“Stop calling me that.”
“How are we gonna split this Tomato? 60 to 40? I get 60 percent of course, sounds fair?”
Eric went up to the manticore and secretly absorbed its core. The energy of an A-ranked beast flowed through him. “Ah that feels good,” his eyes lighted up with a faint glow for a brief moment.
Lithana saw the faint glow, and she was curious about something ever since she first saw him.
“What are you, half reptilian half human? Why are your eyes like that?”
Eric froze for a second, trying to come up with a excuse. Changing his eyes to those of a human, he turned around with the brightest smile. “What are you talking about, my eyes have always been normal, something must be wrong with your eyesight.”
“No bu- but how, i swear! I’m not dreaming-“
“Tomatoes aren’t the smartest, it’s alright to feel dumb.” He ended this conversation there.
Lithana was left there spluttering, face reddening like the afternoon sun.
Stashing the manticore inside the storage ring, they headed back to the village
—
“Wow! This is impressive Mr Pendragon, completing a diamond ranked mission with only two people? That is truly remarkable,” Sophia said.
There were talks and whispers speculating how Eric and Lithana were related, soon it became the main gossip amongst the hunters. A mysterious high ranked hunter making a sudden appearance and working with the Bladeheart family who was not known to work with others, it was bound to attract attention.
After getting 25 gold from the manticore, they split 15 and 10 gold respectively.
“We’re done for today, how do i contact you the next time we go on missions?”
“Here’s my card. Tap on the insignia and transmit your thoughts through it.”
The insignia of the Bladeheart family was a golden dagger in the jaws of a pitch-black skull.
—
Two weeks later~
Wrapping up a hunt, Eric and Lithana were breathing heavily, catching their breath, they trundled through the mud filled swamp making their way back to the village.
Their most recent monster that they subjugated was the Forest Troll. With its high vitality and regeneration, it took them nearly one hour to take it down, which makes it their longest hunt yet.
With this hunt, Eric made a quick calculation and concluded that after cashing in the troll, he would have more than enough to get the elemental sword. After saving for 2 weeks, he made a total of 60 gold and was recently promoted to Diamond rank.
“Let’s get a drink first, i’ll hear out your request then.”
In this short period of time, they have become into close acquaintances, often going out for drinks after a long hunt.
After they cashed in the troll, they settled down at a bar.
“Alright, let me start by saying being a Hunter is just a hobby for me, who i really am is a student from the prestigious Crownswell Academy of Erewhon Kingdom. Currently i am on a school break, so my family sent me out to recruit promising mages, and it just so happened that i met you.”
“So what do you want from me?”
“Calm down, i’m getting there. Since I’ve failed to recruit you, the next best thing i can do is to request for your help. I have a half brother at the academy whose getting constantly bullied, he isn’t doing very well in school, so i need your help in protecting him.”
“And what makes you think i’m interested in this.”
“Please, i will send you 15 monster cores and 30 gold every month.”
“30 cores and i’ll think about it.”
“20-“
“25 and that’s final. I’ll take nothing below B ranked cores. So why do you need help so badly, don’t you have any helpers?”
“I do, but no one as strong as you. My half brother is actually an illegitimate son of my father and the Dark Elf queen. No one outside my family knows this, i’m only telling you this because you’ve decided to help. I’ll take care of the school fees and write you a recommendation letter to get you in.”
“Okay but first let me get some stuff ready before leaving.”
Eric left for the weapons shop.
Entering the shop, he went straight to the master blacksmith and jiggled a bag of coins over his head.
“Sonavubitch, you actually did it, didn’t know you had it in you. Wait here, i’ll get it done in 2 hours.” Taking the bag of gold, he left to the back of the workshop.
After 2 hours, the sword finally came into being. It was shaped like a katana, with the blade slightly curved. Inside the blade was an elemental crystal and it had a white handle which was laced with mithril. The elegance and sleek lines made the blade look beautiful yet deadly.
Eric carefully pried the sword from the master blacksmiths hand, as if afraid that it would shatter. The hum of the sword could be heard as he made a few strokes through the air. Next, he tried infusing his power into the sword. Earth element made the blade 4 times harder, electricity coated the blade with lighting element enhancing its a razor sharp edge. Fire element stayed inside the blade, super-heating it making it radiate a blinding light.
“How is it, is it to your liking?”
“She is a beauty, i love it.”
“Anything else i can do for you?.”
“Do you sell gravity rings, something to train my body with.”
“Yes over here, this ring emits 2 times the gravity on the users body, you can increase the intensity if you like, but it is not recommended.”
Though Eric wanted to train his body faster there was another reason to get it, he wanted to study the gravity magic in the ring and someday learn it.
Pleased with his purchase, Eric got ready for the academy.
