The Devil at daytime

"One...two...three..." Verner counted as he waited for whatever was in the bushes to attack him, his sword almost drown out completely, and then...

'SLASH!!!'

He whipped his sword out and slashed the air, expecting a way bigger target, but it was just a rabbit, it ran between his legs and hopped off into the bushes again. "Phew..." he picked up his basket and hung it on his back "can't believe I was actually afraid of a bunny" he thought. He wiped sweat off his forehead as he continues his journey home, but he began to hear the rustling sounds again, this time a lot more precise. He paused and looked around, drew his sword out completely this time.

"Hello...is anybody there?". The forest was silent, only the birds were chirping, but he wasn't going to let his guard down, he was very sure someone was creeping on him. He stood still, holding his sword with both arms, waiting to strike, and that's when he noticed some vines twisting around his legs, but it was too late...

'GBAM!!...GBAM!!', the thick vines picked him up and flung him around the forest like some toy, using him to whip the trees and the ground. "What the hell!!!" he yelled more vines shot out of the ground and tied him up in mid air, but he managed to slice through them with his sword and dropped on the ground.

"SHOW YOUR SELF DEVIL!!!" he yelled as he took his battle stance, the vines increasing in number and slowly creeping towards him, then he heard a man laugh behind him.

"HAHAHAA!!!...devil?...boy have you ever heard of a devil running around the day?, HAHAHA!!", he laughed really hard and clenched his stomach. "Who are you supposed to be?", Verner asked, slightly confused and angry. "Oh me?, my name is Brogan, I'm a devil hunter just like you, but I'm a major rank, and uhm...who are you?". Brogan asked back, with a childish smile. Verner was stunned, he was looking at a devil hunter Major.

"A devil hunter?...like me?...he thinks I'm also a hunter" Verner thought to himself. "Say something already" Brogan said, still looking at Verner. Brogan was just as tall as master Rodric, but a lot beefier in muscles, he wore a dark green robe over his black garment and held a huge sword with a dark metal blade and very rugged edge. "You're just a kid, you seem surprised, how did you even become a hunter?"

"Verner, my name is Verner...and uhm... I'm... I'm not a devil hunter...but I'll be, I'll be...very soon" Verner smiled foolishly, his face very sweaty, Brogan looked very confused for some reason.

"If you're not a hunter then how did you get hold of such a powerful Qi weapon" Brogan asked using his sword to point at the thunder flash spear. "I came to willow valley while tracking I was a devil, I killed it a few days ago but I'm yet to return home, I sensed thunder Qi radiating from that weapon so I tracked it here hoping to meet the great sentinel hunter Rodric, but you're obviously not him, and you're not a hunter either, so where the hell did you get it from?"

"I'm...I'm..."

"Speak properly!!, you retarded or something?"

"No...no sir, it's just that...I'm his disciple, he's training me...so I just...burrowed his sword". Verner was shaking, but he didn't know why, was it fear or excitement, he could tell, he was just shaky. "Hmm...that makes a lot of sense" Brogan put his sword back in it's sheath. "So let me guess, you're a thunder Qi user as well, and you're learning from the greatest, you're one lucky chap" Brogan put a chewing stick in his mouth and scratched his beard.

Actually I'm not a thunder Qi user, infact I don't...have any Qi...I'm just..."

"WHAT?!!" Brogan's chewing stick fell from his mouth "Wait you're just a regular human who wants to be a devil hunter?"

"Yes??...sir?"

"HAHAHA!!!" Brogan laughed even harder, Verner was very embarrassed. "How's that even possible?, wanna kill yourself huh, I knew you were retarded, HAHAHA!!!"

Verner became very angry at this point, he hated when people doubted his potential, because he knew he was capable of doing great things.

"I might not have any Qi, I'm not from any of the Element clans, but I have one thing, determination" Brogan stopped laughing "I've trained for years under two different sentinel hunters, Daegan and Rodric, I have no Qi but I have pushed my mortal body far beyond it's limits through exercise and training my body, instincts, reflexes and breathing techniques. I can move, react and punch much harder than any normal human without Qi" he drew out his sword and pointed it at Brogan, "and if you still doubt me, let's face off". Brogan's face changed from confused to gleeful in an instant "He's just a major, he's not a Sentinel like Rodric, I should stand a chance against him" Verner thought.

"You said you're Rodric's student, so I don't want to make a mess of you". He dropped his sheathed sword on the ground, took his green robe off as well, then raised both arms and took a boxing pose. Since you are training to be devil hunter, I'm going to fight you like an average devil, not a hunter, since most devils don't use weapons, I'm going to beat the shit out of you with my fists, so you know what it's like to fight a devil, most devils are not as strong as me though, but when this is over my message will be clear". Verner held his sword with both arms and took a battle pose. Brogan looked even more excited;

"Once I'm done with you, you'll abandon this dumb dream of yours"

"And once we're done, you'll never doubt my potential as a devil hunter"

Brogan smirked, Verner stared

"Let the battle begin then..."