Blood Red

"Welcome to the Snow Owl Mercenary Group"

Then, after saying those words he took a handkerchief from one of his pockets and cleaned my face.

"Personally, I don't like that someone at your age is going to come with us, as it's a cruel world. I thought that you could... chicken out and maybe try in a few years from now on... I didn't think you could do it now, even if I know you're one of a kind kid"

His expression softened, and a sad smile appeared on his usually stoic face.

"You... you really take a lot from your father. You don't know, but he was one of the best in hiding, tracking, and information gathering... I trained you in exactly what your father was best at... Follow me, we'll talk at my home"

When we got there, he told me to take a seat. It was probably a rather serious topic.

"First of all, the 'trial' you went through... you know why you did it, right?"

"Yes, I know. It was because if I wanted to become a mercenary I had to learn to kill on order. So, I didn't question who was that or why, and also it was so that I could do my first kill in a more secure position"

Yes, novels and films talked about the first time to kill someone else, but the more reliant resources were the drunken and reminiscing mercenaries.

They said that newcomers, both old and young, would freeze up at their first kill and have a panic attack similar to mine.

This, while showing a great deal of the humanity of a person, would also mean that during the fight, a newcomer would stop at their first kill and gain remorse for killing or even stopping to work, making them a liability to their own companions.

More than a few times, colleagues mourne together the deaths that a newcomer would cause by their inexperience on the field.

I'm not angry with Nikolay, as he acted only in my interest. I'm not a superhero who fights for the greater good, nor a serial killer enjoying the innocents' deaths, I am, and was, a human who lived in peaceful times, not worrying about much else apart from me in my past life.

So, while I don't actually respect this practice, I respect Nikolay for this. He was neither my father nor a relative of mine. He was a lone mercenary who had to take care of the child of a dead friend.

I feel grateful for this, he didn't manipulate a three-year-old child to become a child soldier for his group, no, he actually tried the contrary.

Even if I was mature, telling a kid to kill someone else was not something plausible, as unless I was brainwashed, it was more possible that I could fail this test, and it was the perfect excuse for me to don't become a mercenary. He would have given me a few years before I would find a different path.

"Now, can I ask who was that one?"

Nikolay stared at me before sighing...

"It was someone we captured a month ago and we made sure to obtain information from. The only reason it was alive was because while we finished our business with him about five days ago, I requested to make use of him for your test...By the way, you passed with flying colors, congratulations"

As I expressed my thanks, he took a beer from his fridge and offered me a cup of water, and after we clicked our glasses we started to drink.

"And... the reason I also requested him for you it's because it was someone who was related to your father's death"

I opened my eyes and stared at him with an open mouth...

"How had my father died?"

He shook his head with a sad expression. "Unfortunately kid, this is something you can't know as you are right now"

So, he means that if I stay long enough here I will eventually discover.

I made no further request on this, instead, my mind wondered about my future plans. 

"By the way, I want to see the world in the future. So, I won't stay here forever"

Nikolay was surprised, after all, I never told anyone of my plans.

"Oh, where do you want to go?"

"Everywhere"

And I mean that, Europe, America, Africa, Oceania... the Moon, the Imaginary Tree, the Sea of Quanta... I want to see and explore them.

A game- no, a real world based on a game I played... I want to see with my own eyes what I saw from my PC screen then...

"Then, how long do you want to stay here?"

"Until I became seven"

The reason was simple. 

In the manwha the Gamer, to level up he goes to dungeons that he himself creates.

Something that I can't do here.

I didn't actually think about this, as his skill was described only as a 'request for the world to create a space to fight'. Something that can't be done here as there isn't a 'Gaia' so to speak.

And as I can't yet make a skill similar to it, the answer is to become a mercenary obtaining Exp, killing either Honkai creatures... or even humans.

Yes, it is something I find extremely unethical, and it turns my stomach upside down as It reminds me about that man... but this time the guilt is less, after all, he was someone who is connected to my father's death.

It's both 'something I don't want to do', and 'something I have to do'.

"Well, you can do whatever you want, as long you don't become someone necessary for us. Anyway, from tomorrow I'll teach you how to use pistols and basic firearms. Kid you are, but you'll be treated as a mercenary from now on..."

So, from tomorrow I'll start to train seriously... but that comment made me shudder.

I'll remove my plan to become someone strong who is recognized here so that I can take the harder mission to obtain more exp. Slow and steady is the correct way.

"Then see you tomorrow, Nikolay"

---

Yesterday was... something.

I mean, I was so burned out that the moment I touched my bed I started to doze off and sleep.

I was so tired that I didn't even notice that I leveled up two times yesterday. 

Anyway, as I obtained those ten free status points, I didn't wait and put them in place.

First of all, I decided to put one status point of every level up in the stat LUK, as it was better to have a high for every event.

Then I put three in INT because it was the stat that decided the maximum amount of Honkai Energy I could have, so now that it was 13, my maximum amount became 130.

Then, the last five went towards WIS, as it was the stat related to my energy regeneration. Wis became 15 and my regeneration went from 1 every ten minutes, to 1.5 every ten minutes.

Also, because I was a child, as it was also a title I had, and my physical stats decreased, I didn't know if it was a good idea to raise them.

Raising stat is good, but it's better if I'm sure that it won't stunt my personal growth. No way in hell I would like to remain a midget less than a meter tall.

Anyway, I started my day by pouring my Honkay energy into the creation of that skill and taking a biscuit.

Now that I'm ready, it's time to learn those firearm-related skills. White Owl Mercenary Group, I'll make sure to use you really well.