A Dragon and his boy

Chapter 2

The words of that man shook the whole village. It was true that at times the larger troops camped at the outskirts of the village but never inside. Now this small but overly powered squad wanted to stay at their residences. That was still a bit acceptable but the man’s next words shocked them even more.
He smiled at their bewildered faces, “Each member of my squad will go to any house in the village and demand to stay two weeks with whichever family they wish”.
The village head still didn’t respond so the man was about taking back his words when the whole village erupted in cheers. To actually think squad members would spend two weeks in any house in the village was an unfathomable thought. Even though the squad was a little too small and emitted ominous pressure, it was still amazing. Many prayed that a squad member would spend time in their place while some could only hope for it; their homes were not worthy of even being called a shed.
Jack happened to be one of those people in the ‘hope’ group. His house was only an abandoned barn, the only thing left of his father’s farm that had since stopped yielding crops. They barely had enough space to sleep as it was only a room that was also the living room and also the dining. He knew his family of four could not bear to harbor another person for a day not to talk of two weeks. The only way was if the guest chose to sleep outside. This was because even if one person in their family chose to sleep outside, it was still weird if a guest slept with his other family members. It was either they all slept outside while the guest slept in or the exact opposite.
Dave on the other hand was in an entirely different situation. He didn’t even have to pray or hope as it was sure that a squad member would lodge in their home. If there was any house in the village that spelt ‘rich’, it would be his house. His father was the village head, yes; it was his father that exchanged greetings with the hero ranked man. The village head had made quite some wealth from the taxes and combined projects of the villagers. Definitely, a squad member’s interest would peek if his house was sighted.
The crowds didn’t stay much though after the announcement. The squad had been escorted to the house of the village head for a feast. After that, people didn’t really have much to do except the small gossips and sheer excitements. Many potential house owners had gone to do some tidying up and the rest had some other things to do.
Dave turned to Jack, “Gotta rush home, I’ve to see the squad and listen on their conversation”.
Jack smirked; Dave had always been a thrill seeker. After receiving permission, Dave ran home and Jack returned to the hill. He slept off after a while and woke up in the late evening.
Jack suddenly realized something; His mum had set a curfew. He immediately took to his heels; if he violated the curfew then he would surely die. He immediately swung open the door of the barn he called home when he met an unforgettable figure. It was the man from the troops, the one with no aura.
He sat casually on the floor, “Hi! You must be jack” he said smiling.
Jack froze immediately, one of the squad members…no the leader with unforeseen power…to think he was in his house. The man furrowed his eyebrows a little before realizing something and returning to his happy smile.
“I’m sorry, I’m Vast… my name that is” he said and jumped to his feet while extending a hand.
Jack shook his hands trembling, “You chose…” The man interrupted. “Yes, that’s right I chose your house” he said, “I happened to live in a house like this when I was little”.
Jack trembled, “You’re meant to live in the chief’s house or even a better house”. The man smiled, “Yeah I know, I’m getting tired of being stuffed with junk every day. I want to reconnect with my roots”.
Jack couldn’t help it so he blurted out the whole truth of the sleeping problems. The man paid attention earnestly until jack finished, “Look, your mum’s back”.
Jack slowly turned back and met the eyes of his mum. He had expected an angry look but the only thing he met in her eyes was a pitiful look. She knew Jack was speaking the truth and she immediately put down the ingredients she got at the market for a special dinner for the man.
The man only smiled more, “We’ll figure that out later but for now, dinner! You do have space for that right” He said as he sat on the floor since there were no chairs.
Both jack and his mum were shocked but they brushed of his weirdness. His mum responded, “Right, Let’s get that dinner ready right and she exited the house with Jack so as to prepare dinner outside.

“You think he’s weird too” Jack’s mum said, Jack had mentioned the man’s weird behavior. “Your dad and Suine also went out to fetch some things after they met. That’s not the point though, they also thought he’s weird” she said as she lit on a small cooking fire and placed a black pot on top.
Dinner was soon ready, and by that time, Both Jack’s dad and his elder brother; Suine had returned. They all assembled on the bare floor and ate in shame while throwing out a few questions or two. Vast wasn’t bothered; he seemed to enjoy the food the most out of all of them. He would narrate some cavalry battles he had fought in and how he rose to be the top among his peers while still chewing on the soft-boiled potatoes. The whole family seemed to enjoy his tales as it was not every day a hero-ranked man visited their home.
However, the major problem soon arose after dinner. Vast seemed to notice and was about heading out when Jack’s dad called him back.
“Are you leaving so soon?” he asked,
Vast could only smile back, “Don’t worry, I enjoy sleeping on the grass”.
At that moment, it seemed as if the whole shame in the world had been piled up on their heads. While Vast left, Jack’s dad had to promise himself that he would surely improve the condition of their house.
However, the family soon retired to bed. Well the family except Jack, it was too early for him to sleep and by the way he had some things to do. Jack snuck out of the house into the farmland and found that particular big old tree he met every night. The punching holes he had left after continuously punching on the same spot every night for three years were still visible.
The Psyke's stone ceremony was held once a year to select worthy magic warriors. No one ever knew the qualification necessities but everyone assumed that they had to acquire some level of skill before the stone chose them. Dave was going through immense Key training and had learned to emit a weak key aura. He could even form small pebbles in his hands.  Jack on the other hand had no key instructor like Dave and could only rely on his punch training to harden his fingers.
Jack walked up to the tree and began throwing punches at the same spot when he heard Vast’s voice.
“What are you doing?” Vast asked while lying on the grass.
“Training” Jack answered, he wasn’t surprised at all as he’d expected the man was in the grass.
Vast looked confused, “For what?” he asked while walking to the tree.
“The Choosing stone…Psyke’s stone ceremony, I want to deliver strong punches” Jack answered a bit happy he was explaining stuff to a hero.
“I’m sorry but whatever you’re doing is wrong” Vast said while touching the hole Jack had left on the tree.
“The choosing stone doesn’t note if you’re worthy based on your skill level. If that was it, then many people would’ve been chosen by now, but that’s by the way” Vast explained, “Don’t tell me you want bulging muscles”.
“If you really want bulging muscles like those troop commanders, then I’d be useless to you” Vast said, “Those guys tend to get to a point where they can no longer improve their overall skill and become stuck at the post of commander for the rest of their lives even though they tend to climb ranks really quick”.
Jack was a bit confused but he seemed to be able to relate with the man. Increasing one’s muscles meant their overall weight would increase and that might make them to be unable to be mobile at some point. It also seemed that the muscles slightly hurt at times. But to someone like Jack, getting to the rank of a commander was good but not perfect, he still wanted more.
“It’s better than having nothing, I don’t even have an instructor” Jack said
The man thought for a while before responding, “Then meet your new instructor, Call me…Oh, you already know my name”.
Jack was stunned; he had just found himself a hero ranked instructor. Even Dave’s key instructor was only at the D rank, this was a large jackpot. He could nod his head slowly.
“Well then, Classes start by this time till afternoon” the man said hopping in joy, “First of all, I will not be teaching you any muscle related course as that is just meager in the face of true power”.
Jack could only nod again.
The man laughed, “Well then, Let’s make you run until your legs fall off”
Author’s Notes
The ranks according to power of the magic warriors are as follows:
E rank
D rank
C rank
B rank
A rank
S rank
SS rank
Hero rank
Triple X rank
God rank
Legend rank