Four years…?"

My voice cracked halfway through.

"Four? F-O-U-R?!"

No… I had to be hearing it wrong.

I repeated it in my head again and again, as if the number would somehow change.

Four years…

By then…

Even my own family might forget that they had a child named Owen.

"Calm down, kid." Rowan's voice cut down my train of thought. "You're quite lucky, to be honest. At least you know what you want now and can prepare for it."

I looked up at him, barely holding myself together.

"It's not a competition anyone can go and win. Yes, some people enter the competition just for fun, but others, trust me, they are strong. Frighteningly strong."

His gaze slowly ran over my body, measuring, evaluating.

"Still… I don't think you're weak either."

I stiffened slightly.

"For a ten or eleven-year-old, your physique is decent. If that… rather interesting stigmata of yours is any useful…"

He paused.

"You might have a chance."

My chest tightened.

"What star is it?"

"Z-zero" The words barely left my mouth. 

I have been answering this question my whole life, only to feel humiliated about it every time. 

"Hm?" Rowan tilted his head.

"Ahh.... Just dammit!! Zero stars!!! Okay? So shut it now!"

Silence.

Rowan's face looked like that of someone watching a delusional kid making up stories about how he saved the world yesterday. 

After a moment of silence, he smiled again. Awkwardly.

"Ha... Haha... Right... Do you want to stay in this forest forever, boy? I can give you a job."

'This damned...'

"I already have two skills, though, even without my stigmata."

The words came out faster than I expected.

Even I was surprised.

"I don't need charity. I can win."

Rowan blinked. 

"Two skills?" His expression sharpened. "Looks like you're quite rich for a commoner."

"Huh?! I learned it from my father, not a skill book."

I could see his jaw drop and eyebrows raised, an expression to look at, and I swear, it was quite satisfying to look at.

"...I see. So, you're quite special. Anyway, let's talk later. I have a few errands to run"

He turned away, holding the plough; he went out of the house with a complicated face. 

'Is he going to a farm?'

Sigh! 

Now I need to analyse my situation from the beginning.

'First of all, why did I learn 'Mana Borrow'? It's a skill set from a completely different stigmata, "Stigmata of Dependency.''

It wouldn't be a problem if I learned it like the Fireball skill, but this time it was different. I was sure it was somehow related to my stigmata. 

I learnt it after my stigmata somehow got activated. And I was trying to copy my father to absorb mana and push it into the spear. 

'Does my stigmata allow me to learn the skills from others? 

I stared at my hand. I couldn't be sure.

But if it was true—

Then this "zero-star" wasn't useless.

Not even close.

Second—

The Dark Wyverns.

Something was wrong.

My mother said the monsters looked as if they had been created. Did someone deliberately mutate them with something? 

They were far stronger than an average Dark Wyvern. And more than that, three Dark Wyverns were in the same town? 

I couldn't really digest it. 

Either it was some big accident, or someone was behind it.

And honestly?

I was starting to believe the latter.

Third—

My situation here.

I don't think there's any better option for me other than the Competition.

The royal families might be able to arrange something in a year.

But why would they?

To them, I was nothing.

'I guess I really have no choice now'

Sigh...

"…Four years."

I exhaled slowly.

I just have to make sure that I win no matter what.

I can wait. No, I have to wait. In fact, I should just take my time to understand this stigmata properly. 

'Should I also ask Rowan to train me?' 

I hesitated. He was strong. That much was obvious. But would he even agree?

Sigh... 

With another deep sigh, I opened my status window. 

Name: Owen Grey

Species: Demi-God

Rank: Apprentice

Age: 12

Level: 12

Strength : D-

Defence: E

Agility: C

Intelligence: E+

Mana: E

Luck: 12

[Stigmata of Void (Active)]

Stigmata of Void: ☆ (0-star)

Passive: Beginner Swordsmanship (31.63%), Beginner Spearmanship (28.31%), Beginner Mana Manipulation(19.89%).

Skills: Fireball(1-star), Mana Borrow(???)

'My agility is already pretty good... Mana increased to E. 'Beginner Spearmanship' also increased more than 3%. Destroying that bastard's eye was more effective than I thought. I just used a skill though. 

Well, since I didn't kill any monsters, I didn't get any experience points. So my level is still the same.

"Wait... Luck increased by 3?"

'That's unusual.' I even missed the notifications. 

Luck is a stat that rarely increases. Most of the time, it doesn't even increase as you level up. There's also a chance for it to remain the same throughout one's whole life. So luck is considered in a separate category from the other stats. 

And my luck was, not so surprisingly, very poor. For that luck to increase by 3....

And as for these four years...

"…Level 20." I clenched my fist.

"That's the minimum."

***

At the same time—

In the fields beyond the cabin—

Rowan stood still, staring at nothing.

His major concern today was, obviously, the demigod kid he had just got acquainted with, Owen Grey. 

"A zero star stigmata..." He muttered quietly. "Impossible." 

Yet the boy didn't seem like a liar.

If anything—

He seemed painfully honest.

"And two skills… learned without a book?"

Rowan frowned.

"That's not normal either."

'Is it due to his strange stigmata or his talent?'

The sun was setting near the horizon, indicating it was finally time to return home.

"Owen Grey," A faint smile appeared. "You might be one of those…"

Rowan returned shortly afterwards and started preparing a mushroom dish for dinner.

*** 

I looked at the mushroom dish that Rowan served with a few questions in my mind. 

'Uh... I thought these mushrooms were poisonous.' I didn't really ask, so I decided to trust him on this.

But... 

'Why is he looking at me like that?'

For some reason, Rowan was staring at me for quite a while. 

"A-are you sure you like girls?" I asked cautiously.

"Yes... But I like you quite a bit."

My brain froze. "W-What the hell... B-b-but yo-you..."

"No. What are you talking about?" Rowan blinked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," I replied, shaking my head vigorously. 

After closing his eyes for a moment for the hundredth time this evening, he asked me with a rather serious face. 

"Owen, I'll ask you again. What is your plan now? "

After a moment of careful thinking, I decided to be as honest as possible. "...If you don't have any problems, I would like to stay in this forest for a while. I think I can train here. If I want to win the competition, I need to become stronger one way or the other."

"I see. In that case, I have a proposal. Would you like to hear it?" He locked his eyes with mine.

'A proposal?'

"Sure, what is it?"

"Owen, would you like to become my student? "

I blinked for a couple of seconds, slowly processing it in my brain. 

'His student?' 

'Wait! Isn't it... Isn't it like a jackpot?'

I was about to ask him to train me, but wasn't sure if he'd accept. I was even ready to beg him for it. And now, he's the one making the proposal?

"You mean like a teacher and a student? Like you'll teach me swords and stuff?"

"Well, you can think however you may want." 

"…Why?" I asked softly, my voice slightly cracked.

"I'm curious about you." A faint smile appeared on his face. "And I'd like to see you make it back home."

There's no way I could trust a guy that I just met today in the middle of a jungle. But this... Somehow, after all my miseries, hearing this made me want to bawl my eyes out.

"…Alright."

I bowed my head slightly.

"Please take care of me… teacher."

"Haha... Careful what you wish for. My training will be harsh."

"I can take it, teacher. Trust me, I already train harder than the others."

"Good. Take some rest now. We shall start tomorrow at sunrise."

There was no bed here, just dried hay. But I was quite certain that I'd fall asleep wherever I sleep now. 

It wasn't really that comfortable, but I really appreciated it. I could even see the stars shining brightly through the large ventilation of the cottage. 

'So beautiful...'

I wonder if they can see these same stars right now. The thought was still unfinished when sleep took me into her embrace.

And then...

Darkness...

I didn't know where I was, but I kept walking. My every sense told me to stop, but I kept walking.

I wanted to keep walking. 

Soon, I found myself in some place.

It was a place I was oddly familiar with—a place I missed dearly.

But...

Bodies were lying on the ground. They were all people whom I know. People from back home. 

Some treated me like trash, while others pitied me and were somewhat kind. 

Right now, they were all nothing but corpses, filling the ground up. 

I looked ahead and saw someone lying among these dead bodies.

My heart sank—my mother. Lying there, one of her arms was missing. 

The other arm held Marielle, whose body was already turned cold and pale. 

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulders from behind. 

I looked back and saw Esmeralda leaning onto me. She was limping in her legs, and her stomach had a large wound. And blood all over her hands.

She came closer. And then softly whispered.

''R-r... run away... I'll buy... some... time''

Before I could understand, I felt something hit me from the side. I fell to the ground and saw the Dark Wyvern grinning at me with one of its eyes missing. 

It flew towards me. The speed was so monstrous that it immediately threw me towards the pile of bodies. 

My eyes turned red. Breathing stopped. I tried looking for Esmeralda, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Just when I thought I was about to die, I heard a second roar from behind. 

Cold. 

Terrifying.

I—

"—HAH!"

I shot up. Panting.

'W-what? Where am I? A...a dream? It felt so real...'

I could feel my eyes turning blurry as I glimpsed the stars above. 

The sun was about to rise, and my training will begin today. 

"…They made it out…" I whispered. "…They have to."

Sigh...

'They surely think I died that night...'

It was really one of the worst feelings I've ever had. I didn't want them to suffer because of me. 

I needed to go back and tell them as soon as I could.

And for that, I needed to become strong. Much stronger than I am right now.

I wiped my tears and wore an old set of clothes that Rowan left for me. It's good to train in these clothes, as he told me. They were comfortable. 

I heard footsteps of someone entering the cabin. 

"Hoh... You woke up quite early." He looked slightly impressed, with the same smile as usual. 

"Yeah.... Looks like I'm a little excited too."

"Haha.... You might change your mind after today. You ready?"

Am I? I didn't really know. But still, I had to do it.

"Yeah... Let's go."

For my family... for myself... and for that damned Wyvern.

And for the sake of everything that's yet to come.