1 week later
"Grandpa Wilted Grass, please drink this medicine. It would prevent your knees from hurting when it's cold at night" Rezen said politely while handing a wooden bowl filled with light green liquid
He was perfectly portraying the image of a kind and soft-hearted healer that was especially fond of old people
Of course, Rezen is not really like this. The image he is showing was merely a persona he had created to assimilate with the 'Waterside Tribe'. It made most tribesmen like him though a large part of it was his healing talent and the chance that he might be a member of one of the big tribes
Rezen was particularly kind to this grandpa not because he is fond of old people but because of this old man's son who was a Junior Mage!
A Junior Mage! That's the realm beyond the six levels of Apprentice Mages. A Junior Mage is also often called a Formal Mage as it was the real starting line for mages
That is the realm that Rezen has to enter to at least have some ability to protect himself as beings at the peak of Apprentice Mage Rank are uncountable
He still doesn't know how strong these mages really are but everyone in the Waterside Tribe looked up to them so they must be pretty powerful
Connections are important, especially for the weak and Rezen decided to form a good relationship with the father of a formal mage
"Hahaha, young man, your medicine is always extremely effective! These days, I slept really well thanks to your medicine!" Grandpa Wilted Grass replied while staring at Rezen with delight
He had already forgotten the last time that his knees didn't hurt on a cold night until Rezen appeared in the tribe. Naturally, his goodwill for Rezen has skyrocketed
"It's my pleasure to help people" Rezen replied humbly and after helping the old man out of the hut house made from mud and dried grass, he welcomed another customer
In his week of stay in the tribe, he recovered to the point that he could do light work for days and on these days, Rezen was always busy creating medicines for the tribesmen while he observed them to know how they live and to learn the values that they have. Knowing these things would help him assimilate with them and depend on their protection as it still would take some time before he could use magic again
He lived on the earth realm for quite a long time and there were still residual laws on his body and soul
The tribesmen including Rezen and the Junior Mages cannot sense it but it was there and is still affecting him. Rezen needs more time to get used to the intact laws of the universe and in the meantime, he cannot use magic
Rezen continue his work for the day, helping the tribesmen by putting medicine on their wounds or giving them medicinal concoctions when a loud sound suddenly entered his ears
Bang! Boom!
Rezen and his customers felt tremors on the ground and they stared at each other before they went out of the hut to check what happened
Moments like these cause the tribesmen's nerves to be tense as it was not uncommon for tribes to be attacked by magic beasts that are considered the overlords of the realm
Outside the hut house that was lend to Rezen were other hut houses. The tribe only has that kind of house whether a person is a weak child or a strong Junior Mage. The only thing that differs might be the size
When hoards of magic beasts attack a tribe, more often than not, they would choose to relocate to another area. As such, no one bothered making a luxurious house as they might just be forced to abandon it
The tribe only has tens of huts scattered near each other since their population is not that high
"Big Nose, how dare you take advantage of my wife! I will kill you!" A muscular man spoke loudly while his long black hair fluttered in the winds
His face was red from fury as he stared at another man with a large nose
Both of them were only wearing beast skins that hide their private areas just like most tribesmen but that is not because they cannot afford a different type of clothing
It was because in this world, clothes are a luxury for people like them and even if they can make or buy them, they would rather use their resources on a more important thing
After all, even a Junior Mage is still too weak. They can easily provide food for themselves by hunting beastlings but every hunt means risk
They might encounter Junior Rank magic beasts that are way stronger than them. Even at the same rank, there are bound to be differences in power!
"Stone Head, stop accusing me! Your wife is the one that seduced me first!" Big Nose replied
Whether it be Big Nose or Stone Head, both of them are Junior Rank mages that the tribe doesn't have many of
The last thing that the tribe want to see was these powerhouses fighting each other
"S-sir Big Nose and S-sir Stone Head, t-there might be a misunderstanding here. Please calm down first" one of the apprentice mages nearby tried to stop the two
If these two were to fight, no matter who win or lose, the tribe would still be negatively affected
Best case scenario, both sides would suffer injuries but in the worst case, one of them might even die which was a giant loss to the tribe
"Shut up!" Stone Head snapped before waving his hand
The poor apprentice mage suddenly found his body flying in the air and he collided with a nearby hut, causing it to collapse as he threw up a mouthful of blood
"Y-you... you dare hurt my brother! I will kill you!" Big Nose also snapped, turns out that the Apprentice Mage was actually his brother, and seeing what happened, all he saw was red
A strong pressure was suddenly emitted by Big Nose and his muscles bulged
'This pressure is strong, really strong but far from the level of a 7th rank mage which was natural. While the path of a 7th rank mage is a dead-end path, the fuel of their power is still origin energy which was incomparable to mana' Rezen thought while deciding to observe this battle so that he'll have more information about Junior Rank Mages
'Hmm? Is he covering his whole body with mana?'
While it was not visible to the naked eye, Rezen can sense a thin layer of mana covering Big Nose's whole body
While Rezen cannot use magic yet, he decided to hone other areas which are also helpful to a mage. One area that he trained and improved upon was his senses
Big Nose wasted no time and he charged at Stone Head, his feet causing the ground to crack as he threw a punch
"Kill me? I'll kill you first!" Stone Head said back and he did the same thing. A layer of thin mana surrounded his body and this time, Rezen notices that the mana came from his stomach where the elixir field is located
'So... it was their own mana' Rezen judged while putting some distance between him and the Junior Mages just like what the apprentice mages did
Bang!
Two fists collided mid-air, the collision causing a loud banging sound but things doesn't end there
Stone Head opened his mouth and he belched out a spray of water that almost hit Big Nose on his face if he was not able to move his head to the side in time
'No magic circle but he was still able to create a supernatural phenomenon!' Rezen's eyes glowed. He only saw such a thing from 7th rank mages but Junior Mages could also do the same
After Big Nose dodged by moving his head to the side, Stone Head used his other fist to throw a punch
Big Nose was hit on the stomach, sending him flying in the air as blood flowed out from his lips
He landed outside the area of the tribesmen's hut causing his back to hit the surrounding trees, crashing and collapsing one of them as a result
"I'll kill you!" The man recovered soon and he stood up while aggressively moving his arms to the side before waving them
An unknown force causes the debris of the broken tree to float in the air and they were all controlled by Big Nose
'Magic that is not purely elemental' Rezen thought while staring at the floating debris. Back on the earth realm, magic is purely elemental aside from the soul type and the like
However, since all magic relies on magic circles and mystic gems, making things float is still done using the power of the elements