A month passed , pennies piled up, and later, if there was enough, they changed into pounds sterling. When he was a mercenary, saving money was a luxury for those who were sure they would survive on assignments, but now he wasn't even a mercenary and didn't need to live for today. He participated in missions with aristocrats who were amazed that ordinary people didn 't save money or He doesn't buy jewelry, what naive guys they are, and they died like flies under a shoe, life spares no one, fortunately or unfortunately.

  I woke up early before most of the guests, the owner and other employees, had a light snack and drank water. I took a sword and started training in the backyard of the hotel. My muscles burned. I will never get tired of this feeling. I breathed heavily and sat on the ground taking a short break. I trained for about an hour and a half.

  - You're training well, kid.

  I didn't even hear him when he came here. I looked back and saw him on the second-floor balcony. It was a guest, an old man.

  It's strange how he's so quiet. I couldn't help but hear something wrong.

  - Thank you, sir, may I ask what attracted you and what to call you?

  "I just woke up and decided to go out, and I'm just an old man," the old man said with a half-smile.

  I continued to train under the gaze of this old man. Wait, maybe he likes to look at teenagers. Fu, I looked at him with a look full of disgust and went for a walk down the street. Some people are always going to spoil the mood.

  While I was wiping the tables and plates, this old man sat down at the table right on the last one, I slightly furrowed my eyebrows and reached for the edge of the table with a rag in my hands.

  He grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard, I could feel his fingers reaching my hand bone so hard he squeezed.

  - I'll tell you right here because I'm looking for some people. You saw a couple of wanderers, one with snow-white skin and his companion, a big guy with a sword at the edge and at the same time.

  - Maybe you saw it, can't you remind me somehow? He opened his eyes letting go of my hand

  - The greyhound boy, I had the same student, did he really run away recently and didn't see him? 17 years old, green eyes, short hair in a simple shirt. After saying that, he took out an old 10p coin from his pocket.

  - About that pair of adventurers, they stayed here a month ago, but I haven't seen your student.

  - About the student, hmm, I need a new one, you come with me, pack your things and I'll talk to the owner of this institution for now.

  "Yes, of course," I had to answer, well, I had to run. I quickly scooped the money into my bag and put the sword on my belt. I went out the back door. I looked around and ran. I felt the muscles of my legs and body tighten as I ran. There was not enough air in my chest, but I ran anyway because this guy would drive me to death. I remember What happened during the investigation into the deaths of those two, I don't even want to be there.

  I felt like I had no strength, but I ran as fast as I could anyway, I started running past the house when suddenly I fell, I stretched out my arms, but because of the sand I couldn't roll over and my hands just scratched on the sand and I fell on my chest with scratched hands in which the sand was stuck, I got down on all fours and saw the reason Why did I fall, that old man was standing there and he just tripped me up.

  HOW?! I DEFINITELY COULDN'T WALK IN CIRCLES! So he turned out to be faster than me. My suspicions were right. This old age knows how to use an aura .

  The boy raised his hands asking for forgiveness from the old man, the old man waved his head and grabbed his hand and lifted him up and put him on his feet .

  - Come with me, I'm sure we have something to talk about.

  I followed him in silence, I watched him, and more and more he seemed strange to me, the way he walked next to the path, grass grew on which dew slowly flowed, I looked back and saw fields ahead and we were walking towards them, I stopped worrying, as they say, it is it is unlikely that I can do anything, but I need to somehow we can decide what to do and how to survive.

  - So what did you want to discuss?

  The old man walked and looked into the distance thoughtfully following the wind that was stirring the grass with his eyes

  - What do you know about what happened to them?

  - Almost nothing except that, judging by them, they are important or were important people, especially that kid, his skin is like snow and besides, a knight and an elderly one ? Not many knights survive to the age of 4 or 5, and those who do usually do not become guards of blue bloods, most likely the owner of the aura, since such people have disappeared, it is usually nothing good.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  - There are too many unnecessary thoughts in your head, but as much as I don't want this, most of your thoughts are true.

  “Of course I fucking know the future here, it's amazing how mine turned out to be true.”

  - I'm just smart from birth.

  We continued walking in silence until we came across a wasteland in the middle of the field to which the old man went. I heard a cart with wooden wheels rushing past on the road, rolling over rocks and the sound of horses' hooves. I slowly shook my head to the rhythm of walking. the wind blew over my ears and stirred the tall meadows in which we seemed to be drowning. We came to this wasteland on a hill where there is no grass.

  - Youngster, do you know why there is no grass growing here?

  "How should I know?" And why?

  - What a pity that you're so stupid, what kind of thoughts do you have in your head, young man?

  - About how you overtook me and how beautiful it is here

  - It's beautiful, but about the first one, didn't you even think about how to get better so that later I couldn't catch up with you, or did you just blame me or your stupidity?

  - I didn't think about anything like that, just another setback, which will be a lot.

  - And that's true, but it will turn out badly for you that you are a young man without goals and desires, you will have to be raised as a human being and not as the pig that you are.

  As the days passed, while we were walking on the ground, sitting in a field or riding in a carriage, this old man did not stop asking me questions to which I did not even want to look for answers, from some mathematics to questions about the meaning of life.

  - Boy, what do you think is the meaning of life

  "I do not know," I said then, exhaling, looking at the night, which was framed by stars like candles on the castles of great lords, maybe there are holy fortresses far away in heaven? I thought then that I might have gotten these delusions because of this old man. I quickly shook my head and patted myself on the cheeks.

  - I know, young man, at least I've already found the answer for myself.

  - And what is your meaning of life?

  - When I was little, pseudo-scientists and ambitious bards said that everyone had their own meaning or reason for life, what a pity that it was only after these ladies turned away and looked like dirt that I realized that their every word was a lie and poison just to amuse their self-esteem, as if they knew something that ordinary people did not know. in fact, this is what they believe in so much that poisoning everyone around life has never had and will never have any meaning, no reason for existence, and what you call the meaning of life is only the path you decide to follow, and life is not the road that is all there is in the world.

  In fact, none of this makes sense. Get up and practice, grab your lousy sword.

  I stopped listening to him halfway through his speech, now at least something interesting will begin. I took the sword and hung it on my belt, and then with one movement I took it out, raised it over my head and prepared for battle, and he just slowly stood up, calmly looking into the distance, he doesn't even have a weapon, I can do at least something.

  I extended my right leg and pushed off with my left, I feel the muscles of my back tighten, then my arms and hands, I've never swung so fast. He tilted his body, relaxing his legs and pelvis, and just swung his arm, placing his leg to the left in the direction he was leaning in and parried my sword to the right using inertia. I leaned forward slightly and tried to hit him He used his elbow, but he just ducked, as if in slow motion, his hand moved like a slug, but I couldn't move. He grabbed me by the shirt, lifted me into the air with one hand, and threw me to the ground. In flight, I tried to hit him with my sword, but he just pulled me out. I dropped it out of my hands and fell to the ground. All the air just came out of me. It was hard to breathe.

  The old man just sat next to me in the lotus position and looked at me, he looked back and started talking

  - What is freedom and what is power, what do you think and why?

  I caught my breath, the picture was still floating before my eyes, and these questions didn't make anything better.

  - Why do you want to make these questions even worse for me?

  He smiled and began to speak

  "Tell me , have you ever seen a knight ?"

  Lying on my back, breathing heavily, I remembered that I was 22 years old at the time, right on my birthday, I remember standing in defense of the principality of Bronzebeards, one of a thousand mercenaries, then the empire was just beginning to be built, and there he stood, a real knight with his head held high, shouting at the gate that we surrender otherwise they will storm

  "I saw it

  - How did he seem to you?

  -Strong but uselessly honest

  - Have you ever wondered why he's like this?

  - No

  - And if I thought I would be a knight myself

  I just looked at him questioningly.

  - Knights are thinkers by nature, and these thoughts, ideas, and limitations give them powers that prevail over ordinary people.

  What? Huh?

  - Is it that simple?I asked, is it really necessary to just think to be a knight?

  -Not so much , the more denial and the more logical chains you build , you distinguish the personal from the general and build the whole picture , but at the same time you are able to quickly make the right decisions based on experience.

  I was breathing heavily, I could hear but I didn't understand anything, all his words were mixed up, the back of my head hurt, I decided not to comprehend it yet and just look at the sky.