Head pats?

As Ozul approached the living room, he saw an old lady seemingly making something.

On a closer look, she was Grandma Carol, and she was sewing a white shirt for Ozul. She looked much older than before.

Age was starting to take a toll on her body. Before she only looked in her mid-fifties, but now just from a look, you could tell that she was around seventy years old!

Actually, Grandma Carol became 72 this year.

As if not having a kid in the house was holding her health to a standstill, after fully accepting Ozul as her own, her body finally let go. She was starting to look at her age now. Ozul was somewhat worried about her health nowadays.

These days she would sometimes be heard saying how she has no regrets, and she will wholly accept if death came. Whenever she said so, she would get a narrow eye from Ozul and shut up.

Anyways, Ozul approached Grandma Carol and sat near her.

"Oh... you look lovely today," Ozul said in the same old monotone.

'I have no other way but to praise her. She always falls for it.' Ozul thought inside his mind while hoping his plan to work.

"Who are you trying to butter up, young man? So what do you need?" - Grandma Carol replied in a slightly amused tone, but even though she said that you could tell by her expression that she was pleased nonetheless.

"I plan to go into the Forest."- Ozul taking the cue, explained his intent to venture into the Forest.

"Huh!? Do you know how dangerous the Forest is? Why would you even want to go near it?" Grandma Carol was genuinely worried about him. She tried to tell him how dangerous the Forest is because she knows that she would not be able to stop him once he made up his mind.

"I have studied it perfectly; I won't go deeper into it. It's important." - Ozul explained that he knew what he was about to do. He knew that she might be worried.

"Besides, I know I can easily defeat at least a Rank-3 Magical Beast." - Ozul further tried to ease Grandma Carol's worries.

Hearing his words, Grandma Carol eased up a little. She knew he never lied and had a mature mind. But she was still worried about his well-being. She knew that convincing him otherwise was futile.

"Sigh... You don't make it easy for this old heart, you know... Promise me you will come back safe." Grandma Carol sighed and said the last part in a stern voice.

"Alright." Ozul did not hesitate to make the promise. The part where he would venture into only has Rank-3 Magical Beast as the strongest. He was confident about this trip.

Hearing him say that, Grandma Carol just shook her head and stroked Ozul's head.

He had never imagined that head pats from Grandma Carol would be so satisfying. He would never admit it though. But unknown to him, it wasn't a secret to Grandma Carol that he liked the head pats.

Anyways getting out of his trance, Ozul hurriedly went out of the room to hide his satisfaction. Grandma Carol just chuckled at his antics. Only in times like these did he show childlike behavior, and she enjoyed this side of him.

Outside the house, Ozul walked towards the Forest with steady steps.

In between the four years, Ozul had gone to Mr. Smith twice to renew the size of his prosthetics. Ozul's choice of clothes did not change much either.

He had a pointed hat at the top, a white shirt, and black pants. Ozul always had the conical hat on, so it was difficult to notice his face in the shade. If not, the ladies on the streets would have already gone to Grandma Carol for his hand in marriage.

Walking down the streets, he could see the same lively atmosphere. Some children played near their parents while people strolled around the shops. Some hopeless fellows were just sitting at the sides of the road.

Walking towards the Forest, Ozul repeated all the info about the Forest in his mind.

He was just going to the region where the strongest Magical Beasts were only at Rank-3. The vegetation was not as thick to get lost in it either. He also memorized the area which he should avoid. All in all, it should be pretty safe considering his capabilities.

It took him about half an hour to reach the woods. Magical Beasts usually stay away from the settlements. Walking a bit deeper, Ozul could see no signs of humans now.

Ozul kept his vigilance at its peak. The Forest was unpredictable—dangers lurk at every corner.

Eventually, after searching for quite a bit, he saw a wild boar. The wild board was also a Magical Beast and was only at Rank-2.

The Boar had also noticed his presence. Ozul knew what kind of Magical Beasts to expect around this area. He quickly identified the Boar as just a Rank-2 Beast and lost his interest because only beasts at Rank-3 or above had Magical Core in them.

Ozul just separated some Ball of Purity from his hat and created around ten or so thin needles out of it. The needles kept floating in front of him. he had a limited distance at which he could control the Ball of Purity. So, he just waited for the Boar to make his move.

Ozul did not have to wait any longer as the Boar rushed at him, aiming his pointed tusks at Ozul's chest. Just as the Boar took its first step into the 3-meter radius around Ozul, The sharp, pitch-black needles moved at blinding speed!

The Boar did not detect the danger as all of the needles pierced its head.

The momentum of Boar kept him running for a bit before he fell just right under Ozul's feet.

Even in death, the Boar did not notice anything. There was no pain involved—it was just that swift!

It was useless, though. Ozul could sell the materials such as its bones, tusks, or meat at the market, but he could not bring this giant thing back.

'Maybe I should buy a spatial storage item. It will be convenient in these situations,' Ozul thought as he just stepped over the Boar to find some Magical Beast at Rank-3.

An hour passed, and he kept encountering some Rank-2 Magical Beasts. At last, he saw what he was looking for.

Ozul noticed a bear twice the size of a normal one, drinking water from a cave. It was a Magical Beast at Rank-3! This Beast was called a Rugged Bear.

You could consider them as one of the weaker beasts in Rank-3. The Rugged Bears were only famous for their sturdy defense and their explosive physical power.

After forming their Magical Core, most Beasts would start to learn Magical Spells, but some are an exception like the Rugged Bear.

Ozul wanted to finish him just like the other Rank-2 Beasts. This time, He completely changed the hat into fine long needles and quietly neared the Bear. Just as he was in the range, He sent all the needles to pierce the Bear's vitals.

*Fwoosh*

The needles generated the winds as they flew towards the Bear. The Bear was caught off-guard, but the scene did not play out as Ozul expected.

The needles could not breach the Rank-3 Beast's defenses.

If he had to pierce the thick hide of the Bear, He needed to put more force into the floating needles, which was practically impossible as he was now. Because to put more power into the needles, he would need the needles to be denser.

So he chose the next best option, which was to make them thicker. He combined the more than a hundred needles into a couple of sharp, pitch-black blades.

But the Bear did not wait for him. Angry that he was disturbed, The Bear rushed furiously towards Ozul.

If he did not dodge away from this, he would seriously get hurt.

Ozul quickly ducked to his side as he used one of the blades to intercept the Bear. This time the blade pierced its right arm.

The Bear groaned in pain before he frantically roared towards Ozul. But opening its mouth was the Bear's last mistake...

In just a second, all the blades were lunged in its mouth. It fell on the ground with a thud.

*Fuu...* Exhaling deeply, Ozul recovered his breath. He had just survived a life and death battle but did not feel anything about it. When the Bear was about to hit him, death was so close. But unlike any human, he was not flustered.

There was something off about this uncanny indifference to death, but no one was here to note this oddity. 

Regardless, He had to finish his business as the smell of blood would attract even more Magical Beasts.

The Magical Beasts grew stronger by eating other Magical Beasts or Humans. So, a Rank-3 Beast in this area of the Forest was the best they could get.

Ozul moved towards the now dead Bear and used one of the floating blades to cut open its chest. He never used his own hands in all this time. He could make use of the Ball of Purity however he wanted.