17 Take me~! (1/2)

Waking up early in the morning, Ozul took the blanket with him and went inside his room.

Just as he opened the room, Ozul saw that the Raven girl was occupying it. Seeing no other way around it, he went near the bed, pushed Raven down, and then collapsed down on it!

Raven, who woke up due to suddenly dropping on the ground, stood up, trying to look for the source of her suffering.

When she spotted that Ozul was instead lying on the bed, she looked at him tearfully.

Ozul, noticing that the Raven girl was starting to tear up, hurriedly stood up, and went in front of her before he began to pat her head to stop her from crying!

'If she began to cry out loud, Grandma Coral will lecture me to no end!'- Ozul had no other choice but to pat her head. He had seen parents on the streets would pat their children's head to stop them from crying. So, he thought that it might work.

Fortunately for him, his pat worked wonders!

Raven, who was the victim of the situation, went bright red. Her ears and cheeks seemed even redder than a tomato! Her thoughts tho were unknown.

Raven was in bliss when she noticed that Ozul had removed his hand from her head, and was now going back to sleep.

Now Raven, who had just woken up, could not go back to sleep as Ozul had seized the bed.

Luckily for her, Grandma Coral was also awake. So, she just went to help in her gardening.

. . .

The next time that Ozul woke up was when Raven came to call him for breakfast. He stood up and freshened himself before eating breakfast.

After finishing the food, Ozul told Grandma Coral,

”I will probably be late. Don't worry.”

”Take care of yourself and don't wander deep into the forest.” - Grandma Coral though still worried as no matter what, Ozul was still just a ten years old kid.

Ozul left the house, but just as he was about to move through the gate, Raven came rushing at him.

”Wait! Can I go with you?” - Raven could not help but feel anxious that he would be gone for the whole day.

”Hm? No.” - Ozul simply found it a bother to bring the girl with him.

”W-why?” - Raven was startled with his direct rejection but probed the reason.

”Are you a Mage? No. A Fighter? No.” - Ozul asked her the question knowing that she wasn't any of that. If Raven were a Mage or a Fighter, she wouldn't have been in a situation where she needed Ozul to help her.

”I c-can be a Mage!” - Raven showed her determination to tread the path of the Mage just to come with him.

”Hm? You know how to?” - Ozul was surprised that Raven knew the practice to become a Mage.

”Yes! My father was the village leader; he had told me many things!”- Raven cheerfully replied, noticing that for the first time, Ozul had an interest in the conversation.

She then continued,

”He had given me a rare technique; I've memorized it all. Father said that it was from my mother, who was also a Mage!”- Raven explained how she could become a Mage.

”When you do, I will take you.” - Ozul simply told her the case.

Before waiting for her to reply, Ozul took his leave. Not caring about the dejected Raven as she kept staring at his back.

'I will get stronger!' - Raven resolved herself before she went back to help Grandma Coral.

- - - - - - - - -

Walking into the woods, Ozul was vigilant because the area that he was hunting in also had some Rank-5 Beasts. Even though the forest was vast, finding individual sections where only Rank-4 Beasts reigned supreme was difficult, not to mention that those areas could be hundreds of miles away from him.

Hence, there was nothing Ozul could do but pick the region where the least amount of Rank-5 Beasts were seen.

Rank-5 Beasts in this area were pretty rare. Ozul could only depend on his luck to not encounter one.

'No need to bother about it now.' - Ozul thought as he began looking for Rank-3 or Rank-4 Beasts.

Only fifteen minutes later, Ozul found his first target.

It was an Earth Bear, a Rank-4 Beast. From the name, you could tell that the beast had Magical Spells related to the Earth Element.

It would be a new experience because his opponent, this time, had Spells.

Ozul tried to sneak in on the beast to finish it quickly, but the Bear's senses and instincts were sharp!

The Bear quickly turned around and prepared himself as he sensed that someone ambushed him.

Seeing that his blind failed, Ozul did not panic. He quickly created several jet-black blades from Ball of Purity and directed some of them to thrust towards the Earth Bear.

But the Earth Bear generated a mud wall that blocked the blades. The Bear then roared before it directed a big rock nearby to surge towards Ozul.

Ozul could not direct the blades stuck in the mud wall as it will be too late. Fortunately, He had kept half of the Ball of Purity with him.