Osric opened the first book and started reading it.
Common Monsters of the Ashbrook Region.
He already knew all the monsters, but knowing detailed information about them all wouldn't hurt.
It started with the F-Ranks.
'This is pretty interesting.'
Unlike wolves, Feral Dogs hunt alone more often and develop unpredictable habits depending on the area they live in.
A Feral Dog that has successfully killed humans before is considered far more dangerous than normal specimens.
'I didn't know that.'
Osric's eyes paused on that sentence for a moment.
—
Back to the monster forest.
"Found it." Dustin whispered.
"A fresh dropping of the Feral Dog."
"Good job." Garrick answered.
They were about to move further inside, when—
"Grr."
That growl was instantly recognizable.
Both of them turned around to see the Feral Dog's dark grey fur ferocious yellow eyes. Saliva was dripping from its mouth.
Only Dustin was surprised by its ambush.
Garrick thought. 'Took you long enough to realize. Guess his focus was too much on the small details.'
Dustin quickly unsheathed his sword, while Garrick stepped back and stayed quiet.
The Feral Dog didn't look intimidated by the two armed men at all. It was still growling and started circling Dustin.
Dustin's legs trembled.
He tightened his grip on the sword.
'I can do this.'
A drop of sweat poured down his cheek.
The Feral Dog kept coming closer. As if sensing Dustin's fear.
Dustin had the urge to turn around to ask Garrick for help.
'No. How will I ever be a real adventurer if I can't even manage to kill a Feral Dog?'
Garrick just sighed with his arms crossed as he leaned against a frozen tree.
'Why is he so scared of a little mutt?'
Dustin suddenly stepped forward first and swung his sword with a shout.
But the movement was reckless and stiff.
The Feral Dog instantly reacted.
Its body twisted away from the slash before immediately lunging through the opening Dustin created himself.
"Shit—!"
Dustin barely dodged in time.
Its fangs still scratched across his forearm and tore through his sleeve.
"Argh!"
The pain made Dustin panic even more.
The Feral Dog landed on the snow and immediately attacked again with terrifying speed.
Dustin hurriedly raised his sword.
"Clang!"
Its jaws slammed against the blade.
The impact almost made him lose his grip.
'Too fast!'
The Feral Dog backed away for only a brief moment before lunging again.
Dustin stumbled backwards and barely blocked in time once more.
Then again.
And again.
Each attack forced his body into frantic reactions.
His heartbeat pounded violently inside his chest.
'What am I doing wrong? Why can't I react sooner?'
"Stop looking at its fangs!" Garrick suddenly shouted from behind.
"Focus on the legs!"
Dustin's eyes widened slightly.
The Feral Dog circled again while growling.
This time, Dustin forced himself to look lower.
Its shoulders.
Its legs.
The shifting of its weight.
Then—
The muscles in its legs suddenly tightened.
'It's coming!'
The Feral Dog lunged forward once more.
But this time Dustin reacted faster.
His sword swung downward in panic and desperation.
"Yelp!"
Blood sprayed across the snow as the blade hacked deeply into the creature's front leg, nearly severing it.
The Feral Dog immediately collapsed sideways with a painful cry.
Dustin no longer hesitated. He thrusted his sword quickly into the wounded Feral Dog's chest.
It stopped breathing after a few seconds passed.
"Clap. Clap. Clap."
"Good job kiddo." Garrick said.
Dustin sheathed his sword and calmed his breathing.
Excitement started to replace the uneasiness.
"I did it! Thank you Garrick. I couldn't have done it without you."
"Sure. Just remember this feeling and what you learned."
"Now, pick up the corpse. You'll carry it to the city. You definitely need some muscles on you."
"Huh?"
—
Back at the library.
Osric couldn't stop his curiosity and decided to read one of the books on mana after finishing the one about Ashbrook's monsters.
Osric grabbed the book called Foundations of Mana and sat back down.
Compared to the other books, this one looked significantly older and more worn out.
He opened the first page.
Mana exists naturally throughout the world and fills all living environments to varying degrees.
Only certain individuals are capable of interacting with it.
Osric quietly continued reading.
Individuals capable of becoming knights are born with a dormant mana seed.
The mana seed itself cannot be seen and usually remains inactive during early childhood.
'Usually?'
His eyes narrowed slightly at the wording.
A mana seed may awaken naturally anytime from birth until the age of sixteen.
Once awakened, the individual gains the ability to feel mana and interact with the surrounding environment on a basic level.
Osric turned the page more slowly this time.
He already knew most of this from overhearing conversations throughout his life.
But reading it formally written inside a book still felt different somehow.
A faint pressure settled inside his chest.
Before becoming a true knight, mana cannot be seen and can only be vaguely felt by those with an awakened seed.
Those born without a mana seed are incapable of naturally walking the knight path.
Osric's fingers paused slightly against the paper.
—
That same evening, inside the Greydell castle.
The head butler knocks on Reginald Greydell's bedroom door.
"Who is it?" The voice inside asked in an annoyed tone.
"It's me, third young master. Ferdinand."
"Tsk. Fine, come in."
As head butler Ferdinand walked into the room, he noticed the two naked young women laying next to Reginald on his bed. They looked uncomfortable, but it was of no concern to the head butler.
"The lord has a task for you, third young master."
'Shit.' He thought.
"What is it?"