Chapter 3: Cait ShelterÂ
Ben found a lot of glowing blue crystals in the cave that mesmerized him.
"What are these crystals?" - Ben
[Lacrima Crystals, a type of mineral that is used widely for many things on Earthland. Formed in a place with high magical density.]
"So this place is dense with Ethernano, huh? Did that mean this place is a good place to train?" - Ben
[Yes, you can recover your lost magic power faster in this area.]
"Ooh, that's a tempting thing, but I won't do that; I still need to find a civilization. Maybe I'll return in the future when I want to focus on training." - Ben
Ben can't stay here just because this place will hasten his training. He needs to find a civilization first to know this world. Life isn't just about training to get stronger. He also wants to rest after years of hard life in the military and the case of his family.
Ben just takes a piece of Lacrima crystal as a souvenir. Then he leaves the area and returns to his tent. He asks A.I Chip to mark this cave so he can return easily in the future.
"I'll certainly return here." - Ben
The storm keeps going for one full night before it stops in the morning. Ben resumes his journey and walks slowly because of the dangerous ground. The ground is wet because of the storm yesterday, and it's very slippery now.
After walking for some hours, Ben finally sees a civilization. He sees a small village beside a lake, near the mountain. Ben immediately goes there through the forest and arrives after half an hour.
Ben keeps his vigilance while approaching the village. He needs to be wary in a new place, even if it looks like a peaceful village. He sees some people in the village dressed like a Native American tribe. Ben frowns but keeps walking to the village until suddenly, someone calls him from behind.
"Who are you, boy?" - Old man
Ben gets surprised and immediately jumps forward then turns back while holding his knife, ready to strike anytime.
'When did he get on my back? I didn't sense him at all.' - Ben
"Ooh, that's a nice reflex there. Sorry to surprise you like that, but I just saw you walking suspiciously, so I decided to greet you." - Old man
"Ah, sorry for that; I'm just being vigilant. My name is Ben. Can I ask where is this place, uuh, grandpa?" - Ben still in his stance
"This is Cait Shelter Guild, and I am the guildmaster, Roubaul." - Roubaul
"A guild? I thought it is a village." - Ben
"It is a village, and it's also a guild at the same time. Can I ask why are you here, little boy?" - Roubaul
"Ah, I came from the forest. Four days ago, I suddenly found myself in the forest. I walked through the mountain's foot, and eventually, I reached this place." - Ben
"Hmm, is this a coincidence?" - Roubaul rubs his beard
"What is?" - Ben
"Boy, what's your magic?" - Roubaul
"Huh? I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. We've just met, and I still can't fully trust you to the point where I'll tell you my magic." - Ben
"Hmm, you're right. But if you want to hide it, that means your magic is unique, maybe some kind of lost magic. I'll guess it; your magic must be a Dragon Slayer Magic." - Roubaul
Ben didn't have any change in expression, but he's getting more serious right now. This old man can guess his magic correctly in one try.
"As I thought, you have Dragon Slayer Magic." - Roubaul
"How can you be so sure? I didn't tell you anything." - Ben
"I can feel it. Your magic fluctuated just now, indicating you're panicking a little. I also hear your heartbeat faster, confirming my suspicion." - Roubaul
Ben widens his eyes and takes a step back; he's getting very serious now.
"Don't be too worked up, boy! I mean no harm to you." - Roubaul
"Like I'll believe someone who pry into another person's secret." - Ben
"Well, I'm sorry about that; I didn't mean it that way. Even so, pointing a weapon at someone is dangerous. When you do it, you need to be ready to die!" - Roubaul
Ben suddenly feels a strong invisible pressure that falls upon him. He didn't have good magic sense currently, but he can feel it; this is Roubaul's magic power. The old man's magic power is so big & vast like an ocean for Ben.
To say that Ben gets scared is an underestimation; he is terrified. Ben has an urge to kneel and sh*t himself right now, but he held it in. Ben grits his teeth and forces himself to not fall even when his body is trembling hard.
"Did I go overboard?" - Roubaul
Suddenly the pressure is gone, and Ben's clothes are drenched in cold sweat. His body is shaking, and he pants hard, but he still stands and holds his knife. He looks at Roubaul with scared eyes, but he is determined to keep fighting till the end.
"What a strong-willed boy, but you need to relax a little! Getting too serious isn't good for your health." - Roubaul
Ben suddenly feels himself getting sleepy. He tries to resist it, but it's hard; the urge to sleep is really strong. Ben almost stabs his hand to resist the feeling, but Roubaul catches his hand to stop it. He finally can't resist it, and he falls asleep there.
"Good grief, this boy is really stubborn; he still holds his knife tightly even now." - Roubaul
Roubaul then calls some men to carry Ben inside a house. Then some women change his clothes and they place him on a bed. They cover him and leave him to sleep quietly on the bed.
Ben wakes up the next morning, and he gets alerted. He raises his knife that he held tightly in his hand all night and looks around warily. He still remembers what happened yesterday and can't get calm. He looks around and doesn't know where he is.
Ben then walks out from the room slowly while keeping his vigilance. He looks around outside and is surprised to see many people there. However, those people are just minding their business and behave like normal villagers.
"So you've woken up." - Roubaul suddenly appears behind Ben again
Ben is surprised, but now he immediately turns around and swings his knife at Roubaul. His knife can't hit Roubaul; it passes through Roubaul's body.
"You can't do that, little boy! If I'm a normal person, I will be dead by now." - Roubaul
"But you certainly aren't a normal person." - Ben jumps back
"That's true, and you'll never beat me just with your strength." - Roubaul
"You, why did you let me live?" - Ben
"Did you think that I would kill you?" - Rou
baul
"Aren't you? I lost the fight, and you caught me, so I am your captive now. You won't get anything from me, so it will be better to kill me." - Ben
"Boy, you sound like a soldier that's ready to die anytime in a war." - Roubaul
"I was trained that way." - Ben
Ben forgets that he is a 10 y.o currently, so his words really surprised Roubaul. A 10 y.o being trained like a soldier is unusual. Now Roubaul can understand why Ben behaves like that yesterday. And Roubaul is really impressed by Ben because Ben can resist his magic power pressure just with sheer will.
"Boy, how about we have a talk for a moment?" - Roubaul
"I told you I won't tell you anything." - Ben
"It's fine; you just need to listen to me." - Roubaul
Roubaul takes Ben to the main building that shaped like a cat head. There are some people inside that have waited for them.
"Sit, boy!" - Roubaul
"No." - Ben
"Whatever then." - Roubaul
Roubaul sits on the chief's chair, and someone gives him a gourd of wine.
"Then, let me tell you again, I am Roubaul, the Guildmaster of Cait Shelter. We are just a small guild in Fiore, but we are a proper guild. Some guilds have acknowledged our guild, and we're not a dark guild, so you don't need to worry." - Roubaul
"Did you have any documents that can prove the authenticity of your statement? I prefer documents from the Kingdom or Country with high credibility." - Ben
Roubaul then takes some papers with the Kingdom of Fiore's stamp. Ben takes them and reads through the papers fast.
"How can you prove that these documents aren't forged?" - Ben
".... You sure are troublesome and irritate me slowly." - Roubaul
"I need to be careful." - Ben
"Sigh, then if documents can't prove it to you, how about an action?" - Roubaul
"What do you mean?" - Ben
"I'll show you why I can guess your magic yesterday. Call Wendy!" - Roubaul
A man comes out from the building and gets out. After some time, he returns with a little girl that has blue hair. Ben doesn't understand, but he feels a familiarity from the girl, especially her smell. The girl, Wendy also feels the same and looks at Ben.
""Smell of a Dragon!"" - Ben & Wendy