Survival Training, Brought to You by Faruk Argentora

The equipment that was given to Oria are understandably useful for the training ahead. But there's one object that stands out differently and the little girl has no idea what it'll be used for.

"What's this ball for?" she asked.

Among those necessities that Faruk summoned was a spherical object made of some sort of black iron ornated with floral decorations.

"Ah, that ball?" Faruk responded. The dragon proceeds to pick it up and explains about the iron ball. "This is a unique tool called the Observer. As the name suggests, it will allow me to observe your training and make sure you don't foolishly run into your death. In short, I will be your guide."

"Oh, is that so... but why not just go with me instead?" Oria asked.

"Well, it's not a 'survival' training if there's a giant creature that can fly and spew flames all over the place watching over you, won't it?" Faruk said in a sarcastic tone. "Monsters will try their best to avoid me. Not to mention, I have a skill named [Intimidate] at maximum level, which will make weak monsters crying for their lives, running with their tails between their feet."

"T-That's a scary skill..."

"That's why I'll use the Observer as a vessel for my eyes. My [Intimidation] skill won't work when I'm using that ball."

"I... I see."

"Are we clear?" Faruk asked. "If you still have questions, then ask away. If not, we'll start at once."

"Hhmm." Oria shook her head. "I'm good. I'm ready when you are."

"Heheh. Eager, are we?" said Faruk a bit happy. "Hold this, Oria," he gave her the Observer, then he stands tall in front of the cave entrance like an indestructible coral when bashed by large ocean waves.

His sharp eyes flashed out for a second, then all his body becomes iron from toe all the way to his head and wings. Oria watches in amazement as the dragon's body stops moving and now looks like a gigantic statue. Afterwards, the petrified Faruk lets out a stream of scary aura around his body.

"...!" Oria stepped back as she felt a fearful sensation flowing to her.

But that fear is instantly switches to shock when the Observer suddenly reacts.

"Whoa!" she reacted. The iron ball fell off her hands. A few seconds later, the ball speaks.

"Sheesh. That's not a kind way to treat the Observer, Oria..." Faruk's voice is heard from the ball, which rolled a bit to Oria's direction.

"F-Faruk... is that you...?" she asked with a scared look.

"Who else would it be? Didn't I tell you I will use the Observer to act as your guide?"

"O-Oh, right... ahahaha... I'm sorry. That dragon body of yours is giving a scare to me, so I'm shocked when the ball suddenly moved," she said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"I forgive you," Faruk replied calmly. "Well, I didn't tell you about how the Observer will react, so we're on the same boat, actually."

The iron ball suddenly floats in a slow motion, rolling in midair in the same speed and stops in the height of Oria's head. A trimmed part of the ornate suddenly spreads open, revealing an intimidating eye with a gold pupil with black iris and purple sclera. The eye looks at her with a strikingly creepy gaze.

"U-Uh..."

"What?" the ball responded in Faruk's voice. "It's not that scary, isn't it?"

Oria shakes her head. Her arms held to her chest, scared. Obviously, anyone who suddenly saw a big flying eyeball that speaks would run away in fear immediately. Even though Faruk's Intimidation skill isn't carried over to the Observer, the looks of the iron ball which now looks like a big creepy eyeball is enough to scare not monsters, but humans.

Faruk, in the Observer form, says in a sighing voice, "...Here I thought it'll work just fine. This will be a looong day."

...

..

.

After doing quite the effort of reasoning with Oria to not fear him in his eye form, eventually, Faruk decides to make himself less scary by forcing himself to do exaggerated and funny moves, copied directly from none other than the debaucherous wizard.

Fortunately, he succeeds.

And with that, Faruk teaches her how to pack the given equipment the 'human' way, which now looks like a light backpack that can be easily carried by a mere eight-year-old. Faruk did give some attention to the weight, after all.

And with that, Oria and Faruk sets off to go with their training.

"Our first step will be three thousand meters walk from here." Faruk stated.

"Three thousand meters? H-How far is that?" Oria asked.

"Well, it's about two hours if we tread the path from here," he said like it's not a problem at all.

"Two hours, h-huh... I'm sorry, b-but do we have to go that far?" Oria carefully asked, not wanting to sound like she questioned his methods.

"I'd prefer not to go that far, though. But with that stone body of mine there along with a fully functional Intimidation skill, monsters will dare not to approach the region within the radius of two thousand meters. That is... about the distance of our training site. That aura around my body there is proof that the Intimidation skill is active, by the way."

"(Oh, so that's why I feel horrified by it. Though, I'm not that scared anymore now...)"

"Anyway, shall we begin?" Faruk asked.

"(Ugh... I must give it my all. For Hilda's sake, too!) I'm ready. Let's go!"

With that, they begin their long journey by plowing through the forest.

Along the way, Faruk notices how Oria is in a hurry. She's not walking, but a bit of running. After fifteen minutes, she's already exhausted.

"What are you hurrying for?" Faruk asked as soon as Oria halted to take a breather.

"It's still far away, Faruk. Huff... I... isn't it better if we hurry?" she replied.

"Hm. It's better if we go there quickly. But it's the best to save your energy as much as possible, Oria. If you're tired long before we reach our destination, then this training will all be for nothing."

"O-Oh... is that so?"

"Walking consumes energy, too. But not as much as when you're running like that," said Faruk.

"I, I see. I'll take care not to run again..."

"In that case, while you're walking, savor the view of the forest! Witness the blessing that Goddess Altria bestowed upon us," Faruk floated a bit higher, showing the sight of the forest ceilings.

Faruk allows her to rest for five minutes. Oria sits on a large tree root, gazing at the forest, listening to the birds singing with their chirps. After she cools down a bit, she stands up again.

"Oh, are you done?" Faruk asked.

"Hm," she nodded. "Let's go!"

This time, Oria takes the dragon's advice to simply walk. She then realizes that there are many things that she could've lost sight on if she's running. Just four minutes into walking, she notices a few beautiful flower patches on the green land. It gives her a sense of calm.

Twenty minutes has passed without being felt. Oria is invested in looking at the beauty of the forest of Raskiel mountains. She wasn't attentive to her surroundings during the lesson with Dux, so she's extremely excited right now with the environment.

Ten minutes later, Oria notices a lone dead tree in the middle of the forest.

"Faruk... that tree...?" she pointed her finger at it.

"Hm...?" Faruk floats ahead of her to get a better view. "Oh, that's just a dead tree. It doesn't have anything strange or whatever, so there's no need to fear it."

"N-No, it's not that. Yesterday, Dux taught me about the importance of restoring nature to respect the Goddess's creations. I mean, isn't there anything we can do to that poor tree?" she asked curiously.

"Huh... well, there is a way. Plants can absorb mana instead of your run-of-the-mill fertilizer and water. That way, they can grow faster. But there are risks. Though, it's not something we should be worrying about."

"So, I can make that tree alive again?" Oria asked.

"Uhh... I doubt that'll work. Given that the tree is already dead, even when you give mana to it, the tree still won't return to its original color. Unless you chop it down and plant a new tree beside it and feed it with mana."

"Is it okay to chop it down?"

"It's fine. It's already dead. In fact, it's best we chop it down before it fell apart on its own and hurt others."

"Then, let's do it! Oh, but do we have a seed to grow a tree?" she asked while checking her backpack.

"We have, actually. I was planning to use it as an ingredient, though... (A little might not hurt, I guess.) You can use a pinch of rozferul seeds, Oria."

Fishing through the backpack, she tries to find it. "Um... which one is it?" she asked as she struggled to find the said seed.

"It's in a white pouch, I believe."

"Ah, here it is!" she said excitedly as she found it. "Now, just to chop the tree..."

The little girl approaches the tree with a wand in hand.

"O-Oi... how are you going to chop it off? Well, maybe I can use a bit of my power to—"

Before Faruk even finishes speaking, Oria, being excited, uses her Weapon Witchcraft skill and the art she made.

"—Argent Slash!"

An arching slash in silver light emitted, cutting through the base of the tree. The dead tree slowly slides off the cut and fell to the opposite direction from Oria, causing quite the loud noise as it crashes to the ground.

"O-Oria..." Faruk responded, surprised, unable to pick up words.

The little girl, being child, thinks her effort is wonderful and brags about it. "I did it, Faruk! It's amazing, right? Heehee!"

The Observer closes its eyes. A few seconds later, Faruk's grunting mumble is heard. He then utters his words, somewhat unexpected to what Oria thought she'll get.

"...No. It's not."