How to fight

"What a bunch of clowns?"

After saying that, he lost consciousness as tears flowed down his cheeks.

A few hours later,

Andrew regained consciousness and got up from the floor.

"Time to clean the house,"

When he entered the bathroom, he stared in the mirror. Looking at his messy face, he tried to smile but couldn't.

Over the years, he became emotionally numb. Having not smiled for so long made him forget how to do so.

"Well, aren't I still looking good, even after all the beatings I've received?"

Moments later, tears streamed from his eyes as if an old dam had collapsed and water was pouring out of it.

"AAAAHHH!"

"AAAHHAAAHH!"

"AAAAHHAAHH!"

Screaming with pain, anger, frustration, and many other emotions he'd held for so long or had become numb to them.

It took him half an hour to calm down. Having calmed down, he washed his face and bandaged his left cheek and head.

His face and eyes were dull and lifeless once again. Seeing him now, one would never guess he was crying and screaming just a few minutes ago.

"It's time to work,"

The moment he left the washroom, he sprang into action and cleaned the entire house in no time.

Once he had cleaned the house, he took the money from the table and went to the store to buy groceries. He left the building and headed for the convenience store.

Slowly, the sky was turning dark as the sun went down. In front of the convenience store, he saw three high school students arguing with an old man.

"Kids, you shouldn't use your powers to harm civilians." The old man said.

The old man had white hair and a beard, complemented by golden eyes. He was wearing a black suit. After glancing at the old man, Andrew assumed he was a friendly old man, but the closer he looked, the more dangerous he seemed.

"Old man, it's our power, so we can use it however we see fit." The red-haired boy said.

"Fuck off before we change our minds about leaving you in one piece." The blue-haired boy said.

"Sigh," The old man sighed,

"Kids these days don't listen to their elders. I guess I have to teach you guys some manners."

"This old man is asking for a beating," the black-haired boy said, punching the old man.

Within seconds, the old man dodged the punch, grabbed the boy's hand, and threw him to the ground.

*THUD*

"AAAH!"

The old man kicked the ground near the black-haired boy's head, which made a hole. Seeing the hole next to his head, the black-haired boy wet his pants.

"You should learn how to use your strength properly,"

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the blue-haired boy kicked him in the face, but he blocked it and kicked him around the waist instead. The boy was crushed against the wall.

*WHACK*

"What happened?"

The whole thing happened so quickly that Andrew couldn't see anything. He saw the old man speaking with the black-haired boy, and then he saw the blue-haired boy stuck to the wall.

"Don't rely too much on your speed,"

The old man said, looking at the blue-haired boy, who was knocked out from the impact.

"Let's see what you've got,"

The old man began to wake towards the red-haired boy.

"Don't come near me, you old monster."

The red-haired boy retreated a few steps as he threw fireballs at the old man, which the old man easily dodged.

"You should be careful while using the fire; it may get you burned,"

The old man grabbed the boy's face and smashed him.

Andrew watched the old man throughout the fight and felt something change inside him as he watched him fight. He approached the old man,

"Hi, mister"

Upon hearing Andrew's voice, the old man looked at him,

'This kid,' The old man slightly raised his eyebrows.

The first thing he noticed about Andrew was not his bandages or lifeless eyes but the mana surrounding him. The mana surrounding Andrew was so dense that it resembled that of an A-rank hunter.

'This kid is born with high mana compatibility,'

'I need to bring this kid into the guild,'

"Mister?"

Hearing Andrew's words, the old man came out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, what do you want, kid?

"Teach me how to fight,"

A silence fell between them after Andrew said those words.

The old man asked, breaking the silence.

"Why do you want to learn how to fight?"

Seeing Andrew's lifeless eyes and bandages on his face, the old man had already guessed the reason. However, Andrew's words still caught him off guard.

"I want to leave this hell," Andrew said with a blank face.

"Hell, you say, the training you will go through will also be hell," The old man said with a smirk.

"I could learn a lot from hell training, but this hell won't teach me anything, will it?"

'This situation is in my favor,' the old man thought.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Andrew,"

"I'm Orson, Head of the Dukas family."

"I will make you my disciple, but you need to come with me,"

"That's your car, right?" Andrew pointed towards the car, which was parked in front of the store.

"Yeah,"

"Okay, let's go,"

Orson was startled by Andrew's quick reply.

"Don't you need your parents' permission?"

"I don't have any parents," Andrew replied with a calm face,

"Oh, sorry about that,"

"You don't have to,"

Once again, Orson was surprised by Andrew's words.

"What kind of life did this kid lead up until now?"