Capítulo 4

As Yuri got ready to fight all of his senses heightened to their peak, he could see the fog from his breath lingered in the chilly air and could feel the cold of the night pierce his skin as he held up the steel sword.

While gripping the handle as tightly as he could, Yuri’s knuckles almost turning white as he looked at the bandits, the bloodlust in their eyes unmeasurable, they did not even care about their friend's death, his gaze is drawn onto the leader, his face covered by the hood of his short green cape with golden lining as a evil and sinister smile lingered over the mysterious man’s face yet he did not move nor look to be interested in joining the conflict yet.

Yuri took one deep breath and before anyone could blink he threw the sword up in the air distracting the attention of the bandits from himself as they’re eyes followed the sword as it blew through the air.

The boy now taking advantage of this pulled the air like he would draw a bow string, a soft blue light started forming in the shape of an arrow as he pulled it back more and more, after a few seconds he let go of it, releasing Mana Arrow at the bandits.

After observing not only Molly do it while she trained her magic but also the elder hunter of the village use this spell he knew it was a very deadly and precise spell for being in the 3rd Tier, now that they knew he was there he felt that unless he went all out he would surely die in that spot.

The arrow had hit one of the distracted bandits in the chest making him drop down to the floor as the others regained their composure and charged at Yuri, the bandit leader seemed amused at Yuri's gesture, at such a young age to not only have the ability to kill without hesitation but to also use a tactic to distract his enemy, he understood that Yuri was born for fighting.

One of the bandits screamed out, "Kill the little fucker!" as they were charging at him, a little taken aback by their speed, being on par on that of the wolves closing the distance in the blink of an eye Yuri results to releasing Flames, although a low tier spell (1st Tier) it still drains large amounts of mana for someone like him and that being amplified by the pain, although it has subdued and his core had stabilized again, the pain of his violent and forceful increase in mana still lingered.

In retaliation to his spell one of the bandits chanted "ICE WALL!" creating a giant wall of ice that blocked Yuri's flames completely, shocked by the bandit's quick reaction Yuri is taken aback losing focus, the bandits rush around the ice wall.

"Don't go soft now boy!" One of the bandits shouts swinging his sword at Yuri's head but thanks to his quick reflexes Yuri manages to block the blow, however the strength of the bandit was too much and it sent the boy's small body stumbling onto the ground.

Yuri quickly gets up and dodges a stab that was directed to his body while he was down, he quickly jumps and kicks the bandit that tried to stab him in the face before grabbing him by the collar and stabbing him in the eye, immediately killing him.

The man's body fell down to the floor and Yuri stood on top of it, the night light softly showcasing the outline of his body standing on top of the bandit's corpse, the steel sword stuck in the bandit's head as Yuri glared at the other bandits, for the first time they felt intimidated by him as Yuri's red eyes glowed in the darkness staring into their souls, at that moment to them, a presence like that of a demon was felt, Yuri's arrogance and rage were overwhelming even for crazed killers like them.

".....Just what are you." One of the bandits asked, his voice slightly shaking as the others all got ready to attack. Yuri chuckled at the bandit's comment, slowly the chuckle changed into a maniacal laughter.

After a short gasp for air Yuri replies "What am I? I'm just somebody who doesn't care anymore, somebody who wants to see this world burn down to ashes.". Yuri’s voice is strangely cold and cruel.

The bandits seemed a little taken aback by the boy’s comment, how could someone so young have such dark thoughts. Suddenly an overbearing and intimidating laughter came from the camp and everyone turned and looked, it was the bandit leader who was still just sitting there yet his laughter echoed through the air.

"What a funny brat!" He said while his gaze shifted slightly up revealing his light gray skin and his deep green eyes, his right eye had a claw shaped scar over it.

The leader sat up, although he looked to be fat his arms were filled with muscles and scars, with one hit of the glaive's pommel, the earth cracked.

Their eyes met, the tall man’s gaze was intense and frightening, compared to him the wolves Yuri had fought were pups while the bandit leader was a beast, he was on a whole other level from any other opponent Yuri had faced until now, he wasn't an animal or some lowlife bandit swinging his sword randomly, he was a grizzled warrior.

"Tell you what kiddo, you manage to kill the rest of my men and I'll spare you.... no scratch that, I'll take you in as my student." The bandit leader exclaimed with a cocky grin spreading on his face.

The bandits stare at him, their eyes full of shock and anger as their leader just decided to toss them aside for no reason.

A long silence sits in the air before one of the bandits speaks up, "Boss, are you seriously saying you don't care if we die?", "Yeah, we did everything you asked without asking any questions!" The other bandit screams out.

The bandit leader's look changes from that of amusement to one of destain and disgust, almost like his men were nothing but trash and unimportant to him, looking down on them. "I don't care about useless maggots, if you can't even kill a little kid then you don't deserve to live in the first place, there is no place in this world for the weak."

The bandit leader blurted out without a single shred of empathy or care, before anyone could say anything else Yuri launched the sword that he had taken out of the bandit’s head at one of the bandits however the man managed to turn around in time and react to it blocking the flying sword with his sword.

Yuri quickly took out his dagger and rushed at the bandits, he tried stabbing one of them however it was unsuccessful as that was blocked as well, the fatigue was starting to show as sweat started dripping down the small boy’s face, his breath was labored.

Before he could even catch a breath of fresh air one of the other bandits was already swinging his sword at him, Yuri tried dodging out of the way but the sword had grazed his arm leaving a gash running down his whole arm.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT, HOW DARE YOU!" Yuri’s blood poured down his hand dripping from his fingers, his other hand still gripping the dagger as he gave the bandits a death stare, he could feel the exhaustion creeping up, panting, his eyelids feeling heavy and the bite marks he received from the wolves started opening up again. "Damn, looks like the healing magic didn't completely patch those up."

The two bandits suddenly rushed at him in a zig zagging pattern confusing Yuri as he had never seen this kind of moves, while his talent for combat was extraordinary, both his lack of experience and his small weak body were giant setbacks for him.

Deciding his best option was to retreat he runs into the plain’s fields hiding in the tall grass planning on taking them on by separating them and attacking them from the grass while they look for him but his plan is quickly foiled after the bandits chanted. "Flames." The grass in the surrounding area started burning away forcing Yuri to come out of hiding.

"Tell ya what kid, you got good instincts, but unfortunately for you we were fighting for our survival before you were even born." One of the bandits said as they got ready to charge at Yuri, the now panicking boy couldn't think of a way out of his current predicament, they outmatched him in everything except mana capacity, all he could do was hope they let their guard down now that he was injured and tired but that was hopeful thinking, bastards like these prefer to prey on the weak.

Yuri gripped his dagger as hard as he possibly could and charged back at them, he remembered of a tactic Molly used to beat him the last time they spared even though he had her cornered.

The moment Yuri got within the range of the bandits swords he screamed out, "SMOKE SCREEN!"

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A sudden burst of smoke came out of his body blocking everyone's views, even his own, it was a double edged sword as it allowed him to escape their sight but they also did the same.

He waited quietly under the smoke’s veil, suddenly he heard a cough and a sinister smile appeared on his face.

"Got you." Yuri whispered silently to himself before charging in the direction of cough, it was one of the bandits, he was coughing profusely from the sudden smoke and trying to clear off the smoke in front of him with his hand.

Taking advantage of this opportunity Yuri immediately lunged at the bandit and tried stabbing him in the neck however the man surprisingly reacted in time dodged in the last second, however he couldn’t get far enough which resulted in Yuri stabbing him in the chest instead of the neck.

Luckily for Yuri the armor the bandit was using was rusted and very weathered so his dagger easily penetrated it, in an act of retaliation and panic the bandit blindly thrusted his sword into Yuri’s side, barely missing the child’s stomach by a few centimeters as he dropped down leaving his sword stuck in the boy’s small body.

Yuri let out a feral scream of pain, "AAAAAAGH, THAT HURTS YOU FUCKING BASTARD." He started stabbing the bandit’s dead body repeatedly in the chest in a blind fit of rage until he got tired of it, suddenly a giant gust of air dispersed the smoke screen and threw him into the air, the landing was painful and Yuri barely managed to get up.

The boy’s gaze followed where the gust of wind came from, it was the last bandit, he looked pretty tired but Yuri was also exhausted and now his injuries were also at a critical point "Just my luck, first the wolf bites and now this..." Blood gushed out of his wounds.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT, YOU KILLED HIM!" The bandit ran over to the other man's corpse, hugging it tightly. "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" The bandit screamed out at the sky, tears falling down his eyes.

The silence became deafening as a few seconds felt like an eternity, finally he looked at Yuri, as their eyes met he could feel the bandit’s emotions, a pain Yuri could relate to, the look of a broken man that had the last string of hope cut away from him, it wasn't rage or anger, it was pure misery.

A cruel grin ran across Yuri’s lips, "That's right, I put him down like the trash he was, I mean what did you expect that you could kill and steal all you wanted with no consequences?"

Yuri tried to laugh but it's too dry and weak, honestly he expected to be killed there on the spot, for the bandit to go absolutely berserk and rip him to shreds however the man’s reaction surprised Yuri

The bandit looked at Yuri directly in the eyes as one last tear ran down his cheek, he put his sword to his own throat and slit it, ending his own life, his body falling over his brother's.

Yuri didn't know how to react to the man’s sudden irrational reaction, his mind raced with questions. "Why didn't he kill me? Why did he kill himself? Just how close was he with his brother that he would kill himself just because the other one died? Wouldn't it have been better to take revenge?"

Thoughts flooded the small hi mind as he just stared their corpses, their lifeless and bleak eyes felt as though they were locked onto Yuri’s, judging him, suddenly the wounded boy felt weak, falling onto his side while his sight never left the corpses, suddenly he snapped out of it at the sound of laughter and a slow clap.

"HA HA HA HA, well done boy, you actually did it! I mean sure the ending was a little anticlimactic and it even bored me a little but still you passed and a deal is a deal, you're my first student now!"

The bandit leader was slowly approaching the boy’s limp body. Yuri didn't want to become the man’s student, he didn't want to be tied down or under anyone's command, his ego wouldn't allow it, his pride was already hurt by the fact that the bandit made him feel intimidated however for now it seemed like it was his only option in order to survive however under his breath Yuri promised himself to kill the man later after he had gathered enough strength.

Yuri's mouth opened, it seemed like he wanted to say something but he was too exhausted and no words came out, just the sound of his weak breath as he glared at the bandit leader, the bandit leader stared back, with a look of anger and defeat Yuri nodded, the bandit leader's expression grew even more amused.

"You really are a feisty one aren't ya kiddo, don't worry" The man’s expression suddenly became serious, "I'll whip you up into a warrior."

Yuri's eyelids grew heavy, he was slipping in and out of consciousness for a few seconds before finally falling asleep with no knowledge or control over what will happen to him or his body.

Some time later...

Yuri opened my eyes slightly and looked round, the sun was shining brightly, slightly blinding him, he could feel the warmth of its rays on his body, feeling the ground under himself vibrating as he slowly sat up and looked at his surroundings.

“I'm moving, this is a whole new area from where I was when I passed out, it's filled with trees and bushes, a forest?" The young boy whispers to himself, he turns his head to look to the other side and sees the bandit leader seated in the front of the carriage leading the mules that are pulling the small carriage with himself and two crates in the back.

"What the- where am I and where are we going?" Yuri says weakly while stretching his aching body that feels oddly sour, he looks under his shirt and sees his wounds were bandaged. The bandit leader, hearing the boy’s voice, turns his head around looking at him with a cocky smile, the rest of his face still covered by his hood.

"Finally awake kiddo, I thought you were a goner for a bit, but then I remembered that look in your eyes and decided that your ego wouldn't let you die yet so I decided to take you with me, by the way you've been sleeping for three whole days and nights." The hooded figure says before turning his eyes back onto the road.

A long silence weighs over them, a few minutes felt like an eternity, finally Yuri broke the silence.

".....So where are we heading?" Yuri says while looking at his surroundings before noticing he is closer to the giant mountain range he had seen before while walking.

"Well the plan is to get to the Beast Capital of Fang in one piece and within three months, oh and I'm Arthur by the way, but you'll call me master." Arthur said in a cocky and joking tone, his eyes never leaving the road, he had a strangely human name. "Oh and by the way I threw away that junk you were carrying with you, a warrior does not carry little toys like that."

"Toys? What are you-" Immediately Yuri starts feeling around his waist with his hands and in a panicked manner he looks around the carriage ".....My dagger, you threw away my dagger..... You goddamn bastard!!!" A sudden anger and pain took over his body as he lunged with all his strength towards Arthur but was quickly stopped by Arthur who had hit Yuri with the pommel of his glaive right in the stomach making the injured boy drop down to his knees, holding his stomach in pain almost vomiting.

"First rule as my student, you will call me master, not Arthur, not bastard or any other nonsense, understood brat." His tone and demeanor suddenly had changed to very intimidating and authoritarian, not only Yuri's body but also his pride had taken a devastating blow but he knew trying to fight back or rebel would get him nowhere so he decided to swallow his ego for now and try to adapt to his new situation.

".....Yes, master." Yuri said hesitantly in a silent yet angry tone as he laid in the carriage, not saying another word, his grudge grew but he couldn't act on it since he was far too weak.

A few hours later...

As the sun started setting, Arthur drove the carriage off the path deep enough into the forest so the fire from the camp couldn't be seen by any bypassers

After he started the fire and set up his tent Yuri finally sat up and look over at the camp, Arthur is sitting near the fire cooking some kind of stew, the boy finally decide to drag his body off the carriage and sit opposite of the hooded man around the fire, Yuri looking down as he knew that if he looked at Arthur his temper might act up.

"You said we were going to this Beast Capital Fang or whatever... What 's that?" The truth was Yuri never learned much of the world outside his village, only learning from the story books his mother read to him before bedtime or some trading caravans that stopped by they’re village from time to time.

"Hmm, you really don't know much kid, well I guess it makes sense, the Beast Capital of Fang is as the name suggests the capital city of the Fang kingdom."

"Fang kingdom? That sounds like a stupid name, why's it called that?" Yuri couldn’t hide the curiosity gleaming from his eyes as he looked at Arthur expecting his answer.

"That's the place of origin of demi-humans, it's their kingdom." Arthur responded with a smug smirk on his face.

There was a long silence...

"Wait, demi-humans exist!!! Like people with cat tails and wings and stuff like animals?!" Yuri’s excitement and curiosity almost made him forget all the anger he held towards Arthur, his childish side came out a little but quickly after realizing that he calmed down and tried to play it off cool like. "--Ahem--, so you said we had to be there within three months, why that date exactly?"

"Simple, the first born princess of the Fang kingdom, Nadia Abawi is turning 18, whenever a prince or a princess turns 18 the royals hold a huge banquet inside the castle inviting both the commoners and the other royal families from the other races to it, and well let's just say I’m not going there just to celebrate her birthday." The hooded man’s sinister expression indicated he had ulterior motives.

"By the way since you're my master now and all you said you'd teach me how to become a warrior, but how can I do that without a weapon?" Yuri tried pointing out the obvious fault in Arthur’s logic..

"Don't worry about that kid, you've still got a long way to go before you'll actually be good enough for a weapon, just do as I say. "

Yuri simply nodded at Arthur’s comment.

After another long silence Yuri finally speaks up.

"--Sigh--, so I know this is weird to ask but why are you hiding your face?"

Arthur bursts out laughing. "HA HA HA HA, hiding, I ain't hiding nothing kid, I just like the shade it gives me, but I can remove my hood if you really want me to. Just say 'please master'." Arthurwas clearly teasing Yuri, he knew that the small boy's pride wouldn't allow it and he was right as Yuri just got up and climbed back into the carriage, going to sleep and not even eating anything even though his stomach was growling...