Leaving Buena Village

On the day of Rudeus' graduation, he was brought out of the village by Roxy to somewhere remote and far from the village. Apparently, the Saint-ranked magic he was going to learn was particularly destructive and could damage crops or even the villagers if they weren't careful.

They shared a single horse, with Rudeus sitting in front of her and between her legs while her arms, though thin, gave him a sense of safety.

This wasn't the first time he left the threshold of their estate, nor was it even the first time he left the vicinity of their village. Rudeus had boundless energy and endless desire to explore his new world, so no one from his family could stop him from running around the village without resorting to force.

Paul had also occasionally brought him out to the forest to teach him how to hunt.

Paul was employed as a knight by the Count of Fittoa to protect Buena Village, so he received a decent salary along with regular tributes from the villagers he protected. Thus, the Greyrats was well off enough to not need to hunt for food. However, Paul still maintained this routine, claiming it was good to make sure his skills didn't get rusty.

He still remembered the first time he went out to hunt which was the day after he turned five. It was a surreal experience to be sure, but a welcome one.

They had travelled a fair distance out of the village and went deep into the forest. There, Paul started explaining about the basics of hunting.

"Remember Rudy, hunting isn't fun. Hunting is hard, and you will suffer. Most importantly, hunting can be dangerous. Because these parts of the wood are popular hunting grounds of the hunters from Buena village, big game like Elk and Boar can be rare. You might need to spend a long time waiting or walking before encountering a prey."

Rudeus was wearing the thick leather coat lined with fur of muted colours that could help him blend into the environment made by Zenith. His coat still looked a little too big for him, since it was tailored such that the still developing child would grow into it. As a result he looked tinier and cuter than usual.

"Since this is your first time hunting, I think it's important for you to understand a few hunting principles: the first, hunt only what you need. Over hunting will only damage the natural habitat of all the animals living in the forest. And over time, it will ultimately reduce the number of game you can hunt in the long term. It is important to maintain a healthy balance."

That would be what modern humans would know of as maintaining a balanced ecosystem. Excess hunting just for the sake of trophies or senseless enjoyment damaged the long term population of not just the targeted species. Other hunters would also be severely impacted if the population of their prey suddenly fell drastically.

"There are basically two ways to hunt prey. Stand-hunting, which is standing or sitting somewhere while waiting for prey. This requires patience, discipline and self-restraint. The second is stalking. And that is to tread slowly and deliberately on the forest floor while tracking your prey."

Paul continued, "Regardless of your methods there are also many other factors to consider. First things first, our smell. Animals are typically very sensitive to how we smell, and will often run away if they smell us. To remedy this, we can hide our natural scent by grabbing some grass or plants, mashing them to a paste and rub it over our clothes."

Paul demonstrated this and offered some grass to Rudeus to do the same. Although the child knew of an Intermediate Wind Magic that could do the same thing without the hassle, Rudeus didn't mind learning something new.

"Good. Now, once you've successfully masked your scent, we can start to track some deer. Most animals tend to gather at a water source, we can start from there. But be mindful of the direction of the wind. We always want to be traveling against the wind and not with it."

The rest of the hunting trip was about as eventful as what hunting trip could be. They encountered a couple rabbits that they collected as their prey. Paul took them down with a bow and arrows, showing surprising expertise in a weapon that was not a sword for once, likely stemming from his Advanced mastery of North God style.

The last rabbit was hunted by Rudeus, who was too tiny to be using bows that were taller than his full height so instead replaced it with Beginner Wind Magic Wind Arrows.

They spent the rest of the day trying to find a deer, but failed to do so in the end. Regardless however, it was a great success in Rudeus' book.

When they brought the rabbits back, Zenith with Lilia's help skinned them and made a delicious stew with their meat.

The stew was honestly the most delicious thing Rudeus had even eaten. The meat was after all as fresh as could be, still brimming with the life energy and vitality of wild hare that was still running around a few hours ago.

But what made the meal most tasty was the satisfaction of filling his stomach with something he had caught with his own hands. It made Rudeus appreciate food like never before. This was something he would have likely never experienced if he was still back on Earth, given his disability.

So he was reminded about how grateful he was to whomever or whatever has brought him here, to this new world in a new body.

The rest of the dinner table was confused when they saw Rudeus tearing up while joyfully eating the stew Lilia and Zenith prepared.

"Oh my, is my cooking that delicious?" Zenith has wondered out loud.

Paul was the only one who understood his son's feelings, well partly. The feeling of consuming the spirit and energy of a wild animals whose life you took with your own hands... that was an spiritually awakening experience he himself went through as well.

Hunting thus became a hobby of Rudeus'. However, he remembered Paul's words about the principles of hunting. Only hunt what you need. Not for fun or trophies.

As a result, though Rudeus could probably have a much larger score if he used magic extensively, he still preferred the more natural and organic way of hunting using his own body. Other than using a Wind arrow as a substitute for an actual bow and arrow of course.

On the way out of the village with Roxy for his graduation test, Rudeus cheerfully greeted his fellow villagers who returned them with bright smiles. They were long used to Rudeus running around the village with the other children, so they recognised the bright and active child on sight.

Rudeus also often accompanied Roxy when she used her magic knowledge to help the farmers for one thing or another. He mostly acted as her assistant although sometimes she would let him handle some cases as well.

So to the villagers, Rudeus wasn't just the son of their territory's knight. He was also rather famous for being a mage's apprentice that could use up to Intermediate rank magic. There was no legitimate occasion for Rudeus to show off his Advanced rank magic, Advanced rank swordsmanship and chantless spell casting, so these remained a secret amongst those who lived at the Greyrat household.

"Oh, it's Rudeus! Hey Rudeus, where're you going?" One of the village children exclaimed, after spotting the aforementioned Greyrat whilst playing with his friends.

"Yo Soma! I'm going on a date with my teacher!" Rudeus cheekily replied while grinning mischievously.

While Rudeus indeed spent a lot of his time training in the sword, learning magic, developing his magic swordsmanship or hunting in the forest, he also didn't neglect enjoying his youth like the child he is, as Lilia had reminded him during his fifth birthday.

This mindset was also largely a result of the obsession with soccer he had in his past life.

Because Rudeus, or Noel as he was known as before, was determined to compete in the highest levels of soccer alongside the most famous players, he devoted many hours on the field. While other students and even some of his teammates went out to drink and party at night, he preferred to train by himself or keep up his grades by studying alone.

Although he wasn't unpopular by any definition of the word, Rudeus still regretted not having spent more time enjoying life leisurely. Especially after losing his legs and never having an opportunity to live life to the fuller like he could before.

As a result, although Rudeus found it a little difficult to act like a child and play with other children, he still tried putting in the time to hang out with the other children who lived in the village. Surprisingly, children were rather easy to befriend, so he had some other kids he could proudly call friends.

He even taught them how to play a rudimentary form of soccer with the vine ball Lilia made for him.

"Don't say things other people will misunderstand." Roxy scolded but made no real effort to correct his announcement.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Rudeus played dumb, while looking quizzically at Roxy.

She wasn't fooled however. After spending so much time at the Greyrat household, the blue haired Migurd was already familiar with how much of Paul did Rudeus take after. Both males of the Greyrat household were playful rogues that often teased and misbehaved.

"Cheeky."

Roxy reached down and pinched Rudeus' cheek. Like Paul and Zenith, Roxy was also glad to see Rudeus acting like a child sometimes. Because otherwise it was just too intimidating talking down as a teacher figure to such a genius.

Rudeus merely grinned and giggled even though his cheek was being pinched by his teacher. They had a relationship that resembled a kind teacher and her mischievous but favourite student.

The horse ride was a little longer than he preferred, but Roxy and Rudeus were able to entertain each other.

The boy even taught her a game that came from Earth.

"I spy with my little eye... something that is brown!" Rudeus promoted.

Roxy looked around the vicinity while they were still up on the horse, "Could it be a tree?"

"Nope!"

"Then is it the horse?"

"Guess again!"

"Ah, I know, is it the saddle?"

"Correct! Instructor Roxy now it's your turn!"

The Migurd smiles and giggled, "You really are full of unexpected things Rudy. Did you learn this from the other children?"

"Mm something like that."

"Fufu, Rudeus likes to be mysterious hmm? Very well. I spy with my little eye... something blue."

This game went on until they reached a gentle hill in the middle of nowhere with only a single tall tree growing on it.