After waking up from the short night, the Soaring Boar party and Kaelen finally made their way out of the dense jungle and into a more spacious terrain filled with green pastures brightly illuminated by the sun.
Upon confirming that there weren't any dangers in the area, they decided to rest under the shade of a tree.
"What do we do now, Lead?"
Arthur asked as he rested his head on the bed of grass, his fingers interlocked behind his blond scalp— serving as a pillow.
"..."
Hearing his question, Julius did not respond immediately and stole a glance at Kaelen, whose gaze was planted on the ground.
"We'll continue in the afternoon, the sun is too hot and we can't risk being dehydrated. Who knows if there are even sources of water up ahead."
He turned to face the sun that was dead-center in the middle of the sky, and then he narrowed his eyes to the seemingly endless plains before them.
"Alright, guess I'll just take a nap then."
Arthur smiled lazily and closed his eyes.
"Kaelen. How about me and you spar for a bit?"
Julius returned his attention to Kaelen, his words puzzling not only the boy, but all who heard him, even Arthur open his eyes wide.
"...Spar with me?"
The boy tilted his head.
"Yes, come now. You seem well-trained so perhaps sparring with me will jog your memory?"
Julius did not stutter and conveyed his intentions clearly before turning to lead the way, and Kaelen paused for a bit, before reluctantly following him.
"The hell? Didn't he just say we shouldn't risk being dehydrated?"
Margaret was puzzled as she watched the duo walk to another shade not too far from the one the party rested under.
"Don't worry. He probably has good intentions."
Helena masked her worry and supported her husband.
[He's becoming impatient...]
Hank deduced.
"Well... This ought to be interesting, let's see if this Monster can fight like a Human."
Igor grumbled and sat down eagerly, his words earning him the glares of his party members, but none said anything.
"So? How are you feeling?"
Julius stopped and began unstrapping his vambraces and breastplate, the heavy armour hitting the ground with a loud thud.
What he wore underneath his chain mail was a long-sleeved brown vest that looked to have been made from the thick hide of some sort of herbivorous creature — it was essentially almost like leather, but not as hard, and it fit him perfectly as it outlined his bulky frame and well-defined abdomen.
[How hasn't he suffocated wearing all that?]
Kaelen wondered in silence before responding:
"I'm feeling alright... Much better now that we're out of the jungle."
The boy smiled.
"Is that so? And how are you liking the others?"
Julius rubbed his forearms which had been sore from how tight he had fastened his vambraces.
Kaelen glanced at them and answered:
"They seem like really good people. Margaret and Arthur are especially funny, haha!"
Kaelen couldn't help but burst out in laughter as he recalled the childish banter between those two.
"You must really like them then."
"Yes I really do, they —"
"What weapon do you normally use?"
"Ah, I usually use the s —"
[!!]
[... This sly man, he almost got me!]
Kaelen's smile faded but he quickly covered it up with a look of confusion, as if he was trying to think hard.
"S-something?... I don't remember..."
Kaelen gazed at his palms and purposefully made them tremble, putting on yet another Oscar-worthy performance.
[Had I told him what weapon I use then my lie of having lost my memories would have been...]
[He's really sharp...]
[I can't afford to let my guard down around him. Who knows what they'll do to me if they find out that I'm not Human...]
Kaelen raised his cherry-pink eyes to study Julius's expression.
[Does he suspect me? I can't get a read on him at all.]
He closed his palms and balled-up them up, forming fists.
"That makes sense, you did lose your memories after all..."
"Then, we'll spar using hand-to-hand combat, would that be okay?"
Julius readied his posture, raising his bulky fists and tucking his chin in-between them.
Seeing this, Kaelen adopted the same posture.
"You seem ready. Then, here I come!"
Ta! Ta! Ta!
Julius charged like a raging bull and unleashed his fist.
[!!]
Kaelen bent his knees to duck and immediately took three steps closer to negate Julius's advantage in reach.
Pow!
He unleashed his tiny fist, aimed at the Adventurer's abdomen, but Julius deftly raised his knee to block.
"Urgh!"
Kaelen felt his knuckles throb, he felt as though he had just struck a boulder.
[Hmm... His battle-sense isn't bad, he wastes little time counterattacking after he evades.]
[However!]
[!!]
Thud!
Julius extended his raised knee, unleashing a front kick that connected with the boy's chest, sending him rolling on the ground.
[He's a bit over-reliant on his own ability, it's almost as if he doesn't think of what would happen if his attack fails.]
[A common blunder made by those with little to no experience in battle.]
Julius did not spare a second more on his musings before charging at the boy again, unleashing a similar attack to the first one.
And just like before, the boy, Kaelen, crouched to evade and readied himself for a counter attack, but...
[!!]
[... A feint?!]
The boy screamed inwardly, seeing that Julius had also lowered his posture and rotated, performing a rapid leg-sweep.
However, Kaelen instantly leapt to evade and clasped his hands together to unleash a clubbing blow atop Julius's head.
[As I thought...]
Julius smirked and raised the same leg he had used in an attempt to sweep the boy and unleashed a kick with the momentum he had garnered.
[!!]
Pow!
"Argh!"
The kick connected squarely with Kaelen's ribcage, sending him a short distance away within the shade's diameter.
"Don't be rash and make such big moves. It leaves you open."
"That's no good Kaelen..."
"It is simply not enough to be two steps ahead of your opponent. You must be at least four — No, five steps ahead at all times."
"Anticipate how they move based your actions. Don't let them control the flow."
Julius lowered his leg and slowly approached Kaelen who was favoring his throbbing side.
[Is he... Training me?]
Kaelen grunted and straightened his posture.
[...Five steps ahead?]
"Got it. Let's go again!"
Kaelen strangely became excited and this time, he was the one to charge at Julius.
Ta! Ta! Ta!
He zigzagged toward Julius and finally aimed at his left side before pouncing at his leg like a leopard.
[A tackle?]
[Did he not hear what I just said about big moves that leave him open?]
Julius was slightly disappointed as he shifted his body side-ways, such that his left leg was in front of his body, his left arm stretched out and his head facing Kaelen.
[If you do that, I can just...]
Julius thrusted his left arm to push the boy away, but...
[!!]
The boy surprised him by arching his spine forward, pressing both arms against the ground and coiling them, before springing into the air whilst performing multiple rotations.
[Heh! The lunge was a feint?!]
Julius grinned as he watched the boy's heel descend upon him with great velocity.
Thud!!
A resounding thud echoed throughout as Julius parried the boy's kick with his left forearm.
"You're still open!!"
Julius roared and unleashed his right fist.
[!!]
[He was able to dodge in mid-air?]
[Incredible! He used the recoil from my parry as momentum to evade!]
Julius was amazed to say the least, but before he could unleash his attack, Kaelen, still in mid-air, gripped the fabric on Julius's arm and pulled as hard as he could, catapulting himself toward Julius.
[!!]
Julius saw the boy rotate once more to unleash a spinning back elbow.
Pow!
The seasoned Adventurer blocked the boy's tiny elbow with his palm before swatting him away like a fly.
"Huff..."
[Damn it, I thought I had him there...]
Kaelen caught his breath and wiped his sweat, simultaneously coiling his feet to charge again.
[That was amazing! Let's do it again!]
Kaelen's excitement grew.
"I'm learning so much from you. Please, let's go again!"
The boy couldn't wait for another bout.
[This kid...]
Julius smirked.
"The mind may forget, but the body remembers!"
"How about we take things up a notch?"
Julius was amazed that such a small child could move like that, he wondered what rigorous training he must have gone through to reach such proficiency and have such muscle memory.
[This might be the key to his memories.]
[I'll push him even further!]
Julius resolved himself, bulging veins forming on forehead and fist.
"Take things up a notc—?"
[!!]
Before Kaelen could even finish speaking, he felt like he was suffocating, his knees trembling.
[B-bloodlust?!]
Not on the calibre of Charymos, but it was bloodlust nonetheless, leaving him feeling like cornered prey.
Crackle!!
Julius's fist ignited in refined Mana.
[Damn it, are you planning to kill me?!]
Kaelen staggered back.
"Kaelen... You'll die if you can't block this."
[!!]
[I see! He's trying to force me to draw my Mana!]
[But with its color they'll definitely...]
Kaelen was torn between survival and keeping his secret.
"Prepare yourself, Kaelen."
[Show me that power you used to kill the Orc... Ever since then, I haven't been able to sense his Mana, does this boy have an item that hides it? Or is it a high level skill that even me, a Gold rank Adventurer cannot see through?]
Julius began to slowly walk toward the terrified Kaelen, the beat of his every step sinking deep into Kaelen's chest.
[He's seriously going to kill me?!]
[Should I just use —]
[No, wait... This guy...]
[He's fooled me twice already... I won't allow a third.]
Kaelen drew heavy breaths to calm his nerves before puckering up his pinkish lips to cast a spell under a whisper:
■■ Creator's Eye: Foresight.■■
[!!]
Sensing a sudden spike in Mana, Julius stopped momentarily, but continued as he saw that Kaelen wasn't doing anything. He was also oblivious to the dendritic pattern in Kaelen's pink eye.
[Was I mistaken? Or did he just cast a spell?]
"Goodbye, Kaelen."
In the blink of an eye, Julius was already in front of Kaelen, his Mana-clad fist aiming to puncture his head.
[!!]
But... Before he could even touch a single one of Kaelen's snow-white strands of hair, Julius stopped himself.
Fwosh!!
"Ahhh!!"
Kaelen screamed and shuddered, the gust of wind that accompanied Julius's attack, knocking him off his feet.
"Hey that's enough Leader! Are you trying to kill him?!"
Margaret came running and scooped-up the trembling boy in her arms.
"Yeah Lead, you've gone too far. Just look at him, he almost pissed himself."
Arthur too came running, followed by Helena who wore an infuriated expression.
"Honey why would you do something like that?! He's just a child!"
Helena frowned at her husband as they all continued to scold him.
But...
"..."
... Julius didn't respond to any of them, in fact, he wasn't even looking at them. His attention was focused elsewhere, deep into the jungle they had left behind in the distance.
[I may not have helped the boy regain his memories, but I have at least accomplished one of my goals.]
[This should confirm that we really are being followed by someone, or something.]
Julius had sensed a powerful presence in the distance, just before the time he had planned to stop his attack from reaching Kaelen.
[But... Why did you suddenly reveal your presence and hide it again?]
He glanced at the boy in Margaret's arms.
[Is it because you thought I would kill him?]
[Are you his parent? Then why not show yourself to us?]
The many unanswered questions made Julius weary.