Chapter 3: Training

Ray had a poor diet since childhood and he didn't know what core he had awakened and what could he do with it. Thus he decided to go for a hunting trip in the nearby forest. The forest was near to his residence and there were no high level beasts. He can train there as well as nourish his body as much as he can.

Soon he reached the outer perimeter of the forest. He wanted to catch a hopping rabbit. He learnt from his grandpa that hopping rabbits were not aggressive by nature and only their teeth were dangerous if one got close. If he could avoid their teeth, he could catch them. But those rabbits were pretty fast. If they catch even slight hint of danger, they would escape without a second thought.

After making up his mind, he started searching for clues of the hopping rabbits. Generally, they like to live around the patch where there was tall grass. He saw a patch of tall grass and went there without making any noise. After searching for one whole hour, he finally managed to track a hopping rabbit enjoying a fruit. He silently crouched and jumped in front of the rabbit with a blade in his hand. But just as the blade was about to hit the rabbit, the rabbit jumped and escaped at lightning speed. He tried to chase the rabbit but he could not match its speed.

"Alas! I cannot go like this. I don't know my core abilities. Without it, I cannot hope to manage catching even a harmless rabbit." He sighed and left to search for another rabbit. A whole day passed and he didn't manage to catch a single rabbit. He was tired and hungry but he didn't give up. Suddenly he saw a rabbit chewing a fruit with crunching sound. This time he didn't jumped to catch the rabbit immediately. He observed the rabbit closely. When he saw the rabbit's shadow, he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.

"Shadow, is that it?" He tried to feel his core and felt something moving within his core. The small black circle underneath the white ball was spinning. Then some information came to his mind automatically.

"Shadow walk, Shadow grasp, Shadow armor". He laughed inside his heart.

Shadow walk is to use own shadow as a springboard to walk/run twice as fast with half the effort.

Shadow grasp is a method to grasp someone's shadow. For now, he could only grasp it for 3 seconds. It could be developed with practice over time and also depends upon the strength of the enemy.

Shadow armor is to use own shadow as armor to nullify half the damage.

He tried shadow walk and immediately felt his body lighten up. He was faster, swifter and lighter than before. He ran back to where he was before. He saw the rabbit again. He finally made his move. With shadow walk he jumped twice as more distance and faster. The rabbit sensed him and tried to escape but Ray grasped his shadow. The rabbit didn't know why it could not move suddenly and made a heart wrenching sound. Ray slashed his blade at the rabbit's throat. The rabbit laid down limply after a final struggle. Ray sighed with relief. He finally managed to awaken his core power as well his first kill. Now he didn't have to grow hungry.

He found a safe area and light a fire. He cut the rabbit and roasted the meat. Perhaps because he was very hungry after a whole day hunt or the hopping rabbit really tasted sweet, he ate half a rabbit. Just as he was about to took the other half and leave, he saw a boy of age 15 or 16 coming from behind a tree.

"Who are you?" asked Little Ray with a wary look.

"Leave the meat and scram" said the boy arrogantly.

"Why should I leave the meat, I hunted it with my own abilities."

"You really don't know what's good for you"

Saying this, the boy suddenly attacked. Previously he was in the dark so Ray couldn't see his face properly but now that he saw him clearly, he saw two big teeth and two long ears in the boy's face. The boy resembled a rabbit. Ray had a grim expression. He didn't expect the boy to attack so fast.

"Shadow armor" Ray didn't have the time to think. The boy bite into Ray's arms with his teeth. Ray swiftly use shadow walk to dodge to his right. Even then there was a huge scratch in his left arm. The boy had rabbit power, so he was really fast, agile and dangerous teeth. Ray reached to his bag and took the half meat and threw it away with much power in a direction and run towards the opposite direction. The boy was confused momentarily. If he chased Ray, he could lose the meat. But if he chased the meat, Ray would escape. Gritting his teeth, the boy went to where Ray had thrown the meat.

"Don't let me catch you next time. I will tear you to pieces". The boy left these words for Ray to his hear.

"Hmm, next time I meet you, I will repay the favor." Sneered Ray internally.

After running non-stop using shadow walk for a while, finally Ray stopped to catch a breath.

He managed to understand his powers and eat half a rabbit. Even though he lost the other half, he was quite happy. His main purpose was to train. There was only a month and he had to raise his strength and understand his powers better.

The next morning, he decided to hunt for more rabbits. Occasionally, he would also hunt some other animals. With shadow walk to increase his speed and shadow grasp to stun and immobilize the enemy, he was really good at hunting those wild beasts. He hunted six wild beasts that day. He ate one and carried rest five. But he realized a problem. He cannot carry more beasts as he was already at his limit. So he decided to go the slum market. He saw a meat shop and went inside.

"How much does a hopping rabbit costs?" He asked to the man behind the counter.

"Chk, kid, can you even afford one?" said the man disdainfully.

"How would I know if you don't give me the price?" replied Ray calmly.

"Go away, kid, where are your parents? Don't disturb me." The man had no patience at all.

Ray was getting angry now. How could he be rude without even answering the question. He didn't want to quarrel with a stupid person. There were other meat shops as well. Just as he turned around to walk away, an old man with a stern face said "Wait".

"Dear guest, I saw you walking away just as you entered, is there a problem?"

"I just want to ask something but since I am not welcome here I will take a leave."

"Pyre, what's the matter? Dear guest, I'm sorry on his behalf. You can ask me what you want to know."

"Master, he wanted to know the price of the hopping rabbit. Look at his appearance. Can he even afford one? I just chased him away not to waste our time."

The old man frowned slightly at his words.

Ray was really angry. What does this man think of himself? He had five of those rabbit level beasts with him.

"What's the harm in answering him even if he could not afford one?" the old man gave a stern look to Pyre.

"Master…"

"Apologize to him" The old man interrupted Pyre.

But Pyre didn't apologize. The old man angrily stomped his feet and looked at the young customer.

"Young man, I am really sorry for his rudeness. And about the price, we accept to two silver coins for a hopping rabbit."

Ray thought the old man was sincere so he asked another question.

"It's ok. How much do you buy one for?"

The old man was surprised at the question but Pyre snorted without saying anything.

"We offer a silver for one."

"Alright then, I want to sell five of them."

This time both the old man and Pyre were astonished at his words. However, Pyre quickly think it's unbelievable and mocked him with a laugh.

Ray took out five beasts without saying anything and placed it at the counter.

"I initially wanted to sell them here but looks like it's not possible."

"Wait a minute young man. You can sell them here and I will even add a silver bonus to buy them all at six silvers. How's that? The old man was anxious. Someone who can bring 5 beasts at once was a very suitable business partner. He was watching Ray's face but Ray threw a glance at Pyre. The old man understood quickly. "Pyre you are fired."

"What!…..Master…Please forgive me". Pyre begged.

"Get out. If you stay here one more minute, I'll beat you down."

"Young hero, Please, forgive me" Pyre apologized to Ray but it was already too late. Ray did not even glance at him. Pyre left the shop with a dejected and angry face. He gave Ray one last look before running off. Ray didn't give a shit about him.