Chapter 14 - 14 Keen Sight

Chapter 14: Chapter 14 Keen Sight

"We are going to protect a merchant of a nearby village and reach another territory that is filled with beasts. I believe that it will take two weeks for us to return, so don't worry if you don't hear from us for a few more days," Harth explained. "We will depart tomorrow morning."

Beasts... Raiden heard that a few times, but he couldn't imagine the monsters. He had only been reading books about medicine and herbs... he wondered if books talking about them could be found in the Tower of Mastery. While the books for the youngest kids were simpler, it was hard to imagine that they would hide that kind of knowledge from them since it could motivate them to train harder.

The next day, Raiden made breakfast by himself since Harth and Iri were preparing to leave. Iri spent the whole time humming, and her eyes were shining when she showed up once she was ready.

"See you in two weeks, little brother," Iri said and then hugged Raiden.

"Sure," Raiden said while patting her back two times.

"Ouch, the cold shoulder," Iri said.

"Sorry for burdening you, Raiden, but I will leave the house in your care," Harth said and then whispered the rest. "Since Lenore is hopeless when it comes to anything related to it."

"I can hear you... you will get an earful once you return," Lenore declared, and then she left to work.

It didn't seem that she was that worried... she was probably used to seeing Harth leave. Speaking of which, how were the people of the advanced groups trained when he wasn't around? Raiden couldn't tell.

Soon afterward, Harth and Iri left. Iri spent a while waving her hands, and then, eventually, they disappeared into the distance. Raiden had a day off, and he decided to train in his yard; soon enough, Javier and Ruth joined him.

"You are really starting your business... it looks small considering how much you worked," Javier said while looking at the numerous empty vases.

"You can say that again in two months; when the time comes, I will throw gold coins at you," Raiden furrowed his eyebrows.

"None," Raiden replied.

Things got quiet after that, but not awkward. It was better than trying to force each other to look closer and more friendly than they actually were.

Over the next few days, they talked more about the plants and herbs. It seemed that Lenore was testing his knowledge most of the time, but that was fine. Raiden felt that he needed a reason to recall everything he learned, and that would help him in the long run.

Lenore also explained that she tried to make Iri follow in her footsteps the moment she noticed that she was too adventurous. Still, that didn't work... in the end, Iri only learned magic because it would help her with her goal to explore the world faster. Lenore felt a bit disheartened, but she knew that Iri was a lot like her father in that regard... Apparently, Harth barely could stand still in the village when he was young; he changed when he got married and when Iri was born. Now, he had more reasons to be there than to leave.

It didn't feel like Raiden and Lenore got closer, but they found some common topics to talk about on a daily basis without running out of things to say. During those two weeks, he learned a lot from her.

"This one here seems to be growing a lot better and faster than the others," Lenore said while pointing to the vase that Raiden had leveled up.

She was really sharp... Raiden had planned to level up the others after gaining some more money, and thanks to it, Lenore was able to identify it. He escaped further questions by saying that the plant was of high quality or the soil was, and Lenore accepted. She occasionally would create some that were like that as well.

In any case, around the time for Raiden, Javier, and Ruth to do their test to reach the next level of the tower of mastery, they decided to see how things would be for real, and then they climbed one of the stairs that led to the top of the wall and began to run around it.

As they scampered along the edges of the walls, they couldn't help but marvel at the breathtaking sight that unfolded before them. Lush green fields stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with colorful wildflowers that swayed gently in the breeze. The distant mountains, their peaks kissed by wisps of clouds, added a touch of grandeur to the landscape.

After enjoying the scenario, Javier and Ruth froze on the spot once they realized how high in the sky they were... the worst thing that they could do in a place like that was to look downward, and they did that. Still, eventually, they got used to it.

With renewed enthusiasm, the trio continued their race along the walls. They ran freely, their worries momentarily forgotten, feeling the rush of exhilaration that came from being on top of the world, even if it was only for a little while.

Raiden didn't make sure that they ran without stopping, but he felt that they were fit enough to pull that off. The only issue was if they could read a section of a book completely. After returning home, Raiden gave them one of the books he borrowed for them to read... while medicine books were complicated, they managed to read quite a bit.

"I guess you didn't slack off... but you should choose easier books to read in front of the others," Raiden said after crossing his mind.