Chapter 104
Although humans might still hunt them for food, they weren’t as valuable, and they would have a better chance for escape. So relatively, it was safer here for them. But of course, it depends on the situation too.
With a predator coming down here, this could only mean there was something upsetting the balance inside the deep mountains. That’s why she decided to come to this place, where large beasts come and go, but are very much like gentle giants.
At Adele’s words, the boy sighed, “It’s the sand sharks.”
“Sand sharks?”
Desert monsters? Why would they come all the way to mountainous regions?
The boy didn’t answer, but he was analyzing in his head.
The arrival of the foreign species disrupted the place’s food chain, territorial distribution, and hierarchy. The sand sharks were able to accomplish this because, living in the harsh environments of the desert, their bodily constitutions have subsequently evolved in order to adapt.
Which is why, they were way more ferocious and stronger than any of the beasts present.
Thanks to this, the local tyrants were running away to hide in the lower regions, which in turn, was detrimental to the weaker ones living there.
The boy knew that these superior species, if they weren’t handled properly, might cause a major decline in animal population that would eventually affect the lives of humans nearby.
Still, he remained silent.
Adele was just a regular lady who was afraid of blood and monsters. Saying that she didn’t attend an academy, she might find it hard to understand.
Actually, he just felt a little lazy to explain.
“You don’t need to know more about it.”
“But are you fine? I was worried when you suddenly collapsed…”
“You were worried about me?” he raised an eyebrow.
She smiled, “You just saved my life. Aren’t I supposed to?”
Surprisingly, he smiled back that Adele was astonished. His smile was so beautiful that she was very certain this child will definitely make ladies cry when he grew up.
“It is my first time hearing it.”
“Hearing what?”
“That someone is… worried about me.”
Noticing his downcast expression, Adele wanted to ask about his parents. A boy practicing swordsmanship alone in a mountain like this… he must have a complicated story. Furthermore, that thing she saw earlier…
Adele spoke cautiously, recalling the black energy that had escaped from the boy’s body and what it could possibly mean, “Are you a magician?”
“No.”
“I see.”
Seeing her falling silent, he felt a little bewildered, “Aren’t you going to ask me anything else?”
“Well, I didn’t want to ask you more, in case it made you feel uncomfortable.”
A twelve-year-old child roaming alone in the mountains defeated a formidable monster. In addition, he seemed to possess some kind of peculiar power, and the cold smile he had after slaying the beast was just too unnerving.
Just based on these facts, Adele could deduce his background was anything but simple.
She chose not to speak about the matter any longer and touched the boy’s dampened hair.
He was about to shake her hand off, but then, feeling such a pleasant sensation, his eyes involuntarily shut themselves in contentment.
Her hands…
So soft…
“It’s a power passed down within our family.” he spoke all of a sudden.
“Huh?”
“That black energy that you saw earlier…” he clenched his small fists, “Before, didn’t you ask why I came to this mountain? It’s because… I wanted to grow stronger. If I don’t, I’ll be consumed by my own power.”
“…”
“When either of my body or soul weakens, its craving for blood and slaughter heightens, and its whispers would attempt to influence me into relinquishing control to him.”
The boy frowned and gritted his teeth. “That’s I need to become stronger so that I can control this power and make it submit to me, not the other way around.”
As he lifted his upper body from her lap, Adele’s forehead wrinkled.
This boy…
At his age, he should be at a point where he’s excited to enter an academy and make a name for himself. He should be by his parent’s side, where they would shower him with affection and loving gazes.
She felt distressed for him—for how much unspoken suffering this young child must have endured.
Adele gently patted his back that, in her eyes, had suddenly become so fragile and precious.
“It must be hard on you.”
Those words of comfort… that was the first time he had heard them.
Twisting his head to meet her gaze, he saw that she was staring at him with genuine concern within her light-brown eyes.
For the first time in his life, he felt at a loss. The sincerity of others, never in his life had he received them before, until today.
He quietly turned his head away. “I need to be stronger.”
“You’re not weak.”
“That’s not the point.”
The boy hugged his knees and buried his face into his arms. He couldn’t even save her with his own strength and had to borrow power from an unsavory entity. He only thought she was lying just to comfort him.
But Adele shook her head.
“You came running to save me earlier. Whether it was the fox or the big bear, you disregarded your own safety to come to my rescue.”
“But I… couldn’t save you on my own.”
She gave him a motherly smile. “Strength does not always mean you have to have the power to tear the heavens asunder.”
The boy shook his head at her ostentatious claims, not really believing her. Adele’s light brown hair was fluttering in the wind. She playfully ruffled his hair, “Sometimes, courage triumphs all, and it’s what can make you strong.”
“Courage…?”
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“Just like before, even though you knew it was dangerous to use that power, you still did it. Courage means to act, even if you’re scared of the consequences of failure.”
“…”
“Don’t worry, I believe in you. You’ll be able to overcome it soon.”
“…”
“Hm, it’s strange for me to tell others what my mother have said to me.”