Another day had just begun with the humming song of a mourning dove.
"Young Master, may I enter?"
It was Silia's voice.
Due to this hellish training session these days, it seems I'm more exhausted than I used to be... Is it time already for Silia to enter with breakfast?
"You may."
Silia entered the room with the morning meal in her hands.
Graceful as she was, her movements were also strangely silent. Every step she took was almost impossible to hear; the only sound in the room was the faint clinking of cutlery.
"Good morning, Young Master."
"Ye... yes, good morning to you too."
Her greeting still startled me a little. I wasn't used to it yet, as I had only been greeted by Nani until now.
She smiled faintly at me and started preparing the breakfast.
After that, I went to the training ground, expecting another hell.
"Good morning, Master."
"Hmm... sure, sure."
He smiled while looking at my face.
Something doesn't feel right. I shouldn't have come today.
"I've been thinking. So far, you've done exactly as I told you. Not perfectly, but close enough."
He stopped and tilted his head toward the sky for a second.
"So I've decided to change your training."
He looked back at me.
"We're training in the forest today."
He looked at my face, almost expecting me to become enthusiastic.
That only made it feel more strange.
I'd heard there were sometimes sightings of wild beasts in the forest.
"Isn't it too early for a young child like me to go into the forest? You haven't even taught me any swordsmanship or magic yet."
"Tsk... that's why you're far behind the other children of Luminon in training."
He sighed before continuing.
"We're going to the forest for inspiration and to refresh your mind and body. The forest contains more natural mana, which is good for early training. Let's go already."
It's not right. The more I think about it, the stranger this feels.
"But... Master..."
Before I could say anything else, he grabbed my shoulder.
"Stay close to me and close your eyes."
"What do you mean by—"
Before I could react, a bright light flashed before my eyes.
"Ah... my stomach doesn't feel right... ah..."
"Tsk, tsk. Can't handle simple teleportation magic."
"Teleportation?"
Now that I looked around, my surroundings looked nothing like House Luminon. Huge trees surrounded me from every direction, their branches stretching high above my head.
"Okay, pay attention. As discussed before, today you'll be doing something different. You will be tasked with finding this herb."
He held an herb in his hand.
"But what does this have to do with my training? Isn't it something you can find in our garden?"
"Though it looks similar, this one has five bluish petals. And enough chit-chat. It should be around half an hour's journey from here. If you run right now, I'll be waiting here."
I sighed.
Maybe finding the herb is the only option.
I left in the direction he had pointed.
---
After leaving my master behind, I went farther from where we had arrived.
Teleportation magic.
I'd only ever read about it in novels and manhwa. In most of them, it was treated as high-level magic.
Yet my master had used it as casually as someone opening a door.
Just who exactly is this man? How powerful is he? Did he use some kind of device, or is teleportation magic actually simple in this world?
"Huh?"
I stopped walking.
"What was that sound? Is it my imagination?"
I looked around before taking a long stick from a nearby tree. It was around half the size of my body.
"Now that I've seen it properly, some of these trees also look somewhat similar to the trees we have on Earth. The only difference is that they're far larger in size."
I continued walking.
"It's really a beautiful place."
Until now, I hadn't encountered any big animals.
Maybe the rumors about the beasts are exaggerated.
At first, I walked slowly, somewhat fascinated by this new environment.
A group of birds with long tails flew between the trees.
There was also a little rabbit that had been following me for some time.
But as I continued walking, the trees started becoming bigger and denser.
The rabbit stopped following me before I even noticed.
"How much time has passed?"
I looked around.
I don't have a watch.
After some time, the forest became quieter.
The chirping of the birds had stopped.
The surroundings had also become darker as the trees blocked more of the sunlight.
More than thirty minutes must have passed by now.
I stopped walking.
Did I lose the way?
SKREEEECH—
"Huh?"
I looked toward the sound, but there was nothing there.
I turned around.
Nothing.
I started walking a little faster, but the sound also seemed to be coming closer.
I stopped.
The sound stopped too.
Slowly, I looked behind me.
Something white was hiding behind the bush.
Is it that rabbit?
I started walking slowly toward it.
Crack. Crack.
I took another step.
Whoosh!
Something much bigger than a rabbit passed right beside my leg.
Before I could react properly—
Grrrrrrrr...
I turned around.
A beast covered in snow-white fur stood before me, blood dripping from its mouth.
Its eyes were perfectly locked with mine.
A wolf.
Blood...
I looked down and noticed a large wound on my leg. The clothes covering it were already soaked red.
"AAGH—!"
I have to run.
What was going on?
Where was my master?
No, this wasn't the time.
I tried to stand, but it was hard to even put weight on my injured leg.
"Huff... huff..."
I could barely stand.
I can't run with this leg.
Should I wait? Help might come, right?
What?!
When did it come this close?
The wolf suddenly jumped toward me.
I barely managed to avoid it. It's too fast.
The wolf turned around almost instantly and attacked again.
Hey, puppy, this side.
Again.
This time, its attack was blocked by the stick.
I tightened my grip.
I may have figured out its pattern.
The beast was aiming for vital spots.
Its neck.
The side of its abdomen.
It wasn't attacking randomly.
The wolf opened its mouth, exposing its fangs, while saliva mixed with the scent of blood dripped from its mouth.
It jumped again.
It's left—
I managed to block it.
But—
"Ah!"
Even after blocking the attack, the wolf somehow managed to scratch me.
How is it still doing this?
It was more than seven blows by now.
Every time I blocked it, it somehow found a way to land another attack on me. As if it had been toying with me this whole time.
My eyesight became blurry.
Did I lose too much blood?
No.
I can't stop here.
I remembered my promise.
"Aah!"
I swung the stick.
The blow slightly grazed through its head and landed against its ear.
"Awoo!"
Did I actually land a hit?
The wolf moved away.
It's really avoiding attacks to its head.
Let's try again.
The beast started moving again.
This is my chance.
I swung.
It avoided the attack.
But something surprised me.
Oh... I'm able to swing this stick harder than I thought.
I stared at the stick for a moment.
No. It's not the time to think about that. I have to go for its head.
The beast suddenly moved again.
In a split second, it jumped toward me.
I shoved my hand against the wolf's mouth.
"You fell for it."
Thwack!
A single strike.
The stick landed perfectly on its head.
The beast fell to the ground, its mouth still open.
"Huff... huff... finally."
I stared at the fallen wolf.
I actually did it.
I tried to move toward where my master was waiting.
Wait... why can't I feel my leg?
I fell to the ground.
Then—
Awooo... Awooo...
The sound echoed through the forest.
It was said that a wolf didn't hunt on its own.
They hunted in packs.
I looked around.
"One... two... five... six... eight?"
The shadows of the wolves slowly appeared between the trees.
"What is going on?"
I tightened my grip around the stick.
Are they coming because of the smell of blood? Or because of the sound earlier?
"I have to stand."
I tried to push myself up.
"Stand up."
My leg trembled.
"Stand up..."
I pushed harder.
"Stand, you stupid leg!"
"Aaaah!"
My leg gave out again.
I fell to the ground.
I can't take them in my current condition.
What am I even doing here?
I came to the forest to find an herb when I don't even know this place. I don't have enough equipment. I don't even know the identity of my own master.
My family... even they seem unfamiliar to what I know.
Where did it go wrong?
Was it when I came to the forest without preparing?
Or was it when I followed my master, thinking everything would somehow work out?
I tightened my grip around the stick.
What am I even thinking?
I'm searching for Noona in this unfamiliar world while surrounded by people whose gazes are constantly watching me.
"Why am I weak?"
My voice trembled.
"Why?"
I looked at my injured leg.
"Why am I so pathetic that I can't even stand in this situation?"
"Why... why..."
The pack had already surrounded me.
I closed my eyes.
Maybe it was exhaustion.
Or perhaps it was a futile attempt to deny reality.
As hope had abandoned me, a wolf suddenly jumped at me.
Swoosh!
The wolf bounced back onto the ground.
"Argh... argh..."
I opened my eyes.
I tightened my grip around the stick.
"Can't die pathetically."
I looked toward the pack.
"Yeah... bring it on."
The pack slowly made a path.
A wolf larger than the others stepped forward, big enough to be distinguished as their leader.
Its expression seemed almost amazed, as if it were watching its prey's final struggle.
As it started approaching me, I tightened my grip on the stick.
One final strike.
The wolf continued approaching.
Then—
"Well, well."
A familiar voice came from behind the wolf.
"It's kinda fun seeing my student hold on his own."
The master was standing between them.
The wolf stopped.
Something unexpected had appeared in front of it.
Even the beast seemed to sense that if it took another step, it would be the end.
"Good job fending off this mutt until now," the master said, looking at me. "Let me take care of the rest."
He raised his hand.
"Globus ignis torrens."
In a split second, flames swept through the area.
The threat that had seemed impossible to overcome only moments ago disappeared instantly.
Every beast turned to ashes.
---
Silence returned to the forest.
Sion's head was down.
What is life and death for just a moment? For him, it had been a matter of life and death. For the man standing before him, it was simply a matter of his will.
His master stared at him.
"It's okay."
That was when it broke.
He didn't understand why he was crying — not really grief, not fear, though it looked like both. It was something closer to a dam giving out. Every night spent whispering to a sister who couldn't hear him. Every order followed without a single question asked. Every time he'd told himself not yet, not yet — all of it came up at once, and there was nothing left in him strong enough to hold it back.
He cried for a long time, until there was nothing left to cry.
The color of the sun had turned red. The long day was about to end. Warm light came through the trees, falling across the man standing tall before him.
After a long silence, Sion finally spoke — not only to the person in front of him, nor to the wild animals around him, but to himself as well.
"I will become strong."
His strength finally gave out. The last thing he saw was the man smiling down at him before the dark took him, and he collapsed into his master's arms.
---
The Master
He looked down at the boy now asleep against his chest.
Perhaps he was curious about what the future would hold.
"You will."