A boy wearing some clothes that were already akin to rags, faithfully maintained by an untrained seamster. His hair was not combed but it was still soft since he was trained to take a bath now and then. He walked carrying heavy baskets like it was nothing. His name was Simon.

Along with him was an old man, although old he was still in very good shape, he carried some meat on his shoulders along with a sword on his back and an empty sheathe with it. He was wearing something akin to one a pirate would wear. He already had his whole head covered with gray hair.

His name was Alphecca, an old hero with a decorated past. His face had a fierce-like feature that even when the old man tried to smile would still look terrifying.

Simon and the old man have just arrived at their old shack, they just finished hunting and foraging in the mountains.

“She is gone! Simon, it seems that you won’t have milk now!” the old man said mockingly and he entered his shack. Simon didn’t care at all as he placed the wild berries they collected. He was 4 years old.

The old man began doing his fire, and Simon started putting meat in the skewers, it had been a custom for the 2 to leave the carcass of their hunts and only take the valuable meat they would eat, they would still have to bury it though.

“She left as soon as you started eating solid food… ha… hmm… I would love to wander around again!” the old man muttered as Simon gave him the skewers. “I… want to see around too,” Simon added.

“But it would be very harsh for you… hmm… I’ll train you for a while,” the old man laughed.

<--->

“Think of your action from the beginning and into the end and move without hesitation… the mind is a much more powerful weapon… but to be able to do that you have to have a clear mind… and more experience, stand up now,” Alphecca preached to the 5 years old Simon.

“You are using a weapon and I’m using my hands… what the hell are you talking about?” Simon said while he was lying on the ground.

“Learn to use your body before holding a stick, I taught you how to punch right?” Alphecca said mockingly.

“Yes… and kick too… but I can’t get into range,” Simon sighed, and he tried to get up.

“This is your true lesson now… you have to get me in range… you are not a normal kid… you have strong bones… you were born special… or maybe it’s the wolf’s milk?” Alphecca moved to start another bout.

“Check out my stance… where should you attack… what is the range of my attack… what spot can’t I react to?” Alphecca continued the harsh schooling.

“I guess here” Simon rushed low.

The old man was quite surprised, Simon was only above his balls and he dashed really low. He didn’t expect that and jumped back. Simon smiled and threw a rock he got when stood up, it flew precisely where the old man’s back feet landed and he stuttered.

The old man smiled lovingly… Simon’s hands flew into his cheeks

“Ow!!!” the old man flew a little but used his spin to correct his posture. “Good job that hurt… and you are 3 years old?”

“I’m 5 years old, old man,” Simon complained.

“Now we have to advance the lesson eh” the old man smiled fiercely and attacked.

<--->

The meat they hunted would usually last about a week but for that night the old man wanted Simon to eat as much as he wanted, it was for landing a hit on the old man’s face. Before the old man would quickly grow bored of the place where he was staying but it was not like that the last 3 or 4 years of his life.

For some strange reason, he was not feeling the passing of time. The winter had just passed and the old man was still feeling it in his bones, he was really getting old.

Simon fell asleep where he was eating, he really was harsh on the boy, looking at the boy he got bruises everywhere, he really went hard on him after landing that hit on his face.

“Oh… what the hell is happening?” the old man mutters as there were small steams going out from Simon’s bruises… he was healing himself up.

The old man knew that Simon was not a normal human rather he didn’t even know what he was. His snake eyes and now this abnormal regeneration, it was his first time seeing it.

The next day…

“Old man… I’m really hungry,” Simon’s first words when he woke up.

“The hell but you ate everything last night!!!” the old man complained. For some reason, Simon just stared at him…

“I’m hungry…!!!” he just repeated the words and stomped his feet. For the first time in his life, Simon was actually throwing tantrums.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

When he hit him hard or even pushed the boy down he never complained or did something childish like the thing he was doing right now.

“Okay… I will get some food for you stay put!!!” the old man for some reason felt for the boy… he went back to their shack to get his sword.

<--->

… after 3 hours the old man came back with his hunt, four rabbits hanging on his shoulders. The smell of blood was in the air, the old man’s nose picked it up, and he hurried immediately.

“Simon… what the hell!!!” there was blood everywhere and Simon was on the side sleeping again.

The carcass of a deer showed its bones and its flesh was almost none existent. The old man stared at the boy sleeping soundly. Something was wrong with the boy. He woke up Simon but the boy won’t wake up. Finally, he slapped the boy’s face.

“Huh! Old man!!!” the boy woke up sluggishly.

“What did you do? What happened?!” the old man was worried questioning the boy trying his best to check if the boy had any wounds.

“You were taking a long time so I hunted it myself and ate it!!” then Simon smiled innocently… but the old man glared at him and slapped his face.

“Remember this Simon… never eat any uncooked food,” the old man said like it was a warning.

Simon touched his face, he felt that. “But it was really good and juicy” Simon answered.

But the old man was stern “I will never repeat it again boy,” and he inserted a tremendous blood lust that made Simon pee himself. The boy even backed down. “Wash up yourself, you stink… GO!!!” the old man was angry.

Simon hastily followed the command and ran in the direction of a small spring just down their shack.

The old man watched Simon leave in a hurry. He facepalmed… there was the fact that he was raising some kind of monster… was this the reason he was given to him? Flashes of Simon's innocent smiles came to his mind. He had to educate him well… train him well.

…

The rabbit meat was ready but Simon was eating slowly, rather he was feeling awkward with the old man after what happened earlier.

“Sober up boy, that was nothing, just remember not to eat food raw especially meat… it seems we will start from the basics” the old man spoke.

“… You are not going to leave me?” Simon asked.

“I will be with you till the day I die… don’t worry” the old man speaks his words true from his heart.

Simon for some reason smiled and began eating happily. The old man didn’t notice much.

<--->

The boy was really strong, Simon’s strength was on par with someone who used strengthening enchantments. The main problem now was the control of his strength, the old man actually wanted Simon to learn swordsmanship as soon as possible but he would break the wooden sword the old man spent making and it was just disappointing him, this was the reason the boy was fighting the old man barehanded during training.

The next thing is about his eating habits. During the days when they were really going hard at it Simon would become really hungry in the evening and the next day though his body was fine after a night of sleep, it was some kind of inhumane recovery for a boy his age.

On that note Simon couldn’t think properly if his hunger was not satiated, the old man had a few ideas on how to fix this but the next problem was Simon’s motivation to learn how to read and write. The old man was strict, he made Simon stand straight as he read the letters the old man wrote in the ground… It really did take the time before Simon finally wrote his name the first time in the ground, the old man was so happy that they had a feast that night.

But the next day Simon overslept, he was like an animal that slept hard after eating. The boy received an earful because of this.

…

“Simon… is it hard? Sparring against me?” for some reason the old man asked Simon who was down again after getting hit in the head.

“Hard? No!” Simon said as he stood up again, the boy was dirty but he didn't have any bruises on his body.

“I see… let’s go at it again… find my weak spots okay,” the old man urged Simon to attack again, the training was simple, it was to find good spots to attack by looking at the old man’s stance.

The boy was good at this. He was more of an action learner than a theoretical learner. By the time the old man had decided to leave, he was sure that Simon wouldn’t lose against low to mid-dungeon bosses.

A/N: (In terms of strength SSS S A B C D E, low to mid dungeon bosses are somewhere around C to A)

<--->

Insects cringing echoed through the forest on the mountain. These sounds made the old man’s heart beat slower. He felt clarity as he sighed.

The old man was looking at the stars, another day of harsh training ended, Simon was already inside their shack sleeping, he was just silently staring far away farther than the stars. He had never been bored together with the little boy unlike before when he went to the eastern frontier for a different reason.

“We have to leave here… I wonder if he would remember this place,” he thought… his eyes were finally telling him to sleep. He went back inside the shack.

<--->

A few more months passed. Finally, it was time.

They have been preparing for their journey for a few days now. Their bags were filled with necessities and their rations were composed of dried food and fruits. After packing as much as they could, the two now stood in front of the shack.

The old man wanted to leave the shack as it was. Simon was already behind him ready to leave for the first time, he was a bundle of energy and the old man felt his years getting drained watching the boy’s smile. After making sure that the 2 didn’t miss anything else to be brought with them the two began walking down the path down the mountain.

But after a few walks the old man then stopped.

“Simon… wait for a while I forgot something,” the old man suddenly said and he sighed, it's as if he had given up on something. Simon stopped and sat on a rock, they were not even far from the location of the shack.

Behind the shack the old man retraced back, he started digging on the ground there, he placed it there when he started taking care of the boy… he promised that he wouldn’t take it with him no more but a voice in the back of his head said that he couldn’t leave it there. He took out a small metal tumbler with carvings and designs.

“God damn it…” he said like he was cursing the gods, he instinctively tried to open it but he stopped mid-way as he felt himself panting really hard for it… “No…” he muttered and put it in his bag, then he went back to Simon.

The boy was there silently waiting for him. The old man approached him like nothing happened. “Let’s go,” the old man said and they resumed their walk.

…

“8 days' worth of food… see that village, that is where you are born,” the Old man said as they were walking down the mountain, there was an open cliff where one could see the fields down the plains.

“I don’t remember,” the boy answered.

“Of course, you were still a baby before then… we will be taking the shortcut!” The old man smiled as he urged Simon to follow him.

The air smelled different or rather it felt different, the boy felt that he was breathing much easier.

“Why are you smiling?… you can run you know…” the old man said and Simon started rushing down the mountains.

The old man would leave sometimes but the boy had never walked down the mountains, this would be the first time. The leaves of the trees had just begun to change their colors in preparation for their slumber.