Gray was totally shocked and held his cheek while lying on the ground. He could feel a little taste of iron in his mouth and hear that Leon was cracking up. With an irritated face, he sat up and said, “You! How come you punch me that hard?!” Leon was slightly felt apologetic and offered his hand to Gray, “Sorry, I was too immersed in the moment and forgot that we’re sparring,” After getting up, Gray felt really annoyed and with a fast movement, locked his friend’s head in this arm and delivered a couple of flicks. Leon didn’t know whether to scream or laugh and so with much efforts, he said that the punch was not deliberate at all.
When Gray finally felt better, he let go his friend and gave a final kick to Leon’s butt. Leon didn’t avoid it because he knew he was truly wrong. Remembering it, ever since they were kids, Gray never accidentally hurt him like he did just now. That boy had so much control over his body and could stop anytime he felt like it enough. Leon couldn’t help, but to admire his friend. The first time they met was when both of them were six years old, well to be precise, it was ten years ago. Gray was brought to this town by the man who used to live in this house. Everyone was curious because this person was known to be a solitary, he rarely went outside his house, so that kid couldn’t be his own child, right?
Leon still remembered just how his mother prohibited him to interact with that new kid. Saying things like that kid probably an illegitimate child from a woman in brothel, so his status was really low and didn’t worth to be friend with. He did listen to his mother at that time and paid no attention to the new kid. Nevertheless, all of his friends at that time were from rich families, just like him. They liked to made troubles and no one dared to report them because the people were afraid. In contrary, Leon really despised their actions and started to speak up, even a kid knew their actions were totally bad! His little self wouldn’t allow them to create troubles for the townsfolk. After some time, the kids started to feel irritated and changed their target to Leon. They would purposely trip his feet, snatched his pocket money, and then ripped his study books. He didn’t dare to tell it to his mother or father, so in the end, he decided to endure it all.
One day, the kids were bullying him like usual. They surrounded him on the small, deserted alley. Snatched his bag by force and spilled his books to the ground, two kids were holding him back while the leader casually stomped his homework books. Leon could only scream and deliver a couple of curses to that fat boy who pretended to be deaf. At that moment, suddenly someone was throwing small stones towards the fat boy. That fat boy was startled and turned back, only to see a small boy with runny nose. Turned out, he was the kid who lived with the solitary man! While wiping his snot, that small boy shouted and pointed his small finger at the bullies, “ALL OF YOU!! DON’T HARRAS A GIRL!!!” Leon was showing an ugly expression on his face because he was called as a girl. The other three people were showing even horrible expressions, in their short lives, no one’s dared to provoke them! What the hell was this irrelevant boy thinking?!
In unison, the kids who were holding Leon, dropped him down and stand beside the fat boy. One of them said, “You peasant! How dare you talk to us!” That boy didn’t care at all and he answered confidently, “I am not a peasant! You guys are peasants! Now let her go!” Leon couldn’t help, but gave a snort of laughter. Looked like that boy didn’t understand the word ‘peasant’ and just mindlessly used them to offend them back. Being called a peasant from a ‘real peasant’, of course those bullies were angry. “Get him!” That fat boy ordered his friends and clenched his hands. That boy didn’t show any sign of being intimidated and made a stance while the bullies were getting closer to him.
Leon couldn’t help, but to be a little excited! He knew that stance! It was martial arts! For a moment, he forgot the fact that he was being called as a girl and cheered for that small boy. Undeniably, that boy could defend himself, swiftly avoiding their grips and kicks, but Leon could see it. That boy was holding himself and only tripped his opponents’ legs, he didn’t attack them seriously. The bullies were fallen to the ground for so many times, until the fat boy couldn’t hold his patience anymore and also joined the fight. Three vs. one, of course it was really unfair!!
Finally, that fat boy was able to squash him on the ground. His poor face was red, but his spirit was still flaming. He didn’t say anything while the bullies ganged up over him. He covered his head and crouched down. How could Leon see this and do nothing?!! He didn’t know what possessed him, but he got up and ran really fast towards the fat boy. That fat boy was unguarded and couldn’t process the whole situations. Before he realized it, Leon was already on top of him and repeatedly punched his face! It didn’t hurt too much, considering Leon’s body, but it still gave him pains. Just like that, the fight turned to three vs. two.
The fight finally ended when the fat boy ran out while crying. Leon could hear them said that they would tell their parents and do revenge. Thus, the alley suddenly went quiet. Both of them were lying on the ground, covered with bruises and bloods. The sky was turning orange and the sun was coming down. Leon broke the silence, “Hey, you’re not dead, right?” The boy answered by giving a hehe and praised him, “This is my first time seeing a girl who can fight really well!” Leon could only do a facepalm and gritted his teeth, “I’m a boy!” Hiding his embarrassment, he coolly said, “Ups, my bad! I’m Gray, by the way. What’s your name?” Leon tried to get up and answered, “Leon. Thanks for today, but you should be careful... Those kids are the worst. You should go back to your dad,” Leon felt really apologetic because he knew how despicable those three people’s families. Gray could’ve gotten all the blame for today’s fight because of him. “Dad? I don’t have a dad…” Now it’s Leon’s turned to be embarrassed, “But you’re living with a man here, right? He’s not your dad?”
“He’s my master!” Gray didn’t hide his excitement at all and continued, “He is not my dad, but he taught me a lot of things, including self-defence!” That was their first meeting and Leon could still remember it all. “What are you thinking?” The 16 years old Gray called him, “Nothing, I just suddenly miss Master Elric. There’s so many things he doesn’t teach us yet,” Hearing his friend mentioned his late master, Gray’s eyes turned sad, “Yeah, I also miss him a lot...”
Gray didn’t really remember his life before he met his master. All he knew for sure was that he was an orphan. Back then he used to find foods from the garbage pails or pitifully begged the people, some would drive him away and some would throw him the leftovers. He didn’t mind being kicked or cursed at, as long as he could fill his stomach. After all, it’s human natures to feel hungry… He knew not many children at his age would survive living at the streets. Hence, he made a big promise in his heart, when he grew up, he didn’t want to live pathetically like this anymore.He did remember how his master at that time, gave him a lot of foods, water, and even patiently told him to eat slowly. The foods were not leftovers, it was newly prepared, thus the small Gray could still feel the warmth of the meatbuns, entering his stomach. Eating warmth foods may be trivial thing for others, but for him, it was the happiest moment ever. Never in his life, so
The next day, Gray was standing in front of his master’s grave. He murmured softly, “Master, how are you? These days, I’m doing really well,” He kept speaking anything that came across his mind, including the ‘hot gossip’, “People are spreading gossip that I sold cyclops meats! Isn’t that ridiculous, master? I wonder what you would do if you’re still alive…”“Had he been alive, of course he would’ve found the source and confronted them,” A chuckle was heard after an old man finished his sentence. The old man was on his 60s and he walked slowly with a cane. He was the mayor of the town, Mister Charles.When he was young, he was part of the state’s independence movement. Fearlessly driving the enemies towards their defeat, soon he was granted a position as the mayor in a border town at 27 years old. In order to have a peace on this land, he urged the enemy’s king to sig
A woman was stomping her foot angrily. The sounds could be heard clearly in the entire forest. She lost count on how many days she had entered the forest. She didn’t have much arrows left on her back and she couldn’t find the exit. Sometimes, she felt that she’s only circling around the same place and she’s tired of seeing animals and monsters.She wanted to immediately have a warm bath and sleep on the comfortable bed. If only she knew a teleportation spell, she would’ve gotten out from this damned forest long time ago. Even though she had an angry expression right now, one could still see her stunning figure. Her face was truly gorgeous with a pair of clear black eyes. She had a silver braided hair, flowed until her slender waist. Her distinct figure was too much out of place!Looking up, she could see that soon a downpour would fall. So, she fastened her pace in order to quickly find a place to rest. Out of the blue, she could hear a sh
“The exit way,” Sierra answered coldly.She always aimed for the main topic instead of idle talks. “Ah! Of course. I can tell you that tomorrow morning. Don’t worry,” Gray heaved a sigh of relief and stroked his chest. After that, Sierra decided to ask him a couple of questions. Turned out, she’d walked so far and already passed the border between The Kingdom of Bealaris and The State of Etherna.“If I may ask, what is your business here?” Gray asked her. He couldn’t help, but become really curious. It’s not a common thing to meet a mage, especially here in the border towns. His master used to tell him stories about mages.“I’m a traveller. This time, I was unlucky and got lost in the forest,” she said shortly. Gray could tell that she didn’t like talking too much, but after all, when would he get another chance like this? He couldn’t just shut his mouth and let his c
How could she forget about the most crucial part about the Water Bark?!She had completely overlooked the fact that Gray didn’t know how to control his energy flow at all. If he didn’t have any awareness about the energy flow, it meant he completely vulnerable. Sierra muttered some curses under her breath while running so fast. She stumbled over some roots in the dark and because of that, she impatiently opened her right palm and summoned a fire ball. It moved fluidly and floated above her head in order to light the way.The light illuminated a large area and helped Sierra to see clearly. Now, she didn’t have to worry about the roots and retraced her steps to the cave. It took half a day to the exit, then it meant it also required half a day in order to go back to the cave. She couldn’t help, but wonder what would welcome her if she arrived half a day later.She gritted her teeth and ran madly in the middle of the forest. Her braide
Gray couldn’t believe his ears, and rubbed his eyes to make sure that this was not an illusion. He kept looking at Sierra strangely, like wanting to confirm something on her. On the other hand, Sierra just casually sat on the river bank and took off her shoes. Because she was running for hours, now all of her toes were full with blisters and blood. She slowly soaked her feet on the river and let the water stream cleaned it for her. Later, she would treat it by applying an ointment. She didn’t have any changes in her expression, still the same cold and aloof appearance. Nevertheless, her actions were all seen by Gray and now, he felt so overwhelmed by various emotions. Sierra was completely unaware and just focusing on cleaning her feet. Out of nowhere, there was a loud wailing sound behind her back, similar to a wounded animal. She turned her head while frowning and saw the kid was crying so hard, he was even unable to breathe. She gritted her teeth and asked
In the morning, Gray stretched his body and tried to stand up. His body didn’t tremble like before, but his legs still had no power. In a short time, he was sweating and had to sit down again. Sierra just watched the whole struggle with uninterest while eating an apple on her hand.Then, she asked him lazily, “Do you really want to save her that badly?” Wiping his sweats, he answered resolutely, “Yes! I’ve already made a promise, and master always said that a man should never break his words, so I’m going to do my best to exit this forest today!” Sierra looked at his light hazel eyes, and couldn’t help, but feel a little bit of familiarity.Sierra walked around for a moment and found a long stick. She gave it to Gray and said, “Alright, if you say so. You better walk properly or I’m going to leave first.” She knew that kind of gaze, no matter how weak his legs were, Gray wouldn’t give up. Thus, she
“Oh man! Gray! Are you okay?!”Leon looked at his friend and finally felt relieved. He’s been searching for two days in the forest. Gray left without leaving a single message and hadn’t return for many days, thus ignoring all of the consequences, he just geared up and went into the forest. Sierra narrowed her eyes and asked Gray, “Hey, you know this new kid?”“Yes, Miss! Rest assured, he’s my only friend I mentioned before!”Hearing this, Sierra finally lowered her bow and continued to sit down silently. On the other hand, Leon was frozen still while looking at her. He wondered who was she and how Gray knew her. However, he knew that looking at a woman for too long was rude, and so he lowered his eyes and walked quickly to Gray’s side.He proceeded to examine his friend’s condition thoroughly. Except for his dirty appearance, Gray was pretty fine, so Leon exhaled a long breath and hit his f