"Welcome back, boys," the Gate greets us as we approach.

"Hello, Gate," I greet him. "We've returned from our hunt."

"You brought food back as well," he comments, referring to the four deer I'm using wind magic to carry.

"We did," I respond. "May we enter?"

"You may," he responds. "Liam awaits you."

The Gate opens after telling us something he tells us almost every time we return. Cam and I enter the town, greeting the nine-year-old after passing through the slight tunnel of the wall. He's a little on the short side, like Cam, though there's no relation between them. At least, not in recent generations. If we go back far enough, everyone's related.

Liam's sitting on a low stone wall surrounding a farm, swinging his feet back and forth. He wants to be a Hunter as soon as he turns ten, the minimum age for it, and join us in our hunts. Because of that, he usually waits for us to return, then asks us about our adventure of the day.

"Whoa!" Liam looks at the four deer, brown eyes wide in awe. "Those are huge! And that one was a Tier Two! Those are gonna feed us for a couple of days!"

"Yes, they are," I say as we chuckle. "I promised you that we'd make get you a new pair of gloves, didn't I? We'll use some of the hide from one of these guys for it."

"Awesome!" Liam exclaims, falling in-step with us. "So what was the toughest thing you fought today?"

"The toughest thing today?" I ask. "Well, there were several things we fought that were pretty tough. It would be hard to place one as the toughest, though."

"What about the one that made you all muddy?" He asks, picking at the dried mud on my shirt. "How tough was that?"

"That was definitely up there," I tell him. "If Cam hadn't attacked, I might have lost the fight against the mudhounds. There were four of them, all Tier Four, attacking me at once."

I go on to tell him about the fight with the mudhounds, and he asks if we fought Geoffrey.

"No," I tell him. "But he did rank up to Tier Five since last week. If he had chosen to fight us, then that would have been the toughest fight today for sure. I'd say the hydra-head snake tied with the mudhounds for difficulty."

"Hydra-head snake?" Liam asks. "Was it Tier Four or Tier Five?"

"The latter," I answer. "When Cam and I were hunting deer, it shot up out of the grass. Nearly bit my hand off! The monster blended into the grass quite well with its yellow and green scales, and it hissed none until after we reacted. It stretched twenty feet in length and had eight heads!"

I continue with the tale, leaving out no part of the battle against the snake for Liam. We gave up being sensitive with what we said because of his age a year ago. Liam laps up the stories like a dog lapping up water on a hot day. I began training him a little less than a year ago, too, because no matter what anyone says, he's going to do the same thing Cam and I did – register as a Hunter on his tenth birthday.

To finish off the tale, I unweave the light magic I had cloaking the snake, startling Liam, who stares at it with wide eyes as Cam and I do our best not to laugh. While the monster's venom is inert now that it's dead, its meat, bones, and skin can be used for various things. The meat for eating, bones for tools, and skin for clothes of some sort.

The three of us reach the butcher's, where Cam opens the door for me, and I shift my wind magic to make everything float inside before I step in, Liam bringing up the rear.

"Hey, Nick," I greet the butcher, who's eyeing the snake like he can already think of what he'll get out of it. "Can you send the hides to Greta for me?"

"Sure thing," he responds. "Looks like you had some good hunting today. Haven't seen a hydra-headed snake in a few years."

"We weren't expecting to find one," I admit. "As we told Liam, it sort of came out of nowhere. We were passing by one of the holes it used when it was coming out of it, and it attacked. We aren't sure how we hadn't caught it before it hit Tier Five, then spent a couple of hours checking to make sure there weren't more. Otherwise, we would've been back sooner."

"You look pretty roughed-up," Nick comments. "Should we be concerned?"

"No," I answer. "Most of that came from the first fight, which had some pretty bad footing. Anyway, we should get going, before the storm sets in. Those clouds are looking pretty thick."

"They are," Nick nods. "You have a good evening."

"You as well," I tell him, then we leave.

The three of us walk a little further into town, greeting a few people as we go, then Cam and I bid each other a good day at the fork in the road where he heads down to get home. Liam follows me to my home, and I take him around to the back.

Even though a storm is coming, Liam wants to do some combat practice. Until he obtains his Hunter's Brand, he can't use sacred power, but he can still at least learn some other skills until then. I pull the wooden training spear off the rack and toss it to him, then place both hands on the ground. The Elder Hunter taught me how to perform this spell once I hit Level 15 almost a year ago, just so I could use it to teach Liam some combat.

An eight-headed snake rises from the ground, made up of dirt and stone, with a touch of water magic to make it flexible.

"Alright, Liam," I pull my hands off the ground and take several steps back, now in complete control of the golem. "We're going to play with snakes today. Remember to keep your guard up and watch all eight heads."

Liam nods, expression serious as he takes a fighting stance without a single trace of his excitement on his face. Cam and I have drilled in to him to take these training sessions as seriously as he might take a real fight, so that he is as prepared for combat as he can be once he becomes a Hunter next week. At first, we'll only take him to fight weaker things – Tier One monsters of little power, such as hares and squirrels. But even then, one never knows when something unexpected might happen.

The Guild of Hunters denies no one age ten or older into their ranks unless they have some sort of dark past, and the Gate will allow anyone with the Hunter's Brand out. Without tying Liam down, there would be no way to prevent him from leaving.

That is why I teach him how to fight, and why I will teach him magic after he receives his brand and becomes able to use sacred power. That is also why we'll monitor his first hunts pretty strictly, to ensure he's safe until he's competent and experienced enough to handle himself and know what to do or not to do.

I direct the snake golem to attack, and Liam begins his defense and offense. As he strikes, I watch for his mistakes and correct him, making sure to set up the same situations so I can be sure he learns the lesson.

Normally, we do this for about an hour, but after only twenty minutes, the sky opens up, rain pouring down heavily. Liam insists on practicing for a few more minutes, so I give him another ten, then dismiss the magical construct, and it drops back to the ground. Liam tosses me the spear and runs inside. I set the spear back on the rack, then follow him in, removing my boots and setting them beside his hastily-discarded ones, which I set upright and together.

"Go run yourself a hot bath," I tell Liam as I check the oil in the lamps and light them. "I'll fix dinner in the meantime."

"Alright!" He runs to the bathing room, and I walk over to the steel chest resting by my counter.

When I open it, I find two descaled fish resting on the ice I made this morning. It was empty this morning, but Liam and the others make sure Cam and I have food as payment for helping keep the area safe and supplying them with a few resources they can't obtain in the town. As the fish are descaled, I'm going to assume Liam caught them.

I set the fish on the counter and pull out some of the vegetables, herbs, and fruit from a couple of baskets on my counter, then get to work preparing dinner, making sure to put some rice on as well. I have to mess with the wood in the stove, though, as it's burning a little hotter tonight than usual.

Liam returns from his bath as dinner finishes, dressed in shorts and a tank, a towel draped across his shoulders, his hair still a little wet.

"My bath is done!" He tells me. "But you definitely need one. Mine was just to warm me back up after that rain and wash off the sweat, but look at you! You've got mud all over ya, and some blood, too!"

"I'll take a bath after we eat," I tell him. "You did make sure to drain it, right?"

"I did!" He tells me. "I haven't forgotten in awhile, Rex!"

"Just making sure," I tell him. "I was nine once, too."

"Hey!" He protests. "I'm almost ten!"

"Not for another week," I bop him on the head. "Now sit down and eat."

Liam and I sit at the table and eat, Liam telling me about his day. He gathered some of the herbs I used from Cam's family's garden, then got some vegetables from the woods at the back end of town. The fruit came from the orchard, and he made sure to ask permission before grabbing them this time. As for the fish, he did catch them, though says he would have gotten a bigger one if his line hadn't snapped.

"That happens sometimes," I tell him.

"Yeah, I know," he says, though I can tell it still upset him. "You should have seen how big it was, Rex! It was four feet long! I didn't know fish could get that long! It-I, er, um."

He shrinks under my gaze.

"You were at the lake again, weren't you?" I ask, and he shrinks a little more. "Liam, you know you aren't supposed to be there. What if you fell in? No one would be around to rescue you. When you're hunting, you'll have Cam and me there to protect you from monsters, but not at the lake, not when you sneak there to fish."

"But that's where all the good fish are!" He protests. "And no one ever has time to come with me!"

"It's also where the monster fish gather," I remind him. "The ones that slip through the grates. If you fall in, or get too close, they might attack you. If no one's around to protect you, you won't make it to ten."

"Yeah," Liam looks down, sighing. "I'm sorry, Rex."

"I need to check its monster population again," I tell him. "So we can go fishing there tomorrow, okay? But you can't be going there alone. You can fish in the river coming from it out of town, but not in the lake or the river coming into town."

Liam nods that he acknowledges my admonishment, then we continue eating. After dinner, he helps me wash the dishes, scouring them with sand in the wash bin.

"Now," I say as we wash the dishes. "You're turning ten next week, so it's important that I know you understand what becoming a Hunter means. Why are Hunters important?'

"Because," he responds. "Hunters are the people who cull the monster population. Monsters grow stronger and more intelligent by feeding on the fresh hearts of other monsters. If there are too many strong ones in an area, they'll start attacking towns. Hunters are also the people who protect travelers from monsters."

"Alright," I say. "And why are the walls and the Gate important?"

"Because," he answers. "The walls are tall, thick, and made of a durable stone that can withstand a lot of attacks. Only Star-Level monsters can damage them. Same with the Gate, which is made of an even stronger, tougher stone. The Gates also prevent the need of having Hunters at the entrances to towns and cities, as they screen who leaves and prevents monsters from entering."

"And?" I prompt.

"Monsters don't form inside of the walls," he continues. "They can evolve, but they don't form. At least, as long as the walls are intact. Mostly, the only monsters in a town are fish that came in through the river, but they tend to stay in the water. Mostly."

"Mostly," I nod. "Some are also birds that flew in over the walls."

"Yeah," he nods.

"Alright," I pull the towel off his neck and hang it on the back of a chair, then hand him a clean towel so we can begin drying the dishes. "What makes Hunters able to fight monsters?"

"Two things," he answers, pointing at his chest. "First is the Hunter's Brand. It's a scared mark that allows us to generate sacred power, which is used to cast spells. It also allows us to grow stronger than a person normally could. Upon killing enough monsters and growing strong enough, you gain a Level, which boosts your strength and sacred power even more based on your style of fighting. It's an absolute must for fighting monsters past Tier One."

"And what is sacred power?"

"No one really knows," he answers. "Not even the Elder Hunters, who bestow the Hunter's Brands upon us and updates them as our Levels grow. They can check to see what we've earned using a special type of sacred power, but other than that, it's restricted to the six elements."

He screws up his face in thought.

"I think," he says. "That you said it's some sort of celestial energy granted to humans to allow us to fight monsters?"

"That's what's believed," I nod. "Which is why we call it 'sacred power'. It's sacred to us in that without it, we would never manage to defeat the monsters. No one knows who the first Hunter was, nor how the current system came to be. All we know is that we have wielded sacred power since ancient times to protect ourselves and our homes. Now, who builds the walls?"

"Builders," he answers. "When a wall is damaged, they're called out to repair it as well. They'll also replace the Gates. While they simply carve the Gates, they don't know why the Gates have the power they do. It's believed that whatever force grants us sacred power and puts power into our brands still watches over us, granting the Gates their sentience and knowledge. If a town or city is attacked and the walls or Gate are damaged, the Builders are called out to repair the damage, but since that takes time, stronger Hunters show up to protect it from future attacks. At least, as long as there are still people actually living there. Sometimes, the monster that attacked the town kills everyone."

"Correct," I say. "Those are normally monsters at Two-Star and above which do that. A One-Star monster might be driven off by local Hunters, depending on the number and strength of those Hunters."

"As well as how many of them can wield soul weapons, right?" He asks.

"Correct," I nod. "Now, what is a soul weapon?"

Liam thinks it over, and I begin putting the dishes away.

"Soul weapons," he says. "Are weapons forged of sacred power and our soul. Everyone can have exactly one, and the weapons are often a reflection of a Hunter's soul, but also represents a fighting style. Normally, a Hunter won't manage to manifest theirs until they're Level 40, which is more than double your Level, unless you gained three today. Then it's double."

"I didn't gain one," I tell him. "But I'll still visit the Elder Hunter to find out my reward for the kills today."

"Yours would probably be a spear," he tells me. "Once you manifest it. Since when you use weapons, they're usually spears."

"Yeah," I nod. "Regarding soul weapons, under what circumstances can one be manifested earlier?"

"Under extreme pressure and stress," he answers. "A Hunter might manage to manifest their soul weapons at a lower Level. However, the circumstances for that are extreme and can often result in death. Because of that, it's illegal to force someone into a situation that can result in an early manifestation. If it weren't, people would do it, because soul weapons that manifest early also tend to be really powerful compared to others."

"Correct," I pat him on the head, then grab the towels. "Final question, Liam. What is the Level-to-Tier ratio for fighting monsters?"

"Um," he has to think on this one, and I drop the towels in the clothes basket in the main room.

Liam always struggles with this question. So far, he's always made a mistake in some way, and I can tell he's doing his best to remember it correctly.

"For normal Tiers," he finally answers. "They base it on a party of five. The Hunters should have five Levels for every Tier above Tier One. So for a Tier Two monster, they should be at least Level 5. For Tier Three monsters, they should be at least Level 10. For Tier Four, at least Level 15. For Tier Seven, they should be at least Level 30.

"However," he scrunches up his face as he thinks. "Um. With the Star-Level monsters, it's different. It's… ten per, starting at Level 40 for Single-Star. Then Level 50 for Double-Star, Level 60 for Triple-Star, and so on. Monsters can have an infinite number of stars, but the highest-strength one known is Worelimar, a Six-Star monster. That's because each tier of monster, just like each Level of Hunter, is much more difficult to obtain than the previous."

"Good job," I tell him.

"I got it right this time?" He asks.

"You did," I confirm.

"Yes!" He pumps a fist into the air in victory.

"Now head upstairs and get to bed," I ruffle his hair. "I'm going to go take a bath. I'll tuck you in when I finish."

"Alright!" He says, then makes his way to the stairs, pausing at the steps to look at me. "Good night, Rex."

"Good night, Liam."

Liam heads upstairs, then I head to the bathing room and strip off my clothes, dumping them in the basket with his dirty clothes. I check the tub and find a few stones in the bottom of it. Liam always leaves them in there after heating the bath. I pull them out and set them on the heating stand, where they'll warm back up for the next bath. At least, as long as we restart the fire underneath. Liam usually starts it sometime during the day to make sure the stones are nice and hot.

I don't usually use them anymore, since I can simply manipulate the heat of the water myself, making it easier to make the water the temperature I like it. Liam, on the other hand, doesn't have that luxury, so he heats the water the normal way, by dropping hot stones into it.

Grabbing the pump handle, I begin pumping water into the tub, drawing it up from deep below. Once the tub is sufficiently full, I stop pumping and gesture with my hand, raising the water's temperature to the point it's steaming, then I step in and lower myself down, sitting on the bottom.

I grab the soap and scrubber and start scrubbing off today's sweat, blood, and mud. We're getting low on soap and shampoo, so I'll have to remind Liam to pick some up.

We aren't related, even if we live together. About three years ago, his parents were traveling when they were attacked by monsters. At the time, six-year-old Liam was terrified. A Tier Three monster had just killed his parents, and it was about to attack him when Cam and I saw it.

I rescued him from the attack, then Cam and I buried his parents before we brought him back here. There was no reason for me to take him in, I could have given him to someone else, but I guess I sympathized with him. I lost my own parents to monsters when I was only five, a year younger than he was. It was the reason I trained to become a Hunter, then became one when I was ten, Cam joining me a month later.

But whatever the reason, I chose to take Liam in and raise him. I hadn't wanted him to be a Hunter, especially with the nightmares he had been suffering for two years, but about a year ago, he became determined to be a Hunter, just like his rescuer and big brother.

Soon after that, his nightmares disappeared. If that wasn't a sign from the forces that be, then I'm the Nine-Star that rules over a whole continent. That's the main reason I began training him. He looked up to me like a big brother, but also like a hero. He had known for two years someone who could fight against the monsters that terrified him in his sleep.

It was only natural he'd want to become a Hunter, too.

As much as I'd rather him just live a normal life, here in town, I'm not going to deny him his own dreams. That would be cruel, especially when I can make sure he's safe.

Finishing my bath, I dry off, then pull on the shorts and tank Liam had left down here for me. I dry my hair some more, then drop the towel in the basket before heading upstairs. Before I head to bed, I enter Liam's room. He's sprawled out on his bed, lying on his back with his head turned to the right, his right hand shoved under his shirt and resting on his stomach, his left hand resting up by his head.

Approaching him, I grab his blanket and gently work it out from under his legs, before I tuck him in.

"Good night, Liam," I kiss him on the forehead, then head to my room.