Chapter 23

Bearwolves

Silent and Albert were nearing their ninth day of sparring Sai had gotten significantly better. Woke these battles weren't life and death, they did take a lot or of Sai. Thus Sai alai grew explosively. He could feel himself nearing the edge of the sixth level, almost the seventh level of the elementary realm. Sai felt like a veritable superman.

It was at the end of the ninth day that Albert brought up needing to go back to his village for a few days. “I'll go with you, we don't have to train. I have always wanted to adventure, this could be a prerequisite in a way” Sai said, he had not brought up the trip prior because he knew that Albert had his prelude on his mind already.

“I don't see why that would be an issue, we just follow the river.” Albert had grown rather close to Sai and he had even grown a bit during their training. He had yet to reach the basic realm, but he was so close he felt he could touch it. Something about growing and training together always brings two men together or makes them rivals. This case was the former.

Albert knew that as soon as Sai could beat him though that their friendship would be based on these times, so naturally the two treated each other very well.

That tenth day, Albert and Silent started their day the two left the house early after eating and preparing some food for lunch. The journey according to Albert should take all day and most of a night. They would not stop the whole time, so Sai prepared enough food for several meals since they didn't have time to stop.

“You ready?” Albert asked, he was impatient.

“Yep,  let's go.” Sai knew that Albert was very talkative, but for the first hour he didn't say much and they didn't even run into any carnivorous animals. It was quite enjoyable.

Suddenly Albert said, “Silent, I am truly fearful for your offer to move my tribe over in a few months, I just hope that it isn't too late.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sai asked.

“My tribe has a man that comes through every one hundred days and collects taxes, he is set to be there in a few days, but lately he has been coming earlier and earlier. If he came while I was working with you he could easily kill all of my people.” Albert explained.

“So why would that person need you specifically? If he is there to extort food or money couldn't he take it from anyone?” The entire situation confused Sai.

“This pertain also has to insure my wellbeing.” Albert said. Sai had taken am approach of only using his spirit power when necessary, so he didn't see that Albert was imagining a tyrannical man who looked very similar to himself.

Despite not looking into his mind, Sai had assumed it was a family member who had more power than Albert or had a higher standing in the family than Albert. This also led Sai to believe that Albert’s lineage wasn't as simple as just a chief of a small tribe.

“I see,  how do you feel about this person?” Sai asked, he refused to allow a person enter his property if they weren't invited.

“If you are asking if I would prefer them dead, I would not. I do not feel that he should be extorting me though, I left that life and he reminds me exactly that every time he comes by.” Albert had finally opened up to Sai. But this predicament was one in which Sai could not solve for Albert. He would however ban the man from entering his land if Albert’s people moved there.

“I think I understand the situation. If your people do move to my land they will be protected from him, you will only have to see him if you want to.” Sai had promised Albert a great many things.

“I can't expect that of you, he is even more powerful than your father and myself, he has already reached basic realm level three. On that same note though, if we did move closer to your land, he night not be happy. He might take it out on you.” Albert was completely honest, this is why he didn't find much issue with Sai’s old chiefs, he had a bigger problem.

“We'll see what the situation is like, then I well help out in any way I can.” Sai replied, he really wanted Albert to be on good terms with him. Albert send like the kind of person Sai would have been friends with in his past life and with his current age as well as his previous age added together, Sai and him would be about the same.

It neared lunchtime, Sai took out some food from his pack and handed it to Albert, a thank you was exchanged and they continued up the river. Albert and Sai spoke quite a bit, Albert knew more of current situations, his family was definitely not simple. Sai knew of how things worked, he was a computer programmer and refurbisher in his previous life, as well as a student just two steps away from graduating. He may not have been an expert at anything in particular, but he was capable of a great many things that he happened to become much better at with the help of magic.

Sai did not explain how he knew these things, but he explained many of the things he knew such as how to make fiberglass and glass in general. He also explained how to smelt steel. Over the course of nearly half of the trip all they did was talk and walk. It wasn't until nightfall that they noticed something interesting.

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In the river, there was a lighter area that appeared meat the center of the river. It must be said that this was one of the widest parts of the river, it was very deep as well. Neither Sai nor Albert would be able to reach the bottom before running out of breath.

This spot that looked as if it were glowing took up a large portion of the water.  “Silent,” Albert thought, getting the young boy’s attention.

“I'm not sure what it is either, could it be a monster?” Silent thought back.

“Whatever it is, it would do well to be at least it's body length away from the river. Let's slowly walk away from it and hope it hasn't paid attention to us,” Albert was not only cautious, but even more so than Sai.

As they began to walk away from the river the two heard a roar. The began to sprint, but they realized that the roar want from the direction of the river, it was from the direction of the woods near the edge.

The beast that jumped out of the woods was one Sai had never seen. Sai couldn't sense it's combat power, so he assumed it was at least as strong as his father.

Sai could clearly see that the beast looked similar to a dog, but it was the size of a tiger. It also did not bark like a dog, but it's roar was that of a bear. It had leaped directly toward Sai, it's eagle like talons outstretched and it's maw was drooling.

Before Sai had a chance to react Albert had already swung his heavy sword into the mouth of the monster. It was ripped in two from mouth to mid throat. The beast was screaming in pain when Sai reached out his mind to feel for everything around him. Sai feared the best in the water the most, but he felt the presence of nearly twenty of those large dogs surrounding himself and Albert.

Sai immediately used earth magic to create a tower underneath himself and Albert. Silent had made this tower add tall as he could, it was nearly fifty meters tall and had no edges. The downside to this tower was that Sai was so far from the ground that he couldn't move it like he did his grandmother.

The large dogs all came out of hiding,liked at their fallen comrade then began to see if they could reach the top of the tower. Sai used wind magic in order to push the beasts back, but some of them could still jump forty five meters in the air.

“Albert looked at Silent, “Those bearwolves are monsters aren't they?”

“Bearwolves? It's a fitting name, but these monsters aren't even the ones I'm worried about. You can kill them, that one in the water though, it hasn't showed itself and can still reach us just based on the size of its reflection.” Sai said.

“Then we kill the bearwolves and head further into the woods.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Sai lowered their tower to be just over the hight of the strongest bearwolf’s jump. Sai would throw his rope dart out at the other monsters and using his magic to explode out earth and steel shrapnel upon contact or when Sai could actually break skin.

It must be said that the ones Sai could hurt with just his rope dart were particularly weak, they were merely at his level and he could only draw blood at most. This is because monsters had very high defense and attack, but they couldn't use magic or technology generally. Only a few humanoid ones could use technology, but none could use magic, that was purely a human and magic beast trait. Since there were very few magic beasts, it was a generalization that only humans could use all three, magic, combat, and technology.

Sai could only severely injure those in the elementary realm, this was only because Sai fused combat and magic though. Albert however knew that the monsters weak points were their mouths. They were the strongest attack area on the beasts, but the weakest in defense. Albert had assumed all of his attacks at the mouth of the strongest beast in the hopes to recreate his first kill.

Silent knew that this battle would be one of attrition if it continued, and the beasts would likely win. Silent decided he would use the one magic power he had yet to use against anyone or anything. Sai grabbed his throwing knives, he only had four, but he could make more. The wind started blowing directly toward the beasts. A flash appeared in Silent’s eyes and like a bolt of thunder, Sai threw one knife directly into the eye of the largest bearwolf. A crack appeared in the monster's skull and it no longer jumped.

“What the hell was that?” Albert yelled.

“The power of thunder.” Sai answered. Although he learned his thunder magic through the Little Chief failing to kill him, Sai did not learn the same dao that the chief had. Instead, of thunder shocks like the Little Chief, but his dao was similar to a single bolt, but Sai knew that without pushing it into a certain direction it would merely dissipate with a loud noise.

Sai threw his other three knives at the next three strongest monsters. Each of the knives struck the beasts and ended their lives. Though Sai was out of knives, none of the other monsters could survive Albert’s strike. Sai lowered his tower once more and Albert killed monster after monster until all twenty were dead.

Corpses were strewn across the small area near the riverbed. Albert looked to Sai, “We need to collect these beasts and burn them or turn them into diner, if we leave them then other monsters will come and get more powerful from their meat.”

“Would we get stronger from their meat?” Sai asked, he had heard of such a thing in his past life, but wasn't sure if it would work that way in this world.

“Only if you're a monster. Monsters get the benefit of strength by killing and eating their own kind, this allows them to grow, people have to put in hard work though, eating monsters just fills our bellies and eating people makes us sick and puts a price on our head.” Albert explained, “There are some things that you can purchase to help raise your combat power or magic power, you can even get items that imitate the strength of a high combat power, but you cannot get it from hunting.”

“I guess that makes sense, Orzaworld can't have people that are too powerful,” Sai said, thinking that Orza was the one who dictated these rules.

“Orzaworld?” Albert looked confused as he and Sai piled up the bodies of the monsters.

“That is the name of this planet,” Sai was unaware how uneducated in science that people are in Orzaworld. He was creation that some people in cities would know what a planet was, but Albert did not. A planet is a large body of earth that revolves around a star.”

“If you say so,” Albert was skeptical but had no knowledge to debate against Sai’s claim.

“It is true. When I become powerful I will show you.” Sai was unsure how he world show Albert, but he was sure that his road to power would be long. Not because it would take a long time to advance, but because he was determined to be powerful enough to never let anyone hurt his family or his new friend.