Mana beast

After saying goodbye to my friends, I decided to go straight home to break the news to my parents.

It was already 10 PM, so I hoped they would be awake.

When I arrived home, my loving parents welcomed me with a hug.

My mother congratulated me for having a relatively high potential, while my father congratulated me for inheriting his [Darkness] element.

We had a peaceful dinner, discussing mundane topics like the rising price of meat.

"By the way, Liam, your friend Anna is a future prodigy. Don't lose contact with her; she could be useful to you in the future" said my father.

"Don't worry, Dad. I appreciate her a lot, and I'm sure we'll meet again someday" I replied.

Of course, I would meet her again since it's highly likely that she will be sent to Agora, the best academy on the continent, where the main cast is located.

After we finished dinner, I was quite tired and ready to go upstairs to sleep.

"Not so fast, Liam. I have something very special planned for you tonight," my father said.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" I exclaimed lazily.

"No, tonight you're coming hunting with me" he replied.

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In Millwood, my home, located on the plains, it's common to see giant forests and mana beasts in the surroundings.

Millwood is no exception, as it has one of the largest forests in the area called the Dark Forest.

In this forest, all kinds of creatures can be found, from beasts to spirits.

Millwood doesn't suffer from any invasion by these beings because the town has a protective barrier that prevents non-human beings from entering.

However, from time to time, the authorities have to clear the outskirts of the forest to prevent an excess of monsters in the area.

Right now, I was in this very forest with my father.

My father carried a long sword, while I had a bow on my back and a small curved dagger at my waist.

Since my father was the town commissioner, it was normal for him to go out and clear the forest from time to time.

But my question was, why the heck did he bring a young child like me into such a dangerous environment?

Even though I have the mentality of an adult, I still have the body of a child. That's why I can't go after any powerful powers or artifacts right now, it would be suicide.

The only thing I can do at the moment to make myself stronger is to train my body and my control over mana.

The forest was silent, but I still had a sense that something lurked in the shadows. When the silence became suffocating, I asked my father:

"Why did you bring me here, Dad?"

My father calmly responded: "So you can see the dangers that lurk."

I truly believe that he knew the dangers of this world very well.

After all, I know very well the challenges I will face in this world.

Suddenly, we heard the sound of branches breaking.

I automatically became alert, and my father motioned for me to hide in some bushes with him.

He pointed for me to look toward the source of the noise.

There, I saw a purple-horned rabbit with a blue mark on its chest.

I immediately recognized this animal since I had learned about it in school it was a low-level mana beast called a wild rabbit. In this world, mana beasts are classified based on the marks they have on their bodies.

One mark signifies a low-level beast, two marks signify a medium-level beast, three marks signify a high-level beast, and beyond four marks, they are called predators.

When a beast has five marks, it is considered a natural disaster.

It's from the medium level beast onward that they can learn to use mana.

Therefore, this wild rabbit couldn't use mana.

"Alright, it looks like you'll be able to handle this on your own, Liam," my father said before disappearing into the shadows.

And there I was, alone, contemplating what to do.

Finally, I made up my mind and took an arrow from my quiver. I aimed at the rabbit, and when I had a clear shot, I released the arrow.

The arrow hit its mark, and the rabbit let out a cry of pain.

Unfortunately, a mana beast was still a mana beast, so it wasn't enough to finish it off.

Before it realized my position, I shot another arrow, but this time, the damn rabbit dodged it.

The beast became aware of my presence and lunged at me.

My reflexes were quick, and fortunately, I managed to dodge it in time.

I quickly got back up and shot another arrow that hit its mark this time.

The rabbit was already bleeding heavily, but it seemed determined to take me down with it.

This time, its tackle was successful, and it threw me to the ground. With its two front teeth, it was trying to bite my neck.

I pulled out my dagger just in time to defend myself, so the rabbit didn't inflict any wounds on me.

"Quick, I have to end this, or things could go wrong" I thought.

Seeing that the rabbit was too preoccupied biting my dagger, I spun around and grabbed its neck with my legs.

The rabbit resisted my strangulation by kicking and scratching me.

I regained my dagger and stabbed it right in the chest, causing it to die almost instantly.

I got up from the ground with scratches and hyperventilating.

"It seems like your training wasn't in vain, son"

I turned around and saw my father leaning against a tree.

Just as I was about to protest for not helping me, I heard rustling in the branches above.

When I looked up, I realized that all the tree branches were filled with black monkeys with two red marks on their chests.

"From now on, I'll take care of this, son. You rest," my father said, unsheathing his sword.