Kael dismounted his horse, scanning the smoldering ruins of the village. The stench of burnt wood and charred flesh lingered in the air, making the atmosphere grim. Houses reduced to ashes, corpses scattered everywhere… Yet, there was no sign of the attackers.
He walked forward slowly, observing his surroundings, until he spotted a curled-up figure on the ground, trembling. A young boy, crying, hugging his knees to his chest.
Kael approached and crouched down in front of him.
"Hey, kid, are you the only survivor?"
The boy slowly lifted his head, revealing a face covered in soot and tears.
"M-my name is Calvin Jehlfeld," he stammered between sobs.
Kael frowned. That name… No, more than the name, it was his gaze. There was something in his eyes. A deep pain, a restrained rage, a despair worthy of the best protagonists in novels.
"Wait… What kind of coincidence is this?"
A shiver ran down Kael's spine. He knew it. This kid was clearly a main character in the making.
"Hmm…" Kael muttered, scratching his chin. "You lost your whole family, didn't you?"
The boy nodded.
"You've got nothing left to lose, right?"
Another nod, this time slower, heavier with meaning.
"And now, you have a burning thirst for revenge that will push you to become stronger and hunt down those who destroyed your village?"
The boy clenched his fists, lifting eyes filled with determination.
"I… want revenge."
Kael sighed.
"Of course… This is literally the classic main character formula."
He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Well then, welcome aboard, Calvin. I'm going to make you a great warrior."
Kael's knights exchanged skeptical glances, but no one dared contradict their master.
Calvin finally lifted his head, his eyes gleaming with both gratitude and suppressed fury.
"I'll do whatever it takes to become stronger."
Kael nodded.
"Good, good. Now, let's see how he develops."
But he would soon realize that his so-called "future hero" might not be as impressive as he had imagined…
The journey continued with Calvin now under Kael's wing. The latter had a plan in mind: train the boy, teach him to wield a sword, instill determination and discipline in him… In short, he wanted to shape a future hero.
Except that...
"Calvin, stop sleeping!"
Kael threw a stone at the boy, who was slumped on the back of the horse. The boy groaned and barely opened one eye.
"Mmmh… Are we there yet?"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Kael shouted. "We've been riding for an hour, and all you've done is SLEEP!"
The boy yawned and lazily stretched.
"Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night…"
Kael pinched the bridge of his nose.
"An orphan with a tragic past, but who doesn't realize the gravity of the situation...? Isn't he supposed to be training with a stick while shouting 'I will have my revenge!'?"
He left him alone... for now.
After several hours of travel, the group stopped near a river to rest and eat.
Kael crossed his arms, observing Calvin closely.
"This is where he'll impress us. Maybe he'll refuse to eat, saying 'I don't deserve to eat yet,' or he'll eat in silence, staring into the distance, filled with vengeance..."
But instead...
"Woooow, there's dried meat AND bread!"
Calvin rushed toward the food and ate as if he hadn't seen a meal in weeks.
— …
Kael stood frozen, a piece of bread in his hand.
"You're eating it all..."
"Hmmm?" Calvin mumbled, mouth full.
"Where's the kid tortured by his past, seeking justice?!"
"Ah well… he's hungry."
— …
"This is a joke!"
When night fell, Kael decided to test Calvin.
"Alright, kid, tonight, you're on watch."
"Huh?! But why me?"
"You said you wanted to get stronger. Vigilance is important."
Calvin grumbled but reluctantly accepted.
The next morning.
"Aaaaah, I slept well!"
Kael opened one eye, still half-asleep. He turned his head and saw Calvin… SLEEPING NEXT TO THE FIRE, DEEPLY ASLEEP.
— …
"This kid is supposed to be the future hero?!"
He jumped up, grabbed Calvin by the collar, and shook him violently.
"CALVIN! WEREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE ON WATCH?!"
"Hmmm…? Oh, yeah… I got sleepy..."
Kael was on the verge of exploding.
"If he's the hero... we're doomed."
After the night watch incident, Kael was more convinced than ever that Calvin was a lost cause.
But he wasn't about to give up.
"Alright, kid, it's time you toughen up! Today, training!"
Calvin, still chewing on a piece of bread, raised an eyebrow.
"Training?"
"Yeah! If you want revenge, you need to get strong!"
The boy sighed and threw his bread away before standing up.
"Pffff… Okay, okay, I guess I need to learn how to fight…"
Kael nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Finally! He's going to wake up and reveal his hidden potential! He'll grab a stick and start training like every hero in the books!"
"But first… I'm going to take a little nap."
"…"
Kael froze, his mouth hanging open.
"What did you say?"
"Well… I've eaten, so I'm going to take a nap before starting."
"No… This can't be… This kid has no motivation whatsoever…"
Kael grabbed a stick and threw it toward Calvin, who barely managed to dodge it.
"HEY! Why are you throwing stuff at me?!"
"Because YOU'RE A PAIN IN THE ASS!"
Calvin scratched the back of his head and shrugged.
"Don't worry, I'll learn to fight later. For now, I just want to be safe and eat well."
Kael clenched his teeth.
"Am I crazy, or has this kid completely forgotten about revenge…?"
After much insistence, Kael ended up dragging Calvin a little further into the woods to teach him the basics of combat.
"Alright, kid, take this stick and try to hit me."
Calvin raised an eyebrow.
"You? But you're super strong."
"The point is for you to fight, not to win."
With a skeptical look, Calvin grabbed the stick and lifted it painfully.
"Pfff… This is heavy…"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
Calvin stretched and yawned.
"Alright… Let's do this."
He took a step forward, raised the stick… and then let it fall.
"Aaaah… I'm just too lazy, actually."
Kael fell to his knees, desperate.
"Am I supposed to be training a future hero or the king of laziness?!"
Just as Kael was wondering whether he should give up on training Calvin, a small monster appeared from the bushes.
It was a ridiculous creature, no bigger than a dog, with greenish skin and bulging eyes.
"Oh, perfect," Kael exclaimed. "Kid, this is your first fight!"
Calvin looked at the creature… then started SCREAMING and ran off at full speed.
"AAAAAAAAAH!!!"
"WHAT?! YOU'RE RUNNING AWAY?!"
The boy disappeared into the woods while the little monster scratched its head, looking just as confused as Kael.
Kael was on the verge of exploding.
"THIS KID IS A COMPLETE FAILURE!!"
Kael watched as Calvin disappeared into the forest like a terrified rabbit.
The little monster, on the other hand, seemed just as lost as him. It sniffed the air before turning its attention back to Kael.
"Hey… you want to fight?" Kael asked, raising an eyebrow.
The monster, which probably wasn't even on the level of a 5-year-old, immediately stepped back and shook its head.
"…"
"Seriously… even this monster knows it has no chance against me."
He sighed and, with a simple kick, sent the creature flying through the air until it disappeared over the horizon.
Then, he turned towards the direction where Calvin had fled.
"This kid is supposed to be a future hero…?"
A few minutes later, Calvin timidly returned, his head lowered, looking guilty.
"Hahaha… Hey…"
Kael crossed his arms.
"You wanna explain yourself?"
"Well… I had a little panic moment…"
"A LITTLE panic moment?! You ran away screaming from a level 0.5 monster!"
"Hahaha… Can't argue with that…"
Kael pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You don't even have a good excuse?"
"Uh… I was doing a reconnaissance?"
Kael shot him a dark look.
"Fine… Okay, I was scared, I admit it…"
Kael sighed deeply.
"This kid is going to kill me with stress before we even reach the empire…"
Calvin sat on a rock and looked at Kael with a small smile.
"You know… I thought of something."
"What now?"
"Why bother fighting when you can do everything for me?"
Kael blinked, incredulous.
"Say that again."
"Well, yeah. Look, you're super strong, you have crazy powers… Why should I stress out when you're here?"
Kael was speechless.
This kid… just called him a combat slave…?
"… Cal."
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to hit you."
"Huh?"
Kael lightly slapped him on the head.
"AAAH! Why are you hitting me?!"
"To make you think before you speak!"
Calvin rubbed his skull, grumbling.
"Okay, okay, I got it!"
Kael sighed again.
"Alright, let's get going… before you come up with another excuse to do nothing."
And so, they continued on their way, Kael still wondering if he had taken under his wing a future hero… or just dead weight.