I, The Anomalous God

Chapter 9 Level Up!

The bees started to attack Reborn’s force shield non-stop. “Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!”

Cracks appeared on the shield as it began to break. “Oh no!” He made another layer of shields. Thankfully, he was fast enough before the first layer broke.

“This won’t do! I can’t stay here like this!” Reborn pushed the shields away from him with the bees stuck on it. Then, he made a runaway from the swarm.

“Buzz! Buzz!” The bees chased after him. Some tried to prick him with their stingers, but fortunately, the danger sense skill made Reborn alert of his surrounding and he dodged all the attacks.

“I wish I had a flame-based skill!” He complained as he ran and dodged the bees.

“Buzz! Buzz!” The bees furiously chased after him. Reborn used parkour and jumped on a tree branch. He faced the chasing bees and made a force shield above the bees. Using his telekinesis, he swatted a swarm of bees. “Splat!”

“Ting! Level 4 Tiger Bee killed. 5.75% experience gained.”

“Ting! Level 4 Tiger Bee killed. 5.75% experience gained.”

“Ting! Level 5 Tiger Bee killed. 5.75% experience gained.”

A series of announcements rang in his head as he killed more than a dozen bees. “Alright! It worked!” He rejoiced, then “Thunk!” A bee stuck its stinger just a little bit on his right side of his face. If not because his danger sense skill alerted him, it would have been his face stuck with the bee’s stinger and not the tree trunk.

He punched the bees and it died. Another announcement rang. He made another shield above the bees and used his telekinesis and swatted another swarm. But the bees scattered before the shield was able to hit them. “The heck!? They are smart!”

He jumped off the branch and ran away.

Not far from him, the Grand Scholar’s figure appeared. “He killed a swarm of level 4 Tiger Bees! This kid is really powerful! He does not need my help at all.”

It was normal for the scholar to react like that. Any normal level 1 sprite is not able to kill a swarm of Level 4 Tiger Bees like that. Of course, a level 1 sprite would not have an advance telekinesis like Reborn have. They can’t do what Reborn did.

Added to that, Reborn was only born a week ago. He is abnormal or as Val likes to think, he is special. Even for a human, Reborn is above the norm. “He will be seen as threat even in the human territory with that kind of power and abilities.” He muttered.

Reborn ran around the forest while dodging the bees. There are still so many of them, and his force shield bee swatter is no longer working. “I have to do something or lose them!” he mumbled in his mind. Then he saw the river. He thought of jumping over and dive in.

He ran towards the river fast using sprint. He immediately jumped into the river. “Oh shoot! I don’t know how to swim!”

Water splashed and Reborn dive down. The bees buzz atop the water, circling, waiting for Reborn to resurface. However, Reborn was carried by the strong current as he struggled to hold his breath.

“Oh no!” Val exclaimed when he saw Reborn jumped into the river. He immediately flew towards the river, looking for Reborn.

====================

“Ting! Sink skill acquired.”

“Ting! Hold Breath skill acquired.”

“Ting! Swim skill acquired.”

The announcements rang in Reborn’s head as he drifts along the river current. He does not know how far or where the river took him.

He lost consciousness and when he came to, he was already in a cave. There was a small fire not far from where he is lying.

“You’re awake.” A familiar voice sounded not far from him. Reborn sat up and saw who it was.

“Grand Scholar!”

“Save it. Rest. If I did not follow, you would have drowned!” the scholar said to him.

“Argh!” He tried to sit straight but his right side ached. He found that it was plastered with weeds.

“I told you to rest. You got wounded when you were in the river.” Val said as he handed a bowl of soup with telekinesis.

“Yeah, no thanks to you. You did not tell me there were guardian monsters guarding that flower!” Reborn complained.

“I am sorry. There was a discrepancy in the information that came to me. Apparently, the sprites did not encounter the bees when they discovered that flower.” Val said his excuse.

“So, what now?”

“We rest here tonight then tomorrow we will go back to the village.” The scholar said. “Besides, I also have to report that monster above level 5 appeared around 1-mile radius of the village.”

“Oh, you also might need to prepare yourself. This task I gave might have exposed your extraordinary capabilities.” Val added.

“What do you mean?” Reborn was confused. What extraordinary capabilities of his was exposed? He did not even know he has that.

“Just rest!” Val firmly ordered. Reborn nodded and did not ask further. He laid back on the leaf-covered ground and rested.

He thought about the earlier announcements he heard. “I think I acquired a swim skill!” so he opened his status screen.

Name: J¤•■ A¤<□♡□$

Level: 1 (Exp. 80.51%)

Race: Human

Class: Worm

Age: 1 week, 5 days

Health: 8789

Mana: 12334

AP: 4380

DP: 8623

Strength: 15 (+300)

Dexterity: 10 (+300)

Intelligence: 100 (+508)

Vitality: 100 (+505)

Wisdom: 50 (+290)

Agility: 10 (+302)

Active Skills: Telekinesis (Lv.4), Float (Lv.3), Divine Light (Broken), Sprint (Lv.1), Force Shield (Lv.3), Meditation (Semi-passive/Level 3), Parkour (Lv.2), Hard Punch (Lv.2), Skull Bash (Lv.1), Appraisal (Lv.1), Sink (Lv.1), Hold Breath (Lv.1), Swim (Lv.1)

Passive Skills: Universal Language (Max), Fear Resistance (Lv.1), Pain Resistance (Lv.2), Memory Bank (Semi-active/Lv.1), Illusion Resistance (Lv.1)

Title: Anomaly (Awakened), Tatiana’s Son, Contracted, Reborn, Coward, Worm, First Kill

Title Skill: Danger Sense (Passive/Lv.2)

Status points: 0

“Oh wow! Does this mean I can swim?” Reborn mulled. “Oh, what does this Hold Breath skill means?”

“Ting! Hold Breath, a skill that enables one to hold one’s breath for 5 minutes. More than 5 minutes of holding one’s breath decreases 10 HP per second.”

“Heck, it’s just holding my breath for 5 minutes!” he complained. “Anyway, that is good too.” He thought.

=============

The next morning, Reborn and the Grand Scholar arrived at the village. Reborn floated while Val, dragged him with telekinesis. “Go to the infirmary first and get that wound treated. Then, go to your mother. She must be worried. After that, rest. Do not go around.” The Grand Scholar ordered him.

“Yes sir!” Reborn nodded and floated towards the infirmary.

On his way, he met Diana, “Reborn! What happened to you?” She asked worriedly.

“This? I did a task from the Grand Scholar and I failed it. I am going to the infirmary to get treated, wanna help?” He asked.

“Yes. Come, I’ll go with you.” Diana took a vine and tied it on Reborn’s small wrist. She dragged his floating body like that towards the infirmary.

“It is a good thing that you can float, or I will not know how to carry you!” She grumbled.

“You can try to hold my back and fly me to there.” Reborn jokingly said.

“Funny! What kind of task is it that got you this injury?”

“Well, I just have to record and observe a new specie of flower but then bees swarmed over and I jumped into the river.” He told her.

“Bees? Bees are friendly, why would they swarm over you. Did you disturb their house? Or did you disturb them while they are eating?” She curiously asked.

“Not normal bees. Monster bees. They were Tiger Bees! It is a good thing that they did not chase me in the river.” He sighed when he remembered what happened.

“So, the bees injured you?” She asked.

“No, I got it from the river. I can’t swim so I almost drowned. I might have grazed myself in some rocks. I don’t know, I lost consciousness that time. It was thanks to the Grand Scholar that I came home with just this.” He said.

===============

“I wish to seek an audience with the King!” The Grand Scholar announced when he arrived at the Royal courtyard.

“Please come in, sir!” The Royal butler greeted him and led him inside.

“Greetings, my liege!” Val bowed to the king.

“You may stand.” The king said. “What do you wish to seek audience with me for?” the King asked.

“Sire, I know you ordered your man to follow the kid.” Val directly said.

“Hm, I did. And he brought a quite surprising news.” The King admitted. “That kid is growing stronger strangely fast. Do you still think he is not a threat?”

“My King, I assure you with my life that he is not a threat!” Val said firmly.

“Oh, your life is it? That’s how you value the kid? You only knew him a week ago. Why is this so, Grand Scholar?”

The Grand Scholar was surprised by the King’s sudden question. Why does he value Reborn so much?

“My King, he is a human born from Shacanna, the Mother Tree. He holds a significant value! How will we find the answer to this mysterious phenomenon? What if there will be another similar situation to happen?” The Grand Scholar explained.

“Hm. And you think he holds the answer to that? You value him for knowledge, I see.” The King pointed. “Well, the Elder Mishap sent his man to tail the kid as well and I am sure, he also now knows what I know. I will call the council to convene tomorrow. You must attend.” The King said.

“Yes, my liege!” Val bowed again and left the courtyard.

=================

“Elder, what are we going to do?” some of the elders in Elder Mishap’s faction inquired.

“The King called us to convene tomorrow. He must have known this information as well. We will voice our complaints then!” Elder Mishap said.

“But what if the King still refuse to expel that anomaly?” Another elder asked.

“Hm. Then we find another way. For now, we wait for the King’s decision.” The elder said.

==================

“Mother, it is fine! It is just a small injury!” Reborn said while assuring Tatiana who is seriously applying medicinal herbs on his wound.

“Small? You call this small?! I can almost see the insides of your stomach from this side, and you say this is small?!” She said angrily. “Tomorrow, I am going to confront that teacher of yours! Grand Scholar or not, he promised to take care of you! And this happened!” she fumed.

“OW! Gently, gently!” He complained. “I am really fine, mother. Also, the Grand Scholar did save me. Besides, I learned a lot from that. I can swim now! Hehe!” He said proudly.

“Oh! You can swim? Don’t you know that there are more vicious monsters in the rivers than on land? I am seriously going to have a talk with that teacher of yours. Did he not teach you about the monsters out there? You are Scholars! You should know about these!” She went on again fuming and telling her complaints.

After a while, Tatiana finally stopped her scolding and kissed Reborn goodnight. “Sleep early!” she reminded.

“Yes, mother.” When Tatiana left the room, Reborn took out the scroll containing the introductory to Sprite Magic. “I wonder if I will be able to learn this magic.” He whispered.

Then he thought, “I will become stranger if I suddenly learn this magic, and my “extraordinary ability” will be treated as threat even more.” He sighed. “Why was I born a human?” he asked himself.

===============

By the next morning, Reborn went to Knowsborough for his Scholar class. “Hey, Reborn, over here!” Anton called him.

“Hey!” he greeted. “Where is Trekka?” Reborn asked when he did not see Trekka around.

“She is already inside. That bookworm, she is already burning some brows! Come on.” Anton went inside the Knowsborough with Reborn.

When they got inside, they saw Trekka reading beside a pile of scrolls. “Hey, are you going to read all that?” Reborn asked. He took one scroll from the pile. The scroll immediately enlarged when he held it. “Breeding cycle of Flame moths.” Reborn read, “Why are you reading this?” he asked.

“You two air heads! We are scholars, we must know these stuffs. I am merely reading ahead.” She said.

“Man, chill out for a bit. There is no competition here. Why rush things? We will all learn that in a while!” Anton pitched in. Trekka did not reply and focused on reading. “Tsk! Suit yourself.”

Anton went on another corner talking to other female sprites. “Is the Grand Scholar here yet?” Reborn asked her.

“He was summoned. He should be attending the convention of the elders.” She said without glancing at him. “Oh, and he left us tasks for today. You can ask for it from Ms. Duai-nae over there.” She informed then went back to her reading.

“Oh, okay. Thanks.”

Reborn went to the scholar on the very front of the entrance. She is inside a suspended cubicle located near the entrance.

“Ms, Duai-nae?” he called.

“Oh, Reborn, are you here for your task?” she asked. Reborn nodded. “Here. The Grand Scholar said to make a report on it by this afternoon. You can submit it back here, okay?” she said.

“Okay.” He received the scroll from her. Then he read the content.

“Monsters: You Know What To Do.” What is this task about? He thought. “Oh, this is a monster encyclopedia!” he exclaimed when he skimmed the content of the scroll.

“Does he want us to know about each of these monsters?” Reborn then took the scroll with him and found a place to sit down.

=================

At the Royal hall, the elders and the King convened. The Grand Elder was seated at the suspended podium in the center. “The council shall now convene!” the Royal secretariat announced. “Grand Scholar, you may now open your proposals to the council!”

“The Grand Scholar, I, is presenting myself to all the elders here, in defense to Reborn, Tatiana’s son’s existence in the village.” Val said. “I stand here as his teacher and as proof that Reborn is not a threat to the sprites, the village and the Mother Tree!”

“How can you be sure? He is not a sprite!” an elder from Elder Mishap’s faction asked.

“He is not but he was born from Shacanna!” Val replied.

“How will you assure us that he will not become a threat to us, the village and the Mother Tree?” another elder from Elder Takankan’s faction asked softly.

“I will stake my life on it!” Val declared. All the elders were surprised except for the King.

“You! Why would you go so far as to put your life in the balance? What are you thinking?” Elder Mishap pointed at Val.

“I acknowledge!” The King suddenly announced.

“What?”

“My King that is…”

Everyone was shaken. The King acknowledged it? He accepted it! “But I have a condition.” The King continued. “Four months from now, we will have a competition for all newborn sprites in their ascension to adolescence. This will be open to all classes. For me to acknowledge him as a true sprite that belongs to our village, he must achieve first place in the competition, and he must be able to learn our magic. If he does not fulfill these two conditions, he will be stripped of all acknowledgement given to him, even as the Son of Shacanna and be banished from the village forever.” The King said.

The elders’ reactions are divided. Some were happily surprised, and some are grimly surprised.

“My King, the first condition is acceptable but the second one, it is impossible!” Elder Takankan pointed out.

Elder Mishap sneered, “Takankan, the King has spoken, what rights do you have to question it? And besides, even the first condition is impossible.”

The two factions were embroiled in a heated discussion. The elders in Elder Mishap’s camp was happy of their King’s decision. It was as if the King has already sentenced the banishment of the anomaly.

“I accept the conditions, my King!” Val announced to them.

“Very well.” The King raised his staff and declared, “This agreement shall be witnessed by the Mother Tree, Shacanna!”

The staff glowed brightly as the Mother Tree acknowledge the agreement.

================

The three students were waiting outside of Knowsborough, when Val arrived. “Why are you three here?” he asked.

“They wanted to wait for you, sir. I told them to just read in there.” Trekka said.

“It is boring inside!” Anton complained. “And Reborn wants to go out. I am going with him, and you are also coming with us!”

“Well, I would like to ask if I can go outside today.” Reborn said.

“Is it about the task I ask you to finish today?” The Grand Scholar asked.

“Yes.”

“Just read the scroll for now. There is no need to go and see the monsters. You might get hurt. I have something to tell you three anyway. Come with me.” Val turned around and flew off.

The three of them followed the Grand Scholar. They went up to the peak of Knowsborough where the Grand Scholars library and office is found.

The four of them all went inside. “Sit down.” Anton and Trekka sat down on some hanging vines while Reborn sat on the floor.

“I came from the Royal hall with the Council of Elders.” He opened. “Four months from now will be your adolescence ascension ceremony.”

“Huh? Wow! Imagine that, we are not young anymore!” Anton quipped.

“Hm…. Hm….” Trekka nodded in agreement.

Reborn on the other hand, tilted his head a little. “Somehow, I feel like something is wrong.” He thought.

“What about it, sir?” Reborn asked.

“All newborn sprites must attend the ceremony. The first place will be rewarded bountifully. The last placers will receive nothing.” He revealed to them.

“Alright! I am going to be first place!” Anton declared.

“Hm. You can’t even defeat me, and besides, what can you do about those in Soldier and Magician classes? Can you defeat them?” Trekka said cutting Anton’s confident stride.

“Heh, you have a point there, Trekka. That is why I am going to train you not just mere scholars but fighting scholars!” The Grand Scholar announced to them.

“Fighting Scholars?” That was the first time they have heard that. The three major classes in Sprite Village are the Soldier, Magician, and Scholar classes.

The Soldier and Magician classes can fight with army tactics and magic spells. However, none of them have heard about Scholars’ fighting capabilities.

“Can Scholars fight? I mean, there are active skills that are useable in fights, but can Scholars really fight?” Reborn asked.

“Sure. I can fight.” Val said smiling.

“Can you fight toe to toe with Gold Leaf General Bash and Grand Magus Shoto?” Anton shamelessly tried the Grand Scholar. The Grand Scholar smiled at him. He handed them a crystal ball. It floated in front of them. The crystal ball glowed brightly and then images suddenly appeared.

The images were battle scenes from long ago. It depicted a young man battling a huge monster. The young man was able to easily defeat the monster by a single hit. Then the image changed, and it showed two young sprites fighting. The sprite holding a spear was defeated by the young man who defeated the monster. Then it changed again. This time that young man was fighting a mage. Surprisingly, he also defeated the mage.

“Was that young man you?” Anton pointed.

“Are your eyes blind or something? That is clearly the Grand Scholar!” Trekka said.

“Wow! You are strong!” Reborn complimented.

“Heh, I know someone who is much stronger than me at that age!” Val muttered.

“Hm?” Reborn was curious when heard that. The other two sprites did not hear the Grand Scholar though.

“Now, we will be having our classes outside the border starting tomorrow. We will grind your levels and skills while learning to be a scholar!” Val declared.

“Yes sir!” The three of them yelled excitedly.

===================

In the afternoon, the trio went to the smithy in the village. “What are we doing here again?” Anton asked.

“You are so stupid. We are here to request for armors!” Trekka said.

“Right.”

They head inside a huge tree that is a smithy. The tree is called Pyroglenoa. It is a fire and heat resistant tree. The sprite smiths purposely made the tree into a smithy because of these properties.

A lady sprite welcomed them when they entered. “Hello, kids! Welcome! What can we do for you?” she asked.

“Hello, miss!” Reborn said. “The Grand Scholar sent us.” He said. Then Trekka handed a letter to her.

“Oh, wait a moment, please.” She said then flew into the back of the room. Moments later, an old sprite came out.

“So, you are here for armors!” he said.

“Yes, sir!” Reborn answered.

“Alright, come with me. Oh, watch your step, boy!” The old sprite said to Reborn.

“Yeah, watch your step, Reborn!” Anton snickered. He was smacked on the head by Trekka then after. “Ow!”

Reborn slowly floated and followed the three sprites at the back. “I wish there was a shrinking skill, or something related to that.” He thought.

At the back of the smithy, there was a huge flower with four large tentacle-like vines. “Okay, go near the flower, one by one.”

“Huh?” The trio reacted. The flower looked scary. Anton was so sure it was a monster.

Reborn secretly appraised the flower and true enough, it is a monster.

“Name: Measurilla

Level: 5

Details: A measuring flower used by the sprite smiths.”

“Go on, Anton! It won’t bite.” Reborn smiled.

“Hurry up! It will not hurt you. It is a measuring flower! What are you afraid of?” the old sprite said.

Anton went close to the flower. The vines slowly moved towards Anton. Then small vines sprouted from one of the large vines and wrapped around Anton. Then it separated from Anton. A vine mold of Anton was left hanging from the vine.

“Oh! Amazing! It looks like a paper mache!” Reborn said.

“Peyper what?” Trekka asked curiously.

“A paper mache. Its like a mold made of paper but in this case, it is made of vines.” Reborn explained. ‘Weird! How did I know that?’ he thought.

“Oh!”

“Next!” the old sprite called. Trekka walked towards the flower and the same thing happened, a vine mold appeared a while later.

Lastly, it was Reborn’s turn. It took a while longer before the flower finished making Reborn’s vine model. Then, when everything was done, the old sprite took the three of them back at the smithy’s lounge.

"For the two of you, I need 2 Firman Tree barks, and a bundle of Yellow Oil weed.” The old sprite said to Trekka and Anton. Then he turned to Reborn, “For you, it is a bit tricky. You are larger than them and needs more materials to make an armor for you. So, I need you to procure 4 Armored Cat pelts and 6 Dragonewt whiskers.” He said.

“Wait! We are going to get the items for the armors?” Anton asked surprised.

“Well, that is what the letter from your teacher said. I will make the armor and you three will provide the materials.” The old sprite justified.

“That is not a problem at all. Firman trees can be found just outside the border, not too far while those Yellow Oil weeds can be procured from the bestiary.” Trekka said. “However, the Armored Cat and Dragonewt, that is a problem.”

“True. The strongest Armored Cat is level 5 and the strongest Dragonewt is level 6. For level 1’s like you, that is an impossible task. I advise you to ask for help.” The old sprite said sincerely.

“Thank you, sir.” The three of them bowed and left the smithy.

===============

“Hey, Reborn!” someone called just when the three of them came out from the smithy.

Reborn turned around and looked who it was. “Jess! Hey, man!” he called back.

“Did you go in there?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“I did not know that Scholars need armors or weapons.” He said.

“Well, now you know.”

“Haha! True! Who are they?” Jess asked.

“Oh, this is Anton and Trekka. They are my classmates.” Reborn introduced. “This is Jess. I was grouped with him during the survival test.” He said to the two.

“Hello.” Trekka greeted flatly.

“Hey. Are you a Soldier?” Anton pointed.

“Ah, yes I am.” Jess smiled at Anton. He somehow felt close like they know each other for a very long time.

“That is great! You can help us!” Anton said shamelessly.

“Anton!” Trekka tried to reprimand him but he did not stop babbling.

“Help us get some forging materials!” the shameless Anton continued. Trekka covered her face with her palm in shame.

“Oh? What materials do you need?” Jess asked.

“We need 2 barks from Firman tree, a bundle of Yellow Oil Weed, 2 pelts from an Armored Cat and 6 whiskers from a Dragonewt.” He enumerated.

“Wow! The first two materials are easy to acquire but the last two, that is quite difficult! Can Scholars even hunt?” Jess exclaimed.

“Of course, we can! It is just that we are very low leveled, and we lack skills.” Anton said.

“Haha! If you say so. Anyway, I am happy to help besides, even without my help, you guys can handle it; you have Reborn with you.” Jess said while smiling.

“Huh? Reborn? What can he do?” Anton was puzzled.

“Hahaha! You did not know! That is fine, he can show you himself. Anyway, I will have a hunting practice now. You can come with me. I will ask the instructor when we arrive outside.” Jess said.

Reborn shook his head. Jess just had to open his mouth. Now, the two Worms are looking at him with curiosity. “Don’t mind what he said.” Reborn said trying to brush off things.

“What are you hiding?” Trekka asked.

Reborn did not answer and walked away following Jess who was snickering. “Hey!” The two Worms followed him.

==================

Outside the borders, a group of Soldier students gathered. “Oh, here comes Jess.” The muscled sprite said.

“Hey!” Jess greeted the group.

“Who are they?” A beautiful blond sprite asked.

“Oh, these are my friends.” He said.

“We are friends?” Anton whispered.

“Just shut up!” Trekka scolded.

“This is Anton and Trekka. Of course, you all know Reborn.” Jess said.

“Huh?” Reborn was surprised. They all knew him.

“Yes, hello, I am Marthia” The blond sprite greeted.

“What are they doing here?” A handsome sprite with blueish green hair asked.

Jess ignored the man and flied towards their instructor. “Sir, these friends of mine are Scholars, they have a request for us.” He said.

The handsome sprite was irritated when he was ignored but did not speak further.

“Scholars? What is your request?” The instructor asked the three Scholars.

Reborn spoke to answer, “We would like to go along with your hunt and if possible, ask you to help us hunt two monsters.”

“Oh? Is it a task? This is the first time I heard Scholars give hunting tasks.” The instructor said.

“It is not really the task, but it is connected to our true task.” Trekka said.

“Hm. Who is your teacher?” the instructor asked.

“The Grand Scholar is our teacher.” Anton replied.

“Oh?” The instructor was surprised. “I see. Well then, you can come with us.” He agreed. “What monsters do you need to hunt?”

Reborn sighed a relief. It was fortunate that the instructor agreed. “Actually, sir, all we need are 2 Armored Cat pelts and 6 whiskers from a Dragonewt.” Reborn revealed. “Oh, and 2 Firman Tree barks and a bundle of Yellow Oil Weed.”

“Alright. Jess, since you brought them here, you will be responsible for them. This is also an opportunity. A soldier must know how to protect!” The instructor said.

“Yes, sir!” Jess replied vigorously.

======================

The group went on their hunt with their instructor while the three scholars tagged along. “Hey, Trekka, you always read back in Knowsborough, where do we find those Firman trees?” Anton asked in a low voice.

“We already passed a few of them.” She said.

“Huh? Then why did we not stop to get some barks?” Anton asked a bit loudly.

“We can take them when we go back. Hunting Armored Cats and Dragonewts are harder than that and besides that, we have to find one before we can kill it!” Trekka explained.

“Oh!”

================

After more than an hour, they finally found an Armored Cat. “Great! We are lucky, this one is only level 3 and its alone.” The instructor said. “Alright, Jess and those three scholars, try and take it down.”

“Huh?”

“What” Anton and Trekka reacted.

“What? I am sure you have tried fighting monsters before; did you not take the survival practice last week?” the instructor asked.

“Well,” Anton scratched his cheek while Trekka lowered her head, “I kind of failed that.” He said. Trekka nodded too.

“Ha…” The instructor sighed then turned to look at Reborn, “How about you?”

“Oh, we have no problem with Reborn; he can take care of that himself.” Jess said proudly. All the soldier trainees, the instructor and the two scholars looked at him. “Ah, we were grouped together during the survival lesson! Hehehe! Trust me, he can do it, right Reborn?” Jess looked at Reborn. The others also turned to stare at him.

“Ha! Fine!” Reborn stood slowly and walked out from where they were hiding.

The Armored Cat immediately noticed Reborn and became cautious. It growled at him and the grey armor covering its body started to shake and vibrate along.

“Armored Cats are slower than any other cat monsters but compared to us, it is still faster. Its primary weapon is its sharp claws and armor. The only weak point in an Armored Cat is under its belly where it is not covered by armor.” Trekka informed them.

“Wow, you did read a lot!” Anton praised.

“What the girl said is right. Be careful of its claws. The only way to defeat it is to hit its weak spot. However, you must hurry, these monsters travel in pairs. I am sure the other one is nearby!” The instructor also said.

“Oh, wait! You don’t have a weapon!” one of the soldier trainees said when he noticed.

“He doesn’t need one!” Jess said.

=============

Reborn took a stance, “Okay, how do I go with this?” he mumbled. “Screw it! I’ll just tackle it head on! Sprint!” He dashed forwards using his skill.

The soldiers and the scholars gasp at what he did except for Jess. He has an unwavering trust that Reborn will be fine.

“Graayaaoo!!” The Armored Cat roared and sprinted towards Reborn as well, but it was faster. The cat suddenly rolled into a ball of metal armor and tried to run over Reborn.

“Watch out!” Trekka called.

When the Armored Cat was about to hit him, Reborn dodged the rolling metal ball with his skill, Parkour. He used the ball’s momentum to push himself up, then he floated in the air. The Armored Cat stopped rolling when it hit nothing.

The cat growled at him. Reborn took the chance and made a force shield under the cat’s belly. Then, with the use of his telekinesis, he pushed the cat upwards.

“Giyaoo!” the cat whinnied.

When the underbelly of the cat was exposed in mid-air, Reborn immediately dived down by cancelling his float skill. He reached the ground beneath the suspended cat.

“Ah!” He shouted and using telekinesis, he scooped a large block of soil beside him and threw it to the cat’s belly.

“Thump!” The cat was hit. It was thrown to the ground, but it did not die. The cat slowly stood up and growled angrily. It was hurt.

“Hurry up! Its hurt very badly! Finish it now!” The instructor ordered excitedly. It was his first time seeing a scholar fight, well, he knew that the Grand Scholar could fight though, but still, the kid displayed a very amazing usage of skills.

“Alright!” Reborn raised his hand aimed at the weakened cat. Still using telekinesis, he held the cat by the neck and raised it in the air. “Grrr…ahhh! Geez, this thing is heavy!” He complained. Then, he waved his other hand and threw debris and other hard objects on the ground towards the cat’s belly.

The cat growled and whined as it was hit again and again. “For the finish!” Reborn sprinted close to the cat and delivered a Hard Punch finishing blow.

“Ting! Level 3 Armored Cat killed. 2.5% experience gained.” The cat finally died.

“Great! Soldiers grabbed the body and store it!” The instructor ordered. The soldier trainees immediately followed suit and took the body. They sprinkled a kind of dust on the carcass and it suddenly shrink. They then put it in a bag.

“Wow! You are amazing!” the soldiers gathered round Reborn, hovering around him and praising him.

“Scholars CAN fight!” Anton exclaimed. Trekka nodded her head strongly in agreement.

“I told you. Reborn can handle it!” Jess said.

“Wait, sir! Will that cat’s corpse return to normal? I mean, you shrank it.” Reborn asked. He was worried, that was supposed to be a material for his armor. If it becomes tiny, he won’t be able to wear it.

“Oh, you do not have to worry. There is an enlarging dust back in the village. We just use it for convenience of storing it while we travel.” The instructor said.

“Right, okay.” Reborn realized that the sprites are, indeed, small. They can’t possibly drag the large body of that cat. And also, it was very heavy.

======================

The group proceeded with their hunt and with Reborn and the soldiers’ help, they successfully hunted 2 Armored cats, 2 Dragonewts, and 5 other monsters ranging from level 3 to level 4.

“Ting! You have gained 1 level. 5 status points available.”

“Ting! Telekinesis skill leveled up.”

“Ting! Force Shield skill leveled up.”

“Ting! Sprint skill leveled up.”

“Ting! Parkour skill leveled up.”

“Ting! Danger sense skill leveled up.”

The series of announcements felt refreshing to Reborn. Their trip was very well worth it. He finally leveled up.

“Reborn is scary strong!” Trekka whispered.

“Uh-huh. He is even on par with the instructor or better yet, stronger!” Anton also said.

“You thought so too, huh?” Jess also pitched in. The three of them looked at Reborn strangely but in a good way.