Crashing onto the bed of the spare room I was given by my undoubtedly kind caretakers I opened my hands and gently placed them on the glass window next to me,letting out a small huff of breath I chanted a small spell trying for the last time to see whether I truly had lost all of my skills.
A quick spark of purple occured but otherwise the spell had failed causing me to drop my arm in a disappointed manner yet even though the gravity of the situation frustrated and angered me on the surface I couldn't help but notice a small feeling of excitement and relief swirling in the deep depths of my emotions,covering my hands over my face I rolled around in a confused fit resenting the relief and excitement I could slightly feel.
'am I insane how am I relieved to be in such a sorry state, GAHH it's my duty to protect Loridae and put my life on the line for it.....my duty.....'
cursing as I pulled my hands off my face I rolled onto my back to face the wooden dust filled ceiling slowly allowing exhaustion to flow through me,my eyelids became heavy while my breathing slowed and the world came in and out of view till It eventually turned black.
Clang!!
Clang!!
my eyes peeled open to the sound of metal clashing with each other as the sudden brightness of the morning sun causing me to cover my hand over my eyes before I could get a look at the source of my alarm,looking as if he'd been dipped in a lake and pulled out to be dragged across the ground Cale was suited with light leather armour that only covered his chest and was dripping from head to toe in his own sweat as he swung furiously at his smiling father Gilferd who parried and tripped Cale only for him to get up as quickly as he'd fallen to counter.
I watched the two spar for 10 minutes till Cale eventually succumbed to his obvious exhaustion and layed sprawled with his back on the ground,smirking at Cale's hard work I pulled away from the window and hopped off my bed to start the day while wondering why the two never exerted any magical attacks.
'that would've been a sight to behold'
entering the dining room I was met with a kind warm hearted smile from Helen the woman I'd thought was the bitter sweet of the entire family however she placed a plate of breakfast on the table and made a kind gesture for me to take a bite,it was even more surprising when I discerned that it wasn't some act she was pulling.
"I apologize for last night it was purely just me venting off some anger after a disagreement I had with Gilferd,I hope I didn't give you the wrong idea of my character"
Helen sighed softly while shaking her head.
"I didn't take it to heart so there's nothing to worry about"
Helen's eyes seemed to brighten in relief to my words as she gave me a cheery smile and turned around to conjure an engraved wooden stick which she flicked to spew water from the tip and left it in mid air while she washed the small pile of dishes in front of her.
"are you planning on leaving for Loridea after this I must say your condition looked frightening"
scarfing down the remains of my breakfast I got up in a energized manner contrary to the injured demeanor Helen thought I would be showcasing and politely gave a gesture for her to allow me to finish of the washing instead causing a surprised but otherwise thankful expression.
"no need to worry I'm a fast healer"
I chuckled.
I washed and dried the dishes before the door swung open to reveal Cale's sweaty and tired demeanor as he staggered towards the bath area gathering large breaths to his lungs.
"remember we still have to catch that damned flair rat so don't get comfortable"
"Flair rat?"
I accidentally said audibly causing Gilferd to turn to me mistaking my accidental projection of my thoughts as interest to the mission.
"it's a mana beast with a bounty on it's head thanks to all the mischief it's been causing to some of the farmers situated a few miles from Loridea, we suspect it ran here to escape the knights that started looking for it and the bounty for it is great"
"so you're a mana beast hunter?!"
I said with a little interest to it this time,mana beast hunters were a rare group of workers similar to knights that solely hunted down mana beasts of all kinds with large bounties on their heads and were a great help to countries since knights weren't able to help with nearly thousands of dangerous or annoying mana beasts that needed fighting however after the increase of knights during the 3rd calamity countries seemingly had a lot of knights to spare and sent them on mana beast hunting trips for training.
Mana beast hunting eventually became a rare occupation only for those out for the thrill and not the money behind it however Gilferd looked to be working for both.
"haha surprised are we well I can't say it's a job I'm fond off a lot but it has its exciting moments and good money, Cale and I were just about to go looking for the damned thing"
"that's great I hope the beast isn't too hard for the bo-"
"you're saying it like you're not coming with us"
said Gilferd with a serious expression as he held with him a sheathed sword and a sharp axe with a midly decorated wooden handle,I scrambled for any excuse however the chance for using one slipped through my fingers with the arrival of Cale as he grabbed the sheathed sword ready for the impending hunt.
sighing at my defeat and the delay this would cause for my arrival at Loridea, I walked up to Gilferd and took the axe.
'I guess it's the least I could do for their hospitality'
"the axe is all I had in the spares and as for armour well we're low on that as well as you can see"
Gilferd pointed at the clothes he was wearing that had no further protection.
"I'm not bad with it so I'll manage"
truthfully I was able to wield any weapon with near mastery as this was the requirement for a knight in order to have no disadvantage in case a situation forced you to switch weapons in battle.
walking through the knee height lush grass black and yellow patches on the green ground that seemed to be caused by a small fire were clearly visible after about 20 minutes of walking and following Gilferd who looked to have been tracking the beast for months,as even when the traces of black and yellow patches ended he switched to the trees or took an entirely different route from where you'd think the tracks would continue off to.
Each turn wasn't just pure intuition but that of calculation, knowing the habits of the mana beast and it's way of travel and due to this it didn't take long till the stench of smoke filled my nostrils accompanied by the sound of crackling flames causing Gilferd to raise his hand to halt Cale and I who were following close behind.
Roughly half the size of a full grown horse and a coat of deep red fur with flames running along it's back a large rat stood calmly eating the corpse of what I could only barely recognize to be a person,it's aura was frightening thanks to my weakened state however I was able to come to the conclusion that it was at least an F rank mana beast and nothing way out of our league.
"don't get cold feet from its appearance Flair rats are an easy catch for nearly anyone however that's if you have a reasonable plan up your sleeve"
said Gilferd in a hushed tone.
"you mean it has a knack for running away?"
I asked jokingly but with a tad bit of curiosity, my knowledge on mana beasts only spanning as far as my pinky.
"exactly but that's not just it ever heard of the saying of what a rat would do to a cat if cornered?"
"fight back?"
"right again, Flair rats have the rare ability to jump from an F rank to an E rank when they feel their life is in extreme danger which is what makes them such a nuisance for lower level hunters such as ourselves"
"just how long does that last?!"
"not long but it's enough to overpower us in a matter of a few seconds,the trick is making it irritated and angry thus occupying it enough to distract it from us so now can you see why I bro a third person?"
"yeah I guess..."
"remember to look at the flames along it's back to get a good grip of its feelings"
I stared back at the large rat wondering if it's flames would change colour at the switch of emotions however noticing my expression and practically reading my mind Gilferd chuckled lightly and shook his head.
"it's not that apparent you have to look at the height of the flames, the higher the flames are the more fear it's feeling and the lower the flames are the more dominant it feels while flickering of the flames means irritation and anger"
"so the plan here is...."
my voice trailed of as Gilferd smirked and looked back towards me.
"how good are you at dodging and taking a few blows?"
my axe gripped tightly in my hands I walked out of the hiding place sighing as I shouted to alert the Flair rats attention,my legs felt like dropping to a kneel with the sight of the Flair rats blood red eyes glaring straight at me and teeth dripping with the blood of the unfortunate person sprawled on the ground.
Sensing me as no threat the Flair rat dashed at appalling speeds it's flames lowering to somewhat of a glow causing me to leap back barely dodging it's devastating attack that left a black footprint on the ground,countering with a hack at its head which did little but leave a barely noticeable scar above it's eye I flipped back avoiding the rather sneaky attack from its tail.
Leaping into the air I readied and slanted my axe a bit while positioning it over my head for the upcoming blow which slid off the axe and smashed the ground inches from where I stood thanks to the position I'd put my axe in,I parried and dodged for a hot 20 minutes the sight of the rats growing flames flickering and crackling were the only signs that I was actually doing anything at this point.
I huffed heavy breaths with a sigh of relief escaping from me as I caught sight of Gilferd leaping out of the tree line with his sword in hand that emanated an icy aura as he sprinted towards us,sliding past the flair rat Gilferd slit across it's side causing a squeal and a shreak of pain as a massive scar appeared across it.
wondering why Gilferd hadn't gone for the kill I noticed Cale dash towards us his expression filled with uncertainty and dread with his hands practically trembling of visible fear,Cale raised his also icy sword to bring down on the rats neck however....he faltered and instead of a finishing clean cut it became a graze on the rats neck.
"CALE!!"
knowing the plan that Gilferd had in mind had failed from his shout of desperation towards Cale as he was now in line of the rats opened mouth who'd turned to face it's fear stricken attacker I turned the axe and positioned it for a swing.
Slash!!
my axe made contact with its opened mouth but only served to make it uncomfortable and enraged however I didn't budge and pulled the axe down to the ground causing us both to smash onto the grassy floor,I pinned the both of us to the ground and shouted for Gilferd to finish it off but moments before he could land a decisive final blow I noticed the beasts flames change to a bright blue and it's fur turn white.
Heat, unbearable heat surged through me and before I could pull away to cool down my vision turned a fiery blue before turning to a familiar black.
*2 hours later*
my nose twitched and wriggled till I eventually let out a sneeze that jolted me awake to my surroundings, a dusty wooden ceiling and a familiar hard yet comfortable bed told me I was back in the home of the family that'd taken care of me but for some reason the atmosphere was odd, I tried to move a few times but the pain that came with it eventually stirred me away from trying any further.
"it's not worth it to move in your condition"
glancing next to me I stared at Cale who's head was faced down in a drooping manner with sweat and scars visible on his head and face along with rips and scars on his clothes not from a sword but something else more like a whip.
"I've been in worse condition but what's with the look did the rat really do you in that much?"
I said jokingly for the first time to Cale in order to lift his probably dampened mood since it would be natural he felt guilty which was understandable cause it was sort of all his fault but I wasn't going to be that insensitive.
My words didn't seem to reach the ears of Cale at all though instead he still sat there emanating a depressing and guilty demeanor before finally looking up to meet my eyes, his eyes were a crying red and sniffed a bit before opening his mouth to speak.
"whoever you fought did they really put you in such a state and if so why did you just save me there if anything I'd be a lot better off than you thanks to my mother"
"what do you mean?"
"your mana flame idiot it's almost dead and looks like it's about to flicker and disappear at any moment"
"my mana flame is....."