Bully

The line moved forwards and Aru found himself with a large bowl of broth.

Both the bowl and broth were made out of techniques foreign to Aru. The bowl looked as if it was carved out of pure stone and smoothened to get a ceramic-like finish. The broth contained many ingredients he couldn't recognise. From the meat to vegetables, Aru couldn't immediately identify any.

'Everyone is eating this. It might be good. There's nothing to worry.' He said to himself.

Carrying the bowl of broth, he walked towards a table. He sat on a bench and began to eat it with a small wooden spoon.

'Ginger, chilly pepper and some salt.' Tasting it once helped him identify the spices used in the broth.

'The meat is great. But the vegetables are subpar.'

Comparatively, the cooking technology of this world was far from what Aru was used to. Although the ingredients used by the Boulder tribe were great, they failed to hit a balance between the tastes.

'It tastes like a person threw all the ingredients he could get his hands on into the broth and called it a day.' That was the conclusion Aru reached after tasting the food.

However, if it were the original owner of the body, the six-year-old Aru, he would have said otherwise. He might have even argued that it was the best broth he had eaten in his entire life because the free meals were never this delicious.

Usually, the tribe wouldn't put much effort into preparing the meals. They would just roast some meat and create a soup to fill their belly. Eating delicious food was never their priority. Having just enough food to survive was the best-case scenario.

However, today was a special day. It was the day of the awakening ceremony. That's why the tribe used precious herbs and spices to cook the food. They wanted to motivate everyone for the upcoming winter hunt.

'Surviving this winter will be difficult. Even this broth would become a luxury soon.' He thought.

Meat was the primary source of food for the Boulder tribe, but during the harsh winter months, prey animals became scarce, adversely impacting the tribe's living conditions.

To mitigate this challenge, the tribe proactively addressed the scarcity by initiating a hunt at the season's onset. A substantial number of prey animals were hunted during this period, and their meat was cured and stored for future consumption.

Thus, the tribe's winter diet, when food resources were limited, relied entirely on the success of their hunt.

If the hunt were successful, everyone would have enough to eat. But if the hunt failed, everyone would have to tighten their belts just to survive.

So, Aru knew that as winter progressed, the quality of food he was eating would decrease. It would become much worse than what he was eating.

'Surviving through the winter was a pain in the ass.'

'I need strength to eat great food.' He concluded after analysing the memories.

Thus, this simple motivation to eat good food forever became the driving force of Aru. Even though he swore never to work again, he began to consider working for his own needs.

—

Time went by as Aru savoured the last piece of cartilage that was stuck on a bone. He emptied the bowl of broth in its entirety and walked out of the perimeter of the tribal hall.

In his hand, he carried a package. It was the food ration allocated to him for the week.

The tribal hall only provides meals two times a day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. So, the food rations were extras given to orphan kids to accommodate their growing bodies.

When the hunger receded, he could feel his body recovering from the spirit energy loss. His fatigued muscles rejoiced when the energy flowed through it. Like a drizzle after a drought, the cells in his body welcomed the spirit energy.

Aru slowly walked home on the cold winter day. He had much to do once he reached his home.

"Where are you off to, pipsqueak?" a sudden voice interrupted.

Aru, taken aback, swivelled to face the source of the voice. Behind him stood a group of four children, seemingly having snuck up on him unnoticed.

"Did you forget?" The largest among the kids spoke. He looked older than the rest and was the leader.

'What did I forget?' It took a moment for Aru to go through the repressed memories in his mind to identify the children.

'Sh*t! I am about to be bullied by a bunch of kids.' He realised this fact too late.

A fist enlarged before and it connected with his face. His exhausted body could barely take on the puch as he fell to the snowy ground.

The children were the bullies of the tribe. Like Aru, they awakened their spirit and became a warrior today. And the leader of the bullies was one of the kids that awakened a grade 2 bloodline spirit.

"Stop sitting on the ground. Stand up and give it to the boss." One of the children said. The child was pointing to the package Aru was carrying. It was the package containing rations.

"A weakling like you are not worthy to eat it. Give it to us and scram." The leader, the older-looking fat kid spoke.

The three lackeys immediately walked forward and grabbed the package before Aru could react. They handed it over to their leader quickly.

'The fat one, the leader of the kids is the son of a rank 3 warrior. The rest are his lackeys.' Aru began to remember seeing the children before.

The fat kid was a menace that stole the rations from the orphaned kids of the tribe. He was stronger and bigger due to the nutritious food his warrior father could provide. And he was using that strength to bully the weak.

'Every week, they beat up the less fortunate kids and steal their rations. The original Aru, even though weak, never willingly went and gave them the rations he had. So, he was beaten up every time they came in contact. The same would be my fate.'

'Reason wouldn't work on kids like them, who would beat up an ill child like Aru. I need to be a little forceful if I have to do something about it.'

'Let's take care of it next week.' Aru decided.

Although he was smarter and older than the kids before him, he was still in a malnourished child's body. He knew that he would be injured if he acted on his impulse. It was better to prepare for a week and teach them a lesson they never forget. He was willing to part with a week of rations for that.

Aru tried to stand up after they took the package. But suddenly a leg pressed on his shoulder and pushed him to the ground again.

"Ha ha… Like that, lay on the floor every time you see me. And don't forget to send the rations to me." The leader of the bully spoke smugly.

'I need to be patient and never succumb to impulses.' Once again, Aru tried to stand up.

Again, a foot came bearing on him. He was once again pushed into the ground.

"You look like a funny worm crawling on the floor."

'I am Buddha. My mind is peaceful like still water. I will not become angry…' Aru decided to ignore the kids who were making fun of him. He thought he was better than them. They were kids from another world and they were not properly educated. What more could he expect from them?

This time Aru waited patiently for the kids to turn and walk away before deciding to stand up.

However, the moment he tried to stand up. The fat kid, the leader charged towards him like a bull. He was lifting his foot to kick down on him.

'Snap.' Something snapped inside Aru once he saw the lethal kick directed at him.

The kick, if it connects with his head or any vulnerable area, could be fatal. The children had crossed a dangerous line, erasing any thoughts of waiting to impart a lesson. In an instant, Aru's thoughts underwent a 180-degree transformation. He threw kindness and rationality out the window when his life was threatened.

Aru immediately crouched down. The raised leg of the leader missed him by an inch. Taking the opportunity, Aru slid forward and kicked the other leg of the leader.

Maybe it was due to the crisis, the flight or fight response kicked in and his spirit energy became riled up. Unknown to Aru, his kick was strengthened by the riled-up spirit energy.

"Thuck." Aru's foot made contact with the leader's leg.

"Pop." A popping sound came from the knee of the leader bully.

"AAAAAAA…" The kid squealed like a pig that was about to be slaughtered as he fell to the ground. He held his leg and writhed on the ground.

The package that he stole from Aru fell to the ground.

The lackeys who saw this were too stunned to respond. They never expected this turn of events. Quickly, they scurried away from Aru in fear.

"Hey, take him to the tribal hall to be treated. Or else…" Aru said fiercely to the lackeys. His body was exhausted after landing the kick. But he still showed a fierce posture to scare the other kids.

Aru never expected the kick to be that destructive. Still, he kept his composure and decided to do what was right by commanding them to take the child to the tribal hall.

After making sure that the squealing bully was carried to the tribal hall, he picked up his package and went home.

'By Newton's third law of ass whooping, every ass whooping has an equal and opposite ass whooping. Even though I can't predict when it will happen, I can brace for it.' He thought.