A new day started and so did my daily life as a tamer. After I ate the breakfast which Ovis prepared, we skipped combat practice and I had her focus on enhancing her magic reservoir instead.

I wanted her to be able to cast the Recover spell first before we resume further physical training. Although her Glow spell already proved to be useful in the last battle, it would not always work that way.

According to the woman at the magic shop, all she got to do was to continuously use her magic to increase her capacity. To do that, she casted Glow to sap the magic out of her body then she meditated after. She repeated that process until it was time for us to go to the guild for another job.

I entered the establishment with the hopes of accepting a quest when a man blocked my path. He had black hair, stern eyes, and was wearing a dark colored armor and a red cape.

“Blonde hair, mismatched eye color, Sheepkin familiar, burn mark on the forehead... Are you the one named Mest?” The man asked with his deep voice.

“That’s me, how may I help you?”

The man suddenly brandished his huge sword from his back and pointed it towards me.

“So you are the one who used dirty tricks to my little sister, you bastard!” The man shouted.

“Sister? You mean Lavinia? I did no dirty tricks.”

“You even dare say her name casually? I shall cut that disrespectful tongue of yours!”

The man swung his sword against me which I was able to dodge in time. I was about to draw my sword when Miss Mathi stepped between us.

“Reinhardt, fighting another tamer who has not consented to a duel is an act of breaking the guild’s rules. Continuing to do so shall warrant a punishment,” said Miss Mathi.

“You dare threaten me?”

“The guild has the right to punish anyone who disrespects its laws, even if you are a high ranking tamer, or of a noble status.”

He clicked his tongue then turned towards me.

“Just remember, I’ll be sure to cut your head off the next time you do such an act.” He declared before he sheathed his sword then walked away.

I was able to breathe easy as soon as he was out. I expected nobles to be troublesome, but not like that.

“Thank you, Miss Mathi. You saved me,” I bowed.

“That was nothing, I was just doing my job.”

“So, do you have any quests for me?”

“Sadly the only one for your rank was already taken.”

“I see, do you always have shortages with quests?”

“The exact opposite actually but majority of quests are for the higher ranked ones.”

“Nobody really needs us F ranks, huh.”

“Well F rank is basically like a stepping stone. It acts as an entrance exam to the tamers.”

“Oh, so that’s why registration was easy!”

“Yes, so I advise for you to come back tomorrow and maybe I’ll have a quest available for you.”

“I’ll do that then, thank you.”

I went out of the guild then into the streets without a destination in mind. I had an unexpected day off so it would be nice to spend the time to train Ovis. But on another note, I was already pushing her a lot ever since I got her. Doing it even more may have an opposite effect.

“Hey Ovis, do you have something you want to do?” I looked at her who was walking closely behind me.

“Y-you’re asking me, m-master?” She was stunned.

“Yeah, since we technically had the day off.”

“Th-then I-I… I w-want to spend the time training. I want to be s-stronger.”

“That works well for me but are you sure?”

“Y-yes!” She said with a louder voice than her usual as she looked at me straight in the eye.

“You are not saying that because you are afraid of me, are you?”

“N-no…”

“I appreciate the thought, thank you. Let’s go home and train then.” I patted her head.

“Y-yes, Master!” She smiled.

I guess the nice guy act proved to be effective so far. All I had to do was to keep it up then she would do whatever I want her to do according to her free will.

As per her request, we went straight home and began training. She just resumed what she was doing this morning while I practiced my swordsmanship.

Noon came so I stopped for a while to cook while I had Ovis focus on her training. After eating lunch, we resumed training once again until the sky began to darken.

“To wrap it up, try if you can cast Recover on yourself,” I suggested.

Ovis nodded and proceeded to the chant.

“Remove thy pain and restore one’s flesh, Recover.”

Soft light enveloped her body. The dark spots on her arm slowly disappeared until there was no trace of the injuries she gained yesterday. After casting, she went out of breath which indicated that her magic got depleted.

Since a single spell drained all of her magic, it would be impractical to use it during combat. Even though that was the case, it was still reassuring that she was already able to cast healing magic outside of a skirmish.

“You did it, good job.” I praised her as I patted her head.

She gave me a weak smile in return before she resumed meditating.

 

The next day came. I got up and went out of my room when surprisingly, Ovis was not present and food was still not prepared.

“Ovis, are you there?” I knocked at her door.

Since there was no response, I opened it and invited myself in. As I entered, I saw her sleeping on her bed.

“Ovis, it’s morning already.”

She did not respond. I went closer to her then shook her shoulder to wake her up.

“You’re burning!” I quickly removed my hand off her.

“S-sorry Master… I’ll get up… now…” She struggled to respond.

“No need. You are clearly unwell.”

“I-I just feel… a bit w-whoozy… but I’m o-okay…”

She tried to get up but I stopped her.

“Just rest, that’s a command.”

She then closed her eyes and did not respond.

Worried about her condition, I went out to get a doctor to check up on her. I was lucky that there was one about half an hour from my home.

“You don’t have to worry, she only has magic fatigue.” The doctor said after examining Ovis.

“Magic fatigue?”

“It is caused by the overuse of magic. It is a common condition that beginner magic users get but with time, they get used to it. Just let her rest and she’ll be okay by tomorrow.”

“I see, so it’s a common thing.”

“You did not experience that?”

“No, I cannot cast magic, you see.”

“I see, how unfortunate.”

How unfortunate indeed. Although it was not that common for the Beastkins to have no affinity for magic, it was the opposite for Humans. Humans were expected to harbour at least an affinity with a single element. Not having any affinity with one means the inability to use magic, it was like a curse.

I paid the doctor twenty coppers for the trouble. After the doctor was gone, I cooked some soup and went to Ovis’ room to feed her.

“S-sorry… M-master…” Ovis said while I helped her sit so she could eat.

“Don’t worry about it. The doctor said that it’s a natural thing. It is actually my fault for not knowing.”

“N-no… I was the one who… wanted to train…”

“I agreed, remember?”

“B-but…”

“Just don’t think about it and focus on getting better.”

It really was inconvenient for me that she was sick. We weren’t able to take a quest the previous day and I had to sit out once again. If I could not complete three more quests soon, I might not be able to participate in the upcoming promotion exam.

I admit though that it was really partially my fault. If I knew about that thing they call magic fatigue then I could have prevented it.

 

When I woke up the next day, Ovis was back to her usual self. The house was sparkly clean and food was already prepared.

While I was getting my gear ready so we could head out to take a quest, I saw Ovis practicing her magic outside through my window. I quickly ran out to scold her.

“Ovis, what are you doing? You just got better!” I shouted.

“B-but…”

“Do you want to get sick again?”

“T-the doctor said… y-you get immune with t-time so… I thought that i-if I can get stronger faster t-then…” She replied with watery eyes as if tears were about to drop anytime soon.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’m just worried.” I gently patted her head. “Just don’t overexert yourself, got it?”

“Y-yes, Master!” She smiled.