Chapter 11: Picking up the Sword
An awkward silence ensued in the room, which was only broken by a gentle snuffle from Anires.
"You're lucky Ani's asleep, or else, you might get another beating added to your tab."
Letting out a chuckle, she nodded goodbye to Ken- because her hands were busy cradling Anires- and headed out.
'Well, that was awkward.'
After some time of processing info, Ken took a glance at his status screen again.
A new job that he obtained after the battle proudly took the place of [None].
[Combat Botanist]
It was an… umm… interesting job. The botanist part might have come from his daily activities interacting with various plants. After all that farming and foraging, it actually would have been weird for him to not get any job related to greenery.
'At least it's a combat one…'
Despite his wish to learn what a combat botanist was and what its functions were, his [Unravel] was just too low-leveled to provide any sort of important information.
Sys wasn't of help, either. It… She?... Sys just replied that such information was still locked.
So, Ken was left to experiment by himself.
He spent the rest of the day, casually trying out his new job and job skill. [Plant control] was at least self-explanatory. Still, his authority over plants was barely existent. Slightly moving parts of the plants was his limit… For now, at least.
Other than getting to know his newfound powers, he spent the rest of the day recuperating and relaxing. After all, things were going to be a bit more hectic starting tomorrow.
As he lay on his bed, ready to turn in for the day, a single thought entered his drowsy head.
'Magic…'
***
The dawn of a new day awaited Ken. With a yawn, he got out of bed and did his usual routine, cleaning up and gearing up for the farm work. After doing everything he needed to do, Ken headed out to the field.
"Good morning, Ken!"
An old elf donned in farming attire greeted Ken aloud.
"Good morning, Rogan!"
Rogan was a veteran farmer tasked with showing Ken the ropes. Ken walked up to the farmer, and with a concerned look, he asked:
"Is Ella okay?"
His sudden question invoked melancholy on Rogan's wrinkled face. Ella was one of the elven children who was present at the foraging lesson.
Her parents passed away years ago in a monster outbreak, so, Rogan, her grandfather, took her in and raised her with the help of the villagers.
The incident with the horned rabbit was quite a traumatic experience for the children. Although some children just walked it off like no big deal, Ken was still concerned for them…
Especially, Ella. The poor girl was reminded of the harrowing time when she lost her parents.
"She's still holed up in her room. I think the incident traumatized her quite a bit.
That area was supposed to be free of beasts. I'm so glad that you were there, Ken. If you weren't…"
The old elf shivered thinking about the alternative end where Mira and the children were left all on their own to fend off the foul beast.
"Don't worry, Rogan. Everything will be fine. I'll stop by after today's work."
Ken cheered up the old elf and they went back to work.
Shaking off the dirt from his attire and removing the gloves, Ken gazed at the vast fields of various crops. His work for today was done.
It didn't take long, though, as all he needed to do was check up on the crops and some farm maintenance.
Changing into casual wear, Ken followed Rogan back to the farmer's house.
The house was situated on the ground much like Granny Lola's and Ken's.
Entering the house, they went to Ella's room to check up on her. However, they were mildly surprised when they witnessed mystical lights coming from the gap of the unclosed door.
The laughter of an elven child filled the room with wholesomeness while random giggles from a young elven mage complimented it.
Curious, they peeked into the room and saw a magical scene playing out. Anires was there, using her magic to cheer up Ella. The gloomy and listless expression on Ella's face had faded away and joy gleefully took its place.
Glittering snow filled the little girl's room, somehow maintaining a cozy atmosphere instead of freezing cold. Small animals made out of clear ice flew around inside the room.
One of them took the form of a bird-like creature and landed on the little girl's shoulder, increasing the intensity of her mirth. Streams of water flowed, suspended in air, forming spectacular contours.
Ken even saw a human-shaped ice statuette battling an ice-formed figurine of a horned rabbit, making him feel somewhat perplexed.
To Ken who had never seen magic before, the spectacle was nothing short of breathtaking.
Ken and Rogan looked at each other and nodded as if they were communicating telepathically. Going back to the living room, they left the duo alone to have their personal time.
'So, magic can be used like that too, huh?'
Satisfied grins appeared on the farmer duo's faces. Both of them were glad that Ella had recovered from the trauma. Still, they both knew that it was just a temporary fix.
True trauma never really went away. Instead, the victims could only try to forget about it or at least get used to it as they matured.
After chatting quietly for a while with Rogan, Ken said farewell and headed to the training hall. Activating his [Runner's high] skill, he swiftly reached the training site.
Since it was well over time for the training hours of hunters, the reinforced hall was devoid of the usual crowded activities.
Instead, a lone elven warrior was making up for the absence all by herself.
Serina thrust her spear forward, cleaving the air in its path. The wind howled as minor shock waves spread from the point of impact.
Noticing Ken, she lowered her weapon and turned toward him. Her training suit, soaked with sweat, stuck to her body, further complimenting her… uhh… wonderful physique.
Ken had gotten used to the sight after spending a lot of time training with her. His first day at the training hall, however, was a spectacle.
The poor young man spaced out a lot, and as a result, got beaten up thoroughly by Serina.
Grabbing a water jar nearby, Serina took a generous gulp. She had to refill the fluids lost, after all.
"Disciple Ken has arrived, teacher!"
Ken's sudden greetings almost made her spit out the water. With a frown, she stared at her disciple.
"I told you, don't call me that. Just call me Rina."
"Yes, teacher Rina!"
Seeing the frown on Serina's face turning into a scowl, Ken quickly apologized.
"Sorry, my bad. Anyway, can we learn something new today? The dagger is good and all, but it's not really great at defensive maneuvers… Can I try using something else? Like a sword or a spear."
Serina lingered for a bit, and then suddenly shot her fists toward Ken. She had already put her signature spear away and was currently fighting bare-handed.
'Oh boy, here we go…'
Ken ducked almost instinctively, barely avoiding a hit to the face. But, a new attack immediately followed after the first.
Twisting and turning his body, he continued to dodge the deadly strikes. Despite his best efforts, a few of them still managed to land, albeit only on non-threatening areas.
Blocking some of the hits he couldn't dodge with his iron dagger, he returned some hits to Serina as well.
Clang!
The iron dagger effortlessly bounced off her skin which had taken the properties of a metal armor. It was the result of one of her skills.
Although some strikes from Ken managed to properly land, they were still akin to mosquito bites to the warrior elf.
Worse than mosquito bites, actually. At least, mosquitoes could pierce their prey's skin…
After a while, sounds of metals clashing and numerous beatings died down as the bout came to an end.
Ken lay on the floor of the training hall, breathing heavily as a layer of sweat covered him. A bunch of minor cuts and bruises decorated his tired body.
"So… How did I… do?"
He managed to ask amidst his gasps.
"Hmm, good enough. You can continue training the dagger on your own. Your physique had also improved enough. I guess it's time for you to wield a sword."
Too tired to reply, Ken just nodded as he took the potion handed to him by Serina.
Gulping down without hesitation, he didn't wait for the taste of the green liquid to make its appearance known and immediately drank some water to drown it out.
Even still, some remnants of the terrible taste remained.
'At least it's just a lesser potion…'
Indeed, the one he had just drunk was a lesser version of the one he had after meeting Serina. It appeared that higher herb concentration resulted in darker color and better healing capabilities... and viler taste.
When Ken got up, Serina had already chosen two well-maintained swords from the weapon rack. Keeping one for herself, she threw the other toward Ken which he swiftly caught.
Taking a stance, Serina gripped the hilt of the iron sword and slowly raised the blade above her head. Then, she swung it down in a smooth motion, cleaving the air in half.
"This is how you slash with a sword. Since you are new to it, let's start with just a thousand slashes."
Looking at the cheerful elf, all Ken could do was smile and obediently do the daunting task.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone