prodigy revealed

Duncan stood up from his seat and straightened his shirt. "Good. Now, I want you to watch me carefully."

He stretched out his hands, and a condensed ball of wind formed within his palm. With a swift motion, he launched the windball, hitting a nearby rabbit and killing it instantly.

Erie's eyes widened as he tried to imitate him. Stretching out his hand, he yelled, but nothing happened. Frustrated, he glanced at Duncan. "Siw, I haven't undewgone basic twaining to conjouw up my magic bwast wike you have."

Duncan sighed and slapped his forehead. "Oh yeah, I forgot!" He reached into his pack and handed Erie a small knife. "Alright then, we'll start with the basics."

Duncan walked over to the lifeless rabbit, extracted the beast crystal from its body, and carefully placed the animal into a bag. "This will be good training for agility and awareness. We're going to chase and catch some ourselves."

Without warning, Duncan darted after a group of hares, his movements swift and precise. Within moments, he had caught three, stabbing each in the neck with practiced efficiency.

Erie clenched the knife tightly, determination burning in his eyes. He broke into a sprint, his small legs moving surprisingly fast.

"This kid's faster than the average child," Duncan thought, a small grin forming on his face as he observed Erie. "But it's not about speed, Erie—it's about agility!"

As Erie approached a hare, he tried to focus. His eyes glowed a faint orange, which Duncan couldn't help but notice. "This must be one of their traits," he thought. Instead of the hare running off, it turned to face Erie.

"Oh no, Erie! It's going in for battle. Bring out your knife and go for the chest!"

Erie followed the instructions. "Yes, sir!" he announced. The hare leaped at Erie, bouncing off his chest and throwing him to the ground. Erie's eyes glowed a little brighter, and the pendant around his neck began to cover him in a mystic veil.

"There goes that veil again. What's up with that pendant of his? Sarah did say it attached itself to him," Duncan mused.

Erie jumped back up and faced the hare once more. It repeated the same attack, but this time, Erie dodged and stabbed the hare in the chest, killing it instantly. "I did it! I did it!" He ran up to Duncan. "Look, sir!"

Duncan jumped and clapped his hands, cheering for Erie. "That was amazing, Erie! You were so quick… maybe a little too quick." He patted Erie on the head again. "Now, let's get your crystal, Erie!"

Duncan walked up to the hare to look for the crystal, but it wasn't there. "Where is it? All beasts have crystals; that's the only way they'll live."

Duncan scratched his head, puzzled. "Maybe it was still developing?" He sighed. "Alright, Erie! Let's try another one!"

Erie nodded eagerly and dashed toward another hare. This time, the hare's eyes began to glow red. It opened its mouth and unleashed a small wind blast. Erie reacted quickly, jumping and rolling out of the way before hurling his knife straight at the hare's chest.

"Direct hit!" Duncan shouted with excitement. "Erie, you're built for this!"

Duncan hurried to the hare that Erie had defeated, inspecting it for the beast crystal. His expression soured when he found it missing again. "What's going on?" he muttered, picking up the lifeless hare and placing it in his bag.

Determined to figure it out, Duncan clasped his hands together. The grass around him began to swirl, stirred by a sudden gust of wind. His clothes fluttered violently as he stretched out one arm. In a single motion, he unleashed his magic, defeating several hares at once.

"Alright, five hares," he muttered to himself, walking over to the fallen creatures. "This should be five crystals." He crouched down and carefully extracted each crystal, nodding as he confirmed their presence. "They're all here," he thought.

Looking back at Erie, he began to wonder aloud, "Is it something about the hares Erie is choosing? Are they weaker ones with crystals that haven't fully formed yet? Or… is it something else entirely?"

While Duncan was deep in thought, Erie ran around, taking down hare after hare by repeatedly throwing his knife with precision. Each hare Erie defeated lacked a crystal, and Duncan finally noticed a pattern.

The pendant around Erie's neck emitted a faint glow every time he defeated a hare. Duncan narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Maybe that pendant is absorbing the crystals?" he muttered to himself. "This kid is special."

By the time Erie had finished, he had taken down a total of sixteen hares in less than an hour. Duncan approached the boy, who was panting heavily, his hands resting on his knees.

"Siw, when is the next basic twaining fow stwength?" Erie asked between breaths.

Duncan let out a hearty laugh. "We'll continue once we're home. But first, let's move on to some E-ranked beasts. I need to see how far you can go."

He crouched down to inspect one of the hares Erie had defeated, still intrigued by the missing crystals. "Once we get some E-ranked crystals, we can trade them for silver coins and give the meat to your mother!"

Erie straightened up and brushed the dirt off his shirt. "Why don't we just mine fow cwystals? My dad mines cwystals aww the time."

Duncan chuckled. "Ah, Erie, I'm a travel agent, not part of the mining team. Besides, mining takes time, and we need to focus on your training."

"Now, let's gather the corpses and put them in our sack so we can continue searching for some Rank E beasts!" Duncan instructed.

After Erie picked up the defeated hares, the two ventured deeper into the hunting grounds. Duncan began to explain as they walked, "The deeper we go, Erie, the stronger the beasts become."

"How stwong is the stwongest beast, Mistaw Duncan?" Erie asked curiously.

Duncan chuckled. "You're a very interesting kid. The strongest I've seen here is an S-ranked beast. But there are rumors… they say there's an SSSS-ranked beast lurking in these grounds, though no one has ever seen it."

Erie's eyes widened as he listened intently. Suddenly, an image popped into his mind—almost like a vision. He saw 17 F-ranked beast crystals floating in his thoughts. Feeling a strange urge, he stretched out his hand. To his surprise, a crystal materialized in his palm.

"Mistaw Duncan, wook!" Erie exclaimed, holding the crystal up.

Duncan turned to him, his eyes narrowing in surprise. "Did I drop one?" He quickly rummaged through his bag and counted the crystals. "No… I didn't."

A sudden realization struck him. "Erie, if you think about a crystal, would it appear in your hand?"

Erie nodded hesitantly. "I think so."

"Let's test it. Try thinking of another crystal, but imagine it appearing in your other hand."

Erie concentrated, and within moments, another crystal materialized in his opposite hand.

Duncan's expression shifted from curiosity to awe. His thoughts raced as he stared at the boy. Well, Sarah, I guess you were right… I wish you could see your son now. He's a prodigy.

Snapping back to reality, Duncan leaned closer to Erie, his voice firm but kind. "Erie, listen to me carefully. Make sure no one sees your pendant, okay? Keep it hidden under your shirt at all times."

Erie nodded, tucking the glowing pendant beneath his shirt.