When Davi woke up in the morning, he could still feel his body sore, but he had recovered faster than usual. Maybe it was because his level had increased.
Despite the pain, he stuck to his daily training routine. He needed to keep his body in the best shape possible if he wanted to become a hunter, despite his class.
Then, since he had planned to meet Luna in the afternoon, his morning ended up being quiet. With nothing else to do, he thought he should at least try to say goodbye to his mother.
He would even try to say goodbye to his brother, but he feared it would end in violence, and his body wouldn't handle any more hits.
The boy walked through the small town aimlessly, without purpose or desire, until he reached his mother's small store. There, he found a woman dressed in office attire.
It was Lídia, a young arrogant woman who liked to pretend she was a businesswoman. The truth was, she spent the day at the gym, cultivating the butt that her tight clothing accentuated very well.
Despite her beautiful legs, her face was just average, but she probably thought of herself as the most beautiful woman in town.
Anyway, none of that really mattered to Davi. The important things were three: first, she was one of his father's mistresses. Second, she owned the land that his mother rented to run her shop. Third, she was a jealous woman who, taking advantage of her power, humiliated his mother day after day.
That day, she was mocking his mother's products and even broke one of the handmade vases his mother had made with so much effort. Three months of work were destroyed in an instant.
Of course, Lídia would pay for everything, but the losses weren't material. The vase, crafted with care, was a gift. Even though it was small, it was the only thing his mother could give her son, who already had such a hard life.
The woman felt bad for not doing more than that, but at least she always wanted to show her love and support whenever possible. In fact, after paying the bills, she always saved any leftover money from the shop for her son.
Davi, as usual, waited for the commotion to pass. He even considered telling Lídia that his father had asked for her, knowing that it would result in her finding him with another girl, a 16-year-old schoolmate.
However, he gave up. With how stupid that woman was, she would end up getting mad at him, not at his scoundrel of a father.
It took an eternity, but Davi finally saw that huge ass move out of the way. Fed up, he went straight to give his mother some incense as a gift and to tell her he was leaving for good.
When he saw her, he was surprised. She was hurt, her face cut, with some bruises hidden.
"Mom, are you okay?" He dropped the bag he was holding and rushed to the injured woman. "That woman really went too far this time," he murmured, frustrated.
"Shut up." Cold words sliced through Davi's emotions. "I don't want your disgusting concern, as if you're going to do anything, useless weakling."
As always, when it came to her eldest son, the woman shifted from a scared kitten to a lioness. If it were up to her, only her youngest son would exist.
Expecting this kind of response, Davi wasn't surprised. He just handed her the bag with little enthusiasm. "I came to give you a farewell gift. One more thing, are you sure you're okay? That woman really is taking things too far."
"Relax," she sat arrogantly and started smoking marijuana. "She would never lay a hand on me. Once I tell your brother what happened today, she's finished. One word from him and your father will never speak to that bitch again."
Davi listened without interest to the praise of his younger brother. Not that he felt envious; he was past that point. He just felt sad thinking about his little brother having to deal with his mother's madness.
"Unlike you, he brings me pride. Thanks to him, your father even started paying attention to me again. We've done it twice this year." The words were vulgar and cruel, but it was better than when she hit him and told him to please that shitty father.
He stared at the woman, whose gaze clearly showed that her sanity had been lost a long time ago. He didn't know whether to feel anger or pity for her, but deep down, the only emotion that remained after all this time was apathy and sadness.
"Good for you." That was why he answered without enthusiasm, quickly ending the conversation. After all, she wouldn't listen to anything he said.
Davi sighed, accepting that he had done his part. If she didn't want to say goodbye or talk to him, there was nothing else to be done.
And even though it was expected, being treated like that still bothered him.
Ignoring the uncomfortable emptiness in his chest, the boy waited for the afternoon, when he could talk to Luna and leave behind the bad thoughts.
𓊖𓊖𓊖
Davi adjusted his things, placing a small camera-robot on his shoulder. It looked just like a metal ball that could float, and had a camera that looked like an eye. And he was quite cute.
That was one of the marvels of technology. It had become more accessible in recent years, thanks to the mix of science and magic.
The device had a speaker and microphone, and could be controlled remotely. Luna could connect to it and have a conversation with Davi while he showed her the remaining beautiful sights in his hometown.
In fact, that was one of the things the girl enjoyed most. She had been born and lived her entire life on the artificial island, so natural landscapes were a novelty.
Of course, after more than a year of friendship with Davi, the novelty had worn off a bit, as he had already shown her all corners of the city.
"Ohh! I never get tired of seeing this lookout," Luna commented excitedly, after connecting to a call with the boy.
The little robot on his shoulder floated around happily, transmitting her emotions. Seeing that, Davi chuckled lightly, and the bad feelings pressing on his chest disappeared.
"How was your day?" he asked with a faint smile on his face.
"Hmm... Well, I had to present my new research project to the board, but things didn't go too well." Her once-excited voice turned a little sad.
The girl hated having to deal with audiences and, as usual, she ended up failing to make a convincing presentation. Because of that, despite her talent, she always had more difficulty getting scholarships and funding.
"But it's fine, I'll manage with what I have in my budget!" she declared confidently.
"Okay, just don't skip meals this time," Davi reprimanded her, recalling an incident that had happened a few months ago. It wasn't uncommon for her to choose new lab equipment over food.
"It was just once, and I had a good reason for it!" Luna still tried to defend the indefensible. "Besides, why are we talking about me? Weren't you the one who wanted to talk to me? Just say what you want!"
The small robot swayed through the air before hitting Davi's shoulder. It was always fun to see how Luna controlled the little object to convey her emotions.
"I want to wait for the sunset for that," Davi shrugged, then started walking toward the city.
As they liked to do from time to time, the two of them walked around while chatting about meaningless topics. It was a good distraction, and in a way, the boy also wanted to walk through the place one last time.
"It's you, I finally found you!" However, their peaceful moment was abruptly interrupted.
The one looking for Davi was a skinny, short boy. His blue eyes were very pretty, but the most striking thing about his appearance was the unnecessarily large shirt he wore. It might have been more appropriate to say he was wearing a dress.
Davi was surprised that someone was looking for him. However, before he had time to say anything, the little one bowed and exclaimed with a radiant smile:
"Thank you, Davi, for everything you did for me in that mine!"
Gradually, certain memories began to come back to the boy's mind. Of course, he remembered the fight he had had with his boss; that had happened the day before.
The thing is, the fight had started because the man wanted to send a rookie to do a dangerous job. And even though Davi tried, he couldn't remember the rookie's face that he helped.
That said, he just assumed the boy in front of him was the one.
"Ah... It was nothing," he replied with a nervous smile, scratching the back of his neck. He wasn't exactly used to receiving praise, let alone in such an excited manner.
"It was nothing? You quit your job just to save me! I speak for everyone, you're a legend. You're my inspiration."
Davi would rather be buried alive than keep getting praised. He definitely wasn't used to it, so he got embarrassed.
"Then, Mr. Hero, why didn't you tell me anything about it?" As soon as the boy left, Luna teased Davi.
From her tone, she seemed very happy and more excited than usual. Well, she naturally got very happy seeing her best friend getting complimented. To show that, she made the little robot spin cheerfully in the air.
"It was nothing important, I just did what I had to do. And why are you so happy?"
"Don't say that, I'm sure you were great. Besides, it's nice to see that someone recognizes how amazing you are."
Sitting in an old chair in her room, the girl couldn't stop smiling. She was genuinely happy for Davi, finally being treated with respect and admiration by someone. She knew that for most of his life, he had been around people who despised him.
"You're a very admirable person, even if you don't see it yet."
"Aha! The sun is about to set, don't you think?" Changing the subject abruptly, the boy pointed at the sun firmly positioned on the horizon. There were still a few hours left before sunset. "I think I'll head to the observation point."
He quickly began walking out of the city, continuing to pretend like nothing had happened. That said, his reddened face clearly showed how embarrassed he was.
Luna found it amusing to observe the cute side of her friend but didn't tease him further. She would save the rest of her compliments for when they met in person.
"Thank you," and after a long silence, Davi said that, but didn't bring it up again.
He was terrible at opening up about his own emotions.
Speaking of more practical matters, they discussed their plans for the future. Luna lived in a small apartment, but it wouldn't be a problem to share it with Davi.
After that, the boy would have to find a way to become a successful explorer. That seemed nearly impossible with his current class.
And speaking of classes, after some hesitation, Davi finally revealed that he had reached level 25. Then he carefully explained the situation, saying that the condition to unlock the new class was having a girlfriend.
Then, almost suddenly, he confessed:
"I love you."
An awkward silence took over the moment, just as Davi had hoped the beautiful sunset would give him the courage he needed. However, the sun on the horizon took longer than expected to actually set.
"I want to make this clear. I love you, and if possible, I'd like you to be my girlfriend. This has nothing to do with my class, I just love you. I really love you."
Noticing that the sun had let him down, Davi gathered the courage to continue speaking.
"You are my precious friend, so if the feelings aren't mutual, don't worry about rejecting me. We'll still be friends. But I needed to say this."
Finally, the sun dipped below the horizon, its final rays painting the sky in hues of gold and crimson, unveiling a breathtaking view that stretched endlessly before them.
"I love you," Davi said one last time.