After I successfully passed the exam I decided to start fighting in the Arena almost every day. To do that, I needed to change my schedule a bit. I told about my situation to Master, he said that it is for the better, as his teachings are way better than anyone else’s… And I agree. 

I also listened to various information in the All-Seeing Eye and spy on Leon from time to time… Leon is… unique. He moves as if he planned everything beforehand and I didn’t see him make a mistake yet. In his room, he has a map with many marks. I have no idea what they mean, but I think he visits those places one by one. I wanted to follow him, but I couldn’t leave for too long, as I have matches I need to attend. But… One time I did follow him. It wasn’t too far away, so I thought it would be fine. The places he visits are… Ruins. Some were known to me, some not yet discovered. In it, he used artefacts, many artefacts. So many that I became jealous and started wondering where did he get them. The answer came by itself. He killed a big monster that was at least an A rank and went to the seemingly last room in the ruins. There was a lot of gold there, mountains of it. And a chest with artefacts. He didn’t even try to appraise them, just stuffed it all into his Space Pocket. Space Pockets are just bags that can hold a lot more than it seems. They aren’t infinite, some have a space of 3x3 meters inside, some 5x5 and so on. The price and rarity are wary depending on its size.  Leon’s Pocket… is… no idea how big. Just with the amount of gold he put in there, it should be at least 10x10… But it's probably more… 

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The more I observe Leon… 

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The more interesting it gets. 

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He might even become my story.

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Before, I thought Lance would.

But now… 

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Leon seems a lot more interesting.

I’m sorry Lance, even if you become the Hero.

I might not follow your journey.

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I wonder what Leon’s goals are.

Why is he doing this?

Isn’t he strong enough?

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No, I get that…

There is never “enough” in those situations.

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Just how many secrets do you hide?

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I hope you won’t leave this city yet.

I’m not yet ready.

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You are truly… entertaining…

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I need to deal with my business as soon as possible!

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Finally… It awakened. I was having my regular training, and I felt that I succeeded in controlling my weight to the point of easily standing on a stick. It wasn’t as small of a stick as Father showed me that day, but still. And I noticed… Not with my eyes, but with Sixth Sense. When I was standing on the stick, a small amount of black… mana essence? No. Something similar… Anyway, it was covering my feet. After that, I started experimenting and here is what I found out.  

This substance doesn’t consume my mana but does need some stamina to maintain it.

It feels like a weird part of my body and I can control it freely.

It can cover not only my feet but my entire body too.

I become almost entirely weightless when I’m fully covered. The substance is a bit sticky, so I can easily stick to any surface. And… Because I’m weightless, I can use my Wind magic to… fly. I can actually fly! I cast a strong wind current and control it while carefully riding it. I can’t do it for long because of my low amount of mana… But it’s so cool!

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…And might be useful too.

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Now to the bad part… Well… Bad might be exaggerating… There are some points that are… useless to me.

Things like: giving off less presence, muffling my internal sounds like heartbeat or breathing and being near invisible in the darkness. All of those are a worse version of the abilities that Loki’s Gift can provide. And also without Loki’s Gift, mana doesn’t pass through me, so I can probably be detected by some artefacts. It’s great that it works perfectly fine with Loki’s Gift. 

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Come to think of it… Loki’s Gift doesn’t consume any mana or stamina… I hope it doesn’t consume something like my life span…

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You could say that I’m done with my training on Stealth. Father said it’s just the beginning, so I’ll ask him for more when he’ll come.

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He hasn’t returned for so long…

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I miss him…

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“Mixen, here you are.”

“$*%A @!4%!”

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“... I am not sure if that was a swear in another language but I’ll still say it. Swearing is bad.”

“Father! You scared me to death!”

After that, I instantly hugged him.

“Oh, I see that your training is going well, I couldn’t react in time.”

“Hehe… Papa, I did it!”

“Did what?”

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…Hey… Where is my favourite “Guh”?

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That’s not really important.

“I awakened Mother’s powers just today!”

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“...Already?.. Can you show me?”

“Sure!”

I covered myself and jump on the branch of a tree nearby… on the bottom of it… I’m hanging up upside down at the moment.

“... Indeed you did… Just like her’s…”

“Father, can you teach me the next steps of training?”

“For that… We’ll need to go somewhere.”

“Sure! Lead the way!”

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What is the pause for?

“... It will take some time… We’ll go tomorrow.”

“Ah… Okay.”

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“Father, how is your business going?”

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“It’s progressing well.”

“Was it hard?”

“No, not really, just time-consuming.”

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He had a hardened expression this entire conversation.

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Did something happen?

“...*Sigh* I think it’s time to tell you…”

“...Tell me? Tell me what?”

His face became stone-like.

“Everything. About your mother, me and my business.”

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Was that why he had such an expression?

“No need.”

“...Huh? Aren’t… You curious?”

“I was. But Miss Valeria already told me everything.”

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His face relaxed.

“Ah… That’s… Good… I forgot she could tell you…”

I guess remembering those days is still painful for him.

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Will it work now?

“Oh, right! Papa! Did Mama give a name for this power?”

“Guh!”

He almost fell just now.

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This never gets old.

“Y-Yes? I mean. Similar?... *Cough* My Father recognized this power. So he just asked her if it was it. She said she doesn’t know, but as powers were very similar, she took its name.”

“And how is it called?”

“I think it was… Loki’s Veil.”

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“...What?”

*Thump*

“Mix! Are you okay?!”

I lost control for a second and fell from a tree I was hanging.

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Is it a coincidence? Or something more?

I need to know.

“I’m fine… Can you tell me more?”

“... He said it was used by one of the Four Heavenly Lords that serve the Demon King. Her name was Hel… But it wasn’t exactly her power. My father said it must be just similar.”

“No, I mean about the name!”

“Why does it ma-”

“Please?”

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“...I think Hel’s father was named Loki. She probably got it from him.”

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Ha~a.

So it’s a coincidence. Good.

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Now… It’s time to remind someone of his promise.

“Father. Let’s return to the city. You promised to make me some of your food.”

I grabbed Father by the hand and started walking.

He is very heavy, but I also have considerable strength at this point and he is not resisting.

“O-Okay… But where will I make the food? I don’t think your dorm room has a kitchen.”

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That’s true.

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Nothing will stop me!

“I’ll rent you a small house!”

I started becoming impatient so I began running.

“D-Don’t go so fast… Let me take the lead.”

Father picked me up with both hands and started running himself.

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My God… He is fast… I think we will be in the city in a few minutes. 

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I came here in 20!

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After we came to the city I quickly found a suitable house and rented it.

It went without a hunch, but I did one sma~l mistake.

“Mixen.”

“Yea?”

“It hasn’t crossed my mind until this point, but… Where did you get all this money from?”

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Shoot. 

Didn’t think about an excuse…

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Think fast Mixen! All those years of bullsh*ting served as a practice for this!

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Maybe I should say that I won the lottery?

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Is there even a lottery in this world?

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Ah! Right! That!

“Miss Valeria keeps filling my pockets. I always said that she doesn’t have to do this, but she says that she has to~ns of money, So this is just a change for her.”

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… Please bite it.

“... She is a noble after all…”

Yes! It worked!

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“Yeah, and I don’t really have many ways to spend it anyway. I even bought Naty an expensive dress just for fun.”

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“...You bought her… A dress?”

“Yes? As I said. We even went to a restaurant.”

“...You two are… Friends. Right?”

“Obviously.”

Why does he ask useless questions?

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Now…

“Father! Prepare the kitchen! I’ll go buy the products!”

Without waiting for an answer I cast a Wind spell to enhance my speed and cover myself in Loki’s Veil… And start jumping from building to building to buy products as fast as possible.

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After the food was ready, we had a small talk with Father. He said that he will take a break and live here for a month. I decided to stay in this house too. Although this is a small house, it should perfectly accommodate two people. He then asked me about my life at school. And I told him everything that happened while he was absent… except some shady stuff.

He had various expressions during my talk. He was sad to hear that I didn’t make any new friends, was proud to hear about my achievements in magic and was curious when I told him I had a Master. I also told him that Master knows my last name, but didn’t seem to recognize it. Father became a bit angry, but I quickly reassured him that my Master is a trustworthy person. Father then said that he will visit my Master to greet him. I kindly asked Father to not overdo it… I think he understood what I meant. He also said that he would start hunting some monsters and selling their corpses to the adventurer’s guild. I quickly stopped him. He doesn’t have any documents, nor is he an adventurer. He would get into trouble that way. I figured that my documents were forged by Valeria, so I advised Father to ask her for help.

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It was getting late, so we decided to go take my stuff from the dormitory and go to sleep.

I don’t have much, so two pairs of hands were enough.

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On the next day I warned AL about the change in schedule, he said that it can be done easily, as I have a lot of credit. And… His office got prettier… Fancy couch, a sturdy table even some flowers and statues for decoration… I guess it is not only I who got wealthy so suddenly.

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When it came to my training with Master, he didn’t act any different. And when I asked if he talked with my Father, Master simply said “Yes”... I’m glad that Father listened to me.

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On Friday I went to find Naty because I knew she would come in the morning to train with me, but I wouldn’t be there. I wanted to tell her my new address. 

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When I found her, she was spending time with some girls, I’m guessing her friends…

Am I the only one who couldn’t find any friends? It’s… Not my fault! All of my classmates are leaches or thugs!.. and Leon.

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I didn’t want to intrude, so I left a note with my address in Naty’s pocket. I hope she’ll find it.

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The next day I had my regular training with Father, he said before that he is impressed by the fact that I didn’t skip my everyday training when I wasn’t under surveillance. I told him that I progressed quite well, but am a bit stuck with his Style. He said that I probably lack experience and need to find a sparring partner… He is really wrong. But… I don’t use his style in combat much… As it doesn’t suit me… I started winning regularly on the Arena recently, I guess I could try and use Father’s Style there a bit.

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After we returned home Father started making food.

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*Knock* *Knock*

Did someone come?

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Ah, must be Naty.

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When I wanted to go to the door… Father already opened it.

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“I-I’m sorry, I must’ve got the wrong house…”

I can’t see from the kitchen, but Father is probably making a scary face again.

“Are you… Naty?”

“Y-Yes?”

“You’re just in time for breakfast, Mix is in the kitchen.”

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“Ah! I remember now!. You must be Michael! Mixen talks a lot about you.”

“R-Realy? *Cough* Don’t stay there, come in.”

Naty took her shoes off and followed Father.

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“Hi, Naty!”

“H-Hi.”

“You came at just the right moment! You’ll never forget Father’s cooking!”

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During the meal, she hasn’t said a word.

Probably being shy around Father, how cute.

“So why did you come?”

“Ah, umm…”

I’ll save you this one time.

“We usually train together and have fun.”

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“...Have… Fun?”

“Eek! Mister Michael, we just spend time together! Like going around the city and such!”

Why are you so flustered?

“Isn’t that the same though? Ouch! What was that for!?”

She pinched me! I did nothing!

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Naty is completely dyed in red… And Father… is smiling… It’s a rare occurrence…

“I see. How long will your training take? We need to go to our old house to take something, and I wanted to do it by Monday.”

“Huh? You never said that we would be going so far!”

“You never asked.”

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…True.

It’s because of my habit of not asking you anything.

“Will you… Stop by my village?”

“...I wanted to go straight through the forest… But we could.”

“Can you… Take me with you?”

“A girl like you probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with our speed… But…”

He looked at me.

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What for? Asking my opinion? And how should I relay it?

“We can take a carriage to the nearest city and go to your village from there.”

“Realy!? Can I go with you?!”

“I don’t mind.”

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Nobody really asked for my opinion, but I guess it’s obvious.

“It’s a trip then! I’ll go to Master and warn him that I may be absent for a few days… And Naty… You probably need to tell your classroom teacher that you won’t be in the city for a few days.”

“Yeah… I’ll be back in an hour!”

She hurriedly left.

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I soon left too.

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The trip took a few days, we mostly discussed magic and played word games. It wasn’t bad or boring, the view was also good.

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A few times Naty tried to ask Father about his past in a round-about way. I was about to stop her… But… Unexpectedly, Father was great at evading her questions.

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After we arrived, we walked a few hours on foot to get to the village.

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“We are finally here.”

“Yeah. It feels nostalgic.”

“...”

Father probably was here only a few times, so he wouldn’t feel much.

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After Naty greeted some of the elders she knew, we came to her old house.

It was totally empty but wasn’t in a bad shape. I asked her if she wanted to be left alone while we go to my house. Naty shook her head and said that she also wants to visit it.

It’s a 20 minute run from here, so Father carried Naty like a princess while I followed along.

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We are here.

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A bit less than a year… It may seem like a small amount of time. But I felt as if I haven’t been here in decades… Mainly because the house was almost in ruins… A part of the roof fell off, and it was very dusty inside. I used a spell to get rid of it.

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“... That’s handy. It was annoying to clear the dust all the time.” 

“I was too short at the time to help you, sorry.”

“No need. Here. Open the basement with this key, and take a wooden box. There should be everything you’ll need. I’ll go out for some food.”

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Like that I and Naty were left alone.

“...It’s small…”

“Yeah, I guess so. Just 2 rooms and the basement.”

“What did you even do here?”

“Train and read.”

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“Weren’t you… Bored?”

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I looked at her.

“Naty… Did you forget how we meet?”

“Ah… Right…”

I slowly opened the basement.

“Can I look around?”

“... It’s not like I’m keeping you here.”

She started going around the house and looking at stuff.

In the meantime, I went to the basement.

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A lot of stuff here. medkit, some tools, baby food… a few crates of baby food.

And where is… There. Found it.

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I decided to take it to the kitchen as it is much brighter there.

It seems that Naty is currently outside the house.

When I opened the box I saw a lot of papers.

I started reading them one by one.

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Interesting…

“Aaah!”

Naty?

“Mixen! There is a monster! Hide!”

I heard Naty yelling from outside.

I took my sword and ran out of the house.

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This is bad… Blood Wolf… Its rank is B. 

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Why is it here? Usually, monsters don’t go near our house.

“Grrrr”

It’s about to attack.

Can I deal with it?

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No time to think. Naty is in danger.

“Naty get back!”

I lept at the Wolf and tried to slash its eyes. But it is too quick.

Wait! I haven’t activated Loki’s Veil! I can also use Wind magic to enhance my speed further!

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Now we’re even. I have the same speed it does. But I can’t block its attacks, I need to dodge. 

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I successfully dodged a few of its attacks and landed a blow, but I can’t cut through the thick skin. I risked too much to land that blow, I think I’m going to get hit…

*Boom*

*Cough* 

I somehow blocked it, but flew into a tree… Might’ve broken a few ribs…

“Darling! No!”

Naty is screaming. What a foolish mistake, if that wolf starts attacking you…

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What’s this?

I feel better all of a sudden?

Even more. I feel stronger!

Ah… Light affinity mages are playing the main support role in the party. 

She just healed me and gave me a buff.

“Thanks, Naty!”

I can’t cut it regularly, so I need to aim for vital spots.

But we have the same speed, how will I hit it if it’s always protecting those spots?

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Wait… Can’t I just…

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-Naty’s PoV-

Mixen and I were left alone in his old house. 

I can’t believe he lived in such a place for so long… There are no toys, just some books. Did he do nothing but train and read as he said? Wel… It wasn’t a lie so… I can understand why would he want to sneak out of here. 

I went outside, and there is nothing here too… No neighbours to talk to, not even a garden that you could tend to… Just a path that circles around the house. There is no grass on it… It probably appeared because of constant running he did… Just how much did he run every day for it to become like this? Didn’t he also run to our house every day? And this is probably only a part of his training… Would’ve been Lance able to keep up with it?

“Grrr”

What’s that?

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Isn’t that… A monster!

I need to warn Mixen!

“Mixen! There is a monster! Hide!”

It is slowly going toward me.

I’m not sure why it is not attacking.

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It’s a huge wolf…

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I’m scared…

“Grrrr”

It’s too close.

I can almost feel his breath.

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Will I-

“Naty get back!”

Mixen lept at the monster and tried attacking it, but was unsuccessful.

He led the monster away from me. 

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I think their speed is even, but Mixen doesn’t attack it, he only dodges.

Blow after blow, I can tell that the Wolf is becoming angrier.

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He did it! He landed a hit!

But…

It didn’t pierce through?

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*Boom*

*Cough*

He got hit!

“Darling! No!”

I think I can see blood. 

I don’t want Darling to die! 

I need to do something!

What can I do? What can I do? What can I do?

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I need to use magic. Yes! I need to use magic.

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I recently was able to perform a third circled spell once.

I need to do it again.

Please! Don’t die!

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He stood up! I did It!

“Thanks, Naty!”

It's not over yet, you idiot! 

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Wait, where did he go?

I can’t see him.

It seems that the Wolf can’t either.

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Darling?

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“GAaAaR!”

What just happened? Why is there a sword in Wolf’s eye?

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*Boom*

“EEK!”

Its head exploded!

There is blood everywhere!

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I think I’m going to pass out…

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-Mixen’s PoV-

After using Loki’s Gift in the middle of the fight, I decided to check if Blood Wolf will find me.

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It can’t. Good.

Moments after I pierced its eye with my sword. 

“GAaAaR!”

Yes scream, scream and open your mouth wide!

Good boy! Here is your treat!

Wind Bomb!

*Boom*

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Sh*t there is blood everywhere.

And I’m covered in it.

But I managed to find out…

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I am simply overpowered.

I should probably add an “Overpowered Protagonist” tag right?