"Why did you call me here, master?"
Avon glanced at the cardinal's silhouette that was leaning leisurely against the broad trunk of a wild tree at the mouth of the forest, his eyes at half-mast in order to block the sun's rays from falling into his pupils.
"We're going to have today's lesson outside for a change." the cardinal straightened himself, beckoning Avon to follow after him with a hooked finger.
The cardinal led him from the entrance of the forest to its inner regions, dauntlessly making his way through the increasingly dense foliage. The tall crowns of countless trees entwined naturally, making a thick canopy that shaded them from the unforgivingly hot temperature outside.
Countless exotic insects and plants lay scattered across the forest floor, filling the otherwise quiet area with a cacophony of chirps and buzzes. From a distance, the low roars of animals travelled through the trees, creating a tense atmosphere.
A wet fog enveloped the forest, the humidity sticking to Avon's skin. Drops of mildew fell from green leaves, the delicate pearls wetting the blades of grass underneath Avon's feet. The scent of petrichor filled the heavy air of the forest, the earthy smell refreshing his mind.
Occasionally, Avon spotted flashes of twinkling lights flying through the forest, brightening up the otherwise damp area with a myriad of sparkling colours that twirled through the forest.
"Master," Avon tugged at the cardinal's sleeve as he obediently fell in step behind him. "What is this?" he asked, unfurling his clenched fist to reveal a tiny, emerald light lying on his pale skin.
"These?" the cardinal raised an eyebrow. "These are glowyrms. Legend says that if a lost traveller follows these creatures at night, they might find themselves in the lost lands of the fey, never to return to the real world."
"Oh?" Avon said distractedly, pinching the creature between his fingertips- he wanted to catch a few more, but he didn't dare use magic in the forest in fear of attracting beasts to their location. "They're beautiful, though."
"Do you want to see something interesting?" the cardinal suddenly stopped, turning to look at his disciple with a mischievous smirk plastered across his face.
"You're going to show it to me anyways, aren't you, master?" Avon deadpanned, releasing the ball of light into the air once more.
"Look." the cardinal said, pressing a silencing finger against his lips.
The cardinal closed his eyes for a long, stagnated moment, and when he opened them, his eyes seemed to glow, his pupils changing colour from black to a forest green. In the wispy, foggy mist, the cardinal's irises looked like those of a beast focused on its prey- as though it were the only source of light in a sky of darkness, ready to devour and plunder at a moment's notice.
Avon watched, wide-eyed, as hundreds of brilliant colours simultaneously surrounded the cardinal's figure, transforming the sky above them into a vast stage of flashes and blinks. Thousands of tiny glowyrms danced at the cardinal's command, each point of light forming a stark contrast against the dark ambience of the forest.
Looking at the amazement and confusion on his disciple's face, the cardinal laughed, before allowing his eyes to dim once more. As though incensed, the countless glowyrms instantly dispersed, abandoning their merry dance and putting an end to their beautiful show.
"How?" Avon muttered simply, turning to look at his master in awe.
"The blood of the beasttamers runs through my veins, child." the cardinal explained, smirking.
"...weren't beasttamers lost to the Ancient Epoch?" Avon choked out.
The easy air around the cardinal suddenly stagnated, turning sharp and alert for a moment, before instantly dissipating.
"Child," the cardinal gazed into his disciple's blood-red eyes. "Someday, you'll know that things aren't as you expected them to be. History can be rewritten, and none would be the wiser."
"What does that mean? Are you telling me that the records detailing the Ancient Epoch are wrong?" Avon narrowed his eyes, a note of hysteria creeping into his voice without him noticing.
"You'll know soon enough." the cardinal replied mysteriously.
Avon merely groaned before pressing the bridge of his nose, used to his master's ambiguous comments and the way he causally revealed earth-shattering implications. "You always say that."
The cardinal chuckled, patting Avon's head before once again heading deeper into the forest. "That's enough." he waved his hands. "Come, we no longer have the time to dally."
Avon put away his chaotic thoughts, intending to sort through them once he returned home, and followed after his master, filled with a vague sense of frustration in his heart due to the cardinal's demeanor and his refusal to further explain his possession of a bloodline that was said to be extinct.
Surprisingly enough, the two didn't encounter any beasts despite walking deep into the heart of the forest, a place said to be infested by countless animals and monsters that could rip normal humans apart with their bare claws- which, in retrospect, was probably the cardinal's doing.
They walked for over three quarters of an hour, before finally coming to a stop in a relatively clear area.
"This will do." the cardinal nodded, appearing satisfied.
"What do you mean by that, master?"
"You've been learning spells for weeks now, but you haven't had the chance to actually participate in a fair fight against someone of your level, so I brought you here to gain some experience." the cardinal revealed.
"...what exactly should I do here, master?" Avon tilted his head, confused.
"I want you to fight against a beast." the cardinal waved his hand, calling for a gust of wind before gingerly sitting on the thick branches of a nearby tree.
Over the past three months, the cardinal had taken to making him practice extremely complex spells in order to boost his comprehension over magic, and had even sparred with Avon a few times in order to ascertain his level- but this was the first time that the cardinal wanted him to participate in a real fight.
"Do you mean that I finally get to fight a monster?" Avon asked, his face flushed with excitement.
"No, a beast. There's a difference between the two- a monster is a beast which has been infected by Chaos' power, and has evolved and mutated into something countless times stronger. You cannot handle even the weakest of monsters at your current level, but you will be able to put up a fight against normal beasts."
"So you want to test my combat proficiency and skill level through this?"
"Yes." the cardinal clapped his hands. "Here comes your first opponent." he pointed towards a hazy corner that was covered with densely packed bushes.
As if on cue, a beast- a damned hyena, of all things- walked towards Avon, not even giving him enough time to draw the sword by his waist before pouncing on him.
"Dammit!" Avon grit his teeth, immediately activating his mana before dodging the beast's attack gracefully.
"Oh, by the way, I've been collecting monsters throughout our whole walk using my beasttamer bloodline, so expect a new one to take its place the second you defeat it." the cardinal grinned in schadenfreude, watching his disciple's techniques with great interest.
"For the love of god!"
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Three hours later, the cardinal groaned in exasperation as he used wind magic to carry Avon across the forest, who was currently limply leaning against his master's back.
"So tired." Avon complained, leaning his forehead against the cardinal's shoulder. "You made me fight over fifty beasts in one go, you stupid master! Do you not care about my health?"
"I made you fight no more than what you could take, child." the cardinal replied dryly, casting a healing spell in order to heal the litany of wounds on Avon's body- a product of his fierce fights.
"That's true, but did you have to make me expend every last drop of mana?" Avon pursed his lips. "I've never had such a horrible headache ever before in my life."
"I needed to gauge your level, remember? You might be able to use spells at the four star level, but I needed to see if the amount of mana you can manipulate has reached four stars as well."
"And, did it?" Avon asked eagerly.
"Nope." the cardinal teased. "I'm afraid that my poor disciple is still stuck at three stars. He needs to work hard if he ever wants to become as great as his master."
"...you're the most narcissistic person that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, master, and I actually live with someone like Reas."
"Little brat, you have no respect for your teacher, do you?" the cardinal flicked Avon's forehead. "I could have had my pick of students, but I chose you, you know? So, you should be so honoured that you should practically worship me and hang on to every word I say."
"Since- according to you- I'm the child of destiny, you're the one who should be honoured to have me as a disciple, shouldn't you, master?" Avon deadpanned.
"... and you called me narcissistic, wow. Talk about being a hypocrite."
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