Yujin was his name, the boy was the tallest in the bunch of kids his age in the village, he carried the same hunter blood as his father, indeed.

At the age of ten, he was able to hunt mid-sized animals by himself with bows and arrows or spears, the weapon didn't seem to matter to him. Despite his young age, he had the courage of two adults combined.

Despite being part of the most prosperous family in the village, he was menosprezed on his own. His father didn't care about him, and his mother was always more worried about the oldest son.

It was said that when Yujin was born, his mother almost died and his family resented him for it.

No matter how much effort he put in, it was never enough to gain recognition from his family. It made him a gloomy child, with few children even willing to approach him.

Contrary to his pampered older brother, he was always wearing older and worn-out clothes, sometimes full of holes.

He had to study letters by himself since his parents didn't want to waste their time teaching him.

Yujin always felt resentful about his reality. That is until his older brother died.

Nothing too dramatic, a simple fever killed him, and he was well-known as someone who liked to eat all kinds of things, something might have poisoned him to death.

Yujin felt nothing about the death of his brother, he coldly looked at his parents crying while watching his brother being buried in a coffin.

When his brother was finally sealed under the earth, Yujin left the cemetery alone and headed to his "secret cave."

Because he had about no friends, he found ways to play alone with small animals or build "secret bases" all over the mountains around the village.

He gathered all of the value he secretly hid there and counted his possessions, forty-seven copper coins and a single silver coin found by a stream a few days before, he was lucky.

He made some calculations and knew it was barely enough for him to reach the closest city through a caravan that passed by every six months.

Yujin looked at a mirror and saw the fear and hesitation written on his face, he was slightly trembling.

But after thinking about all the injustice he suffered because of his family, tears began to flow and he steeled his heart.

He took a bath in a stream close to the cave and wore the best clothes he had in possession, which he actually stole from another boy in the village.

That boy once stole a meal from him, so he paid back with that boy's own poison.

Yujin looked at the mirror again and began to trim his hair, he wanted to look like a well-educated child to avoid being seen as a beggar or pickpocketer, he heard a few tales from the kids in the village.

He had crystal clear blue eyes, like ponds of water from the depths that surfaced. His immature face carried the sharp and heroic features of his father, and the only thing he inherited from his mother was his slightly curly and smooth black hair.

When the hour was close, he left his secret cave with a bag full of provisions and a small pouch with his coins, he hid the punch in his body to the best of his ability.

He could hear the noises made by the caravan from far away, he looked towards his house for a last time and was ready to set off when someone began to shout in despair.

"Bandits! The Bear Tribe is here!" a middle-aged ran towards the center of the village and shouted constantly

When Yujin heard the words 'Bear Tribe,' he trembled and turned pale instantly, he couldn't believe it.

The villagers interrogated the man and began to panic as well, many decided to try and run away on the spot, without even returning to their homes first.

The noise Yujin once thought was made by the caravan was in truth made by the bandits, dust clouds formed as their horses ran and approached the village.

Yujin's first thought was to seek his parents, and he did so. He ran towards his house as fast as he could, but he could already hear screams of dying people by the time he arrived.

"Mother! Father!" Yujin shouted.

"Yujin! Run!" his father shouted while carrying a bag, "Take this and run south!" His father then handed him a pouch with some coins inside.

"Where is mother?" Yujin asked with a face full of anxiety.

"Just run!" his mother shouted and walked down the stairs with another bag, "Go south! It's safer that way!"

"Let's go!" Yujin nodded and tried to hold his father's hand, but his father avoided him, "Father?"

"Run!" his father shouted and helped his mother, "We will meet again!"

"Huh?" Yujin was confused and dumbfounded.

"Run!" his mother shouted and didn't look at him a second time, she and his father began to run towards the east with all their power.

Yujin didn't go after them, he was simply shocked by reality, he understood their words very well, and why his father gave him money.

He lost the strength in his legs and fell on the floor before reluctantly managing to get up.

He held back his despair and tried to use his instincts to escape, he used his desire to live to the utmost.

He knew the land very well because he was constantly exploring it.

The best way to run was the east of the village, and the worst was the west, the direction from where the bandits came.

The second worst was the north, where high mountains protected the way, and the second best was the south, where one could use the tall grass to hide while escaping.

Just as Yujin managed to run outside the village while avoiding the bandits, he saw with terror that the bandits discovered a hiding spot and began to abuse the young girls and kill the men.

He was familiar with all of them, despite not being friends. He was both shocked and angered, it was the first time in his life he wanted to kill someone.

The few moments he was paralyzed by the sight turned out to be enough for him to be spotted by the bandits, who began to pursue him.

Because he knew the terrain extremely well and because he was used to running and hunting, he wasn't easy to be caught. However, he noticed many bandits began to pursue him on horses.

He knew he was doomed, but before he had the opportunity to try harder, an arrow slightly grazed his tight and he fell on the ground, his head hit a rock and he fell unconscious.

When he awakened, the first thing he felt was the abusive scent of blood entering his nose. He looked around and it was already night, he and many children had both their hands and feet tied with ropes and were in the center of the village.

Yujin knew what waited for him and the others if they didn't escape, slavery.

When he thought things couldn't get worse, he heard the cries of a familiar man, his father. He was crying on the ground with his hands and feet tied.

"Where is mother?" Yujian shouted with all his might.

"Well, the slippery bastard is awake!" an old bandit began to laugh and announced in a high voice, "He is the son of the new mistress, isn't he?"

'What?' Yujin's mind was a blank, 'Mistress?'

After a short commotion, a tall burly man waved his hand and silence began to govern. He was wearing a set of tiger's skin clothing, and his face was ferocious as a living tiger.

The man looked at Yujin and said, "You and your father can go, I promised it to her."

"W-What?" Yujin began to doubt his ears.

"That bitch betrayed us!" his father suddenly shouted with bloody eyes, "That whore is the culprit for all!"

"What do you mean?" Yujin looked at his father, but his father's eyes began to lose their luster, and a sword pierced his throat.

Yujin's wide eyes almost exploded and he couldn't make a sound out of shock.

"Who gave you the balls to offend my woman?" the burly man approached and took the sword off his throat, "I don't care if she betrayed you guys or whatever, the moment she chose to follow me, everything was decided."

He then looked at Yujin and asked, "Should I kill you as well? I don't like to leave roots for disaster."

"Just do as you like," a gloomy woman approached, she looked at her husband's corpse with a complex look and said, "I made you promise those things out of consideration for our past relationships, but he didn't cherish it."

She then looked at Yujin, who also looked at her, and said, "If you feel like it, free him, otherwise... do as you want.

"I have nothing of value in this world besides you, my love."

The burly man laughed and signaled to his men, "Release the slippery kid and let him go, I'm in a good mood today."

Yujin watched blankly as the ropes trying him were released and his mother gave her back to him.

"Boss, the boy doesn't seem right in his head?" a bandit shouted with mockery.

"Just let him be, as long as he doesn't get in our way," the burly man waved his hand and laughed, "I hope you guys contain yourselves now that I decided to let him go, okay?"

Some bandits secretly clicked their tongues and contained the greed and lust in their hearts, they were afraid enough to obey the orders.

And so, Yujin spent the rest of the day and night like that, paralyzed on the ground. When his senses began to return to him and he managed to move out of the shock, the bandits already moved away with the remains of the villagers.

Yujin approached the cold corpse of his cold father, who abandoned him without hesitation and never gave him an ounce of love.

His heart ached so much he wanted to die to end the pain.

However, he was unable to cry for some reason, the tears seemed to be blocked by something.

The nocturnal beasts, driven by the strong scent of blood, decided to work out of their normal periods and began to approach the village.

Yujin knew he couldn't stay and confront all the beasts by himself so he gathered some dry wood and used some tools to light a fire and burn the corpse of his father, it was the best he could do to avoid it being eaten by beasts.

He searched his pockets and wasn't surprised that he was stolen completely, he didn't have a single penny left.

A few survivors began to enter the village little by little while being unknowingly followed by wild beasts, they hid well enough to not be discovered by the bandits, but most of them were too grief-stricken to pay attention to Yujin and other things.

Yujin took a deep breath and left the village with only the clothes on his body.

He once heard of disasters hitting distant villages, but he never thought it would happen to him one day, on the very day he chose to run away from his house.

He didn't bother to at least get hunting tools, he was completely lost in his grief to care enough about his future, he just wanted to survive, but had no strength left to think how.

Before he knew it, he was surrounded by a pack of wild wolves, their eyes didn't seem murderous, but Yujin knew very well how cruel their fangs could be.

Yujin climbed a tall tree without thinking much, he just wondered if that would be the day of his death after narrowingly escaping the bandits.

The wolves were not skilled enough to climb tall trees, so they quickly gave up.

But before Yujin had the opportunity to be slightly happy, he felt a sting on his shoulder, a snake bit him.

He knew that kind of snake, it usually hunted small birds, but he invaded its hunting territory and even approached it without noticing.

It wasn't venomous enough to kill a healthy person, but it could make a man bedridden for weeks.

Yujin began to despair and was basically sure it was his fate to die that day. The venom was extremely quick to act and didn't take long to affect his vision and movements, just a few minutes.

Yujin used the last bits of strength he had to climb the tree down and walk for a while and then fell on the ground with purple skin around the wound.

Yujin didn't lose consciousness, but he would rather lose it. The despair, grief, and fear... His heart was torn apart he had gradually lost even the will to survive, he just wanted the pain and despair to end.

He wondered if he bit his tongue hard it could solve things, but he still felt too much fear to do it. The blocked tears from before finally gathered enough strength to break all barriers and he began to cry out loud.

"Why?"

"Why?"

When his throat was too sore to continue, Yujin heard approaching steps and began to struggle hard to see what it was, he reluctantly tilted his head enough to see a bald old woman approaching him in yellow clothing.

"What a pitful creature," the old woman muttered and began to chant something.

Yujin began to feel something strange in his body and the pain began to slowly fade away.

"Are you... the mountain guardian? Did you just cast a spell on me?" Yujin asked with a rough voice.

"No, child," the old woman snickered, "I'm just a passing priest, I felt a lot of bloody resentment on this direction and decided to explore."

"Priest?" Yujin was confused, "What is a priest doing all alone in this place?"

"Aren't you too full of questions for your own sake?" she laughed softly, "Look at you, full of bruises and wounds, mentally and physically.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Yujin was silent for a brief moment before telling the priest everything that happened to the village and him.

After hearing everything, the priest's expression didn't change much and she just sighed, "Humans never change, blood and carnage everywhere, alas, alas."

"Can I be a priest too?" Yujin suddenly asked.

"Huh? From where did it come?" the priest was surprised.

"I have nothing left, the one who saved me was a priest," Yujin explained, "Maybe I can repay you in the future if I become a priest."

"What a decent child," the priest caressed his head and giggled, "But your talent is not destined to the path I follow."

Yujin was instantly disappointed and silent.

"But I'm surprised to see someone with a mixed seven elements spirit root here," she continued, "Although it's theoretically not a good spirit root because there are too many elements, I never even heard of one with more than five elements before. If not because I'm seeing it in person, I would doubt it is even possible to exist."

"What do you mean?" Yujin asked with confusion.

The priest hesitated for a moment and said, "I must say, child, you have quite an interesting fate."

Yujin shouted with red eyes, "My fate is not interesting, it's damned! Cursed!"

The priest smiled bitterly, "Your heart is also not suitable for the same path I'm treading. What about this, I can bring you to an old friend, he might find you interesting enough to take care of you, what do you think?"

"Will I be able to live?" Yujin asked after some hesitation.

The priest giggled and caressed his head again, "He is enough to protect you, I can assure you. He is a good person."