They reached the place where the sound was coming from.
That man had fallen to the ground in fear, with a mana beast standing in front of him.
The mana beast was a four-legged creature with sharp teeth and claws. Its body was dark blue, marked with silver vein-like lines, and its eyes were pure white. The silver veins glowed whenever it roared.
Ren froze on the spot, unsure of what to do. The beast was too close to the man.
Then Anthur got an idea. "Hey, Ren," he said.
"I'm going to throw a stone at the beast."
"That will draw its attention to us, and it will come to attack."
"What I'm saying is…"
"You're the one who's going to handle it."
Ren blinked in confusion.
"Huh…? Why am I the one who has to fight it?"
"I'll go and rescue that man," Anthur replied calmly.
"Don't argue. Just do what I say. There's no time."
Anthur picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the mana beast. The stone hit the beast, and it immediately turned its gaze toward Ren. In that moment, Anthur disappeared from sight.
The mana beast charged toward Ren and leaped at him. Ren bent low and dodged the attack.
Meanwhile, Anthur rushed to the fallen man. "Hey, old man, get up. We need to move from here." The man looked confused by Anthur's calmness.
"I told you both to run. Why are you here? And why are you so calm? Your friend is fighting the mana beast!"
Anthur replied, "Hmm… why am I calm?"
"Because I know he can defeat it, so don't worry about him. He'll take care of it, now, quietly get up. We need to move." Anthur helped him stand, and they moved to a safer place.
Meanwhile, Ren faced the mana beast. They circled each other slowly. The beast roared at Ren, its silver veins glowing brighter.
It opened its mouth, and a round, pink, ball-like structure began to form within it. In the next instant, the sphere shot toward Ren.
Ren quickly dodged, and the attack struck a tree behind him.
The moment it hit, the impacted area began to melt, and within a fraction of a second, the tree collapsed.
Ren turned back toward the beast. It had already leaped at him. He bent his body just in time, narrowly escaping the sudden attack.
Now Ren drew his sword from his waist belt and stepped back, holding the blade steady and pointed toward the beast.
The creature growled, its claws sharpening as it scraped them against the ground.
Ren slowly began to move sideways, watching it carefully.
With another fierce roar, the mana beast lunged at him again.
This time, Ren stepped forward, adjusting the angle of his sword, ready to strike the beast. The mana beast was in the air while Ren moving forward to attack it, Beast made an attack, and Ren blocked the claws of the Beast.
Now both of them were close to each other, that mana Beast made a high growl in front of Ren.
Ren makes a smile.
"You are pretty strong."
He pushed back the beast with a thrust in its claw, and while the beast pulled back in the thrust, Ren rotated his body and turned to the other side and sliced the beast.
"But you are not enough to fight with me."
The mana beast crawls on the ground and makes a growl at the pain; it suffers for a minute in the pain, and Ren just takes a deep breath and sees the suffering of the beast.
After that, the glowing veins in the mana beast fade away, and it dies. After defeating the mana beast, Ren was exhausted.
Then he hears a voice of Anthur. "Hey… Ren."
Anthur soon approached him with a wide smile.
"Hey, Ren… hmm, you finished it."
Ren shook his head.
"Now you don't feel guilty anymore, right?" Ren looked confused.
"Guilty?"
Anthur crouched near the beast, examining it.
"Yes. Earlier, you felt guilty for asking for food and staying here, right?"
"So I made you fight the mana beast."
"And now, you saved that man yourself. He'll want to repay you."
Ren closed his eyes and smiled slightly.
Anthur's eyes shimmered in wonder.
"Hey, Ren," Anthur continued.
"We were trained to fight mana beasts in our village. But… this one seems different."
Anthur turns and looks at Ren.
"Look here." Ren stepped closer.
"Did you remember seeing any seals like this on a mana beast before?"
The seal was shaped like an eye with wings.
Ren shook his head.
"No…"
Anthur again looked at the seal.
"Hmmm… alright. Let's go freshen up."
Ren looked around.
"Where is that man?"
"He's waiting for us at the pond."
Anthur stood up from that place, and both of them began to move to the pond.
They reached the pond; Ren saw the view of the pond that was covered with fog and also gave a chilly vibe.
And they both go to the side where the man was sitting under a tree.
Ren approached him. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay… Did you defeat the beast?"
Ren nodded.
"I see… You two are quite strong." While they were talking,
Anthur suddenly began removing his shirt, preparing to jump into the pond. His body had faintly glowing muscles, and on his right arm, he wore a bracelet connected to a diamond-shaped red gem.
He jumped into the water and began enjoying himself.
The man smiled.
"He's a joyful person. You have a good friend." Ren nodded.
"Yeah… he is, but sometimes he's an idiot."
That old man laughs.
"But I've been with him for 14 years, and I still can't understand what he's thinking."
"Sometimes he talks like a fool, and other times he's very mature."
"I can't predict him."
That man sees Ren.
"Hmmm… earlier, you mentioned you're on a journey."
"Yes."
"What is your motive for the journey?"
"Motive…" Ren murmured. Before he could answer, Anthur interrupted from the pond.
"Hey! Why are you still sitting there?" "Come on, jump in!"
Both of them joined him in the pond.
After a few hours, they finished freshening up, got dressed, and began heading back to the house.
On the way, Anthur asked,
"Hey, old man, I wanted to ask something… while the mana beast was attacking you, why were you there in the first place?"
The man suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh! Damn, I forgot!"
"What did you forget?"
"Well… I hid some liquor there. Whenever I come here to bath, I drink a little."
Anthur burst out laughing, while Ren quietly enjoyed the conversation.
They finally reached the house and tied their horses to a tree.
"Rest well, you two," Ren said to the horses.
Night fell.
They entered the house. As soon as they stepped inside, a delicious aroma filled the air.
Anthur instantly perked up with excitement.