Sin City

Chapter 2 Ceremony

When the new spring comes, little Richard is beginning to lose his childishness. The hunting knife at his waist was finally no longer a decoration. He also began to follow the hunters in the village into the mountains to hunt. Although he would not go too far into the forest, nor would he be on the front line when facing monsters, the tasks assigned to him were more of hunting, setting traps and Packing up prey, but at least it shows that he is already a hunter. Blacksmith Bobby was very happy because Richard's hunting knife was made by him for several nights using a few pieces of treasured 100-smelted steel. Every time little Richard uses it to kill a monster, Bobby will be happy for a long time.

There is always danger in hunting. There are countless magical beasts hidden in the rolling coastal mountains. Occasionally, stray magical beasts in the mountains will come to Ruseland Village. Little Richard once encountered a gray demon wolf. This is a true second-level monster, and even the village chief must deal with it seriously. When he encountered the demonic wolf, there were only two hunters from the village beside Little Richard. It was a hard battle, and all three of them were seriously injured, but in the end they dragged the demon wolf's body back to the village. What impressed the villagers was that during the entire desperate struggle, little Richard was unusually calm and composed, and his response was correct. Even the best hunter could not have done better. And if Little Richard hadn't cut off the tendons of the demon wolf's hind claws with a knife, there might have been another result.

In any case, little Richard encountered many dangers this year, but he was always calm and calm and dealt with them well. No matter how dangerous the situation was, he never flinched.

At the age of nine, Richard learned courage.

This year seems to be the easiest year, because children in the mountains never lack courage. But the courage his mother taught Richard was different. Richard did it, and from then on, my mother no longer called him Little Richard, but my Richard.

"My Richard is already a real man!" Elaine would always say with a smile every time she saw Richard.

But one day, Richard stood up and answered: "A real man must also be wise!"

Elaine was startled, looked at Richard seriously, and asked, "Tell mom, who told you this."

"It's written in the book!"

"Which book is it?" Elaine asked patiently. Not to mention magicians, even magic apprentices are very knowledgeable. So Richard has learned several languages from Elaine, even a very difficult and obscure ancient language. Reading is no longer a problem for Richard. He even read several introductory books on magic during the boring winter, but Elaine couldn't remember such a sentence in any book.

"It's the book in the attic. There are many interesting things in it. It's the first time I know how big the world is." Richard said excitedly.

"That book?" Elaine thought of something, and then smiled: "That book is very interesting. My Richard, of course a real man cannot lack wisdom, but perseverance, strength and courage are even more important. It’s rare. My Richard is so smart, he will definitely not lack wisdom when he grows up. So mommy needs to cultivate these qualities in you first, do you understand?"

"There is still happiness!" Richard rushed to say.

Elaine smiled and touched Richard's head and said, "Yes, there is still happiness! Has my Richard been happy these past few years?"

Little Richard shook his head and said dullly: "It's not always happy. Piru bullied me, and I also hate breadfruit. Also, mom, what kind of person is dad?"

Elaine's face changed instantly, and then she said softly: "Your father is a real man..."

Richard immediately continued: "I know! He is also the worst bad guy! He is the person that my mother hates the most!"

Elaine smiled. Richard would ask this question several times every year, and she would always answer this question. Now Richard can memorize it long ago. But Richard is a smart child, and he can understand Elaine's deep hatred when she mentions his father. Over time, Richard also hates this father.

Because many times, when Richard woke up in the middle of the night, he would hear his mother crying softly.

The child's logic is originally very simple. His mother loves him the most and is also the person he loves most. What his mother hated was what he hated. Every once in a while, Richard would ask about his father. On the one hand, he was curious, because as long as he grew older, his mother would tell him more about his father. On the other hand, Richard wanted to know more about his father so that he could avenge his mother when he grew up. As for how to take revenge, he is still a child now, so of course he has no idea, but this matter has been engraved in his heart.

But this time, Elaine didn't tell Richard more about his father, but only said that her time with Richard's father was very short, and she only knew so much.

"One day, you will know your father very well." For some reason, Elaine suddenly said this. As soon as these words came out, her expression changed, as if she was holding something in her heart. Elaine herself didn’t know why she said this.

Richard keenly felt that his mother's mood suddenly turned bad, so he quietly stuck out his tongue, said "I'm going to read a book", and ran to the back room. There is Elaine's study, and next to it is the laboratory for preparing medicines. There are not many books in the study, they are all about the basics of magic, introduction to potions, and the history, geography and scenery of the mainland, which is very suitable for Elaine's status as a magic apprentice. Richard likes to read here in the evening. There is a magic lamp in the study. The light is not bright. Fill it with Elaine's magic power once and the magic lamp can stay on for a whole night. Because oil is very expensive, apart from the village chief, the blacksmith and the most powerful hunters, the only one who can light the lamp for a long time at night is Elaine.

In this simple but warm little room, Richard quietly spent his childhood.

In those thick books, he saw another world, a world that was much broader, more complex, loftier and more magnificent than Russelan. Little Richard has been secretly thinking that when he grows up to be the best hunter in the village, he will take his mother with him, leave Ruselan Village, and see the world outside the mountains.

Elaine was sitting alone in the living room, and the sound of flipping through books could be heard in her ears. Little Richard is studying hard again. He has mastered the basic magic knowledge very solidly, but he has not really learned magic yet. Elaine even banned him from practicing meditation. On the mainland, if you want to become a good magician, you usually have to start meditation at the age of four or five. Only then can you accumulate enough mental power at the age of ten to start learning magic and cultivating magic power. But little Richard didn't think there was anything wrong with this, because he didn't understand anything, and also because he thought his mother was right in everything.

Elaine sat quietly. Just because she said one more sentence tonight, the door of memory quietly opened, and many dusty past events emerged one by one, and she couldn't hold them down.

Her head began to hurt a little. Elaine gently rubbed her forehead and sighed imperceptibly. Her eyes fell on the calendar on the table, and suddenly she saw an eye-catching mark. In more than ten days, it will be Richard's tenth birthday. Ten years old is the dividing line from boy to teenager, and thirteen or fourteen years old is barely considered an adult.

Unknowingly, ten years have passed?

Elaine stared blankly at the dancing light in the magic lamp. The brass lamp body was polished brightly, reflecting her face. She is not beautiful, she can only be said to be a beautiful woman, but she is one of the most beautiful women in Ruseland Village. Ten years have passed, but the years have not left any trace on her face. If the style of her clothes had not changed to that of a middle-aged woman, almost no one would remember her age. If someone they had never met met, they would definitely think that Elaine was only in her early twenties.

The face reflected in the brass lampshade was actually very strange to Elaine, and too ordinary, because when she was born, it was not such a face. A long time ago, she never even imagined that she would live such a simple, simple and hard life for ten years. But watching Richard grow up day by day, she felt so fulfilled deep in her heart.

Elaine walked into the study room and looked at Richard who was holding a thick illustrated book of Warcraft and reading it with gusto. She smiled and said, "My Richard will be ten years old soon. Mom has prepared a special event for you." Ceremony to celebrate my Richard growing up."

"Yeah! Will there be a gift?" Richard jumped up, and it was only then that he showed that he was still a boy.

"Yes, it will be a gift that will stay with you for a lifetime. But you have to have a good rest these days, you know? It's very late now, it's time to go to bed."