Ryo, bleeding and barely conscious, saw the monster approaching.
"So this is the last thing I'll ever see… I couldn't even do anything against this monster…" he thought.
But then someone appeared in front of him!
Yes—that familiar outfit… it was the same man. Ryo blacked out.
The man muttered to himself:
"What a handful… I can't keep saving you and healing you every time."
As he spoke to the unconscious Ryo, the monster delivered a powerful punch, sending a cloud of dust flying.
Thinking the man had been killed, the monster moved toward Ryo—but the man grabbed the monster's throat with one hand.
Not a scratch on him.
"Tough luck. You picked the wrong human."
"Goodbye."
With a little pressure, he snapped the monster's neck.
The man turned back to Ryo and healed him again.
Ryo was still unconscious.
The man exhaled, annoyed and frustrated:
"Sigh… what am I supposed to do with you now, kid?"
---
(A few hours later…)
Night had fallen. Ryo opened his eyes. A fire burned in front of him.
He slowly came to and remembered the monster almost killing him… yet, somehow, he had no injuries.
Suddenly, it all came back to him.
He shouted: "Master!!!"
The man, sitting nearby, replied:
"I'm not your master, kid."
Ryo bowed and said:
"Thank you for saving me again! I owe you my life… please, let me be your disciple!"
The man sighed:
"No, kid. I don't have the patience to teach. Forget it."
Exhausted, he laid down and fell asleep.
Ryo thought to himself:
"I won't give up. I have to avenge my family and destroy all the monsters. The only way to do that is with his help…"
He stared at the stars.
"They say when someone dies, their soul becomes a star, watching over the people they leave behind…"
"Master, do you think that's true?"
The man was asleep, so there was no answer.
Ryo smiled, yawned, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, he woke up to find the man gone.
"Oh no! How did I oversleep? Damn it! How do I even find him now?!"
Ryo ran around looking, and eventually saw the man sitting on a hill about a hundred meters away.
Ryo's heart leapt with joy. He ran toward him, shouting:
"Masteeeeer!!!"
The man, eating breakfast, choked a little on his bread and nearly fell.
Ryo panicked: "Oh no! Master! Are you okay?! What do I do?! I killed my master with my own hands!"
The man weakly croaked:
"K… w…ater…"
Ryo, flustered, ran around.
"What? What happened???"
"W…ater!"
"Huh?!"
The man, frustrated, shouted:
"Idiot! I'm telling you to give me water!"
Ryo quickly fetched some water for him.
After drinking, the man felt a bit better and looked at Ryo:
"I wanted you as my disciple… but after this stunt, my mind's completely changed."
Ryo, embarrassed, said:
"Master! I didn't realize you were eating. I'll do anything you say. Please… give me another chance!"
The man thought to himself: "Let's see how much work I can get out of him… he'll probably try to run away."
He asked: "So… you really regret it?"
Ryo nodded vigorously.
"Then to prove your regret, bring me my things."
Ryo beamed: "Yes! I'll bring them! Do you want me to carry you too??"
The man, lazy as ever, said: "Fine."
He jumped onto Ryo's back.
Ryo groaned under the weight: "Wow… how heavy is this? How is this even possible?"
As they went on, Ryo grew exhausted, panting: "Huff… huff…"
The man, seeing his struggle, grinned:
"Ah! If I had a real disciple, he'd have to carry me for five straight hours without complaining."
Ryo, now serious, thought: "I have to carry him for five hours!"
Completely drenched in sweat, Ryo asked:
"Master! How long has it been? Are we there yet?"
The man laughed:
"What? No! You've only been carrying me for thirty minutes."
Ryo froze: "Only thirty minutes???" His legs gave out and he collapsed.
The man teased:
"Tch… already tired and fell? Not impressed."
Ryo begged:
"Master! I'll do anything! Please… give me another chance!"
The man pondered… then an idea lit up above his head like an anime lightbulb.
Ryo sneaked his hand toward the lamp.
"Don't touch it, you brat," the man snapped.
Ryo said: "But Master! You didn't tell me what to do."
"I'll tell you when we reach the nearest town. And don't call me Master—I haven't accepted you yet."
Ryo replied: "Okay… I mean… Sir!"
"Don't call me that either. I hate formalities."
"Then what should I call you? Old man?"
The man lost it: "I'll show you who the old man is!" and chased him.
Ryo ran, the man caught him, and gave him a proper master-disciple beating:
"Now you should know what to call me."
"O-o-okay, Master!"
The man scowled: "Why the heck did you just say that?!"
Then he shrugged: "Whatever. Call me whatever you want."
Ryo smiled: "Yes, Master!"