Within the intense uproar of the coliseum, Rick rose his hand to declare his victory. The feverish crowd shouted out his name all together as Rick left the arena.

Inside a personal training room, a man in light armor was swinging his greatsword at the straw dummies surrounding him. Although they were imbued with magic to be made more resistant, the dull training greatsword easily cut through them. The cleaness of cuts left from each of his successive strikes showed that he wasn't praised to be the peerless gladiator of Ascalon for nothing.

Following a round cut, the dummies fell on the ground simultaneously. If it was in the arena, the spectators would have already been in an uproar. However, there was nothing but displeasure in the expression of the one who had achieved such a feat.

'This won't work.'

Rick reminisced the fight he had against the nine tailed fox. The way the clash occured, it was obvious that they didn't even stand a chance to start with. It was natural that they weren't even considered to be a threat to her, which resulted in her sparing their lives.

While he was grateful that he managed to survive, he was also frustrated. Even though he had trained so hard, to a point where he had finally reached the rank of top gladiator, it was just a child's play in front of her.

Beastmen generals who specialized in combat weren't stronger than him. He had overcome the racial disadvantage and finally got closer to his goal, just to realize what a true monster was. Tail foxes were a race that stood at the top of the hierarchy, and he painfully realized the meaning of that fact.

“Stupid Magnus, only if he didn't mindlessly charge in, I could have found out more!” He tried cursing the beastman general who had brought him to the expedition, but he knew it wasn't really his fault.

It was true that he was a simpleton, and his straightforward action accelerated their defeat. However, even if they had planned more carefully, the result wouldn't have been different.

“Would the beast king able to defeat her?” Rick pondered.

He had to readjust his evaluation of the beast king who was regarded to be stronger than any monster in the western continent. It could have been an exaggeration, but after having faced the nine tailed fox himself, he had to acknowledge that it wans't something to be scoffed at. After all, the beast kind was a brawler, and Rick felt like the nine tailed fox naturally couldn't be hurt by physical attacks alone.

“No, if he can do it, I should be able to do it as well.” Yet, keeping swinging his sword like he had always done wasn't the right way, and the only thing he knew in addition to his swordsmanship was a little bit of earth magic. However, his shallow knowlege of earth magic wasn't going to do much against such a high leveled opponent. At best, it was going to create a small opportunity and that was the extent of his abilities.

Strengthning his sword with the power of earth, he slashed and stabbed the dummies. However, it only made the blade duller, and it was hard to imagine that the impact was going to do anything.

He created pieces of stones to throw at the dummies before slashing them, but it would only be effective as a short distraction.

He clad himself in an armor of clay, he swung his sword, and it added nothing to his attack.

“Damn it!” He slammed his sword on the ground, which created cracks as the sword got stuck inside of it. He would get scolded later for destroying the facility, but he could just pay the compensation fee. At the moment, he didn't want to see his sword anymore, as all his efforts so far left him with no way of hurting his opponent whatsoever.

“Ha...” He sighed. Keeping training like this was pointless. He couldn't figure himself winning against the fox before he died to old age, from keeping training his swordsmanship. And magic wasn't something he could suddenly teach himself to become better at.

'What shall I do?' After taking a shower, he changed his clothes and walked outside. Magnus was a good companion, but he was also blockhead. He didn't dislike him for that, but it was obvious he wasn't going to be helpful.

“I guess I'll go drink a bit.” He needed distractions, but it was also because various people gathered at a pub, and there were chances that he could obtain valuable information there.

Getting outside the colliseum from the back door to avoid the crowd, he headed towards a pub near the hunter's association. It was a popular place for hunters and mercenaries, making it a perfect place to gather information.

Entering the cracked building, he took a seat on a side. Some people recognize him, but they didn't bother him.

“One large glass of Spirit Gloom.” He gave his order to the bartender, and he took a sip from the liquor that was brought to him. Even though his training didn't bear results, he felt his worries being washed away as he started drinking.

It was a popular drink among the clients, because of how it helps reinvigorating the flow of mana. Because it's not recommended to drink alcohol after hard excercises, the liquor gave them a reason to drink anyways, and it's how it became the favorite among the hunters, in addition to its excellent flavor.

Rick didn't know that fact, but he was satisfied with it nonetheless. Its modest sweetness and aroma, combined with the pleasant feeling of relaxation were enough to make him order another glass.

“What a little wimp! A crybaby like you are trying to preach me? What a joke!” Among the various noises inside the pub, the sound of loud beastman called his attention, followed by a loud laughter. It wasn't an uncommon occurance in such a place, and Rick just turned to watch it.

“My level has nothing to do with this. I'm just saying it's wrong, and you should know it too!”

'That boy... his name was Kian.' Rick recognized the red haird boy trying to argue with a beastman. He taught him some martial arts when he was invited as an instructor by the human community, and Kian was so enthusiastic about it that he ended up remembering his name.

'So he recently became a hunter, huh?' Rick noticed the bronze plate around Kain's waist. It was a proof of a hunter issued by the association, and the color meant that he was now a full fledged hunter at rank E, having past the stage of a newbie.

'The other guy is a B rank. Rather, it's a party of B rank hunters.' The beastman looking at him with a huge grin in his face was also wearing the same plate, but it was instead made of platinum.

Contrary to the gladiators, hunters main opponents were monsters. Because of that, when it came to fighting people, Rick was the specialist. On top of that, hunters rank went from SS to F, and Rick could easily stop a bunch of B rank hunters. However, he didn't have any intention to do so.

'An issue among hunters should be solved between them.' He took another sip from his glass. Disputes were common occurences, and while they could easily end up in a fight, it wasn't something he needed to interfere.

“Hah? If it is that wrong, then why don't you do something about it?” The beastman growled.

“Because... there's not much I can do... Not against that Nightmane...” Kain's voice became smaller as he turned his face around.

“So you came to preech at me about it? What about I break a bone or two from you, then maybe you will preach at me even more because you will be even less capable! Do you guys wanna bet how long is this lad going to keep running his mouth?” He turned around and started laughing along with the crowd.

'Nothing he can do...' Rick could take a peek at Kain's expression who was biting his lips.

“Even... even though I can't stop him, it's wrong for you guys to laugh at how he raided a village! They are innocent people, and you can't just laugh while talking about such a cruel matter!” The boy looked like he was going to cry.

“Innocent? It's cruel? What a joke! This is why I hate shitty humans. It's because you guys are so weak, and yet talk as if you deserve to be something else. Losers like you should just rot away in slavery.”

'Weaklings...' Humans were weak. They didn't have the physical abilities of the beastmen, nor the magical abilities of the Tail Foxes. Rick knew that fact too well, and it was why he had worked so hard. Even though he thought he had caught up, it was still nothing compared to true monsters.

“A piece of shit that doesn't know his place needs to be taught some lessons. You ruined my mood, so you will have to be my entertainment.” Laughing loudly, the beastman grabbed Kain's head, and started banging it towards a wall.

Kain closed his eyes. It would be lucky if he just lost consciousness from the impact. At the worst case, the concussion could also kill him, as that was how much a strength a B rank hunter possessed. However, that wasn't what he was concerned about.

He was also from a small village of humans that got raided. Even though he was lucky enough to not get into slavery, it was the most painful experience in his life. Even though there were more people going through that painful experience at the moment, leave alone trying to save them, he couldn't convince the beastman in front of him to stop laughing at them.

He was angry, why would the beastman not understand that weak or strong, it hurts to go through such an experience, that nobody deserves such treatment?

He was frustrated, at himself that couldn't do anything in this unreasonable situation. As a teardrop fell from his eyes, he closed his eyes and braced himself .

However, the impact he was waiting for never happened. Feeling a rough but warm sensation on his forehead, he opened his eyes.

“Yo, puppy.” With one hand protecting his head, and the other hand grabbing the beastman's arm, the one standing in front of him was a muscular man.

Although he could only see him from the side, he recognized him immediately.

“Rick!!” Kain shouted. Ever since he had seen his match at the colliseum, he could never forget about it. Even though he was a human just like him, he was able to win against beastmen and all kinds of demons. Watching him fight gallantly gave him hope, and he wanted to be like him. That's why he was so happy when Rick taught him how to fight, and he had been training to be like him ever since.

Rick turned to nod at him. And Kain could get a full grasp of his appearance. His red-ish cheeks showed signs of being tipsy, but he looked like nothing else than a hero in Kain's warped vision. At the same time, Kain realized that the one he called “puppy” wasn't himself, but the beastman standing in front of them.

“Who are you calling a pup...” The beastman couldn't finish his sentence. Meeting Rick's eyes, he immediately recognized who he was. The gladiator in front of him was a human, and his intervention only meant one thing. As his survival instinct sobered him up, he started looking for a way out of it.

“Of course! I'm a cute puppy! Woof woof.” The crowd that had been cheering the beastman had become silent. Looking at the sudden change in his behavior, Kain's eyes got filled with admiration.

“About what you said earlier... “ Rick wanted to comment on it, but the beastman hurriedly interrupted him.

“It must have been just some barking from a puppy! This little puppy's mouth needs some educations.” He started slapping his mouth in a comedic manner. The beastman desperately trying to act cute despite his thug-like appearance was a funny sight, but nobody laughed at him. While Kain looked up to Rick, he sighed.

“Well... I just want to mention that there are lots of powerful monsters out there, so it's better to work together instead of belittling each other among hunters.” Although Rick said that with his fight with the nine tailed fox in mind, the beastman who was already frightened felt it as a threat, that if he keeps belittling others, then more powerful beings like Rick himself will be his next opponent.

“Yes, certainly! I will remember that for my entire life from now on. Is mister thirsty? This cute puppy would like to have the honor of buying some drink to you.” Rick sighed again as the beastman tried to change the topic.

“... It's alright. Rather than that, Kain, I want to hear more about what you said earlier. Let's go.” Seeing that the atmosphere has become awkward, Rick dragged him outside the bar.

“So tell me, I heard that another human village got raided.” As Rick asked Kain, his dreamy expression turned bleak.

“Yes... I've witnessed them being taken to their site. Those beastmen in the bar saw them as well, and even so...” As his eyes started filling with tears, Rick interrupted.

“I see. So where...” As he started asking, he noticed that people around them became noisy.

“What the hell is that!?”

“Wasn't it supposed to be a sunny day?”

Noticing the anomaly, Rick looked around. It didn't take him long to find the reason behind the commotion. On the outskirts of the city, there was a rope like cloud shooting up to the sky, clearly visible from where he was.
'Can a Landsprout be formed in a clear weather like this?' The upper part of the tornado dissipated into the clear sky, and Rick wondered if it was normal.

“... Is it over there?” He knew that the direction was where the fifth district was located. Since he remembered Kain mentioning Nightmane's name, he felt like it was related to what Kain had mentioned.

“Ah... Yes, just what happened...” Kain's expression was filled with both worries and expectations.

“Let's check it out.” As if he became completely sober, Rick directed with a serious expression.

Weed

I'm finally back home, and I should be able to write more frequently now!
I also did write some of the Rina's parts that will come later, and writing her perspective always makes me happy.
So, I'd like to go through quickly and get there, so I will try to update as fast as I can~~