Chapter 85: The Boys

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Boys

Brutus’s POV

My father held me for a long time.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t move. He just held me. His arms were strong. His chest was warm. His heartbeat was steady.

I cried into his shirt. I cried until my eyes were dry. I cried until my throat was raw. I cried until I had nothing left.

When I finally stopped, he pulled back. He looked at me. His eyes were kind. His face was calm.

"Brutus," he said.

His voice was deep. Manly. Loving. It rumbled in his chest like distant thunder.

I looked at him. My eyes were red. My face was swollen. I was a mess.

"I’m proud of you," he said.

I stared at him. My mouth fell open.

"What?" I whispered.

"I’m proud of you," he repeated.

I shook my head. "You’re lying."

"I’m not lying."

"You’re just saying that to make me feel better."

He smiled. A gentle smile. A patient smile.

"No," he said. "I’m saying it because it’s true."

I looked away. I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t bear to see the pity in his eyes.

"I’m a null," I said. "I have no talent. I’m nothing."

"You’re not nothing."

"I am. Everyone said so. They laughed at me. They pointed at me. They called me useless."

"They’re wrong."

"They’re not wrong. I am useless. I can’t be a hunter. I can’t be strong. I can’t be anything."

My father stood up.

He walked toward a tree. A large oak. Its trunk was thick. Its bark was rough. It was the same tree I had been punching.

He stopped in front of it. He turned. He looked at me.

"Watch," he said.

He raised his fist. Mana surrounded it. Blue energy crackled and hummed. It swirled around his knuckles. It pulsed with power.

"I want to show you something," he said.

I watched. My eyes were fixed on his fist. On the mana. On the power.

"Being talentless doesn’t make you weak," he said. "It just means you have to train harder than everyone else."

He paused.

"People with talents have it easy. They can use their power from the moment they awaken. They don’t have to work for it. They don’t have to struggle. They just... have it."

He looked at me.

"But nulls? Nulls have to work. They have to struggle. They have to fight for every ounce of power they get."

He smiled.

"And that’s why nulls become stronger."

I blinked. "What?"

"It’s true. Talented people rely on their talents. They don’t push themselves. They don’t train as hard. They think their talent will carry them."

He raised his fist higher.

"But nulls? Nulls don’t have that luxury. They have to train. They have to push themselves. They have to work harder than anyone else."

He looked at the tree.

"And those that do? Those that really want to be strong? They become stronger than anyone with a talent."

He punched the tree.

The bark shattered. Splinters flew. The trunk cracked. The tree shook.

I stared. My mouth was open. My eyes were wide.

My father pulled back his fist. His knuckles were bleeding. But he was smiling.

"That," he said, "is the power of a null."

I looked at the tree. At the crack. At the shattered bark. At the power my father had just displayed.

"But... but you have a talent," I said. "You’re a hunter. You’re strong."

My father shook his head. "No, Brutus. I don’t have a talent."

I stared at him. "What?"

"I’m a null. Just like you."

The world stopped.

"What?" I whispered.

"I’m a null," he repeated. "I’ve always been a null. I never had a talent."

"But... but you’re a hunter. You’re the best hunter in the village."

"Because I trained. Because I worked. Because I never gave up."

He walked toward me. He knelt in front of me. He placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Your grandfather was a null too," he said.

I blinked. "Grandfather?"

"Yes. He was a great adventurer. One of the strongest men in the kingdom. And he was a null."

I stared at him. "How?"

"He trained. He worked. He pushed himself beyond his limits. He became strong through sheer willpower."

My father smiled. A fond smile. A nostalgic smile.

"He used to call his muscles his boys," he said.

I frowned. "What?"

"His muscles. He would flex them and say, ’Look at my boys. They’re getting bigger every day.’"

I blinked. "That’s... weird."

My father laughed. "Yes. It was. But it was also inspiring. He was proud of his body. Proud of what he had built."

He stood up. He gestured at the tree.

"Come," he said. "Try it."

I looked at the tree. At the crack my father had made. At the shattered bark.

"I can’t," I said. "I don’t have mana."

"You have mana. Everyone has mana. You just have to learn to use it."

He held out his hand.

"Come," he said again. "Try."

I stood up. I walked toward a different tree. A smaller one. Its trunk was thinner. Its bark was smoother.

I stopped in front of it. I raised my fist.

"Focus," my father said. "Feel the mana inside you. It’s there. It’s always been there. You just have to find it."

I closed my eyes. I focused. I reached deep inside myself.

I felt... something.

A warmth. A tingling sensation. A power.

I grabbed it. I pulled it open.

Mana surged through me. It flowed through my veins. It gathered in my fist.

I opened my eyes. My fist was glowing. Blue energy crackled around my knuckles. It was bright. Dense. Powerful.

My father’s eyes widened.

"Brutus..." he whispered.

I looked at my fist. At the mana. At the power.

It was more than my father’s. More than I had ever seen. More than I had ever imagined.

The mana was dense. Thick. Almost solid. It swirled around my fist like a storm. It crackled like lightning. It burned like fire.

My father stared at me. His mouth was open. His eyes were wide.

"That’s... that’s incredible," he whispered. "I’ve never seen mana that dense. That powerful."

I didn’t answer. I was focused. I was ready.

I punched the tree.

The tree exploded.

It didn’t crack. It didn’t break. It exploded. The trunk shattered into a thousand pieces. The branches flew in every direction. The leaves rained down like confetti.

The sound was deafening. The impact was thunderous. The ground shook.

I stood there. My fist was still extended. My breath was heavy. My body was trembling.

My father stared at me. His face was a mask of shock. Of awe. Of pride.

"Brutus," he said. "That was..."

He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to.

I looked at my fist. At my hand. At the power I had just unleashed.

I smiled.

"I’m not useless," I whispered.

My father walked toward me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. He looked at me. His eyes were wet.

"No," he said. "You’re not. You’re a null. And nulls are the strongest of all."

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[Magic castle = 5 bonus Chapter’s]

[space craft = 15 bonus Chapter’s]

[golden gachapon = 20 bonus Chapter’s]