Chapter 8
Salem POV
I was just sitting by the sabers as Ashton got his injuries healed and was looking at the scene before me in a lot of confusion. After the Sabers were done with the grootslang the thing barely looked alive at this because you know its trunk got blown off but it still lived to which I gave it points for its resilience. After that, about an hour later some dudes who looked like this country's military force came by and apparently Mr. Locknut contacted them. They popped up and they sealed the grootslang in some big transparent magic box, I guess.
"Wait if they had these guys on speed dial then why did you call them earlier to help with the research wouldn't that be safer?" I asked Maroon.
"It would but the large numbers of people, especially the large number of Pegasus knights would have possibly alerted the grootslang and made it keep its distance or attract some more unwanted attention from stronger monsters from deeper within the forest." She explained to me.
"Or the university was too cheap to hire them." Ashton jokes.
"Okay so how does Locknut have their number on speed dial?" I asked again.
"Well kid, Hercules university is the top school in the country so it makes sense that they have some connections in higher places." Ashton answered me as we watched them finish the preparations to transport the grootslang.
Then the zoologists walked over to us with a tall guy with them. He was about very tall in height, short black hair in a buzz cut, grey eyes and a goatee and finally he had the same black armor in contrast to the white ones the others wore. Guess he must be the one in charge of the knights here.
"Members of the Griffin wing guild, we thank you for your assistance with the field research." The knight thanked them formally.
"Guild?" I said in mild surprise looking at the saberwolves.
"Oh, it's a place where people with magic like you and the saberwolves join to earn money for special requests brought to it." Ivory explained to me which I didn't need as I already knew what guilds were.
I was just a little surprised that the saberwolves were a part of a guild; they seemed more like a freelance mercenary group. I mean they sort of fit the part with their outfits and I heard Ashton and whisper call Queens boss.
"Yeah, again thanks for helping us out, Maroon-chan. I know that you had a busy week and…" Lily was then cut off.
"Lily it's fine a friend asked for my help and I answered and besides we get paid handsomely so it was a bonus." The Queen smiled at her.
"I hate interrupt but is someone going to pay me or what?" I just wanted my share.
"Ah yes the young man I didn't forget George-san told us about your little deal so here's 100,000 crowns, a map, and a compass." He said as I saw my awards as two knights carried them.
"Can I please get a bag to carry all that stuff?" I asked as there was no way I could fit all that stuff plus the extra stuff I was going to get in hand.
"Of course bring a bag for the lad and while you're at it get him some fresh clothes and shoes as a bonus." He told one of the knights and it was nice of him.
"HAI SIR!!"
"Hey Salem, can I ask what you will do after this?" Whisper asked me and my eyes to widen as I really didn't think of that.
"To tell you the truth I really don't know." I answered. Now I've read some stories involving Earthland and the MCs decide to join the fairy tail guild and if there dudes their usually fucking Erza, Mirajane, Lucy, Cana or all of them. Now as for me I don't think I want to involve myself with that crazy place.
I know that the fairy tail guild is great and has a lot of amazing people in it who will treat you like family and members you can chill with normally it was just too rowdy for me. But the main problem is that from what I've watched too many people want to smoke with them, other guilds, powerful dark guilds, the magic council, and whole ass kingdoms. So yeah i'm good.
"Well lad if you're unsure you can always join the Pegasus knights as a recruit." The Knight boss offered me and I saw Maroon raise an eyebrow.
"Seriously?" I was taken back by the offer.
"Well of course I sense a good chunk of magic power coming from you especially for someone your age. If you join us, we will properly educate you in how to wield it to help the good people of the kingdom and provide basic necessities for living." To be that sounded like a good deal but I don't really know the politics of this place and government workings of this place so getting involved with would be a little bit of a gamble and they tend to be complicated.
"Or you could come with us and join our guild." Ashton said. "Trust me you'll have way more fun there than in Lucas boring ass knight camp." He joked.
"Ashton-san I would urge you to show a little more respect to the person who has bailed you out of danger multiple times." The knight said a little annoyed.
"Come on Lucas, learn to take a joke." Guess they have a history. My awards came back but this time the money, money, map and compass were in a bag while the clothes were given to me by hand and I went behind a tree to change. It felt nice wearing something new.
"Sorry my guys, as great as you'll offer, I need to get some stuff sorted out before I can properly settle down." I apologized which both men just nodded in understanding.
"It's okay you can join the Pegasus knights anytime you wish you can. Don't worry about the bag being too small, it has a good amount of space." The Knight said.
"Hey come visit the guild sometime it's in Dreoon town." Ashton said as I was about to say goodbye.
"Oh and here is some food for you for the way. This is a bonus for me saving George-kun." Lily said giving me a box which had some food in it which I thank her for
"Do you even know where the next settlement is or how to read a map?" Whisper asked me to get me to stumble before I could walk off.
"W-well map reading y-yes but the next village or town I uh." I stammered a bit and Queens chuckled in amusement.
"The nearest town is Enia, just head straight west from here. If you find a trail and follow it you'll find the town." She instructed me.
"Thanks well byeee!" I saluted and ran off.
"Wait!" I heard Whisper speak but didn't get the whole thing as I sped off to my destination.
Third person POV
"Wait, you're going the wrong way!" Whisper tried to tell him but he was already gone.
"Well at least you tried Whisper." Maroon patted her back. "So, Lucas, why did you offer the kid the position?" She asked the knight captain.
"Just trying to put the child on the right path before any dark wizards get to him. You know things have been hectic for the past month." He sighed.
"Very much." She nodded.
Back to with Salem POV
"Wow they really did a number on this place huh." I said as I looked around the destroyed area the fight took place. I then found my target, some blood belonging to the grootslang. "BINGO!" I yelled.
"Beast soul: Werecheetah!" I transformed into my werecheetah form as I memorized its scent and began running around in high speed following the trails of were its scent comes off the most.
After some time I found a large cave entrance and transformed back to save power. After I got in, I walked around carefully as I looked around the cave. It was dark and chilling and I stumbled over the corpses of dead humans and animals alike. Honestly, the deeper I went in the more I wanted to turn back but I then found what I was looking for.
"Cha-ching!" I was in glee as I saw some diamonds and gold in the cave. The grootslang was said to guard its treasure in its caves in African mythos but I didn't know if it would also translate in this world too, so honestly it was a gamble. "Damn I wish I knew requip magic to put all this stuff in my personal pocket dimension!" I said as I put a good amount in my bag as I didn't want to overload it.
After I was done, I transformed into my rabbit form and dug multiple deep holes and buried the treasure underground as planned to come back again to get them. It wasn't the most efficient way to hide treasure but it will do for now.
It was already dark so traveling at this time really wasn't safe so I got out of the cave and slept in a tree as I didn't want to sleep in a place full of skulls. Luckily the grootslaang marked this territory as animals backed off this area.
Next day
The next day I woke up early in the morning and then followed Queens instructions and looked for the trail to the town. After I found the trail after a few hours of fighting and avoiding monsters and animals, it was a straight shot to the town and then I arrived. It seemed like a nice little town and I was just glad I wanted to be on eggshells anymore every time I just wanted to take a breather.
"Now where the hell is the nearest restaurant to this place." I looked around.
Salem's POV
After I asked around for the nearest small restaurant, I found a place called pearls dinner and went inside for some grub. The place was like your typical dinner, nothing special and I wasn't that busy so there were empty seats. So, I just got to a table and looked at the menu.
"Hello there honey you here alone?" A waitress asked me.
"Yes ma'am." I simply answered and put the menu down. "I'll have two chicken tender plates with mayonnaise dipping, a large steak, three chicken wraps, an apple pie and a vanilla milkshake please." I ordered and she had an unsure look on her face when I did. "Don't miss it , I promise." I did understand the anime world or not. Any person would wonder if a kid my new age had any money on me.
After some minutes of waiting, I began to chow down and my big order got the attention of some customers. In was hungry due to the long traveling and monster hiding and fighting since morning. After some time I was done with my meal and was satisfied.
"Finished sweaty?" The waitress came by and I nodded. "You must have been really hungry huh little guy." She chuckled. "Do you need anything else?".
"Am yeah can I get a beef burger and some chicken wings to go please?" I asked and she nodded. After some minutes she came back with my take-way and I paid in full for everything and left her a tip much to her relief.
"Oh thank god I thought you were going to pull a din and dash." She chuckled.
"Well thanks for me see ya." I said my goodbyes and was now on the streets just wandering around.
'Hum I should probably find a place to crush first rather than cash in all these diamonds for extra income.' I thought to myself as I just asked some people for a place I could get a room which brought me to a moderate motel of sorts.
After I got a room much to the clerk's confusion on why a child as myself was there alone I managed to get a room. It wasn't anything fancy but it was good enough. A jumped on the bed and snuggled into the pillow being so long since I've slept on a soft surface.
"Aw man that feels nice." I then took out the box containing the chicken wings and some savings and a burger for my dinner. I just took out my map and started looking into the locations of this country to at least get a rundown of it.
"Man, since I am not in fiore I don't know what to expect." I scratched my head and got up from my bed. I left the map, compass and the leftover crowns in a drawer in the room and took the diamonds to cash them in.
After I looked at the room behind me and saw it was 3:00, I still got time before it got dark. I left the motel complex and began to look around.
"Earthland is a world in medieval/modern times or something. I don't know the time and technology of the series really confused. But there has to be gold for cash somewhere." I scratched my head. I then decided to ask someone for help when I saw a man with buzz black hair by a bench.
"Hey mister, is there a place where I can trade some stuff?" I asked him.
"Huh what kind of stuff kid?" He asked me, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh you know like trading a watch you have on you for some quick cash." I said and he nodded.
"Well kid there's a place two blocks from here called Tit for Tat. Just go straight, take a right and finally go straight again to get there. Trust me you won't miss it." He instructed.
"Thanks mister."
"No problem kid." He then went on with his business.
After I followed his instructions and saw a building which had the Tit for Tat sign on it. I then got in the building and saw the place was empty and saw a guy but a counter so I walked over to him.
"Hey there little guy, what can I do for you?" He asked.
"I'm well you guys exchange items for money right." I asked and he nodded. "Well I like to exchange some diamonds for cash." I said my eyes widened.
"May I see one?" He asked and I took out a diamond and handed him one of the gems for him to inspect. "Hm nice very nice this is the real deal alright." He muttered.
"So what do you think?" I asked.
"What I think. BOYS WE FOUND OUR BIG BREAK!!" He yelled much to my confusion and suddenly was tied together by some energy chains and brought to the floor my bag separated from me.
"HWHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!!" I yelled in surprise. The appearance of the place changed to an old run down looking bar. 8 men then came out and one of them was the guy I asked directions from. "YOU THIEVING ASS MOTHERFUCKER!!" I stared at him and the whole group which they laughed at.
"Wow kids got some colorful language huh." One of them said,
"Well kid, consider this a lesson kid." The buzz cut guy said. I was not about to let these assholes rob me and get away with it.
'BEAST SOUL: WERECHEETAH!' I transformed into my cheetah form but I was still in binds. "RAGGH" I roared as I strangled to break the binds which I did. The guys seemed to be in shock. I don't know if it was the transformation or the binds.
"SHIT HIS ALSO A MAGE!"
"HIS JUST A KID PLUS THER- AHHH!!" He didn't finish his sentence as he was the one holding my bag and I slashed his chest at high speeds gushing blood and I grabbed my bag but before I could run for the door my feet were stuck in some mud like substance.
"Like my MUD MAGIC: QUICKSAND kid." One of them said as he turned some of the floor to quicksand.
"You're not going anywhere with those goods kid. Especially after what you did to our boy" The big biggest one said, cracking his knuckles.
"Go fuck yourselves." I said I could so I burst out of it with my speed.
"Bind magic: Net!" One of them said and flung a net at me which I easily dodged but it stuck on the door preventing me from leaving and I quickly punched him in the face sending across the room.
The others tried to attack me but only 3 seemed to have magic plus they weren't very fast so I was running circles around them but they sure could take my hits.
"OHF FUCK BOSS HIS TOO FAST!!" One of them yelled as he was struggling to stand as I kicked him hard in the gut.
"JOE!!" The buff guy yelled as there was a claw mark on his cheek.
"Got it! MUD MAGIC: MUD RING!" The whole floor turned into mud so I slipped and fell on the floor.
'Not a problem ANIMAL MAGIC: OWL!' I went into my owl form and noticed all the guys' boots were glowing. was in the air which gave me a little advantage but the space was too small for me to properly maneuver but I could still make it work.
"FLARE!" The leader yelled and a blinding light blocked my vision of everything. Then I felt something wrapping around my legs, waist, wings, neck and legs and brought me down to the floor hard leaving a crack. Most of them each had one
"NOW!!" Suddenly all the wrappings began shocking me with electricity and making me cry in pain.
The shocking went on for a while till I was out of my owl form but it still went on. I was barely conscious as I was in a lot of pain, my body twitching as my nerves and body were fried. I lost consciousness after that not before hearing those smug bustards laughter and victory over beating a child.
Sometime later
"Argh I feel like crap " I groaned as I woke up and looked around and saw I was in a clinic of sorts and sleeping on a hospital bed wrapped in some bandages.
"Oh glad you're awake." Black haired man in a lab was sitting across the room. " You sure do recover the amount of electricity in your system fast. I didn't think you'd be out for just four and a half hours." He said.
"Who are you?" I asked him.
"Oh right, Doctor Maple and an old woman by the name Matilda found you passed out on the road and brought you here." He explained. "So who did you end up like that?" He asked so I explained the incident and he looked angry and annoyed.
"Well young man bandits and dark mages have been on the high since the four horsemen died last month and yet to be replaced so please be careful."
"The four horsemen?" I asked about the new concept.
"The four horsemen are basically people who come second in running the country after the royal families." He gave me a brief explanation but I'll look into it later.
After a few minutes he gave me some painkillers and told me to take it easy for a few days. He told me to rest for the night in the clinic but I refused. He said the treatment was free which I thanked him for and I asked if he new when that Matilda lady lived so I could go thank her which he sadly didn't. I made it back to the motel even though my body still hurt like a bitch.
I collapsed on my bed and took out the food I was saving and began eating angrily . I was pissed at those guys for robbing and electrocuting me.
"They think they got away huh when I find them I will rip them apart!" I thought about all the things I would do to them.
The building shook slightly as my body glowed green as my thoughts got more violent.
"Wow, slow easy there tiger." I jumped as I heard the familiar voice.
"R.O.B?" I saw the ROB disguised as Morpheus sitting on a chair.
"Hey kid, we need to talk about something." He said seriously