wasn''t Timmy. "I do hope that he will take good care of you and unlock your secrets, little one," Alastor softly cheered while raising a glass of wine in the air. Scene change back to our MC. It was a new day, and Timmy woke up from his slumber. "What.. what happened? Danny? What are you doing here?" Timmy was confused as he woke up, it seems he had forgotten what had happened yesterday. Little Danny woke up with tears in his eyes cheering, "Bro! You''re up! Wuuu¡­ Good! Great! Thank god! Wuuu¡­ " He started bawling. "Wait, wait, Danny¡­ calm down¡­ I''m fine, see? Your big bro is alive and well! I''m just getting stronger with the new training, you''ll see." Timmy excitedly exclaimed, trying to stop his brother''s tears. "Mmmm! I will get stronger too! For the both of us!" Little Danny declared while wiping his tears and started to run upstairs. Timmy had no clue what his brother was talking about, so he didn''t pay much attention to the sudden declaration, he was just glad that little Danny stopped crying his eyes out. There were snot and tears all over the sheets. Oh boy, what a mess! Felicity came down after hearing Danny''s sudden crying; she figured that Timmy had woken up. "You up, kid?" she asked. "Y¡­ yes ma''am!" Timmy answered, as he frantically collected himself and straightened up his posture to salute his mentor. He finally realized how he embarrassed himself yesterday and wanted to make a better impression this time. "Mentor! Please, I seek your guidance once more! I wasn''t fully prepared yesterday! But, I assure you. I will do better!" Timmy shouted. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don''t get your hopes up¡­ I sure don''t." After what had happened yesterday, she was indeed disappointed in her new desciple. I mean... Who gets knocked down, flat on their face, and pass out from just one slap on the shoulder? Trash¡­ "Let''s try again, follow me outside." "Yes, ma''am!" They stood in front of those boulders again, or rather, those ¡®training tools¡¯ again. "This is going to be your new training: First, you are to run down to the base of the mountain and back up here. Then¡­ Hmm¡­ Let''s just leave it at that for now. Your physique is so pathetic that I can''t even give you more training instructions. We need to build it up slowly, or whatever¡­ That''s what Nadya kept nagging me about¡­ Sigh¡­ This way, I''ll show you the path... " Timmy thanked Nadya in his heart and quickly answered, "yes, ma''am!" She showed him a narrow made shift path that seemed like it went all the way down the mountain. "Ta~ Da~ behold! A specially made training path made just for you!" Felicity excitedly said as she showed him this ''path.¡¯ Before he set off down the mountain, Felicity stopped him, "Wait, wait¡­ take this, inject any amount of mana into it and it''ll fire a signal into the sky, but make sure you point it at the sky. This is for if and when you encounter something or someone dangerous. I''ll come and save you or whatever¡­ " She handed him a small ordinary stick with smooth edges. Timmy reached out and grabbed it while thinking, ''It looks fancy, better keep it safe! It''s my lifeline after all!'' He then nodded and said, "I''ll be back before you know it!" Timmy had no clue how far the base of the mountain was¡­ After about one hour of running down, he was already exhausted with sweat streaming down his entire body. The end of the path was still nowhere in sight. He stopped for a short rest to catch his breath and find water to quench his thirst. Suddenly, he heard sounds of twigs breaking nearby. Timmy felt a chill down his back and started running down the path again. Timmy didn''t know, but whatever that made those sounds had locked on to his scent and were on the hunt for its next meal. It definitely moved It was dark, really dark. The jungle surrounding the makeshift path was dense. Those who stumble upon this jungle would think that it was the night. However, the time was still noon-ish. PANT PANT PANT Timmy was making his way down the mountain while profusely panting. PANT PANT PANT Beads of sweat dripped out of the pores of his entire body. His white shirt and brown trousers were wet. The reasons for his shirt to be wet were clear. It was mainly the neck and armpits that were visibly wet. However, his brown trousers? Judging from the past, I think he''s pissed himself. Tens of yards away, a shadow moved. It looked like some sort of creature on all fours. The shadow sniffed the ground, and its head jerked forward at the direction of the sudden sounds of panting. It was out hunting for food, but it looks like the food has found their way to it. The shadow quickly and carefully charged toward the sound. Timmy was tired, he was so so tired. ''Has it been hours?'' he thought. No, Timmy. It''s only been 30 minutes¡­ He didn''t know how long he had been running, all he wanted was to reach the end of the path. But that was a long way from where he was. The creature made its way to its target and hid behind a bush. It didn''t make its move right away. Afterall, a good predator must stalk its prey and wait for the perfect moment to strike. ''I''m so tired¡­ But, I have to keep going! I''ve gotta prove myself!'' Timmy thought. PANT PANT PANT He continued to run. Soon, the creature made a mistake. SNAP Twigs of branches snapped under its paws as it stalked its prey. Timmy heard it and turned his head in its direction. He couldn''t see very well. It was dark. However, he saw something move. A sense of danger struck Timmy like a lightning bolt. He turned back and picked up his pace. He was scared, really scared.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ''Oh, Timmy. Calm down, it was nothing... Right? Let''s keep on running! That was nothing!'' such thoughts repeated in his head. PANT PANT PANT After about another mile, he thought, ''I definitely saw something move¡­ '' Back at the house. Danny was upstairs flipping through the pages of the little book. He didn''t know how to read, but he felt a sense of familiarity with the words, the symbols, and the pages. Nadya passed by to ask him, "Have dirty clothes? I''m doing laundry." Danny didn''t hear her, he was so engrossed in the book that he couldn''t read. Nadya noticed, so she approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. For a split second, she saw Danny''s eyes glow bright white before turning back to normal. It startled her. Danny turned his head and was confused by her approach. "Hello, sister Nadya!" he said. "Hi there, Danny. What were you doing?" Nadya asked. "Oh, I was trying to read this book that Alastor gave to my brother and me." "Is that so? Can you read?" Danny''s face turned glum and slowly shook his head. "Would you like to learn?" His head turned in her direction super fast, and his eyes shone with excitement as he kept nodding. Nadya giggled and sat down to teach him how to read. Felicity was still in the front yard of the house, laying on one of the "training tools." SNORE SNORE SNORE She was soundly asleep. How long has she been asleep though? Maybe she has been since Timmy left, who knows. A moment later though, her eyes suddenly popped open, and she woke up as if she had an epiphany. "Huh?!" she got up and looked to her left and then to her right. She confirmed no one was around and remembered that Timmy had gone on his training. Then with her thumb and index finger shaping into an "L" resting under her chin, she smirked. Felicity thought of something amusing. She swiftly jumped off the boulder and landed on both her feet. The way she landed was actually the notorious superhero landing pose. Lame¡­ Anyways, she then strangely got on all fours, and her lips started moving. She was chanting a spell. At the end of her chant, glows of blue hue came from her body, it was mana. The glow gradually became brighter and brighter, and her body started to change: All of her bones cracked, her torso and limbs collapsed. She was undergoing what looked like a painful transformation, where all of her bones broke and reformed itself. But this was nothing to her, she was a seasoned warrior that served under the great Satan. She had gone through many battles, wars, and much worse pains than this. Soon, her limbs became longer, fingers became claws, and palms became paws. Her once human legs twisted and turned to become the hind legs of an animal. Silver colored fur grew out of every inch of her skin. Her nose and mouth protruded outward, turning into the face of a canine. Even her ears slid atop of her head and slowly shaped itself into wolf-like ears. That''s right, her humanoid body had transformed into the body of an animal, more specifically a silver-furred wolf. The transformation completed. She stretched he front legs forward with her body back, like any wolf does. Then, she shook her entire body in a rotation before yawning. Moments later, she trotted toward the makeshift path. After a few steps, she gradually gained more speed. She ran on all fours, faster and faster.