Under the Veil of Night

(Special mention for web novel [without space between the two words] reader 

kawaiishieli9)

…

"Moron."

The one word that Master Rudy uttered made Dean's head turn blank. He looked at Master Rudy with a glare.

Swish! Smack!

Before he could think of anything else, the vision before him turned dark. He had fallen on the ground without being able to do anything. As his body was already wounded hard, it was easy for Master Rudy to knock him unconscious with a blow to the back of his head.

Dean didn't know how long time had passed. When he came to, he realized that he was inside a large room. His brows furrowed when he saw the ceiling before him that looked very different than usual.

'Where is he?'

"Oh, you are awake."

Turning his head to the side, Dean could see a young man with a rowdy appearance walking in. The young man looked to be slightly older than him, but they were probably around the same age. However, there was a slight dangerous aura around him when he walked.

"Hello. Who are you?" Dean greeted.

The young man nodded. "Hey. I'm Patrick. You are at Ryukalin Clan. Master Rudy brought you here two days ago."

"Ryukalin Clan?"

This time, Dean was stunned speechless. He obviously knew what kind of place Ryukalin Clan was, which was the reason why he was so shocked. Ordinary people were not allowed to come here at all unless they wanted to die, but now, he was inside.

Also, the name 'Patrick' sounded oddly familiar.

"Why am I here?"

"Like I say, Master Rudy brought you in. Just stay and rest if you're wounded. There's no one coming to look for you anyway," Patrick said leisurely. He put his hand on the back of his head. "There's some food on the table. Do you need anything else?"

Dean pushed his body up. He still could feel some pain, but he ignored it. It was common for him to get wounded when he was fighting in the street because he was part of the group. Yam used to be one of the strongest groups, but now that it had fallen, many of their enemies were aiming for their lives.

"No, Thanks."

"Save it for Master Rudy. If there's nothing else, I'm going to spend time with my nephew."

Nephew?

Dean dragged his body to the table and took the bowl of porridge. It was already cold, but he didn't care. His mind was thinking about what Patrick said. If he was not wrong, the next successor of Ryukalin Clan was still a baby. The mother died upon childbirth, which was why Patrick was the one who took care of him.

'Ah, right, Patrick is the Clan Head's younger brother.'

At that thought, Dean's hand turned cold. He felt as if he was dragged right into a fire pit by coming to this place. How come the one who treated him was actually someone who had very high rank?

"Oh, you're finally up? I thought you're dead!" Master Rudy's cheerful voice entered the room.

Dean lifted his head and looked at the middle aged man before him coldly. If only it was possible, he wanted to kick this man. Who was the one who made him unconscious in the first place?

"Why do you bring me here?"

"I can't possibly let such an interesting youngster die," Master Rudy replied with a laugh. "It'll be too much of a waste if you just die on that street. With your potential, I'm sure that you can achieve big in the future."

Dean didn't reply and put down the empty bowl. He had already finished the meal. "I'm going back, then. Thank you very much for taking care of me. If there's a chance in the future, I'll repay you back for your kindness."

"Hold on."

"Yes?"

"If you're interested in becoming my disciple, come back and find me anytime," Master Rudy said with a lighthearted tone.

Hearing that offer, Dean was stunned speechless. He had only met with this annoyingly strong middle aged man once and now he got an offer to be the latter's disciple. He had the feeling that there was something wrong in Master Rudy's head.

"I'll be going."

As soon as Dean left, Master Rudy leisurely walked to the training field. He could see one of his old friends was training there.

"Joni!"

Joni (Old Man) turned around and arched his eyebrows when he saw Master Rudy. "It's rare to see you linger around in Ryukalin Clan, Master Rudy."

"Heh, I found an interesting youngster."

"You mean, a rare one that managed to withstand your strike."

"Hell right. I'm sure that he'll come back to find me later. For now, fight me!"

Joni smirked, showing a white row of teeth in front of him as he clenched his fist. "Bring it on!"

…

Bang!

Dean banged the door of an abandoned building open. It was the place where he had been staying all this time. He huffed and sighed before he sat down on top of a stack of clothes. There was no one who lived here because it used to be part of Yam Family, yet it had been abandoned for an unknown period of time.

Looking at the messy place, Dean didn't care in the slightest and slumped on top of the clothes. He was tired.

Knock! Knock!

"Brother Dean?"

Dean nearly sat up straight when he heard the girl's voice. The clear soothing tone with apparent childishness in the voice alerted him almost immediately. Turning his head to the door, he could see a young teenage girl wearing a Junior High School Students uniform standing there.

The young girl had a beautiful face and petite figure. Her cheeks were slightly round due to her young age, which made her look cute.

"Piku, what are you doing here?" Dean asked in surprise.

The young girl, Piku, puffed her cheek. "That's what I'm supposed to ask, Brother Dean. You didn't return at all last night when I came to deliver your dinner."

"Ah…."

Scratching his head in embarrassment, Dean motioned for the young girl to come closer. She was a little kid he met a few years ago not far from here. Because of a coincidental meeting, the two of them often played together. However, Piku was not allowed to play with him openly because of her parent's restrictions.

After Dean lost his home, Piku often came to sneak some food for him. It was not much, but it often helped him to satiate his hunger.

"Brother Dean?"

"You shouldn't come here so often Piku. What would your parents say if they see you in this place?"

Piku pursed her lips. "I'll just tell them that I'm visiting my friend. Also, are you wounded, Brother Dean?"

"It's nothing major."

"But…"

"It's fine."

"I'll take a look at it."

Dean could only helplessly let the young girl look at his bandage. Internally, he was still thinking about Master Rudy and that Ryukalin Clan. He would never expect that the famous master on the street would just bring him to the biggest clan in the city.

Oh well, he could just think about it later in the future.

"Brother Dean, don't move around so much."

"Ah, sorry."

Dean looked at his hand. Maybe, he should try to find that man again? After a while, Dean pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He was fine living in the street alone all this time. There was no need for him to search for a master.

Little did he know that he would end up searching for Master Rudy again in the future. This was only the first meeting.

…

(End of Side Story 6)