Diether was now resting at the side of a road going to Farahn Village. The small village was only about 15 kilometers away so even with his small stride, he should reach the village before the sunset.

"Haa... Haa... Haa..."

​​

The young kid was a bit out of breath as he walked under the glare of the sunlight. Despite that, a smile on his face can actually be seen.

'I was walking non-stop for almost an hour and I haven't even rested in between. Did my physique improved?'

A question surfaced in his mind as he curiously observed the status of his body. This discovery lightened his mood even though he was profusely sweating.

He remembered that he was severely injured a while ago and after he grabbed the sword with his unwounded right hand, he was miraculously healed after a few moments.

He couldn't explain it unless he connects it to Arcana's ability. He knows that only powerful Arcana like an Epic rating or above has the capability of healing its owner.

'Did that healed my previous sickness as well?' Diether already has an answer in his heart so he just cleared his mind as he rested for a bit. There was still a long way to go, he just had to follow the sword's voice and learn from it.

On the other hand, Reiji was also quite happy as the 50 minutes of [ Hold On ] mission was successfully completed!

[ Congratulations! You have completed the Hold On Mission! ]

[ You have received 10 Skill Points ]

[ New Mission Created ]

[ Hold Me More! ]

[ The host must find someone who can hold him for 12 hours straight without any pause. If you were unhanded even by a second, the timer will restart.

Reward: 25 SP ]

"Whoa! What a huge leap! Can't you just give me at least 3 hours or 6 hours of mission? That is half a day, you know?"

Unfortunately, the guide didn't reply as it probably meant that it was impossible. Anyway, beggars can't be choosers.

He has to save up his SPs again so he can purchase the Sword Kinesis that he was aiming for.

"I still have this [ First Blood ] mission, if he held me using his bloodied left hand a while ago, I could've completed that as well. Sigh~ Anyway, that battle was nerve-wracking... That 10 seconds was just too short..."

He also had plans for the First Blood Mission. The reward was 1-50 SP as was noted by the guide. It means that the more blood he was drenched with, the higher the reward will be.

Or maybe, it is about the quality? A wolf's blood might give him more rewards than a rabbit's blood was his line of thought. This clarification was also not answered by the guide so he can only do his best about it.

He will only complete the First Blood mission once he had many options to select from. This way, he could weigh what would be the best blood to drench with.

Now, Reiji was a bit worried about seeing the long road they have to take.

"Hey, Kid!"

"D-diether, Master Reiji..."

"Hoo~ What a sensible child. Alright, student Diether. Before I can impart you some sword techniques, you have to improve your body. Although my technique can be learned even by a female kid, your physique was even below that of an 8-year-old girl!"

Reiji was telling the truth. After he used the [ Take Over ], he was unnerved by his body's potential.

"Sorry Master, I have a weak body since I was born..." Diether timidly answers.

"Really?"

Reiji used his [ Sense Link ] and apart from having a [ Weakened State ] due to the kid's exhaustion in walking, there was nothing else.

"Don't joke around, you have a healthy body!"

"T-this... I also noticed that, but this only happened after I held the sword, Master. Maybe I was blessed by your unimaginable power..."

"Heh. Stop that silly praises. Anyway, now that you have a healthy body, we can start increasing your muscle mass. Well, after we reached the village, that is."

"Is the road ahead safe to travel?"

"Mhmm... It is being used by merchants and travelers. But once the night came, it can be dangerous so I have to hurry..."

"Alright, then stand up and hurry. Make sure that you won't let go of the shinai..."

"Shinai?" Diether was confused by the new word. It was the first time that he heard it.

"Mhm... This is the bamboo sword's official name..."

"Aren't you an Arcana summoned by an Arcanist?" Diether curiously asked as he stood up and started to walk.

"Well, I am. But it is a long story. I might tell you once you grew up."

"A-alright, Master."

More than three hours had passed and Diether has been walking almost non-stop. When he gets hungry, he will walk in the nearby trees and look for some leaves and mushrooms as he chews them up to fill up his small tummy.

"Are you sure that it won't poison you?"

Of course, Reiji will know if the kid was poisoned, he just wanted to know how the kid learned about this.

"No, I've been eating this since I left home..."

"You're a runaway kid?"

"N-no, not really... I'm---"

Their conversation was stopped as they heard several horses' footsteps behind them. A luxurious carriage was hurrying while the coachman was shouting for him to move out of the way.

Diether complied as he quickly jumps away from the road and watched the carriage speed up. Soon, he also noticed that 5 or so hooded people were riding a horse as they followed the carriage.

He first thought that it was the guards of the person inside the carriage but he soon realized that they were shooting arrows and other projectiles at the carriage in order to stop it or to kill whoever was inside.

"Let's not get involve in this..." Reiji and Diether had the same thought as they quickly backed away and hidden under the bush.