In the cramped room, where Kane and Bokar were working on the kinks, a shout came from the upstairs along with footsteps. The voice was familiar and it reached their ears. “Bokar, where are you!?”

Looking at the ceiling, Bokar said, “Hey, your father is here. Let’s go meet him.”

“Alright,” agreed Kane. They both put down their tools on the wooden table and stood up.

They went upstairs and found Ezar who was leaning against the wall. His foot lightly drummed the floor. When he saw the two, his face beamed with a joyous smile. “Ah, you both are here. What a coincidence. I was going to ask Bokar to look for you.”

“Hi, Dad. Sorry for making you worried,” Kane greeted from behind Bokar. He scratched his neck and avoided his father’s eyes.

“It’s okay, Kane. So, what were you two doing?” he asked.

“We’re just making a weapon. Your son was helping me and he’s doing great,” said Bokar. He turned his head toward Kane and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Wait, Kane is now your apprentice? Since when?” Ezar asked again, tilting his head. His eyes lit up.

“Just a day ago...” Bokar bit his tongue, rubbing his nose. Standing beside him, Kane was pleased by his answer.

Ezar became quiet. This somehow bothered Kane as he and Bokar looked at each other. Did he not agree with Kane became Bokar’s apprentice?

“Finally…” Ezar uttered. “Finally my son has a hobby outside of his home!” he shouted, raising his fists upward.

Kane stared blankly at his excited father. Apparently, Ezar had been unhappy by the fact that his son spent most of his time at home, even though he knew it couldn’t be helped. Kane understood and could relate to it as he also loved being outside rather than inside.

Bokar cleared his throat and then asked, “Are you fine with this? I didn’t ask for your permission first.”

“Of course! Obviously. As long as it doesn’t interfere with our other activities.” Ezar then gazed at Kane. “Anyway, why did you suddenly want to blacksmith?”

“I don’t know. Because it looks cool? Also, chopping wood all day is tedious.” Kane shrugged. He tried to give an answer as a kid would have.

Ezar nodded. “Fair enough.”

Fifteen minutes later, Kane then bid goodbye and left the shop. He was hungry and thus decided to go home to eat the breakfast that Ezar had made. His father would catch up with Kane later after he finished talking with Bokar. In the afternoon, Kane exercised with his father. Running, lifting logs, and swinging the ax. Before doing the training, he drank the physical strength potion to push his limits even more.

After the training session was over, his father didn’t teach Kane the usual ax lesson, instead, he taught Kane about trees and carpentry. The change of lesson was requested by Kane because he was rather interested in learning them.

---

A year passed by in the blink of an eye. The leftover snow had melted away in the middle of spring.

Kane had just left Bokar’s workshop. The building had been renovated and was much improved compared to a year ago. It was now made from bricks and mortar rather than wood. The building was the largest in Deven, making it stand out from any angle.

This all had happened because Kane had been producing good quality weapons and armor. They fetched for quite a high price, and thus made both Kane and Bokar richer than before. It was uncertain whether they had become famous, though, as they had been selling their products anonymously.

Then, Gako approached Kane. He had grown quite taller compared to a year ago, unlike Kane. With sparkling eyes, he then asked, “Kane, do you want to go hunting with us? Xiirag and the rest will be there too!”

“Sure, but I’ll join after I helped my father,” said Kane.

“Okay then! We’ll wait at the forest entrance.” He then ran toward the other direction and waved.

When Kane set his foot in the backyard, he saw his father carrying a bunch of logs on his shoulder. He then split them on the chopping block. Wiping dripping sweat from his temples, Ezar raised his hatchet once more.

“Let me help,” Kane offered as he touched Ezar’s hatchet.

“Ah, thanks. Welcome back, Kane,” Ezar smiled. He grabbed a piece of cloth and dried his face.

“You shouldn’t have to work this hard. I could give you some of my money,” said Kane.

“Kane, your money is yours. I don’t have the right to take them,” replied Ezar as he entered the house.

Kane shrugged when his father rejected the offer. He took a whole log with almost no effort, then lightly chopped at the bark. The log was divided into 16 small pieces. Next, he threw them beside the chopping block after cutting them into short and small pieces. Kane repeated this process while his father was talking to him. He brought two cups filled with water.

“Kane, remember that tomorrow morning we must leave Deven. Don’t sleep too late,” said Ezar with a thin smile.

“I know, Dad. The aptitude evaluation is coming,” replied Kane and twitched his eyebrow. “You’ve been reminding me about it since last week.”

“Haha, I did that for you and for myself. I just don’t want to forget the day my beloved son becomes a true warrior.” Ezar laughed and then drank the water. The cup was empty after a second.

“You’re still 36 years old, you won’t forget anything.” Kane rolled his eyes. “Say, can I ask you a question?” His tone turned solemn and halted the activity.

“Hmm, what is it?”

“Could you... tell me what happened to mom?” asked Kane. Not that he was obsessed about her; he was simply rather curious of her whereabouts.

“I’ll tell you when you’re old enough,” Ezar replied, looking down.

Kane continued splitting the log in silence. He was disappointed, but he decided to wait until his father was ready to tell him about it. After Kane finished helping his father, he, together with Gako and the rest, went hunting. The activity went well without a hitch.

Later, the sky was now dark with a white full moon shining dimly. Kane sat on his bed while counting all the money he had made for a year. Pouches filled with coins were halfway flooding the room. He spilled them all onto his bed.

“33,500… 33,550… and it’s 33,550 gold. It’s way too low when compared to my money back then,” Kane lamented despite the money being comparable to the entire wealth of a knight.

“Hmm… I wonder whether the aptitude evaluation will be the same as before. No matter what the evaluation is, I’m definitely going to become a warrior because I’m half oni, after all.”

---

“Let’s go, Kane.” Ezar was already outside, watching over Kane.

“Calm down a bit, Dad. I’m still putting my shoes on,” Kane replied. He pushed his foot into the leather shoe and did the same to his other foot.

Ready to set off, the father and son walked onward. The dawn star shone onto the land with its dim radiance. The stars were still twinkling despite the black sky turning orange halfway. There were several people gathered near the entrance gate.

After arriving at the destination, Kane saw Gako and another kid. The kid’s name is Xiirag, a friend of Gako that used to bully Kane in the past until the half-oni beat him when he tried it for the last time. Later, he respected Kane, and they became friends.

The village had a small population, so only those three were qualified.

“Kane!” Gako waved his hand towards Kane. His middle-aged mother who was standing next to him didn’t notice Kane.

Kane waved back without saying anything as he approached them.

Because the evaluation would be conducted in a small town quite far from here, Bokar had prepared a caravan full of supplies. There were two same carriages parked, one for passengers and one for the supplies. The carriages could fit 20 people with still some space left. One of the interiors was redecorated with furniture and beds. Each of them would be pulled by two horses.

It seemed quite excessive, but with Bokar’s current money, it wasn’t. The three youngsters climbed and sat on the carriage, followed by Bokar and Ezar.

“You’re both coming, too?” asked Kane.

“Of course. How else are we going to ensure your safety?” Ezar answered. “I also have some business with someone there.”

After some goodbyes and prayers, the two drivers whipped the horses, pulling the carriages with vigor.

The journey took three days and one night. Fortunately, there were no problems while on the road except for the occasional monster and beast attack. Ezar and Bokar handled them with ease. They reached the outer part of the town in the morning.

From the outside, the town had two guards standing beside the wooden gate and walled with log spikes. The wheat fields and farms encircled the town. The farmers nearby only glanced at the caravan before minding their business again.

“We’re almost there,” said Bokar.

“Whoa, I’ve never been into a human town before. Everything looks so weird!” shouted Gako excitedly. Protruding his head through the window, he darted his head right and left.

Xiirag, who was sitting beside Gako, glared at him. “Hey, your voice is too loud! Can’t you see we’re attracting humans’ attention!”

“Haha, it’s alright, Xiirag. This town is friendly to our race, so there is no need to be nervous,” said Ezar.

“Wh-what? I’m not nervous.” He then looked at his front. “Kane, what do you think?”

“Eh, let Gako be. It’s not harmful to all of us. Just relax.” Kane leaned on the seat while looking at the roof. He didn’t mind attracting attention except when it could threaten his life.

Gako grinned ear to ear as he looked at the defeated Xiirag. After the guards finished inspecting the carriage, they let them through.

The group entered the town. They were greeted with an unfamiliar sight. Everything was different from Deven, from buildings to clothing. This made Gako even more excited. As a result, the carriage became the center of attention.

“What is that thing?” He pointed at the figure of a man made from bronze.

“It’s a statue,” replied Bokar.

“I see, I see. Then, what is that scribble on that wooden plank?”

“It’s a writing that says ‘Hromir’s Inn’,” he replied again with a slightly annoyed tone.

“Wow, you know a lot, uncle!”

“That’s because I’ve traveled a lot back when I was in my prime.”

Gako then kept showering Bokar with questions while Xiirag plugged his ears and facepalmed at the same time.

“Thank the Lord I didn’t answer him,” Kane sighed. He had initially wanted to answer him at first but luckily, Bokar had replied quicker.

“Say, Kane. How are you feeling right now?” Ezar asked. He wrapped his hand around Kane’s shoulder.

“I feel alright, I suppose.” Kane shrugged.

“Do you need something to cover your head?”

Kane paused for a moment. He then said, “Nah, I don’t need it. I won’t hide my identity as an oni nor a human.”

“Well said.” Ezar nodded. “It’s good to be proud of who you are. Even though this town is tolerant of our kind, there will be some people who're hostile toward us, especially to a mixed race like you. So be careful, okay?”

“I will, thanks for the warning,” said Kane. Xiirag listened and nodded.

After traversing through blocks of buildings and cobblestone road, the group stumbled upon a spacious park. There was a large building in the center. The crowd was gathering around the closed entrance. The area was guarded with rope fences and some lightly armored guards.

“Here we are. The aptitude evaluation will be conducted here,” said Ezar. He tied the horse leash to the designated pole.

“The evaluation will begin shortly, so we must hurry. Follow Bokar while I go somewhere else. I’ll be back in about three hours.” He bid goodbye and then left.

The three followed Bokar, going to the kiosk nearby. Thanks to his fluency in a common human language, they had no problem with signing up for the evaluation. Bokar then gave a pin to each of the three.

“Here’s your item for entering the building. Now go there and give it to that guard then enter the crowd. Unfortunately, I can’t go in there, so I’ll wait here.”

“But what should we do if they say something to us? We don’t understand the human language,” said Xiirag.

“That’s not a problem, Kane does,” Bokar winked at the half-oni.

“Wow, you’re awesome, Kane!” Gako exclaimed. Xiirag too was surprised.

“Just a little bit.” Kane smiled and glared at Bokar for a moment who was whistling in the other direction.