Child of Destiny

...

Bang!

"We have arrived, little genius," said Eugene White as arrived on an isolated island while riding a small boat.

Alongside him was a little kid who seemed to be six years old. The kid jumped off the wooded boat right after his father get off it. And with extreme familiarity, he impaled a metal stake on the nearby boulder before tying the boat on it.

After that, the young Dylan looked at his father before asking. "What are we doing here, father?"

Eugene White turned to his son before saying. "To humble your growing ego."

Young Dylan looked at his father with wide-open eyes before asking. "Are you really planning to leave me here alone? A young kid like me?"

"Mother will not forgive you if something happens to me!" he added warningly.

The corner of Eugene's mouth suddenly when he heard those words before refuting. "Kid, where is that resolve that you should me earlier, huh?"

"Didn't you say that you are going to become a swordsman that is going to surpass me and kill all of the evildoers around the world?" he added with a slight frown.

"But I am still young! I need to train first before reaching that level!" answered Dylan back.

"Isn't that the reason why we are here?" said Eugene sneeringly.historical

Dylan frowned his eyebrows before saying. "Training? Abandoning your son on an isolated island is training? There is a lot of monster beasts in this kind of place! I will tell mother when we get back!"

Pak!

Eugene smacked a wooden sword on Dylan's head before saying. "Stop whining already and get ready. You are by no means weak. You bullied all of the other kids in the clan and also beat some of the elite guards yet you are scared of a couple of monster beasts?"

After that, he threw a shortsword to Dylan before saying. "Stop with that act and start preparing yourself already. I know that you are actually excited for this deep inside."

"Tsk!" Dylan clicked his tongue when he heard those words as he caught the sword that his father had thrown. Since he was still a little, the shortsword was a perfect fit for his build.

After that, Eugene threw a small leather bag at his son and said. "All of the basic necessities that you need are already in here. It is enough for a whole month."

Dylan caught the bag and looked at what was inside. What he saw were dried meats and vegetables.

"Eh~!"

The young kid was about to complain when Eugene quickly added. "If you want to eat something tasty, then make it yourself. Hunt the monster beast in the area and take their meat. There are also some herbs on the island, you can take them if you also want."

Dylan's face suddenly turned stiff when he heard that he needed to hunt for his own food. But he didn't complain this time because of the next words that Eugene had said. "If you are serious about leaving the walls of your clan and venturing around the world, then you better survive on your own on this island."

"I will be watching over you. But if I am forced to save you, then you are going to fail this test. And it happens, you can forget leaving the clan and just become the person that they want you to be."

Hearing those words, Dylan unconsciously clenched his fist. He might be young, but he somehow understood what was happing within their clan.

On the surface, they were showing their affection for him due to his amazing talent in swordsmanship. But despite his young age, he was able to sense the hostility hidden behind their eyes due to the same reason.

On top of that, he also starting to feel some restraint within the clan. He couldn't do everything that he wanted. As a little kid, there were a lot of things that he was curious about and wanted to do.

But due to some restrictions that the clan had, he couldn't any of them.

But it was different for his father who was from the outside. He was free and could do anything that his heart desired. That was one of the reasons why he wanted to become like his father.

Dylan gritted his teeth and looked at his father with full determination. "Fine! But if I manage to pass this test then you have to take me with you!"

"Hah! Are you sure about that? What about your mother?" asked Eugene with a sneering tone.

Dylan was suddenly taken aback when he heard those words and unable to give his answer. He might want to become as free as his father, but he also wanted to be with his mother at the same time. "T-that-…"

Seeing the troubled expression on his son's face, Eugene couldn't help but smirk before saying. "I am just joking, kid. Just focus on the task that I give you and I will handle the rest."

Dylan started at his father for a couple of moments before turning around and walking towards the forest in the distance.

But he just took a couple of steps when Eugene suddenly stopped. "Wait!"

Dylan halted his steps and turned to his father with a confused look on his face. Eugene ignored that look and continued. "Let me give you a piece of advice first."

He took a brief pause before saying in a serious tone. "Little genius, in this world, you need to be warier of people than the monsters roaming around the forest. Remember, humans, are the scariest monster that you could encounter."

Dylan became even more confused when he heard those words. Then his father quickly continued. "This isolated island is a territory of a notorious organization, evildoers in simpler terms."

"This is one of their training grounds. And from what I've heard, their young agents are currently doing a test in here. They are around your age but also as strong as you, so they are a perfect training partner for you."

Eugene paused for a moment and added seriously. "I am not telling you to kill them or anything like that. What I want you to do is survive for a month."

"You can incapacitate them if you want but you don't have to kill them. You are still too young to get your hands some blood," he added.

"But they are people being trained to become a cold-hearted killer in the future. The clan teaching says-…" Dylan wanted to refute as some who was raised by a powerful clan.

But his words were immediately interrupted by his father. "There are times where you don't have to listen to the teaching of the clan."

"Moreover, those kids are not entirely at fault. They just happen to have poor fate," he added with a sorrowful tone.

"Then why not you save them?" asked Dylan with a frown.

Hearing that, Eugene started laughing bitterly and answered. "It is not that easy, kid. Some of them have already been brainwashed while the others already resigned to their fates."

After that, he patted Dylan's head and warned. "Just remember the be careful since there are a couple of rotten buds in their group that may attack you with the intention to kill."

"And I must repeat. If I am forced to step in to save you, you can forget getting out of the clan," he added.

Dylan slightly nodded his head before resuming his steps and walked towards the forest with a determined look on his face.

Eugene White stared at the back of his son before shaking his head. "He really took after me."

After that, he turned towards a certain direction before muttering to himself. "Now, should I greet an old friend of mine?"

He already branded Dylan with his mark, so he could easily know if he was in danger. "It has been a while since I last saw that bastard. Let's see how is doing right now."

Swoosh!

Then his figure suddenly disappeared as he headed towards a certain location.

...…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, a group of small boats was disembarking from a huge ship.

Not long after, the boats arrived on the island, and the young kids riding them started to get off one after another. And after a few moments, the kids started falling in line like trained military soldiers.

Then a man wearing a military-like set of clothes walked in front of the group of the kids before saying. "Alright, little puppies. It is the that you all are waiting for, your assessment exam. Time to finally test yourselves and see how much you really improved."

"Your respective tasks are already been discussed with you in the ships so I am not going to repeat them again. But instead, I will inform you that you are free to do everything that you want after you are done completing your main tasks."

Hearing that, everyone seemed to simultaneously turn their heads and cast their gazes on a particular kid who was standing at the forefront of the group.

Despite the hostilities and sharp gazes that were directed at him, that kid was still acting calm and compose. In fact, he was actually ignoring all of them which made the other kids look at him with full hatred.

In the meantime, the overseer smirked at the scene in front of him before continuing. "Alright, that is all. I don't want to waste any more of your time."

He then started grinning from ear to ear before saying. "Let the Hunting Test begins!"

...…