The normal Greg would have let the children go any day out of boredom, but Aldric was very different from Greg.
Apart from the initial disaster of watching his mom being brutally murdered by Goblins as soon as he first came to this world, his life had been smooth-sailing so far as he grew up with his loving family.
This childhood was already affecting his thoughts a bit, instilling deep values of family into his head. Aldric valued his family above anything else in the world.
This feeling was even stronger having lived without one in another world already, so he knew to value them.
Another reason why Aldric could not simply let them go was his legacy.
Since awakening the Dragon Lord legacy, Aldric became pettier, more arrogant. Maybe his hormones as a child affected it too, but since then, he rarely let any slight pass him by, he must avenge his pride and dignity.
And avenging his family was part of his pride.
'Children of nowadays, I wonder where they learned to start saying things like this'. He sighed. 'But if your parents can't teach you, I'll teach you on their behalf'. Thinking this, he arrived beside Sullivan.
"Aldric!" Sullivan looked at him with teary eyes.
Aldric patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "They bullied you again right?"
Sullivan looked down at him. "It's fine Aldric, really, you don't need to beat them up like the last time".
Aldric looked at his brother. "You never learn, do you big bro? People don't just change, if you want them to change, you instill the values in them".
He looked at the running skills, he smiled. "I'm not beating them, I'm instilling values in them in place of their parents.
He kicked the ground, and then he moved…
Bam!
All 4 of these children were taller and older than Aldric, mostly 7 or 8-year-olds but seeing him charge towards them, they panicked.
One of them opened his mouth to explain but before he could, Aldric's leg already smashed against the back of his knee.
The kid screamed loudly, alerting the others as they stopped.
"Aldric you bastard!" The tallest of them all roared. "He's nothing special, he's just 1 boy, let's swarm him and beat him".
Hearing this, Aldric grinned. 'Bring it on'.
He started with the one who spoke, jumping and sending a flying knee towards his face as he shattered a few of his milky teeth.
The kid fainted immediately.
"…!" The others were horrified.
When Aldric landed back on the ground, he took his time, showcasing incredible hand-to-hand combat skills for a 15-year-old as he pummeled them.
While it happened, a few adults close to the town wall, guards who were dressed in military clothes watched, laughing as they clapped.
Another of them came from inside the barracks. "What's the commotion?"
"It's nothing boss, it's just Aldric and the street rats again".
"You bastards! Are you not supposed to prevent fights like this?"
"Yes boss, we know, but…, are you not enjoying it too?"
"Humph!" The leader of the wall guards harrumphed, but inside, he was jittery. 'Ah! The Aldric pummeling, I never get tired of it'.
'I can't wait to see him grow up and become a warrior'.
'He's so quiet but fiery in battle'.
After beating the kids up, Aldric warned them sternly to stay away from his family and most importantly, to be of good behavior before leaving.
He didn't return home immediately, rather, he led Sullivan to the forest.
…
Rustle!
There was a slight shaking sound as the leaf blew due to the wind, and then, the Wild Fox charged out of it's hiding, pouncing on its prey, a rabbit.
At the same time, 2 kids of similar age with black hair also pounced, holding sharp knives in their hands.
The Fox noticed as soon as the 2 kids pounced, panicking as it abandoned its original prey and tried to escape.
"Oliver, block it's escape route!"
Oliver rolled on the ground, blocking the Fox just as it was about to escape, making it hesitate and that was all it took.
The 9-year old Caleb, Aldric's oldest brother jumped on top the Fox, sinking his knife deep into its neck as the Fox thrashed in pain before eventually collapsing in a pool of blood. It died a few seconds later, but then behind them...
Whoosh!
~----~
[You have killed an F-ranked Red-Fang Snake!]
[You have gained 23 XP!]
[100x rewards has kicked in…, you have gained 10,000 XP!]
[You have gained 2,300 XP!]
~----~
"Woah!" Oliver jumped back to his feet, staring warily at the long snake that his little brother now held by its headless body. "That was behind us?"
Aldric chuckled. "Remember what dad said when he thought us? In the wild, there are only predators. A predator stalks a prey, unaware of another predator stalking it from behind".
"Never let your guard down in the forest".
"I know, I know," Oliver waved a hand, then he looked down at his 2 brothers. "Mom is calling for us, again right?"
Aldric nodded.
Oliver pouted. "Why can't mom cut us some slack? I want to be like dad, I want to be a warrior so that next time the Goblins attack, I'll protect my home instead of running like we did 5 years ago".
Aldric listened without saying a word as Caleb eventually led them home with the game that they hunted in tow.
Oliver and Caleb were both level 8 each. It was clear that they were both more talented than their father who was a warrior.
And unlike Aldric and Sullivan, they already choosed a major class. Their major class was the same as that of their father, the warrior class.
They had the hunter minor class.
After getting home, they were subjected to some stern lecturing from Agatha before she eventually gave them food. That night, after coming back late from work again since he started working in the wall guard, Ethan called all 5 of his children into his room along with his wife.
As if already knowing what her husband wanted to talk about, she had a frown of disapproval on her face.
Ethan didn't pay attention to his wife this time though, he faced the last 3 children. "Sullivan, Mitchell, Aldric, it's been clear for some time that all of my children are growing faster than normal".
"Your mother doesn't think the same way but I think it's time to decide your major classes just like your older siblings have done".
"So, which major class do you prefer?"
It was a sensitive question but when it came to Aldric's turn, he had a clear answer.
"I want to become a beast tamer".