--- [Leon’s perspective]

  As soon as I could walk, I was taught how to fight.

  I was too young to comprehend Divinity training, so it was more the basics.

  You know, choking, blinding, biting, stabbing and the like.

  The stuff that is more appropriate for a one-year-old.

  At the time, it was all training and theory.

  I had never gotten to put any of it into practice.

  That changed when I was around three years old.

  Our family owned two slaves: a male and a female.

  The male apparently used to be the female’s husband before we bought them.

  They exist to serve us, so naturally, we didn’t give them much.

  Just enough for them to survive.

  The female had complained to the male about how hungry it was, and so the male decided to steal some food from us.

  It wasn’t much, in fact, it was so little we didn’t even know it had happened for over a month.

  The way we found out was because our neighbor’s slaves saw it happen, and they decided to snitch.

  As a reward, they were given the same amount of food our slaves stole as a treat by their owners.

  As for our slaves, theft can’t go unpunished.

  The male was to be put to death for its defiance, and since I was already three years old, they let me be the one to do it.

  They let me decide how it would be done, so using what I had learned, I figured the most effective method would be slitting its throat.

  As they were chaining it up so it couldn’t get away, I went into the kitchen and took out a knife from the drawer.

  I’ve always been short, and especially all the way back then.

  Because of that, I couldn’t reach all the way up to where the sharper knives were stored.

  I settled for duller one that usually wasn’t used for killing, but it did its job.

  It took a few more slices to break through its skin than it would have with a normal knife, but in the end, the result was still the same.

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  That was the first time I took a life.

  Shortly after that was when they started teaching me Divinity manipulation; the first step to becoming a royal guard.

  My father was the one who taught me how.

  Between eating, sleeping, and the general education he gave me, he’d teach me BDM.

  It’s what I spent the majority of my time on until I actually became a hunter.

  Breakfast, then training.

  Lunch, then training.

  School, then training.

  It was exhausting, but more than anything, it was rewarding.

  With every ounce of progress, I knew I was one step closer to fulfilling my life’s goal.

  It must have been around the time I was 10 or 11 years old that he finally decided it was time for me to learn SDM.

  He found a specialty finder willing to teach a child like me and got to work.

  For the next few years, I cut back on my regular BDM training significantly.

  It was more important for me to train with her so that I could master my specialty.

  Roughly by the time I was 15, I had nothing more to learn from her, so I went back to BDM training.

  At the same time, my father was getting more and more busy with his job as a royal guard.

  I don’t know the exact details, but he had either gotten a promotion or been restationed or something.

  Due to that, he wasn’t around as much anymore, and therefore couldn’t personally teach me every day like he did before.

  He had another royal guard he used to work with train me from then on.

  When you’re 16 years old, that’s when you’re old enough to take the F-rank hunter exam.

  This teacher however was extremely strict…

  He settled for nothing short of perfection, and so, he didn’t let me take the exam the first year I was eligible.

  He felt like I wasn’t strong enough to guarantee getting invited by The Reapers.

  For the next year, I trained harder than ever before in my life.

  It paid off, and the next year, he agreed that I was ready.

  The exam went swimmingly for the most part.

  I was working my way towards the 100 kills requirement that The Reapers have, but then those two bastards had to get in my way…

  They were supposed to be my teammates, yet they tried to stop me.

  Luck wasn’t on my side that day, and the only two people there who could even somewhat fight me were them.

  When fighting together, they were almost on my level, despite not knowing SDM.

  If it wasn’t for the fact that I had to hold back in order to make sure I didn’t accidentally kill them, I wouldn’t have lost to them.

  I was knocked out, and only woke up moments before the exam ended.

  I still hadn’t taken 100 lives, so I was desperate.

  Luckily, with no time to spare, I did it.

  Naturally, I passed the exam and I joined The Reapers Guild.

  From that day, I have been constantly doing everything in my power to reach the level I am at today.

  I’ve only taken the most difficult and dangerous missions I could.

  All to push myself to the point where I had no choice but to evolve.

  Of course, I kept up my regular training too, but that is no substitution to surviving life threatening situations during missions, and all the experience that comes with it.

  It has been around three years since I became a hunter now, and through sheer willpower, I have finally managed to become strong enough to achieve my dreams.

  During every important exam and moment in my life, I’ve always thought back to something my father once told me…

  ‘If you ever fail, you never deserved to succeed.’

  I have stayed true to his word.

  Never once have I failed an important exam.

  The Emperor would never accept a failure to work for him.

  Now all that remains for my life to be complete is beating Daisy.

  One fight.

  That’s it.

  My ego will not get in the way.

  My arrogance will not get in the way.

  My pride will not get in the way.

  I will win, and I will serve the Emperor for as long as I live.