Chapter 7

Listen to spring.

This is a season that brings joy, as after a long and harsh winter, people can finally start a new year without enduring the bitter cold. Food becomes easier to obtain, and the variety gradually increases. Therefore, the arrival of spring is the most important festival of the year, not just for humans, but also for dwarves, orcs, elves, and even ogres, who all hold their most significant celebrations in spring. Of course, the world is so complex that there are always exceptions, such as the residents of the underground world, for whom spring has almost no meaning. Exceptions can even reach extremes, like the snow spirits, who hate spring the most. Regardless, for most humans, spring is always a delightful time.

When the warm and humid air currents struggled to cross the coastal mountains and reached Ruseran Village, the villagers knew that spring had arrived again.

Ruseran is nestled at the foot of the coastal mountains, a small and unremarkable point in the vast, continuous mountain range, and one of the countless human settlements. It belongs to the territory of Tack Baron and is part of the Holy Alliance Empire. However, even if measured in a straight line, Tack Baron's castle is nearly 300 kilometers away. Only during the autumn harvest do the villagers see the baron's tax collector. Only then does the lord have a negligible presence. The baron's taxes are light, just collecting some unique local products from the mountains, which have almost no impact on the villagers' daily lives. However, the village's output is limited, and if the taxes were higher, it would affect their survival.

Life in the mountains is not particularly hard, as long as one works hard throughout the year.

When spring arrives, the land outside the village needs to be plowed and sown with crops that can be harvested in the summer. Hunters begin to enter the forest, where the hungry beasts that have been dormant all winter start to awaken and seek food. They become extremely dangerous and aggressive. However, some of the beasts' special features, such as certain glands that can be used as precious medicines or spices, are at their best during this time and can fetch the highest prices. Every year, hunters suffer casualties, but they continue to enter the mountains as usual. In Ruseran Village, the goddess of the forest and hunting receives the most devotion. Apart from the Eternal Dragon, the gods and beliefs in the Noland continent are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

The Noland continent is a land of abundant resources, a land that reveres strength, and a land with a strict hierarchy.

Even in a remote and peaceful village like Ruseran, the marks of the times are deeply etched. The villagers are simple and sincere, but they also respect the strong and despise the weak. In this small village of just a few dozen households, there is a subtle hierarchy.

A small figure appeared outside the village, a boy carrying a basket almost as tall as himself, filled with breadfruit. In spring, the winter reserves are almost depleted, and the new crops have not yet been harvested. These fruits, which do not taste very good, are an important source of food. They are easy to obtain, just by picking them from the woods near the village.

Behind the boy, three teenagers, each a head taller than him, appeared together. They carried hunting bows and short forks, with short knives at their waists, and had deer and rabbits on their backs. Although they were not yet ten years old, they could already go into the mountains to hunt. Their prey was not beasts but some gentle animals, and they mainly relied on traps to hunt, which was already quite challenging. At this time, the commoners and noble children in the towns were mostly still under their parents' care, learning and practicing.

The leading teenager suddenly called out loudly, "Hey, Richard, where's your father? Didn't he teach you how to hunt? When I was your age, I could set traps to catch rabbits all by myself!"

A boy beside him chimed in with a laugh, "A boy without a father can only pick fruit!"

The three older boys laughed and ran past the boy, heading into the village, their steps light, showing no sign of the dozens of kilograms of prey they carried. The boy ignored their taunts and continued to carry his basket into the village. A middle-aged, muscular man sitting at the village entrance had seen everything. He waved the boy over, gave him a piece of dried beast meat, and affectionately ruffled his hair, asking, "Little Richard, are you not angry that Piro and the others bully you? I'll go teach them a lesson, even if they are just kids, they shouldn't be so disrespectful."

To his surprise, the boy shook his head and said, "No, I'm not angry."

"But..." The man scratched his rough, dark head, finding it hard to understand. He thought the boy was afraid of the older boys and couldn't help but want to say a few words. Mountain children can lack anything, but they cannot lack courage.

But the boy smiled and said, "I don't have a father, but I have the best mother!"

The man, hearing this, could only scratch his head and smile foolishly, saying, "That's right, that's right."

The boy hummed a song, carrying his large basket, and skipped into the village. At that moment, the shadow in his heart had already been swept away, and he was happy again. His mother had told him that no matter what, he should always be happy.

That year, Richard was six years old. At six, he learned to be happy.

The middle-aged man was named Bobby, the village blacksmith. The boy's mother was said to be a magic apprentice. When she came to Ruseran Village alone, Richard was still in her arms. She was not a very beautiful woman, but she was gentle and kind. Her arrival brought a new atmosphere to the small village. For the first time, the village had a doctor, and the villagers no longer had to travel dozens of kilometers to the town for minor illnesses or simply endure them until they healed naturally. She was called Elaine, and she opened a small apothecary shop at the edge of the village. Although she could only make the most basic potions, she saved the lives of several villagers in the first year. Therefore, the village chief and elders decided to give Elaine a piece of land and officially accept her as a member of Ruseran. In the small village of Ruseran, the most numerous profession was hunting, with only three professionals: the blacksmith, Elaine, who also served as a doctor, and the retired sergeant who was the village chief. These three people supported the entire village's operation.

Life in Ruseran Village was peaceful and slow, and time passed unnoticed. Before they knew it, it was a new spring.

Richard had grown several centimeters taller, looking like an 8-9 year old. According to Ruseran's tradition, he should have already learned to set and lay traps to hunt rabbits and other small herbivorous beasts. Not far from Ruseran Village, there was a forest where such small beasts were abundant, and large beasts were almost nonexistent. It was the village's training ground for the children. Hunters never hunted the small animals there but would regularly patrol to clear out any dangerous large beasts that occasionally wandered in from deeper in the forest. However, Richard still carried his basket up the mountain every few days. The basket no longer looked so disproportionate, indicating that he was still picking fruit. Breadfruit was not delicious, and the mountains were full of it, but the villagers preferred the delicious meat of the beasts. Even without considering the taste, the meat of the beasts could make one stronger.

However, Richard still had to pick fruit at the age when he should start hunting, as his mother required. Not only that, he also had to collect herbs, four different types each season, and process them according to a set and complex procedure. Half of the process had to be completed when the herbs were picked, and the other half at home. What puzzled him was that the breadfruit also had to be processed similarly, and the procedures and time required were much more. No one in the village did this; breadfruit was the easiest food to obtain. When ripe, it would fall naturally overnight and could be picked up and eaten directly. However, his mother required that the breadfruit not be picked from the ground but from the main stem, with specific requirements for size and color, and a special picking technique. Richard did not understand why, nor did he notice any difference in taste from the breadfruit picked in this special way. But if he did not pick the breadfruit according to the requirements, his mother would pick it out. After several scoldings, Richard no longer played tricks and carefully followed every tedious step. It was not until winter, when he could no longer pick breadfruit, that his mother told him that this was to teach him perseverance.

That year, Richard was seven years old. At seven, he learned the importance of perseverance. If there was anything unpleasant in his memory at seven, it was that every dinner was breadfruit. This small matter eventually became one of the nightmares of his childhood.

When a new spring arrived, Ruseran Village was still the same. The blacksmith Bobby remained single, Elaine's apothecary shop saw no improvement in business, and the village chief was still strong, always leading the charge when a difficult beast appeared.

Richard was finally able to learn how to set traps. By this time, Piro and the others had already started carrying short bows and following the village hunters into the mountains. Crossing the threshold of ten years old, they could be called teenagers, and their tall figures would make them look like fifteen or sixteen in the city.

Setting traps is a skill that requires rich experience, keen observation, dexterous hands, and a bit of luck. With only simple tools, newbies are likely to hurt themselves when making traps. Richard showed great talent in learning, demonstrating an advantage over the other village boys and successfully setting a trap on the first day, earning praise from all the adults in the village. The blacksmith Bobby was especially proud, talking about Richard as if he were his own son. However, everyone in the village knew his thoughts; if Richard could call him father, Bobby would be willing to close his blacksmith shop.

A few days passed, and Richard had already mastered several types of traps. He began to venture deeper into the training ground, setting several large composite traps. Occasionally, large beasts would appear here, and he wanted to test his luck. Richard's luck was good, and a Kamchatka wild boar appeared in his sight, colliding with the trap. The trap, made of thorns, vines, and iron nails, firmly clamped the boar's front leg. Although the boar was strong, Richard's trap was finely crafted, with all the forces balanced well. After a frantic struggle, it still could not break free. Richard, observing from the side, was so nervous that his hands were sweating, and the hunting knife in his hand felt less reliable for the first time. An injured boar is very dangerous, and although the Kamchatka wild boar was small and timid, Richard was just a child.

Just as Richard was about to rush out, a powerful force suddenly pushed him from behind, sending him flying. Richard fell heavily to the ground, feeling dizzy, and a hint of blood in his mouth. He heard the sound of a bowstring, followed by the boar's scream. Cheers sounded nearby, and the voices were very familiar.

Richard slowly got up and saw Piro leading three teenagers, one of whom had pushed him hard. Piro held a hunting bow, looking proudly at the poor Kamchatka wild boar. An arrow was embedded in the boar's neck, a vital spot. Hitting the vital spot with one arrow is not easy, even when the boar is trapped. The boar had been thrashing and rooting around.

"You're stealing my prey!" Richard suddenly understood what they were doing and called out angrily.

"Everyone here can testify that I shot the boar. How is that stealing? Just because you set a trap? Good hunters know that such traps are only for rabbits," Piro said slowly, looking at Richard with disdain.

He was nearly a head taller than Richard, with a clearly stronger build. His strength was actually greater than that of his peers, almost matching that of adults. This was because Piro was the son of the village chief, who, as a retired sergeant, often hunted powerful beasts in the mountains. The meat of these beasts was very useful for building strength.

"Why did you come here to shoot the boar?" Richard's counter-question left Piro speechless. They looked down on Richard's weakness but had to admit that Richard was very smart, reportedly able to write many words. However, Piro and the other boys did not respect Richard for this; writing words was not useful for hunting, so what was the point of knowing so many words?

But Richard's counter-question made Piro very angry. He waved his hand, and one of the boys circled around to push Richard to the ground again.

Richard got up, his face flushed, and tightly gripped the hunting knife. The sudden burst of determination made the boys feel a deep chill! The hunting knife was not drawn, and before he could hesitate, Piro kicked him in the stomach. The boys swarmed around, taking the hunting knife and beating him. Piro even stepped on Richard's head, grinding his face into the dirt!

The mountain boys were full of strength, and the beating was severe. Richard did not struggle or beg for mercy, just silently enduring. Piro became angrier the more he beat, feeling only contempt from Richard's silent response.

"Still not convinced? Not convinced?" The boys beat harder, and Richard seemed to have no control over his body, just letting them beat him. After a while, Piro became afraid. He feared seriously injuring Richard, which would mean a beating at home. The village chief's temper was as explosive as his strength, and Elaine had always been well-liked in the village.

The boys gradually stopped, and Richard took a while to slowly get up. Piro left a few harsh words and carried the boar away. After they were completely gone, Richard fell to the ground by a tree, resting for a long time before struggling to stand and heading home.

In the evening, Elaine saw Richard, covered in bruises, and tears streamed down her face. The boy comforted her, saying it was nothing, just a bit painful. After applying medicine, the boy looked at his mother and asked, "Still can't fight back?"

"Um!" Elaine bit her lip and nodded forcefully.

"Okay, I won't fight back, but I won't give in."

In the following days, Piro found Richard several times, each time ending in a severe beating. But the worst time, when everyone was exhausted and Richard could not get up, Piro did not get the boy's submission or even a groan. Each time they finished beating him and were about to leave, Richard would slowly get up and quietly look at Piro. The calm and steady gaze made Piro feel a deep chill from the bottom of his heart. It was as if he was looking at a dead person.

From that year on, Piro began to have nightmares. Each time he beat Richard, he would have nightmares for several days. Richard never resisted or struggled, and Piro became stronger, the physical difference between them growing. But each time he saw Richard, Piro would see the boy's calm, steady gaze, followed by several days of nightmares. Piro also couldn't understand why Richard never went to his father to complain. If Richard did, Piro would at least get a few lashes. But from start to finish, Richard never mentioned the beatings to anyone in the village.

The boys found Richard less often, and when one time the boy's mouth was bleeding, he smiled at them, and the boys scattered. That was the last time they bothered Richard.

At eight years old, Richard learned resilience.