Fateful Encounter

Julian approached Yami, trying to appear as polite as possible. "Did I offend you in any form, Mr. Yami?" he asked.

Yami's face remained stoic. "Seems like you know me, brat," he said. "To handle my presence and not faint, with mana equal to royals at this age….. You're not a normal kid. Too skilled. Tell me, are you a spy from another kingdom?" He pointed his sword at Julian.

Julian knew Yami could tell if he lied, not that he had any reason to. Yami's suspicion was reasonable; no noble in their right mind would come near this place. Julian's unhidden mana was on par with a royal's. He revealed his identity and explained his purpose of joining the Hunters Guild.

"Haha, you're a student of that old hag. You should've told me earlier! No wonder your weapon swinging style looked familiar. I owe her money; don't remind her, or it'll be bad for you!" Yami laughed.

Julian cursed internally. Yami hadn't even asked who he was before attacking. "Don't blame me for attacking you, kid. I may be irresponsible, but I still have to do my job."

"That's fine, but what are you doing here, anyway?" Julian asked.

"I used up all my allowance paying for the damage my squad caused," Yami said with a shameless smile. "Say, kid, how about joining me in hunting? I get bored alone and need someone to talk to." Refusing Yami would be troublesome, so Julian agreed, hoping to learn from him.

**********

Over the next six weeks, they hunted around the forsaken realm. Yami made Julian fight most of the time, only intervening when it took too long. Despite his efforts, Julian didn't learn anything new; Yami only used simple attacks and didn't use his magic. Julian discovered that magic knights sometimes investigated suspicious individuals from small organizations like the Hunters Guild. Yami had received a report about Julian and followed his hunting record before confronting him.

Traveling with Yami was a mixed experience. He constantly talked about different pooping styles and complained about various people. One day, they had to hunt a species capable of flight. Yami grabbed Julian by the head and threw him at the beast, shouting, "Surpass your limits!" without any remorse. Julian wondered how much free time this man had.

Yami told Julian about his squad, a group of outlaws with unique magic. Currently, he had five members: Charmy the cook, Luck with a personality problem, Magna the delinquent, Gordon the whisperer, and Finral with zero self-confidence. Vanessa had not joined yet. Luck and Magna had joined him in this year's Magic Knights examination.

Yami once offered Julian to join his squad but didn't force him since Julian didn't have a grimoire yet. Even though captains could invite anyone to their team, certain rules, like age and grimoire, had to be followed.

Julian lessened his hunting for two months, exploring the common realm, dealing with pickpockets, buying new clothes, and visiting Rebecca's restaurant. She was a regular visitor to the church with her siblings. The restaurant was always full, and the food was excellent. Julian visited various stalls selling weapons, armor, and weak elixirs.

He bought books on history, geography, and magical beasts. The Diamond Kingdom was mostly a wasteland with many mines but lacked greenery. The Heart Kingdom was covered in forests, with people building houses without cutting down trees. The Spade Kingdom was the furthest, covered in snow all the time. History books mentioned elves as evil beings who threatened humanity, with the giant demon skull belonging to their leader. There was no mention of dwarves, though Charmy was a half-dwarf, suggesting they were hiding somewhere. Royalty was glorified in almost every history book.

In his free time, Julian played with the kids at the church or practiced archery, forming a bow and arrow with mana. He regularly sent letters to Hage Village. All his techniques had reached a bottleneck, so he searched for new ones. Upon returning to the guild, he met Yami, who approached him with greedy eyes. Julian knew trouble was coming when Yami made that face.