The Hunter Mage

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

Vernon was panting, hard. He was surprised he could still stand. His legs were shaking and he was sure his hands were too. If he used any more magic, he would swear that it was his life force. However, he knew Evil would believe him except he was unconscious on the ground.

He had just about an hour to go, he was worried he might not be able to make it. However, he intended to give it all he has got, going unconscious would mean he would land in the infirmary and he would probably have to spend a couple of hours there if he was not bedridden or too weak to even move, none of the options seemed appealing so he had to be careful.

"I don't see you using magic, Vernon." He heard Steven's shrill voice call out to him and he winced.

He waited for him to look away before he contorted his face and mouthed the exact words Steven had just told him before returning his attention to the flower bush. He cringed, if he eventually passed this stage, he never wanted to see another flower bush in his life.

He rolled his eyes and got to work but he knew better than to rush, if he did he would run out of Mana faster and Steven won't see it that way, he would think it was he not wanting to do anything. It was better he went slow, all he would get would be yells to work faster but it wasn't like he wasn't working so he went slow, making sure to count the minutes left as he got to work.

No sooner had the loud bell rang to signify the end of the training that Vernon fled the courtyard, leaving the fiftieth flower bush he was growing that day, undone. He didn't care, somebody was sure to take care of the mess, it just was not him.

"Vernon," she yelled when she saw him, lips breaking into a huge smile. Vernon felt his whole soul lit up and completely forgot that he still had a shortage of Mana from the day before.

"Penn!" He yelled back. She didn't jump into his hands or anything even though he stretched them at her, she just smiled and showed him her toy. "Do you like it?" He asked.

The toy she had picked was, of course, the one he and Nevil had made a long time ago. It was slightly worn out but the outlines were pretty obvious, so the animals they were, was still easy to see.

The edges had been chewed on a couple of times and it was easy to see that the toy had been through a lot but major parts of it were still evident. Vernon wished he could refine it and make it look as shiny as it once did but he knew that was impossible even for Nevil.

Once a part of a tree was separated from the whole, it could not be tampered with, they couldn't control it anymore, it was a flaw to their magic. Their magic didn't work on dead plants unless there was a way to revitalize them.

So, there was basically nothing he could do about the toy except he wanted to make a new one. The only person who could possibly refine it was Dev with his wind magic, he could sharpen the edges of the toys but Dev did not care for them and even when Vernon asked him to, he would make excuses.

She didn't answer immediately; rather, she studied the toy some more and Vernon knew his father would have made her at least a couple and since his inspiration had been from his father's toys, he was wondering if she could see the resemblance.

He was glowing as he watched her study them. He was hungry and considering the amount of Mana he used, he needed to sleep and take hot cocoa but he didn't want to go. He hated that he had to go for training if not he intended to spend every single minute with her.

The more he looked at her, the more he thought she looked like their mother. She had his mother's eyes that was for sure, they were similar in color but he wasn't certain about anything else because they were obviously way smaller than his mother's but the feeling that her features were similar to his mother did not fade.

She then slowly looked at him and shook her. He burst into laughter, he had not been expecting that. "Okay, Penn. It is fine if you don't like it but don't tell you don't, I made it. Well, technically it wasn't just me but I played a very huge role in the making of the toys."

"I knew you'd be here," a voice interrupted. Vernon did not need to look up to know who it belonged to. "What are you doing?" A frown appeared across his forehead.

"Explaining why she should love the toy. She said she doesn't like it and I don't blame her, it definitely sucks more than the one she has at home. My father is pretty good." Vernon bragged feeling slight pride.

He was grateful he had taken an interest in his father's skill, who would have known it would prove so useful. Well, right now he didn't have a need for carving but it was still right up his alley.

Technically, it wasn't, as he still didn't know more than the basics but it was information he carried along with him wherever he went. It was something he would always remember him by and frankly, it was basically the only reason he was grateful he had ended up with Nature magic instead of anything else.

He was just sad that he could not refine his skills any more than he already had and even though he was probably making progress, the progress was so little that it looked like he wasn't doing anything at all.