After registering with the Tamer’s Guild, we made our way to my home in order to settle some matters with Kai. It was around an hour away from town. One can run laps around it while shouting and no neighbours would be disturbed but the wild animals lurking in the forest. That was the reason why I was able to buy it for only twenty silvers. It was a perfect place for us to commence our duel.

“This is the place, eh? Not bad, not bad!” Kai gazed around as the bright sun beams collide to his face.

“Yeah, I figured I will be able to save more in the long run if I buy a place of my own early.”

“So how about it, let’s start?” Kai twisted his body left and right as he stretched his arms.

“Sure, let’s do this Ovis.”

“Y-yes, master” She went to stand in front of me then readied her weapon.

“Hey hey! Wait up!” Kai raised an open palm.

“What’s the matter? I thought we’re going to start already?” I relaxed my shoulders.

“Before commencing a duel, the tamers must decide the type of battle and how much money is involved first.”

“There is money involved?” I could not help but raise a brow.

“Of course there is! That is why a lot of tamers like to challenge others, especially the ones who they think they can beat.”

“I see, how much is commonly wagered then?”

“A silver is a common bet but we can do it for fifty coppers if you like.”

“Fifty coppers it is. Then what it is about the type of battle?”

“Common battle types are one-on-one, round robin, elimination. Tamers can also join the fight. It is not limited to that though since there are some tamers who have other proposals”.

“Since we only have one familiar each, then we can only do one on one, right? Should we jump in the fight as well?”

“I suggest to just let our familiars on their own first. Is that good with you?” Kai asked.

“Sure! Let’s do it.”

A one-on-one familiar only duel for half a silver. Although it was more like a practice match for me, I could not afford to lose any more money. Our familiars stepped forward. Orya and Ovis stared at each other’s eyes intently with their sweaty faces. They had their feet apart with their backs slightly arced. Orya was armed with a dagger in each hand while Ovis had her steel mace and a round shield.

“Orya, attack!” Kai pointed onward.

Orya leaped forward and slashed with her daggers.

“Ovis, block it then strike back!” I shouted.

The shield clashed with the dagger which emitted a sharp sound of steel. Ovis was about to hit the enemy with her mace when Orya kicked the shield to launch herself away.

As the bunny girl landed, she crouched and kicked up the dirt to attack once again. It was followed by the fruitless clashing of steel. Ovis attempted to counter but her weapon only met the thin air. The exchange of blows with the same movements kept on for a while, probably because Kai and I were not giving them new commands.

I could tell that there was some force behind both of their attacks but the way they moved was just too sloppy. There were lots of wasted movements and the trajectories were easy to predict. I guess it was understandable though since it was their first battle.

“Ovis, I’ll let you fight freely until I say otherwise.” I instructed with folded arms.

The meek girl nodded before she changed her stance. She shrunk herself behind her buckler and went charging ahead. Orya propelled herself upward to avoid the collision. While she was in midair, the steel mace went flying towards her.

“Watch out!” Kai shouted.

The Rabbikin crossed her arms. With the sight of the impending harm, she closed her eyes with a lowered head. The mace came flying but it did not hit her. Orya opened her eyes. As her gaze wandered around restlessly as to where the projectile was, she was unable to give enough attention to her reunion with the surface. Ovis took this opportunity to ram Orya with her shield, knocking her away.

“That’s it! It’s my lost!” Kai raised his hands in defeat, yet his tone said otherwise.

“I can still fight, master!” Orya protested yet her eyes were still glued to her opponent. She lifted herself from the ground with the support of her shaking arms.

“It’s enough. You did alright.” Kai replied with a lower tone of voice.

“Are you sure? You are not going easy on me, are you?” I questioned.

“We don’t want our precious familiars getting extremely injured on their first fight, right? Plus I think it is already enough to see what they are capable of.”

“I guess so,” I replied.

“Here’s your prize! Congratulations on your first win!” Kai handed me the promised amount.

“Thanks,” I said before I gave out a sigh of relief.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

I was glad that we won our first battle, not because I was hell bent to prove that Ovis was cuter but because I was really running tight on money. Because of my win, I became more financially secured than a few breaths earlier.

“We’ll be taking our leave now then!” said Kai.

“Thank you very much for your help.” I bowed down to show my gratitude.

”Hey hey, I think I should be the one thanking you for helping me pick a familiar!” Kai patted my shoulder then he looked at the Rabbikin. “We will be training hard after we go home, understood Orya?”

“Yes master!” his familiar enthusiastically responded with erected ears.

I watched the two walk away until they were no longer in sight. After they were gone, the tangerine sky took my sights. The night was coming near.

“Are you alright?” I asked Ovis who was standing beside me, fidgeting.

“Y-yes master… but…”

“But?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Can I…. go find where the weapon I threw earlier went?”

“Oh sure, find your mace then come inside the house after you get it.”

Ovis nodded before she ran to the forest to search for her weapon. I went inside my house to call it a day. It was a small wooden hut with a common area which was both my kitchen and dining room, plus two bedrooms; just enough space for the two of us. I started preparing dinner with the ingredients I had stored. I was not that great at cooking but it was way cheaper preparing my own meal. Buying cooked food was impractical especially since I already had an additional mouth to feed.

After I was done, Ovis went inside the house with small steps, one at a time.

“Come in, it will be your home now so don’t be shy.” I invited as I served the food on the table.

Ovis just nodded and we proceeded to eat. She unhesitatingly grabbed her spoon and fork, which surprised me. Based on what I heard, familiars eat with their hands until they were taught otherwise. After the meal, I guided Ovis to her room which had a small wooden bed and a cabinet.

“A-are you sure… I c-can stay here?” She blankly stared at the small space as if it was something amazing.

“Of course, you have the room all to yourself. Be sure to rest up because I will be training you hard tomorrow.”

Ovis nodded in response while I went back to my room to rest

***

“Ah?” I mumbled after I woke up due to some noise.

It was not that loud, just some thumps and squeaks. I peeked at my window and the sun was just about to rise. Even though I still wanted to sleep some more, I got up from bed to check what was the source of the ruckus.

“M-morning, Master…” Ovis greeted as she sat on the rough wooden floor.

In her hand was a rugged cloth and beside her was a rusty bucket filled with water. The house was worn down but it looked significantly brighter compared to yesterday. I did not remember commanding her to do housework. I was just standing, dumbfounded.

“I used the food I f-found inside the c-cupboard to m-make breakfast…” Ovis stood up then served the food.

“Oh? I did not know you can cook.” I sat down despite still being baffled by her actions.

I took a bite and it was way better than the dinner I made. I could still taste the inner delicacy of the ingredient yet it was not bland. Even the vegetables had a soft crunch that made the food better. I was amazed at what she produced even though what was available to her were only leftover ingredients.

“You are a good cook. You should eat as well.” I invited.

She just nodded before she sat down to join me. Emptying my plate was not difficult at all. Mornings became something to look forward to since I would not need to do chores any longer. Despite that, I was a bit disturbed on the fact that she did all those work out of her own volition.

“Um… Ovis?” I carefully called her after I noticed that she was done eating.

“Y-yes, Master?”

“I appreciate all your efforts and all but…” I scratched the back of my head.

“Is the food n-not to your liking?” She asked while fidgeting.

“N-no! In fact you actually did a good job! It is just that next time, I would appreciate it if you’ll ask for my approval first before you do something.”

“I-I’m sorry Master, I will not do it again!” Ovis got down to the floor and bowed.

“Hey, I’m not mad! In fact, I would even like it if you’ll take over the cooking and cleaning from now on.”

“R-really?” Ovis slowly lifted her head with teary eyes.

“Yeah, but can you tell me why did you do all this on your own?”

“M-my previous master would punish me if I don’t have anything in order before he wakes up so I thought…” She explained as her sights got glued to the floor, even her ears drooped down even more.

“I am not your previous master so forget everything of that, understood?”

“Y-yes, Master!” She bowed down once again.

“We’ll spend the whole day training today. I’ll wait for you outside so meet me when you’re ready.”

“Yes, M-master!”

I went to my room first to get my sword. When I went outside, I was met with a blast of cool air. While waiting for Ovis, I wielded my sword around to get some exercise. I went closer to a nearby tree and used it as a dummy opponent. I sliced at it a couple of times and all I was able to give it were scratches. How I wished I could do what sword masters do on children’s fantasies; cutting trees in half with a single strike.

“M-master, sorry for the wait!” Ovis who was holding her weapon and shield arrived.

“Took you long enough, let’s get started then.” I turned around as I wiped the sweat on my forehead with my arm.

“What shall we do, M-master?”

“We’ll be working on the basics first. I’ll be attacking you so be sure to block my attacks, alright?”

“Y-yes, Master!” Ovis raised her shield.

“Haaaa!” I shouted as wielded my sword against her.

She was able to use her shield to meet my blade. Yet as the loud sound was emitted from the engagement, her eyes were closed for a moment.

“Never lose your sight of your opponent during battle!” I instructed as I struck her even more.

“Y-yes, Master!”

“Fix your stance! You’ll easily lose balance if you stand like that! Widen your legs!” I lectured while still attacking.

“Y-yes Master!”

“Focus on your enemy! I will not strike the same spot every time!” I uttered before I did a sweeping low strike

“Yes, M-master!” She crouched and lowered her shield to protect herself.

“You are losing your form!” I then followed with an overhead strike.

“Ah!”

Ovis was able to block it by raising her shield but the sudden shift in weight caused her to lose balance. In result, her butt collided with the surface while she used her arms as support. I pointed my sword at her face while she was lying down on the ground. “The enemy will not stop even if you fall down. Find a way to get back up quickly or you’ll get killed.”

“Y-yes, Master!” She quickly lifted herself and positioned her shield in front.

I resumed attacking and lecturing her at the same time. I believed it was the most efficient way for her to learn since I was planning to take quests starting the next day. I may be a beginner as a tamer but I had a bit of an experience in fighting. That was why I thought I could whip her up to shape.

After practicing blocking, I let her attack me while I parried her blows. Not only that her swinging was unstable, there was a noticeable hesitation on her strikes. Even though she was still unsteady, she was way stronger than me physically. They said that the Sheepkins were just as strong as an average Human but that did not seem to be the case for her. I could tell that she could break a few of my bones if she poured her all on her attacks.

“You won’t win by swinging like that! Put your back into it!” I yelled.

“Y-yes, Master!” Ovis swung her mace left and right alternatively.

“Your attack pattern is boring! Be more creative but do not throw your weapon like last time!”

“Y-yes, Master!”

We kept on practicing until I noticed that she was running out of breath. Her form became way better than yesterday but it was still not good enough. I commanded her to practice magic as she rest, and to not leave the house while I buy some supplies in town. I wanted to ensure that everything goes smoothly for our first job that was why I wanted to be well prepared.