Kenny was baffled at what the General had said. He had no earthly idea about what he meant by "invest".
Kenny looked at the Genral with a puzzled look and asked:
"What do you mean by invest, General?"
"Sorry, the right term for it would be that I wish to sponsor you, Kenny."
"Sponsor me, what do you mean by Sponsor?"
"As you know, the system has a total of 10 ranks that a Vanquisher can attain. And obviously, the higher the stronger one is. Knowing this, here at the Vanquisher Corps we have a Sponser system in place."
"And what is this, "Sponser System" you guys have in place?" Kenny asked.
"It's where a rank 6 Vanquisher or higher can take a rank 5 or lower Vanquisher under their wing and personally train them. They can also go on expeditions together, although that rarely happens."
Kenny in the entirety of the conversation never changed his baffled look. The General of the Vanquisher Corps, wanting to personally train him? The thought of this being some sort of joke or prank did cross his mind but dismissed it right away, the General didn't seem like that type of man.
"Why would you want to Sponser me?"
"Because I see the potential for you to be great Kenny. I watched your match, and you have a good battle sense but most importantly, you have drive."
Potential? Drive? In Kenny? No one had ever told him that he's had potential to be great, only his father and mother encouraged him, but never actually told him those exact words. Kenny felt a bit happy to hear those kind of words.
"Well you look fine to me so get ready, we're starting your training right away."
"Before that, can I first take care of something."
The General looked back at Kenny and responded:
"Sure, just don't take too long."
***
Kenny walked into a room with wooden flooring and a old worn down wooden bed was in the right corner of the room, and on that worn down bed, was Kenny's father. His dying father.
Next to the bed was a small desk in which Kenny's mother was sitting it's chair.
"Kenny, your back. How did the Recruitment Trails go?"
"I was actually hoping to talk to you both about that." Kenny said as he looked over to his father.
Kenny's father looked pale and fatigued, making it seems like as if he hadn't eaten in days. Dark circles could be spotted under his eyes, he clearly had not slept for who knows how long too. The sorry state of his father drove a knife through Kenny's heart, he was hurt by the sight of his dying father. After 6 months of his father fighting an unwinable battle, Kenny still couldn't get used to the sight.
Kenny walked over to the bed and sat down next to his father.
"Hey, dad, guess what? I actually became a Vanquisher. Can you believe it? I know this might sound a little unbelievable, but even General Yemel wants to Sponsor me too." Kenny had said this with a pained smile on his face. He was trying not to let his words get too stuttery as he talked.
His father slowly turned his weak head and smiled. He was proud of his son's accomplishment, but couldn't express it.
"Really…? I—I am… so… proud of you, son. You… finally…"
His fathers eyes turned blank as he turned back up to look up at the ceiling. He had forgotten what he was talking about, and with who. He just blankly stared at the ceiling.
Kenny sighed and stood up. Rowan's time was up, Kenny and his mother knew this which only made him and his mother even more sorrowful.
All they could do is enjoy their last moments together, as Rowan slipped into the eternal slumber of death as he layed still on the worn down bed.
Rowan had passed away.
***
Kenny stood in front of his fathers grave, a stone tablet at the front of the burial. Around them were many other graves. Below Kenny was his mother, streams of tears flowed down her face as she cried in agony. On Kenny's face were tears aswell, pouring down from his eyes. Memories of his father flashed in his mind, this only made the emotional pain worse and worse with each memory.
Claire was behind the family of two, looking down to the ground, her hands shaking as she momentarily raised her head. Rowan was a kind man and always welcomed Claire into their shabby home whenever her parents paid her no attention. The family had a special place in her heart.
Claire looked back down, her eyes began to water. Soon, she too felt the emotional pressure as she began to shed tears.
That day, Kenny had lost a father, and Martha a husband.
***
The next day, Kenny walked through a long hallway stopping in front of a double door filled with engravings of architectural design. He opened the door and inside was a full white room. He walked in closing the door behind him. To his left he saw General Yemel getting warmed up. He walked over to the General, still traumatized by his fathers death.
"I heard why you didn't show up." Said general Yemel.
"If I train under you, will you make me powerful."
"Of course, I am the strongest Vanquisher in the world kid."
After hearing those words Kenny felt relieved. He knew that under General Yemels guidance he would truly become strong. So, he simply said:
"Good."
Genral Yemel smirked.
"By the way, my training isn't to be taken lightly. Kenny, you will suffer, but it'll make you strong.
Kenny felt scared and curious as to how his training would make him suffer, but in the end he didn't care he would do anything to become strong, to achieve his goal of becoming the strongest and making his father proud.
General Yemel stood up and without warning punch Kenny straight in the gut. The air escaped from him as he stumbled down onto the floor.
"Get up kid, this is just the beginning."