Somewhere else, a mage around the age of 13 trained with one of his servants in the woods, only using water spells.
The child wore brown leather armor and a helmet made of bones and leather. His loud gasps were heard as three other servants watched with amusement the fight between the child and his servant, who acted as his mage teacher.
The latter used two whips made of water and fire, forcing the kid to dodge the whole time whenever he couldn't block an attack.
"How long do you plan on dodging? You know that I've got no stamina, to begin with, which is why you won't win any fight of attrition with me," commented the teacher with a yawn before whipping so hard that a loud bam echoed from his whip.
Seeing that he couldn't escape from it, the child summoned a barrier made of water.
But in the end, his barrier made of water was barely able to block the fire whip.
Gritting his teeth, the latter muttered: "[water spear]," which he hid with him, behind the wall.
Az gasped for air while planning his next attack.
'My mana reserves are almost completed. I've got to force my way to him instead of continuing with moving backward.'
After blocking another attack from his master Satoshi, Az jumped behind his barrier, throwing his spear immediately at his master.
But the latter smiled without even moving an inch as the spear shot past him.
Before Satoshi could even utter any remark about Az's missed shot, his student cut him short, stating out of embarrassment: "Yeah, I know that I still got a lot to learn when it comes to aiming."
Nodding in agreement, he stated to motivate his embarrassed student: "That's enough for today. Even if your aim isn't that great, I can guarantee that you aren't lacking far behind by your peers, so continue with your daily training."
Hearing his words, Az grinned before leaning against the next best three he could find. There he immediately fell down out of exhaustion.
As he took a deep breath, he thought of all the things he did after leaving with his four servants, Satoshi's mage tower.
Three weeks have passed since then, and his life consisted only of doing missions, hunting, physical and magical training. There wasn't anything such as playing games or socializing with his peers. Today he finished all of his planned mission except one, which was the fight with a magical creature.
It wasn't that he didn't want to fight it. Even if the odds of winning were in Az's favor, there was still a problem. The likelihood of getting an injury that could be lethal was still too high unless his servants were to step in. But Az didn't want such a thing. His plan was on fighting and finishing all his missions alone, without the help of outside forces.
"Anyway, I think we should go to the village again. As you've told us earlier, it would be nice to take a few more missions before trying the one where you have to fight a magic monster," stated Ogron, and Az nodded in agreement.
"But I need a break," commented Az, who was tired.
"I'll carry you. Take your time," commented Otaz, who carried the protesting boy via piggyback.
As they moved on, Otaz told Az stories about what he experienced at his age and how happy he was, seeing the new wonders that came over a few thousands of years.
"You know, during my time, only ten percent survived above the age of 15. The reason for that is, that magic as you know, didn't exist. They tattooed runes on our bodies and bones. But half of my age group in the village didn't survive this ritual. Another twenty percent ended up as cripples with faulty tattoos because someone made a mistake during the procedure," explained Otaz.
"He's asleep now. You can stop," commented Simaev, with a chuckle. By now, the skeleton got to know each other. There were still some disagreements in the group. They still haven't figured out how to treat Az? Like should they try offering him more comfort, or should they rather be strict, or how much free time should he get and so forth?
By now, the moon shone brightly, and the group walked under the moonlight through the village.
"We've finally arrived," commented Otaz as the group stood in front of the guildhall, where the lights still shone.
Nodding, the group members in armor and masks went inside. Most of the guild staff were familiar by now when it came to the mysterious servants.
The higher-ups of the local guildhall even stated: "Under any circumstances, except under the command of local authorities or other higher-ups, should any guild member dig any pieces of information pertaining the background of the young master, nor that of his servants."
Seeing the five, the local guild staff gulped before waving to them. Without uttering any words, Ogron placed a few animal noses and others on the table as proofs of finishing the extermination.
The guild staff smiled and gave the group their respective coins. But as the girl wanted to credit Az a few guild credit points, one thing caught her eye Az got a letter.
"Could you five wait for a minute, please? The young master got a letter from a different province. Let me find that letter in our inventory," told the girl hastily.
Hearing that, Satoshi grinned, whispering: "So at least one of his siblings seem to be kind of alive."
The rest of the group nodded in agreement. As they waited, Simaev commented: "I'm already excited how Az will react after finding out that his brother mailed a letter for him."
A few minutes later, the girl rushed back, holding a letter with a delicate stamp on her hand. Behind her, one of the guilds higher-ups stood, greeting the five before asking if he could offer them a room for the night, which the group didn't refuse.
The man silently led the group to one of the rooms and gave them the key before saying goodbye with a smile. The room was big with five beds for each of them.
There was also a big table and a shelf filled with books. All of the servants took a seat except Otaz, who placed the sleeping beauty called Az on a bed before putting a thin blanket over him.
It's been a long time since Az slept on a bed.
Thx for the chapter!
Satoshi's Daughter?
Nah, they left her with her mum before going on their journey. The kid is Az, with his four minions^^
@unknownking Arc Suggestion