Training

Diether received 10 silver coins and 30 copper coins from the two ladies. They were planning to give them a gold coin but he got too embarrassed and settled with their spare money.

"You could've accepted that... It is not like you guys will meet again in the near future. Their family seems to be in so much trouble, you know? It is better to stay away from them..."

Now that Reiji doesn't have a human form, he suddenly had a thicker face.

"I just got too embarrassed. I'll definitely fix this in the future, master!"

"Alright, alright... The room they rented for us would last for a week. It already includes breakfast so save that money for your food. Understood?"

"Yes!"

Reiji was satisfied as they started their training.

***

It was hot in the morning but Diether was energetic as he hurried to the nearest forest to start the training.

"Hey, kid! Where are you going?!"

One of the guards at the gate shouted as he noticed the kid's direction. It wasn't where the next village was but it was the hunting ground for evil beasts.

Arcanist wasn't the only profession needed to hunt the evil beasts. There were normal people as well equipped with weapons made by Arcanist or some Arcana they found while treasure hunting.

In short, these people don't resemble Diether at all. He doesn't look like a new Arcanist since they should be at least 12 years old. The boy just looks like 9 or 10 years old at most. His body was even looking like a girl.

In short, his image wasn't someone who can protect himself from the weakest evil beast roaming around the forest at all!

"Thank you for your concern! But I'll be alright!"

"Fine... Do as you wish..."

The guard only muttered this and Diether didn't hear it. Anyway, there were a lot of people missing in that forest and one more child shouldn't matter that much.

The guard no longer bothered the death-seeking child as he idled around in his post. Little did he know that this would be a daily routine for the kid.

***

The vast forest around the village was a good place to hunt evil beasts.

These beasts were said to be a normal beast before but they got corrupted after learning how to utilize the hidden power they possess.

That's right... The utilization of Spiritual Energy can cause the beasts to suffer mutation and be attracted to humans who uses the energy...

Although there were only small number of them, they will keep increasing their numbers if the hunters didn't subjugate their bases from time to time.

Reiji learned this but he didn't mind since they will be staying at the outer edge of forest. It should be relatively safe there.

"Alright! Aside from running, push-ups, and squats in the morning, you will practice two thousand strikes every afternoon. Understood?!"

"Yes, master..."

"Very well..."

Reiji was also planning to train his reflexes but the kid's body state was too poor for that. He decided that increasing the muscle mass was still better to achieve some quick results.

No one interrupted his training today as they completed the sets without much trouble.

Having control to spiritual energy was indeed something miraculous since Diether can complete all the training Reiji has scheduled.

On that night, since no one interrupted them anymore, Reiji completed another one of his missions.

[ Congratulations! You have completed the Hold Me More Mission! ]

[ You have received 25 Skill Points ]

[ New Mission Created ]

[ Wait! Hold On! ]

[ The host must find a different person who can hold you for 12 hours straight. If you were unhanded even by a second, the timer will restart.

Reward: 30 SP ]

"Eh? This will be tough... Anyway... I now have a total of 65 SP! Sword Kinesis, you're mine!"

Reiji quickly spent his SP to trade it with the skill.

[ You have learned Sword Kinesis. ]

"You can now unhand me..."

Reiji said to the young kid. The boy didn't asked further as he followed his master's instruction.

Soon, Diether saw the shinai starting to float slowly as it tried to stand. Well, that was how he saw it.

It stopped after some time and tried to get near to the kid's hand.

'Oh... Master probably wanted to be held by now...'

Diether understood it quickly as he held the shinai.

"Master, is everything alright?"

"Mhmm... Yes... I can now start floating but fast movement was still impossible. I won't even be able to carry you. Anyway, this is a good start..."

"Oh... As expected of master. Are you slowly awakening your hidden powers?"

"Hahaha... you can say it like that, kid..."

***

A week had passed as the rent for their inn was over. The included breakfast of bread, egg, and milk was also over now.

"I should find a cheaper place to stay... But the owner seems to be kind and willing to lower the price for me... I can try asking her again..."

Looking at his pocket money, he only have 7 silver coins and 50 copper coins with him.

A single silver coin was equal to a hundred copper coins and he was spending at least 15-20 copper coins for his foods daily and others were spent for some medicines and clothes.

The kid needed to have a healthy body so he must always clean himself after training and have a set of clean clothes.

Most of it was because Reiji wanted his student to be respectable in a way.

"Master, am I really going to be strong this way?"

"Haha... Maybe..."

"Eh? but..."

"Everything will depend on you. The things you are learning now were the fundamentals. You have an untrained body so we have to nurture that... Stance, Footwork, Swing, and your continuous Practice will help you achieve your goals... If you're able to do that... Then I have nothing to worry..."

Diether listened to his master as he firmly remembers his words.

Tonight, he also made a promise that once he had the strength he was satisfied with... He will return to his family and apologize to them...