Chapter 5- In the Deep Forest

Kazuki's everyday life starts early. He wakes up at 5 am and trains his magic control. He then tries to pull out his scythe while trying not to lose consciousness. By 6 am, he takes a bath and meets with Sakura downstairs at the inn's lounge to have breakfast. He wanted to change in his new life, unlike in his previous life being a shut in.

" By the way Kazuki." Sakura raised a question.

" W-what?" Kazuki was startled for a moment.

" How's your training?" Sakura asked out of curiosity. Kazuki could not believe in what he heard. He didn't tell anyone about his training and he does it secretly so how did Sakura know?

" It's still hard to pull the scythe. I always let go of it when I fell like I'm about to lose consciousness." He cleared his thoughts and answered Sakura's question. He didn't get suspicious of her because he gave her his full trust.

" Make sure you learn it soon. It will come in handy in our adventures." She suggested looking all high and mighty. This made Kazuki's faced cramp. He felt like Sakura was treating him like a lower life form.

" Yeah, yeah whatever." Sakura gave Kazuki a glare, warning him to never talk back because if he does, he's done for. Kazuki gulped down his nervousness and continued eating.

After breakfast, they head to the adventurers guild to find a quest when the receptionist called them.

" Good morning. Pyon!" She said with an energetic voice.

Kazuki thought " Guess bunny girls still have a weird pattern of speaking." He cleared his curiosity and approached her.

" Anyway, why did you call us?" Sakura asked. A murderous aura was emitted from her body. The receptionist didn't mind it and continued speaking " Oh you have a quest from pope. There's also a letter from him. Pyon!"

Kazuki took the letter and read it. His eyes widened when he read the name of the sender. It was from the pope himself.

" What does it say Kazuki? Hurry, tell me." Sakura can't wait to hear about the details of their quest.

" The letter says we must go to Hearth forest and find the golden cross and a holy sword called " Order"."

" Well then....let's go!" Sakura said excitedly.

They head to the forest entrance and a Pegasus stopped them on their way.

" I am the last Pegasus and also the guardian of this forest. Please do not go further for danger awaits." Kazuki couldn't believe that an animal could speak.

" We're adventurers sent by the pope. He said we need to find the crown and a sword called Order." He said in a gentle tone. His goal was to trick Pegasus into letting them in.

" The sword can be found at the heart of the forest and whoever wields the sword becomes my master. However, one must need an enormous amount of magic power in order to pull that sword out. On the other hand, the crown will only be given to you if you pull that sword out." Pegasus said proudly. He was expecting that Kazuki can't pull out the sword because the one that pulls it out shall become his master, and he can't accept the fact about a young boy being his master.

"This forest is home to many magical beasts and is bigger than the kingdom." Pegasus tried to scare them so that they might turn around but it seems to excite them more. Finally, he decided to give up on persuading them. Instead, he will help them so that they could find their way back in case their in danger or lost.

" I will give you a map of the entire forest." he said

They thanked him and proceeded to enter the forest. Their first night there was peaceful but as they go deeper, the magic beasts that they fight becomes more powerful.

The other day, they encountered a large snake with human head approximately 60ft. in length and has the power to breathe fire.

(Note: It was not a snake but a Naga. They are considered average class monsters but are still dangerous especially to newbies.)

" Sakura! Run!" Kazuki shouted but instead of running, the perpared her battle stance and shouted," Distract it Kazuki!"

" Why?!" Kazuki was dumbfounded. He was not expecting Sakura to be this brave. Now he's doubting his first impression on her as a cute shy girl.

" I'll use a third tier spell."

(Note: Spells are ranked according to effectivity. 1st tier spells are the weakest and 5th tier spells are the strongest.)

Kazuki acted as bait while Sakura was preparing her spell. She was focusing her mana into the giant snake and then," Ice Spikes!"

Giant ice spikes rose from the ground and pierced the snaked body. The giant monster roared as it struggled in pain until finally, it's body stopped moving.

" Good job Sakura." Kazuki patted her head which made her turn bright red.

She slapped Kazuki's hand and said with a flushed face, " I just want to kill it that's all. It's not like I was trying to protect you or anything but, thanks. Let's get moving. We better make camp fast. I don't know what other types of monsters are in this forest."

" Y....yeah." Kazuki thought " She's a tsundere?"