Life has never been better for Nate, for simple village life seemed a hundred times better than his old cruel one, mostly because the villagers didn't notice his occasional twitch and they didn't inquire about his fits even after he stated he had a sickness.

He would work all day in the farms: Planting, harvesting, watering... but he never complained, looking forward to the evening training class.

After his little spar with Fitch, every man in the village practically begged him to teach them how to fight.

He was more than happy to do it.

"It's been a week... are we really gonna keep standing here doing nothing?" Said Hash, the blacksmith. He was muscled obviously due to his line of work, but had close to no experience in fighting.

Several agreed with him, hoping to do some actual fighting for once.

"Hash, the stance is the most important thing in a fight, you saw how I beat Fitch using his stance's weakness against him. Besides, we've been doing some shadow fighting."

He grumbled, knowing he had no choice but to obey if he wanted to learn anything.

That was another thing that confused Nate, why were they so enthusiastic to fight?

When he asked them, he discovered that bandits were very common in these parts and it didn't surprise him that his father's forces didn't move in time to help them when they are raided. They had to succumb their supplies most of the time, and that was the main reason the village was so shabby.

~I'm bored. Make them fight!

~He's actually right, they're ready. They were already fit enough with all the labor they're doing and now they mastered their stances! 

~Stop lying, you just want to see a fight...

"Alright, I think you're ready; Hash and Jorg, pick up you're staff's and get ready to duel!" He said smiling.

Cheers ran out between the men, and they made quite a noise for there was thirty of them.

Bets started to rise up too, for although Hash was the broadest man here, Jorg was a mean fellow; His eyes gave off a ferocious look which complemented well on his serious face. They all knew well that he wouldn't hesitate to kill a man.

"Fight!" His voice shocked them into action, Hash raised his spear and closed in while Jorg threw his with monstrous strength.

Just like I taught them.

~Is this what it felt like when you taught me?

~Yep

~Teaching is amazing, in fact, I was a teacher in my previous life!

~being a student isn't as fun though, especially in highschool... highschool was a nightmare.

Meanwhile Jorg had Hash in a firm grip, while Hash was struggling to throw him off.

Finally, Hash lifted him in the air and dropped him on the opposite side.

He climbed back at his feet swiftly, then retook his staff aiming low thrusts at him.

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Hash barely had time to recover and was caught in a surprise.

It was over soon, and Fitch took over training them in swordsmanship. It wasn't much, but his father was a war veteran and he taught him the basics.

Nate was glad to rest at his new home.

After all, his new mother and sister would have dinner ready by now.

"Nate of Forsenta, What would a noble be doing in these parts, I wonder.."

A wicked voice sounded behind him and he stopped in his tracks.

~Shit

Dad knows where I am

He's gonna kill me

Slowly, Nate turned around and asked with a stern voice:

"Who are you?"

"Well I guess it's only fair since I already know your name, I'm kelvin. Now that we have that out of the way, I'm here to lend you the opportunity to seize what is rightfully yours, should you be interested."

~Straightforward, huh. Pretend to accept just to see where he is going.

~He doesn't look like he's lying...

~That just means he's good at it.

"How did you find me?"

"Come on, don't give me that look, the whole town saw you run into that forest and then all it took was following some very clear footprints. It wasn't magic."

"You can go back then, because I'm happy here."

"Oh are you, he said between laughs, Aren't we humble! Will you be so happy when the bandits pay you a visit?"

That caught his attention.

"What bandits?"

"Didn't your friends tell you why they were eager to train? They want to fight. And the bandits won't like that, they'll get nasty. They'll take the women."

"So? How's that gonna make me kill my father?"

"It won't, I just have to make sure you survive long enough to replace your father."

"What makes you think I'll trust you?"

"We both know you already do, but you don't have to, you'll make preparations to defend anyway. Why not ask those 'voices' what they think?" He said with a smirk, waiting to see his reaction.

It took a moment for the thought to sink in, and the inevitable truth that he's right  convinced him to listen to him for now, although not fully trusting him.

"Shouldn't you be convincing me to leave them behind? Or not tell me at all?"

"You'll have found out eventually. besides, I wouldn't want to start a relationship based on lies." he grinned devilishly knowing that lies were exactly his specialty.

"I'm assuming you wouldn't tell me why you want to do this..."

"Get your men as ready as possible, I'll get the weapons. I'll add in some extra stuff just for you. We'll meet again, son of Verity."

With a sigh, he head back home tired and starving.

~I have some ideas for a defensive battle