Time seemed to freeze under the man's aura. It was sharp and refined, like a polished gem, but clearly carried fierceness that was seen in the man's words. The gyrtle eased up and got off my back, returning to its uncurled form and snorting frustratedly while the man approached me. He smirked, bending down to inspect me. I couldn't budge an inch under his dominating aura, so I could only give in as he picked me up by the collar. The man's green eyes stared at me and I barely managed to meet his gaze.

Suddenly, the man burst into laughter, a loud guffaw that echoed in my eardrums. He laughed so hard that his eyes moistened. I was momentarily surprised, but I instantly recognized the chance to run away. Swinging my legs, I slammed my feet into the man's torso. However, the man didn't even flinch. He continued laughing and chuckling like a maniac. I narrowed my eyes. What was this guy? He could be the strongest in the kingdom if he could take my kick without flinching.

"What...what the hell are you?" I gritted out.

The man stopped laughing. His grin widened even more to show off his sharp canines that complimented his crude facial featueres. Scars lined his face and his graying hair. He wore a simple shirt, pants, and black leather boots. Nothing seemed notable in his attire that hinted at his strength.

"You don't need to know, kid." The man mocked, dropping my collar and gesturing for me to fight him, "Come. Let's see what you're made of-"

I didn't need to hear the rest of the man's sentence and threw a punch full of blue mana at his stomach, right where I had kicked before. My fist was stopped cold by the man's palm and didn't have any time to react before I was pinned to the ground, face flat.

"What now, kid?" The man teased flippantly, gripping my wrists so tight I thought my bones would break.

Pinned on the ground with my hand behind my back, I wiggled my fingers discreetly in preparation to blast mana at the man, but a shooting pain paralyzed my finger joints. The man had grabbed my knuckles so fast that I didn't even have time to register the bones in my fingers breaking until a second later.

What was this monster and where did he come from? I didn't know of a single person in the kingdom who was strong enough to defeat me at my current level this easily, or of a person who could control a gyrtle that had the power to wreck an entire count-sized territory. Even the gyrtle was steering out of the fight, observing from the sidelines.

The man leaned in close, sneering, "Come on, I know that's not all to it. Show me more. More! Have some more fighting spirit!"

I faintly heard his provocations, but thoughts kept intruding in my mind. Why was I even fighting this man? Didn't I promise myself that there was no need for me to interfere in the world anymore? So why, why was there a fire burning inside me, telling me to keep fighting, to take the pain and charge on. Whatever. I wouldn't listen to that fire, all I wanted was to keep living to see the world.

"Then kill me already." I twisted to look the man in the face.

The man blanched, momentarily letting go of my wrist and allowing me to blast a beam of blue mana that forced him to swerve. In that instant, my feet moved automatically, glowing blue with mana as I leapt for the fence. Half in flight, a rigid obstacle popped up and I tripped, falling face flat on the ground. Looking backwards, it was a green glowing vine that had just popped up on the ground.

"How interesting." The man approached me again, face alight with insane delight.

I struggled up, ready to run away again, but the ground beneath me rose in areas, shackling my body with rocks. They were sturdy and felt unbreakable. No way, was the man actually going to kill me? I didn't really mean it earlier, I just wanted an opening to escape.

"However, it would be a shame to defeat you now, so why don't you take a nap and we can chat later?" The man offered and bent down, chopping my neck to knock me out.

My vision faded as per to my consciousness, sending me to a deep sleep. I had a dream of my past life as Kahil like usual, but this time it was full of my former master. I woke up from my "nap" to a fading blue sky and voices talking.

"I told you, you should kill him now before something bad happens! I get chills from that kid!"

"Relax, gyrty. You should know better of who I am."

"But still-"

The mysterious man turned and pointed at me, "He's awake, scale-brain."

The gyrtle flinched and turned away, coughing awkwardly while the man smirked.

"So...what now? Are you going to kill me or not?" I asked boldly, ignoring the gyrtle's repeated attempts to not show his hostility.

The man laughed, waving his hand dismissively and saying, "Of course not! What do you think I am, scared of you?"

"Then can I leave now?" I inquired, pointing at the forest.

"No. I still have something to say to you." The man rebutted.

I narrowed my eyes, "What."

"Become my disciple." The man declared, "I want to teach you."

"Zanharu!" The shout came from the gyrtle before I could say anything.

"You cannot do this! You know this boy, this-Lupus, he's a calamity! A calamity!" The gyrtle yelled.

"Kimito. I told you already to stay out of my decisions." The man, whose name seemed to be Zanharu, snapped.

Kimito, the gyrtle, glared, but stayed silent after saying, "Very well, but your decisions will cost you."

"Hmph," Zanharu scoffed, but then turned towards me again, "What do you say? Become my disciple for 10 years, and then you can leave this place, but until then, you have to obey me as a disciple. I'll teach you, of course, like a master would."

I hesitated, but replied, "Fine. I'll do it, but you better keep your promise."

Zanharu chuckled, "Of course. With a mana contract, of course. Give me your hand."

I moved closer and the contract was performed, a shackle tied on both our mana cores.

"Lupus, is it? It's nice to meet you," Zanharu grinned, "My name is Zanharu if you didn't notice, but call me Master or sir, okay?"

I nodded, "Yes, Master."

"Now eat up. You must be hungry, I imagine?" Master gestured towards the campfire he had going.

Kebobs were roasting on top of it and fresh jugs of waters lay on the side. I slept on a warm straw mat that night, covered by a fur blanket. Maybe the next 10 years wouldn't be so bad after all.