Chapter 4 This Is Living Hell

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Since that day with grandma that I got to know more about the world and how beautiful it was, alongside its name, Spiritias, the world of Spirits and Spirit Masters.

Anyone that acquires a Spirit after awakening and trains it to become strong enough is called Spirit Master. They're known for using their Spirits for battle but also to help other people… of course, there are also those that use it for devious motives. I might do both as long as it benefits me or my family, although I am still quite powerless.

My grandmother showed me about the place where we lived and the outside world, and well, the eerie Demonic Tower in front of us. Since the day I saw it, I've been having disturbing nightmares about my previous life. The wars we had, the bloodshed, everything that was lost against these damn Demons.

This had only been reinforcing my resolve as I grew up little by little, every day, every week, every month… as I spent time with my parents and my grandmother, I've been growing closer to them, even when I initially felt embarrassed of it.

But the threat of the Demonic Tower had made me realize that I am still in this Universe, I am not in some sort of haven where I can relax… even now, at the end, I have to work hard so I can grow stronger and have nice revenge against these damned Demons.

It has already been two years since I was born. Only a month ago I celebrated my second birthday, that time around I ate proper food for the first time instead of just milk and fruit/vegetable puree. My father is a dexterous hunter, so he brought a wild boar for my birthday which I enjoyed thoroughly. I wished I could have a bigger stomach to eat more…

Perhaps in three more years, I will be able to finally awaken my Spirit and also be able to use Mana so I can finally begin fighting… I hope. For now, there's nothing else for me to do except try to learn about this world and spend time with my family.

"Who's the cutest little boy there is?"

"…"

"Who is it?"

"…"

"You!"

"…"

My mother was once more playing with me. It's not like I didn't love my mother, but it really felt embarrassing to be called a baby all the time. She noticed I was dead serious while looking at her, but she only giggled.

"Hehe, Blake, you're such a grumpy little baby!" she laughed.

"I-I am not a baby…" I sighed. At two years of age, I could now speak more eloquently.

"Eh? Then a toddler! Fufu…" my mother giggled as she kissed my forehead and began to tickle my tummy.

Hey, that's unfair!

I slowly lost my serious face as I exploded into laughter. She was a very ruthless woman, to think she could hit me so low!

"Bwahahaha! Bwahaha…!"

I began to laugh like babies do, and my mother mercilessly blushed at this and smiled rather fascinatedly, tickling me even more than before. She was indeed a ruthless and merciless woman.

"Hehe, my son is so cute when he smiles…" said my mother.

"Mama… stop!" I cried. As I waved my hands around and touched her own, stopping her once and for all.

"Ah…!"

Suddenly, we locked glares for a while. However, my mother's eyes shone brightly as she continued tickling me after that. Ugh… How much longer… will I suffer?!

…

It has been a few months since then, and now, I was walking around rather easily. No more days spent crawling around on the ground! I can now move independently on my own, and finally, explore the vast world outside to my liking!

"No, you're not going outside, it's too dangerous for a two-year-old!" said my mother, as she stopped me from walking outside the house.

"But mom…" I sighed.

"No buts! You're still just two years of age, dearie…" sighed my mother.

"Come on, Mary, the child wants to explore the world outside. why are you being so overprotective?" asked my grandmother.

"Well it was because you didn't stopped me when I was a child that I ended with this big scar from a horned rabbit attack, mother!" said my mother, as she suddenly showed an ugly scar she had on her stomach.

"A-Ah… Well…" muttered my grandmother, suddenly feeling defeated.

"Come on Mary, that happened so long ago, you can't keep blaming your mother for that." Sighed my father.

"I… I am not blaming anyone! I am just stating that my son is not going out on his own." Said my mother.

"Then how about we go out with him to the town? I saw other children playing around the plaza while being accompanied by their parents." remarked father.

"Ooohh! I want to go to the plaza!" I proclaimed.

"T-Then let's go all four of us, alright, dear? I-I am sorry for acting a bit reckless with the boy, but looking at his adorable emerald eyes who always seek adventure really makes my heart ache… He is a child; he wants to explore too and learn about the world…" said my grandmother.

"This… Okay, fine… Let's… go there, I guess. I get it." sighed my mother as she patted my grandmother's shoulders and smiled back.

Good, no family drama here. I am glad my mother is mature enough.

And like that, I was held by my mother's arms and the four of us went to the plaza. The floor of the village was paved in some areas, and the "plaza" was a small natural fountain that they had placed a lot of rocks around. Crystalline water was flowing out of it naturally. This is where most people get their water I believe.

"Look, Blake! A lot of other kids your age! Do you want to go play with them?" asked my mother with bright eyes.

"Ugh, not really…" I said.

"Come on, don't be shy! They look like good kids!" said my mother, petting my head and leaving me sitting over the grass in the middle of the plaza while she, my father, and my grandmother looked at me from afar, giving me thumbs up.

Is this some joke for them?!

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Against my will, I was forced to play with kids. I actually wanted to explore the town and see more spirits, and if there were some other ways to acquire magical power, perhaps artifacts I could use to acquire Mana and conjure spells right away. But my mother was incredibly overprotective, so that was a big no.

The Plaza was a boring place, there were some trees here and there, some grass around, a few wooden seats, and some people selling food and other things. Apparently, at the end of each week, this entire place gets clustered with people selling their own stuff. My parents usually come here to sell wool, milk, and crops.

I sat down on the grass and looked around, there wasn't much I could do other than inspect the place and see into the streets I couldn't explore. There were some areas where they were selling very shiny jewels that emanated some magic from within, and others… even demonic energy. Are those the drops from the demons that spirit masters hunt in the tower? Perhaps over the years, many demons had ended up escaping the tower and multiplied outside, so there might be the possibility that they're being hunted even outside.

On the other side, there were some restaurants and I saw a few people selling the corpses of big wild boars and a red-colored lion… indeed, that last one must be a Beast, which were the equivalent of monsters in the world of Spiritias. I guess calling them monsters doesn't matter either.

I also saw a few other people carrying the corpses of small humanoid creatures with red skin and sharp horns atop their heads, they had tiny dysfunctional wings resembling bat-like wings behind their backs, these were the corpses of some kind of Demon… Indeed, it seems that they populate the world the same way as Beasts. Hmm, maybe they're less common.

Another area was selling butchered Beast and Demon Materials… It appears that materials are used to both evolve Spirits, enhance their abilities, and obviously, to craft armors and weapons.

The entire place looked like a western-style town. There wasn't anything eastern about this place… I suppose this is that type of world.

The people that looked strong had powerful and colorful auras on them, some walked wearing all sorts of armors made of beast and demon parts. I even saw a few Spirits here and there, such as large Gecko-like spirit covered in flames, another flying spirit resemble an Eagle made of lightning, and there was even an enormous wolf made of shadows. I saw a floating eye with bat-like wings emanating a bright red light, and on another occasion, I saw a massive cow spirit from which the owner took milk from.

However, not all of them were beasts. I also noticed a few weirder ones, a small fairy-like spirit with pink light around her. There was even a spirit that was just a pickaxe being carried by a miner-looking man. Similarly, I found people with spirits in the shape of a shield, a sword, a spear, and even one in the shape of chopsticks…

I wonder what Spirit will I get? I've been recently feeling some kind of warmth in my chest, is this the Spirit Orb growing? Hmm…

As I pondered these things, a group of kids suddenly noticed my intense gaze, especially when the leather ball they were playing with reached me and I didn't throw it back.

"Hey, throw it back!" a kid around three years of age called me, he was a few centimeters taller than me, and had short black hair and brown eyes.

"Who is he?" wondered a second one, a blonde boy with aquamarine eyes a bit younger than the other.

"Hey… Do you want to play ball?" asked a third, a girl this time. She had short, pink-colored hair, and a pin over her head in the shape of a flower. She wore a pink dress and her eyes shone with purple light.

"…No." I said, as I threw their ball back at them and ignored them.

I don't want to have anything to do with kids. I am too busy inspecting the town to care about- Ugh?!

The ball suddenly hit my leg again, this time strong, to the point it makes me trip over my face, making the kids chuckle at me.

I looked angrily at the kids as the two boys averted their gazes from me and began to whistle.

"Very funny…" I muttered in anger.

"Come on! Throw it back!" said the girl with a bright smile.

"Sigh… But stop annoying me after that." I said, as I threw back the ball and saw them play around.

However.

Bump!

The ball once more reached me.

"Come on! Play!" said the blonde.

"Will you stop annoying me if I play a match with you?" I sighed.

"Yeah, sure!" said the black-haired boy.

"Then…"

A malicious smile emerged on my lips as I felt like my eyes shine bright red, I moved my legs swiftly and kicked the ball with all the force I could muster in a good position where all the force of my muscles was put into action. This was just a basic strength balancing technique. Even at two years of age, controlling my own muscle strength is as easy as breathing.

BOOM!

Despite my small stature, the ball was sent flying and landed right into the face of the black-haired boy, as he fell over the floor.

"Uagh!"

"Ahh! Chris!" cried the blonde.

"Wow, you're strong!" said the little girl.

"Now stop annoying me…" I said.

However, at the end, I ended playing with them through the rest of the morning. I never thought I would find this much fun playing with a plain leather ball with some kids… I guess I have become so bored even this was of some entertainment to me… The black-haired boy's name was Chris, the blonde was named Eric, and the girl was named Erika. They were actually my neighbors… I guess I might see them periodically.

It was rather fun… I wonder if these kids will grow up to become rather strong on their own. Hm, I could nurture their talent, maybe.

Although I wish I could just go out and hunt, I don't have the strength to even do that…

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