Wayne led his son back to their home in silence. He used his own skills to ensure that no monsters came close enough to be a threat, so Lucius would not be on edge the whole time. He knew the boy needed some time to process what he had just experienced.
Even though he was only seven, a much-needed reality check was in order. Up until now, Lucius was kept safe from the opinions of the world. Wayne had never lied to the boy and quite frequently reminded Lucius to be careful when interacting with people, thanks to his mark.
However, they did shelter him so that these actual interactions never occurred. After all, it was one thing to hear about something and quite another to experience it yourself. While on the trip home, the man thought to himself if they may have spoiled their son too much.
Even though he was so young, he was luckier than most Marked Ones, who started experiencing the horrors that Lucius was only told of from birth. Lucius also had another thing running against him, and that was he was a half-beastman.
While half-blooded races were extremely common in the world, they were not observed much in a kingdom like Arcadios, which was deep within human territories. As such, this led to many misunderstandings about how half-blooded races behaved.
"Father…"
"Yes, son?"
Wayne stopped and turned to look at his son. He figured that now, of all times, he deserved his full attention.
"Please teach me how to fight. I won't be like the others." Lucius gripped his hands tightly and looked directly into his father's gaze.
Wayne noticed a slight change in his son. Even though he was no longer stressed, Lucius' canines had retained their sharpness, and his left eye began to turn from a bright silver to a cloudy gray. His right eye still shone as bright as a treasure despite what the left had done.
Wayne had no idea what was happening, but he assumed that his son was not hurt in any way. This allowed him to chalk the situation up to something weird related to his actual parentage, whoever they were.
"I cannot promise that you will survive, but I can absolutely promise to teach you how to fight."
"Can we start when we get home?"
"It'll be dark."
"Tonight is a full moon. We will be able to see."
Wayne gave a resigned smile. "Yes, we can start tonight."
*****
Rubellia watched sadly from the window of their home. Her husband and son had returned from the woods hours ago, and it approached midnight. Yet, they still sparred.
A large part of her desperately wanted to rush out and stop them, to allow Lucius to rest. However, Wayne had told her what happened in the woods. In addition, after seeing the look on her baby's face, she could not bring herself to say no.
Lucius swung wildly at his father, trying anything he could to get in a hit. Wayne, however, was a Master Rank swordsman, meaning he could fight toe-to-toe with any C-Rank monster alone.
This, of course, translated to a mere seven-year-old being completely incapable of getting past the warrior's defenses. A single blow could also end the boy's life, even if he were to block it successfully.
"My little boy isn't so little anymore… I hope that he will be ready in two years. Even if he wasn't going to become a warrior, the village would have forced him anyway." Rubellia mumbled.
She also could not help but think that was the situation that the dead Marked children were in. Likely, they wanted or attempted to live normal lives but found themselves dumped in the forest outside of the villages.
Their hometown of Pelith was the largest town in the Petra domain, and it, too, still participated in the trials despite how frequently it interacted with other areas. Rubellia had hoped that one day, the influence of the travelers to Pelith and visiting Lord Petra would push the locals to do away with such an archaic tradition.
It was not to be, though. The trial was a key part of the people's history here. Not to mention that many other nobles and the kingdom at large appreciated the talented warriors that the domain provided their armies.
Rubellia finished the final additions to the stew she had simmering in the pot. It was done when the boys originally had gotten home, but when they informed her of their late-night training, she gave them each a small bowl so they would not fight on an empty stomach.
However, she kept the stew going and added additional meats to it when they were done. She had hoped to help add more protein to her son's diet now that he was going to be training with his father. It was filled with potatoes, carrots, and onions, as well as bear, venison, and boar. The stew was extremely gamey at this point; however, it was necessary to use what they had.
Once it had reached almost midnight, her boys finally entered the home. Lucius was drenched in sweat and covered head to tail in bruises. Of course, Wayne had not shed a single ounce of perspiration and was perfectly healthy. Both sat down at the table while Rubellia served them each a large bowl.
She smiled warmly while watching her son scarf down the food in seconds before asking for another serving. She happily obliged and refilled his bowl a second time and added a piece of bread to sop up the liquid.
"Thanks, momma, for the food." Lucius said quietly, making Rubellia leap up and smother him with a hug.
After a few seconds, Lucius seemed to tap her arms in a panic, running out of air from his mother's abundant affection. Wayne simply laughed at the sight. It was clear on his face that he was mostly relieved that some parts of their family appeared to be unchanged despite what he forced his son to witness.
Rubellia was against the plan entirely at first, but Wayne had worn her down. He warned that Lucius would run into problems the moment he entered the forest. Hell, it was likely he would run into problems the moment the adults took the children into the woods. And while they were not allowed to provide any support on the day of the trial, leading up to it they could give him all the training and preparation he needed.
In order for Lucius to survive, he needed to be able to understand the dangers of the trial. He needed to see that humans were sometimes more monstrous than beasts. When Wayne had explained it that way, she reluctantly agreed. Anything to help her baby live.
Almost immediately after finishing up his second bowl, and surviving his mother's love, Lucius fell asleep with his head on the table. Rubellia smiled at him gently, before picking him up and carrying him to bed. The boy wrapped his hands around her neck out of instinct and laid his head on her shoulder.
His soft breaths slowly turned to deep before he began to snore lightly. Once he had truly fallen asleep, Rubellia laid him down in his bed, kissed him on the forehead, and closed the door to his room.
"What exactly did he see, Wayne?"
Her husband sat in silence and stared into the fire. After a few minutes he finally answered. "It was bad Rubellia."
He stood up and grabbed a mug of wine that they had stored in a keg under the counter. Wayne was not one for drinking, so it was mostly used for cooking.
"That bad, huh?"
"Worse. One of the Petra boys was there. The lord's oldest nephew. It seems that he learned his magical compatibilities before the exam."
Rubellia's eyes opened widely in shock. "He what?!"
Wayne nodded slowly after downing the mug in one, large gulp. "Yeah…I know, I was surprised too. Kids aren't supposed to learn that until they finish the trial. It's their reward…but what happens in the forest…stays there."
"What rotten…"
"It also seemed he was told to hunt down Marked Ones. That was his secondary purpose. The lord's brother knew his son would survive thanks to the magic and set some sort of…hunting challenge."
"You will make sure Lucius survives." Rubellia said coldly. "I don't care how. You just do it."
"I will try, my love…but the lord's brother has a second son Lucius' age…and the lord's daughter is…I will try." Wayne started to explain the situation to her, but Rubellia's glares warranted no arguments. What she said was the law of the world at that moment.
"Do you think he has Compatibility for Sword Arts?"
"None. Not even a little bit. If the boy has Compatibilities for any other weapon, I don't know, but it's not the sword."
Rubellia sighed quietly and began to sob.
Wayne continued however, since he knew his wife wanted the whole truth. "I already checked with my men. None of them are willing to do it. So if he's capable of using any weapon skills, we won't know until after he survives the trial."
"Even if he became a master at using the sword in two years…without the ability to use their arts, he would still lose to a Novice!"
"I know…I know…"
Wayne quietly held his wife as she sobbed into his shoulders. She quietly hoped and prayed that something, anything, would help her son.