"So, if you can do that earth trick before? Why did you still need my help? I can think of several ways of how to beat that gorilla with your trick."
As we took a rest after the battle, I asked Sarfak who is still lying on the ground. He is still breathing furiously, and there are traces of blood in the corner of his mouth.
"My trick -as you can say- is the application of manipulation from our tribe, and it is not something that I can do it freely for now. I am still an apprentice after all. Once I am accepted to be a dwarf warrior and get access to our library, I can learn a lot of things for the magus user test to get a master to teach me." He said with passionate eyes.
"What is the difference between apprentice and master?"
He shakes his head at my question.
"It is almost like comparing heaven to earth. Apprentices are people who learned the basics of manipulation in our academy, and once they graduated, they will have to pass this rite of passage to become a true dwarf warrior. This is the stage between apprentice and master. At this stage, a warrior will be assigned to a master to learn a more advanced level of manipulation."
"What can a master do with his power?" I cannot help but be curious.
"Well, that depends on the type of manipulation we can do. We, the dwarfs are blessed with natural talent in earth manipulation, so a master in our tribe can even extract a specific mineral from the ground and use it as a weapon or shield. I know for a fact that my father is a master in magnetization, but I have never seen him in action." He shrugged as if it is something simple.
However, I cannot help but feel dumbfounded. I can imagine several ways to use this kind of power in battle, like controlling the battlefield or in advanced levels, extracting poisonous mineral and scattering it on the battlefield, and letting the enemy breathe it. But, like what Sarfak said before, the power will not come as freely as I think. A restriction or consequence will always exist for this kind of power.
"So, what is the restriction for you to use this power?"
"Mostly it is the way I use the magus inside my body. Currently, I use the method that dwarf academy offered to its student because it is easier for everyone to learn. But it is definitely not an effective way to use it. You can see my condition right now, just by using my magus for 30 minutes battle. A master can do the same thing as me for ten hours non-stop, and they can definitely use more advanced and magus-consumed techniques.
Everyone has their own unique way to use magus inside their body effectively, and to find our own way is the last task to become a master."
I nodded at his explanation, clearly expecting some restriction like that coming. Then, I decided to ask him the important question now,
"So, what happened after this?" He looked at me as if I were an idiot.
"What do you mean 'what happened after this.'? Of course, you will come with me to my home! You promised me information about chimera, and I still haven't decided what will I give you after helping me with this test."
I was stunned for a moment before asking him carefully,
"Wait, what about the 'interfered test' business? Will I get punishment for helping you in the test?" He suddenly roared with laughter at what I said.
"Lad, you still believe it, even though I said it is just a prank? You are an idiot, aren't you? HAHAHAHA!"
"Wait, you said the prank was the gorilla chassed part, not the test part though!"
"Now you know it was a prank too, hahahaha!" I suddenly got an urge to beat him to death, what with his dangerous prank and his annoying laughter.
"Well, forget about it now. I am dead tired here! Do you know how to flay animal skin? We can have a gorilla party here!" He asked with excitement in his eyes. I grimaced, not knowing how to respond. I have never consumed any gorilla meat, and I clearly don't want to do it now.
"Eeeeerrr…. You can eat it by yourselves. I still have a portion of food in my bag." I reject his offer awkwardly. He just shrugged as if he expected my rejection coming.
"Suit yourself. I will do it myself." He stand up from the ground and started examining the gorilla's corpse.
"I will collect firewood for the night!" I yelled at him who is already engrossed in the gorilla. He turned his attention to me for a second and yelled back,
"Don't go too far! Don't come back too late, or you will have a hard time finding a way back!"
I rolled my eyes and replied, "Yes, Mum!" He let a loud chuckle at my answer.
Then, a sudden realization comes to my mind. 'Since when did I let my guard down around him?' I thought about this while wandering around. At first, I just accompanied him because I interfered with his test. But standing side by side with him in a battle, even if the enemy is a gorilla, makes me feel a little bit relaxed in his presence.
Then, I remember why I came here in the first place.. I wonder, what is happening in the cave right now? Do the twins learn something from our Blessing of Magus? Are they safe with Sara? And the most important question that has been bugging me for a while is, when will Andra wake from his condition?
Those questions keep spinning around my head, with no answer coming. I sighed deeply looking at the sky which turned into a beautiful red. It is really the strangest day of my life. Just two days ago I spent my time in the dark cold military camp in the land of Siberia, and here I am now, wandering in the tropical forest, learning about a lot of fantastical words like magic or dwarf.
Then suddenly, out of nothing, I can hear the very same thing that brought us to the problem for the first time, a scream full of pain in the middle of the forest. From the sound of the scream, I can guess it is a boy, probably the same age or slightly older than me. Then, after the scream stopped, a sudden cry can be heard across the silent forest.
"Anyone, please help us….."
I tried to ignore the scream, truly. I have learned that meddling in other's business without knowing anything is the recipe for disaster. But right now, hearing the plead of a little girl that I guessed was a bit younger than the twins, I suddenly remember the first time I met the twins, and my instinct roared, commanding me to move and save this little girl.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself to get into more trouble. Then, I dropped all of the firewood that I have collected and run as fast as I can to the source of the scream. Within a minute, I can see what happened. A dark-haired boy covered with blood all over his back is clutching a little girl, I think the same age as the twins, who is holding her tears over the boy.
The problem is, there is a tiger in front of them growling, showing his feral teeth to them. It is a normal tiger mind you, not a giant one like anything I have encountered so far. But dealing with a wild animal is not something you can do it easily. I am a bit afraid to interfere though, considering the last time I interfered with something with Sara, and I still have a bit of regret feeling about it.
Then, the tiger suddenly roared and dashed to those two. The girl is closing her eyes and seems to be ready for anything. The boy himself didn't move a single thing, seems unconscious for his bleeding. Looking at them, without realizing it, I make a sudden movement and rushed forward to cut the tiger's path and give it a knee kick on its face, sending it to the tree several meters from us. This happened in a blink, shocking both the girl and the tiger.
"HIDE!" I shouted at the girl and without waiting for her answer I rushed forward to the tiger, trying to kill it as far as possible. The tiger itself has already risen from the ground and roared at me fiercely. I didn't really want to give it a chance to raise its dewclaw to me, so I jumped as high as possible, drawing the gun from my pocket and shooting it at the tiger's head.
'One go, three more left.' I counted the bullet left in my gun. Unfortunately, my shoot while managed to wound the tiger, cannot pierce its head. But I still remain calm, have already predicted this possibility.
As a resident of this forest, I have a guess that this tiger has resistance against non-magus weapons, and the last shoot definitely proves my doubt. But I have a theory to try, and this tiger is a perfect subject to be experimented on.
The twins explained before that magus inside the body is coming from the soul, empowered the heart, and flows through the vein to make us functional -or something like that. If I simplified it, the magus flowed from the soul to the heart to the vein and finally to the rest of the body. I cannot hurt a soul, but I wonder what if I shoot at the tiger's heart. Is that enough to kill it or not?
So, after several times avoiding its claw, I jumped once again to the branch of the nearest tree, baiting the tiger to stand with its two legs and showing its heart. My bait is successful. The tiger quickly rushed to my tree, trying to climb it. The moment the tiger raised its body, I didn't waste any time sending a bullet to where the heart is. And true to my guess, the tiger shrieked for a few seconds before it fell down to the ground. I sighed, relieved it is over.
'Now, I don't want to know the ramification of what am I doing. Knowing my luck, it will be something like the tiger is some sort of sacred animal from the mythical tribes or a test for those two or something like that.' I thought grimly, being pessimistic about the future.
"MISTER! PLEASE HELP ME!"
A sudden scream snapped my thought, and when I look at the source, I can see the boy is still clutching the little girl, while the latter is panicking with a trace of tears in her eyes. My eyes widened for a while before I run and approached them, trying to check their condition. After a quick check, I turned my attention to the little girl and said with a serious tone,
"Do you trust me?"
She seems a bit hesitant but nodded all the way.
'She didn't completely trust me but realized she didn't have any option other than following me. Smart girl.' I nodded appreciating her decision.
"Good. You are tired and there are many scratches on your body. But your condition is not the worst. This guy, however," I pointed to the guy who is lying on the ground right now. "His condition is a bit worse. His wound is not too deep and not life-threatening, but he loses a lot of his blood and has several broken bones, including his ribs. The problem is, by his heavy breath, I can make a guess that a fragment of his ribs is probably blocking his heart, making it hard for him to breathe. If we didn't remove it quickly, we can say goodbye to him." Then her eyes shined for a moment as if realizing something before hiding her gaze quickly from me. I noticed it and cannot help but ask,
"Do you have anything to say, little girl?"
"I-i may have a way t-to save him….." She mumbled while looking down at the ground as if she was afraid of what will my reaction be. I was stunned for a moment before realizing something.
"Is this related to magus?" She nodded, so I asked her the most important question right now, "Are you confident enough to save him?" She thought for a moment before replying,
"No, not at this moment. My magus is completely drained out, and I will need at least 12 hours to do that. Can he survive for that long time?" She asked with a hopeful tone. But I shake my head,
"No, I am not confident he can survive that long. Something must be done right now."
I gritted my teeth, trying to think of the best solution right now. The little girl seems to notice the stress on my face, but she didn't say anything and just squeezed the boy's hand. Then, Sarfak's voice suddenly is coming from behind me, clearly not expecting this mess.
"What the hell is going on here, Lad?"