Chapter 36 - You May Leave

The ranks of the beasts were the same as the adventurer ranks. Some over-smart people wanted to flaunt their knowledge by giving them extraordinary names like disaster-level monsters and such, but people settled for the easier approach.

In the end, they were only names, nothing more. The only thing such names did was to sound cool and become confusing and hard to remember.

And then there were classes determined from abilities... Like healer, magician, brawler, swordsman, physician, supporter, etc.

"'An ability is how a person's mana manifests itself' is how ability is defined," Andrew said what he teaches his students. "It depends on a person's nature, talent and imagination," he added.

Does he lack such basic things despite being so strong that he doesn't even have a mana affinity? Jack sighed, a bit disappointed in himself. This world was magical for him, yet he couldn't perform magic.

What one doesn't have is what one is attracted to. Despite having such tremendous strength, Jack yearned to perform magical things.

"What? Why are you sighing? Don't tell me my explanation was boring!?" Andrew asked.

"Ah, no, no, it is just that I don't have any mana affinity... so I was a bit disappointed in myself..." Jack answered hurriedly, making Andrew speechless.

He was possibly one of the strongest people on the continent and yet he was not satisfied with that? "Hahaha... Maybe you are making fun of us weak people... Ahem! Brother hero, why would you even want those lousy elemental abilities? Isn't your fist enough to get the job done?" Andrew awkwardly said.

"What job done? If I had the fire element, I could light a fire in a moment. It could even be used as a torch... I wouldn't have to search for dried wood and rub them to create fire all the time, dammit!!" Jack's tone got annoyed at the end remembering how he shivered in a cold atmosphere and yet still had to search for dry wood for four hours. There was no sunlight reaching the ground and the moisture was just nerve-racking.

"Pfft... Hahaha!! Brother hero, you are worried about such trivial things?"

"Hump! Trivial thing? You think it was just a trivial thing? Try living in that damn forest, and you will know how trivial your life is..."

Andrew found his expression getting scarier, so he hurriedly replied, "Ah, calm down, brother hero... I didn't know... I just wanted to say that there are basic spells that everyone can use to get those trivi... t-things done..."

Jack tilted his head in confusion, so Andrew opened his mouth to explain. But he quickly adopted the method of showing as he extended his palm and chanted a spell in a second. A small water ball materialized in his hand.

"See, this is the basic spell which everyone can use irrespective of their affinity. I have fire affinity, but I can use the basic elemental spells like these," Andrew explained while Jack stared at it for a moment and looked at him suspiciously.

Andrew scratched his head and recited the spell loudly so that Jack could hear and try it by himself. Jack did and a small, fist-sized water ball materialized on his palm.

"This... amazing!!" Jack muttered in a stupor and the next moment, his eyes shined brightly as his lips curled up to his ears showing his teeth. And Andrew sensed a bad premonition.

...

Another hour passed when Andrew sighed in relief seeing Jack's seemingly unending excitement being subsided. Jack made him blurt out every single basic spell he knew and had also demanded some absurd sounding spell which only confused Andrew.

And here Jack was, his head held high and a big smile of satisfaction plastered all over his face. He had learned a fireball spell that could be used to either light fire or use as a torch. A water ball spell to extinguish that fire... well it cannot do anything other than that. The wind spell brings forth a gust of wind and an earth spell to bring a fist-size bullet, though it was akin to throwing a stone.

None of it can be used offensively and their outputs cannot be increased in any way. A spell acts like a spoon that scoops a fixed amount of mana from a person's body to materialize elemental outputs, is what Jack concluded.

Teachers use them to introduce children to the concept of magic, while adults use them as survival tools. There were no special spells like healing for anyone to use, only people with a healing element could use them.

But despite their limitations, Jack was extremely satisfied and happy to have learned them as they would help him in many ways as he knew just the right ways to use them.

He felt happier like never before like he had grasped the life in his hands... Like he had become the strongest person in the entire world. Unstoppable.

Humph! If he had to go into that cruel forest once again, his survival would be far easier than before. Though he quickly threw away the idea of visiting it again when he remembered his previous bad experiences.

Now he should show his lovely mother his accomplishments, he thought as he chuckled and left the orphanage. He couldn't wait to see his mother's lovely face once again, so his heart became restless and his legs picked up speed.

And arrived at his home just to see the door is closed from outside. His mother seems to have gone outside.

...

A few minutes ago, in Susy's house.

Susy sighed as she looked at the three people sitting before her. She had gotten into a troublesome situation, or rather, the people before her were troublesome.

"I am deeply sorry for your loss... I tried my best to save her, but I was unable to..." she sternly said, avoiding the lecherous gaze of the man in front of her.

"What? You are sounding like you don't even care about the life of a patient and yet you call yourself a physician?" the lecherous man said.

Susy furrowed her brows in annoyance, "As I said, the disease was incurable... her internal organs were damaged..."

"But you didn't use your healing ability despite being a healer," the diseased patient's relative complained.

"...And I'm saying it cannot cure diseases!" Susy exclaimed as she knew that the man before her was only attempting to vent his frustration.

"Tch, despite being an apprentice of such a renowned physician..." the lecherous man's gaze became pondering as he went on, "my friend's mother wasn't on the verge of death yesterday..." he furrowed his brows as if he realized something, "Don't tell me, you did that intentionally to absorb her remaining life energy and fool us at the same time with the excuse of incurable disease!?"

This man was a village chief of a nearby village. He had come to this town to consult his friend's mother with the renowned saint physician, Susy's master. But came to know that she was out of the town and was guided to Susy's house.

Realizing such a defenseless beauty was alone in the house, he tried to use a framing tactic that he had used in the village. His courage grew even more when he came to know that she was a widow. He had framed a similar widow for being a witch to make her his slave.

His lust got the better of him as he tried to reel in such a beauty. He even forgot to consider the background of the woman. If only he had known that she was the mayor's daughter...

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Susy finally snapped as she stood up. She had encountered similar people until now, but not as shameless and irrational as the ones before her.

"I think you should take your leave!" she stood up and said in a raised pitch. Rita, who was in Susy's bedroom, also came out hearing the ruckus, but the men didn't notice.

The lecherous chief stood up, "How could we, before even having a proper explanation..."

And before he could continue, his sight moved towards the opening door as Jack barged in. The door was slightly open making his intrusion easier.

He heard their nonsense till now as he realized that Susy was in trouble. So he decided to take a look, just to see Susy's pissed-off expression and he knew what he had to do.

"I think she has already explained everything properly," Jack's hoarse yet deep voice resounded in the living room prompting approval, not understanding.

"And who..." the man's words were cut halfway when Jack's body disappeared from his spot to appear before him in a blink of an eye.

"You may take your leave," Jack's sharp eyes penetrated deep into his soul, making his body shudder involuntarily. And his instincts screamed for him to run away as soon as possible.

...

"Thanks, Jack, you were a great help!" Susy breathed out a sigh of relief as she felt a bit secure with his arrival. Though her expression hadn't recovered out of anxiety, her lips were still quivering.

"Hehe! No problem! If not me, then who would be?" Jack's words made her speechless. What did he even mean by that?