The sky was overcast that day. Roy gripped the goose’s white, slender neck tightly with one hand, while the other held a thin, razor-sharp blade. He placed it on the goose’s artery and sliced. Blood spurted out, filling the wooden bucket beside him. He heaved a sigh and looked at his character sheet.

‘Roy

Age: Thirteen years and ten months old

Status: Civilian

HP: 50

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 5.1

Constitution: 5

Perception: 7

Will: 4.8

Charisma: 5

Spirit: 6

Skill:

Massacre Level 3: Any attacking enemy within a one foot range will have a 10% chance of being Feared. If their Will is lower than yours, they will lose control of their bodies. The effect lasts eight to nine seconds, at most. There is a 10% increase in damage against ten types of creatures.

Crossbow Mastery Level 1: …

Meditation Level 1: …

Personal Level: 2 (700/1000)

Others: Unknown

Inventory Space: 1 cubic meter’

***

Roy had been working in the marketplace for half a month. Since he was only working in the morning, he would kill twenty chickens, ducks, or geese every day. The sheer number of kills finally made Massacre reach level three. Hard work pays off. Guess wading through that stench wasn’t for nothing. He managed to make twenty-five crowns and three hundred EXP too.

The berbercane fruits and blowballs he’d been consuming lost all effect, since his weakest stats —  Strength and Constitution —  had reached five. It was on par with an average adult’s, and it affected him physically. He was two inches* taller than he was in Kaer. Roy’s height was five feet six*, and muscles were starting to show. The boy was getting sturdier compared to how gaunt he’d been.

PR/N: Two inches is around 5.08 centimeters, and five feet six is around 1.68 meters.

Roy wouldn’t lose to any adult in Strength or Constitution. His features were getting slightly more sculpted, resembling a young adult’s more than a boy’s. Once the goose finished bleeding, he placed it in a bucket of steaming hot water before defeathering and disemboweling it. It was noon when he was done. Roy put the knife down, took off his apron, cleaned himself up, and woke Ruhr up from his nap before leaving for the House of Cardell.

***

When Roy saw Vivien in the yard, she was sweating, and he handed her a satchel of herbs.

Vivien took it from him, but she looked confused. “What is this, Roy?” 

“Honeysuckle. It’s a type of herb. Just put it in water and have it every day. Helps a lot with the ladies. You know I work for Tross, so getting this is easy.”

“Why are you giving this to me out of the blue?”

“As thanks. You’ve been taking care of me and helping me out a lot. It’d be remiss of me not to repay my debt,” Roy answered.

Vivien was silent after hearing that answer. “Listen, Roy. You didn’t have to give me this. That’s not why I helped you.”

“I can see that, but what’s your reason then?” he asked. “Vivien, I’ve been wondering. Why do you care for me so much? You’re even helping me with revision, just like how a sister would.”

Vivien took a deep breath and rubbed her wine-red hair. Melancholy filled her eyes as she answered quietly. “I-I have a brother, and you give me the same feeling he does, so I see him in you at times.”

Roy was surprised to hear that. He’d never seen Vivien’s brother in the school, nor did anyone talk about him. Is he… Is he dead? Vivien doesn’t sound so sure about his condition either. 

“How old is he now? Has he ever attended school here?” Roy asked.

Instead of answering him, Vivien looked at the clock outside the door and shifted the topic. “It’s almost time. We should go to the classroom now.”

“Alright then.” Since Vivien was reluctant to divulge the details, Roy didn’t pry any further, but his interest was piqued, and he wanted to find out about the story behind it. Strangely, Vivien didn’t ask him to stay back that evening. Perhaps she was reminded of a sad memory because of their conversation.

***

The night was dark, but the storehouse beside the watermill was illuminated by candlelight. A boy and girl sat on the haystacks around it, engaged in a whisper.

“Did you memorize the words I taught you yesterday?”

“Yes.” The girl scrunched her nose, feeling tense. Her eyes gleamed with trepidation, but also excitement.

“Good. Then, let’s go with the usual. Write down the words ‘bread,’ ‘fish,’ ‘potato,’ and ‘morning.’”

The girl stared down and dragged the haystack away. Then, she held a piece of shabby charcoal in her calloused hand. Using that as a pencil, she drew on the uneven ground, making out skewed words.

“Not bad,” Roy said, praising as he checked her spelling. “You’re a smart girl, Toya. Smarter than most people, especially those little bastards who’re bullying you. Those idiots have no right to laugh at you. They’re mere trash.”

Toya blushed after being praised. “I… Well, you’ve been a good teacher. It’s all thanks to you.”

“Raise your head, Toya. Be more confident.”

Toya puffed her chest out after hearing the encouragement. Her hunched back made her look bizarre, but for once, she smiled, even though it was stiff —  it had been years since she’d done so.

Roy paused for a moment. “Are those little bastards still coming to harass you?”

“No.”

“Remember what I told you. Wallop them with your broom the next time they come for you. Don’t just take it. That’ll make them bolder. If you can’t win alone, then I’ll help you once I come back. We’ll teach them a lesson.”

Roy sat closer to her as he gave his advice, and their shoulders touched. Toya was used to physical contact after nearly two weeks of getting along with him. She didn’t react as severely as before. 

“Let’s put aside the conversational words for today and learn something new.” 

Roy pushed the haystack away and wrote the words ‘Temeria,’ ‘Gors Velen,’ ‘Isle of Thanedd,’ and ‘Aretuza’ on the ground.

“Roy, who drew a pentagram on your left sleeve? And it’s only half-finished.” Toya was interested.

Roy looked at the unfinished pentagram drawn in charcoal, and he thought about it. “I don’t remember.” He couldn’t think of anyone who’d do that no matter how hard he tried. “Probably some cheeky kid in the House of Cardell. Probably did it when I wasn’t looking. Let’s talk about Temeria. It’s a nation in northern Aedirn. The only thing between Aldersberg and Aedirn is the Mahakam mountain range. Toya, have you ever thought about traveling to another nation?”

“C-Can I do that?” She trembled, her eyes filled with terror, but also longing. She shook her head. “No. It’s been years since I left the mill. Temeria is too far away from me. I have to feed the chickens, water the flowers, sweep the floor, and finish a lot of chores every day. Hank and Mana won’t let me leave.”

“Just imagine it.” Roy twirled his finger beside his head. “They can’t read your mind.”

Toya’s eyes shone.