Chapter 7

The old man started walking away. Sol had nothing better to do so he followed. They twisted and turned through the wooden city until they reached an old cottage right on the outskirts of the city.

When they reached the cottage, the old man walked through the front doors. The old man said he would give him a tour of his house. Sol followed him in. It was a cozy place with 2 rooms. There was a medium-sized rug in the middle of the main room. There was also a table of to the side and an oven/ heater on the other. There was a fluffy couch that the old man said he could sleep on.

In the other room was the old man's room. It was nothing special. A single bed with another rug. He also had a small table and a dresser.

"So, what's your name, Boy?" The old man asked.

"My name is Sol. What is your name?" Sol asked the old man.

"My name is Exavier Von Hellberg. I am a merchant. I sell things." The old man explained. "Tell me, Sol, how did you survive for so long without a family and from what I saw, living in the forest?"

Sol looked hesitantly at the old man. Sylvia had also told him to not tell anyone else where he was born. So, he made up a story on the spot.

"My creators left me in the Forest since I was a kid. I don't know their faces or names or anything like that. But, when I was dropped in the forest, I was picked up by a giant snake. She raised me since I was a kid."

Sol's story was semi-true. Sylvia had technically raised him since he was a kid so that wasn't a lie.

All good lies contain partial truths.

"Well then boy, how about I teach you about a human?" Exavier asked.

"Ok. But I have a question. What is in those walls and how can I get in?" Sol asked

Exavier just looked at Sol like he was a mad man.

"Well, in those walls is the main city. That is where most of the so-called middle class lives. beyond that are the Nobel Estates then the Royal Castle. The only way to get in there from where we are standing would be to become a knight. And that would at best only get you to the noble estates. But that would take years to complete." Exavier explained.

"Whats a Knight?" Sol asked.

"HAHAHAHA ... you really didn't have any family!! Knights are the people that fight for us against the Monsters." Exavier said.

Sol now got a little worried because Sylvia had been taken to the center on this castle, full of people that we're told to kill her. He went for the door but then the old man spoke up again.

"Boy, if you think that you are going to get in there, well, you have a better chance of starting a fire in the ocean," Exavier told him.

Sol stopped just outside the door and looked back at the old man.

"Well, what do you suppose I do? I need to get in there, they took my snake and I want her back." Sol said.

"You mean the snake that 'raised' you? How did she get in?" Exavier asked.

"She was taken by a giant bird from a tree we were going to sleep in," Sol said.

"Well then, I hate to tell you but she was a monster. Those birds are specially trained to capture any and all monsters and bring them to the castle for the royalty to kill. It is essentially an XP fountain." The old man said. "How about this. You stay with me until you are old enough to become a squire in the army. From there, it will be up to you to get through the ranks and do whatever you need to do."

Sol thought about it. It was a good offer because now he could learn things that Sylvia had not been able to teach him. It would give him some modern information.

So, Sol went with it. Form that day on, the old man would teach him about the world.

Every day, Sol would wake up and Exavier would be making toast with eggs. He and sol would sit down and eat them then the old man would do a small school lesson. This was mostly about how to read for the first few weeks. Because Sol wanted to learn quickly he upgraded his intelligence to 30 and decided the remaining stat points between strength and agility.

Then, around 10:00ish, the old man would leave. Sol never followed him because he spent this time ether playing with other kids or going out into the forest.

Then, around 5:00 the old man would come back from wherever he went and continued to teach Sol.

The dinner and sleep ... until one day.