Inside a humble, quiet house, a boy lay on a wooden bed, his face a mask of emptiness.
Eyes empty, gazing blankly at the cracked ceiling above, tears gently traced silent paths down his cheeks.
"Why am I alive?" he wondered, voice lost in sorrow.
"Why did he save me?"
A heavy weight of grief pressed him down.
Seven days of haunting silence since his family's brutal end.
The sword strike, meant to end his life, missed his vital organs by a narrow margin.
A kind villager's quick intervention saved him from certain death.
He had considered suicide since he woke up three days ago but every time, he planned to end it all.
But every time, the faces of those who killed his beloved sister, his supportive father, and his kind mother haunted his mind.
A relentless reminder buried deep within his soul.
They were still out there, alive.
Their mocking laughter and disdain for his family being a scholar fueled his blood with burning anger, creeping into every fiber of his being with fierce resolve.
How could he die when the murderers still walked free?
Without revenge, he'd never find peace to meet his family in the afterlife– justice must be served.
Unfortunately, he was just a scholar's apprentice, ignorant of fighting and clueless about killing.
Where would he start?
His vacant eyes were burning with determination, filled with vengeance that could have drawn the whole village.
'I may not know how now… but I'll make them pay,' he whispered fiercely.
'Everyone—families, friends, animals—won't escape my wrath.'
'Those connected to my family's death will feel ten times my pain,' he vowed solemnly, a flicker of fierce resolve igniting within.
His quiet promise echoed like a storm about to break.
Creak!
The door to the small room was pushed open and a burly middle-aged man walked in.
He looked at the frail boy and sighed deeply. He could understand what the kid was passing through.
He had been there, and he nearly lost himself to grief.
"Kid, you need to come out." He said calmly and walked beside him. "I know how you feel…" he paused, unsure of how to continue.
Losing your family in cold blood at such a young age was not something a kid could deal with.
But looking at his soulless eyes broke his heart.
Everyone in the village knew how bright he was. His intellect was above every kid of his age in the village.
Apart from that, his parents treated everyone kindly. They taught the illiterate how to read for free.
Thanks to them, most of the kids in the village could read.
Thus, he couldn't allow the sole survivor of the Jun family to die in grief.
"I know you want to avenge your parents, but you can't do that by staying indoors." He continued but his voice became firmer.
He knew the boy needed hope and he was going to give him one.
Although it might be false hope.
At least, false hope was better than none.
Listening to his words, Jun Wu blinked twice but did not respond. But this action did not escape the watchful eyes of the middle-aged man.
"I know how you can avenge your parents… And I'll teach you." He lied with a straight face, but his voice was firm as if he was telling the truth.
Instantly, Jun Wu turned his head and looked at him.
"Are you telling the truth?" His voice was hoarse from not speaking for the past couple of days.
"Yes. Why would I lie to you? Remember, I saved you." He replied. "Get up, come out and I'll teach you how to avenge your family."
His voice rose an octave, filled with righteous determination.
Jun Wu's hollow eyes stared at him for a moment before he nodded slowly. As long as he could avenge his parents, he would do anything.
"Good!" He nodded and a light smile crept up his face. "I've prepared your clothes with some food."
With that, he left the small room. 'I believe after he mingles with friends of his age, his thirst for vengeance will reduce,' he thought.
The following day, Jun Wu came out for the first time since the misfortune befell his family.
Quickly, the news spread throughout the small village.
The sole survivor of the scholar family was out.
Small children came to look at him. Some of the older kids looked at him with pity. They tried to talk to him only to receive a silent response from him.
Watching the little girls playing reminded him of his little sister. Seated in front of the small house, he held back his tears.
"I won't cry again until I kill them." He muttered and held back his tears.
The kids of his age tried to be friends with him, but Jun Wu did not respond. His hollow eyes only stared at them without blinking.
The older villagers passing by would drop by to give him fruits and food while saying encouraging words.
With each passing day, Jun Wu would only sit in front of the house, waiting for Uncle Kai to teach him how to kill his enemies.
This was his only thought.
As for the kids around the village, they had stopped bothering him.
The kids could not withstand his vacant eyes and cold attitude.
After a week of waiting, Jun Wu could not wait any longer. Early in the morning, he confronted Uncle Kai.
"Uncle Kai, you said you're going to teach me how I'm going to get stronger to kill my enemies, but it's already been a week."
His hollow eyes stared at Uncle Kai without blinking, filled with determination.
Uncle Kai was stunned, he had hoped with Jun Wu coming and mingling with the village children of his age, he would let go of his vengeance.
But he was wrong.
The rage did not reduce, it seemed to be getting stronger with each passing day.
He thought for a moment, and a plan formed in his mind.
"I wanted to give you some time but since you're in such a haste, follow me." He said casually and left the sitting room.
Jun Wu nodded, his heart burning with the thirst for vengeance and followed Uncle Kai in large strides.
He followed Uncle Kai to the middle of the village. Along the way, many villagers looked at Jun Wu in shock.
This was the first time he had left the house.
Uncle Kai guided him into a cozy, dimly-lit house filled with freshly forged farming tools neatly arranged along the walls.
Plowshares, sickles, and hoes.
In another corner, an anvil stood solid, surrounded by rows of hammers, tongs, chisels, and a glowing furnace softly burning in the distance.
"This is my forge where your first training will begin." Uncle Kai said with a light smile.
"Pick a hammer and let your training begin."
Jun Wu stared at him for a moment and walked forward. He stopped before a big hammer and picked it.
Huh!
The weight of the hammer shocked him, and a deep gasp escaped from his lips, but he refused to drop the hammer.
Suddenly, a sound echoed in his mind and a transparent panel appeared in his retina.
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ Congratulations! You've been chosen.
┃ You've awakened your innate weapon.
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┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ 🛠️ Innate Weapon: Hammer.
┃ Level: 0 ( 0 / 100 EXP )
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
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