Chapter 14: First Kill

"So, Master, you spoke about ways I could increase my level other than killing animals; what were they?" Asked Alexander curiously while walking through the forest beside Lavender.

"Well, although I did say other ways, there are only two known ways to increase your level; one is what we are doing right now, killing a living being. The other would be to do what your Class specializes in." Stated Lavender as she carefully observed the surrounding forest.

"Hmm, since my Class is a Hero, would that mean I would have to do heroic acts to acquire experience? But by that logic, what or who determines whether my action was heroic?" Questioned Alexander in confusion.

"The one who determines whether something would be considered heroic or not would be you, Alexander; it's somewhat difficult to comprehend, but simply if you truly believe what you did was heroic, then you will acquire experience. However, while all this sounds nice, there is a massive downside to all of this." Replied Lavender before she suddenly stopped while looking in a specific direction.

Seeing Master suddenly stop, I stopped as well while looking in the direction she was staring in, and when I did so, my eyes landed on a small gray and brown bunny with huge ears; the bunny, or rabbit, was currently nibbling on a few berries that fell from a nearby bush.

"You see that Rabbit, Alexander." Said Lavender quietly, to which Alexander nodded.

"I assume you want me to kill it, Master?" Replied Alexander with a slight frown.

"Yes, I want you to kill it; you don't need to worry about it retaliating; they will usually flee at the first signs of danger." Stated Lavender with a nod.

"Haa, okay; however, I hope you don't expect me to kill it with my bare hands. That's a bit too extreme for the current me." Said Alexander blandly while holding his hands out toward Lavender, causing her to chuckle before handing him a dagger.

"Here, this is a weapon I would always carry around during my adventurer days, though I rarely ever used it, so it's in great condition." Mentioned Lavender with a smile before slightly retreating to give Alexander space.

Once Master had backed away, I focused back on the rabbit while preparing to sneak attack it, though since this was the first time I was ever going to kill anything, I knew I should be feeling somewhat nervous; however, I was pretty calm, and that was all because of my Trait [Heart of Hero]. Although I knew how effective and powerful this trait could be, I was worried that it might affect my personality, or maybe it already has, without me ever noticing, though this is all something I should consider later.

Shaking my head to get rid of those useless thoughts, with a hardened gaze, I eyed the rabbit and tightly gripped the dagger as I slowly approached my target while making an effort not to alert the rabbit as I didn't want it escaping at least when I'm this far away. When I neared roughly the two-meter range, the rabbit suddenly stopped eating and carefully observed their surroundings; it even looked directly at me; however, thankfully, I was able to stay motionless while it looked at me.

'Haa, that was too close. Alright, after what just happened, I suppose this is as close as I can approach the rabbit; any closer and it'll probably flee.' Thought Alexander while releasing a sigh at not getting caught.

While eyeing the rabbit, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before quickly opening them and charging toward the rabbit at the fastest speed I could muster; however, my sudden movements must've startled the creature as it observed its surroundings in fear until noticing me and attempting to flee. Though by then, it was too late; if it had simply run away instead of trying to find the source of the noise, I wouldn't have got to it in time.

Closing in on the rabbit, I quickly leaped on top of it right before it attempted to flee; feeling it struggle beneath in fright, I knew I wouldn't be able to kill it if I took long. So with haste, I grabbed the rabbit from underneath me, and without even looking, I swiftly stabbed the dagger into the rabbit's body, so hard that it pierced through the bunny and into my stomach. However, I could hardly care about the pain I felt as I was too preoccupied with being traumatized by the frightened voice of the rabbit that was full of pain as it pleaded for its life while slowly dying over roughly half a minute.

"Good job, Alexander! Although your method of immobilizing the rabbit with your body was unique, your speed at killing the rabbit was impressive; you're a natural." Stated Lavender with a cheerful voice as she approached Alexander, only to be taken aback by what she saw.

"Alexander! Are you alright!? You've stabbed yourself!" Exclaimed Lavender worriedly as she quickly grabbed Alexander and carefully extracted the dagger from his body before tossing aside the rabbit's corpse.

I wasn't even responsive to what Master was doing, as I simply couldn't get the voice of the frightened rabbit pleading for its life out of my mind; his voice replayed in my mind like a broken record.

'His voice, it sounded young, like a child's.' Thought Alexander absentmindedly while staring at the sky.

"Haa, luckily, your stab wound wasn't deep; it stopped once it reached muscle." Commented Lavender as she rested her glowing hands atop Alexanders' wound, which was covered in his golden blood.

"Alright, everything is healed, though you might feel a little sore in that area for a couple of minutes until your body fully repairs itself; I'm a mage, not a healer, after all." Added Lavender with a slight smile as she stood up from her kneeling position and lifted Alexander onto his feet.

"Master, c-can we stop this? I-I don't think I can continue after what happened." Muttered Alexander with his head down while tugging on Lavender's clothes like a scared child.

"Why, what's wrong, Alexander?" Asked Lavender worriedly as she grabbed the dead rabbit, which still had the dagger embedded into its body.

"I-I could hear his frightened voice, every cry, every plea; I heard it all as he died, and he sounded so young. I-I can't do this anymore today, Master." Replied Alexander as he held back the tears that threatened to escape his eyes.

"O-Okay, that's fine; we can continue this another day when you feel better." Said Lavender with a comforting smile as she rubbed his head while internally berating herself.

___

___

Once we arrived back home, I separated from Master and headed toward my room; when I entered my room, I closed the door behind me and laid on the bed while trying to calm my turbulent emotions; which I eventually managed to do, however, I still couldn't get the sound of the rabbit out of my mind.

Although it was my first time killing a living creature, I expected to feel depressed for a little while before I eventually moved passed it, yet, I never anticipated the aftereffects of taking a living being's life would be so horrible.

As I was feeling terrible and mentally exhausted, I tried to go to sleep, hoping that a goodnights rest could somewhat ease my mind; However, when I was about to drift off into a slumber, I heard my door creak open before closing along with the sound of footsteps that were seemingly approaching my location.

I already knew who it was, considering there is only one other person who lives in this house with me; shifting to my other side, I saw Master arrive near me as she joined me in bed under the blanket.

"I-I'm sorry, Master-" Said Alexander quietly while glancing at Lavender, though before he could continue speaking, she placed her finger atop his mouth.

"Shh, you don't need to apologize, Alexander; I'm at fault for your predicament. Because of my curiosity, I forced you to do something outside of your comfort zone, which ended up hurting you, and I apologize for that; you're only a child; I should've waited until you were older." Said Lavender with an apologetic expression while gently caressing his head.

"I'm not a child, Master; I'm twenty-seven! Besides, you're not entirely at fault either, Master; I agreed with your idea, not to mention, In my past life, I was forced to do things I wasn't comfortable with if I wanted to survive, and now that I'm in a world where strength dictates everything, I will need to constantly step outside my comfort zone if I wish to survive." Replied Alexander quietly yet with determination as his words caused Lavender to smile lightly.

"Fufu, maybe by society's standards, you're mentally a man; however, in my eyes, you're nothing but a little boy impersonating a man." Said Lavender with a chuckle as she pinched Alexanders' cheeks, much to his annoyance.

"Though you're right; if you wish to thrive in this dangerous and deadly world, you will need to form a habit of constantly stepping out of your comfort zone, and as your Master, I'll be here to help and guide your every step as you do so. However, still, I shouldn't have started you off with something so extreme." Stated Lavender softly while affectionately caressing Alexanders' face, which eased his annoyance.

"It's the first time I've heard a woman say that to me." Commented Alexander, feeling slightly embarrassed from Lavender's display of womanly affection, his words causing her to release to beautiful laugh.

"Well, you should get used to it, my dear disciple; with how cute you're right now, I know for a fact you'll grow into a handsome young man that'll acquire the love of many women in the future; however, you must make sure to bring them back to me so I can make sure they are worthy of you." Remarked Lavender playful smirk.

"Well, that's nice and all, but what if I only want to quire the love from one woman?" Asked Alexander with a very slight blush while eyeing Lavender.

"Fufu, then you better work hard to grow into a fine man, as I'm sure that woman has no interest in little boys." Replied Lavender with a smirk as she glanced at Alexander before closing her eyes.

"Now then, let us rest, Alexander; I'm sure you're exhausted." Added Lavender.

"Y-Yeah, G-Goodnight, Master." Said Alexander quietly with an intense blush as he turned away from Lavender and attempted to rest, though because of how rapidly his heart was beating, it took nearly ten minutes before he drifted into a slumber.

Update

/////////////////

Name: Alexander

Species: High-Human

Age: 5 years

Tier: 0

Level: 0

Experience: [30%]

Class: Hero(Genesis)

Sub-Class:

Sub-Class:

Sub-Class:

Title(s): True Hero(Genesis), Reincarnator(Epic), Member of the Gypsies(Rare)+

Lifeforce: 100%

Mana: 790/790

Vigor: 15

Endurance: 17

Agility: 10

Dexterity: 12

Intelligence: 72(79)

Perception: 24(26)

Traits: Heroes Aura(Mythical), Heroes Will(Mythical), Heroes Physique(Mythical), Heart of a Hero(Legendary), Enhanced Perception(Rare), Enhanced Intelligence(Rare)

Skills: ?????(???), Heroes Gaze–lvl2(Mythical), Omnilingual–lvl2(Mythical), Rebirth–lvl1(Mythical), Mana Manipulation–lvl5(Uncommon)

Condition: N/A

___

Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, also it works this time; I've reset it, https://discord.gg/ejGpcdvD

___

___

Elven Legacy (Chapter 141: Elif Versus Five) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 19: Master & Disciple's Dilemma) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 28: Frenzy Pirates First Battle) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]