Rain continued to pour. Alejandro did not seek shelter, instead continuing to go along an unknown path. If he sought refuge, reinforcement hunters or knights might find him soon enough. He understands he does not have time to recover in a shelter.
His surroundings were all dead trees. He also saw numerous abandoned houses and buildings that were already broken.
Alejandro stumbled upon a dead rabbit. He kneels and looks at it. An arrow stabbed the rabbit.
“Poor rabbit. It seems I am not the only one having a bad time right now. May you rest in peace.”
The boy stood up and walked away, leaving the dead rabbit. At this point, Alejandro is starving. He also sustained injuries from the recent fight with the hunters. He begins to hallucinate gradually, and his vision fades.
Before his vision faded, he saw a house built of wood. This house is small and old, but there is light streaming from the interior. He walks toward the home, but he is only a few steps away. The boy had fainted right in front of the house.
A girl of Alejandro's age came out of the house. She heard the sound of the boy's body collapsing on the ground. Though the girl is small, he was able to carry Alejandro inside the house.
TING TING TING.
Alejadro's eyes sprung wide as he heard the loud noise. His posture was laying down, therefore he noticed a chandelier hanging. Suddenly, a girl's face obscured Alejandro's whole view of the chandelier.
“Father! Father He’s awake!” the girl shouted and ran into a man.
The boy looked to his side, where he noticed a man and a girl beside him. The young girl has blonde hair and the figure of a small girl. While the man has black hair and a large frame, particularly his arms.
Alejandro attempted to stand up, as he was wary of strangers. However, his body is unable to move. He hurts from the pain and injuries he has sustained.
"Do not move, young fellow. You must be aware of your own physical limitations. Although you are still a boy, it appears like you have seen a lot before stumbling in front of my house.” The man lowers his hammer, putting an end to the previously heard noise.
Aleandro suddenly remembered Bavael and the dagger his brother handed him. He does not feel the daggers in his pocket bag.
“Old man, where are my daggers!?” Alejandro yelled at the old man with a furious expression.
"Do not be hasty, lad. I improved your dagger as I am a blacksmith. However, the red dagger appears to have its own mind. My granddaughter chased the red dagger but was unsuccessful, so we did not disturb it anymore.”
The young boy was shocked. The old man is a blacksmith and he helped Alejandro? Apparently, there are still good individuals in the world. Alejandro looked to the other side, and it appeared that Bavael was sleeping on the table.
“Even though I wanted to improve your red dagger, it seems it does need to be improved since it is already very sharp, sharper than a decent sword.”
Alejandro calmed down, he thinks that these strangers do not have any bad intentions to him.
“May I ask what your name is, old man?”
“I am Austin and I have been a blacksmith since I was a young man. This is my granddaughter, Desiree.” The old man introduced himself and patted the young girl’s shoulder as he introduced his granddaughter.
“Hello!” the young girl smiled and waved at Alejandro.
“I am Alejandro. I came from…. I travel alone.” The boy was close to mentioning his homeland. He learned that if he mentioned where he came from, there would be trouble again.
“Desiree, grab a cup of water for this young boy.”
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“Yes, Father!” The young girl ran into the other room to grab some water.
Old man Austin stands up from his seat and grabs the dagger that he has been improving. He then approached the boy laying in a bed.
“I have noticed that you have no magic aura. One cannot simply be born without magic inside their body.”
“I chose not to learn magic, old man. I do not want to rely on it.”
The old man was astounded. What fool would not want to learn magic? Magic is everything to humans. Yet, this boy does not think about magic and learning about it.
Old man Austin puts the dagger besides the red dagger on the table. In his entire life, he has not seen a child as young as Alejandro that carries two daggers. In fact, he has also not seen a dagger as sharp and has its own mind without being instilled with magic up until now.
Just who is this young boy? A mercenary perhaps? Ridiculous, no child this young can travel alone with no magic powers! But it is not my business to mind.
“Old man, do you have any sword that I can buy? I have coins to pay.”
Old man Austin laughed as he returned to his seat.
"I do. However, you would be unable to wield it. You are only a child, with no magic. If you had magic, you could infuse a sword to reduce its weight, allowing you to wield it."
The young boy was insulted by the old man's remarks. He had already trained his body a long time ago. Alejandro believes that wielding a sword would be effortless for him.
"One cup of water here!" The young girl came out of the other room, carrying a cup of water with her. She then approached Alejandro and offered him to drink it. However, Alejandro had no ability to move, so the young girl moved Alejandro's head slightly and poured the cup of water into the boy's mouth. Alejandro finished drinking all of the water and was hydrated after a long time.
“Desiree, it is time to heal him now as he is already awake.” Old man Austin instructed his granddaughter.
“Yes, Father. I will do my best!”
Desiree creates a bright aura around herself and forms the shape of a triangle using both of her hands, pointing it at Alejandro. She is casting a healing spell to the young boy. Alejandro's anguish gradually subsided, and he was able to move his body again. While he was overjoyed that he could move his body again, he noticed that Desiree was not finished healing him yet. The young girl was sweating and struggling with the healing process. Not long after, the girl stopped healing and nearly fainted. Luckily, Alejandro managed to catch the poor girl.
"Her healing abilities remain limited. As you can observe, we don't have an endless supply of magical foods, therefore she's having trouble refining her mana storage. You should be thankful, young boy.”
Alejandro looked at the young girl’s face, and suddenly Desiree woke up. She gasped as soon as she opened her eyes, realizing that Alejandro was holding her.
“Oh my! I must have fainted, thank you for catching me!” the young girl smiled as Alejandro let her go.
“No… problem.” the young boy was blushing as she realized that she held a beautiful girl in his arms.
Then Alejandro approached Old Man Austin. Although the young boy had been healed, he continued to walk slowly since he had not totally recovered.
“Please, old man! I promise to pay you with a silver coin for a sword, any sword will do!”
“Why do you need a sword, young boy? You already have two daggers with you. Those daggers are more suitable for your age.” Old man Austin asked the boy with a curious expression.
“I… I have a dream. And in order to achieve that dream, I must become stronger. As I said, I will not rely on magic. I will use brute strength and willpower in my journey. The daggers that I own are in great shape, however I have wanted to wield a sword since then. I understand that swords provide greater range than daggers and it is more deadly. My dream will crumble if I do not get stronger. You must help me, old man. I truly believe you are a good person.”
Old man Austin was astounded. Alejandro is still a boy yet it seems that his dream is almost impossible to achieve. This made Austin want to help the boy, whatever Alejandro’s dream is, he wants to be a part of it.
Men have dreams that they desire to achieve. Austin had a dream in which he understood the boy's desperation for assistance. Men, on the other hand, are sometimes held back by their dreams because they are too weak and lack confidence and trust in themselves. These kinds of men suffer and die without achieving their dreams. The boy knew he had to get stronger for he wanted to achieve his dream.
"You have a difficult path ahead of you, boy. You wish to become powerful without the use of magic. That's absurd. Nonetheless, you have piqued my interest. I will help you achieve your dream if you help my granddaughter refine her magic storage."
Alejandro and Desiree both smiled as they heard old man Austin’s words.
“Then does that mean…?”
"Yes, I will give you a sword." In fact, I'll create you a new sword that you can use. Until then, remain patient and rest here."
The boy was overjoyed and was jumping up and down. Due to his excitement, he unintentionally hugged Desiree. The young girl was melting out of happiness.
Until then, Alejandro has to stay in this small house for a few days before old man Austin could prepare his sword. Nonetheless, he is fine with this decision as he fully trusts these strangers.