Ch.5

In the open field behind the Chamber estate, the sound of wood being struck echoed in a repeated fashion.

Erik was repeatedly striking a propped-up log in practice. A noticeable dent from where he had been hitting.

It had only been a week since he first took up the training sword, and in that time, every morning, he would go outside to practice.

His father, Vindor, was ecstatic, and took it almost as seriously as Erik did, though the onlookers, such as the help or even Erik's mother, Celia, all saw it as a young and adorable child bonding with his father. However, this was a dull description of what was truly happening.

What Erik was truly doing was more than simple practice to understand the basics or even the happy doings of a child, but it was proper training.

He was pushing his body to the limits, but as he was small, wore layers of warm clothing, and showed no expression of emotion at all, let alone pain, no one would be able to tell that he had been training to the point that he was unable to hold his arm steady.

Still, he swung until his previously childish strength had managed to become enough to break the wooden training sword in two.

He breathed in the cool air and tossed the handle on the ground.

His hands were cold, his fingertips a bright red, and his palms bleeding from where calluses were forming.

It was the first time he had seen his red blood, the first time he had ever received a wound. Yet, he knew he couldn't leave them alone.

Nomay was watching him, but she was doing so from the closest bench, which was across the field.

He approached her, showed her his wounds, and with a look of shock, she stood up and rushed him inside to treat his wounds.

"Young master, can you feel this?"

Nomay asked with a soft-spoken voice as she lightly poked him.

"Yes."

"Well can you feel the wound? Doesn't it hurt?"

"It does."

"I see..."

"Nomay. How long will it take to heal?"

"Well, it could take a long time, but if you keep it wrapped and treated, then I believe it normally only takes a week or a bit longer. This is a small wound though, it should heal quite quickly."

"How long would a larger wound take?"

"Well, depending on the kind of wound and treatment, possibly weeks."

It was then that something ticked inside Erik, a sudden realization that brought about a flood of angst.

That night, once everyone had left to sleep in their own rooms, he left his bed and began changing his clothes.

He put on boots and warm clothes before stepping through the black wall and into the hidden basement.

There, he equipped himself with a knife, a rope, and took with him a small pouch that he threw some wrapped meat into.

He mashed up a poisonous-looking plant with bright violet patterns and jagged edges atop a rag.

He then jumped down into one of the empty pits, walking into the black wall which had a rope going through it.

On the other side, that same rope was connected to a trap yet to go off.

He was now deep in the forest without so much as a source of light, yet he could see just as clearly as if were the peak of morn.

He made his way through the woods, his steps crushing the dried leaves on the ground as he ran.

He seemed as though he were running blindly, with no sense of direction or destination in mind, however, that was far from the truth. Just as how he dodged every tree in his way, jumping to the side before hitting them, he could see things that no ordinary human would be able to.

He saw a world of light of all colors, that shone brightest when in the direction of living things, however, they were dull in comparison to the mighty.

He could see the souls of the living, and the mana coursing through them. And in the direction he was going, there was one that burned brighter than the rest.

Ahead of him, a monster of the forest.

It slithered like a snake, having a long, scale-covered body of a serpent, yet with the upper body of a woman. It had long hair that fell down an anorexic back, and breasts, which were fully exposed.

Its eyes stood out, a poisonous green color surrounding sharp slits; the eyes of a viper.

It looked like it was starving from how the bones of its ribs, arms, and wrists were outlined by its skin. It had long skinny fingers with sharp nails and its body was covered in scars and wounds.

At that moment, it was hunting for food with little luck.

It wrapped itself around a tree as it climbed it, throwing itself at an owl perched on a branch only for it to fly away at the last second.

The monster fell to the ground wheezing and on the precipice of falling unconscious from giving up, yet when it heard the sound of leaves crunching from afar, it stiffened up and held its breath.

A shiver ran down its spine, a feeling of fear that suddenly arose that it couldn't explain.

It stood still like a statue for a while. Eventually, it relaxed a little, until suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping from behind spooked it once again.

It turned to see nothing there, nothing but the same darkness that surrounded it on all sides.

It again heard the same noise from behind, and it was then that the monster began to panic.

A final snap, much closer and louder than the ones prior, made the creature flee.

It crawled away as fast as it could, ever so often turning back to catch a glimpse of anything, to no avail. Still, it fled as though it were being chased.

In its hectic fleeing, just as it turned to face forward, it ran into a rope tied between two trees. It practically whipped against the monster's throat, causing it to fall to the ground choking for a few moments.

During that time when the monster was too focused on regaining its breath, Erik fell down from above.

He landed on the monster's back, forcing it onto the ground and covering its mouth and nose with the toxin-scented rag. A struggle ensued, one that quickly ended as the monster's strength faded into unconsciousness.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead, a cold and unbothered expression on his face even through his heavy breathing.

The herb used to knock the monster out was potent, but not long-lasting. Still, a few minutes was more than enough time for Erik to tie the monster to a tree to ensure it didn't escape.

When the monster had finally awoken, it saw Erik sitting ahead of it. He was like a statue, that cold and ever-watchful look in his eyes just as unbudging.

The monster wriggled between the ropes and the tree, but was quick to stop as it scrapped its exposed back against the tree bark.

"Are you able to understand me lamia?"

"...Yesss..."

"Do you know what the word betrayal means?"

The lamia did not respond.

"Of course you don't."

Erik took out of his bag the meat wrapped in cloth, unraveling it and offering it to the lamia.

"Betrayal. It means to bite the hand that feeds you. Eat it."

At first, the lamia was hesitant, but it only took a matter of a couple of seconds for it to give in to its hunger and instinct.

After it gulped down the last bite of meat, Erik reached his hand out.

The lamia flinched a bit but otherwise seemed content with his hand being placed on her head.

"If you want more food, then I will give you more. All you have to do is recognize your new owner."