“Huh?”

Her confusion was not without reason. I mean, who wouldn’t be? I just gave her an ambiguous answer and it made me chuckle.

My giggle didn’t impress her and she pouted.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing~” I teased and once again chuckled but this time, my chuckles became full-blown laughter.

“Why are you laughing?” this time, she yelled.

Her indignant shout made me stop my laughter and I considered telling her that reactions were too comical made me laugh especially that pout, but I decided against it. Who wouldn’t want a good laugh or two?

“Okay, okay I’m stopping. Then... can you at least tell me why you were here?”

My plan to divert her attention from the death of her dog and lighten the mood worked for the most part but it went downhill when I started speaking.

Her face dimmed and her eyes threatened to cry. I grimaced. My socializing skills were totally bland.

So I hastily followed to salvage the situation.

“Uh, um, I’m sorry. It’s a... yes, that’s it. I just want to know that’s all but if you don’t want to then don’t.” my hastily made excuse somewhat brightened her up which is slightly confusing.

Even though I didn’t explicitly stated that I needed to know, I still pressured her to talk. My curiosity got ahold of me so I used a minor application of reverse psychology. The method I used somewhat disgusts me but I kept on doing so because this might be the key to the puzzle.

“No, it’s okay... it’s just that, it wasn’t her fault you know. I followed her and then...”

She broke down to sobs and so is my heart. Every tear that leaked out were akin to a nail that slowly drilled into my conscience. From this moment on, I decided to treat this crying girl with utmost importance to repay this emotional debt.

Between her whimpers, she tried to explain the situation.

Apparently, they were playing at her courtyard when Fufu, the dog, abruptly ran away. She chased her and didn’t realize that she already entered the forest. Still, Fufu didn’t stop running so Hannah grew increasingly worried. She mustered all her courage and gave it her all to catch Fufu.

By the time she caught Fufu, they were already deep inside the forest. Hannah attempted to follow their trails back home but due to their quick turns and erratic movements, their trails were muddled and joined the ever-confusing dense foliage.

Hannah panicked but her attention was directed by the barking Fufu. She traced Fufu’s target and at the distance, she saw a hulking mass of brown fur. She squinted her eyes on it hard enough to get a clear picture. What she saw made her froze in fear.

The bear also found them and it made a dash towards them. From her story, she said that the bear’s eyes were also reddish which brought my earlier speculation to be proven. The bear was mad, exceedingly so.

Her legs trembled and almost gave away but Hannah stayed still. Her body was numb and coherent thoughts couldn’t form in her head. It was like she was plunged into an ice cold lake.

With the paralysis taking control of her, the arms hugging Fufu subsequently loosened and made the dog jump from her hands, pouncing towards the impending threat and bit the rabid bear.

The bear flinched from the dog’s bite and howled. It swatted Fufu back behind it and turned around to sink its teeth towards the pitiful dog. The bear mangled the dog until it died and tossed it back to the dark forest where Hannah couldn’t see.

Due to the gory scene, Hannah backed away but stumbled by some roots. Gashes and small cuts littered her arms and legs which prompted her to stop talking and raised her hands which are now in pristine condition after I healed them while she was fast asleep.

This time, I vehemently avoided any questions she brought up from her injuries.

It was at that time that I brought up the interface to read the skill’s description.

Heal

Converts 50 mana into a regenerative force that heals the target for 2.5 health each level. The scaling gets inefficient the more mana is used.

And while I’m at it I also read reinvigorate.

Reinvigorate

Converts 25 mana into a regenerative aura that reignites the target’s will to survive. It raises the body’s natural regeneration by 10% of each level. Be cautious, using too much mana is detrimental.

Confirming that I indeed leveled heal, reinvigorate, fireball and life attunement, I urged Hannah to continue.

Hannah shifted her position and resumed her story.

Thanks to the searing pain, she was released from her paralysis and she turned around and clawed her way to stand up. She ran with all her might and disregarded everything from her surroundings.

A few minutes passed until her lungs were on fire and she gasped for breath. Hannah leaned on a tree to alleviate her leg which became bruised from the constant running.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

But without waiting for her to recover, the bear emerged from a bush and it was then, the bear roared at Hannah that she shrieked.

By the time Hannah finished her narration, she already calmed down.

Listening to her, I couldn’t help but feel that something’s not right.

First, why did Fufu suddenly ran away? And she went to the forest nonetheless. Is it because of the effects of my Dao? No, clearly they entered the forest earlier than me. It was unmistakable because I was only at the clearing for a few minutes and I ran there for almost thirty minutes which might take an hour to a girl like her.

According to Hannah, she just followed the dog anywhere she goes and because of the dog’s quick turns and detours, they ultimately got lost.

I winced at that thought. She really was unfortunate enough to encounter a bear in the wilderness.

Words of comfort and apology flew from my mouth and we exchange a short laugh. Her smile brought a strange ease in the atmosphere making our talks escalate.

“Oh, right. Your name-“

But before she finished her sentence, I stood up and waved at her.

“It seems that your parents are already here. I think it’s time to say goodbye.”

At the corner of my eye, torchlight lit up the corners of the dark forest. I stepped back in to the other side of the clearing and promptly vanished.

“Wait!” she also stood up and attempted to pursue me but the voices of her parents calling her halted her steps.

“Hannah? Are you there? Thank goodness, we’ve found you!”

The sounds of crying and repeated apology gradually drowned the surroundings and I found myself muttering.

“Until we meet again, Hannah Galanza.”

***

Lunch time, I was at the rooftop enjoying the cool breeze that slowly lightened my mood.

At this time of the day, the rooftop was devoid of any students. Thus, the lonesome mood made me reconsider getting a girlfriend. Still, maintaining the relationship would be a tumultuous task given my attitude so without even trying to, I gave it up.

I sighed.

Setting those depressing thoughts aside, I inspected my gains from my breakthrough yesterday.

Name: Rudwick Roa

Health: 132/132

Stamina: 177/198

Mana: 306/306

Chakra: 48/264

Qi: 11/11 (2nd Stage of Qi Condensation)

Passive Skills: Aural Suppression © Lv. 2, Physical Fitness © Lv. 3, Chakra Control © Lv. 1, Sword Mastery © Lv. 2, Deftness © Lv. 2, Touch of Life ® Lv. 2, Life Attunement ® Lv. 2, Healing Magic Mastery ® Lv. 1

Active Skills: Meditation © Lv. 4, Cultivation © Lv. 2, Fireball © Lv. 3, Gust © Lv. 4, Chakra Circulation © Lv. 1, Qi Circulation © Lv. 1, Beacon of Life ® Lv. 2, Heal © Lv. 2, Reinvigorate © Lv. 2, Sprint © Lv. 2

Dao: Minor Dao of Life

Finished Paths: Mage, Cultivator, Ninja

Paths Available: The Fool 10/20, Healer 0/10, Aeromancer 0/25, Pyromancer 0/25

Skill Points Available: 13

It’s decent if I say so myself.

Although I do not know why my chakra didn’t replenish itself, I used it sparingly. At first it was already 50 so I guessed that 50 is my ‘base’ chakra. But now that it went down by 2 when I used in on the bear and stayed at it even after a few hours have elapsed, I grew worried.

Still, that was the least of my concerned so I put it at the back of my mind and focused at the present.

Currently, I had 13 skills points and I was debating whether to put it on Healer which undoubtedly will grant me healing skills. I still regretted immediately putting the points I’ve gathered on the Fool which was the best course of action at that time due to the lack of paths.

On the other hand, choosing Aeromancer or Pyromancer will obviously grant me an edge at long-range battles but their prices were somewhat beyond my budget so I opted to finish Healer first.

But before I dumped my points on it, I asked myself.

“What do I need healing skills for?”

Technically, I do not have any uses for more healing spells. My current heal and reinvigorate will still last me for a while. It was because of this that I also crossed the Fool from the potential paths albeit for a different reason.

The path was questionable and its gains are unpredictable. The only reason I invested on it is that the Fool was the only path I had at that time and looking at it now, I deeply regretted it.

Let’s not fuss about spilt milk.

I silently debated whether to choose the instant but pointless endeavor or the non-current yet practical one.

The internal war I waged continued for a couple of minutes but the sounds of the bell prompted me to choose between the two.

Ultimately, the choices narrowed down to Aeromancer and Pyromancer.

I didn’t have the time to think about the better option so abandoned my musings and left the rooftop.

I run through the hallways, hoping that I wouldn’t be late for my next class. Man it sure is tough to be a student.

***

Thankfully, by the time I arrived does the teacher also entered.

The teacher currently teaching us history is also our class adviser and our science teacher, Ms. Hermione Galanza.

I know, having history and science as a teaching specialty was a bit strange but she’s good at it so it really doesn’t matter.

Her silver hair that she always kept ponytailed also added to her strangeness but looking at it with another angle, we can say that she has this mysterious charm that somehow accentuates how we knew very little about her.

And yet, her being single also puzzled multiple students. I was one of them. I mean, how can a perfect waifu material like her be single?

Fine then, I won’t question their preferences but I will condemn the world why does a woman like her be without a boyfriend?

But looking at her glistening and silky silver hair evoked a certain memory.

Hannah’s pout flashed before my mind and I unconsciously grinned. I hastily covered my mouth by ducking my head between my arms above my desk and pretended to be asleep.

Come to think of it, her surname was also Galanza. Perhaps... no. Our teacher shouldn’t have a child at her age; Hannah might be her niece or something. I’m sure they’re somehow related. I better ask her next time.

“Witch hunt at that time became commonplace such that public execution by burning them on stakes occurred at least once a month which resulted in the upheavals of Martin Luther’s Reformation and the Thirty Year’s War. Some of the captured witches were also tortured using...”

My musings were interrupted by her explanation which contained the witch hunts that transpired 500 to 200 years ago. The topic descended down until she described the gory and morbid details of the process in torturing these so-called “heretics”.

Her description was so detailed that it almost felt like she already witnessed it before.

Strangely, I was mesmerized by her long-winded narration that I unconsciously listened to every word she said.

“..the pain of having your nails plucked from your fingers were unbearable that you wanted to scalp your head which they will gladly do when you won’t cooperate.”

I winced at her statement as I remembered the time I wikihopped too many times until I stumbled upon torture methods.

Scanning my memories and confirming that indeed what teacher said is the cruelest torture that I began admired her perseverance to learn those things. It takes an inhumane amount of willpower and guts to continue studying those gruesome and hideous acts after all.

But before she continued to elaborate more macabre techniques, Tina’s voice that was laced with fright resounded in the otherwise silent room.

“No! Please stop it!”

Her shout drowned the silence of the room and reverberated from the walls.

We all looked at her.

Tina’s face was pale. She was closing her eyes and her hands were covering her ears.

I laughed out loud and everybody shifted their attention at me. I smile at them but the smile wasn’t one of wry but of maliciousness.

“By any chance, is Tina secretly a heretic?”