3 3

"What a fool I have been..."

"It's time to go home. Mom might get worried." - After saying that, I looked at the sun, which was already setting, and walked down the hill.

If I'm late, Mom will lecture again for hours while I'm sitting in Seiza posture, because of this stone floor, I don't really like sitting like this for hours...

While I was thinking about this, I masterfully avoided all kinds of rocks in my path, while a calm and cold wind blew over me. Still, the scenery here is incredibly beautiful, so much so that I wonder if I'm in some kind of fairy tale... oh, right.

The clear orange sky without a single cloud makes the sunset even more beautiful. Looking down, I could see huge forests filled with all kinds of trees. In the distance, some birds were flying in the shape of an inverted V. Ah, how beautiful it is here.

Okay, no need to get distracted by something like that or I'll fall, thinking about it, I became more careful and slowed down a bit, because if I fall and get hurt, my mother... it's scary to even think about it.

***

When I got there, I was greeted by a cozy village of wooden stone houses with no windows and flat roofs.

The hunters had returned from a hunt with an ox and 3 sheep and were beginning to prepare dinner and sacrifices for the gods. They made a fire and cut some of the meat from the torso.

Noticing me, one of the hunters called out: «Hey, Colin! Come over here and help us!» - He has a big, muscular body, a square face with a scar over his left eye, and he's bald. This would have frightened a modern man, because he looks like some kind of bandit. However, he is my uncle or my mother's brother, a kind man who helps everyone in the village. A cool man.

«Colin, you made it. Grab the pelt and take it to Nike's house» - shouted one of the hunters.

"Okay." - I shouted back and ran to grab a handful of sheep's wool, which I took and walked to one of the houses.

When I reached the house, I knocked on the door, entered without waiting, and walked up to an old lady of about 60 sitting on her bed knitting something with wool. The whole house was strewn with clothes, rope, yarn, and hats. The room or house was plain and crude, a bed, a chair, a table, and a torch.

"I brought wool, Grandma Nike." - I said, placing a pile of other wool beside her bed.

«Is that you, little Colin? Thank you for your help» - she looked at me, and her wrinkled face smiled a friendly smile.

"You're welcome, if you need anything, come to me!" - I just smiled back.

With these words I said goodbye and went home. When I reached the same cabin, I walked through the door. The door creaked as I opened it.

Inside I saw a young woman cooking sheepskin on the fire. When she saw me, she looked up and ran toward me.

«My boy, are you all right? Are you all right?» - She asked worriedly.

"Mom, don't worry about me, I'm a big boy now and I won't fall down in places like this."

«Hmph, you'll still be my sweet little boy!» - She pouted sweetly and crossed her arms under her well developed breasts.

"Okay, just don't start." - I sighed tiredly and smiled at her overprotective concern.

"There's a sacrifice coming up, nothing to do?"

«The most important thing is to keep you safe, I'll do the rest!» - Her face was like that of a righteous man trying to recruit an innocent boy into his suspicious sect.

"Haha, don't worry mom. Hiking in the mountains has made me tougher, faster, and stronger."

«What? You trained there?» - Her face contorted in anger.

"O-oh, what are you talking about? I was running back and forth, I swear to Heaven, I wasn't training my body!" - I had to swear to heaven for her to believe me... but all I got in return was narrowed eyes that showed I wasn't telling the truth.

After looking into our eyes for a few minutes, she finally sighed in relief, knowing that if no punishment followed, then I was telling the truth.

«You know I worry about you. You must not repeat your father's fate... for you are the only one I care about» - she said lovingly, hugging me.

What about your brother? The question remained in the back of my mind and I hugged her.

«Okay, now the meat will be ready and we'll go» - her face was happy now, with that smile, dark hair and eyes as red as mine, she looked really beautiful.

"Okay."

***

That's how two years flew by, in that time I grew a lot and became more muscular than my peers because of my hard training. Of course, I haven't forgotten about my magic, which has become more diverse. I can now create fire, water, wind, earth, thanks to my unique mana which, when released from my body, receives a certain element at my command, and when I concentrate this elemental mana, I get fire and all the other elements. Also, my magic became more deadly, capable of killing a weak beast. I was also able to use scouting techniques, cloaking, and so on. I also tried to create golems using simple stones filled with my mana, and that... was a success. It worked on the principle that the more you put in, the longer the golem will last.

Sitting on my stone in a lotus position and controlling my mana in the air, I sliced through a nearby stone. There is another ability that I gained by developing my mana, and that is spirit sense. It's just like in those cult novels. Spreading my mana around and finding out exactly where the target is, and then using that mana to cut the target. That's the kind of training I had.

In 5 years, I will go to Athens to make a name for myself while training in the real world, which will make me stronger... I will also help people and earn a reputation as a hero.

With these thoughts in mind, I got up from mys tone and walked to the village, even though the sun was still on the ground.