Heading to Parlon City

'Huh? Was that part of the plan?' Leon thought to himself as his eyebrows were slightly raised in confusion. Gon, however, didn't notice it as he listened to Rick.

'Lost kids, huh? As if I'd believe it. Had they been on the outer parts of the forest, maybe I'd believe them. Still, they rescued me when I was down... barely, at least they had the intention' Gon thought to himself as he bitterly smiled.

His real name was actually Gondar but he gave out his nickname which was just the shortened version of his name. He's a man with plenty of experience so he knew better than to give out his real name to strangers he met in the forest, especially when he had pursuers painting a target on his back.

"What about you, Mister?" Rick said as he looked at Gon curiously.

"Let's just say that I escaped from my pursuers but I was injured in the process. Then you found my unconscious" Gon replied as he lay gently on the ground.

"Are you a wanted criminal, Mister?" Carla asked as she stepped backward a little bit with the corners of her eyes widened in shock. Leon still had that wary look as he frowned.

When Gon heard Carla's words, he laughed until he accidentally hurt his wounds and grit his teeth for a moment.

"Ahem... I'm not a wanted criminal. My pursuers were the wanted criminals" Gon said as he cleared his throat.

"Yeah, but that's what criminals always say" Carla added.

"Alright. Believe what you want. I just told you the truth" Gon said as he chuckled with a bitter smile.

"In any case, that was a good mindset. Always be wary of strangers, no matter how innocent they seem, especially when you're alone" Gon added as he nodded with an approving look towards Carla.

"So, what plans do you have for now, Mister?" Rick asked as he tilted his head.

"Hmmmm, recover as soon as possible and head back to the city, I guess" Gon replied.

"Can you take us with you? I swear we wouldn't slow you down" Rick said as he turned his gaze towards Gon's wounds.

"No can do. Going with me is dangerous, especially when I have pursuers. But I can show you the way to the nearest city. Which city were you kids from anyway?" Gon asked as his eyes narrowed.

'Now, that's a difficult question. I wasn't prepared for this question at all' Rick thought to himself. Fortunately, Gon was tactful when he saw Rick's troubled expression.

"You don't have to answer. There's Lamia city in the northern area of the forest but it's too far away, it's quite a distance away. The nearest city from here is Parlon City. Just head east and you should arrive before night" Gon said as he closed his eyes.

"As for the Golden Gate Academy, well, just ask some people in the city and they'll tell you" Gon said with a shrug.

"Thank you for the information, Mister Gon" Rick said as the corners of his lips curled up with a grateful smile.

"Oh, I forgot. Thank you for your care too" Gon said as he opened his eyes and smiled.

"You should go now. Staying with me is dangerous" Gon suggested as he got up and leaned on a nearby tree. Rick nodded and signaled Leon and Carla to pack their things.

"We're departing now, Mister Gon. Take care of yourself" Carla said as she waved her right hand.

"We left behind some food, so long, Mister!" Rick said as they walked, heading towards Parlon City to the east. Gon just watched the trio's departing figures with a smile.

"There's still some good left in this world, after all" Gon muttered as he closed his lips slightly curled up to a faint smile.

...

The trio walked through the forest and encountered all sorts of small magical beasts like the flaming rabbits, red sparrows, spotted moles, and more. Most of them were careful and didn't dare to attack the trio while some groups were aggressive and relied on numbers as they attacked the trio.

Nevertheless, the trio took care of them with no problem with their spells.

At this time, the bodies of green rats lay on the ground covered in blood, lifeless. Leon then burned the rat corpses to get rid of the smell that attracts other magical beasts. It would also prevent them from rotting that could potentially spread diseases.

"Hey, I think we should refrain from using spells against small magical beasts. It's just too much of an overkill that I felt pity for those little guys" Rick said with a knife stained in blood in his hands.

"But unlike you, we still aren't that good in close combat. After all, we were raised to be long range mages. Besides, we're still young" Leon replied.

"It's precisely because we're still young that we should stay fit and not rely too much on magic. Your mana capacity may be high but what if you run out of mana?" Rick said as he looked at Leon.

"Then I just have to ru-.. oooh, I see. I can run but warriors can outrun me, not to mention that I'd get easily tired" Leon replied as he rubbed his chin.

"Well, I don't have that problem. I may not be as good as Rick in melee fights but I have some skills to show off with" Carla said with a smirk.

She then recalled the times she practiced a little bit of hand to hand combat in order to stay ahead of Rick and Leon. After all, when Rick and Leon get to learn Spatial and Life Magic spells, it's only a matter of time before she gets left behind so she compensates with hard work.

"Carla, I'm envious of your skills. I should have practiced some moves back then in the village" Leon said as he let out a sigh.

When Carla heard Leon's words, she couldn't help but recall the village and wonder how they're doing right now.

Rick saw Carla's expression and understood what she's thinking about right now.

"Let's go, we got rid of the smell but we don't know if a beast is heading our way right now" Rick said as he walked away. Carla and Leon then followed him from the back.