Where did these knives come from? Just what is happening here.

He looks inside the case, which is filled with various kinds of knives. He picks up a long-curved blade about 15 inches in length and examines it, a flush of information enters inside his mind seconds after holding the blade. He gets the name of the blade, which is Kukri, it is a weapon from earth used in wars. He throws the blade inside and case and stands up.

How did it get here? Was it because of me?

The fatigue and sleep disappears from his mind and body and is replaced with thirst for some answers. He takes a seat and retraces his memory, starting from him holding the core. He gives a long thought and comes up with a theory, the energy from the beast core transformed into some different energy entering his body which caused the core to be crumble. The said energy was then used as a fuel to bring the box over here from earth.

“But something doesn’t add up. I had held monster cores before, but I never had this sort of reaction. Is it because….” He mutters but is unable to find a reasonable explanation for this unnatural phenomenon.

He wants to wake up Lara and ask for answers, but he decides against it and is willing to wait until morning to get his answers, He closes the case and drags it to his room, as soon as he lays down he falls asleep.

“Aii.., so much pain.” Rex gets up while wincing in pain, his body is in pain and the legs are the most affected. He even had cramps in both of his legs late at night which gave him trouble sleeping. He staggers towards the suitcase and picks up a folding knife about 8 inches in length, he is not going to show her the entire case of knives as he still does not trust her. He may be working on their relationship but that does not mean he is willing to die for her. He smiles and head towards the kitchen as he smells something tasty.

“What’s cooking beautiful girl, cause I am ready to be served. Don’t let my hunger rising, stomach grumbling as it will make my smile fall.” He sings it like Sean Kingston did in “Beautiful Girls”, with his own lyrics.

Lara doesn’t hear his masterpiece as she is lost in her own world, the tasty aroma from the curry seems to be fading away. Rex rushes forward and tries to remove the pot from the fire, he quickly grabs the pot and places it aside, but his finger get burnt. He rubs his fingers while blowing air to it, Lara quickly grabs his hands and sends some sort of cooling sensation towards to his fingers.

“Are you a six years old kid? How can you be so careless?” She gives a stern look while scolding.

He isn’t bothered with her scolding or her angry face as the worry in her eyes tell him everything. He gives a mischievous smile and starts moving his fingers feeling her hands, this is the first time that he has held her hand and he is loving the smooth feeling. Lara pulls back her hands, her face red like a tomato.

Few moments later.

“So, this is what you summoned?” Lara speaks while examining the blade closely. She has never seen a knife like this in her life, it felt more like a decorative item rather than a weapon because of its wooden designs and opening mechanisms.

“I was really shocked you know when the core disappeared, and this thing appeared out of nowhere. Do you why I was able to summon these?” He asked hoping that she has an answer for his unusual circumstances.

“As far as I know summoning requires the use of mana, but you can’t use mana at all. I don’t know what is happening with you. I am sorry.” She looks down at the ground disappointed, she really wanted to help him. If they can figure out how he summoned a knife, then maybe he could summon some powerful items and gain respect from the villagers.

He lifts her head and smiles at her, “Hey don’t worry, I may not be able to use mana and summon again but I have something that no one else has.” He puffs his chest with confidence.

“What is it?” She asks curiously.

“A loving wife who happens to be a powerful mage.”

Instead of the red face and the embarrassment he expected, he got something else in return. Lara had enough of his teasing, so she decides to be bold and try him instead.

“That I am, just remember to keep me happy or I will disown you.”

Rex is tongue-tied, he gives a smile of defeat and raises his hands. They would have gone to the forest, but the strange condition of the jungle scared them, so they had decided to go to the village for sightseeing.

KNOCK KNOCK

Rex opens the door and sees a woman slightly taller than him standing at the door, she has red hair with red eyes and she is wearing a red robe. He does not like the stare from her but still he politely asks.

“Can I help you?”

The woman raises her eyebrow and takes a step back to look at the house after nodding her head she again walks towards him and stops in front.

“Lara, where is she?”

“You are a friend of Lara, please come inside and have a seat.” He turns back and calls for Lara, the woman does not enter the house and instead waits at the door. Lara quickly arrives when she hears that someone is there for her, when she sees the woman she gives a bright smile.

“Sister Julie, when did you get back? I missed you so much.” Lara drags her inside the house while Rex goes inside the kitchen bring water.

He gives both of them the water and heads to his room so that they can talk freely. Within few minutes he hears knock from the door and he opens it, he see Lara who is standing in her battle dress.

“Where are you going?” She had just changed recently as they were ready to go and see the village together.

“I am going inside the forest with sister Julie, they are on a mission to check the danger inside the forest.”

“Don’t go, you know that something is wrong. It is too dangerous.” He grabs her hand while.

“You don’t need to worry. I am going as a guide, they have three rank 2 mages and a rank 2 warrior. Besides we won’t enter the dangerous part of the forest and they are paying us 2 gold coins.” She says with excitement.

After listening to her explanation, he can’t say no, he gives a slight nod and leaves her hand. Lara gives him a quick surprise hug and runs away, he goes down to see them off.

Few hours later.

The sun begins to set and yet Lara has not returned, he starts getting worried. He walks around the house trying to ease his fears, praying that everything is okay. A knock on the door brightens his mood as he rushes to open the door, but he is disappointed when he sees a group of men outside.

A large muscular man steps forward and says, “The mage group should have returned but they are still not here. If something happens to them our village will lose face, we know your wife has gone with them and if you want you can join us.”

Rex smiles and politely declines, “The mage group are very powerful, I think they will be back after few hours. No need to worry.”

The group starts leaving and as he is about to close the door he hears someone speak.

“Such a coward, I told you we should not have come here. Such a beautiful woman wasted on him.”

Rex makes his way towards his room with heavy steps, he knows that the forest in the night is more dangerous. He doesn’t want to be a hero as he knows his weakness, he looks at the suitcase and sighs.

Flashback

Lev is inside a prison cell doing pushups, his body is drenched in sweats, his veins bulging due to blood flow. He does his last set before falling on the ground panting. He looks at the corner where Greg is meditating.

“Meditation won’t make you wise.” Lev gives a chuckle.

“Reach my age and you will start thinking otherwise.” Greg doesn’t bother opening his eyes.

“Oh, is that so. What wisdom will the great one impart on me.” Rex kneels on the floor while opening his arms.

“Don’t make decisions that you will regret.”