First Wish

When Larian turned to return, Hans could be seen running as he tried to keep up with Larian.

By the time he reached Larian, he was huffing.

"Wow! You caught my dog! That was just awesome. Thank you!"

Hans struggled to recover as he continued to take in big breaths.

"Hans. Take a break, the village know's you try to keep fit, but running too much can he bad for your health."

The demon who shovelled spoke up from behind him.

When Larian turned to face him he noticed the look he gave was entirely different from earlier.

'Didn't you ignore me just now? Now that Hans is around, you are willing to open your mouth?'

Larian sighed. The man had a look of embarrassment as he noticed Larian.

"Ah, the new guy. I'm so sorry about earlier, I tend to doze off when I'm working. It's cause some people to make fun of me but I'm the village guard, I hope I didn't come off as mean. It is nice to meet you."

The man was surprisingly pleasant, he admitted his mistake and apologised. Larian couldn't help but have mixed feelings about it.

Should he be angry, sorry or worried? How can a guard of the town doze off in the middle of the day?

Larian didn't want to come off as being rude so he waved it off.

Hans didn't understand what had happened but was just happy that everything was resolved. Still excited from the chase rubbed his dog on the head.

"Torms! Don't do that ever again, alright?"

Hans looked up at Larian with a jovial expression.

"Thanks again! Reed and Jae will be really jealous when I tell them I have a friend like you. You are my friend, aren't you?"

Larian barely knew the kid but seeing the expectant look of Hans, Larian thought about why he came here in the first place. He needed supplies and this kid seemed to manage the Inn, it would be in his best interest to agree.

'Anyways, he was the one who asked to be friends.'

Larian nodded.

"Yeah, I guess we are friends. Hans… There is something which I might need your help with."

Hans shook his head with a big smile on his face. Larian seemed to have made his day just from saying he is the boy's friend.

"Help? Sure! You'll help me and I'll help you. That's what friends do, isn't it?"

Larian sighed, as much as the kid was asking to get scammed, Larian had a morals to not cross the line.

"I need supplies for the road."

Han's eyes opened wide as he exclaimed.

"Leaving..? So soon? Don't you want to stay and rest? It's safe here."

Larian squinted his eyes, despite his ability to stay awake for long periods of time, he was still tired from his escape of Beleth's Dungeons. He could hold it and endure a few more days on hike, but there was a place to rest here.

There was no need to act tough and rush himself with Adam's quest.

"Yea, I'll stay for a few days."

The boy jumped in delight as he gained renewed energy to run through the village. 

"Yay!"

As Larian followed him back to the inn, he couldn't help but think to himself.

"Where are your parents? Why are you the only one managing the Inn?"

Hans looked down at the ground as his shoulders slumped, a sense of solitude surrounded him. His eyes glistened but like there were unshed tears, and his voice shook as he replied.

"My parents aren't here anymore. The village takes care of me."

The words hung heavily in the air and Larian's heart ached. Missing parents seemed like a daily occurrence these days but no matter how familiar Larian was with orphans, he was sympathetic.

Larian patted the boy on his shoulder, offering solace.

"You're not alone, kid. You have friends here who care about you and love you. And in this harsh world, that's what counts."

Hans smiled while his eyes became watery.

"You're a nice guy, Mister. You said you needed supplies right? We don't use money around here. So how about this… I'll help you on one condition."

Larian asked

"Alright. What's this condition that you have?"

Hans pumped his fist like a victory pose and it made Larian question if the tears were fake and he had been played.

"Yes! So, it's a bargain! That's what you grown ups call it, right? A bargain."

Larian sighed, it makes sense that the kid was used to being an orphan. It looked like Hans used pity tactics to get Larian to help out, and he wasn't going to be an ass and force the kid.

"Yea, we have a bargain. So what is it that you want?"

Holding out three fingers, Hans spoke with a cheeky smile.

"Grant three of my wishes and I will give you what you want for free. That includes a room in the inn!"

Larian eye's turned annoyed and tired.

'Why did I feel sorry for this brat? He was trying to scam me all along. Trying to turn one condition into three '

As Larian hesitated to give his answer, Hans quickly added.

"Don't worry! It will be fun!"

Sighing, Larian decided to play along. He could rest for a night and if the wishes were too much to fulfil Larian could simply leave. As long as he wasn't scammed further Larian wouldn't treat the boy harshly.

"Fine, since you are offering lodging for free, why not."

The boy hopped on his feet as he excitedly pranced about.

"Awesome! Let's start right away. Just come to the square shaped house, in a few minutes. I have to get ready."

As Hans ran out excitedly, Larian was left alone in the inn. When the door fully closed Larian whispered to himself.

"So, any traits?"

[Hans: Possess 1 Trait.]

[Parasitise to identify]

Larian breathed a sigh of relief. He was slightly worried that the boy was an abnormality like Star had been, but with one trait there was nothing to worry about. He was just a normal boy.

Looking back on the book, Larian saw pictures of animals and insect on each page. Rows of words were scribbled below each of them, but Larian didn't recognise the language.

'It's not the same language? But the academy uses English to. Unless…'

"Adam. Is this a language of the Ashlands or something?"

The voice within sounded annoyed like he had been woken from his slumber.

'What are you calling me out for? Why does this book even interest you, can't you see it's just a picture book? And there's so many languages in the Ashlands that it is useless to even remember them. I don't recognise this crap.'

Larian was already used to the attitude of Adam and didn't take his rudeness to heart.

Larian exited the inn and walked leisurely in the village as he got a closer look at the buildings. Each building was built into different shapes, there was a round headed house and a long L shaped house. 

Surrounding each building were the grey and green scrubs that gave the village its only source of greenery.

As Larian walked about the villages walking the streets smiled and greeted him. They recognised him as the man who ran to chase the dog earlier and thanked him for helping Hans out.

'The citizens seem to be open minded. What a nice change of pace.'

Honestly Larian was impressed by the impression the village had given him, it looked like a nice place to live if he was forced to live in the Ashlands.

While he walked Larian noticed a cave from afar, it looked like a quarry where the villagers had dug to mine stone for construction. It was an imposing feat to dig deep into the ash that had piled up. 

'There's even a well. The Ashlands is not as desolate as I thought.'

When he finally found the perfectly square house, Larian could hear noise from inside. Opening the door, Larian looked at the open area. It was quite empty besides the contraption in the middle and the people surrounding it.

A dark skinned human who wore a turban wiped the sweat off his face.

"There you go Hans, the ball machine is done. Knock yourself out! Safely, of course."

Hans eyed the machine excitedly.

"Thanks Uncle! You're the best uncle in the world!"

The Uncle saw Larian in the corner of his eyes and smiled.

"And you are the best son. But look who came, the new guest is here! I'll leave the two of you to it, ok? Make sure you don't shoot the balls out the window alright? You don't want anyone in the village getting hurt."

The Uncle left the house and Hans waved for Larian to get closer.

"You're here mister! This is the machine that Uncle had been working on for a while, it'll be a blast to play together, trust me!"

When Larian walked to the machine he noticed it had multiple pipes that pointed outwards like a porcupine, they each had an open hole the size of a fist and it hummed softly when Hans pulled a switch.

"You have electricity in this village? How did you get the technology here in the first place?"

Hans had a confused look as he shrugged.

"I don't know, the uncles settle the hard stuff in the village. I don't understand how things work, but they work!"

Holding a remote with a few buttons, Hans brimmed with excitement.

"So, are you ready?"

Larian stared at machine and back at the remote. He didn't have an inking of what this ball machine is capable of.

"What exactly are we doing?"

Clearing his throat Hans had an embarrassed look since he forgot to explain what he called Larian out for.

"It's actually pretty simple, do you know how to swing a sword?"

Larian nodded, of course he would. He was carrying a sword by his waist.

"I knew it! Awesome, now look. When I press this button here, the ball machine will shoot out magic balls that fly towards you. Just give each of them a hit and they will burst into tiny sparks, don't worry they will be harmless."

Larian pulled out a sword still tied to it's sheathe and nodded.

"Sounds easy, lets try the machine out."

Hans grinned and he pressed the button.

"Alright. Let's go!"

As the machine grew louder and shook, small blue bubbles were shot out. As they flew, they curved in a pattern and homed in on Larian.

Swinging his sword on the magic ball, Larian easily popped the bubbles into blue sparks. 

Skilled in his sword art, Larian's blade weaved through the bubbles, creating a beautiful firework.

"Nice, this is so fun! I'll make it faster, get ready!"

The peculiar machine vibrated and churned out more bubbles from it's different pipes and they flew faster. The numerous bubbles didn't stop as Larian kept cutting them down.

"Wohoo! That's so cool!"

While Hans cheered, Larian couldn't help but get serious as the intensity of the bubbles kept getting higher. 

'This is actually not bad for training. What an amazing toy! I have to find out who made it.'

Swallowing some saliva, Larian's eyes started to focus. The bubbles were changing, they started to move with mischievous intent, zigzagging and twirling through the air as if they possessed a mind of their own.

With each swipe of his blade, Larian dispatched a flurry of bubbles with swift precision. His keen eyes tracked the movements of each bubble, trying to predict their unpredictable trajectories.

The bubbles, though harmless, posed an unusual test of his abilities. As the time went by enough for the sun to descend, Larian's strikes grew more precise, his movements more fluid. Surprisingly he found himself fully immersed in the training of his sword art.

Larian's heart raced in excitement, he was sharpening his skills in a way he had never imagined.

From afar, Hans' eyes turned wide with wonder. He watched in awe as Larian danced in the beautiful sparkling lights.

As Larian's blade popped each bubble, the machine kept churning more bubbles until every pipe available was in use.

Finally a ball managed to strike Larian, but it burst into harmless sparks. It cause the machine to settle down and stop.

Breathing a sigh, Larian cutted down the remaining bubbles and stood there in a trance. Hans walked out from the corner, his mouth still agape.

"That… was… AWESOME! The bad guys must be really scared of you. We should do another round! You could do even better!"

The words woke Larian up. As he blinked he turned to Hans. Staring at the kid, he laughed.

"Thanks for the enthusiasm, kid. I'm not gonna lie, this was surprisingly fun. Let's do it again sometime else."