The whole village was gathered near the forest entrance. People were discussing animatedly while surrounding the huge carcass of the Scarlet bear. Even the lifeless body radiated a sense of strength and bestial savagery. Alba stood outside the crowd trying to get a good look at the beast. She was too afraid to approach the mob and couldn't get a glance at the subject of discussion. It had taken her much courage to come here. She had been feeling anxious since the morning. Hunting a tier two magic beast was incredibly dangerous as far as she knew and couldn't help but worry about Vincent's safety.

Vincent bid farewell to the hunting party and slowly walked towards his house. The crowd readily made way for him. Many villagers were looking at him with respect and deference. Most of them were shocked after finding out that the unsociable doctor was actually a wizard. The pale and weak looking young man didn't look anything like what they had imagined a wizard to be, in their minds, a wizard dressed lavishly and lived a rich life.

The sight of Alba tiptoeing to look beyond the crowd surprised Vincent. He felt a little happy looking at the girl who had finally stepped out of her own volition. Approaching the curious girl, he asked in a soft voice, "Do you want to see the bear?"

Alba shook her head and glanced at Vincent. Her anxiousness melted away after finding no injuries on him. Vincent looked at the crowd and nodded to Alba. "Let's go home then. It's too noisy here."

The crowd slowly dispersed and a small group of soldiers came to retrieve the corpse. Zach had already prepared for the transportation of the carcass. He was looking forward to shutting the mouth of his poison tongued fiancée. She wouldn't be able to retort this time. He had thoroughly kept his words after all. Casper and Nathan were happy as well, this hunt would give them bragging rights as well as increase their prestige.

The hunters were also excited as they had received a gold coin each. It was a large sum of money for them and they didn't hold back in praising the young men who had hired them. All the party members were satisfied with the hunt as each of them benefited from it somehow. Zach and Nathan began discussing which road they should take to show off their achievement to the most people while Casper began tending to his injury. The villagers had overwhelmed them when they exited the forest and he forgot the fact that Vincent was a doctor. Only now did it cross his mind and he spoke, "I forgot to get my arm treated..... "

Zach and Nathan also realized that they had overlooked such a simple matter. Zach thought about it and said in hushed voice, "It's alright. A lot of guests have gathered at the Gill mansion for the baron's birthday celebration. You can take this chance to show off in front of the young ladies. I am sure they will be entranced by your tale of bravery. Take this chance and you might successfully woo a pretty lady."

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Nathan nodded to show his approval and the trio started talking about how they should narrate the story regarding the hunt. Soon, they had come up with an exciting and blood boiling tale highlighting their wits and courage along with the bear's ferociousness. Satisfied, the young men started laughing and talking amongst themselves.

*********************************************

The next day.

A series of knocks rang out on Vincent's room. Opening the door, Vincent saw a young soldier who saluted and handed him an envelope. Nodding to acknowledge that he had received the letter, he thanked the soldier.

"I shall take my leave then, master Vincent." The soldier left just as quickly he had come.

It didn't seem like the envelope contained a spell model. Curious as to what its contents was, he removed the seal and took out its contents. A short letter and an invitation card. Vincent picked up the letter and began reading it.

"Master Vincent,

I am writing this letter to invite you to my father's birthday celebration. Though it may be a bit sudden, I hope that you will attend the event. Young master Zach, Casper and I are expecting your presence.

Young master Zach also says that it would be better for you to choose a spell model yourself and that you should make your way here. He has also stated that he will provide you with more spell models and materials for study of wizardry if you agree to one of his proposals.

If you decide to attend the celebration, please come to Ayden's book shop by noon tomorrow. The shopkeeper will lead you to us if you show him the invitation card.

Nathan Gill"

Vincent put the letter down a little upset. He had come to Trenni village to escape conscription and troublesome matters. Unfortunately, he ran into Zach not long after moving, thus exposing his identity as a wizard. From the looks of things, he was going to have to attend the celebration even if he didn't want to. The conditions stated by Zach was a little too attractive to reject. Getting to choose a spell model himself would help him manage his repertoire much better.

Though the letter had mentioned about a proposal, he didn't want to agree to it no matter what it was. Spell models and materials for study were certainly alluring but it would come with equally troublesome shackles. Besides, hearing them out wouldn't hurt and he could possibly learn things that weren't known to most people.

He had lost contact with Rachel when he escaped from the town of Opal. She had been his source of information since the day he moved out from Rigrit's mansion and now he was practically blind regarding the kingdom's situation. No one here provided service that would deliver a letter all the way to Istria reliably and he hadn't tried to reach out to her given how impractical it seemed.

Vincent decided to attend the banquet and hear out the other party. The problem was, he had no idea where Ayden's book shop was. Sighing at Nathan's oversight, he headed for old Morssen's house. Fortunately, the old man knew where the shop was and agreed to lead him there.