1 Ten Thousand Strikes (2/2)

The orphanage was a three-story building. In fact, it was one of the larger buildings within the village and had quite a bit of financial support, thus it was able to support a hundred orphans with ease.

As Darius walked in through the front entrance, a myriad of gazes washed by him as many children and workers at the orphanage began to gossip about him. Darius ignored the attention and did what he always did everyday: he walked straight to the cafeteria, took some food and sat at a table that was as far away from the crowds as possible.

One of the new cooks at the cafeteria looked at Darius and noted his strange behavior. A cook beside him saw him: ”You must be a newbie right?”

The cook who had been starring at Darius was surprised and shyly scratched his head. ”Is it that obvious? I thought I was doing quite well to avoid being noticed as one.”

”Well you were, until you stared at Darius like that. Anyone who finds his behavior strange is definitely a newbie.” Said the more experienced cook.

”Darius? Is he the legendary Darius? 'Ten Thousand Strikes' Darius Omen? That's him?”

”Yup. That's him.”

”I'm surprised. The rumours made him sound more...”

The experienced cook chuckled: ”Tell me... what exactly did you hear about Darius?”

With a gulp, the new cook responded, ”I heard that every morning he would climb up one of the mountains behind the village. Then, he would lift up an hammer and strike an anvil. He reportedly does this at least ten thousand times a day. I also heard that this hammer weighs more than the average mallet, yet Darius is able to lift it with ease. I also hear that many fear him because of his monstrous strength and that he has a short temper...”

”Haha the rumours get more and more extreme with each day that passed!” Laughed the experienced cook.

”You mean... they are not true?”

”Well... you could say that half of it is true.” As the experienced cook dished food for the other orphans he continued: ”He does climb the mountain and hit the anvil ten thousand times a day... however the hammer part is false.”

”Really? Senior, can you explain more?”

”It is true that the hammer is ridiculously heavy, but the moment Darius touches it it becomes extremely light.” Said the experienced cook in a cool manner.

”You mean... it's enchanted?”

”Yup. Darius was the son of a village chief within another village. Him having an enchanted hammer isn't a surprise. Because it is enchanted to only work in his hands, that hammer is useless to everyone else. As for his temper, you couldn't be any farther from the truth! Darius is a coward before anything else. He couldn't fight to save his life! Look.” The experienced cook pointed in Darius's direction with his chin.

The young cook looked to Darius's table to see what his companion meant, only to be surprised: Darius was being bullied by the other children! They were throwing food at him and he was not retaliating at all. Darius meekly covered his head with his hands and waited for it to stop.

The other children laughed at him, and once they felt that they had had enough fun they walked away. Darius looked up and, noticing that the bullies were gone, resumed his meal as if nothing had happened.

”My word! I... I had no idea.” said the new cook with a helpless expression.

”Well, if you feel sorry for him I have one piece of advice for you. Don't waste your time. Today will be his last day here anyway.” Said the experienced cook as he took out his old pipe to smoke.

”Senior, why is today his last day?” said the young cook with a curious look in his eye.

The older cook took a puff of smoke: ”Today, he is coming of age.”