As night fell, the two set up camp near the fire. The silence around them was more than uncomfortable.
Ronald, busy keeping the flames alive, glanced at Kael, who continued to stubbornly ignore him.
"Come on, I already apologized. Can we make peace?"
Kael remained silent for a long moment, then let out a deep sigh. He was angry, yes, but that didn't mean he hated Ronald.
"…Just this once."
The reply made Ronald smile, aware he had gone a little too far that time.
"I guess you're wondering why I put you in such a tough situation."
Kael nodded slowly.
"I wanted to see how far you've come. And I have to admit… I'm more than satisfied."
"Really?" Kael asked, surprised. Ronald wasn't the type to hand out compliments freely.
"Yes," the man confirmed. "If I could've avoided it, I wouldn't have let you fight half-star monsters. In terms of strength, you've already surpassed them. That's why, when I saw you tracking that gnoll, I didn't step in. Of course, if I hadn't been one hundred percent sure you could handle it, I never would've let you fight alone."
"I know," Kael replied with a slight smile.
"Good. Like I said, you did well. Sure, there's still room for improvement… but for your first real fight, you did a great job." Ronald paused briefly before continuing, "But now, I want to know something: how did it feel?"
The question caught Kael off guard, pushing him into his thoughts.
At first, during the fight, he had felt tense, understandable, considering the situation Ronald had thrown him into. But as the battle went on, he started to feel clearer, more focused, even energized… maybe even relaxed.
"If I said I found it… kind of exciting, would that sound weird?"
Ronald shook his head with a faint smile, easing the boy's concern.
"That's normal. Adrenaline can make you feel that way. Many people end up addicted to it. They feel the need to constantly live on the edge, between life and death, just to feel that rush again."
Kael frowned. "So… is it a good thing or a bad thing?"
Ronald shrugged, replying in a calm tone.
"That's the thing, it's neither good nor bad. Like everything, it needs balance. The key is to never lose control. So… ready to fight again tomorrow?" he asked.
Kael didn't mind the idea at all. Deep down, he too was curious to see how far he could go. He nodded.
"Then get some rest. I'll take the first watch."
"Thanks. Good night, Ronald."
"Night, Kael."
Ronald watched him as he settled onto the small makeshift bedding. Within minutes, Kael's breathing slowed and became steady.
'He must've been completely exhausted…'
The guilt of having put him in danger hadn't fully disappeared, but Ronald was convinced that such harsh experiences were necessary for growth. He wanted Kael to learn a fundamental truth early: out there in the real world, things rarely go according to plan. And to survive, one had to be flexible, ready to adapt to anything.
Night had fully fallen, wrapping the forest in a deep silence, broken only by the steady crackling of the campfire. Ronald sat leaning against a rock, his gaze lost in the dancing flames, occasionally glancing at Kael, who slept a short distance away.
With a stick in hand, he lazily stirred the coals to keep the fire alive, until suddenly, he lifted his eyes toward the woods. Though shrouded in darkness, he could feel them.
'Gnolls… and more than a few. I'm surprised that they'd come this close to me.'
He released a concentrated wave of killing intent, directing it precisely so as not to wake Kael. The atmosphere shifted immediately: the temperature seemed to drop, and the silence turned thick with tension. Yet, despite the obvious fear, the creatures didn't retreat.
'Either they're starving enough to ignore the danger… or dumber than I remember.'
Ronald stood up slowly, stretching his arms with a lazy motion. His fingers curled into fists as if warming up before a workout.
'Don't say I didn't give you a chance.'
A moment later, his body vanished, swallowed by the darkness.
In the night, the only signs of the massacre were muffled, distant sounds. Of the large group of monsters, only a handful survived. Ronald let them go… so Kael would have something to train the next days.
****
Kael woke with a start as the first rays of dawn filtered through the leaves, hitting his face and annoying him.
He sat up with a confused, still drowsy expression, glancing around.
The fire was still burning, though it had dwindled to embers. Not far away, Ronald sat against a rock, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the forest.
"...You didn't wake me for the shift change," Kael said, rubbing his eyes.
Ronald turned with a faint grimace, which was meant to be a smile.
"You were dead tired. I thought a full night's sleep wouldn't hurt."
Kael studied him for a few seconds, narrowing his eyes. He immediately noticed something different. Ronald's skin was slightly paler than usual, and though he tried to hide it, there was a subtle stiffness in his movements.
"You don't look well. You should have woken me up, at least you would have gotten some rest," Kael said, concerned.
"It's not the first time I've skipped a night. Besides, someone had to keep watch over our little hero," Ronald shrugged.
Kael grimaced but didn't press. He looked up at the clear sky, then back at Ronald.
"So... we continue today?"
"Of course, but let's eat something first."
After eating, Kael and Ronald resumed their journey north, pushing through the dense forest. Kael, though trying to focus, couldn't shake the suspicion that something was wrong with Ronald. But now wasn't the time to investigate. He had a more immediate goal in mind.
After a long walk, the two stopped in a clearing surrounded by tall ferns and bushes. A faint rustling in the underbrush caught Kael's attention, and he froze.
"Another one," he said in a low but firm tone, without needing to ask permission.
Ronald nodded, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Go ahead, it's yours."
This time, Ronald would do nothing, leaving Kael to handle it in his own way.
Kael wasted no time. He slipped between the bushes, his movements swift and silent. Compared to yesterday, he was much calmer, but he still felt his heart pounding with energy.
When he emerged on the other side, he a gnoll, perhaps slightly larger than the last one, but...
'What the hell is happening to him?'
The creature was looking around with bloodshot eyes, its breath heavy, and its body tense, as if on high alert for something threatening it.
Kael tried to get a bit closer, but he hadn't accounted for the sound of his footsteps, and the already nervous gnoll noticed him. In an instant, the creature spun around with a growl, raising its stone and bone club to strike. Kael, quick as ever, bent his knees and slid to the left, narrowly avoiding the blow that slammed into the ground with a dull thud.
Seizing the advantage, Kael channeled mana through his body, focusing before charging towards the monster's side with a thrust. But the gnoll, surprisingly agile, rolled to the side and immediately counterattacked, forcing Kael to block the blow with his sword held at an angle.
The solid parry destabilized the gnoll, and Kael wasted no time. With a swift motion, he spun around, landing an elbow strike to the monster's face before delivering a quick slash to its belly, causing dark blood to splatter everywhere.
Furious, the gnoll hurled its club at Kael, but he, unfazed, bent low, narrowly avoiding the strike by mere inches, closing the distance to the gnoll.
"Huh!"
With an explosion of mana that filled him with renewed strength, Kael drove his sword toward the monster's neck. After a brief moment of resistance, the gnoll's head flew off, cleanly severed from its body with a precise, lethal strike.
Kael, satisfied, wiped the blood from the blade. He felt good. Much better than the day before.
"Nice finishing blow," Ronald commented, observing silently.
"Thanks, what's your opinion on the fight?"
"You're starting to build solid foundations. Decisive, targeted strikes aimed at ending the battle quickly. Great against monsters, but against smarter opponents, it might become too predictable. You've got a good sense of battle, but your mana usage is still too low. If you faced stronger enemies or a longer fight, you'd run out of it in a matter of minutes, and..."
"...Great."
Kael could see how Ronald tried to put encouragement into his words, but he went on for several minutes, and the list of problems seemed endless. What annoyed him, however, wasn't that, it was the final comment. Want to know which one?
"Just get good."
It was at moments like this that Kael understood why Grandma Beatrice often felt the urge to throw things at him.