First Survival Skill

After the conversation, the three men disappeared just like they appeared leaving the four people behind.

The four walked out of Zareels house and made their way to the town gate where Albert and his grand mother were waiting for them.

Although Zareel and Oliver could teleport like the way the others did, they decided to go travel by normal means because Declan hasn't still awakened his demon side which would allow him to teleport and he didn't have any acquired abilities like that as well.

Of course, they could just grab him and disappear but they couldn't do that either because Albert was with them so they couldn't risk it.

To their surprise, three other people were also waiting for their arrival at the gate and it was none other than Ava, Eren and Leah.

Leah was also there to bid her friends farewell.

Although she would miss them dearly, she was still happy for them and hoped that the next time she saw them, they would have grown to become capable men.

"Thank you so much Aaron for allowing Albert to train with your grandson" Hannah who was Albert's grand mother said.

"With this burden off my shoulders, my old bones can finally rest"

"Umm I didn't do this you Hannah, I did it for Albert but of course, you're if you want to take the credit, you can offer to pay me back" Aaron said shamelessly.

Hannah only smiled and nodded her head. She had known Aaron since they were teenagers and was used to his behavior.

"Take care of yourselves the two of you. And Declan please look after my grandson for me" Hannah said.

"Albert, I leave my grandson in your care. Make sure he doesn't cause trouble" Aaron said without even glancing at Declan.

The two boys exchanged a knowing glance before looking at their grand parents.

Eren looked at the two old people who were behaving like kids and shook his head.

"The two of you should train hard to become great warriors okay. Don't just always run and hide in the face of danger" Leah said with a giggled.

"Who said we're afraid of anything? Are we cowards Albert?" Declan asked with a smug face and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Of course we are not. Everybody knows that we're the bravest ten year olds in the western continent" Albert replied with a raised chin.

"Okay then I believe the chimera in the southern continent will be more than happy to see you" Zareel said.

"Umm..Can I take my words back?"

"Me too"

The smugness on the two boys' face disappeared immediately making Leah giggle.

"Make sure to take care of each other okay. And always remember, to preserve unity above anything" Ava said patting the two boys' head.

"And whenever you face any situation or monsters above your league, just run okay" Eren added and the boys nodded.

"We request to leave Lord Aaron" Oliver said before summoning a white chimera.

Zareel also summoned his wyvern, showing that they didn't plan to waste time.

The journey to the Southern continent would take them at least six days so they needed to make a temporary stop at less dangerous place outside the western continent where they could spend the night and continue their journey the next day.

'Years do fly fast' Aaron looked at Declan and Albert softly.

He could still remember the first day he held the boy in his arms and the joy it brought him.

He couldn't believe that same boy was now departing from them to begin his first training.

"Use the eastern route. Your mounts cannot be found here in the southern continent so there's a possibility that the higher ups will try to investigate when you're are spotted"

"There's no town or city found on the eastern route so it's safe" Aaron informed them through telephaty. He had the ability to communicate through telepathy with other demons due to his half blood.

Of course not all demons could communicate via telepathy. It was an ability that was gained and only a few people possessed it.

"May your journey be a smooth one" Aaron said giving them the permission to go.

Declan rode with Zareel, while Oliver rode with Albert.

The boys waved at their families for the last time before the flying monsters took to the skies.

As they soared through the clouds, Declan gazed down at the dwindling figures of their loved ones, feeling a mix of excitement and nostalgia. He knew that this journey marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life, one that would shape him into a skilled warrior and also a burdened warrior.

After a few hours of flying, they spotted a clear land area outside the forest and decided to rest there for the night.

Zareel took out two camping tents from his storage ring after they landed and set them up.

Oliver decided to take the boys on their first hunting expedition for food.

Although Declan offered to share the food Ava prepared for him with them, Oliver declined insisting they hunt for food.

He didn't want the boy to depend on anyone or anything except himself, his strength and abilities.

What Albert and Declan didn't know was that, their training started the moment they left the Ashwood borders.

Even on their way, Oliver and Zareel decided to train them in sky diving with their mounts so that they could get used to it.

"We will only be hunting animals that you're capable of hunting. We're hunting with your strength not mine" Oliver handed the two of them a bow and 5 five arrows each.

"Make good use of those five arrows or else you are on your own" after saying those words he entered the forest with steady steps.

The two boys glanced at each other in confusion because they didn't know how to use now and arrow. Even Albert who was an acher has only learned the basics from his grandmother and was yet to fire an arrow.

Nonetheless, they followed suit with steady steps. They weren't stupid, and knew how dangerous the outside world was.

Although they hadn't faced stronger monsters before, they had seen how horrifying they were when a dungeon outbreak occurred near their hometown.

They were still five years old but were forced to witness the horrible scenes when was still fresh in their minds.

After walking for less than ten minutes, the group arrived at plain grass land under the shadows of the big trees.

Oliver stopped in his tracks abruptly and motioned for them crouch down before whispering to them to hide behind some of the trees. A few meters away from them, a white manticore could be seen feeding. After gauging by its presence, Oliver concluded that it was rogh monster which was within his kill.

He took out an arrow and knocked it on his bow before targeting the manticore's throat.

Just before he could release the arrow, he sensed a strong monster approaching them and decided to play safe by holding fire.

A few seconds later, a brown alpha flarion emerged from the darkness right in front of them and made it way slowly to their direction.

It didn't detect them right away because flarions weren't monsters with heightened sense. They could only detect presence of its preys when they were in striking range which was why they were nicknamed the infallible because they weren't monsters that missed easily.

They also had strong visibility which could see past utter darkness.

The flarion walked slowly and steadily towards their hiding spot in search for a prey.

Just as it was about to enter their detection range, Oliver fired two continuous arrows towards the manticore to distract the flarion and he succeeded.

The whistling sound of the arrows directed the flarion's attention to the manticore who also thought the flarion tried to attack it.

Although manticores were naturally stronger and fiercer than flarions, the manticore that has appeared was younger and weaker which made the flarion decide to make it his dinner.

With a mighty roar, the flarion lunged at the manticore with its razor claws ready to strike.

The manticore also didn't back down and met the flarion head on with its own ready sharp claws.

A/N: I'm really sorry for updating late and also updating only one chapter today. I'll try and make it up to you guys tomorrow. Thank you.

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If you don't know a flarion, just think of a lion with with two legs and the body and tail of an alligator.