An Encounter and a Breakthrough

"What?!" Laurellius was shocked from the sudden loud roar.

The ground made weak tremors as Laurellius felt something charging towards them. Avarosa who was beside him warned: "It is coming. Move aside."

As soon as she was finished speaking, the trees suddenly parted as a large beast with horns similar to a bull suddenly appeared. Laurellius quickly dodged by rolling to the side, which barely saved his life. If he was late by even a few seconds, then he'd have several broken homes by now.

Or maybe he'd even have instantly died...

Laurelliu managed to see what the attacker was before he dodged. It had a form similar to a cat, but its physique was that of a bull. Laurellius had once read about it.

"A horned-behemoth?! What is it doing here?!" He exclaimed in both fear and bafflement.

Monsters, magic beast, and demons were ranked in strength by 'Order'. From the 9th Order being the weakest, and the 1st Order being the strongest. A 9th Order enemy was equivalent to the Zeroth Realm in the System of Magic, or the Mage Apprentice Realm. The realm where Laurellius was currently at.

Meanwhile, a 1st Order creature was a being that was already considered a divine. They were creatures that were far more intelligent than a normal person, and they had near infinite lifespans and had the power to bring forth calamity. They were of par with the Ninth Realm in the System of Magic, or the Transcendence Realm. A realm where one completely surpasses the limitations of being a mortal.

And as far as Laurellius knew, the horned-behemoth was a beast of the 8th Order. It was something the current him; who was even weaker than a normal 9th Order beast could only run away from.

He turned to Avarosa, "What now?!" he consulted with desperation in his tone.

Avarosa snorted at him, "Why ask me, fool. Was it not your decision to train in this woods during this fine evening?"

Laurellius grit his teeth. He was really stupid for relying on someone like her for help.

Laurellius drew upon his mana and began moving it through his fingers. He was marked by the horned-behemoth already. He doubted it would let him get away. Not to mention it was far faster than him.

"ROOOAAAARR!!" Another roar thundered. The ground shook again; it was coming!

A tree fell down as the horned-behemoth rammed it down. It was heading for Laurellius at a terrifying speed. 'Fast!!' Laurellius exclaimed inwardly as he once again rolled to avoid the beast, and barely, just barely avoided it. But its horn had scratched his leg. It hurt a lot.

"Ugh!..." Laurellius groaned in pain as he instinctively held his leg. It didn't look like it was bleeding, but he was sure the inside was a mess. "Damn it!" he cursed in a suppressed voice.

He turned to Avarosa for help, "It's impossible for me! I need your help!" he pleaded, "Besides, if I die, you're going to die too, right?"

Although Laurellius didn't like it, he had to use this bargaining chip against her. He was desperate. However, her answer was way contrary to his expectations.

"So what?" she said with an expressionless tone, "I would rather die than babysit a fool forever. It was my own mistake to choose a fool like you, and I shall choose death rather than go along with your threats."

Avarosa, of course, was only bluffing. She was actually planning to save him, but only after he was beaten half-dead. It was better if he get used to pain early on. And it was a good way to train his mental fortitude too.

But for Laurellius who didn't know that, it was a despairing statement. He didn't dare waste anymore time as he gritted his teeth and faced the beast. He didn't want to die. He refused to obediently die.

Laurellius' mind spun at high speeds.

'What do I do? How do I escape this horned-behemoth? At the very least I need to make a opening or restrain it for a short time… but how?'

'I can't rely on Avarosa to help, and I'm not sure if I can avoid the next charge either… my leg has gone too sluggish for it…'

'But what about the spells I can use? I don't have any elemental aptitude, but I can still use a few spells. Think… is there anything useful I can make use of? Mana Bullet? Sleep? Minor Healing? Lesser Levitation?'

As he thought, the ground once again began to tremble followed by the sound of trees falling down. A sense of panic welled up in Laurellius. It was coming back!

'Damn it! What do I do! Think Laurellius. Think!...'

His face was beginning to pale and his lips was faintly shaking. It was obvious he was getting scared. However, he refused to simply give up. He didn't want to let everyone back home down.

The world seemed to slow down in Laurellius' eyes. His mind continuously searched for a solution until an idea came to mind.

'That's it! I can also make use of that!'

And so, his mana began revolving within him at high speeds. It flowed in his right index finger, where he wrote runes at quick pace. All of the runes were hastily made, and it was doomed to fail.

But Laurellius aimed for its failure.

He pointed to his right when the spell was done, and chanted: "Wind Strike!"

A magic circle manifested after that, and wind compressed at high speeds beside him. As mages believed, no matter the affinity, the elements of nature were ever-present. As such, even if one tries to execute an elemental spell, it would still form, although it would be impossible to control if one didn't have the required aptitude.

A tree from nearby fell down as the horned-behemoth appeared once more. It was charging towards Laurellius' way, its eyes filled with killing intent and ferocity.

It quickly closed in the distance to Laurellius and it was ready to sent Laurellius flying. However, Laurellius was already done with his plan.

As the horned-behemoth was about to ram him, the wind beside Laurellius suddenly exploded with force, instantly blowing him back a few meters and sliding on the ground.

"Agh!..." Laurellius made a pained groan, but he ignored it and turned to the horned-behemoth. Strangely, it stopped in place.

"ROOOAAARR!!" it roared as it flailed around. It shook its head. It's eyes were tightly closed, but Laurellius could see a tiny streak of blood from its closed eye. A tiny stick was poking out.

It seems the failed spell that Laurellius used had sent a tiny stick into its eye.

He was surprised, but Laurellius didn't waste any time. Ignoring the pain that wracked his entire body, Laurellius began to run. He didn't dare linger around that beast.

***

Laurellius gasped heavy breaths as he took a brief rest just outside the forest. He was out now, and beasts and magic beasts alike tended to avoid human cities. Laurellius only needed to head back.

He turned to his side, and sure enough. Avarosa was following him with ease. He decided to not pay her any mind. He was too tired to.

'Finally… just a little bit more…' he thought as he began to move his feet.

However, Laurellius had underestimated the damage he'd incurred, and how much the fear of death had taxed on his mind. The moment his tension loosened, his head suddenly felt a lot lighter.

'Huh? Wha… what is happening?...' Laurellius was confused, but the next moment, his body felt like floating, and a his mind blanked.

The only thing he heard last was the roar of a beast before he passed out.

***

"ROOOAAAAAR!!"

The moment Laurellius passed out, Avarosa turned behind her as she gazed at the beast rapidly approaching.

"As expected, it is not moving like a wild beast," she said as her eyes narrowed, "but rather a tamed beast. It seems we have provoked someone's ire."

Her bright eyes reminiscent to a starry nights sky emitted a faint glow, seemingly piercing to the very core of the approaching magic beast. She smirked, "Nonetheless, it is still fact that it holds energy of the lower Order."

The horned-behemoth was charging with seemingly unstoppable momentum. The ground shook at its every step, and its speed made it look like a blur. It was moving at a speed that made it traverse a hundred meters within a few seconds.

But even so, Avarosa's expression remained that of ridicule as she pointed a finger towards the beast. Not caring about its imposing charge.

The beast closed in. The shaking of the ground she stood intensified. But she only maintained a collected face, and when the beast was in front of her, she spoke, 

"Fall, crawler of the earth."

The horned-behemoth's horn collided with her finger. And the next instant… 

...the beast exploded into countless pieces of blood and flesh.

Blood and red pieces of meat fell, but none of them touched Avarosa's fair skin as if avoiding her very presence. And Avarosa, with nonchalance in her face, only turned to a certain direction. A faint smile formed on her face, and she muttered… 

"Found you…"

Someone was bound to suffer.

***

By the time Laurellius woke up, he immediately saw a familiar ceiling. His sluggish mind tried to recall what happened, but it was all a blur.

"Ugh…" He groaned as he forced his body, which was aching all over, to sit up. Why was he hurting all over?

Laurellius held his head and attempted to recall once more, but a worried voice suddenly came from his bedside.

"Rell, you're awake!"

Laurellius turned his head to the side and saw Nell with a teary gaze. Her eyes were red.

"Huh, Nell? What's wrong? We're you crying?" Laurellius asked even though it was obvious by the tears that had yet to dry on her cheeks.

Nell teared up further as her face curled into that of a crying one. She wrapped her hands around her dear brother's body, not noticing him flinch due to pain. She was simply too worried.

She sobbed in his chest as Laurellius' face was still that of dumbfound. He still couldn't wrap his head on what was happening, until a something seemed to fit into his head with a click. Memories flooded through his hazy mind, and he remembered what happened.

His eyes widened for a different reason. Did Avarosa save him? Even though she stated she'd rather die than follow his threats?

Laurellius was confused, but at the very least, he was able to make a conclusion that Avarosa indeed didn't want to die. Perhaps she still had a goal to accomplish.

Laurellius stroked Nell's back and consoled, "It's alright now. I'm not hurt anymore."

Did Laurellius say something wrong? Instead of calming down, Nell sobbed harder and her hands tightened around him.

Laurellius paled even further as he tapped on Nell's back.

"N-Nell… Nell… pain…" he said with much difficulty.

"Eh?" Now that she was reminded, Nell finally remembered that Laurellius was injured. "I-I'm sorry, I forgot you were hurt…" she said as she quickly separated from him in fluster, but her eyes was still tearing up. 

Laurellius felt a bit bad seeing that. He wondered if he was doting on her too much.

He laughed a dry laugh and scratched his head, but he suddenly froze when he noticed something strange.

"H-huh?..." He uttered in dumbfound as he began to inspect his body--or his mana, to be precise. "T-This is…"

His eyes widened, but confirmed it it was real.

It seems he had made a breakthrough… 

...he was now at the Novice Mage Realm.