Three months after Victor’s departure.

  At Salazar’s cabin.

  Day 1 of Draco’s training.

  Salazar says,

  “Alright, boy, we’re starting your training today. From now on, you’ll have to stop being a crybaby and become a real man. I’ll warn you—during this training, there will be moments when you’ll want to give up. You’ll feel pain. You’ll cry. But if what you truly want is to become a hunter, you’ll succeed.”

  “But don’t expect me to go easy on you, hahaha.”

  “Now, let’s begin.”

  Salazar draws a circle on the ground.

  “I want you to sit inside this circle and stay completely still. Don’t move a finger and don’t step outside the circle. If you leave the circle, you lose.”

  “I’m leaving now. Only move when I come back. This is your first lesson.”

  Draco frowns.

  “What? I thought this was going to be something difficult, Grandpa. This is gonna be easy.”

  “We’ll see,” Salazar replies.

  Draco sits inside the circle with a calm expression.

  “From the way Grandpa talked, I thought this would be hard… but this is easy.”

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  One hour passes.

  “Yeah, I’m doing great.”

  Two hours pass.

  “Ugh… this is so boring.”

  Three hours pass.

  “Where’s Grandpa?”

  Suddenly, Draco hears a noise coming from the trees swaying around him.

  A group of monkeys appears among the branches. They look at Draco, look at each other, and suddenly begin throwing poop at him.

  “Gross!” Draco shouts. “You stupid monkeys! Stop that or I’ll beat you up!”

  The monkeys laugh and keep throwing poop at him.

  Draco finally snaps, jumps out of the circle, and runs into the cabin.

  Salazar is waiting for him inside.

  “You lost! Hahaha!” Salazar laughs.

  “That’s not fair, Grandpa!” Draco complains. “Those stupid monkeys—”

  Salazar interrupts him.

  “The purpose of this training was to teach you not to react impulsively. In a hunter’s life, depending on the situation, a single moment of losing control or patience can mean your death—and the death of others.”

  “So learn to master yourself. Before I train your body, I will train your mind. I want you to become a complete hunter, not just a fool swinging a sword.”

  “Now go clean yourself. You stink! Hahaha!”

  “We’ll continue the lesson tomorrow.”

  The next day.

  “Don’t run, Draco,” Salazar shouts. “Don’t let those monkeys irritate you!”

  Draco jumps out of the circle, yelling,

  “You stupid monkeys! I’ll get you!”

  Three days later.

  “You stupid monkeys!” Draco shouts as he leaves the circle again.

  “You need to be patient, boy,” Salazar says.

  One month later.

  Salazar is inside the cabin when he mutters,

  “The boy didn’t run this time… Did he finally learn to control himself?”

  “I’d better go check.”

  He opens the cabin door and sees Draco sitting calmly, with one monkey on his head and several others gathered around him.

  Salazar smiles.

  “Looks like you’ve learned to control your emotions, boy.”

  “Looks like it, Grandpa,” Draco replies.

  “Yes, you did,” Salazar says. “Otherwise, the monkeys wouldn’t be comfortable around you. These are heart monkeys—they can sense negative emotions.”

  “When they feel fear, anger, or inner chaos, they start throwing poop at people.”

  “You were full of fear and rage because of what happened to you and your family. You were completely out of control inside.”

  “But it seems you managed to master your emotions.”

  “Now… we can move on to the next lesson.”