Riolu's eyes slowly opened to the sound of clanging metal and the jostling of a wagon. He looked around, confused, and placed his hand on the man's face next to him. "Is this heaven?" he asked.
The man scowled. "No, but if you keep placing your grubby little hand on my face, you'll be on your way to hell soon enough."
Riolu's heart skipped a beat. He was alive. "I'm alive!" he exclaimed, only to be interrupted by a sharp pain in his leg. Blood was splashing everywhere. "ARGH!"
"Quiet, you fool," the man said. "Let's fix that leg of yours first, okay?"
Riolu looked up at the man, bewildered. "How?"
"With a potion, of course."
"But isn't that expensive?"
The man smirked. "Yes, it's expensive, but don't worry about it. Come on, drink it."
Riolu took the potion and drank it, feeling the wound on his leg start to heal. "Thank you very much," he said gratefully.
"Now that you've drunk my expensive potion, you must become my slave," the man said.
Riolu's face fell. "What?! How the hell did I become your slave?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "You drank my potion, didn't you?"
Riolu scowled. "Yes, but-"
"But nothing. You're not very good at listening, are you? I said you can drink it, but I never said it was free."
Riolu sighed. "Anything but becoming your slave."
The man leaned in close. "How about becoming someone who brings me items and serves me?"
Riolu rolled his eyes. "That's the same thing."
The man chuckled. "You've got quite the temper, boy. But remember, I'm the one who saved you and gave you that potion. If you don't want to be my servant, I could always force you."
Riolu bristled. "You can't beat me. I'm strong."
The man cracked his knuckles, and Riolu quickly backed down. "I'm sorry, master. Please forgive me."
"Before you do anything stupid, know your place. If you're weak, don't act like you're strong. But if you know your limits, you can become strong."
Riolu nodded. "Yes, teacher."
The man smirked. "Don't call me master, call me teacher. And if you're nice, maybe I'll consider teaching you something."
Riolu was intrigued. "Teacher, what rank is your spirit?"
The man shook his head. "Find out my name first, then I'll tell you."
Riolu nodded. "Okay, let's move on. It's already morning."
As they headed towards the nearest city, the man pushed Riolu off the wagon and told him to walk. "Consider it your first training from me," he said.
Once they arrived in the city, the man left Riolu by a shop and warned him not to make any trouble. But Riolu couldn't help but hear a voice screaming for help. He tried to ignore it, but eventually he couldn't take it anymore and ran towards the sound.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Riolu shouted, confronting a group of bandits.
They tried to grab him, but Riolu slammed them to the ground with ease. "Don't think I'm just an ordinary guy," he said But before Riolu could react, something hit him in the head, knocking him
Riolu groaned in confusion as he looked around. "Argh..., where is this?" he asked, bewildered. A girl answered him, informing him that they were in a bandit hideout. Riolu was taken aback and asked the girl, Wanda, if she was the one screaming earlier. Wanda confirmed this and explained that she was a noble kid from the city. Riolu questioned why she didn't have a bodyguard with her, to which Wanda responded that he was chasing a thief who had stolen her wallet.
Riolu concluded that the thief and the bandits must be related since they separated Wanda from her bodyguard before kidnapping her. Wanda admitted that she was scared, but Riolu tried to reassure her, saying that he was there with her. However, Wanda retorted that it was hardly comforting since he had been kidnapped too.
Riolu then claimed that it was a strategic loss, and Wanda asked if he had a way out of there. Riolu replied with confidence, stating that the cage they were in could not hold him, and he would melt it with his fire. As he attempted to do so, Wanda corrected him, informing him that he was not making any progress and was just scratching the cage.
Frustrated, Riolu asked if she had another plan. Wanda suggested a classic trick where Riolu would say that he needed to pee, and when the bandits opened the cage, they would attack them. Riolu was skeptical but decided to try it.
When the bandit enter the room, Riolu pretended to need to go to the bathroom. The bandit told him to just fo it in the cage, but Riolu said that he couldn't do it in front of a women. When the bandit asked why, Riolu mocked him for not understanding gender differences.
Wanda then asked if she could go to the bathroom too, and the bandit agreed. Riolu realized that this was their chance to escape and attacked the bandit. After knocking him unconscious, Riolu and Wanda realized that they couldn't take on all the bandits alone.
Wanda was impressed, but Riolu was still worried about their predicament. He admitted that he wasn't much of a fighter and that his low-tier fire wolf spirit was not very helpful in battle. Wanda suggested that Riolu pretend that she had escaped and was calling for reinforcements, hoping that the bandits would panic and give him a chance to escape.
Riolu was hesitant, knowing that the bandits would likely kill him in retaliation. Suddenly, they heard footsteps, and someone entered the room, asking if they were okay. Wanda was surprised, it was her bodyguard she ask how he knew where she was. The bodyguard revealed that someone had helped him, but Riolu was still skeptical, thinking that his old teacher, who had once tried to sell him, would not have bothered to save him. However, they quickly realized that they were rescued and could finally leave the bandit hideout.