Chapter 4
Having narrowly escaping the fate of being sold as a slave, Rennel started her journey with the mysterious creature Chaos. They first visited the town of Robac, and stayed there for three days. And after selling some stuff and buying things they needed, Chaos and Rennel resumed their journey, after choosing their next destination.
Still, having never stepped out of her village her entire life, Rennel was lacking even the most basic of knowledge and skills to survive outside. As such it falls to Chaos, who have experienced and seen pretty much everything in life to educate the girl.
In order to achieve the goal of teaching the girl in the shortest time possible, Chaos gave the girl a blessing or a ‘seed’ that would increase her capabilities greatly. Of course, Chaos was not so irresponsible as to just give the girl everything. No, she has to unlock the power of her ‘seed’ by herself – through sheer effort and hard work.
To that end, Chaos purposely chooses the long way to their next destination and entered the woods to train the girl. One of the first things that Rennel needed to do was to procure her own food. As Chaos didn’t need to eat anything for energy and nourishment, there’s no need for it to gather or hunt its own food. But Rennel was different, she was human. And as human she needed to eat in order to keep on living.
Rennel understood this and therefore, did not complain when Chaos prevented her from buying too much food when they were on Robac. Meaning, the amount of food she had on her was limited. To compensate for the lack of food, Rennel needs to gather edible plants and hunt animals for meat.
This is actually harder than it sounds. With the winter season pretty much started, edible plants are very rare. Even the trees have shed most of their foliage with exception of those trees that are good with the cold weather. Of course animals were rare too during this season but that doesn’t mean there were no animals that are still active.
For example, the cute-looking rabbit that Rennel was currently facing…
****
“Um, teacher, I think there’s something wrong with this rabbit.” Rennel said as she stared at the cute "rabbit" vigilantly. She had, in her hand, a dagger that she had bought from a weapon shop in Robac.
After being told that Chaos would teach her what she needed in order to survive outside even when she's on her own, Rennel had changed the way she addressed Chaos. Instead calling it by its name, she’s now calls Chaos, teacher.
But considering that Chaos was now in charge of teaching her, this was very normal.
Chaos who was floating mid-air replied to her without much thought: “Of course there is. Can’t you see the horn in its forehead?” It asked back.
The cute "rabbit" that Rennel was currently facing was no ordinary rabbit. It’s a mutated variant called ‘horned rabbit’. It’s very aggressive and won’t back out and run away when facing a threat – even if that threat was much bigger than itself. In other words, the horned rabbit was a monster.
“Er… teacher… Do I really need to fight this thing?” Rennel asked looking rather troubled. She never expected that the first opponent that her teacher chooses for her is a monster.
Chaos looked at its student with disdain. “What’s wrong? Are you afraid? It’s just a rabbit, you know? Sure it might have a horn and was slightly bigger and fiercer than an ordinary rabbit but it’s still a rabbit.” It explained.
The side of Rennel’s mouth twitched after hearing her teacher’s explanation.
It’s only slightly bigger and fiercer than ordinary rabbits?
The rabbit in front of her was twice as large compared to ordinary rabbits! And have you seen those piercing eyes? Those are the eyes of someone who wanted to tear its enemies to pieces!
Rennel really wanted to complain but after remembering how easy it was for Chaos to kill something as big and fearsome as the ‘king of the forest’, the girl could only shut her mouth. Indeed, if she thinks about it, the horned rabbit in front of her was no different from an ordinary rabbit in her teacher’s eyes.
“But, but I’m different! I haven’t actually hunted animals before let alone a monster!”
Rennel could only hide her tears and resentment inside her heart. What else could she do? Her teacher was incredibly powerful despite looking like an adorable pet. If Chaos told her that it’s a legendary dragon, the girl would have believed it!
The standoff between a village girl and a cute horned rabbit did not last long. After determining the threat that the girl possessed, the horned rabbit must have judge that the girl wasn’t much of a threat and attacked up front.
The rabbit fiercely kicked the ground, and leaped towards the girl with its horn pointing at her body, wanting to skewer her. Having not expected the sudden attack, Rennel could only roll pathetically on the ground.
“It’s fast!”
Rennel was alarmed. If it wasn’t for her survival instinct kicking in, she might have been skewered by the rabbit!
Actually, it wasn’t Rennel’s instinct kicking in that allowed her to dodge the horned rabbit’s sudden attack. It was all thanks to her ‘seed’ that she survived. Without the seed, there’s no way that Rennel could have dodged that attack. It’s also the reason why Chaos wasn’t too worried for the girl’s safety.
As it said earlier, the horned rabbit was just a slightly bigger and fiercer rabbit. If Rennel could unlock the full potential of her ‘seed’, she could even fight truly fearsome creatures like a dragon!
Despite failing to hit its target, the horned rabbit did not get discouraged; instead it was annoyed, and attacked again and again. Being at the receiving end of the horned rabbit’s barrage of attacks, Rennel could only dodge with all her might and couldn’t retaliate despite trying her best.
“What should I do? If this keeps up, I’ll be the first to run out of stamina!”
Rennel was starting to really worry. Unlike the seemingly endless stamina of the horned rabbit, she’s starting to get tired. Seeing its student’s pathetic display, Chaos could not help but put its paw on its forehead.
“Calm down, fool! How are you supposed to fight if you’re that nervous? ” Chaos scolded.
Hearing her teacher’s scolding, Rennel was enlightened. Indeed. She was so nervous to the point that her movements have become incredibly stiff.
“Calm down… Calm down… It’s just a rabbit with a horn. There’s nothing threatening about it.”
Rennel murmured encouraging words to forcefully calm her wildly beating heart. Having calmed herself a little, Rennel was able to observe the horned rabbit’s movements.
“It’s really fast… But its attack pattern seemed to be monotonous. Its attacks consisted only of biting, scratching, leaping and head-butting.” Rennel thought as she dodges the monster’s attacks. “I couldn’t stay on the defensive forever. I should also retaliate.”
Narrowing her eyes, Rennel watched her opponent intently. When the horned rabbit tries to swipe at her with its claw, Rennel countered by swinging her danger downward!
Screech!
Blood spread like fireworks in the air as one of the horned rabbit’s forelegs was injured by Rennel’s dagger!
“I did it!”
The horned rabbit stumbled backwards in surprise and pain. Rennel having taken the advantage did not let up and stabbed towards the horned rabbit. Seeing the deadly dagger stabbing towards it, the horned rabbit was alarmed and leaped back with all it might!
It missed!
Damn it! Rennel cursed under her breath after seeing her sure-kill attack miss. Having missed, Rennel did not act rashly and do a follow up attack. Instead she jumped back and went into a defensive stance while staring warily at the wounded rabbit.
“Oh? That’s not bad.” Chaos praised inside its heart.
The girl’s decision not to pursue with another attack earned her some praise from Chaos. It Rennel did a follow up attack; she might have been injured by the horned rabbit’s desperate counter attack. As the saying goes never press a desperate opponent.
“Her decision not to follow up with her attack was definitely wise but… She also gave her opponent the chance to escape.”
As Chaos predicted, after staring at the girl, the horned rabbit did not counter attack but instead chooses to flee!
Caught off guard, Rennel could only stare dumbfounded at retreating figure of her opponent. Speechless, Rennel could only slowly turn towards her teacher.
“T,teacher…”
Rennel wanted to protest to her teacher that it was not her fault to that the beast decided to retreat but her words clogged her throat.
Seeing this, Chaos rolled its eyes. “You failed this test.” It said mercilessly.
“Yes…”
The girl could only lower her head dejectedly after being given the failing mark. What else could she do? It was her fault that she panicked when the horned rabbit suddenly attacked her. Although she finally calmed down after being reminded by Chaos, it was a little too late.
“Don’t take what I’ve said to heart. I didn’t have much expectation that you would pass your first test to begin with. Although that horned rabbit was as weak as a baby (to me), it’s still a monster after all.”
The side of Rennel’s mouth twitched. She’s not really sure if her teacher was consoling her or scolding her. With a silent sigh, Rennel could only helplessly say, “I understand.”
“Take this chance to rest and contemplate on your mistake. Fortunately for us, we’re there quite a few monsters that are still active in these woods even during the winter. You’ll have plenty of chance to redeem yourself. If you’re lucky, you might even meet that horned rabbit again.” Chaos instructed.
Rennel nodded her head and looked for a good place to set up camp. After finding an appropriate place, she set up a simple tent that she had bought at the town of Robac beforehand.
When she turned around after setting up her tent, and noticed that Chaos had already lit up a fire, saving her the trouble of doing it herself.
“Teacher, I’m sorry about earlier.” Rennel started after sitting near the fire. “If I didn’t panic when facing the horned rabbit, it might not have escaped…”
Chaos that was lying comfortably on a log it picked up from god knows where, opened its eyes after hearing the girl’s explanation.
“Hmm, it’s good that you’re aware of your mistake. But don’t over think it. After all, that was your first time facing a monster on your own so it’s normal that you’re nervous.” Chaos answered. “Anyway, no need to bring it up anymore. Just remember what you’ve learned today.”
After saying those words, Chaos closes its eyes again.
Knowing that her teacher have no intention of reprimanding her, Rennel let out a small sigh of relief.
“Although teacher didn’t scold me, I’m certain that teacher’s a little disappointed with my performance earlier. Even after being given a ‘seed’ that improved my ability and talent a lot, I still failed miserably. I must do better next time!”
Clapping her face with her hands, Rennel swear in her heart that she wouldn’t make the same mistake again. After that she reached for her sack bag and pull out a piece of bread from within it and started eating.
“The food I have with me was limited. If I still failed to hunt something and only rely on the bread I bought from Robac, I’ll run out of food and starve.”
Rennel looked at the half eaten bread in her hand and started contemplating again. Right now the biggest problem she has to face was how to procure food. Although her teacher might not actually starve her to death, even if she failed, she will surely be criticized by her teacher for being a horrible student.
The girl clutched her head as she thinks on how to resolve her biggest problem, meanwhile, Chaos who was “sleeping” on a log slightly opened its eyes and observe the girl’s silly action.
“At least she’s taking her training seriously”
Ignoring the girl once more, Chaos closes its eyes once more as it enjoys the warmth from the fire.
****
That night a huge shadowy figure silently approaches the camp where Chaos and Rennel are resting. The true form of the figure was covered with mist and its true appearance could not be seen. Aside from two glowing orbs that seemed to be its eyes, nothing else could be deduced of the figure’s true appearance.
“Are you the ruler of this place?” A voice suddenly asked.
The shadowy figure stopped moving after hearing the voice and stared straight ahead. There it saw a small creature with appearance it never saw before floating in the air. It was Chaos.
“Who are you? What are you doing in my territory?” The creature asked in a somewhat guttural voice.
Chaos stared at the two orb-like eyes and answered, “Chaos. It’s not my real name but an alias. Don’t bother with my true name since it’s too complicated for most creatures to understand. And as for what we’re doing here… Would you believe me, if I tell you that we’re just passing through your territory?”
“I believe you! But your name is Chaos, huh. It’s an unfamiliar name...” The creature slightly tilted its mist covered head as if trying to recall if it had heard that name before.
“I’m not surprise. I doubt there were others like me going around with that name.” Chaos chortled.
The shadowy figure nodded its head that was hidden by a thick mist in agreement. The word ‘chaos’ doesn’t have good connotations. It doubted that someone would willingly use that name except for the mysterious creature in front of it.
“So, why did you approach us? Since you easily believed me when I said that we’re just passing through the place, you should have other reason, right? Chaos asked.
“I’m just curious that’s all. Why is someone like you accompanying a human?” The shadowy figure gave a short reply to Chaos’ question and countered with its own question.
Hearing the shadowy creature’s question, Chaos shrugged its shoulder and replied: “No particular reason. I’m just bored and thought that I might as well train her since I’m already accompanying her.”
The shadow creature was little miffed by Chaos’ reply and stayed silent for several seconds. It then asked, “…Are you trying to destroy this world?”
“Where the hell did that come from? I’m just teaching a human girl how to protect herself? What makes you think I want to destroy this world?”
Chaos was little speechless by the creature’s logic. The reason it gave the shadowy figure was very normal reason. There’s absolute no relation between teaching a human girl and the destruction of this world. They’re not even the same concept!
“You’re not? With your power, wouldn’t training someone result in the birth of a monstrously powerful individual? I might not know what kind of creature you are bit my instinct is telling me that there’s no one in this world that could stop you if you go on a rampage.” The shadowy creature answered solemnly.
Chaos was slightly surprise by the words of the shadowy figure. It is also slightly impressed that it dares to approach them despite knowing that it’s not Chaos’ match.
“You don’t have to worry too much about it. I’m not one of those creatures who go around destroying world, you know? If my mood is good and I’m still around, I might even lend a hand (paw) if I meet an idiot with world destroying fantasy.” Chaos said jokingly.
The Shadowy figure was rather surprise when it heard Chaos’ words. Even though Chaos said those words in a joking manner, the shadowy figure knew that someone of Chaos caliber might actually help save this world if it encountered a world-ending calamity.
“In behalf of all the living beings of this world, I thank you. I will take my leave now.”
The shadowy figure bows its head, turns around and walked back into the shadows where it disappeared.
“It appeared all of the sudden and disappeared as fast. Don’t tell me it took my promise seriously? Well, whatever…”
Chaos shook his head and return to camp where the girl was sleeping – putting the conversation between him and the shadowy figure who might be the true ruler of the region.
To be continued...
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