Ben was now a member of the Cait Shelter guild, and they partied throughout the night after he joined the guild. They don't have any young members besides Ben and Wendy after all.
"Ben-boy, I will put you on the same team as Wendy. You're older than her and seem to have some experience, so I'll leave her to you. You will be her big brother from now on." Roubaul said.
"Okay, gramps." Ben nodded.
BONK*
Roubaul hit him on the head.
"OUCH, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Ben yelled.
"CALL ME MASTER, YOU LITTLE SH*T!" Roubaul shouted, pissed.
"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE SH*T, YOU OLD FOSSIL!" Ben screamed back, also pissed.
"WHAT'D YOU SAY?" Roubaul demanded.
They have a brawl, something unfitting of their age difference. Their guild mates cheer them on, except Wendy who seemed to be concerned. But the brawl made the party livelier.
The next day...
Roubaul gave Ben and Wendy a simple job. They were tasked to hunt some animals for the guild's supplies. They can gather other foods like fruit and vegetables too, but their priority is meat.
"How many animals do we need to get?" Ben asked.
"As many as you can. We can always preserve the leftovers for future use." Roubaul informed him.
"Alright. Are you fine with killing animals Wendy?" Ben questioned her.
"I never do it and I don't think I'll like it, but I know it's needed so I will try to do it." Wendy braced herself.
"No need to be so poetic like that, but you're right you need to get used to it. For now, you'll help me defeat the animals and I'll do the processing." Ben told her.
"Yes." Wendy said in agreement.
Ben and Wendy leave the village and enter the forest. Ben brought his compass with him so they wouldn't get lost, and he also marked the trees to make it easier to find their way back. Ben wasn't familiar with this place, so he needed to take some precaution.
He was holding his machete, while Wendy only brought a knife with her. Initially she didn't want to bring it, but Ben forced her to do so. The forest is a dangerous place, so they needed to be careful. Having something to protect you is helpful.
They could use magic to defend themselves, and that's what Wendy planned to do. However, their magic power is limited, so they needed something to protect themselves after that. Ben wasn't about to risk anything, that was the reason he forced her to carry a knife.
"Ah, an apple tree." Wendy pointed at it.
"You want to take it?" Ben asked her.
"Yes." Wendy nodded.
Wendy almost used her magic to fly, but Ben stopped her.
"Don't do that. You have limited magic power, so use it wisely." He advised.
"But I can eat the air to replenish my magic power." Wendy replied.
"I know, but you need to learn to not be too reliant on your magic power. You also need to learn how to manage your magic power correctly. Eating air won't replenish your magic power completely. It's a supportive ability and it has it's limits. You might not be able to do it every time. That's why you need to be careful." Ben said sternly.
"I understand. But how will we take the apples?" Wendy asked.
"Climb the tree, or use a very long stick to push the fruit's stem and make it fall." Ben suggested.
"B-but I can't climb a tree." Wendy stammered.
"Hmm, then let's make the long stick." Ben said.
Ben and Wendy look around the area for any long branches. They also look for some vines and cut them with the machete and knife. Wendy now understood why a knife was important. It had other uses besides fighting.
After they had enough long branches and vines, Ben tied the branches using the vines until it was very long. Of course he used the bigger branches for the bottom and the thinner on the top. Ben also added a basket to the top. It was made of vines to catch the fallen fruit.
Then Ben and Wendy start to pluck the fruit using the tool. Wendy can't use it on her own, as it was heavy, so Ben helped her. They pluck up all the fruit that looks ripe and put it in their bag.
After they finish, they continue hunting for animals. Ben taught Wendy some important things during the hunt and she listened intently. Ben also made a wooden spear to aid in their hunt. He wanted to make a bow and arrow, but that would take a while.
"Wendy, look! This is an animal trail. From the shape of the trail, it seems to be a boar, but it could also be another animal. Let's set a trap here. Maybe we'll catch it before we return." Ben said.
"Yes." Wendy nodded.
Ben set a trap on the trail. It was a rope trap that will snare the target's leg and pull it upwards. He uses the vines and tree branches to set the trap and lifted a big stone as weight. Wendy carefully observed this and helped Ben several times.
After they set up the trap, they left the area to search for more prey. They walked for a while and looked around, eventually finding good prey. It was a deer, and it happened to be rather big.
"What should we do?" Wendy asked Ben.
"I'll attack it. You stay here and watch carefully! Don't make any sudden moves and keep your guard up!" Ben exclaimed.
"Do you need my help?" Wendy asked.
"Yeah, if the plan doesn't go well I will need your help. I'll give you a signal, then you attack the deer with your roar." He told her.
"Okay." Wendy said.
Ben approached the deer carefully and then hid behind a bush. He was on the deer's left, holding his wood spear tightly. He prepared his spear and then threw it towards the deer.
The spear struck the deer's front thigh, and it moved around frantically. Ben clicked his tongue because he missed the chest. He immediately ran over to the deer before it could escape.
The deer saw him coming and tried to attack him with it's hind legs. Ben moved to the side and jumped at the deer to stab it in the chest. The deer however, jumped forward and caused Ben's attack to miss.
'Damn, I still can't move that well with this body.' Ben thought.
He noticed the deer was about to run away, so Ben called for Wendy.
"WENDY, USE IT!" He hollered.
"Sky Dragon Roar!" Wendy yelled.
Wendy released a tornado from her mouth to attack the deer. Her attack wasn't very strong and it didn't kill the deer. The tornado just pushed the deer back and made it hit a tree. When the tornado dispersed, the deer was still conscious, so Ben quickly stabbed the deer in the chest to kill it.
"Good job, Wendy." Ben complimented her.
"T-thank you, but I feel sorry for the deer." Wendy stuttered.
"Don't worry. It's nature. Maybe a tiger or wolf will eat it if we don't. The best we can do now is not waste what we can get from it." Ben reassured her.
"I understand." Wendy retorted.
"Now, let's drain the blood and remove the inedible organs." Ben instructed.
Ben drained the blood, then removed the internal organs and threw away the inedible parts. He saved the lungs, liver and heart because they're edible.
After they finished, Ben decided to return to the guild. Carrying a carcass while hunting isn't a good thing to do, so they'll discard it before hunting more prey. On the way back there, Ben and Wendy found that their trap was successful. They caught a big boar.
"Wow. We're really lucky." Ben smiled.
Ben placed the deer carcass on the ground and immediately took care of the boar. He did the same thing like before and threw away the inedible organs. Ben then tied both carcasses with vines before he lifted it. It was very heavy and he wasn't able to lift both at the same time.
"Wendy, can you use a enchantment to help me?" Ben asked the young girl.
"Yes." Wendy agreed.
She then gathered her magic power and recited her spell.
"O strengthen of arm to cleave the heavens! ARMS!" Wendy exclaimed.
Ben felt his strength rising and he looked at his stats.
[Name: Ben Cooper
Age: 10
Status: Alive
MP: 1/2310
STR: 22 = 32 (10)
AGI: 20
STA: 23
INT: 22]
'It increased my strength by 10 points. That's almost half my stat. Maybe it's because she just used it on me, and it will be reduced if she uses it on multiple targets.' Ben thought.
Ben was really impressed now. Wendy was very tired now as she wasn't used to it. He knew this was a difficult spell to use, so she is really talented to be able to use it at her age.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.
"Yes, I just need to replenish my magic power a little." Wendy answered.
She sucked in some air and felt refreshed. Then, they returned to the guild. Overall, their first job was a success.