VERNER: The Devil Hunter

To be a devil hunter...

Willow Valley, Present day.

"I'll get him this time, this is the best chance I've got". Verner said as he tied a rope to a trap he just set in the forest pathway, waiting for master Rodric to walk by.

It's been 8 years since that night, the night he lost his mother, the night his hometown, sunflower village was burnt to the ground. Verner was now 15 and had spent all these years growing and training to be a devil hunter just like master Daegan, the hunter who saved him from the fire that night. Daegan raised and trained Verner personally until he was 12, then handed him over to Rodric, his disciple, in order to help Verner learn from other people as well, but Rodric had other ideas.

"I'll prove to him that I don't need any Qi or powers to be a powerful hunter, and I'll do it by beating his ass today". Verner tied the ropes with a sinister smile as he applied finishing touches to his set of traps. Master Rodric walked this path everyday to get to his tea plantation and a set of traps on a sunny morning was going to be the last thing on his mind.

"There he is" Verner spotted him coming and climbed up a tree. Rodric was a tall man with long dark purple hair. A hunter from the thunder clan, Rodric had Qi based on thunder abilities gifted to him from birth making him one of the fastest and most powerful hunters, and a good master for Verner. Rodric walked slowly and happily, whisting as he went, with a pair of very long swords on his belt and a straw hat on his back. Verner waited patiently on a tall tree, waiting for Rodric to hit the rope on the path and trigger the traps, with every step Rodric took, his heart raced even faster, he was over excited, he was finally going to beat master Rodric...

'Click'

"Huh?"...Rodric looked down and noticed a string he just cut on the road, and suddenly, a swarm of sharp little kunai knives shot towards him from all directions. "An ambush?" he jumped almost 20 feet in the air and dodged all of them before landing back. He picked up one of the knives and laughed. "Ain't got any better ideas boy?" He looked around to find Verner, "I know it's you boy, come out". He said with a smile. He noticed a shadow forming at his feet and looked up, it's was Verner dropping from the sky right above him, with a sword in his hand. He took some steps back and Verner crashed on the bare floor, his sword still in his fists as he yelled in pain.

"HAHAHAHA!!!" Rodric laughed even harder. "Is this how you plan to hunt devils?, booby traps?, boy please..." he kept laughing. Verner stood up, still holding his sword. "It would have worked on any regular devil, you only escaped because you're one of the fastest hunters there is". Rodric stopped laughing immediately

"Oh really, you think there aren't devils out there who are faster than me?, what if you were a hunter and came across one of them, infact forget that, which devil is gonna sit and wait for you to set some stupid traps?" Verner got up and and charged towards him with his sword.

"I'll show you, I can fight, I can be a hunter, why won't you let me?!!!" he cried as he desperately swung his sword around. Rodric chuckled as he dodged every single swing, with one hand on the handle of his sword getting ready to draw.

"This is fun" Rodric kept dodging every slash very casually, until he drew his sword and halted Verner's strike, before kicking him to the ground. "Why do you want to be a devil hunter?" He asked. Verner picked himself up and stood on his feet. "I want to become a Sentinel hunter just like you and master Daegan, and defeat the devil king, and I'll do anything I have to..."

"...even if it costs your life?"

"Yes..." Verner replied, looking Rodric dead in the eyes.

"You might be very fast and strong, even though I and Daegan put you through a lot of training, you're still way faster and stronger than a regular human like you is supposed to be, which is very impressive, but at the end of the day, you're still just a regular human, you have no Qi and you can't use any elemental fighting style, these are things that you're born with or not". He came closer to Verner and put a hand on his shoulder "I know how badly you want this boy, if I was you I'd do the same, but this thing isn't for everyone, you're a great fighter, but swords and traps will only take you so far, without an elemental fighting style, you won't live a week as a hunter, think about it boy, don't let your emotions consume you".

"I know you want what's best for me, but being a devil hunter is about risking your life, every hunter risks their life to save others, no matter how powerful they are, so what I'm doing is no different". Rodric was speechless. "I have made up my mind, I know who I want to be, and I won't let you stop me". The forest became very quiet, no birds , no sound, Rodric just looked at Verner, not knowing what to say;

"You leave me no choice then", he turned around and started walking to his destination, then paused. " I'll be back before dusk, and when I do, we'll be going to the mountains". Verner face lit up with fear once he heard that, he had made up his mind, why was he still feeling scared. "Once the sun sets the devils will awaken, and once they smell fresh human blood they'll all be coming for you, no black grade devil has ever been spotted on the mountains though, but you can never tell, and if you can survive the night, then your status as a devil hunter will be undisputed".

He continued walking, leaving behind a terrified Verner. "It's the least I can do since you want to kill yourself so badly, you can turn down the offer of course, but If you do you'll never say a thing about being a devil hunter anymore, the choice is yours". And that was all, but Verner was trembling, he had only seen a devil once, and that was on that night, now he'd be thrown right into their den, but he knew deep down that this was the only way he could prove himself, for once the sun rises tomorrow, he'd either be dead or a devil hunter.