When the new spring arrived, little Richard was also beginning to get rid of his childishness. The hunting knife at his waist was finally no longer an ornament. He also began to follow the hunters in the village into the mountains to hunt, although he did not go too deep into the forest, and he would not be on the front line in the face of demonic beasts, and the work assigned to him was more to lay hands, set traps and clean up prey, but at least it showed that he was already a hunter. Bobby the blacksmith was very happy again, because Richard's hunting knife had been made from a few pieces of steel that he had spent several nights in the making. Every time little Richard used it to kill a monster, Bobby would be happy for a long time.

Hunting is always dangerous, and there are many magical beasts hidden in the rolling coastal mountains, and occasionally there are lost magical beasts in the deep mountains that run to Russelan Village. Little Richard encountered a gray wolf. This is a real second-level demonic beast, and even the village chief has to deal with it seriously. When he encountered the demon wolf, Richard Jr. only had two hunters from the village by his side. It was a tough battle, and all three of them were wounded, but in the end they dragged the corpse of the demon wolf back to the village. What made the people in the village praise was that in the whole desperate struggle, little Richard was unusually calm and composed, and he couldn't have done better than the best hunter. And if it weren't for Richard Jr. cutting off the tendons of the demon wolf's hind paws with a knife, it might have been a different result.

In any case, little Richard has encountered a lot of dangers this year, and he has always been calm and dealt with well. No matter how dangerous the situation was, he never flinched.

At the age of nine, Richard learned courage. It seems that this year should be the easiest one, because the children of the mountains are never short of courage. But the courage that his mother taught Richard was different. Richard did it, and from then on, my mother no longer called him Little Richard, but my Richard.

"My Richard is already a real man!" said Elaine with a smile every time she saw Richard.

But one day, Richard replied with a straight chest: "A real man must be wise!"

Elaine was taken aback, looked at Richard seriously, and asked, "Sue sù mother, who is suing sù for you." ”

"It's written in the book!"

"Which book?" Elaine asked patiently. Not to mention magicians, even magic apprentices are also very knowledgeable. So Richard had already learned several languages from Elaine, and even a very difficult and obscure ancient language. Reading was no problem for Richard, and he had even read several primers on magic during the boring winter months, but Elaine couldn't remember any of them.

"It's the book in the attic, and there's a lot of interesting stuff in it. For the first time, I knew that the world was so big. Richard said excitedly.

"Is that the book?" Elaine remembered something, and then smiled again, "That book is very interesting." My Richard, a true man certainly cannot lack wisdom, but perseverance, strength and courage are even more rare. My Richard is so smart, he will not lack wisdom when he grows up. So mom has to cultivate these kinds of personality for you first, understand?"

"And happy!" said Richard.

Elaine smiled and patted Richard's head and said, "Yes, there is still happiness!

Little Richard shook his head and said sullenly, "Not always happy. Piru bullied me, and I hated breadfruit. Also, what kind of person is Mom and Dad?"

Elaine's face changed instantly, and then said softly: "Your father is a real man......"

Richard immediately went on to say, "I know! He's the worst of the bad, and he's the one Mom hates the most!"

Elaine smiled, Richard asked these questions several times a year, and she always answered them. Now Richard can memorize it. But Richard was a clever child, and he could feel Elaine's deep hatred when she mentioned his father, and over time, Richard hated him just as much.

Because many times, Richard woke up in the middle of the night and heard his mother crying softly.

The child's logic is originally very simple, the mother loves him the most, and she is also the person he loves the most. What Mom hates, that is, what he hates. Every once in a while, Richard would ask about his father, on the one hand, out of curiosity, because as soon as he was older, his mother would tell him more about his father. On the other hand, Richard wanted to know more about his father, so that he could avenge his mother when he grew up. As for how to take revenge, he is still a child now, of course, he has no clue, but this matter has been remembered in the bottom of his heart.

This time, however, Elaine did not tell Richard more about his father, but only said that she had been with Richard's father for a very short time, and that she only knew so much.

"One day, you'll know your dad well. For some reason, Elaine suddenly said this. As soon as these words came out, her face changed, as if she was holding something in her heart. Elaine herself didn't know why she said this.

Richard keenly sensed that his mother's mood had suddenly deteriorated, so he quietly vomited**, said "I'm going to read a book", and ran to the back room. There was Elaine's study, and next to it was the real room where the potions were dispensed. There are not many books in the study, they are all about the basics of magic, the introduction to potions, and the knowledge of the history, geography and customs of the continent, which is very commensurate with Elaine's status as an apprentice of magic. Richard enjoyed reading here in the evenings. There is a magic lamp in the study, the light is not bright, and once filled with Elaine's magic power, the magic lamp can be lit for a night. Because oil is very expensive, the only people who can light the lamp for a long time at night are Elaine, except for the village chief, the blacksmith, and the most powerful hunters.

It was in this humble but cozy little room that Richard quietly spent his childhood.

In those thick books, he saw another world, one that was much larger, more complex, more lofty, and more magnificent than Rutherland. Little Richard had been quietly thinking that when he grew up to be the best hunter in the village, he would take his mother with him and leave the village of Russelland to see the world beyond the mountains.

Elaine sat alone in the living room, and the sound of flipping through a book could be heard in her ears. Little Richard is studying hard again, he has mastered the basic knowledge of magic, but he has not really learned magic. Elaine even forbade him to practice meditation. On the mainland, if you want to become a good magician, you generally have to start the initial meditation at the age of four or five, so that you can accumulate enough mental power at the age of ten to start the study and cultivation of magic. But little Richard didn't think there was anything wrong with that, because he didn't understand anything, and at the same time because he felt that his mother was right about everything.

Elaine sat quietly, just because she said one more word tonight, the door of memory quietly opened, and many dusty past events surfaced one by one, and she couldn't press it.

Her head began to hurt a little, and Elaine gently rubbed the corners of her forehead and sighed imperceptibly. Her eyes fell on the calendar on the table, and suddenly she saw a striking mark. In a few days, it will be Richard's tenth birthday. Ten years old is the boundary from a boy to a teenager, and thirteen or fourteen years old can barely be regarded as an adult.

Unconsciously, has it been ten years?

Elaine stared in amazement at the jumping light in the magic lamp, the brass body polished brightly, reflecting her face. She is not beautiful, she can only be said to be a Peugeot woman, but in the village of Russelland, she is one of the best beauties. Ten years have passed, but the years have not left any traces on her face, and if it were not for the fact that the style of clothes has moved closer to that of a middle-aged woman, almost no one will remember her age. If someone you never knew each other saw it, you would definitely think that Elaine was only in her early twenties.

The face reflected on the brass lampshade was actually very foreign to Elaine, and it was too ordinary, because when she was born, it was not such a face. A long time ago, she never even imagined that she would live such a simple, simple and hard life, and that it would be ten years at a time. But watching Richard grow up day by day, she felt so fulfilled in her heart.

Elaine walked into the study, looked at Richard, who was holding a thick book of Warcraft and reading with relish, and said with a smile: "My Richard will soon be ten years old, and my mother has prepared a special ceremony for you to celebrate my Richard growing up." ”

"Yay, will there be a gift?" Richard jumped, only then did he show that he was still a boy.

"Yes, it will be a gift that will follow you for a lifetime. But you're going to have a good rest these days, you know? It's getting late, it's time to go to bed. ”