"When swinging a blade, you have to consider its length, its weight, & the method you are using." It was morning, & Avrin was currently being taught by his father, who had promised to teach him. It was an hour into their lesson, & they had already finished bow training. Avrin found it quite enjoyable; it was definitely different from shooting guns. Bows required more control & steadiness with one's hands and even placed more emphasis on the consideration for wind direction as well.
When his father finished explaining things to Avrin, he took a stance, & with the wooden sword in hand, he struck the makeshift wooden dummy at several angles towards the spots that were marked with red dye.
"Each creature is going to have different vulnerable points, son. You need to be aware that sometimes, those vulnerable points are places where you won't be able to even reach or hurt with your current ability. Yes, these areas can offer the best chances for inflicting harm, but none of these things will matter if the creature uses its abnormal body to outsmart or kill you first. For this reason, a hunter must consider the sword as a last resort. Instead, most hunters will rely on the clever usage of their archery skills and traps. If your arrow doesn't hit, you can try again later. If the creature decides to charge at you rather than flee, then you must quickly consider the situation and possibly rely on the constructed traps. For example, wolves are more agile but don't have the thickness of skin, so they can get wounded easily with some of the widespread traps. But, a boar will have that thickness, so you need to take advantage of the fact that they have trouble when trying to turn during their charges."
Avrin listened to his father. He could definitely see that the latter took this lecture seriously. "Understood!" he said. The two would continue this for an hour. Afterwards, Avrin went back inside and allowed his mum to help him place some ointment onto his bruises. "You healed up overnight really quickly," she said joyfully. Avrin felt the ointment & its cooling sensation target the slight pain that remained overnight; it really was a miracle topical mix.
After finishing, he went back upstairs to continue reading the book the herbalist had given him. He woke up early today & had spent several hours reading over it before the training. The memorization and reading process was incredibly easy for him, probably the result of whatever was in his body as well as his youthful brain & eagerness.
A couple of hours after continuing to read some pages, he finally shut the book & sighed. "All finished. Truly a disorganized yet informative book…" he grumbled under his breath before shutting his eyes again, trying to feel that dark mass in his mind. It was then that he suddenly jolted with surprise. "Huh!? It's thinned out again!? Why?" He looked at it carefully; he could now better see the outline of the object inside. It looked like a book, but he couldn't see it clearly.
Avrin was wondering just what was going on. What exactly happened that he could thin out that darkness? Yesterday, it thinned out a little, but today, it was even more so. When he woke up & checked it earlier today, it was still normal. "Could learning or reading have affected it?... No, that doesn't make sense. I read all the time, yet it didn't happen… just what could-..." It was then that he realized he might be onto something.
He rushed down & grabbed the ointment that was on the shelf near some other things, then rushed back upstairs. Opening it, he grabbed it all & smacked it on his face without care, not caring if it was wasted, especially since he was more or less healed. He then shut his eyes & looked at the dark mass. He waited a little as the overwhelming cooling sensation numbed his face a bit. But then, he saw it: little specks of white light, blue light, and green light were all being drawn towards that cloudy darkness. When the specks hit that darkness, they would disappear but dispel a slight bit of it in return.
Avrin opened his eyes & came to a realization. "The herbalist must have used an ingredient that has mana inside of it. That mana entering my body & going around just so happens to hit that dark cloud & dispel a little bit of it." Folding his arms, Avrin looked ecstatic but also thoughtful. He suddenly had an idea.
He quietly shut his eyes, feeling for those specks of mana that were naturally around. He tried his very best to attempt to move them, not to store in his non-existent spirit veins but to move to the darkness that enshrouded that book-like object.
He quickly noticed the method had small success. "It works! But it's so slow. The ointment can give several hundred specks in one go, but at most, this method can do a speck every few seconds…" Gritting his teeth, he didn't want to spend hours a day doing this.
"I need objects or herbs with mana," he licked his lips & grinned to himself. It was just in time too, since he had finished the book the herbalist had given him in a single day more or less. Even he was surprised by his own eagerness to memorize the book, expecting to read it on & off for a little bit, but he couldn't pry himself away from it.
Later that day, the old herbalist was inside his building, looking at the face of the lead boy who Avrin had given a beating. "Heh, that Avrin really did a number on you. Who told you to cause issues…" Grinning with his teeth showing, the boy's face reddened from anger & embarrassment. After all, it had been 4 against one. His father sighed bitterly. his stupid son had caused many issues for him.
The herbalist laughed some more as he fumbled about & gave the boy the same ointment Avrin had used. The father & boy thanked him profusely, handing him some payment in the form of gathered fruits & vegetables. Before they left, a knock on the door could be heard.
"Eh?" The herbalist curiously went over. He then opened the door, only to see Avrin. "Kid? Why are you here? Eh!?.." Looking stunned, he suddenly reached out to Avrin's face, turning it left & right.
"What a little monster, you healed in one night! So, why are you here?" After the herbalist let go from examining him, Avrin offered the wooden container that was empty as well as the book. "I'm here to return your things. Thank you so much for helping," he spoke, his eyes looking behind, only to see the boy glaring daggers at him with his fists clenched. Then, the boy's father hit the back of his son's head to remind him not to do anything.
"Good, good. Huh? Why are you giving the book back? Give up after a day? Hehe, kids these days, no patience for learning. Guess I was wrong about you wanting to learn," he wasn't surprised.
Avrin shook his head. "No sir, I've memorized the book. I think it's really detailed & amazing. Did you write it? It's incredible!" He complimented, not attempting to cozy up but truly praising his skills.
The herbalist, with a proud look, nodded. "That's right, I did all of that. It's years of effo-... what did you say? You memorized it all?" He looked dumbfounded, as if he didn't hear Avrin properly.
In response, Avrin nodded. "Yes!" As if expecting the herbalist to give him some questions, he simply began naming off plants, their descriptions, how they looked when budding, what they could be used for, how to harvest them, what concoctions they could be used for, what part not to touch. Rather than the 20 he was asked to memorize in months, Avrin listed 30 before suddenly stopping & speaking.
"Uhh,... did you want me to continue? You still have guests, so I don't want to keep them waiting," he stoke respectfully. The herbalist's old eyes were bulging; his old body was shaking so much that he almost couldn't stand. "What guests?!!" He quickly turned around to the two who looked dumbfounded. "You two, you got what you need! Out, out, out!" He suddenly rushed & shooed them out of his home before slamming the door with Avrin now inside.
The father bitterly looked at his son, then at the door with Avrin inside. "Why did I raise a good-for-nothing trouble maker…" he mumbled under his breath as his son looked angry & annoyed, the two leaving as his father continued to wish he had Avrin as a son instead.
"Lyianotis. Green stems, with red veins that protrude during the day, which signal its full attempts to absorb sunlight, whilst at night, the red veins shrink back. The leaves then fold in on themselves & it shrinks several inches. It has a flower bud with white petals &..."
Avrin spoke, while the herbalist sat down & listened. Every time Avrin would perfectly describe a herb, the herbalist's eyes would water from astonishment, fear, & excitement… Astonishment, because memorizing so much in a single day was just impossible… fear because again, it just seemed impossible - this was beyond a monster: it was a freak of nature… Excitement, because he had the chance to teach a freak of nature!
"Stop, stop, I believe you!" he spoke, his smile so wide that it looked like his teeth would fall out. "Good kid! But don't let this get to your head. What's memorization without practical use & talent? Having knowledge is great, but you need to put it to use! Otherwise, it would be a waste!"
Avrin nodded, realizing the man was right, but he knew there was more to come. "So… aren't you going to ask me to be your herbalism teacher!?" Avrin smiled forcefully & bowed. "Please be my herbalism teacher!"
The old man nodded with pride. "That's it, good kid. Avrin Sygin, as long as you listen to what I say & learn as well as you memorize, you can become something good! This small village? Bah! Even the capital will be nothing to you!" He looked at Avrin like he had just found a massive diamond covered in dirt & mud.