Many years have passed since I first started training. Right now, I’m 14 years old. Nothing eventful has happened so far, except that recently Lana has been getting harassed by a noble. It seems that the noble noticed her by chance and proposed right then and there. Luckily, she turned him down instantly.

When I found out, I released so much bloodthirst that the birds on the window fainted instantly. It shocked me that Lana was such a precious existence to me.

In this country of Ustrea, those that are unmarried after the age of 25 are seen as too old. Therefore, Lana who is 28 is considered old is often subject to proposals from no good people. The noble in question is a prime example of this. His name is Baron Lionel Trent and is aged 45. His reputation is below poor as he is notorious for travelling across the country and sleeping with married women. This would not be so bad in this country as polygamy is common however, 9 times out of 10, it is not consensual when the Baron is involved. Truly disgusting.

[Ken]” Hey Lana, I’m glad you denied that asshole”

[Lana]” Of course, accepting was never an option anyways”

[Ken]” Oh? Why is that? Despite his reputation, the Baron is fairly wealthy so most people would accept since it basically guarantees a better living”

When I asked that, Lana stared at me and smiled gently. After a few seconds she resumed cleaning her Claymore sword.

[Lana]” Maybe one day you will find out why, I plan to reject everyone until Mr Right asks me”

[Ken]” I see… I see”

I couldn’t help but feel a slight pain when I imagined Lana with a guy. Lana has raised me since I was young as a guardian, yet we are nowhere near related. The furthest our ties went was family friends. I suppose I can’t deny it for any longer. I will be 15 tomorrow, I suppose then I can at least get it off my chest.

That evening, I went back to the forest to hunt. Recently I’ve been seeing Rank B beasts though I can hunt them easily. Rank B monsters are not very strong, the only reason they’re feared so much is due to their ability to grow into higher ranks.

After 2 hours of training, I head back home. As I approach the door, I notice something. The house feels lonely. It feels as though no one is inside. Of course, that’s not exactly unusual but at this time Lana is usually home and resting after work. As I slowly head to the kitchen, I spot large scratches on the wall.

My mind instantly went alert. Such scratches are far too abnormal for a normal beast of even B rank, this means that something huge has taken Lana.

[Ken]” Yet why has there not been a huge commotion if such a beast appeared here?”

After a few minutes of searching, I notice multiple human footprints on the ground and signs of a struggle.

[Ken]” I can think of only one person who could employ such powerful Beast Tamers and use it to kidnap Lana, that scum”

Seething anger spread throughout every fibre of my body. With the remaining parts of my sanity, I rinsed my head under the tap. Since the level of technology of this continent was only a slightly bit better than the middle ages, the water was cold.

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[Ken]” Keep it cool, Ken. If he’s taken her then there is only one-way thing to do. Erase him.”

Such words would shock those of his original world since murder was a felony, yet Ken knew hesitation would mean losing Lana.

Lucky for me, Mr Baron was nice enough to leave my bow. As he is the feudal lord of this territory, it’s a given that he would go back to his mansion. With this knowledge I set out towards the ostentatious mansion atop the hill.

As the sun begins to set, I approach the back of the mansion. Due to a stroke of luck, I arrived before the carriage with Lana. I say luck but really, I owe the old couple from the weapon shop a large debt. When they noticed an unconscious Lana in the carriage, the old man rushed out with a large number of rusted weapons and ‘fell over’. This stopped the carriage from passing for an hour since the horse was injured by the metal shards.

I stealthily scale the stone wall and head towards the largest room from the outside. As I edge across the spacious backyard, I hear a crack behind me.

[Ken]” Why? Just why were you there at that exact time you mutt!”

My eyes locked with a 3-meter-tall wolf, unlike a normal wolf its pelt was pitch black with its hair containing a metallic gleam. I spun around with my bow knocked and loosed an arrow instantly.

[Ken]” Tch, I guess optimism isn’t accepted huh”

As soon as my arrow approached the wolfs eye, it opened its mouth crunched on the arrow. I was speechless, I didn’t hold back all that much yet this monster was chewing on my attack. This proves the strength of the monster; it is at least A rank. My very first A rank encounter and it turns out to be a battle I cannot escape from. Just my luck.

[Ken]” Ok Mr Wolf, do you know what time it is?”

[Ken]” No? Neither do I, I just felt like saying that”

Bad puns aside, I need to find a way to dispose of this thing as quietly as possible. Lana should be here at any minute.

As fast as the wind, the wolf pounced and slashed directly towards my torso. I jumped backwards with all my strength and rolled to the left. As I landed, a black object slashed the place that I was at. My trained eyes could only just register the movement.

The wolf growled and bared its yellow fangs at me, drool dripped to the floor as its blood red eyes glared at me like a piece of meat.

[Ken]” Are you serious? What sort of movements are those?”

As I complained and smiled bitterly, the wolf once again slashed at me. A searing pain attacked my torso. I looked down to see a deep gash in my chest.

[Ken]” Agggghhhhh what? There was no initial movement! That wasn’t a pounce! That was teleportation!”

Kens guess was correct, at A rank, monsters start to develop special unique skills and magic that they can use directly.

I see, so he’s got to be A rank at least. I suppose it’s got something to do with teleportation or warping. Ken jumped back as far as he could and readied his arrow. Bearing the pain and blood loss, Ken loosed the arrow. It soared through the distance in seconds and struck the foreleg of the wold.

It bounced of an fell to the floor like a log.

[Ken]” What even is this? Is this meant to be fair?”

Despite his complaining, Ken contained firing arrows at various spots in a desperate attempt to find a weak spot. His arrows slowly depleted to the point that he only had 10 left.

[Ken]” Seriously, just what is this?”

Kens breathing grew ragged, his face red flowing with sweat. His eyes contained the slight despair of a man about to lose everything. The wolf jumped at Ken, it’s mouth open wide and it’s claws aiming for his torso.

With his last ounce of strength Ken pulled the arrow. Time slowed, his breathing calmed, and his vision focused on the only moving target.

[Ken]” Huh? This reminds of that time against that Death God whatever his name was”

Smiling bitterly to himself, Ken watched as the wolf appeared in front of him. It swung its claw down at shredded Kens chest. Living through the agony, Ken shot the arrow at the wolf and closed his eyes.

Seconds passed by and no further impact assaulted Ken.

[Ken]” Ow, ow, ow. I seriously hate pain. But what’s up with this tease of a wolf?”

Ken opened his eyes and was shocked by the site. The wolf lay on the floor with a rugged arrow sticking out from its eye socket. The arrow was deep enough to penetrate the brain of the beast.

[Ken]” Can I call that lucky I guess?”

As ken laughed in self-mockery, agony took over his body. It seemed his adrenaline had finally run out and the accumulated damage tore into his body. His face paled as large quantities of blood left his body. He closed his eyes, the face of a mature older beauty surfaced. His face naturally formed a sweet smile for a split second, but it soon turned to an expression of sheer sadness.

[Ken]” I’m sorry Lana, it seems my resolve wasn’t enough”

While this was happening the time ticked on, it finally became 12 am.