Episode 8: Venatio 

“How is ben?” I said in a soft voice before sitting beside his bed. Sophia was standing on the other side, checking up on him.

“He hasn't shown any signs of waking up but his condition has worsened from what we can tell. His mana has replenished as well.”

“I see, Thanks sophia.” I channelled mana though my eyes and the entire world shined bright in front of me. I have trained hard for the past 3 days since I came here, Mostly to expand my senses when using mana sensing.

Sophia had given me guidance after she saw me training. She had run over to me, excited and ready to share her knowledge. At first I still struggled even with her help but on the second day I got the hang of it.

Sophia’s first piece of advice was to pour mana into my eyes, doing so strengthened the sight in general and was the easy part. The hard part was her second piece of advice, to extend an incredibly thin layer of mana outwards.

With my current capabilities I could only use this for about a minute before my mana is exhausted. It wasn't good enough to be practical but being able to do it in short bursts was rather useful.

‘Ben’s mana…’

“Sophia. Ben’s mana hasn't fully returned yet. He had more. At the moment he only has about half of his original amount.”

‘So he will likely wake up in two or three days.’

“What?!” Sophia yelled as she looked towards Ben, clearly using mana sense as well.

“Did I say something wrong? What's all the screaming about?”

“Ah. sorry. You didn't say something wrong but if what you're saying is true. That means Ben has almost two times the amount of mana as the average hunter.

“Wait he does?! how? Doesn't everyone gain mana the same way? How is his mana higher than others?”

“No, that's not how it works. There is no set value for the amount of mana gained from using and replenishing it. What you eat, think, do and even what the people around you do can impact your mama's growth.”

I didn’t understand much of what she was saying and gave her a blank expression. In response she continued to explain.

“Okay so Ben told you that using magic and recovering it is like building muscle, right?” I nodded.

“Eating a better diet or a bigger diet can influence your muscle growth, its the same for mana. Having a strong will to train will allow you to train for longer than some people. Using mana more and regenerating it more can help build it up. Lastly, when others use mana around you, it dissipates into the air and in some cases you could end up absorbing it. Does all of that make more sense?”

I took some time to digest everything and after a while I simply nodded.

“Even so, Ben’s case is extraordinary. He has a le vel of mana that could rival some travellers. But you told me about his house right? He isnt a traveller, so how does he have that much mana."

“Yeah he did, but now that you mention it he's been alone. Dont most travellers have parents?”

Sophia didn’t seem to follow the same train of thought. “What do you mean?”

“If he didn't have any parents to go home to, isn’t it possible he was alone in that house for a long time. So he survived without living in a town for most of his life. Wouldn't that make him just like a traveller?”

Sophia’s face lit up. “You're right! That explains a lot.”

These types of conversations seemed to pop up a lot when Sophia was around. We would theorise about a ton of different things, whether it was to do with mana or something completely silly. It seemed that both of us had cherished each conversation; however, it was likely that she never got to speak like this with eleanor.

The moment her i thought her name, she kicked the door open and walked in with an annoyed expression on her face. I was no longer considered a guest here due to her issues with men. Now that I was no longer a guest she was showing her true colours.

“Why the hell is this guy here? Sophia, did you let him in?”

Just as Sophia was about to speak I cut in. “Oh I'm incredibly sorry eleanor. I needed to pick up something here so I'm only here temporarily.”

It may have seemed cowardly to other men but I couldn't be rude back to her. Not after hearing a bit about what had happened to her. I understood that seeing me was an eyesore for her, it didn't bring good to her but the opposite. It is best to stay out of her sight.

I wasn't lying when I mentioned picking something up though. I had actually come here to take Ben’s sword. Before the fight in the cave and even before we had entered the seaweed forest Ben had mentioned this to me.

‘If I'm ever rendered imobile or worse, you can take my sword and use it. I wouldn't need it if I can't move anyway.’

I had declined the idea of it ever happening at the time but now I understand just how naive I had probably sounded to Ben.

Eleanor looked more pissed than before, however she spoke in a somewhat calm tone. “Is that right? Grab your shit and leave then.”

I did just that, grabbing the sword and strapping it to my waist before leaving through the door. Sophia threw an apologetic gesture towards me and I simply denied it, shaking my head.

***

The travellers' inn had become very dull and empty, only few people were now in the reception and most of them were ready to go on hunts. Only a few people were still sitting around getting on with their day.

I Headed to the second floor first and entered the room I had been allocated. Each room was small and had a minimum amount of furniture. You could find a set of drawers, a single grinding stone and the bed.

I picked up the pouches for storing meat and wood then headed back towards the reception. I needed to do one more thing, and that was to form a team for hunting.

***

“How are we going to hunt if our only ranged fighter is dead? If we run into a monster above second class?! We would die!”

“What choice do we have!”

I swung open the door to the reception, two travellers were fighting between each other. The two of them wore scruffy equipment, however their clothing was far superior to mine. They had padded leather chest pieces and padded trousers.

One of them was a rather tall and well toned man. His hair was scarlet and slicked back, revealing part of a scar on the right side of his forehead. His nose was sharp and his eyes were a similar colour to his hair.

“So you want to die? We need at least two more people before we even attempt a hunt!”

A young woman was standing opposite the man. She looked much younger than him but carried the presence of one much older than her. She carried a small wooden shield and a blade on each side of her waist.

She had short brown hair that reached her shoulders, There were no visible scars covering her body. Even from afar it was easy to make out her silky smooth skin, only her hands seemed rough. Some people seeing her for the first time would assume she was not the warrior type.

Her eyes however, told the full story, they were sharp and full of hatred. Her black pupils seemed devoid of all life, as if her soul was not entirely there. She was more of a warrior than the man that stood in front of her. It wasn't just her appearance that made that clear, but her mana as well.

The amount she had was not nearly as much as Ben’s but she held power that could allow her to spar with him, if only for a few minutes. A few minutes in this case however, seemed to be a very impressive feat.

“You expect us to find two random people to hunt with now? We don't have the time! At this rate we will starve! You understand at least that, right Lona?”

“You two are looking for extra people?”

The man jumped and his soul seemed to leave his body. He had been so concentrated on his argument that he hadn't noticed me as I walked up to them.

“Oh… sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle-”

“Don't worry about it. This idiot is all talk. How can you fight monsters for a living and still get scared by something like that?!”

‘Can't say I don't agree.’

Before I could continue a voice called out from behind me.