"Take me... away..."
Eric fainted before he could finish his sentence.
The Ranger quickly stepped forward to catch Eric's body, then took a cloak from a hook on the wall and wrapped it around Eric.
Meanwhile, the villagers behind had already gathered at the front door of the house.
Old Buck limped to the doorway. He didn't dare to fight a Ranger, so he could only shout loudly:
"That child is mine, hand him over."
The Ranger was not affected by the villagers or Old Buck in the slightest.
He leaned Eric against the wall, took off his fingerless gloves, and placed them on Eric's forehead.
He had a fever.
Weak body, injuries, fright, magic power overdraft, and getting drenched in the rain…
The Ranger instantly assessed Eric's condition.
Was it abuse? Was he a child who had been abducted here?
As he stood up, the Ranger's hand was already on the sword at his waist.
"A qualified father wouldn't hit his own child like that."
The surrounding villagers handed a rake to Old Buck, and the villagers behind also passed various farm tools into the crowd.
With the farm tools and the villagers behind him, Old Buck felt more confident.
He raised the rake in his hand, pointed it at the Ranger, and shouted loudly:
"There are dozens of us here! Hand him over, or else—"
The villagers behind him echoed:
"That's right, hand him over!"
"What right do you have to meddle in our village's affairs?"
"Hit him, he's just one person."
The Ranger did not reply.
"Clang—"
A flash of white light.
The Ranger's sword finally appeared before everyone.
It was a Roman-style short sword, with a wide blade and a very sharp tip.
The short sword swept past Old Buck's face, and the moment the white light flashed, the iron rake head was sliced diagonally.
Several rake tines were severed and fell to the ground.
Amidst the continuous "swish swish" of the rain, the "ding ding dong dong" sounds were remarkably clear.
After that, only the sound of rain remained.
"Get a basin of hot water, a bottle of strong liquor, and a set of clean clothes."
The Ranger returned his sword to his waist, pulled a bag from his Pregnant, and threw it onto Old Buck.
"This child's future will be decided by himself."
With that, the Ranger closed the door.
Old Buck opened the bag, and inside were piles of gold coins.
The surrounding villagers' eyes immediately widened. Old Buck quickly clutched the bag to his chest; this money was enough for him to live a rich life for the rest of his days.
But the surrounding villagers tightened their grip on the farm tools in their hands.
The continuous mountains surrounding the village isolated it, so this place was destined to be a lawless land.
Soon, the village chief arrived at the Ranger's room with clothes, hot water, and strong liquor.
"Eric is not a child of this village. He and his father are outsiders, and they are the best hunters in the village. They are both very familiar with the surrounding forest."
The village chief was a relative of the lord behind the mountain.
He knew everything that happened here, but he dared not interfere.
The Ranger merely nodded, signaling the village chief to put the items down, then stood up and opened the door.
The village chief wisely left.
The Ranger took off Eric's wet clothes, checked the room's door, closed the windows, and used hot water and strong liquor to wipe Eric's body.
Then he took out incense from his pocket and lit it with a candle.
The scent of the incense gradually filled the entire room, and the magic power in the air also converged towards the room. Eric's furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
That night, Eric had a good dream.
When Eric woke up the next day, he was already wearing clean clothes. After getting up, he instinctively started looking for his shoes.
"Huh!?"
On the ground lay a pair of exquisite small leather boots, adorned with ornate silver-white patterns. Their craftsmanship was hundreds of times better than Old Buck's.
He vaguely sensed that these boots were his old large boots.
"Awake?"
A voice came from ahead.
Eric looked up. The Ranger was already fully dressed, his hood once again obscuring half his face.
He held a dagger in his hand. Before Eric could react, he threw the dagger to Eric.
"Put on your shoes and come with me."
"Yes."
Eric quickly put on the shoes. The comfortable feeling reminded him of the basketball shoes he bought in his previous life with a month's worth of college living expenses.
He couldn't help but kick his heels.
Oh my god, it had been 3 years! He had finally gotten rid of those large leather boots that couldn't even be scratched by a knife and were as long as an adult's forearm.
Eric joyfully drew the dagger.
Although it was a dagger, for 12-year-old and underdeveloped Eric, it could be considered a short sword.
The dagger's shape was very strange, winding like a snake's body.
The purple patterns on it spread like vines. Eric only glanced at it and felt his entire body plunge into an ice cave.
"Is this a weapon I can use?"
"The forest is very dangerous. This weapon is for your self-defense."
The Ranger's tone was flat, as if the dagger was just some roadside rock.
Eric took a deep breath.
My goodness, can such a powerful weapon be given away so casually?
This Ranger is no ordinary person.
Eric had no hesitation in his heart.
Perhaps his idea was very naive, but Eric felt that only by trying would he know if it was possible.
It's just a matter of losing face, isn't it?
For the future, this great lord is going all out.
"Ranger, please accept me as your disciple. I will take care of you in your old age."
Eric had already decided: he was going to cling to this Ranger's leg.
And indeed, he did so.
The Ranger hadn't expected someone to directly hug his leg. Are you a koala?
"First, get down—"
"No, if you don't accept me as your disciple, I won't get down."
To be honest, being a clingy nuisance was not Eric's style.
But he didn't feel he had anything or any quality that could impress a great person into taking him as a disciple.
Some say the core of comedy is a person without tools trying every possible way to solve a problem he cannot possibly solve.
Being a clingy nuisance was Eric's last resort.
The Ranger pushed Eric twice. He could see that Eric had good talent, especially in terms of soul, almost reaching the threshold of a Three-Ring Mage.
But he had no immediate intention of taking a disciple.
He just felt that Eric's talent was being wasted in this village.
But now, looking at Eric's clingy demeanor and recalling Eric's miserable state last night, a hint of compassion arose in the Ranger's heart.
He had wandered for so many years; having a disciple might not be bad.
However…
"You want to take care of me in my old age? That might be a bit difficult."
Eric didn't care about the difficulty.
What he wanted now was to first win over the Ranger's heart.
Whether he could achieve it later was up to fate.
"I can definitely do it! No matter how difficult, I'm not afraid. I'll go through mountains of knives and seas of fire."
Rule number one for a scoundrel: say many pleasant words that cost nothing.
The Ranger knew immediately that this was a lie, and he also had the blessing of a fairy, with lie detection.
"Your soul talent is very good. Perhaps a Mage would be willing to take you as a disciple. Won't you reconsider?"
"No reconsideration. Even if I jump off a mountain and die outside, I won't be a Mage."
He couldn't study in his last life, couldn't even get into a decent university. To suffer as a Mage in this life? Eric would be crazy to become a Mage.
This was the truth.
The Ranger rubbed Eric's head. With the fairy's blessing, he could instinctively tell whether Eric was speaking the truth.
"Good. From today onwards, I will teach you the Way of the Ranger."
And in Eric's vision, a translucent information panel instantly appeared.
【Character: Atai'er Fairchild.
Classes: Level 20 Hunter, Level 20 Warrior, Level 20 Rogue,
Hero Rank: Level 20 Ranger, Level 20 Berserker, Level 20 Knight, Level 20 Assassin, Level 20 Druid
Legendary Class: Level 20 Beastmaster, Level 20 Spell Ranger,
Propose transfer invitation.
Do you want to transfer to Ranger?】
Total Level 200.
My goodness.
Teacher, are you truly not some reincarnation of a god?
However, the stronger the teacher, the happier Eric was.
"Okay, Teacher."
【Yes.】
【Obtained Hero Rank — Ranger】