5

 

Id and his family’s lives had changed drastically. George stopped working as a village guard and started to hunt evil beasts in order to earn more money. Hunting boars or deer didn’t make him enough money to pay for the numerous treatments for Julia. George could earn quite a tidy sum by hunting the black panthers and saber-tooth tigers that call the forest their home. Influenced by the forest of evil spirits, these evil beasts were twice the size of ordinary beasts. They were faster and more robust to boot. Although it was a risky endeavor for George to hunt the beasts alone, he didn’t care. All he wanted was to extend Julias life, even just by a little.

 

George hunted the evil beasts with his crossbow, the only weapon he had left from his time as a mercenary. He was additionally equipped with four spears on his back, a spike and a quiver of quarrels made by the blacksmith’s workshop in Derevnya.

 

All of his earnings were directly used to pay the Nordburg Sanctuary for Julia’s regular treatment with sacred power.

 

Id’s daily life was also changed entirely. He had to take care of all the chores since Julia was bedridden all day long and George wasn’t home for several days at a time when he went out hunting evil beasts.

 

Id was busy from morning until evening. Quite frankly, the chores were too much for an eight-year-old to handle by himself. He had to fetch water from a significant distance from the village early in the morning. He was forbidden from using the well in the main area of the village since George was no longer a village guard. So he had to make multiple trips to a brook located a couple of kilometers away from the village. Following this, the boy had to prepare breakfast and feed his mother a bowl of soup, as Julia could barely move. After breakfast, Id chopped the firewood with a heavy ax to prepare for the coming winter. Cleaning the house, doing the laundry and sweeping the yard were all parts of a day's work for Id, but he completed his tasks diligently without a word of complaint. Id said to his mother in a soothing voice as a determined light flashed through his eyes.

 

“You took care of me so well up to now. It’s time for me to take care of you.”

 

The eyes of George, who had returned from a five-day hunting trip, turned red. Julia, lying in bed, sobbed. The happy family had suddenly faced unexpected hardships.

 

The following day George went back to hunting without rest. Id was able to buy a few more supplies with the money George gave him, and was even able to make some bread with the flour he bought. He then went to pick herbs in the mountains, which were suitable ingredients for the soup for his mother. Following such a lifestyle, Id started to become quite adept at completing all of his chores.

 

************

 

“Yes! So many herbs!”

 

Id’s face brightened. He had found an excellent place to pick herbs. The women in Derevnya picked herbs in groups of ten to twenty people due to the hazardous nature of the surrounding areas. At first, Id had picked herbs together with the village women. But like that, Id couldn’t collect enough herbs since they were divided up among all those present. Therefore, he had come alone to pick herbs, running the risk of being on his own. In his continued search for more herbs, Id eventually traveled deeper into the mountain, where village women never came to gather herbs.

 

Looking at his bag filled with herbs, Id wiped the sweat off his brow. It was sufficient for at least ten days worth of soup. Standing up to go back home, Id abruptly paused. He felt the menacing energy of something not far from his location.

 

Id was born with a very perceptive nature. He was good at sensing other people’s hostility, as well as reading their hidden intentions. His ability also proved to be useful in combat as, before Julia lay sick in bed, Id had practiced fencing techniques taught to him by George against the older boys of the village. Even the teenagers were of no match against him as Id could predict his opponents’ moves prior to their attacks.

 

At that moment, Id’s innate senses told him that something was targeting him. Judging from the level of its menacing energy, it must have been a large predator. Id remained calm and slowly walked in the direction of the village.

 

‘If you encounter an evil beast, never run. If you do so, it will attack you without hesitation. Stay calm and evaluate the situation.’

 

Remembering George’s advice, Id kept on walking, breaking out into a cold sweat. The evil beast stalking Id revealed itself shortly.

 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Not far away from Id appeared a black panther that was as big as a large cow. The glittering eyes of the glossy pitch-black figure glared at Id. The black panther was undoubtedly regarding Id as his next prey. With nothing left to do, Id threw the bag filled with herbs at the panther and ran away. The beast followed.

 

“Help!”

 

He shouted as loud as possible, but he knew nobody would hear him. It was too far away from the village.

 

The distance between the eight-year-old boy and the evil beast narrowed sharply. Having felt a hot breath on the back of his neck, Id threw himself to the ground. By a hair’s breadth, something brushed by Id’s back. His knees and elbows were scraped up and bleeding, but Id didn’t care.

 

‘I have to survive here. Otherwise, there would be nobody left to take care of mom.’

 

Id regretted having come alone, separate from the group of village women, but what’s done was done. As it seemed impossible to run away from the beast, Id faced the beast as he got into a fighting stance, desperately grasping the hoe he had brought with him. Having failed its first attack, the black panther stood in the path leading towards the village. Clenching his teeth, Id aimed the hoe at the beast. He used the grip taught by George, and surprisingly the blade of the hoe was held steady, even though his legs were trembling. The black panther gave Id a curious look as he casually neared him. The little hoe would be blown away with a light swipe of its paw. As it approached Id, the beast came to an abrupt stop, turning its head to the right. It had sensed something. Id followed its gaze.

 

There, he was faced with the image of the old man living in the northern area of the village running towards them. As the beast glanced alternatingly between Id and the old man, it roared, revealing its canines and jumped towards the old man, having judged him to be the greater threat.

 

Sssrrrrrrr 

 

The one-armed old man, running furiously, unsheathed his sword with his left hand. 

 

Kyaaarrrrrrr

 

Having glanced at the sword, the black panther jumped up. As the old man and the beast clashed against each other, Id saw a barely visible trace of blue energy surrounding the blade of the old man’s sword.

 

Kyaaang

 

With a wretched scream, a strand of blood sprayed through the air. Narrowly dodging the panther’s sharp claws, the old man pierced its chest. The tip of the sword popped out the black panther’s back and disappeared again as it was pulled back out.

 

“Shit, that was too much power. I made such big holes in the hide.”

 

The old man, who pulled out the sword muttered in a low voice, turned and lifted his sword. With a throbbing sound, the panther’s body trembled. Blood poured out of the panther’s chest. The convulsing beast’s body drooped. Glancing at the panther’s body, the old man took a cloth from his waist and wiped the blood off his sword in a dexterous manner despite the lack of an arm.

 

As he sheathed the sword, the old man growled at Id.

 

“Are you crazy? What are you doing out here alone?”

 

“I’m so sorry... and thank you… for saving my life.”

 

Staring at Id with fierce eyes, he pulled out a string and tied the panther’s feet.

 

“I didn’t save you. I hunted the panther. If it had been a wild boar, I wouldn’t have cared about your life.”

 

“…………”

 

He tied the panther’s four legs together and cut off a thick branch of a tree.

 

“Who taught you that grip?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Who taught you the way you grip the hoe?”

 

Id, who came to his senses, replied.

 

“Oh, I learned it from my father.”

 

“I see, the former mercenary... George was his name if I recall....”

 

After the comment, he carried the panther on the branch. He left without saying anything else. Id looked at his back, motionless.

 

‘Amazing... How can the old man kill that panther so easily?’

 

Black panthers were notorious for sneaking into villages and eating the children. Id had once seen the villagers catch a black panther. At that time, they had thrown a net at the panther and entangled it, followed by numerous merciless spears stabbing its body. Nobody approached the beast until it died because if you got caught by its sharp claws, you would suffer severe injuries.

 

Despite the known ferocity of the beast, the old man had killed the black panther so quickly. After dodging a blow of the panther’s powerful paw at a close distance, he penetrated its chest with a simple stab. It was a marvelous move that ordinary people could never hope to achieve.

 

It was by no means easy to penetrate the chest of the evil beasts due to the unnaturally tough layers of muscle and the hard bones. Even if a burly man poked hard with a spear, the spear's blade would stop at about twenty centimeters, but it could not penetrate all the way through. And yet, the older man had managed the seemingly impossible feat.

 

“It was a tremendous skill.”

 

After sighing, Id retrieved the dropped bag of herbs and carried it on his back as he hurriedly returned to the village.

 

“Who in the world is he? He must be an excellent Knight.”

 

However, Id’s judgment was followed by several questions. If, as he speculated, the older man had been a Knight in the past, there was no reason for him to hide in a mountain village like Derevnya. Any lord would welcome an outstanding Knight. A pledge of allegiance to a lord would allow him to live in leisure. The Knight was a high-income, high-quality workforce.

 

Though even commoner Knights were guaranteed high incomes, Knights from noble backgrounds didn’t have to worry about suffering in old age. Their families ensured their comfort as the Knights grew older. Besides, it seemed he was still an outstanding Knight despite his age. Having stayed in the royal court, Id knew how the Knights lived.

 

‘Judging from the fact that he lives in a place like here, he might be a criminal.’

 

The most plausible reason as to why he hid in this remote place was that he had joined a failed rebellion of a country and was chased out by the Knights of said country. Or he could have fled, having sinned against his lord.

 

Regardless, the reason why he was living here had nothing to do with Id. He dropped the questions of the old man. Id had a lot more important things to do than question a stranger's origin.