Dawn had arrived, and with it, the light of a new day.
Hoku already knew almost everyone in the village—from the carpenter to the schoolteachers. He was someone well-loved. At that moment, he was gathering water at a beautiful pond, surrounded by a glade soaked in morning dew.
As he walked, he whistled an old melody from his previous world. He reached the edge of the water and looked at his reflection.
His age crossed his mind again.
A 13-year-old boy. Whitish, grayish hair, eyes dark like his father's, but with a hypnotic green tint. His body, well-defined, with almost no trace of childhood fat, gave him a more mature look—like a fifteen-year-old.
He smiled at his appearance and started showing off his muscles, to no one in particular… until he heard laughter.
Embarrassed, he turned quickly, looking for the culprit. Or rather, *the* culprit.
There she was—Liu, the prettiest girl in the village.
"How are you, Hoku?" she asked between fits of laughter. "Who are you flexing those muscles for?"
She laughed so hard she ended up on the ground.
"Liu! Haha, you're hilarious… What are you doing here?" Hoku quickly put his shirt back on, avoiding her gaze.
"I *usualllly* come to this clearing to clear my head," she said in a melodic voice. "But I guess that's not happening today… not with a human bear around. Hahahahaha…"
Liu was doubled over with laughter. Then she slowly calmed down, left with a smile lingering on her lips.
This was Liu. The blacksmith's daughter. Cheerful, free-spirited, shameless. She's saved me from so many school assignments, although sometimes…
She *has no shame*. One time, while I was bathing in the river, she ran straight at me and jumped in naked! I was so embarrassed that day…
"And you?" Liu asked, still smiling. "Why did you come, Hoku? I doubt it was just to admire your own muscles. Or… maybe it was."
She shrugged, flashing a cat-like grin.
"No, no," Hoku replied. "I came to get water. But since you're here… come on, help me out."
He smiled back at her. Bigger. More genuine.
"No thanks, Hoku… I feel really weak today," Liu said, trying to walk away slowly, almost theatrically.
"Where do you think you're going, Liu? Come here," Hoku replied with a half-smile.
Before she could escape, he gently grabbed her shoulder and hung two buckets of water on her—one on each side.
"There we go! Time to get to work."
Hoku picked up his own buckets and burst into laughter.
Liu, her arms trembling, pouted.
"You're a monster!" she whimpered dramatically, making them both crack up laughing.
That was how they were—constantly teasing, playing, and waging little battles.
Liu wasn't just a pretty face. She was quick, clever, and utterly unfiltered. The kind of person who walks into your life uninvited and stays as if she had always been there.
And Hoku… Hoku wasn't unpopular. Not at all. He had a natural gift for connecting with people, no matter where they came from or how old they were. He adapted easily—like water taking the shape of any container.
He had charisma.
And that made many admire him without even trying… and others simply want to be near him.
***
Their days went on like that, full of laughter, training, and routines without much surprise.
Or well… that's what *he* would say.
Until his father took him on his first **hunting expedition**.
"Dad… where are we going?" Hoku asked as he walked beside his father.
"Son… we're going to hunt goblins. Filthy little creatures," Gaus answered without looking back, while seven men from the village raised their swords in a mix of respect and unease. It was the rite of passage at fifteen: the first kill.
When they reached the entrance of the cave, a repulsive stench surrounded them. It was a blend of rot, sweat, and something else… something that stirred distant memories in Hoku. Bad memories. But he pushed them away, burying them deep with a long breath.
They entered.
From within, low growls echoed. A goblin came charging toward them.
It stood just over a meter tall, its skin a reddish hue, bald except for a few clumps of dirty, matted hair. It wore nothing but rags and a loincloth, and gripped a rusted knife in its long, bony fingers. It looked young—or at least, Hoku thought so.
"He's yours," said Gaus.
Hoku stepped forward. He raised his sword with strength, swallowed hard… and just as he brought it down, his body froze.
Literally.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't breathe.
His muscles tensed, and his legs trembled. Only his eyes moved, watching as the goblin approached—afraid, yes, but determined.
Time slowed, and he stood there, helpless.
His father looked at him. He didn't shout. He didn't intervene. He simply nodded.
Then, with the precision of a seasoned warrior, Gaus slid his own sword beneath Hoku's ribs, forcing his son's arm downward with brutal force. Hoku's blade sank into the goblin's skull in a single, clean strike.
*Crack.*
Brain matter splattered. Blood covered his face.
And Hoku… turned to stone.
He couldn't believe it.
He had killed.
Two of the men approached him. They took him by the shoulders and led him to a nearby river. They washed his face, his hands, his arms, while the red water faded into the current. Then they sent him home.
When he arrived, his mother embraced him. She said nothing. Just held him in her arms. Later, his father came home, congratulated him, and they had dinner as if nothing had happened.
And so his story continued.
Every Saturday, he was taken to new caves. Every week, more goblins. More deaths. And though his thirst for blood grew—because killing, in the end, becomes easy—his life kept him balanced. He never stopped being Yui's son. Liu's friend. The boy he once was.
A year later, now fourteen, he cleared his first dungeon.
Ten goblins. All by himself.
But the leader… that one he had to face alone. His father and the other men would be watching.
"All right, Hoku," said Gaus. "Remember your training. The hobgoblin's hits are strong, but slow. Dodge. Keep your distance. If you see a horizontal swing, step back. The rest… is killing him."
He gave him a thumbs-up and smiled.
"Understood, Dad."
Hoku took a deep breath and stepped into the entrance of a wider chamber. Dark. The torches flickered weakly.
Gaus threw in a glowing stone, and the place lit up with a greenish hue.
There it was.
A hulking silhouette, nearly two meters tall, with glowing yellow eyes.
A hobgoblin.
Hoku swallowed hard. He recalled his training.
The monster roared and swung its club in a violent horizontal arc.
Hoku stepped back, just like he had been taught… but it wasn't enough. The club grazed his back, and a searing pain ripped a strangled cry from his throat.
He reached for the wound—blood. His own.
Panic rose for a second.
*Calm down!*
He forced himself to breathe.
The club came again, this time in a vertical swing. He lunged sideways and managed to dodge—
—or so he thought.
The blow shattered his sandals, and the sheer force of the impact hurled him through the air.
He crashed to the ground, dazed.
And then, the real fight began.
Hoku stood, aching, and faced the hobgoblin's monstrous face. It was more hideous than he remembered. So much so that for a moment, he forgot to breathe.
That was his mistake.
He didn't see the fist coming.
By the time he realized, it was too late. He barely had time to raise his sword.
The impact was devastating. A colossal force crushed his body, slamming him like a ragdoll against the stone wall.
*Crack.*
He felt his bones splinter. His arm hung at a twisted angle. His hand was completely shattered. Blood poured from his mouth and nose.
The hobgoblin stepped forward, roaring with fury.
But before it could deliver the final blow, a sword pierced through its neck and severed its head in one clean stroke.
It was Gaus.
His father sighed when he saw him in that condition. But he didn't scold him. Hoku hadn't won… but he hadn't lost either. He had managed to land a cut—small as it was—on the hobgoblin. And that was enough to "complete" the dungeon, at least symbolically.
Gaus carried his son in his arms and took him home.
Yui nearly fainted when she saw him. She cried in silence as she tended to him. Three months of rest followed. Nothing but reading, cooking, and recovery. His mother asked him to wait longer… but Hoku refused.
He returned to training.
His body grew strong again. His muscles toned, but even he noticed something:
**What's the use of all this muscle if I have no technique or agility?**
So he made a decision.
From that day on, during his cave expeditions, he would use only his fists or a wooden sword. At first, it was hell: broken bones, cuts, fractures. But over time… that pain turned into strength.
A year passed.
And he faced his sworn enemy again: the hobgoblin.
He took a deep breath.
His father watched from the entrance, silent.
The monster saw him and roared, raising its club. The attack came—a wide horizontal swing.
But Hoku dodged it with a clean jump.
While the hobgoblin tried to regain its balance, Hoku was already in front of it. Without hesitation, he drove a rapier straight into its eye. The thin blade pierced the skull and stabbed the brain.
The hobgoblin dropped dead instantly.
A short fight.
Efficient.
But not everyone was pleased.
His father approached… and punched him in the face.
"Hoku! You can't do that," Gaus growled, frowning. "Attacking the eyes or the groin is dishonorable. It's that way all over the world!"
"What? Dad! Why did you hit me? Survival is what matters!" Hoku snapped, wiping his mouth.
"Maybe…" Gaus sighed, but his gaze remained firm. "Maybe you're right. But the last thing you can lose, son… is honor. If you ever fight humans—bandits or whoever—you can't fight like an animal. Honor, your values, your word… that's what makes you human. And I, as your father, in this life or the next, will never allow you to dishonor your soul."
Hoku lowered his head.
Then, Gaus took him to fight another hobgoblin. This time, following the rules.
The battle was long.
Hoku kept running, dodging, watching. He didn't strike until he noticed the monster beginning to tire.
And on the third try, when the opening finally came, he drove his blade through the heart.
The monster's skin was tough. It took effort. But he did it.
He collected the valuable items from the body.
And chose a fang.
He hung it around his neck, as a keepsake.
That's how his first **official dungeon** came to an end.
Hoku returned to the village with the fang swinging from his neck, still gasping from the effort. The wound on his back still burned, a reminder of the long, brutal battle that had finally ended—but his face held nothing but a smile.
And there she was, as always: Liu, sitting near the well, waiting for him as if she knew exactly when he would return.
"Liu! Look at this!" Hoku shouted, holding up the fang with childish pride.
"What is that? A horse tooth?" she teased, standing and walking over to him.
"It's a hobgoblin fang! I killed it myself!" he said, puffing out his chest.
"You? Seriously? Then the hobgoblin must've been asleep… or crying," Liu joked—but then hugged him without warning. "I'm just glad you're okay!"
They both laughed and ran off toward the river. They ran, jumped, shouted like maniacs. They splashed around in the water, soaking themselves as if they were even younger than they actually were.
The sun was slowly setting behind the mountains.
When the exhaustion hit, they lay on the grass side by side, panting.
"Thanks for showing me the fang, dummy," Liu whispered.
And without thinking too much, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hey!" Hoku blushed instantly.
But Liu was already on her feet, laughing as she ran toward her house. From the forge, Liu's father gave Hoku a thumbs-up with a knowing grin.
***
That night, Liu climbed the stairs, still thinking about the day.
She took out the fang Hoku had let her borrow for a while, studied it under the dim lamp light, and smiled.
Meanwhile, Hoku's sleep was far from sweet.
Fire.
Screams.
Blood.
Distant murmurs and growls. Thick darkness.
And among it all… the first goblin Hoku had ever killed.
But now it was Liu holding the sword—
and the goblin wouldn't fall.
It was chasing her.
She was screaming.
***
Hoku woke up in tears.
His mother, alarmed by the noise, rushed into his room and held him tightly.
"Shhh… it's okay, my love. It was just a bad dream…" Yui whispered as she rocked him gently.
Hoku couldn't explain why, but something inside him hurt far more than any physical wound ever had.
***
The next morning, the sun had barely touched the horizon when laughter echoed through the village.
"Liu! Give me back my fang!" Hoku shouted, chasing after her.
"Catch me if you can, hero of hobgoblins!" she yelled between bursts of laughter.
Their footsteps echoed between the stone houses.
They were just children.
For now.