The Hunt Begins

Zeph was bouncing on his toes in excitement. After a week of casting spells, his ability had met Bernard's standards. The most trouble that Zeph had during the week was keeping a barrier active and casting another spell at the same time. Bernard called it multi-casting and said it was an essential skill to all mages. Though it was repetitive, it wasn't boring. Casting magic was so much fun. It made him feel powerful, and invincible, though he knew that he wasn't. The second week of training passed, and it was the beginning of the third. Today Bernard would take him into the woods, and the hunt would begin. Bernard noticed his grandson's excitement and decided to take breakfast to go. He made a bacon, egg, and toast sandwich. After taking a bite, he turned to his grandson, "Ready?" he asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes!" Zeph shouted. "Then let's go," Bernard said as he started walking towards the forest.

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The wind rustled through the leaves and the sound of small animals filled the forest. After an hour of walking, Bernard and Zeph came across a large stone monument decorated with odd letters. These were runes, and Bernard said that they were another way to cast magic. In fact, it was one of the most traditional ways to cast spells. The runes on this stone imbued it with the power to repel monsters. There were many more encircling the area of the forest that they had been staying in. Together they formed a spell array that had kept that section of the forest monster free for centuries. "Wow, that thing is giving off a lot of magic," Zeph said to his grandpa with an amazed look on his face.

"Yes, it was designed by my great grandfather. He was a pioneer in magical technology. As a master of rune magic, he developed new ways to enchant items. He made many inventions that helped improve people's lives." Bernard had a hint of reverence when he spoke of his grandfather.

"Must run in the family," Zeph said as he nudged Bernard with his elbow.

"Ha ha, indeed," the old man smiled at his grandson. "So, you better learn well in these next few years. You need to make something impressive and continue the family tradition."

"Don't worry, I've got a few Ideas," Zeph nodded. There were a few things from his old world that didn't exist in this one, planes being one of them. Instead, the people here used zeppelin-like sky boats for air transportation. They were pretty slow. The fancy gadgets in movies from his old world could be made from magic. A palm-sized projector for video calls would definitely sell well. He made a mental note to talk to his grandpa about it when they get back to the compound.

Bernard pointed past the monument, "Once we pass this stone, there will be danger. Some beasts are able to hide with magic, so you should be cautious. Use spell armor at all times. Be sure to form it so that it can take some heavy hits. I like to make my mine with multiple layers."

Once Zeph had been able to maintain a small barrier and cast spells at the same time, Bernard taught him how to form the barrier over his entire body. It covered him like a second skin and could prevent damage. The old man called it spell armor. Zeph concentrated for a moment, a light silver glow started to form over his body.

Bernard inspected him for a moment and tapped the spell armor a couple of times nodding. "Good, it's well-formed and very stable. I must say, your rate of improvement is simply spectacular," the old man praised. "Remember, you can always pour more magic into the spell armor to repair or reinforce it."

The light silver glow started to intensify, before softening again. "Man, that's pretty tough. Guess it takes some getting used to." Zeph stated.

"Don't worry, by the end of the week, you'll probably be using that spell armor reflexively. But you still have a while before you master it. The glow is pretty, but it's caused by magic leaking from the armor. Once your spell armor is perfected, it will be invisible to the naked eye."

"That sounds pretty cool. Then I could have it on all the time and no one would know."

"Not quite, the magic would still be noticeable. But once you learn how to hide your magic power while casting spells, then no one would know if you were armored until the moment you get hit." Bernard explained.

"Great, so when do learn to hide my power?" Zeph asked.

"Later, it will take a lot more control than you have now. But don't worry, you'll get there." Bernard took out a small metal necklace with some runes engraved on it. "Here, wear this. It will protect you in case your spell armor breaks. You'll still get hurt, but it will keep the worst from happening. I'll also be there to step in if things get too dangerous."

"Okay," Zeph said as he put the necklace on. "I think I'm ready."

"Alright, lead on," Bernard said as he gestured with his hand. The old man watched Zeph walk deeper into the woods.

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"You think the little dude's gonna be okay?" Eli asked Alex while they were watching CV.

"The boy is fine. I'm sure Master Malston won't take him anywhere too dangerous." The old dwarf answered.

"But don't you think it's too early. He's only been using magic for two weeks, and I don't think Mr. Malston taught him any attack spells." Bianca interrupted.

"He did teach him a few spells. Young Zeph was able to cast the spell armor and spell shield spells with some skill. For attacks, Bernard taught him the structure of basic projectile spells. I saw the boy destroy several of those ice target dummies with a fireball the other day." Alex reassured them. "I'm sure Zeph can handle whatever his grandfather throws at him.

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"AAAHH!' a voice screamed out. Zeph was about to crash head first into a tree. *WAM!* the impact echoed out. It took a few moments for him to recover. But when he did, he saw an old man laughing his head off. Zeph looked at his grandpa and frowned.

"What the hell just happened?" Zeph asked while dusting himself off.

Bernard had to stop himself from laughing, "You just got your butt kicked by a wind weasel."

"Wind weasel, you mean that cute little rodent."

"Yes, that small little creature just knocked you into a tree. And the best part is… I recorded it." Bernard showed Zeph his tablet and started playing the video.

>>>>>

Zeph was walking through the forest. He suddenly stopped and looked at a group of bushes.

"Hey, there's something over there," He said in a loud whisper"

Well go check it out." the old man whispered back." Then Zeph crouched slightly and walked through the brush being as sneaky as possible.

"Oh look at that, it's so cute!" the boy whispered. The video turned to look at the small wind weasel hopping towards Zeph. "I think it sees me."

"Well, are you going to attack it?" Bernard asked.

"Why would I attack it?" Zeph said surprised.

"We're hunting remember?"

"But it's so cute, and little," Zeph said as the small creature was coming closer to him.

"Think he wants something?"

"I'm not sure, what do you think?" Bernard answered. He was lying because he knew what was going to happen.

"I bet it wants some food." Zeph grabbed a piece of dried meat from his pack. "Here you go little guy," he said offering it.

Bernard started chuckling, 'this is gonna be good,' he thought.

Wind weasels were known to be aggressive little beasts. When it saw the intruder try to reach out to it, the wind weasel made its move. Magic burst forth from its tiny frame. A powerful gust of wind slammed right into Zeph's chest, launching him backward through the air. The video showed the boy's spell shield flair up as he made contact with a tree and knocked it over. Bernard jogged over towards Zeph while laughing and the video ended

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Zeph had a sour look on his face after watching the video. "You could have told me that thing was dangerous."

"I did, remember when we crossed the monument." Bernard's tone of voice became serious. "I warned you that it would be dangerous out here. It's not my fault you didn't listen."

Zeph knew that it was his fault, but he was mad at his grandpa for laughing at him. He sighed, "Fine, you're right. I'll be more careful from now on."

"Good to see you've learned your lesson. Now I have a question for you. Should I send the video to the Alex and the others, or should I just post it on the weave? I bet that it will get a lot of views. You'd be pretty popular by the time you entered school." Bernard teased the boy.

Zeph grumbled and started to walk away. Then he saw the weasel coming closer. It began to focus magic power, ready to attack again. "Not this time," he said angrily to the weasel. He raised his palm up and shot a bright javelin shaped bolt of electricity. The weasel tried to create a wind barrier to shield itself, but the small lightning bolt cut through it and struck the little beast on the head. There was a small explosion of energy and dust. Sounds of crackling electricity and squeaking screams were heard for a short moment and followed by silence.

"There, wind weasel down," Zeph stated.

"Good, now grab the body. We'll bring it back and feed it to your kitten."

"Why? We have food at the camp," Zeph asked Bernard with a look of curiosity.

"When a familiar ate a magic beast, there is a small chance of them gaining special abilities. In this case, it would be the ability to control wind."

Zeph imagined a flying kitten shooting blades of wind at his enemies. "That sounds cool." He walked over and picked up the body and stored it away in an empty sack Bernard was holding.

"Don't get too excited. As I said, there's only a chance."

"Well, then I just need to hunt some more stuff, to give the little fuzz ball more chances."

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"That was amazing. He was like, 'here you go little guy,' then swoosh and boom! Right into a tree." Eli was laughing loudly at the video that Bernard sent them.

"I thought you said he could handle it," Bianca looked worriedly at the video.

"He's fine, didn't you see him increase his armor when he hit the tree. It looked like he used it by reflex. Besides, the boy has probably already gotten his revenge by now. No need to worry so much Bianca." Alex tried to calm the poor fox woman. The full moon would last two more nights she was rather moody. The dwarf knew several shifters, but none of them were as emotional as Bianca during the full moon cycle. They just grew more aggressive. He sighed and decided to brew a cup of hot tea to help her calm down.

"You know he's right, that kid isn't a pushover. Didn't you see his body when Bernard tricked him? Little dude is buff as hell." Eli said while trying to stop his laughter.

"What do his muscles have to do with anything?" Bianca asked.

"He's only twelve, and I haven't seen him work out since we've been here. That means he's refining his body with magic. Not everyone can do that, and it seems like Zeph's not even doing it on purpose. That just shows how much affinity he has with magic. A refined body and spell armor, it would take a lot more than a wind weasel to even scratch that kid." Eli assured her.

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