As per our usual routine, we did our morning training exercise after eating breakfast.

I had Ovis attack me while I parried her strikes. Compared from before, her attacks were faster and way stronger. Although there were still a lot of wasted movements, it was evident that she became more eager in her training.

“Hey hey! Going at it this early in the morning?” A voice of a man was heard from a distance.

Ovis and I stopped in the middle of the training to see that Kai came to visit.

“Go practice your magic for now.” I told Ovis before I walked towards Kai as I wiped the sweat off my face. “What are you doing here?”

“I just came to check on you! I heard you got beat up real bad yesterday!” Kai then inspected my arms and my legs. “Huh? You don’t look that battered to me.”

“Yeah, the moment I came to, my wounds were all gone. Ovis said that the guild took care of it. I still have to tend to my clothes though.”

“Really? They did that? I also got wounded in an exam once yet I did not receive such treatment! Your condition might be abysmal for them to take action!”

“I think the word abysmal is too much. But yes, it was pretty bad.”

“Say say, what exactly happened?”

Since he asked, I told him all that happened starting from the rules of the exam, details of the battle I had with the two tamers, and then the results.

“Woah, that was intense!” Kai looked amazed.

“It is?”

“I’ve never experienced that kind of unfair fight in my exams! I guess the guild master is one scary schemer.”

Kai suddenly went silent as he looked at the sky as if thinking.

“Is something the matter?” I asked.

“It is just that based on your story, the tamer with a Harpy as a familiar should be Erik and the one who uses earth magic should be Beru.”

“How did you even know that?”

“The shadow should have wide ears,” he giggled.

“Shadow?” I just decided to let it go. “So, what is with those two?”

“Beru is just an uptight newbie but I am not hearing such good things regarding Erik.”

“Is he involved in a trouble or something?”

“Not exactly him, but I often see him with Dusty. That’s the guy who likes to stir up trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“He is a C rank known for threats, sabotage, stealing and more mischievous acts. Since his victims are afraid of him, his crimes weren’t formally reported to the guild hence punishment was not done.”

“Okay, so why bring him up?”

“Last time when I met you at the guild, I actually saw him glaring at you. I’m just worried that he might be up to no good again.”

“Eh? Why would he do that to me? I don’t even know him.”

“Really? He is always hanging out on the guild. He is a haughty guy who tries to be stylish to get it on with the girls.”

“Ah, that guy!”

“So you do know him! Did you do anything weird to annoy the guy?”

“It is more like I’m the one who is annoyed at him. He blatantly accused me of lying about the Chaos Worm.”

“I see, then it is certainly possible…”

“Possible that Erik had his eyes on me in the first place before the exam even began?”

“Sharp as always!” Kai ruffled my hair.

“Hey stop that! I’m all sweaty!” I quickly I removed his hand from my head.

“I won’t always be there to look over you. Better watch your back, okay?”

“Sure, thanks for the heads up.”

“But man, you got to E rank so fast! Plus, your name is always included in rumors abound!”

“I don’t think that’s a good thing though.”

“Why not? Reputation has lots of merits, yeah?”

“Like?”

“Some quests specifically request a specific tamer, and I heard those quests offer great rewards! To be able to receive those, you’ll have to be popular!”

“I see your point. But in my case, it seems like all it brews is trouble.”

“That’s… yeah…” Kai gave an awkward smile. “Anyways, what are you planning today? Ready for your first real job as a tamer?”

“Yesterday was kind of draining so I plan to take it easy for today.”

“Take it easy? That training a while ago did not look like it at all!”

“I got beat up pretty badly because I was weak. I need to do what I can so that won’t happen again.”

“It’s good to be motivated but don’t push yourself too hard.” He placed his hand on my shoulder.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’ll be going now then, congratulations on your promotion!” Kai uttered with a smile before he walked away.

I was really lucky to have someone like him to guide me through. I just hoped that his theory about the Dusty guy was wrong. Having more trouble would not be good for my heart.

After Kai was gone, I went back to Ovis and we resumed training. We sparred for a while before I declared that it was enough for the day since I still had other things to do.

“Hey Ovis, I’m going to the city to buy some things, want to come?” I invited.

“U-um… C-can I just stay h-here? I’d like to train my m-magic...” she meekly responded.

“Sure, but don’t overdo it,” I patted her on the head.

“Y-yes!”

As per her request, I left Ovis alone at home and I went to the city to do some shopping. I first went to buy food supplies. My stock had been running low quickly because Ovis and I began to eat much more due to our everyday exercises.

After buying food, I bought some threads and needles to fix my shirt and pants that got torn due to my fight with Erik. Although the damages on my clothes weren’t much, leaving it as is might make the holes larger.

Since we would be undertaking E rank quests, beasts would likely be involved. I bought a bestiary just in case. A bestiary was a book that contains various data about beasts. Being informed would give me an advantage if ever I really had to fight one.

As per the guild master’s advice, I took the free time I had to walk around the familiar market. I visited store after store to scout for familiars I could possibly buy.

I actually could not afford to buy one, I just wanted to look around for now to have an idea as to what kind of familiar should I have next.

Unlike the case with buying my first familiar, I also needed to account if the familiar would be able to work well together with Ovis. It would be a huge problem if they would not get along after all.

I browsed the merchandise using my ability. As usual, they were really quite costly. I found some red ones but they cost not less than eighty silvers. There was no way that I could wait until I save that amount before I buy my next one.

I looked around even more and there was not a hint of a gold like Ovis. I guess they really were rare. If my ability was indeed true then I definitely got the lucky straw with Ovis.

The cheapest decent enough looking familiar that I saw costs thirty silvers, an amount that my seven silvers filled pouch could not afford. I decided to have that amount as my target as per my financial goal. I would only come back once I reached that amount.

I was about to go home when there was a commotion nearby. A crowd formed on the center of the plaza where the cheers and gossips echoed.

Because of my curiosity, I decided to take a peek. At the middle of the ring formed by onlookers were two tamers with their respective familiars, it was a duel.

One of the tamers was a young guy wearing a red bandana on his head. His familiar had huge arms covered with black fur and in his hands were steel knuckle dusters. If I was not mistaken, it was a Gorkin.

A Gorkin was a kind of Beastkin with huge arms like that of a gorilla. Although their legs and torso were those of a Human, the excessive strength of their arms was something to be feared upon.

I looked at the other tamer and I was surprised that it was Erik. The Harpy was still standing on the ground yet her wings covered in green feathers were spread widely as if prepared to strike anytime.

The battle started and the two familiars went straight for each other. The Gorkin punched but the Harpy quickly evaded it. She flew to a higher height before she descended to attack back using her feet. The Gorkin used its knuckles to block the attack.

Although the Harpy was moving skilfully, her movements seemed more sluggish than what I could remember. I was unsure if it was just my imagination.

“Winds blow to your favour, Tailwind!” Erik chanted.

The crowd and the opponent did not react negatively upon the use of magic. They must have agreed that it was okay for them to do so.

The Harpy’s movements suddenly became faster, making it hard for the Gorkin to keep up. That was the speed that I remembered. The Harpy was not that inherently fast, she was actually aided with magic.

“Burn thy rage to your fists, Burning Will!” The tamer with the red bandana uttered.

A visible red aura formed around the Gorkin and it was not due to my ability. The gorilla jumped towards the Harpy then pounded his fist as he landed. The bird was able to evade it. The attack hit the ground instead, smashing the stone tiles into pieces.

The magic the other tamer used must have increased the strength of his familiar. I thought that it was a good spell but increasing the strength of the familiar would not really be worth it if it would not hit.

The Harpy slowly tore the opponent who could not land a single strike. Her talons slashed down its flesh continuously. The Gorkin did not seem to mind it at first. But as the fight dragged on, his movements became more sluggish.

“Finish him!” Erik shouted.

The Harpy flew high. She was about to speed up towards the Gorkin when the other tamer interrupted.

“I give up!” the young tamer reluctantly announced.

The Harpy heard it just before her talons landed at the Gorkin’s face. It readily stopped flapping her wings and landed on the ground. The crowd cheered as the match was concluded.

Although Erik won, I did not think that it was because he was necessarily stronger than the other guy. The only reason he emerged victorious was because of the match up. An attack that would not land was as good as if the attack was not made at all.

“Here!” The tamer with the red bandana threw five silvers towards Erik before he left with his familiar.

Erik won but there was a visible dissatisfaction on his face. It was as if he was the one who lost. He crouched to pick up his spoils yet he was biting his lip.

“Here I am, beating up E rankers one after another yet I am stuck being a puny F ranked.” Erik whispered to himself.

The crowd was growing thinner since the duel had already ended so I also took my leave. It was just that I had a bad feeling that he might grow even angrier if he saw me. I was one of the elements that were responsible for his failure after all.

Due to the duel that I just witnessed, I got curious of the different types of spells. I decided to drop by a magic shop then bought a book with a list of common spells. Maybe knowing the effects of different types of magic could make me more ready when battling against tamers. Additionally, maybe I could come up with new tactics for Ovis.

It was generally a fun shopping trip. Although Kai said not to push myself too hard, I realized that I really still had so much to learn. I definitely did not have the time to take it slow.