Chapter 33：Attacked (1/2)
Monsters attack humans; humans kill monsters. Humans hunt monsters; monsters kill humans. It was an eternal fight for survival. When monsters started appearing three hundred years ago, humans were the weakest prey they fed on. Cattles and animals were discarded as an alternative for humans. Animals soon started evolving by absorbing mana and many different types of monsters appeared. Some of them remained the same, just like some humans.
The hatred between them runs deep, and Arthur wasn't going to stop killing them. He was striving to get stronger, and monsters still killed humans when they could. However, there were monsters like Kira, who were only struggling to survive. A headache was about to come over him as he pondered over it.
”Awoo…” Kira signaled the brooding Arthur that the meat was done. Snapping out of his thoughts, Arthur saw the skewers were steaming and the scent of meat was bewitching. He stroked Kira's leg as it was too big for him to pat, and thanked him warmly. The wolf stared at him and licked his face, making Arthur laugh and struggle to wipe the saliva out.
Arthur kept trying to control his mana after his meal. After eating the mana-enriched meat, he felt it was easier to control his mana with the overflowing energy being absorbed in his stomach. It was still only a tiny bit better than before, but it was still some progress.
As the night descended, Arthur lit up some lanterns to sit with Kira under the stars. Unfortunately, there weren't any. Instead were a myriad of colors traveling through the skies, going back and forth as if patrolling the world. Arthur lied down next to Kira as the two stared at the night's sky.
”You know, I miss my family. My mom would always nitpick everything in our lives, but she wasn't always like that. It was the overcautiousness she developed after we lost my dad. Now that it's so quiet here, I miss her. Oren always kept to himself after we stopped playing together. When we were young, we would make our room as a base for a secret society. We would then role-play as spies around the house, and we used to be so immersed in it. I wish we could spend more time together…” Arthur found it easier to talk to Kira than he did with other humans. It was probably because it didn't understand his words, making Arthur vent to his heart content. Kira lied next to him, awake but silent, as Arthur kept talking about this and that. Arthur went to sleep after a while.
The next day, Arthur did the same. As Kira took care of hunting monsters, all Arthur did was to sit down and practice using mana. He might be delaying the growth of his stats a bit, but he thought it would be better to know how to handle his strength than simply having it. The day was uneventful and Arthur took some breaks from practicing as he walked around the pub. He also tried some alcohol but the taste was more awful than he imagined, although there was a feeling of light-heartedness after he consumed it. Unfortunately, he sobered up in no time due to his mana.
In two days, Arthur made some progress in his mana training. Although it was a bit slow, he was able to guide the mana through his body. However, he needed almost an hour to make it reach his hand. This made him feel frustrated and also confused, as he thought it would be a lot easier than this. His frustration grew until he decided to call it a day. He has awakened at 18, a lot later than the usual limit. It was only normal that he was struggling to make things work in a day or two, and Arthur realized he was being conceited again.
After another night of watching the sky with Kira, Arthur decided to sleep early so he could wake up and try again. He headed upstairs and threw himself atop the bed he loved so dearly. Sleeping became his favorite time of the day as he missed the softness of a bed a lot.
***
”Ching~ Ching~ Ching~”
Arthur's brows furrowed as he heard the bell ring. He was confused as he woke up to the barely illuminated room. Thankfully he had the myriad of colors to thank. However, what made him see was the bell he made ringing loudly and the runes on top of it glowing brightly.