Chapter 37: Memories

Haron Tragrar watched furiously at the fleeing figure of the kid before turning his attention to his three subordinates already covered by a large chunk of ice.

He couldn’t help but click his tongue in frustration.

It was too late to save them.

Even if he didn’t think highly of them, they were still his only subordinates in the wilderness. They were useful and, even if he would never admit it, they reminded him of his past authority as a member of a noble family.

Before this mission, he could order all those who had a lower status than himself. However, in the wilderness, even if he was a captain and a noble, he was only a soldier like the others.

Being able to bring these three with him as his personal men gave him the authority that he dearly missed.

He gritted his teeth in anger. He was there, but couldn’t prevent this kid from killing his men. He clearly underestimated him, but there was no way to predict that he would be able to use a Sacred magic.

If he was able to use it then he might have a master somewhere. Normally Haron would have left this kid alone after learning this, to avoid any future trouble, but he knew that he was a gift from heaven.

Another opportunity to earn a large sum of money wouldn’t appear easily. Moreover, the anger burning in his heart couldn’t be quenched easily.

He couldn’t kill this kid as he was similar to a treasure for him, but he already confirmed with the slave dealer that a broken limb or a missing eye wouldn't lower his value.

He contacted him last night. Few were aware of this, but every slave dealer posted some men inside the garrisons of the wilderness. This way, they could get information faster on the location of potential beast men's camp.

Only those deemed trustworthy were aware of this.

Haron was one of them while Farris wasn’t.

Farris was too honest and straightforward to accept this side of the reality. Slave trades were an important part of the economy of the kingdom. By relying on the money and support of these slave dealers, it was easier for the kingdom to establish these camps and towns inside the wilderness. In return, they had to accept the presence of these men in the camps.

Haron already made a deal with the man posted in his camp. A lonely kid able to use magic would be used as a slave mercenary by a noble family. Therefore, it was fine to hurt him as long as these injuries didn’t disable him permanently.

He was still speaking about the details with the slave dealer when Sillath left the camp. Therefore, he let his subordinates follow him discreetly. They already planned the place for the ambush, so even without following them closely, Haron knew where they were heading.

After completing his meeting, he left with his mount to join his men. He followed them some distance away because the noise of his Preel would have betrayed his presence. Moreover, he was sure that the surprise attack from these three would be enough to deal with him.

Less than five minutes after the start of the fight, the signal was launched into the sky.

He expected to find his men victorious, but the scene welcoming him left him dumbfounded. Although he hurried, he couldn't get there in time and could only watch his subordinates die a miserable death.

After confirming the death of his men, Haron immediately left in pursuit. As an earth mage, he had no way to increase his speed, but he was still confident in his stamina and speed to pursue him.

However, no matter how fast he ran, he wasn’t able to shorten the distance between them. Each time, he came closer, the kid would use a strange magic to suddenly accelerate. Haron was sure that there wasn’t any barrier magic able to accomplish that.

If someone had told him that a little kid would use a magic he could not recognize, then he certainly wouldn't have believed it.

His desire to catch this mysterious kid grew even stronger than before.

However, after chasing him for nearly ten minutes, Haron became nervous. They were in the wilderness. He was afraid that their pursuit and their previous fight would attract deviants.

He was actually planning to give up the pursuit to wait for him in the next town when the kid abruptly changed course to enter a small forest.

“Stupid kid”

Haron couldn’t help but growl in displeasure. If he ran to the next town, then all he had to do was go back to the camp to get a new mount and rush to the town. There would be some troubles capturing him if the kid entered the town before him, but all this would still be manageable.

Although we called it a town, it was after all only an Advanced town inside the wilderness.

However, the kid suddenly ran straight into the forest on his own.

This action made Haron wonder if this kid had a death wish.

Forests in the wilderness almost always sheltered many kinds of violent animals and maybe even vicious deviants that even he wouldn’t dare to confront.

Fortunately, small forests like these were places that a soldier knew like the back of his hand. The dense mana inside was favorable for the birth of deviants. Therefore, most of the missions he carried out were located in this kind of small forest.

He had never been to bigger forests sheltering stronger deviants, but he had enough confidence to step inside this one on his own.

Haron only hesitated a couple of seconds before following him inside.

He couldn’t wait anymore and let him die.

While cursing this reckless kid in his mind, Haron quickly followed behind him. Less than five minutes later, he also reached the border of the forest.

It couldn’t be called a large forest, but the trees inside were densely packed and obstructed his view. It was much more difficult to find him in this kind of environment.

He carefully looked around but didn’t notice the kid or any other lifeform.

He was totally focused on his surroundings when the pained roar of a beast resonated. Haron was badly frightened by this unexpected noise, but quickly sharpened his mind and headed toward the sound.

After some time, Haron finally discovered the source of the noise.

The corpse of an Otsoll was burning. Its fur emitted an ominous dark smoke along with an unpleasant smell of burning flesh.

There was another bloody corpse right next to the one burning. The two corpses were bathed in a massive pool of blood. The smell of fresh blood was masked by the disturbing odor of burned flesh. 

Haron looked around him but, after a few seconds of careful observation, he couldn’t find anything. He wasn’t able to sense the mana coming from other lifeforms around him as it wasn’t something commonly taught in the kingdom.

He finally advanced toward the corpse to examine the wounds of the beast. However, just before he could observe it carefully, he noticed a small earthball aimed at him.

Haron didn’t let his guard down, therefore, he was able to easily avoid the projectile. He also spotted the culprit.

A kid with red strands of hair still had his hand raised while standing on top of a branch of a nearby tree.

Haron couldn’t repress a snort as he angrily cursed this bold assailant.

“Do you really think that something like that would be enough to kill me? You’re too naive, kid.”

The kid didn’t answer and immediately shot another magic at him.

However, this time the earthball coming toward him was larger. The size of the previous projectile was ridiculously small, but this one was closer to the size of a standard earthball. The speed was nearly the same, but this time Haron didn’t have to avoid as the aim was off.

*Bam*

He didn’t have any time to wonder why this shot lacked accuracy before the earthball crashed into the corpse of the Otsoll at his feet.

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Under the shock, the head of the beast exploded. Blood and brain matter splashed all around, covering Haron from head to toes.

The kid smiled mischievously before jumping to another branch of a nearby tree.

He was heading deeper into the forest while Haron was boiling with rage. Not wasting any time, he quickly went after him as fast as he could.

However, after a few minutes of running, the kid was still ahead of him. There was no doubt that Haron was faster than this small kid, but he couldn’t catch up.

Each time he got closer, the kid would use some magic to propel himself forward. The earthballs that Haron fired to hit his legs were also avoided without trouble.

Despite not being able to close the distance, Haron wasn’t too worried. This kid was using magic to run. Therefore, it wouldn’t be long for him to exhaust his mana. The control over the mana of a Saint mage couldn’t compare with the control of a small child. It was only a matter of time before he exhausts himself.

While Haron was looking at the tree where the kid just landed, a noise on the ground made him shift his focus.

As soon as he saw what was heading his way he couldn’t help but curse mentally.

Several Otsolls were heading his way while baring their teeth. Otsoll was a widespread species well known for rarely attacking humans. They preferred to hunt smaller animals to eat, but this time there was no doubt that they intended to attack him.

Haron quickly raised his hand to activate a magic. The moment he saw his arm covered with blood, he understood.

Otsolls lived in a pack and had a strong bond together. They preferred to hunt smaller animals, which did not pose a threat, for food. However, if one of their own was killed, then they would mercilessly attack the one responsible.

The smell of blood attracted them and designated Haron as the culprit.

This unexpected event caused the proud and handsome face of Haron to twist into a savage expression of anger. His eyes looked at the back of the kid with a dark glint in them.

“This damn kid… Wait for me. I’m gonna show you what hell is like before selling you.”

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After jumping from one branch to another for a while, I finally got down. I looked at the dozens of Otsolls running after my pursuer. I knew how wild these beasts were when you attacked one of them.

My goal was reached. They didn’t pay me any mind and wholeheartedly attacked him from all side.

I carefully watched the fight unfolding before my eyes. The man with long dark hair had a furious look on his face, but his movements were smooth. I hoped this much would be enough to deal with him. However, his experience seemed to be plentiful as he dealt with the Otsoll one after the other as if he was cutting grass.

This was going to be troublesome.

I wasn’t naive enough to believe that these animals would be enough to kill him, but I still intended to use them to exhaust or even hurt him.

However, the difference in strength was just too obvious. Far from exhausting him, they would only delay him a little.

At first, I didn’t want to attack him while he was still fighting the animals for fear of getting their attention and shifting their target.

However, I didn’t have a choice anymore.

I concentrated, raised my right hand and carefully waited for an opening. He didn’t seem to have the slightest chance of losing, but the number of attacks was enough to make him focus entirely on his fight.

Less than a minute later, the opening I was waiting for finally appeared. I focused my mind and aimed three earth bullets at him from a blind spot.

The whistle of the wind made by my magic was enough to attract his attention. He was forced to hurriedly avoid my attack.

I couldn’t help but gasp in shock after seeing his evasion. Even in this situation, he was able to avoid my three bullets. His reflexes and experience weren’t ordinary, but the moment he avoided was enough to distract him.

One Otsoll finally succeeded and furiously bitted his ankle.

He let out a furious roar along with an earthball aimed at the head of the beast.

The attack was enough to deal with it, but the balance of the fight already shifted. His movements weren’t as smooth as before and seeing that their opponent was struggling and shedding blood made the beasts attack even more viciously.

In a fight, a second of distraction was enough to cause death. The words of my old master couldn’t be more accurate.

I was ready to launch another earth bullet to end his fight, but before I could attack, the man covered with small wounds let out a sharp cry.

“Earth dance”

He fired an earthball covered with sharp spikes from each of his hands. This magic didn’t seem any different from his previous attacks, but before reaching their target, they abruptly stopped and began to rotate around him.

After a few seconds, several Otsolls were hit by the violent earthballs moving like a living being.

He released several other earthballs. After a few seconds, six of those deadly weapons were rotating around him creating a ring of death.

The Otsolls were ferocious and didn’t fear his previous attacks, but in front of certain death, they began to retreat.

"Shit."

I fired another earth bullet, but he didn’t avoid this time. One of his earthballs encountered my magic and completely blocked it before resuming its rotation.

I didn’t expect that he had such a trump card, but even if his magic seemed overbearing, the toll of mana seemed quite important.

I couldn’t kill him but I made him use quite a bit of mana.

As long as he was using this magic, I couldn't come close to him and normal attacks would not harm him in the slightest.

In front of his magic and imposing manners, the remaining Otsolls surrounding him finally left along with furious growls.

When I realized that the fight would soon be over, I left and ran deeper into the forest.

As I was running as fast as I could, I heard a cold voice behind me.

“Still trying to run away. Dream on!”

As soon as his cold words left his mouth, three of his earthballs flew toward me at high speed. The previously sharp spikes that had shredded the beasts around him were retracted, leaving only a smooth surface.

However, the whistle of the air still testified of the serious of his attack. 

I couldn't be directly touched by something like that.

I avoided the first one by diving to the ground. The magic flew above my head at high speed. The movement of my hair was enough to show me the terrifying power of this attack.

I rolled on the ground to avoid the second, but the third one was already too close. I used wind magic to propel me into the air.

The last attack crashed at high speed on the ground and left a terrifying mark.

I turned my head toward him just in time to see his cold smile. With a wave of his hand, the first attack I avoided came back toward me without losing any of its former speed.

I didn’t have any time to wonder how he was doing that. Another wind magic helped me avoid the attack, but it was already too late.

The other two earthballs were already coming back.

I was trapped in this deadly whirlpool.

Without my evading training and my wind magic, I would have already been hit. However, even if I made tremendous progress with my wind magic, it was far from perfection.

One of my propulsion was too weak and didn’t allow me to completely avoid an attack.

My side was hit at full strength.

My balance was instantly broken by the impact, but contrary to my expectation, my ribs weren’t broken. I felt some pain but the damage seemed incredibly low compared to the speed and the weight of the projectile that hit me.

The other two earthballs were flying toward me to finish the job, but the previous impact didn’t hurt me enough to leave me defenseless.

“Earth guard”

I gathered all the mana I could to create a protective layer of earth on my torso. The earthballs hit me head on and instantly crushed my defense, but they weren’t able to harm me.

I released my wind magic and borrowed the strength of the impact to exit the whirlpool trapping me.

The mage didn’t move closer since the beginning of his attack. I didn’t know if he was afraid that I would attack him or if he judged that there was no need for him to move, but his choice gave me the chance to put a bit of distance between us.

If he had chosen to get closer, I would have been in trouble. However, it was too late for him to act. The force from the impact of his magic along with my wind magic helped me to get away from him, far from his attack range.

I landed on the ground and began to run at top speed toward my objective.

I couldn’t help but thank Hirillë in my heart for the precious clothes she gave me. If not for it, my ribs would have been broken by his previous attack.

I ran for a couple of minutes in the forest before seeing the reason for my entry into this place.

A small stream of water crossed the forest. Its length was quite long since it crossed it on both sides, but its width was moderate, no more than a few feet.

I entered the forest because I knew that this place was my only chance to defeat him. The plan to use the Otsoll to attack him was improvised, but it still gave some results even if I was nearly caught because of it.

I crossed the small stream and calmed my breathing while waiting for him to arrive.

Thirty seconds later, a man with long dark hair and eyes filled with disdain finally appeared in front of me.

His breathing was harsh and his magic was nowhere to be seen.

“So you finally stop running. Good, I was sick of chasing after you.”

He took a step forward and was ready to cross the river when he stopped. As if recalling something, his expression darkened before he took a couple of steps back.

“So that’s how it is… What a shrewd kid. I saw your sacred magic before. I know of its strength, but you won’t be able to defeat me with just that”

I looked at him coldly.

This sensation…

It was the same.

The feeling I had while facing this man was almost nostalgic. Memories from my previous life rushed into my head like waves.

I tried to forget those three years of fighting as if it had never happened in the first place, but these moments were deeply engraved in me.

A new opponent every month.

The fear before the fight.

The pounding of my heart and the calm of my mind while we exchanged blows.

The relief and rapt after each victory.

I treated all of it as if it was a dream to start a new life without any fight, but in this instant, I remembered. These memories, these emotions that I nearly forgot all came back to me.

It wasn’t a dream.

Even in this body, I was still Thomas.

The words of my old master, that I buried along with the memories of my previous life, came rushing into my mind once more.

‘If you want something then fight for it, only those who win have the right to decide their fate.’

My mana was circulating faster than ever throughout my body as if boiling with excitement while my eyes turned sharper with a dangerous glow.

This new life, I won’t let anyone take it away from me.