I walked out of the library, or rather sprinted, and was greeted by the sight of an old man who looked young. You know who it is. It was Feeh.

“Hey, Feeh! How’re you doing?”

I hadn’t seen Feeh this entire morning, so I thought that he probably went out to exterminate some of the wild creatures in the forest, such as the Devil Boar or maybe even the pesky undead. They were a real hassall, I’ve got to say. Even if you wipe out an entire colony of undead, or even a pack of the Devil Boars, they will just get replaced by a new generation of their species. 

It was only that reason that made the monsters a hassle. It wasn’t like they were strong or anything, since I could wipe them out by just throwing a rock at them when I was only 6 years old. I just don’t like to kill, so I usually let Feeh do the work. If I ever have to slay a monster, I would choose to slay an undead. They don’t have any blood, which is a good thing for me— a person who doesn’t like gruesome things. 

“I’m doing well, I just went to the garden to relax my mind.”

“Oh, you did? How come I didn’t see you while I was watering the plants?”

“I believe that the reason for why you didn’t see me during that time was because I was in the Le Garden, not the regular garden.”

“That makes sense! So, what were you doing in the Le Garden?”

To those who don’t understand what Feeh and I were talking about, let me explain. We have two gardens near our hut. One is square, which you already know about. We call that garden Square Garden. Not very creative, but it gets the job done. The second garden is a garden that is meant for more of a research and economic purpose. 

In the second garden, Feeh and I plant lots of magical plants that contain lots and lots of mana. This is what Feeh sells to buy some of our necessities whenever he goes out every once in a while. This garden is called the Le Garden.

Even though magic is very useful for many things, it just can’t be used to do some things. You can’t use magic to create hygienic products that are just like the things that professionals make. For example, underwear.

You just can’t create soft and flexible underwear. Feeh once tried making underwear out of magic once, before I could use magic, and it turned out awful! The fabric created out of mana was smooth and silky, but it continuously used up the mana in the air. 

There wasn’t a shortage of mana in the air by any means. Nor was it that Feeh and I ran out of mana because of the continuous absorption of it. No, that didn’t make the underwear terrible. A different fact made us hate it. 

When mana was absorbed by the fabric, it kept enriching it. The fabric got shinier and shinier. It also became smoother and smoother. The fabric felt like heaven.

Till that moment, a few minutes after their creation, the underwear was doing perfect! Feeh and I had both agreed that we should keep making magic underwear and were just about to mass produce the underwear when it happened. 

The fabric had gotten very shiny. And by very, I mean, very, very, very, very, very, very, shiny! It had also gotten very hot. Too hot. (A/N: Not that type of hot. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )

The reason for why the underwear was warming up rapidly was because of the mana the fabric created from mana absorbed. Mana is just like heat. It courses throughout your body and warms it up. Too much heat can be harmful. 

In fact, except for living things and itself, mana can’t be contained in anything that doesn’t have an engraving that allows the thing to hold mana. If I were to try to insert mana into any random item in our hut, chances are that it would explode from hotness. (A/N: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )

When there is too much mana in anything, the surroundings may also get affected. No, not “may”. They “will”. Feeh and I hadn’t thought about that fact. That is why we were standing in a room where there was nothing except us two who were only wearing underwear— our clothes couldn’t withstand the heat.

I looked at Feeh and Feeh looked at me. We both silently agreed that what happened in that room wouldn’t ever go out. Welp, it did, so, um, well….. 

Let’s get back to my conversation with Feeh, alright?! Yes!

“I was checking up on the Blood Perennial. It is growing magnificently and is already at the seventh stage of planting. Probably after finishing your martial arts training, I’ll sell it on our journey to the Institute of Magic. That reminds me, I will be teaching you Krav Maga later in the day! Get ready, it’s really painful to train, or at least my version of it. We’ll start in the afternoon! Come to the Square Garden!”

With that, Feeh went away from the library. I stood there, rejoicing at the prospect of learning Krav Maga later in the day. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was scared when Feeh said that it’s going to be painful, but I paid it no heed. I definitely didn’t have a bad premonition. Nope, not at all.

Oh shoot! I forgot to ask about the crossed-out names! Well, I’ll ask about them later. I’m going to be with him later, anyways. I feel so excited! Martial Arts! 
…………………...           
…………………... 

Finally! It’s the afternoon! I’m very ready for this! I think. I’m ready, I’m….. sure? Maybe? Well, let’s just say that I’m ready, okay?

I walked to the Square Garden where Feeh said to meet up. Even though our home is small, we rarely see each other, because we’re always doing something. The chances when we see each other happen because of two reasons: Reason one, and reason two. 

Hehehehehehe, but really, I’ll be serious. One reason for why we may meet each other is because of coincidence. The second reason may be because we are actively seeking out the other person. We’re rarely sticking together. 

I usually have chores to do, and Feeh has research to do. Even though Feeh isn’t a great wizard, he is an expert farmer. He raises some monsters like the Lendren Runners or even some Piffy Lugs. Feeh also plants lots and lots of different kinds of herbs and other things. He loves to garden, as well. Feeh is an expert breeder and bred a creature that was half plant and half monster once. Of course, he later sold it. 

The monsters that we raise live in the stable that we’ve built for them. They were initially wild monsters, but after I gave them some training, they were completely obedient. They’re also very cute! Numbering to only 2, the Lendren Runners are the fastest monsters we’ve ever bred and raised. 

Feeh even said that they were faster than most dragons. I don’t really know what there is to be proud about that, though. If Feeh can kill dragons and bring them back to cook, he must be faster than them. Now, even if the Lendren Runners were faster than dragons by a bit, they’d still be slower than Feeh. That’s nothing to be proud of. 

But still, the Lendren Runners are so cute. They are about the size of a horse, I think, and are fluffy. Very fluffy! They have wings(?) that are covered in fur. Even though the Lendren Runners don’t have feathers, they can still fly. They use wind magic.

The Lendren Runners have two long and thin yellow legs coming out from their sphere-shaped puffy bodies. There are three claws coming out from each foot. They also have a fan-shaped tail. The Lendren Runners are also very smart. 

They are one of the special monsters in our forest. Most monsters don’t have a humanoid form, and only a few of them do. However, even fewer monsters can change between their monster forms and humanoid forms. Out of every thousand monsters in our forest, only about ten monsters can shift and change between monster and humanoid forms. The ones that can are very smart.

They can talk, speak, and learn. The Lendren Runners that we’re raising are one of the rare monsters that can switch between their forms. However, they’re only two years old so they can’t really switch forms. They have learned to talk, though. Only a few words at best, however.

The next monsters Feeh and I are raising are the 7 Piffy Lugs. They are small groundhog-looking creatures that burrow into the ground. They are rare monsters as well, just like the Lendren Runners. But they can’t change to humanoid forms and can only speak in human language. (A/N: Think about those things from that famous card game and anime where there are red and white balls and fights. I can’t say its name because of copyright reasons. :p )

Brown and about two feet tall, these Piffy Lugs are great for planting seeds, and digging out places in the ground. Sure, you could use magic to do those things, but why use magic when you have pets that can do it for you? Besides, the Piffy Lugs love to travel underground. Their favorite place to be is underground. 

As I was thinking those things, I heard, "What are you thinking about?”

Startled, I jumped a little, but soon calmed down after seeing who was talking. It was Feeh, in a T-shirt and some flexible pants instead of his usual robe. Maybe because he always wore a robe, I thought that Feeh would look weak. Unexpectedly, I saw a six-pack on his stomach. Feeh’s T-shirt clung onto his torso very tightly, outlining the ripped body underneath. Wow! 

“You look very strong!”

“Ah! Thank you!”

While saying that, Feeh looked proud. He got into a pose with his arms to his side, bent at the elbows. Then he flexed his triceps. That ruined it…. (A/N: _       __       _ )
                                                                                                       \__l *  *  l__/

“You know you’re ruining it, don’t you?”

“Huh, my boy, please look at a true man’s muscles! There’s nothing wrong about showing your strength!”

“But didn’t you tell me to hide my magical capabilities when we go to the Institution of Magic?” 

“That’s for a completely different reason! I don’t want you to get involved with those pesky nobles! They are people who will basically do anything to get stronger— even if it means to betray their kingdoms. You know, you’re a talent born every few million years! They’ll want to have you in their army, because aside from the kingdom’s complete army, all the nobles have a private army of their own.”

“Didn’t you say that I was a talent born every few hundred thousand years? How did it suddenly jump up to a few million?”

Ha! I wonder how Feeh was going to recover from that! It should lower him down from his fantasy of being a great wizard! Heheheheheheheheh! Bwahahahaha! Enough of the evil laughs inside of my mind!

“Oh, that’s because I accidentally didn’t really measure your power! I accidentally said that you were weaker than you actually were. See, because I was a bit surprised at your ability to use magic, I didn’t carefully measure your strength. Later, I remembered how your usage of magic was perfect, and there wasn’t any excess magic power. That is a very hard thing to do. Even I can’t execute it perfectly. ”

Hmmm, so denying his forgetfulness and giving me a compliment, huh? Feeh is truly a terrifying man. He outwitted me. Well then, just like before, touché.

“Well, let’s stop this talk for now and start your martial arts training.”

“Okay!”

After I said that, Feeh raised his arm and pointed at the middle of the Square Garden. Then, the grass suddenly turned into soil, and all the plants did as well. The soil then formed itself into a stadium-looking thing. (A/N: Think of the Roman Colosseum. Think.)

To do that, Feeh probably used Wind Magic which is a category of Space-time Magic. He must’ve also used Earth Magic. Even after learning about how to use magic, it truly is still interesting to watch someone use it. Feeh looks so dignified. I wonder if I also look the same way when I cast magic? I hope I do!!! It’d make me look cool!

“Well then, let’s go inside! C’mon! C’mon! We need to engrave the meaning of  ter— strength into your body!”

“Wait! I definitely heard a “terror” mixed in there!”

“Huh? I didn’t say terror, though.”

In response to my panicked questions, Feeh just denied them. Oh shoot! What did I get myself into!? Is he going to be one of those people that completely don’t hold back?! Ahh, shoot! God, if you’re up there please make this a joke! Please! 

While saying those thoughts in my head, I kept walking with Feeh into the stadium. It was completely brown and didn’t have a single other color. There were also corridors at the left and right side of where we were walking. The corridor that we were walking through was in the middle one. 

While I was walking nervously towards what could possibly be my doom, Feeh was joyful. I swear that I heard him whisper, "I was stressed these few years! Now I’m going to let it all out~~” Ah, shoot. *Sighs*

At the same time that I’d resigned to my fate, Feeh and I had come out from the corridor. The sunny afternoon sun peaked out at us. It was one of the few warm days in winter. It was December when Feeh first started teaching me. I learned magic in just a month. Now it was January, and it was still winter. I wonder when my hair will turn red?

Now, know that I am asking these questions to myself because I need to distract my mind from the thought of the Martial Arts training that is about to come. Even though I’ve never learned Martial Arts under Feeh before, why am I so sure that it’s going to be painful? Yeah, it must just be my imagination. Nothing to be scared about. Absolutely nothing. 

Now Feeh’s started to hum. Nothing. Clear mind, clear thoughts. No scariness. Nothing to be scared about. NOTHING.

When we got to the very center of the arena—that’s what I was calling it now— Feeh turned to face me. His muscular body was shining in all of it’s muscular glory. Seriously, how did he hide that? Well, he always did wear a robe, so the possibility of me seeing his muscles didn’t have a lot of chance. But still…..

“Hehehehehehehe! Let’s start now, okay? Okay!”

The terror has started.

A/N: I realized that this chapter got way too long and because of that, I had to abruptly end it like this. This chapter became more like a chapter that will lead to the next one, than a chapter with something happening in it. The next chapter is definitely going to contain Krav Maga. I swear that on my honor as a writer. 

 *Puts one hand over his heart*