"Alf? Alia?" Kenji said as his eyes focused on the siblings. "What are you doing here?"

Alf grinned and grabbed Bob, holding him in his arms. "We wanted to come with you!"

"And I want you to teach me!" Alia said with determination in her eyes. "I want to make sure nobody else gets hurt!"

Kenji sighed. "Guys, you don't know what you're asking."

"We know," Alf said. "But I want to go with you!"

"I'm not a teacher," Kenji insisted. "And not a guardian."

"Please!" Alf begged.

Alia crossed her arms. "Then you have to train me. I don't care about anything else."

Kenji shook his head. "You're just children."

"I want to become a monster hunter!"

"Become a chef with your brother," Kenji said. "Go back."

"No!" Alia shouted. "I won't go back without you! And I will train myself to become a monster hunter!"

Kenji looked at Bob and thought for a few seconds before shaking his head again. "I will just carry you back and tie you up."

"We will walk north after we're free and what happens then is your fault!" Alia turned around and walked away.

Alf hugged Bob tightly. "Bye, Bob," he said sadly. "I'll miss you."

Kenji shook his head. "Fine! You can come, but don't get in the way."

Alf cheered happily. "Thank you so much!"

"Yes!" Alia yelled as she pumped her fist in the air.

Kenji sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Alia and Alf joined Kenji and Bob.

"So, where are we going?"

"I don't know," Kenji said.

"What?" Alia asked incredulously. "You don't know?"

"I just follow the road and hunt monsters," Kenji shrugged.

"But aren't you supposed to have a mission?" Alia asked.

"You mean like a life purpose?" Kenji asked.

"Yes, like a goal to achieve!"

"My life's purpose is to become a superb chef and make everyone happy with my cooking."

"You're a monster hunter, not a chef," Alia pointed out.

Kenji shrugged. "I'm just supposed to rid the realm of monsters. I don't see why one excludes the other."

Alf was playing with Bob. "I want to become a great chef too!" he said.

Alia rolled her eyes. "Why don't you do both?" she suggested sarcastically.

Kenji raised an eyebrow. "You want your brother to become a monster hunter and risk his life?"

"No!" Alia shouted angrily.

"By the way," Kenji said. "Did you bring anything with you?"

Alf's face turned red. "No..."

"We didn't have time," Alia explained.

"Okay," Kenji nodded. "You will take my sleeping bag, and I will sleep on the ground."

Alf grinned and jumped into the sleeping bag.

Alia shook her head. "You don't have to do that."

"It's fine," Kenji said.

"When will you teach me?"

"I'm not a teacher."

Alia groaned in annoyance. "I will not give up that easily."

Kenji sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You two are going to be the death of me."

Alia nodded. "Yes, because I will train myself and become a monster hunter."

"No!" Kenji protested. "Because you will drive me crazy."

Alf laughed and Bob joined in, which caused Alf to laugh even harder.

Kenji rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I will show you that being a monster hunter sucks."

"I don't care!"

"Okay," Kenji said. "We will see. Sleep."

Kenji laid on the ground, and Alf slept in the sleeping bag while Bob curled up against Kenji's chest.

Alia wrapped herself in her cloak and stared into the darkness.

***

The next morning, Kenji woke up and yawned. He looked around and saw Bob playing with a stick. Alf was still asleep in the sleeping bag. Alia was sitting next to a tree with her arms crossed.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" Kenji called to her.

Alia glared at him. "The monster grows quickly."

"It's just a goblin baby," Kenji shrugged. "They grow up quickly."

"Are you going to teach me today?" Alia asked.

"I'm not a teacher."

"Please!" Alf said as he woke up. "I want to learn too!"

Kenji sighed. "Okay, I will show you a little."

He picked up a stick and drew a circle on the ground. "Alf, sit inside of this."

Alf jumped out of the sleeping bag and sat inside the circle.

"By any chance, do you know what a mana core assessment is?"

Alf shook his head. "No, what is that?"

"It's a test to determine the strength of your mana core and mana channels." Kenji placed his palm on Alf's chest. "This test will tell you if you can become a strong mage."

"Mage?" Alf asked.

Kenji nodded. "Yes, a mage. That's a person who can use magic."

Alf's eyes widened. "Really?!" he exclaimed excitedly. "What kind of magic?"

"We will see," Kenji said as he concentrated on the mana.

"Are you a mage?" Alia asked.

"Yeah," Kenji said as he pressed his palm against Alf's chest. He looked into Alf's eyes and sucked his lower lip in. "Sorry, nothing strong here."

"What?" Alf asked.

Kenji laughed awkwardly. "You're not that great with mana. Don't worry about it. Most people aren't. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Alf stood up and pouted. "Why? I want to be a mage too!"

Alia rolled her eyes. "Just become a cook." She walked over to the circle and sat down. "Do mine."

Kenji pressed his palm against Alia's chest and concentrated on her mana core and mana channels. After a few minutes, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough mana for any real magic."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"That can't be!" Alia shouted. "I want to become a strong mage!"

"Just become a cook," Alf said with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you're not," Kenji said with a shrug. "You should be glad because it means that the empire won't hunt you down."

"But I want to become a great mage!" Alf whined.

"You guys should focus on becoming great cooks, like your mother," Kenji said as he began packing.

Alia's eyes filled with tears. "You're so mean!"

Kenji shook his head. "I'm not mean. I just don't want to see you hurt."

She ran away while Kenji packed the gear and Alf cried.

When Kenji turned around, he noticed Bob was gone, too.

"You wait here," Kenji shouted as he ran after Alia.

"Alia!" Kenji shouted as he ran through the forest. "Alia!"

He found Alia standing near a cliff.

"Alia," he said.

"What do you want?" she asked bitterly, while wiping her eyes and holding Bob over the cliff. "You like this monster so much, but not us!"

Kenji walked toward her. "I like you all."

"Then why don't you want to train me?" she asked. "I will jump with Bob!"

"I hate being a monster hunter and I don't want you to live the same life," Kenji said as he stopped next to her.

"You hate it?"

"Yeah, I don't want to kill, but it's my fate."

"What about your wish?"

"I will become a chef, but my father made me into a monster hunter," Kenji explained.

"Would your father train you to become a chef?"

"No," Kenji said. "He hated it and made sure nobody would teach me."

"Did you like that? You're just like your father! I want to become a monster hunter and you hate it."

Kenji's hands burned with white fire. "I'm nothing like my father!"

"Oh, yeah? Bet he looked just like you," she said, turning to face him.

Kenji stepped back and the fire extinguished. "I'm not my father," he repeated quietly.

"You're so mean," Alia said as she teared up again.

Kenji sighed. "I'm sorry, Alia. Let me think about this."

"Okay," she sniffed.

Kenji carried Bob back to the camp and Alf ran up to them.

"Where have you been?" Alf asked worriedly.

"We had a talk," Kenji replied. "Let's eat something and go."

"Where to?"

"Following the road," Kenji said.

Alf pouted. "I want to become a great mage!"

Kenji patted his head. "Maybe I will train you a little in the future."

Alf's face lit up. "Really?"

"Maybe," Kenji said.

"But me first!" Alia said.

Kenji looked at her and sighed. "Okay, I will teach you, but no magic for you," he said. "Just some basic sword and knife work."

"Why not?"

"I'm not qualified for that," Kenji said.

"I will teach you our mother's recipes!" Alf said.

"Deal," Kenji agreed.

They sat down, ate, and continued their journey.

***

They have been walking for hours on a dirt path, surrounded by dense trees, bushes, and wildflowers. The sky is grey, and it looks like it might rain. They're passing through a thick part of the woods, and they need to duck under low-hanging branches and climb over fallen trees.

"We have been walking for hours!" Alia shouted.

"My feet hurt," Alf cried.

"Just a little further," Kenji said. "The town isn't far away."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't know," Kenji said. "I'm just optimistic."

"There is a town?" Alia asked.

Kenji shrugged. "There's always a town, or something like it. Sometimes it's a village, but it's always the same thing. If we're lucky, we might even find a big city, but they're a little rare now."

"Why?"

"Few people live in cities," Kenji explained. "Most people live in small villages or towns, but there are a few big cities left."

"Why?"

"People get scared of monsters and other creatures," Kenji said. "Monsters love densely populated areas, and most cities didn't survive that. Big cities now have walls to protect the people, but smaller settlements can't afford that."

"That's why we are monster hunters?" Alia asked.

"Why I'm one," Kenji said. "If being a monster hunter didn't mean saving countless lives, I wouldn't be one. People like me are the reasons you and your brother can happily own an inn and cook."

"Worked out great for our mother," Alia said.

"Your mother was a great person," Kenji said. "The world lost a wonderful human being when she died."

"You didn't even know her," Alia said.

"No, not much, but with the little time we got to know each other, I could tell she was a great person."

"The world lost someone great," Kenji repeated.

"Kenji," Alf called. "Can we stop for a moment? I need to go to the toilet."

"Me too," Alia said.

Kenji sighed. "Fine, we will take a break."

They stopped at a small clearing in the woods, and Alf and Alia went to relieve themselves. Bob was sleeping in Kenji's arms.

Kenji watched the sky and felt the wind and noticed the air became chilly.

"Shit," he said to himself.

"What's wrong?" Alf asked.

"The weather is changing," Kenji said. "A storm is coming."

"Storm?" Alia asked. "You can feel that?"

"It's not a natural storm," Kenji said. "There's a monster nearby, a powerful one."

"What do you mean?" Alia asked.

Kenji took off his backpack and handed Bob to Alf. "Take him."

"Why?"

"I have to be ready in case something happens," Kenji explained.

Alia looked at Kenji with a confused expression. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing, hopefully," Kenji replied as he started walking again; the sky became darker as they continued walking. "Just be prepared."

"For what?" Alia asked as she put her hood on.

"Whatever comes our way." Kenji's grip on his knife tightened.

"Do you know where the storm is coming from?" Alia took Bob from Alf, who started crying.

"We're walking towards it," Kenji said. "Just stay behind me."

"Will you kill the monster?"

Kenji shook his head. "I have to."

Alia nodded. "Okay."

"Be careful," Kenji said.

The wind blew stronger, and the clouds darkened as they continued walking through the woods.

***

They were walking on a dirt path in the middle of the woods, surrounded by trees. The path was narrow and overgrown with weeds. The wind was blowing hard and it looked like it was going to rain.

Kenji was carrying Bob as he walked ahead of Alf and Alia. The sky was darkening, and the wind was growing stronger; Kenji looked up and saw a bright light in the distance.

"What is that?" Alia asked, looking up.

"It looks like a torch," Alf said.

"Or a bonfire," Kenji added.

"Should we check it out?"

Kenji nodded. "Yeah, I think we should."

They continued walking and finally reached the source of the light; it was a huge bonfire in the middle of a clearing. There were people around the fire; many of them lied on the ground with wounds and little meat on their bodies.

The people around the fire were all thin and dirty; they were wearing tattered clothes, and their hair was long and matted.

"You three stay here," Kenji said as he gave Bob to Alf.

Kenji approached the people and a tall man, who looked like he was muscular not too long ago, with a great sword that was bigger than his body, stopped him.

"Stop!" the man shouted. "Who are you?"

His skin was like sandpaper, and his eyes had yellow stains. His teeth were sharp and stained.

"I'm Kenji. Who are you?"

The man pointed his great sword at Kenji. "My name is Naru, and this is my village. What do you want?"

"Doesn't look much like a village," Kenji said. "Not anymore, anyway."

Naru growled. "Are you mocking me, boy?"

Kenji shook his head. "No. I'm just stating a fact."

"Just go away, unless you want to donate medicine and food."

Kenji gestured to Alf and Alia to join them. "I'm not a healer, but I'm a cook."

"Food? Do you have food?"

Alf nodded and showed Naru the rations. "Yeah, we have food."

"Really?" Naru asked, and the villagers started gathering around them.

"Some pasties have monster guts in them, so I better keep them, and the kids need some rations, but you can take the rest."

The villagers began cheering and Kenji handed the rations to Naru, who smiled and gave the rations to the villagers. They quickly devoured the food and looked at Kenji with gratitude.

"We appreciate your help," Naru said.

Kenji nodded. "It's no problem."

"But you should leave. It's not safe," Naru warned.

"I'm a monster hunter," Kenji said. "And I want to help you."

"You're a monster hunter?" Naru asked.

"Yes, I am."

"That's great!" Naru exclaimed. "Can you kill the monster that's causing this?"

"What monster?"

Naru threw his hand to his side and said, "A few steps ahead is our village. A monster sank it into the ground and floated it with water. Some of us escaped and the rest are dead."

"Did the storms begin after the monster attacked?"

"Yes, it did," Naru said.

"I thought so. I'll try to deal with it."

Naru shook his head. "I can't ask that from you, and your children are too young."

"They're not my children, but I'm stronger than I look," Kenji said and Alia groaned.

"They're not? Are you sure?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm sure."

"You're taking them with you, protecting them, feeding them," Naru said. "Or am I wrong?"

Kenji turned right and walked towards the village. "I will check it out. You stay here."

"Don't get yourself killed, kid!" Naru yelled.

"I won't!" Kenji shouted.

He walked toward the village and found it completely submerged in the ground. The water was reaching the very top of the buildings, and the air was filled with steam.

"Is this what he meant by sinking the village?" Kenji wondered. "No wonder they were desperate for help."

Suddenly, a gigantic tentacle shot out of the water and grabbed Kenji.