Chapter 14: Preparing for the Hunt

The girl asked her first question without thinking.

"What is the name of the art you practice?"

"Physical combat arts."

The girl was confused.

"Why are you practicing a combat art that causes so much pain, instead of following the path of cultivation?"

She noticed a flicker in Ersa's eyes, usually calm. Ersa looked directly at her and answered.

"Because my core is problematic."

For some reason, Ersa's response caused an ache in the girl's heart, even though she didn't fully understand why. Maybe it was because she had observed his training all day. Or maybe it was due to his expression and tone when he spoke about it. She hesitated for a moment. Noticing this, Ersa smiled.

"It's okay, you can ask."

The girl felt a bit more at ease with his words.

"What's the problem? And how did the issue with your core not get noticed during the academy entrance exams?"

"My core doesn't accept energy, and this is the first time such a core problem has been seen in medicine. I assume it doesn't prevent my talent from being detected, but it hinders my progress in martial arts."

Usually, someone with a defective core would have no talent in martial arts at all. This would result in no outcomes during the talent test. The girl now understood what was going on. Remembering Ersa trying to catch fish in the water, she asked curiously.

"Then, what were you doing at the river earlier?"

As soon as she asked, she covered her mouth. Her question revealed that she had been following him all afternoon. She wanted to disappear from embarrassment.

Ersa looked at her in surprise. Had this girl been following him since the morning?

"Are you my fan or something?" Ersa asked with a laugh. The girl's red cheeks turned even redder as she shouted.

"No! I saw you while I was heading to my training session at noon, and your behavior at the river caught my attention. Shortly after I arrived, you left the river. I was curious about what kind of training you were doing at the river and, although I hesitated, I followed you." She struggled to finish her sentence.

Ersa smiled, not wanting to embarrass her further.

"In the morning, I was trying to catch fish from the river."

The girl waited with curiosity for Ersa to continue speaking. "The reason for that is..." Ersa paused for a while, knowing that the reason sounded absurd. The girl didn't understand why he stopped.

"Yes?"

Ersa adopted a serious expression.

"Physical combat arts are a limited form of art. Even if I want to, I can only advance to the apprentice stage at best. I needed something different. So, I decided to try and understand the path of cultivation. By trying to become one with the water, I hoped I could make some progress along the water path. If I could catch fish with my hands in the river, I might have a chance to understand the water path."

The girl was momentarily stunned because what the boy in front of her was saying seemed impossible—especially for someone like him, who hadn't even interacted with energy.

"You know that's impossible, right?"

Ersa's gaze turned toward the sky, his eyes sharp as he replied, "No, it's not impossible. People just think it is. Does it become impossible just because no one has succeeded?"

Ersa's determination improved the girl's view of him. His mindset didn't match his age group, especially compared to the boys wandering around. At least, she could have a sensible conversation with Ersa.

The girl didn't say anything more on the matter. She didn't want to add difficulty to the life of a boy who already seemed to be living a tough one. She still thought it was impossible for him to progress on the path of cultivation. She smiled and remembered the first question she should have asked.

"What's your name?"

"Ersa." Ersa looked at the girl thoughtfully. "And yours?" He remembered hearing the names Ray and Bailey, but he couldn't recall which was hers. Given what he'd been through last year, it would've been surprising if he could remember. The girl's mouth fell open in shock.

"You don't know my name?"

"Why? Should I have?"

The girl couldn't believe someone at the academy didn't know her name. As one of the most talented students in the Butterfly group, she thought everyone knew her. But then she remembered how abnormal the person in front of her was and responded.

"Mely."

"Your name suits you. Like an ocean fairy."

Mely was not someone easily flustered by compliments, but she blushed a little at Ersa's compliment.

"Now you can ask your questions."

Ersa thought for a moment before deciding on his next question. "What's your level?" He was really curious about her level since, despite following him, he hadn't sensed her presence.

Normally, Mely didn't reveal her level to anyone, but since Ersa had shared so much, she didn't mind this time.

"Apprentice stage, level 6."

Ersa hadn't expected Mely to be so talented. She was the same age as him, yet the gap between them was vast. After shaking off his surprise, he asked his next question.

"What does the butterfly badge you're wearing signify?"

Another strange question. Mely began to suspect that the person in front of her wasn't even a student of the academy. How could someone at Blue Cloud Academy not know the meaning of the badge?

"You know there are groups in the academy that are ranked by strength, right?"

Ersa shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

Mely sighed and continued. She now thought this boy knew nothing. He seemed like someone who had isolated himself from society.

"As I said, the academy has power groups formed by students, and they are ranked according to strength. The group I belong to is called the Butterfly Warriors, and we are ranked first."

Mely proudly stated this last sentence. As she explained more about the power groups, Ersa listened carefully. Since he had spent the previous year buried in books, he knew little about how the academy operated. Everything he was learning now would be useful.

"Any more questions?"

"No, no more questions."

Though Ersa said he wouldn't ask more, Mely still expected him to. She found it hard to believe he had no further questions, but Ersa remained silent.

When no more questions came, Mely said, "Well, I'm heading back to the dormitory." 

Ersa nodded and watched her silhouette as she left. Once Mely was out of sight, he returned to his room. He greeted his friends and sat on his bed. Ray and Bailey were about to greet him, but when they saw the poor condition he was in, they asked with concern what had happened. Ersa brushed it off as unimportant and took his pills. He realized that now he needed to test his strength and gain battle experience. After looking through the academy handbook, he formed a plan. He would spend weekdays training and weekends hunting monsters. Since he had never seen a monster before, he wasn't sure how his first hunt would go.

Before the hunt, he needed to buy some equipment, but he didn't have much money. In Armedia, currency was divided into brown, blue, and purple coins. The lowest denomination was brown. One hundred brown coins equaled one blue coin, and one thousand blue coins equaled one purple coin. The academy gave him 20 brown coins each month.

So far, he hadn't spent any of the coins he'd received. He had saved 180 brown coins over the past year. Although it wasn't enough, it would suffice for a start. As he hunted monsters, he would earn more money, and after that, the money issue would diminish.

***

Ersa continued his training for four days. In the mornings, he experimented with different methods to understand the path of cultivation. Sometimes he tried to catch fish in the river, sometimes he shook trees to catch falling leaves, and other times he lit fires and observed the flames while feeling their heat. He continued his physical combat training as part of his routine.

When Saturday arrived, he was more excited than ever. The time to hunt had come. After preparing himself, he headed to the market within the academy. There was a marketplace where students could sell their items or buy things with a small commission. 

As Ersa entered the market, he looked around. He thought about what he needed to buy. He would need a weapon to kill monsters. A sword, spear, bow, or something else—using just his hands would be too difficult. It could even be impossible for his first hunt.

Thinking that a sword would be easier to use and more suitable for him, he approached a stall selling weapons and began examining the swords.