《Blutopfer (HIATUS)》
Prologue - Reid Vulcan [Edited]
Author Note
I''ve put some foreshadowing and I''ll put some more in some of other chapters. They will be an important factor for our MC (no, the people who appeared in this chapter aren''t the main character though they will be important in the future). By the way, I started to write just recently so you might find me bad and such. And I do have someone who will help me proofread our submission so please bear with a bad chapter until he corrects them.
As I''m still a beginner on writing novels, the chapters I can produce could only have as many words as this..sorry.
[Ed: Eyyo editor here! I''ll be responsible to correct this bastard who manage to beat me on a test somehow.]
[Ed: I''m also responsible to add the details but due to my time constraints I''ll do that after correcting the author''s grammar. To signify that I have edited it I''ll put the tag [Edited] to the chapter.]
A troop of hundred cavalry being led by a single officer in the front. Marching towards the north, they arrived at a dark forest. The dark forest looks eerie and dangerous. It seems as if a legion walks into the forest none of them might return. In fact, some of the soldiers from the cavalry are already spreading rumors of a unidentified monster that is lurking in that forest. The officer at the front turns toward the soldiers.
"We are not resting here. Currently, that traitor is in this forest. We need to move onward and capture that bastard. Of course, disregard your orders and be charged for treason." the officer said with the voice of authority. The officer''s voice sounded tired yet very angry.
Even though the soldiers frowned hearing those words, they did not dare to disobey. It''s because the target they are chasing made enemy against the royalty. Knowing the current line of royalty, they didn''t dare to imagine the consequence if they fail to catch even a glimpse of his hair. Some of the men were remembering the horrific scene of their comrades being torture, their screams, their plead for mercy, their final cry.
"We are moving on. Squad 1, take the North! Squad 2, search at the West! Squad 3, find him at the East. Squad 4, with me to the South! Squad 5 and 6, surround the forest and don''t let even a Death Ant get out of this forest!" commands the officer. The officer was trying to remember the layout of the forest. He had been here before to capture a group of rebels but during that time most of the forest was cleared out by a fire. This time though, they did not have the luxury. The spirits of the forest were very angered last time. It almost caused a border shift between them and the next empire.
The officer and the soldiers went to their designated areas. They were swift, they had to capture this man no matter what. Their blood and bones depended on it.
Meanwhile, a strange man could be seen in the forest climbing a tree. He is reaching his arm out to grab from fruits from the tree.
The branch he was standing of was bending downwards due to his weight but he paid no heed to that.
*pluck* *pluck*..*thud*
As he apples pluck the apples and put it in his backpack, the branch he was on snapped, causing the man to fall butt first to the ground. If someone were to see the scene, the scene would be burned into their memories. It was a comical sight, the man''s shocked face, the apples flowing out of his backpack and the eventually collision of the man''s bottom and the ground.
"Ouch, dammit! My butt hurts now and its all your fault, tree! I''m a 40-years old man for god''s sake!" the man said as he held his back. He was did not look as old as he says. In fact, he looks as if he was in his early 30''s. The man picked up the apples that were dropped and stuffs them into his backpack again.
[Ed: Them errors.... How the hell did he get an A while I got B on the test?!]
After getting mad for basically no reason, the man stands up and began tapping his back to remove dust from his clothes. Looking closely, the man is dressed in full-suit leather clothes. On his waist, there is a sheathed short sword that gives a hint of being used for a long time. He began to peel and eat apple that he was holding then started to head to the west. Around 30 minutes later, he stop walking to rest next to a tree.
The man fell asleep by accident, but the sounds of metal clashing from the distance woke him up. He was alerted and his left arm instinctively grab his short sword while turning behind. He checks his surrounding trying to pinpoint the sound. Finding the direction of the source, he then move sneakily to the direction. A few minutes walking, he saw a group of five armored men fighting against a monster. Even though the monster is outnumbered, the monster is beating the group like a man beating disobedient children.
The monster is around 2 meters in height and width. It is clad in skin of steel with its tail having spikes. The monster seems to be enraged for some reason. That is quite uncommon thought the man. The monster usually lurks in the dark and only hunt small animals. The group that is losing had it hard since their weapons are ones that are focused on slashing instead of piercing. A man who seems like the leader went to the front while another man went towards another direction.
"Shit, what the hell is a Stedra doing here! The information said that this forest only has monster below Rank C+! And the highest is Rank C+! But why is there a Rank B+ too?!" said the leader. The officer was pissed even more now. The amount of problems he had today is piling up by the minute. "Whatever the case, we must hold on until George finds help." the officer thought of using his soldiers as bait but that was out of the question as his reputation was already in jeopardy.
The leader tried to keep the monster busy while his teammate who just ran earlier tried to get help. The group of five were already having a hard time against the monster and now they only have four people. They can barely keep themselves alive. The monster''s roar were loud but it was not loud enough to penetrate through the thick forest.
The monster swings its tail towards the left side of the leader. Taken by surprise, the leader managed to avoid the spikes from hitting his body, but because of the impact, he was flung and crash into tree. Stedra moves quickly to the leader with the intent to kill him. The others seeing this rushed quickly to the monster to stop it from reaching the leader. But, the monster didn''t even spare a look to them and walk towards the leader while being attacked from all direction.
Just as the monster was about to use its tail to attack the leader, a bright red light illuminated the area and blinded the group and the Stedra. As they were regaining their eyesight, first thing they saw was a man with a short sword stood tall in front of the leader. The man threw a flask to the leader and then charge at the Stedra. The monster, seeing this, started to run to tackle the man. As the monster get nearer, the man jumps high and was positioned right above the monster. The Stedra didn''t know that the man jumped tried to find the man. Falling down, the man aimed his short sword at the head of the Stedra. A few seconds passed, and there lies a lifeless body of a Stedra with a sword pierced in its head. The group stared at the man in disbelief. Who wouldn''t if a monster they fought with 5 people still couldn''t be killed suddenly died by the hands of one man.
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The man grabbed his sword and took it out of the corpse. He then stabbed at the chest of the monster and grabbed the core. The leader after seeing the monster already died, tried to get up. But, because of the pain he suffered from crashing to the tree, he collapse on the ground. Fortunately, the soldier nearest to him was able to catch him in time. They then walk to the man who just saved their life. The man seeing this stopped whatever he was doing and looked at the officer.
"We thank you for saving our lives, sir." said the officer while bowing. The officer was not really that happy that he was saved by a stranger. Knowing most the strong people in this empire, this person might just demand compensation from him. "Ah..it''s nothing, I''m hungry anyway and that was a perfect opportunity to get some meat." replied the man. "Then for a compensation, let me help you wi-" the leader stopped after looking at his savior''s face.
His eyes got wider, while his mouth is gaping. He then asks "A-are you R-Reid Vulcan?". The man felt something was off. He checked the get-up of the officer. And immediately ran after seeing an emblem with horse picture attached to the armor of the leader. The group couldn''t pursue the man because of the injuries they suffered. "Fuck''in hell!" yelled the officer. The man he was sent to capture was right in front of them yet he manage to escape. He also has to bribe the other soldiers to alter information when they report in.
''They are already here, are they? But that is way too fast. Was there someone who leaked the destination I was heading?'' thought the man. He had been running from the convoy for weeks now. He went through the pain of not going to any villages too just to avoid people of the empire. Yet from all his efforts, they still manage to track him down to this place.
He kept running and running, he didn''t stop until he was stopped by a sudden attack out of nowhere. He was able to dodge the attack by a few millimeters with his reflex he polished from experiences on battlefield. ''What the hell?!'' he thought. Looking behind him, he saw a liquid stuck on some bushes. The bushes was slowly being eroded into liquid. Until what was left is only a puddle of water.
''Acid? The only acid this strong are... -!'' the man thought of the monster that he has fought before. Cycling through his memories he finally remembered, dread filled his thoughts now.
He looked at the direction where the attack came from. Sure enough, a group of spiders half the size of an adult human came out from the shadows. Reid''s face paled after seeing the spiders. Last time he fought a group of these they decimated his squad and left only a handful of survivors. The death of his comrades were more than enough to put his entire body on alert not minding his low stamina from running earlier.
"Verunum Spiders.." said Reid. "Out of all monsters to encounter, it has to be them. The world must want me dead. Why the fuck are they even here?! Their habitat is supposed to be weeks of journey from here!" Reid laughed bitterly. "I can beat them but not unscathed and they are faster than me. Let''s hope none of their spits hit me." said Reid with a serious face. He had polished his skills since the last time he fought them. But he knows more than anyone that he could not deal with all of them at once.
Few hours has passed since then, Reid can be seen in a cave leaning his body against a boulder. His face is as pale as snow. He had lost a lot of blood from his wounds. And the other half of his injuries consistent of melted skin and flesh. Looking at his right arm, parts of his bone could be seen. His entire left arm seem to have melted off. The left arm that should be attached to him is not there. While on his leather armor, there were signs of liquid on his left shoulder.
"Damn it. Who would expect for Verunum Spiders to ambush me here. Even I wouldn''t be able to be confident to survive in that battle." complained Reid to no one. He likes to talk to himself on his problems as it was rather relaxing for him. He raised his right arm, staring his wound. "The acid is one thing, but the variant''s poison is really dangerous. I can''t live for more than a day now.." said Reid. It was the same poison that once infected his comrade.
He then closes his eyes, remembering back his days when he was a captain of a platoon. Sharing laughter and sadness together. Fighting in many battle bravely even though they were against the odds. His face looked very gentle when reminiscing his memories. Those good old days where he did not have to worry about anyone betraying him.
"But after that damn woman Alys got promoted by that corrupted king, everything was taken away from me! Elena, Zolck, and even my friends!" the man like the previous monster was enraged. He had been through many painful experiences due to the woman named Alys.
Remembering those times, his face turned into one so angry, so cold, yet so sad. After losing everything, he wanted revenge on the one who made him miserable. He was prepared to die if he could achieve his goal. Even if a mountain filled with enemies were to be in the way, he would of charged through not caring about the odds of surviving. One could say that it was his way of making it out alive.
Unfortunately, the world isn''t fair. He wasn''t able to kill the General named Alys. What''s more, he is now dying inside the cave. A lot has happened in his life, but this last thing was something even he wasn''t able to accept. He has to find his way of getting revenge even if he has to sacrifice his own blood.
One day passed, somewhere inside a forest, there was a man, leaning his body against a boulder. His eyes can barely open. He then smiled and and his mouth opened "This is it, I can no longer hold on to a nonexistent miracle. I couldn''t take revenge for you. I''m sorry..Elena.." said Reid in his last breath. At the corner of his eyes, there are tears slowly crawling down his face. The face of the woman appeared in his mind.
As he dies, a bright red light illuminated the cave. It shined brightly that the soldiers that were searching for his retreated thinking it was a fire caused by a low breed dragon. Though the light only lasted for a few seconds until it become dark again.
[Ed: The writer uses the word ''suddenly'' excessively. There was also a slight beginner''s mistake here I took take off. Well it seems that was all for this chappy.
Damn I added the word count by a huge margin xD
I will re-edit the next chapter either today or tomorrow until then-
-Your editor signing out-]
Chapter 1 - Leon [Edited]
North, far north from the capital, there was a small, isolated village. Said village is near a river. A woman holding three buckets can be seen walking to the river with a cheerful little boy. The boy had been running too fast so the mother was having a hard time catching up to him.
"Mom~, you''re so slow! The merchant will be coming to the village later. I don''t want to miss them!" the boy shouted. He had always love to see the random things that the merchants picked up from their journey.
"No need to be impatient, Leon. They will come here 3 hours later, we have a lot of time before they come" replied the mother. "Leon, take this bucket and harvest the herbs around those trees." said mother while pointing to some trees nearby.
"Why do we need the herbs, mom?" Leon asked. As he was a young child, he was very ignorant on the ways of how the world works. Whenever the child asks, the mother would answer the child''s question.
"We can use them to trade stuffs with the merchants. You do want some new things to play with, don''t you?" replied the mother.
She knew how to exactly get her child to do the thing she wants.
"Oh! Then I''ll get a whole lot of them so I can buy a lot of stuff." Leon said happily thinking about what the merchants will bring to the village. Whenever some thing grabs his interest, he would do all in his power to acquire it.
Leon ran towards the trees his mother pointed to get the herbs. Seeing this, his mother showed a gentle smile happy having raised Leon to be cheerful.
"Now, I need to finish taking the water and collect the fruits nearby" the mother said as she walk to the river..
An hour and half passed, Leon is running to his mother who is collecting fruits. He is holding a bucket full of herbs. He had practically been digging out herbs from the bushes. In fact, the herbs he got were fairly high quality as it was freshly picked.
"Mom! I''ve got a bucket full of them! Now we can trade for things right?" Leon asked happily. He was thinking of the stuff he might to be able to get with them.
"Good, Leon! Now let''s go home so that we can rest while waiting the merchants to come." the mother said.
"Yes~" replied Leon
They pack up their things and went on their way to their house. In the middle of the walk, Leon''s mother suddenly felt unease. However, seeing Leon''s happy face, she immediately put the feeling back at a corner of her mind. Ten minutes passed, they finally reached their village and walk to the east side of the village. There can be seen a wooden house with a beautiful garden around it. Leon walk in the house as he open the door.
"Dad~, we''re home~"
After he said that, a middle-aged man suddenly comes out of a room and with a smile, went to Leon and his mother.
"Welcome home, Leon." the father said.
Leon''s father look at Leon and was a bit surprised after seeing that Leon is carrying bucket full of herbs. A normal 6-years old wouldn''t be able to carry it without breaking a sweat yet Leon did it easily.
"Look at these, dad! Mom said we can use them to trade with the merchants!" Leon said. "I wonder what I should trade it for." Leon continued not noticing his father''s slightly shocked face.
"No need to rush, Leon. There''s a lot of time left before they come, go play in the village" Leon''s father reminded him. The boy was too dangerous to be in the house with how energetic he is while waiting for something.
"True! I''m going to find Peter then!" said Leon as he put down the bucket and quickly goes out of the house. Not remembering about his sister.
After Leon goes out, his father and mother stared at each other with an awkward smile. The father broke the silence by saying-
"Did you feed him something weird, Arianna?" the father playfully accuses
"No, George." replied Arianna. She did not like the way he worded it out.
"Ah, he must be walking when he was carrying the bucket" George said. He found it hard to believe that such a young boy is able to carry that amount of load.
"Wrong again, he was running" Arianna denied. She even had a hard time to catch up to him.
"..Then how-" George asked
"Don''t ask me" she replied
*sigh*
"I''m going to put these in the back" Arianna said while carrying the buckets towards the back of the house.
"Chief asked me to come to his house so I''m going out too." George said while reaching for the door. But then, he felt a sudden chill.
"Ah, don''t forget to pick up Leila. And don''t you forget, or I''ll do something you wouldn''t forget." Arianna said while smiling. It was not the same smile she had back near the forest.
"O-okay..Would you please don''t go to--Never mind, I''m going now." George went out quickly after seeing his wife''s ''gentle'' smile. He would rather not anger the wolf in the sheep''s clothing.
Giving up trying to find an answer, they return to do their work. Five minutes later, Leon can be seen running towards a weapon shop. Standing in front the door, he started knocking the door. Getting no reply, he decided to climb a tree nearby and get in from the windows.
As he opens the window, Leon immediately closed his ears after hearing sudden loud sounds of metal. He jumped inside from the window and start to find his way to the back of the shop. There he meets an old man holding a hammer on his right hand hammering an iron and a boy about 7-years old who is taking out burned steels from the furnace. Leon went beside the old man curious about what he is doing.
"Uncle Thomas, wha-" Leon couldn''t finish what he want to ask.
"HOLY SH-! L-Leon? You brat, I told you to not sneak up on me like that!"
As Leon was about to say something, the old man, Thomas, got surprised and was about to run until he noticed that it was Leon. The boy at the furnace also got startled but not as bad as his father. The boy walked to the two while smiling and asked
"What are you doing here, Leon?...And I''m sure I locked the door."
"Oh, I came from the window. Peter, I''ll be bored waiting the merchants so let''s go outside and play!" Leon said cheerfully. He was completely oblivious to his wrong doings.
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"Uhh.." Peter glanced at his father. Sighing, Thomas went back to his spot and showed a smirk, he said "Go on. If that brat is here, we might not be able to produce even a small dagger". The last time Leon was here, the old man almost had a blood vein burst because of the child''s antics.
Having approved by his father, Peter quickly went upstairs to his room to clean himself since he got dirty from blacksmithing. A few minutes later, he went downstairs with a set of new clothes and went outside to play with Leon.
"So, what are we gonna do?" Leon asked. A normal person would of think of that before asking his friends to come out and play but unfortunately Leon was not ''normal''.
"Huh? Wait a minute, you didn''t think of it before coming to grab me?" Peter asked. He rather enjoyed the presence of Leon since it was never dull being around him.
"I thought you would have a good idea." Leon said tilting his head trying to look cute.
"God, why am I even his friend?" Peter sighed. "Well, lets go to the river and compete who catches the biggest fish!" He had been practicing to catch fish since the last cycle. Every end of the week, he would come to the river to catch a fish for the family.
"All right, the one who is late need to do one demand from the winner!" Leon started running after saying that. Leaving behind his friend.
"Wait- you damn cheater!!" Peter said and started running towards the river.
"Hey, I think the merchants are almost here. Lets go back." Peter said. He was not enjoying the current situation.
"Don''t avoid it Peter~. Just admit that I''m a better catcher than you." Leon said mockingly. He finally had the upper hand in this game.
"..Shut up, Leon. Its not my fault, the big ones weren''t near me!" Peter replied a bit angry. Little did he know, it was because of him mending iron at the forge earlier.
"Yes, yes. Now lets go back." Leon replied with a sarcastic tone. This achievement of his would be bragged for days to come!
The duo went back to the village and went straight to the center of the village. At the center, there were other villagers wanting to trade their stuffs such as herbs, raw materials, woods and some other. Leon is pretty famous in the village because he always goes wandering around the village in his free time so he was greeted by the villagers.
[Ed: You don''t put central in the place of center! That is a note for all of you guys!]
"Leon, I''ve got to help my dad carry some stuff so I need to get back to the shop now" Peter said.
"Alright, I''m going to find my mother then." Leon replied.
After Peter went back to his shop, Leon looked around searching for his mother. After a while, he spotted his father carrying two buckets full of fruits and herbs and his mother who is holding the hands of a little girl around 3-year old. Leon immediately run to his family. His father seeing him stop walking and put down the buckets he was carrying to the ground and began stretching to remove fatigue.
"Now that you''re back, help me and do some work by carrying these." George said
Leon hearing this nodded and pick up both buckets and start walking to catch up with his mother leaving his surprised father behind. Seeing an empty bench nearby, they went to it to rest while waiting the merchants to appear. Leon put down the bucket next to the bench while his mother sit on the bench. George was playing hide and seek with the little girl.
"Leila~ where are you~" George said. Though it was evidently clear where our Leila was hiding.
"Leila not behind tree!" a cute voice was heard talking in a broken language that is vaguely familiar.
[Ed: Her position has been revealed! MOVE OUT MEN!]
Arianna smiled when she saw his family playing together. Not long after their rest, there can be heard a shout from one of the villagers.
[Ed: Again with the ''suddenly''. STOP it author-san]
"The merchant has come!"
Hearing this, the villagers quickly took their goods and walk to the main road. But unexpectedly, what they saw was a damaged carriage with arrows stuck in it and have signs of being cut. There were about 15 people in armor surrounding the carriage. Some of them had their armor stained with blood. A lot of them had injuries such as arrows stuck on their back. The carriage and the men reached the center. A door of the carriage is opened and a man walk out from the carriage. Seeing this, a villager with an appearance of 60-years old approached the man.
"Get the pharmacist." the old man ordered a nearby villager.
"I thank you for your concern, village chief." said the man
"What happened on your way to this village? Were you attacked?" Village chief asked. He had to confirm the situation before making assumptions.
[Ed:Previous line -"What happened on your way to this village? Were you attacked by beasts in the forest?" THE GUARDS HAVE ARROWS STICKING OUT OF THEIR BACKS IDIOT]
"We did, it was bandits" replied the man. He knew it was going to be grim for the villagers.
"Bandits!?" the village chief and the villagers was shocked to hear that there were bandits a few days away from them.
"Yes, bandits! It was luck that all the mercenaries I hired was capable. We managed to stay alive and avoid having goods stolen away. Though one of the mercenary wouldn''t be able to do his job anymore after having an arrow to his knee" the man said. "The poor lad might have to quit his current life too. It be better if he just became a guard."
"Bandits are near, we will need to defend our village. There is no doubt that they will target our village since we are far from the capital."
While the village chief and the man discuss about the bandits, at the side of the crowds, Arianna felt worried after hearing that bandits might come to the village. She fears that her children will be hurt if they were to come. Behind her, George who is giving Leila a piggyback had a serious look on his face.
[Ed: The author commonly uses British spellings for his words. I changed them because some find that as their pet peves. Me not included
I had to edit this thing 4 times! The text won''t update so I kept re-editing.]
Chapter 2 - Body Strengthening
After they finished trading with the merchant, Leon''s family return to their house. Leon and his father are carrying a lot of goods they got from the merchants such as foods, clothes and materials from other villages. Leon''s father, George, prefer to walk slow so he is always at the back. As they enter their house, George told Leon to play since its still early. Leyla had already fell asleep on the way to the house so Arianna had to carry her to her room.
After storing the goods they traded for, George and Arianna sat on the sofa at the living room.
"George, we should decide now, whether to teach him or not." Arianna said
"Yes, but are you sure? He is still 6-years old. It might be too hard for him." George replied
"The bandits might come sooner or later, George, and you know that! We should at least make him strong so he can protect himself and Leyla!" shouted Arianna
"...You won''t regret it? You will not be able to see him for one year. Until after he is done with his body training." George said
"...If its for our children''s safety." she replied
"..."
"..."
"Then I will make him strong. So, don''t be worried anymore."
George rose from the sofa as he said that and walk out of the living room leaving Arianna alone.
The next day, as Leon was about to go outside, he heard the voice of father calling him from behind his house. He went behind his house and saw his father taking out some tools from the store. There were a lot of things such as logs, clothing such as gloves and shoes, and some sharp tools. Leon wonders what his father want him for so he waited until his father finish what he is doing. Taking out the last tool, his father sit on the ground while drinking a bottle of cold water. Then he look at Leon who is sitting right in front of him.
"Leon, starting today, I''m going to have you wearing all of these." George said as he gives Leon a set of clothes
"Why? Is what I''m wearing not good, dad?" he asked
"Just wear it and you will feel the differences" George ordered
Don''t want to disobey his father, he wore what was given to him. Gloves, shoes, pants and shirt, it was a full normal leather set. Except for the fact that it is very heavy that Leon almost fell down to the ground because of its heaviness. Barely able to stand straight, he look at his father with a strained face
"Dad, why is this so heavy? I can''t even stand straight!" Leon asked
"Don''t ask. Now follow me." George said as he walk to the front of the house
"Why are we stopping here?" Leon asked
"We''re going to jog around the village, what else? If you can''t keep up for at least one lap, you are not going to have meat for dinner!" George said as he start to jog
"What?! MY MEAT!!" Leon shouted and start to catch up to his father afraid of the punishment.
Two hours passed. In front of a house, there can be seen two people, one man sitting on a chair and one boy collapsed on the ground. They''re both gasping for air with their bodies full of sweat. The man, George, had a surprised look when he remembering what happened during the past one hour.
''What the hell?! If he is able to catch up when jogging with me, that is reasonable. But when he is wearing those heavy clothes and keep up with me for 5 laps around the village, that is ridiculous!!'' George thought. ''Ah..I guess we can move the schedule a bit early''
Since then, George has been making Leon jog with him every morning. Every time, he would put more weight on Leon''s body whenever he can keep up with him. After a month passed, Leon who is still in the middle of stretching his body got interrupted when his father called him.
"Leon, since you can move faster than me now, I want you to tie this rope to your body" George said
"Alright, dad. What is this rope for....logs? A-are you saying I need to jog with this on?" he asked a little frightened
"I''m happy to see my son is very smart! Now let''s start our routine!" George said ignoring what Leon said
Hearing that, Leon''s face starts to pale thinking how hard it will be. Wearing the clothes are heavy enough and now the log, he will be two times as tired. Like before, every time Leon got used to running with a number of logs, George would add one more to make it more difficult. At the end of the fifth month, Leon had already started to run with 4 logs tied on him.
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One day, when Leon was about to get the log at the store, his father interrupted him again. This time, he is holding two empty buckets. Leon with a look already knew that his father is going to make him do something new again.
"As you can guess, you''re going to have another activity in your routine now." his father said while smiling though Leon only felt shudder from hearing that
"W-what is it, dad?" Leon asked
"You''re going to jog to the river, collect the water with these buckets and put them in the well next to our house. Of course, you''re still going to wear the weights and tie the log to your body, so don''t worry!" his father explains
''Make it easier!!'' Leon thought
Once, Leon tried to sneak away from what his father told him, he got punished eating vegetables for one whole week. As simple as it is, vegetables is one thing that he hates for food. Because of that, he no longer dared to run away from his father.
Doing the same routine everyday, a year passed since the start of the exercise. Leon has matured mentally since his father is always strict with him. The past few weeks George had been cleaning the store and taking out a lot of equipment, and tools. He also took some clothes and foods from the house and put them inside a bag.
At night, after finishing dinner, he called Leon to the living room. Walking into the living room, Leon saw his father sitting on a chair looking at him. The atmosphere is serious that even Leon can feel it right after entering the room. Seeing Leon in his view, he points his finger to a chair as to signal Leon to sit. As he sit, the silence continues until his father broke the silence.
"Leon, do you know why did I make you to do all of those things?" George asked
"Hmm..To make me become a blacksmith?" Leon replied with an awkward smile
"..." George got stunned by his guess. "...No, Leon. It was to train your body to be able to protect yourself!" George said
"Protect myself? Do you mean I''ll need to fight someone soon?" Leon asked since there haven''t been any incidents around the village other than the merchant''s being attacked.
"Perhaps. Though I hope it doesn''t come to that. Now let''s go on the main topic. Leon, we''re going to a mountain nearby to teach you how to fight."
"M-mountain?! Wait wait wait, does mom have a say in this? And teach me how to fight? Dad, you know how to fight?" Leon got surprised that his father wants him to go to mountain suddenly.
"I''ve already talk with your mom one year ago and she agreed. The reason is because she is worried of your safety in case something unexpected happens." George explained. "And yes, I do know how to fight."
After some more talk, they return to their room. Leon, although a bit sad leaving his village where he always play everyday, yet still felt a little excited because it had been his dream to go for an adventure albeit he knew it will be only for one year. The next day, after they saying their goodbyes with Arianna and Leyla, they walk to the mountain at south of the village with bags on their back.
Three days later, as they made their way to the base of the mountain at noon. Getting off the horses they borrowed from his father''s friend from a village they passed by on their way to the mountain, they immediately took out their lunch to eat. After they finish eating lunch, George stands in front Leon while taking a weapon out from their luggage.
"Now I will teach you, the Panthera Arts"
Authors'' Note
Last chapter of the week~ I could only post chapters on weekends as I can''t open my laptop on school days. By the way, I will not and will never stop writing this fiction (Of course, unless something happens to me) since I want to end it with water! So wait for more in the next Saturday~ (I hope I have at least one follower by then)
[Ed: Even the Author''s Note has mistakes. And what does ''end it with water'' mean? There is supposed to be more character build-up between the MC and the two females in his family but it seems that might not happen due to the authors slight mistakes.]
Chapter 3 - Return
In a middle of the mountain forest, a small part of it is covered in a thick mist. Two shadows can be seen trapped inside the mist. One is big as a monster while the other is small as a human child.
*thud* *thud* *thud*
Sounds of loud footsteps can be heard as the monster rushed towards the human figure. The human seeing this could barely dodge the tackle of the monster by jumping to the side because of the short distance. Having its attack dodged, the monster couldn''t stop in time to avoid crashing into a nearby boulder.
*boom*
Because its head crashed the boulder first, it got dizzy from the strong impact. Seizing the opportunity, the human figure quickly move next to the monster to attack. A faint glint could be seen on his hand as he raises his arm.
"Panthera Arts Fatal Claw!"
[Ed: I can see that the author was influenced by the wuxia he always reads]
The human figure lowered his arm in an instant as he shouted. The monster who was dizzy just now collapses to the ground not moving. The mist seem to slowly fades away revealing the identity of the two shadows
On the ground, a lifeless body of a huge boar lies in the middle of a blood puddle. There were five small yet deep slashes on the corpse letting out rivers of blood.
"Phew, that was close. If that were to hit me, its tusks would left my body with holes."
Next to the corpse, there stood Leon wearing leather clothes and a backpack on his back. His hand has some signs of small injuries after his fight against the boar. He turns his head to his right and started to walk.
"Ho ho, my little son now can finally defeat a Rank D- Mist Boar. It must be because of my great teachings!"
A man''s voice could be heard at the direction where Leon is heading to. Sitting on grass, his father, George was evaluating Leon''s fight against the Mist Boar since the start. Although he had a calm expression on his face, in actuality, he was a little surprised since Mist Collection are harder to defeat alone as they can release mist from their mouth.
"Probably, but why are they D-rank, dad? The boar''s attack is easy to dodge as long as they aren''t near since they can only charge in a straight line."
"Easy? Even C-rank could have their bones broken if they were to let their guard down. They are rank as such because the mist makes them harder to be detected an- Wait where are you going?!"
"Cutting the meat is better than hearing your long explanations!"
[Ed: You tell ''em Leon xD]
A few seconds after his father starts to lecture him, to which Leon immediately runs towards the lifeless boar. He took out a knife from his backpack and starts to cut the meat for dinner. On the other while, his father is squatting next to a tree while mumbling "It''s not my fault--".
As night came by, Leon lit up a fire by using flints and his knife. He took some meat that he got from the boar earlier and used a stick to penetrate at the middle. He then sticks them on the ground next to the fire. After a few minutes, he then called out to his father.
"Dad, dinner is almost ready!"
"I''M COMING!!"
[Ed: If our weird friend was the editor he would have changed this to a lewd word.]
A few seconds later, George appeared next to him looking tired and a little sweaty. He once had to eat only vegetables for three days because Leon ate all the meat when he was setting up their tents. He now didn''t dare to be late when Leon is the one who is cooking. George sat cross-legged next to Leon and took a cooked stick of meat.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
"..Its been a year, huh."
"Yeah."
Both father and son stared at the dark sky filled with bright stars. The brilliantly colored skies were astonishing. The smudges of purple and hints of blue. The bright dots and colorful spiral shapes could be seen by the naked eyes. The skies seemed the same since the first day they got here.
[Ed: Oh hey! I wrote this paragraph!]
It has been one year since they went to the mountain to train Leon. Leon now had become stronger than he was at the village after having everything beat into him from basic knowledge to fighting by his father. After a few seconds, they showed a slight smile on their face.
""Lets sleep"" they said at the same time
Leon stood up and poured a bucket of water to the bonfire as it can attract monsters at night. Since their tents was destroyed a few months ago, he had to climb on a nearby tree and lie his body on a thick branch. Looking at his right, his father had already fell asleep on the tree next to him. Leon closes his eyes and thought of his village which he left for a year. Without knowing, he went into a deep sleep as the darkness covered the mountain side.
*thud*
"That''s the last one of them, dad"
"Alright. Now hurry up and get on the cart. Arriving at night would kill the mood of happy reunion, you know."
Having done putting all the luggage on the cart which they bought from a nearby village, Leon leaped onto the cart and took a seat on a side. His father is riding on the horse carrying the cart, they started to move after seeing Leon sat on the cart. Going down the mountain, Leon remembered all the training he has completed with the guidance of his father. Fighting monsters, and even being left alone to survive in the forest for a week. For one year, he has been training and now he is going back to where he was born. He stares back at the mountain, cherishing everything he learned in the mountain, he left the mountain which was once known as Blessed Mountain.
Two days and a half passed since they left for their village. As they were impatient to return home, they sped up their pace to arrive faster. They maintained the pace for three hours until they saw something on their right side. It was a river with flowing water as gentle as the wind blowing. They felt excited after seeing the river that they have known for so long. Right now, ten seconds felt long for them. As they start to move, ten seconds turns into one minute. And one minute into three minutes.
After a while, they saw wooden houses two hundred meter to the north of them. It has been one full year! And now they have returned to their village. His father quickened the pace and turns to the east side of the village. On the distance, a wooden house with beautiful garden next to it can be seen. Outside the house, one can see a woman is busy hanging the clothes while a girl is playing in the beautiful garden. As George stopped in front of the house, Leon jumped off the cart and ran towards the woman.
"Mom! We are home!!"
[Ed: He he he.]
Chapter 4 - Two Months
"Man, its really boring without Peter."
Currently, Leon is aimlessly wandering around the village. One day passed after he returned home. Leon was shocked by the news of village chief''s death when Leon was training in the mountain. Leon felt sad since the village chief was like a grandfather to him. Feeling sad, he visited his friend''s, Peter''s, house only to be revealed by Thomas that Peter went to a village near the capital to train blacksmithing with Thomas''s brother. As he wanders around, he was stopped by call behind him.
"Hey, Leon! Come here for a moment."
"Brat, help me with this stuff."
Leon looked around to see villagers calling him everywhere. After talking a bit, he found out that his father told (BRAGGED) the villagers that he is strong. After the news spreads around, the villagers now are trying to ask Leon for help with their work since most of them are too old to do them. As he didn''t have any work to do, he helped the villagers with all sorts of work ranging from farming to hunting. Sometimes, after he finishes a work, he would be given something such as foods or items as a reward so he didn''t feel unhappy doing the jobs.
As he keep finishing jobs from the villagers, he barely had the time to do necessities such as eating before someone comes asking help. Few hours passed with Leon working nonstop helping villagers. Next to a small wooden house, Leon is chopping some woods requested by an old man.
"And..that''s the last one." Leon said as he chopped the last wood. "Eh, did someone put out the torch..?" Doing many work nonstop, he didn''t even notice that the day is turning into night. Still confused, a voice was heard from behind. Leon turned around and saw an old man walking towards him.
"What torch? You''re outside, brat! Its almost dark now so you better get home!"
"Ah, old man! The woods are done now. Wait..dark? Oh no! Leila is waiting!"
"Wha- Wait, brat! You forgot--..I''ll give him tomorrow I guess"
Realizing that it''s getting dark, he forgot his promise to play with Leila. Putting down the axe, he quickly ran to his house. He returned home in less than two minutes since the old man''s house was just a few meters from his house.
"Lei-- ..I''m dead.." Opening the door, he saw Leila sleeping on his mother''s-, Arianna''s lap while having hints of tears on the corner of her eyes. Looking at his mother, his body shivers after seeing a cold smile on her face. While smiling, she stared at Leon while saying,
[Ed: RUN BITCH RUN!]
"Its vegetables for dinner"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
[Ed: Oh never mind.]
The next day, Leon made a timetable to make sure he doesn''t make the same mistake again. In the morning, he would train his body by doing the same exercises when he was 6 years old before sparring with his father. Next, he would help villagers with chores from afternoon to evening. Though he saved some time to play with his sister out of fear of his mother. At night, his mother would teach him how to read and write because Leon never had time to learn before.
Stolen story; please report.
As usual, Leon walked in the middle of the road of the village so that the villagers can see him. As his expected, there were calls from every direction. He went to one house to another and did all the work given. He also went to the yesterday''s old man''s house to cut firewood. As he finished, the old man came and threw something to Leon. Barely manage to catch it, he look on his hand to see a pair of leather gloves. And then the old man said,
"I was about to give you this and you already ran off. Take those. Your hands are better protected with those."
Happy with the gloves, he wore it right away and clench his fist to get used to the gloves. As the day darkens, he walk back home with a bag full of things he received as compensation from the villagers. He put the bag in his room and look around the living room to find his sister. He found it weird why she didn''t find him to play. Looking around, he saw his sister is sitting next to his mother with eyes closed. He was about to go to them until a hand grabbed his shoulder to stop.
"What? You''re lonely without her?"
"Eh? Dad? Ah, no, just wond-"
"Well whatever. Just make sure to not disturb her if she is like that..or vegetables for dinner"
Hearing the last part, he nodded his head quickly out of fear. He has never liked vegetables. Even he doesn''t know why. After eating dinner, since he can already read and write, he went outside to garden next to his house and began practicing martial arts.
With the exception of his father sometimes having a spar with him, everyday was the same. Two months passed. Leon is eating breakfast made by his mother. Suddenly, his sister, Leila appeared and told him that she have something to show him after dinner. Since it is still early, he thought nothing of it and went outside to start his physical training.
Few hours passed since then and Leon is currently walking towards a shop to buy some meat for his house. And suddenly, a loud voice was heard,
"BANDITS! BANDITS ARE ATTACKING!!"
[Ed: Just to inform you guys. The author decided to change the spelling of the name ''Leyla'' because it was derived from our country''s spelling of the name. The current spelling ''Leila'' is more influenced by English speakers.
Oh and- "Very timing, Much wow.]
Chapter 5 - Escape
Bandits. Two years ago, the village was shocked by the information from the merchant about bandits. And now, a troop of bandits are attacking the village where Leon is living.
"RUN! BANDITS ARE COMING!"
After being trained in a mountain full of beasts for a year, Leon has the ability to make a decision calmly and quickly. He quickly ran towards his house to find his family. He determined that the bandits are at attacking from the north of the village first since the villagers are running towards the south.
*sobs* *sobs*
"My, my, what is a little girl like you doing here?"
In front of a house, a little girl is crying because of the chaos. Suddenly, a man appeared in front of her with a lecherous smile on his face. The girl was frightened after seeing the man.
"Why don''t you come with me and serve to please me?"
[Ed: Oh damn, even I shivered.]
As the man was about to grab the girl, a boy appeared from behind of the man and did high roundhouse kick hitting precisely on the lower jaw. The man who was taken off guard fell unconscious after landing on the ground a few meters from the girl. The girl was shocked by the sudden change stared at the boy. The boy was of course Leon who went to save her after seeing a bandit targeting her.
"Hurry, get on my back!"
Crouching in front of the girl, he told her to hold on to him so that they can move faster. However, noticing that the girl was still in shocked state, Leon sighed and carried her in his arm. After that, Leon went straight to the direction where his house is at.
Arriving at his house, he saw his mother holding Leila''s hand with his father was about to put down a bag on the cart they used before. Leon quickly went to his family to make sure his family is not worried about him. After reuniting with his family, his mother wanted to asked about the girl he is carrying until he said he will explain later. Giving it no mind, they quickly got on the cart. His father then ordered the horse to move fast to the south of the village.
Unfortunately, while they were running for their lives, a wild arrow suddenly came by and pierced the leg of the horse making the cart lose balance and crash to a tree.
"Bandits!"
Leon''s father, George, was the first to get out of the cart. Looking around, he saw five bandits armed with spears, knives and a sword sprinting towards them.
"Leon, help them get out of the cart!"
Cursing himself for forgetting to bring weapons from his house, he ordered Leon who was still inside the cart to help the others. At the same time as George called Leon, two bandits armed with knives moved towards him after seeing the opportunity.
*CRACK* *CRACK*
"WAAAAARGH"
"AAAARGH"
The other three bandits was stunned by what George did. He swiftly avoided the knives and then he grabbed the hands of the two bandits. Disarming the knives, he then mercilessly broke the bandit''s hands with sheer power of his grip. The bandits immediately fell on their knees while screaming in pain. With sharp eyes, George looked at the other three bandits and said,
[Ed: Them moves!]
"So, who is next?"
While this is happening, Leon already got his mother, Leila and the little girl out of the cart. Although, Leila and the little girl was unconscious after the crash happened. Leon was about to join with his father before his mother stopped him from going by holding his hand.
George leaped off from where he was and appeared next to a bandit wielding a spear. He grabbed the spear with his left hand while making a spear hand with his other hand. And without even the bandit able to get panic, he thrust his hand to the side of the bandit''s body, making the bandit unconscious. Not stopping, he continued by sprinting towards the sword-wielding bandit. He stopped right in front of the bandit and did a sucker punch to the stomach. As the bandit was frightened, he was unable to react in time to dodge the attack and crouches on the ground while holding his stomach.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
After defeating one bandit after another, George look around to find the last bandit only to see the bandit already ran away. Seeing as the situation is safe, he hit the unconscious bandit''s back of the neck to further disable them.
"Here, take it. You might need them later."
As he collect the weapons the bandits had dropped, he gave the sword and two knives to Leon. He kept the spear and a knife to himself to use. After that, they started to move quickly towards the south to rejoin with other escaped villagers. Although they wanted to escape as quick as possible, they kept getting slowed down by bandits who keeps appearing after a few minutes. George and Leon were forced to fight so that they can move on.
Twenty minutes passed but Leon and his family were still in the village fighting the bandits. Killing one bandit after another, a bright glow envelopes Leon and his father. Leon was confused seeing this weird phenomenon for the first time but then calmed down after hearing his father said,
"Oh? Its time already? Haha, no need to be confused, Leon. Your mother can use a bit of support magic."
A few seconds later, he noticed that the fatigue he had been accumulating is gone. He glanced at her mother to her and nods his head. With faint signs of smile on his face, he attacks the bandits while nimbly using the knives.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Another five minute passed, as they were killing another group of bandits, a deep voice but loud enough for them to hear was heard from a distance. Hearing this voice, the bandits, George and Leon stopped in their tracks. Turning their head towards the direction, Leon saw a man holding a sword dripping with blood standing around 20 meters from them.
"I''ve been wondering why my comrades came to me asking for help. Turns out its because of this little family trying to escape from Blood Drip Bandits. You should know that it''s fairly impossible now."
Observing the situation, the man calmly said after landing his eyes on Leon''s family.
"Well then, since they killed a lot of ours, we need to return the favor, don''t we?"
Saying that, group of bandits appeared one after another behind the man until the bandits numbered more than hundred.
"Leon, you must take your sister and that girl to run to the south as fast as you can! You must live!"
At the same time as the bandits appears, George whispered Leon what he need to do. Noticing what his father meant, Leon quickly replied,
"W-wait, I''m fighti-"
"No, Leon. If you die, we will die in vain. I''m staying to help your father...Please, protect yourself and Leila."
As he was about to object, suddenly, his mother hold him and said to him. Wanting to protect his parent''s wish, he carried the little girl on his back and hold the hand of his now conscious little sister. And then, he ran towards the south ignoring the dangers behind.
"How tearful, letting your child escape. Since we couldn''t get them, we will take your wife for ourselves"
"How despicable! I''d rather, no, I will kill myself after my husband die!"
"Heh, I married one scary wife, didn''t I?"
"Save for the talks in the afterlife. Now then, what are you idiots staring at? ATTACK!"
Raising his sword to the sky, the man ordered the bandits to attack George and Arianna.
[Ed: Poor Arianna didn''t get much character build-up.]