"Do you sense anything, Reen?"
Eren was seen hiding behind a large tree. In front of him was a large waterfall that had been created by the Leona river making its way through the uneven terrain. The other side of the river was regarded as the Themyscira region.
That's right! Eren was here to see if he could take away Malva Hibiscus without anyone's help. Levine had told him he'd be able to find the ingredient after entering the Themyscira Amazon's region.
But what she didn't know was that the ingredient was located not far from the border itself. The same border between the Amazon's and LA's respective areas of governance.
The butcher was hiding because the C-Rank beast that was protecting the Malva Hibiscus was said to be dwelling in this area. In the previous timeline, the time at which the 5th year student had retrieved the ingredient was during winter when the C-Rank beast that was protecting it was drowsy due to hibernation.
But it was still summer during this timeline. Eren couldn't count on catching the C-Rank beast off guard. He had to either avoid the beast completely or kill it then and there. Because the beast would keep on following his trail if he tries to break free after getting detected.
That's why he was depending upon Reen's senses. She was scanning the area with her mana sense to locate the C-Rank magic beast. And since she was a demon beast, the mana beast won't necessarily act in a hostile manner after being scanned by her senses.
"Um… I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the beast is old and injured. It's a tiger type beast that is suffering from an injury on one of its hind legs. It is currently resting on a raised platform created by a large rock located on the other side of the river. Not very far from here.
The bad news is that the beast who must have injured it is also nearby. It is also a tiger type beast that is also suffering from a gaping wound on its abdomen. It seems there was a turf war.
The nearest beast from us has lost the battle. But it is refusing to let go of the ingredient it is protecting. The young beast that has won the turf battle wants to make sure it is in good health before their showdown begins for the next time.
But the old beast is cunning. It is planning to attack the young beast at night to take care of it for good, allowing it to secure both the turf and the ingredient necessary for evolution."
Eren was left aghast by the amount of information that was provided to him. He couldn't help but ask:
"Reen, who told you about the beasts' past and their current plans?"
"The beasts themselves. They first asked me about the reason for my presence here. I told them I'm just passing by before enquiring them about their current situation. They were relieved by my answer and told me these on their own.
Oh! They also told me not to interfere in their business otherwise they'd forget the hierarchy and start to fight with me for real without worrying about the consequences."
Reen said all this like it was the most natural thing in the world. Eren slapped his forehead after hearing her explanations. Of course! She was a demon beast and could communicate with beasts of all kinds. He had subconsciously started treating her like a person. So he forgot about the peculiarity of the demon beasts.
Then the realization hit him. What the fifth year student faced or dodged was not only a demon beast in its hibernation but also the one that had been worn down by the constant turf battles with another of its kind.
But that realization didn't help Eren in his current predicament. He could create a distraction for the old beast and take the ingredient from the area under its control swiftly before running away.
The C-Rank ingredient was going to be hidden and not get easily located. But with treasure-finder Reen beside him, he wasn't worried too much about that fact. He knew he'd find Malva Hibiscus, retrieve it, and be long gone before the injured beast could snap out of the distraction and do something about it.
But the second beast had complicated matters. If he encroaches on the disputed land, both the beast will get focused on eliminating Eren first before setting their quarrel.
That meant the battle was evident if he decides to make his move now. And he wasn't ready for such a battle at all. Even with a non-battle type demon beast fighting alongside him, he couldn't overcome the challenge raised by two magic beasts in the C-Rank. Plus, he needed to adjust his battle style to his current equipment and BTP level. He couldn't just enter the fray blindsided without fine-tuning his battle skills to his current standards.
Eren's mind was clear after thinking things through. It came to a decision quickly after having all the facts at its disposal.
He needed to retreat and come up with a different plan. The butcher wasn't suicidal. Neither was he someone who liked to put himself in mortal peril before being assured of the benefits.
Eren retreated the way he came from without wasting a second more in there. He needed to plan things up a little before coming here again. But when his plans succeed, he won't just have the ingredient but also the bodies of two C-Rank beasts. He could make a small fortune selling them off in a black market.
****************
Two days had passed and Eren was back at the check-post again. Marla was waiting for him there as they had planned.
"Holy Artemis, you broke through into the liquid stage already? Whaaa… what did you do?"
The first question Marla asked Eren was driven by utter surprise. The boy had just raised his BTP suddenly. But now he had even crossed a small stage. There was something up with this student.
"Aaah! Yes. Even I wasn't planning to break through into the liquid stage of the F-rank but was still able to because of a transcendent spell."
"Go on."
Marla wanted him to explain further. Which the butcher did with his blend of truth and bullshittery. He concluded his explanation with his recent success in completing the Besanc missions he had assigned to himself.
"Purple Lightning snake must have been an apt match for you to break through like that. Your choice to go for that beast was spot on.
That's the secret behind any successful ranker. They are less famous for their talents and more for the choices they made along their respective journeys. You too are up to a good start.
Anyway! It's good that you broke through the next stage. It'd help you greatly in the upcoming intraclass ranking wars. And it'd also help you in your regime planned by me."
Let's not waste time anymore. Here's your regime. Your ID stone will keep track of your daily progress."
Saying that Marla sent him his regime through her spectral screen. Eren opened the screen from his end and accepted the same. Now he could see a new tab gets opened that read 'Official Apprenticeship'. And the sub-tab had the list of his daily regime.
The variety of exercises and the number of their reps were overwhelming. And what was even more overwhelming was the fact that he couldn't take weekends off in his exercise schedule.
Eren had a sweat on his forehead just thinking about following this regime. And this was after he had broken through into the liquid stage.
And he couldn't skip any of the variations or tweak the number of reps his way because the ID stone was going to keep track of things. The butcher never thought Marla was a low-key sadist by giving him this schedule when she thought he was still in the initial stage of the F-rank. Things would have gotten much worse if Eren had decided to break into mid-stage before meeting the voluptuous amazoness two days ago.
"Chop chop, boy. Your daily regime has started from today. If you want a productive afternoon and evening, you might want to start completing the daily regime in the morning. And make sure to have plenty of nutritious food and sound sleep every day. Otherwise, your body would just break down instead of getting better due to the training.
You will meet me twice a week. I'll inform you about the scheduled date, time, and place along with the job type. Don't worry. I will make sure that your potion-making lessons along with the paid lectures you want to be part of don't clash with my meeting schedule.
I'll go easy on you today since it's the first day of your daily regime. But we will start fine-tuning your close combat skills and practise live combat practise from the next time. I want to see how well versed you are in using the beast contract spell."
Marla had given Eren a concrete plan. Now he had a stable path planned in front of him in terms of his close combat style. Marla would guide him thoroughly when it comes to the nitty-gritty of the close combat style along with katar usage. He needed to take care of his progress in other departments on his own.
"Thank you, master Marla. I'll make sure to follow your schedule thoroughly. I'll see you after a few days."
Eren bid adieu to Marla and made his way to his dorm house. The days were going to be long and weary from this day onwards for Osan Woods' Butcher.
AN: Hi. First of all, thank you @Devos90 for donating the Golden Ticket. :)
I understand that some readers might not like reading about long author notes. Therefore they can stop reading and skip to the if they wish. But I'd like to share a few updates regarding the novel and my plans with other readers. So please bear with me.
I'll host a small contest on Discord since the premium has been started to give the winners their well-earned gift vouchers. Hope you can join the VEH Discord and take part in the same. ;)
Lastly, I'm excited to tell you guys that I've started another project. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time, even before the start of VEH. I started this project because it suits this week's writing content theme (WPC 234) perfectly.
That's right. It's a contest entry. Same as VEH.
I'll be honest. The novel won't have any intimate scenes for a good while. Or it might not have them at all. But the plot still revolves around a cunning, ruthless protagonist that puts his self-interest first before anything else.
I'm sure most VEH readers would like The Meta Oasis equally. Therefore, kindly add it to your library and donate power stones to it. For the next two weeks, divert all your power stone depositions to The Meta Oasis. It needs them the most in this contest.
And if you can, leave a short review based on the chapters published so far. Hope to see you there! ;)
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