After a grueling effort, Ryo finally managed to plow the designated part of the field. The old man gave him ten coins and said:
"Come back tomorrow morning. Start your work again—you can work here for a week."
Ryo thought to himself:
"Yes! Finally, I can work for seven days and earn some money. Then, with the Master's help, I can open my energy channels."
Exhausted and staggering, he returned to the inn and saw his master asleep. He got annoyed and thought:
"I worked my ass off all day, and now this lazy master is just sleeping? I have to wake him up in a way that teaches him a lesson."
Ryo was grinning mischievously when suddenly the master said:
"Don't even think about it."
Ryo was surprised:
"Huh… Master! You're awake?"
The master said:
"No, you woke me with those laughs of yours…"
Ryo thought:
"Huh… my laugh was that loud? I need to work on it."
He said, holding out his coins:
"But Master, look what I got!"
He showed the ten coins. The master's eyes lit up and he jumped up:
"Leave them with me. Anyway, we have to pay for the inn and food."
Ryo protested:
"No, Master! It's better if I keep the money. I can tell by your face that you'd spend it on useless things."
The master asked:
"What's wrong with my face?"
Ryo replied:
"Even though your face is covered, it's obvious you're not thinking about anything good."
The master sighed:
"Heh… forget it then."
Five days passed like this. Ryo worked, noticing changes in his body—he was much stronger than on the first day and could finish his work easily. He decided to complete a whole week's work in just a few days to get two days off. After finishing all the tasks, he staggered to the old man and said:
"Sir, I've finished everything."
The old man said:
"Good job! Here's today's payment. Come back tomorrow."
Ryo said:
"No, sir, I mean I've finished the work for the next two days too. The field is ready for planting."
The old man, surprised, went to check and saw that Ryo had truly completed everything. He said:
"Sit, let's talk for a bit."
The old man said:
"You know, you remind me of my son. When the monsters attacked, he lost his life… he looked just like you and was just as hardworking. After he died, I couldn't go near this field. It stayed abandoned until I saw you and remembered him."
He continued:
"I want to make you an offer. Come live with me. I may have an ordinary life, but I really need someone to help me with my work. And who's better than you? What do you think?"
Ryo hesitated for a moment, then replied:
"Thank you for the offer, but I'm my Master's disciple and must stay with him. (Although he's really lazy…) I really appreciate it, but I have a dream. I want to destroy all the monsters one day, and I'm sure I can achieve it if I stay with my Master."
The old man, both surprised and pleased, said:
"Alright. But I have one request. Do your best so one day you can destroy all the monsters. That way, no one will feel the pain of losing their child to monsters like I did."
Ryo smiled and shouted:
"Absolutely! I'll make sure all the monsters pay for what they did to us!"
The old man smiled faintly:
"I'm glad."
He handed Ryo the payment—and added twenty extra coins.
Ryo asked:
"What's this for? I only wanted the payment I earned."
The old man said:
"Think of it as a father giving his son money to spend as he likes."
Ryo thanked him:
"Thanks a lot. I should go now—it's getting late and my Master will be worried."
The old man said:
"Go safely. Goodbye. I hope to see you another day."
As Ryo left, the bullies appeared again.
The leader sneered:
"Heh heh! It's you again. We've been watching you these past few days, saw you working. Hand over all your money."
This time Ryo said:
"No!"
Feeling stronger, he charged at their leader—but suddenly someone punched him in the stomach, and he fell.
The bully leader raised his fist to strike Ryo in the face, only five centimeters away—when someone blocked it.
Ryo looked up and saw… his Master.
"Master!!!"
The Master laughed as he approached and said:
"So these were the ones who beat you that day?"
Ryo nodded.
The Master, furious, said:
"So you had the nerve to hit my disciple?"
He crushed the leader's hand; it broke instantly. The others attacked, but their limbs shattered before they even felt it. The Master broke both hands and legs of the bully leader so he would never walk again.
"I don't want to see any more bullying," he said.
The Master said to Ryo:
"Let's go."
Ryo, astonished and slightly scared by his Master's actions, remembered:
"Even though the Master did this for me, I'm still weak. I need to become strong enough so the Master doesn't have to worry about me."
He stood up with a smile and shouted:
"Yes, Master!"
Then he ran toward his Master.
---
End of Chapter 5