"Tomorrow in the morning." Liam smiled. He was happy to see his best friend accept. With him there, he won't be lonely.
"Alright. Now, I'm going back." Eric bade his farewell and walked away.
Liam watched him slowly disappear from his sight and murmured, "I hope bastard Luke doesn't go to their home to harass Riya anymore. If he goes, I'm afraid Eric will go berserk." A moment later he shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, he deserves a good thrashing."
…
As he walked back to his home, Eric was thinking about the party of warriors he would accompany tomorrow to hunt Tier-2 beasts.
'I hope they are adept rank warriors so we can return safely.' He thought.
Then suddenly his eyes shone. 'If that demon wasn't lying, I should be able to become a warrior too, with the system's help. After that, we won't need to live by the day.'
From a young age, he had been constantly hearing legends about the warriors or cultivators as the warriors liked to call themselves. Ever since then, he wished to become a warrior to give his family a good life.
Unfortunately, to become a warrior, one needed a lot of resources and guidance from experts. However, with their financial situation, how could they buy those precious resources and hire experts to guide them?
Although Liam's family was wealthier than his family because Liam's father was a grade-2 novice warrior, they still couldn't afford those resources.
While thinking about all this, he reached his home and immediately noticed two people arguing in front of his house.
When he saw this, his expression turned ferocious because the two people arguing were his sister, Riya, and a guy named Luke.
Although Riya usually stayed at home and didn't go out, on a special occasion when their family went to market, Luke had seen Riya and he was immediately attracted to her.
He then came to their house to purpose marriage with her, but Riya, Elena and Eric rejected him because they knew Luke was a very lustful man. Of course, even if he was a good man, Eric and Elena would never let her marry into a poor family where she would suffer just like she had been.
Unfortunately for them, Luke didn't give up. When no one was at home, he would come occasionally and pester Riya to marry him. Because of this, Eric had bashed him up a few times, which finally made him stop coming. However, it seemed after finding out that the noble took him away; he started to come again.
"Riya, I've gotten a job at a noble family in the core city. I'll definitely keep you happy. Just agree to be my wife." Luke said somewhat proudly as his lustful gazes kept scanning Riya.
"You are really shameless! How many times do I have to reject you for you to stop bothering me?" Riya asked in anger. His gaze disgusted her, and she wanted to enter the house, but she knew if Luke followed her inside, consequences would be dire since no one was here to stop him if he wanted to do something.
"Hehe! Don't be so rude or I'll have to 'punish' you on our wedding night." Luke laughed pervertedly.
Suddenly, he heard an icy voice filled with killing intent from behind him. "DO YOU WANT TO DIE, BASTARD?"
"Brother!" Riya sighed in relief when she saw noticed him. However, she then became worried because she knew him well enough to know what will happen now.
"Huh? Brother?" Luke heard her exclamation and frowned. Wasn't Eric taken away? SO, which brother was it?
Feeling puzzled, he turned around to see who it was when a fist appeared in front of his face and,
Bang!
Hit him squarely on the nose, breaking his nose bone.
He felt disoriented and his body swayed like a leaf in the wind. However, the sharp pain from his nose brought him to his senses.
When he touched his broken nose, he felt a stinging pain and hot liquid running down from his nose to the lips and chin.
"Ahhh! You broke it. How dare you bastard?" He shrieked in pain and glared at his assaulter.
However, when he saw it was Eric, his face paled, and he hurriedly shouted, "E-Eric, don't… don't hit me. I'll…"
Bam!
Before he could finish speaking, a punch landed in his gut, causing him to stagger backwards while clutching his stomach.
Eric's face was twisted in anger. He didn't stop and once again stepped toward him. However, before he could hit him again, Riya grabbed his hand. "Brother, don't fight."
She then glared at Luke and shouted, "What are you still waiting for? Hurry and get lost."
Luke looked at the brother and sister duo with hatred burning in his eyes. After giving them a venomous look, he hurried away.
"Why did you stop me? I should've taught him a good lesson today so he wouldn't have dared to come back." Eric glared at Riya. He was still shimmering in anger.
Riya hugged his hand and smiled. "It's alright, brother. If he came back again, I won't stop you. I'll even help you beat him up."
Seeing her smile, Eric gradually calmed down. Patting her head lovingly, he led her inside the house. "Come, I've something to tell you."
…
After a while, Eric told her about the hunting mission.
"Brother, are you sure it's not dangerous?" Riya worriedly asked.
"Of course not. If it was, do you think Liam would volunteer for it?" Eric chuckled.
Every time he went on this kind of mission with Liam, he had told convince her and his mother that it was safe. Only then they would let him go.
"Okay. Please be alert at all times. If there is danger, ran immediately." Riya lectured.
Eric seriously nodded. "Yes, grandma!"
"Humph! I don't want to talk to you anymore." Riya puffed out her cheeks cutely and ignored him.
…
In the evening, Elena returned with a tired and disappointed face. Seeing her like this, they knew she couldn't find work today too.
To distract her, Riya immediately said, "Mom, quickly wash your hands. I've cooked dinner."
"Yes, mom. Come quickly. I've been waiting for you to return so we can eat together." Eric also said.
Elena obviously knew what the pair was up to and she felt warm in her heart. Vowing to get a job tomorrow, she smiled at them. "Okay, kids. I'll be back in a second." Saying this, she went to change her clothes and wash her hands.
After that, the family of three had dinner together. Eric told Elena about his mission, too. Although she wasn't as gullible as Riya, he managed to convince her.
The next day, he woke up early in the morning, got ready and left after leaving a note for them.
When he arrived at the city gate, Liam and another boy, Jack, were already there, waiting for him and adventurers to arrive.