Rahka and Len walked over to meet Kayn after he had landed that impressive shot from a pretty decent distance with the bow.
"You said you weren't that good with a bow," Rahka said, still sounding shocked. "What was that about?"
Naturally, Kayn didn't want to mention that he had only made that impressive shot thanks to the help of his slime. He went with another excuse.
"I'm surprised too," he said. "I guess it was a lucky shot — but still, it was a magical beast I tracked and hunted down, right? So… did I pass your test?"
Rahka was speechless. He didn't really believe what Kayn had said, but who was he to doubt it? Sometimes lucky shots did happen.
"Yes, even if it was just luck, you tracked the magical beast efficiently. And luck is still a kind of merit. Grab the wolf's body and let's head back to the tribe before we attract more unwanted beasts."
Kayn smiled. "Leave it to me."
He walked over to where the wolf's body lay and picked it up. It was heavy. The only reason he could even lift it was because his body had already grown stronger than an average human's, thanks to mana.
Even so, it was tough. Carrying it all the way back was a struggle.
Rahka seemed to notice, but said nothing.
"Must be another test," Kayn thought.
He didn't complain once about the weight. He wanted to become part of that tribe — after all, they were the first humans he had met, and they treated him kindly despite him being a total stranger.
Considering what he'd heard about the neighboring tribes — that they were aggressive and constantly looking to conquer others — he knew he was in a privileged spot.
If one of the other tribes had found him instead... well, maybe he wouldn't even be alive now. That's why he wanted to prove himself to Rahka and to everyone else — that he was a man capable of becoming a great warrior.
At one point, when they were about halfway back, Len offered to help him. But as soon as Len moved, Kayn waved his hand and said, "I've got it."
Len looked at his father. Rahka shook his head. That was enough to tell Len he couldn't step in.
By the time they finally made it back to the tribe, Kayn was exhausted. He dropped the wolf's body where Rahka had told him to, and then lay down on the ground.
He was drenched in sweat, and his shoulders were killing him from carrying the weight of the beast. Carrying a large magical creature like that was no joke.
Despite everything, Kayn was happy. He had passed the test and learned interesting things about his summon — so overall, things were going well.
Rahka was still there with him. "You can rest for today," he said. "Tomorrow, we continue training."
That's when another warrior from the tribe came running up to Rahka. "Captain!"
He looked desperate, sprinting toward them while shouting 'Captain!' It was obvious he had something important to say.
Rahka turned to face him.
"What happened? Is everything alright?" Rahka asked.
The warrior stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath, taking deep breaths. Rahka didn't rush him, letting him speak at his own pace.
"Something really bad happened," the warrior said. "One of our people was fetching water at the river when they were ambushed and kidnapped by one of the neighboring tribes!"
Even Kayn was shocked to hear that. From what he'd understood so far, although the other tribes had been sending scouts to keep an eye on them, they had never actually done something like this.
It felt like things had escalated. First they watched — now they were acting, kidnapping one of their own, and eventually... trying to conquer the tribe.
"When did this happen? Who was taken?" Rahka asked, his voice tense.
"That's the worst part… they didn't take one of our warriors. They kidnapped one of our farmers!"
Rahka was so furious he punched the tree closest to him.
Len noticed Kayn looked a bit confused, so he leaned in and whispered, making sure not to interrupt his father's train of thought.
"The tribes have a verbal agreement not to harm civilians. Now that they've taken a farmer, they've basically broken that agreement. Things are going to get a lot more serious," he explained.
Kayn could feel Len was scared. Everyone was. That moment marked a turning point for the tribe. You could say war had officially begun — and that was concerning, because they weren't stronger than the tribe that was now attacking them.
"Show me where they kidnapped the farmer," Rahka said. "And tell all warriors to stay alert."
"Understood."
Rahka turned to Len and Kayn. "You two head home. I think we have a few days before things get worse, so don't worry for now — but be ready."
He left with the other warrior, leaving Kayn and Len behind. Neither of them really knew what to do. Since it was still daytime, Kayn decided to go back to Len's house with him. There wasn't much else he could do right now.
That's when his slime spoke to him again. "I think you need to get strong as fast as possible. Otherwise, you'll end up dead — and that means I'll die too. I don't want to die."
The slime wasn't trying to protect Kayn. She just wanted to stay alive. Kayn didn't respond to her — at least, not until they were back at Len's house. After all, he'd have to speak out loud to talk to her, and doing that in the middle of the street would make him look like a lunatic.
Once he was in his room, he closed the door and drew the curtains shut. Then, speaking as quietly as possible, he said, "And how am I supposed to get strong faster than I already am? There's no way to gain power in such a short time."
"Maybe there is. Didn't you bring me into the world using some kind of special power? So, doesn't that mean there's a way to enhance that power?"
Kayn listened to the slime's advice and decided to open his System to see if there was anything he could buy with the 10 Cryptos he'd earned. Something caught his eye.
[Magical Item Lootbox]
"Maybe… if I get something good," he thought.
Once again, he'd need a bit of luck.