"North," Benimaru turned his head toward that direction and pondered for a little before answering. "Okay, let's go see this demon knight."
"Yes, Lord." Ragnar immediately agreed with Benimaru without asking any questions.
But that wasn't the case with Ravenna; she curiously looked at Benimaru and asked. "Why are we going to see a demon knight?"
Benimaru just smiled at her and said, "I will tell you on the way, but first, let's tie down these little guys. We can't take them with us and can't even leave them here."
Benimaru came before the small group of meatscrapers and said it with a humble smile. "Hello, little guys. You did a good job at mining these Common Mana Crystals. So, as a reward, you guys can get to be in heaven."
The meatscraper looked at Benimaru's face, not understanding what he meant. But when their eyes met, the meatscrapers dropped to the ground like flies, unconscious.
[ Illusion Bind ], Benimaru again used this spell on them, sending them to a small heaven that he imagined which might be liked by demons.
"Ragnar, lead the way." Benimaru then said this without turning back.
"Yes, my lord. Follow me this way." Ragnar respectfully said so, showing Benimaru and Ravenna the way.
Ragnar walked in front, while Ravenna and Benimaru walked behind him, together. At that moment, Benimaru said. "You wanted to know why I am interested in seeing this demon knight?"
"Yes," Ravenna said, nodding her head. "Because I remember you saying that you would destroy the church. So why are we doing this now?"
Benimaru instantly had a face palmed. "Girl, you have a valid reason but a du- weird one."
"Anyway, let me elaborate to you." Benimaru gave a helpless sigh before explaining to Ravenna, who was a bit ashamed now. "Actually, the reason I wanted to see a demon knight in the first place was because of the church issue. But to do that, I have to get much stronger."
Benimaru came to this decision today after reading the books. He was able to make a guess at how strong a priest might be according to the power a baron wielded. No matter how much good and prosperity the church or gods might bring to the cities, they were still an outside force. The leader of that city would instantly take control of the church if the one running it was someone weaker than the leader.
Heck, Benimaru was even guessing the priest might have a bodyguard or a protector for the church who had strength equivalent to the baron.
So, thinking all of this through, Benimaru decided to halt his actions as he was very weak right now. For that reason, he decided he would accumulate strength and, along with that, expand his forces.
Then Benimaru thoroughly explained the reason, using the thinking he had earlier.
"Oh," Ravenna said, rubbed her chin, and took all that in. "So, we are still on the same mission but doing something of a preparation before completing it."
"Yes." Benimaru looked at Ravenna weirdly. 'She knows the terminology but doesn't know the practical way of using it.'
Benimaru tossed these thoughts away, instead deciding to do something else. "I have picked up some skill and spell books for both of you. Have this as a reward."
He pulled down four thin books from his system storage space and gave two pairs each to Ravenna and Ragnar respectively.
Ragnar and Ravenna took the books and carefully examined them.
Benimaru has bought many one- and two-star skills and spells, but only a select few that he felt were best suited for Ragnar and Ravenna. But it wasn't like there wasn't anything other than these; there were; it was just that Benimaru felt having too many skills under one's arsenal might slow that person down as one would only use a select few in battles.
Basically, it would be a waste of time. What if Ragnar or Ravenna decided to master all the skills and spells, but eventually they only got to know that not everything was available? It would be a waste of their hard work too.
Ragnar wasn't able to read, and neither was Ravenna, so they asked Benimaru. "What are these Benimaru?"
Yes, what are these, lord? If it is anything about writing or reading, then I have to disappoint. I can't do any." Ragnar gave an extra apology, thinking he wasn't able to do anything with the Lord's grace he received.
"It's fine." Benimaru waved his right hand, nonchalantly saying to them. "You just have to rest those on your forehead and think you mind this word — learn. You got it?"
Ragnar and Ravenna didn't say anything further and did as Benimaru told them to.
The moment they finished the series of actions told by Benimaru, the books turned into specks of light and were inserted inside their heads, making them go into a trance for a few seconds.
After they came to their senses, their eyes glowed, and Ragnar even started flattering Benimaru.
"Lord, you are amazing. I didn't know you had the power to let people learn anything just like that. I feel like these skills are engraved in my mind and body, I just have to practice them to fully master them."
Ragnar truly felt amazed, as the skills he learned made him feel that he had grown much stronger than before.
[ Counter (1-Star) – A simple yet strong martial skill that lets martial artists divert the power and use the power of his/her opponents against them. ]
[ Blurry Dash (2-Star) – A set of movements that is made into a skill, letting the martial artist dash forward in a weird way, making him/her look like a blurry image in the enemy's eyes. ]
Ravenna also showed her amazement. "Benimaru, these spells suit me very much. Now, I have more ways of attacking and defending."
"I am glad both of you liked it." Benimaru nodded his head, feeling happy that they both liked his choice.
[ Blood Spike (2-Star) - A spike made of blood bursts out of the ground, having great piercing ability and slowing down. ]
[ Corpse Bomb (2-Star) - A hated and disgraced spell that is rated down from its original rank because of the hate it received from all the mages. A spell that blasts the residual energy of a corpse by using the blood. The power behind the explosion depends on the strength of the dead body. ]
Benimaru was stupefied when he found that spell at such a low level in the shop; he thought there was a glitch in the system. But after speaking with the system, he was assured that there was no glitch. He couldn't help but gasp as he understood the power and value of this spell.
He didn't care about the negative part, which meant nothing to Benimaru as killing had no form for him, it didn't matter much what happened to the dead body except if his client was interested.
Also, Benimaru didn't show favoritism by giving Ravenna two 2-Star spells but giving Ragnar just one. He just felt the other 2-Star were not as good as that 1-Star, as it had too many practical uses.
Then a smirk grew on Benimaru's face. "The rewards don't end here. I have one more thing for you guys."
Benimaru pulled out a pair of books under the hungry and eager eyes of Ravenna and Ragnar. He handed those books to them and told them to do the same thing.
"Oh, so this is a way to cultivate mana." Ravenna wondered out loud, receiving her boon, so did Ragnar.
What Benimaru gave them now was cultivation techniques. One was a vitality technique called Great Tiger and Bear Art for Ragnar and a magic technique called Mana Blessing Technique for Ravenna.
These two had their own specialties that Benimaru felt would greatly benefit them.
Clap
Then Benimaru clapped his hands, bringing them both out of their daydream. "Okay, you guys can do anything with these after returning home. First, we should check up on this demon knight."
Ravenna and Ragnar nodded their heads, calming themselves down, but from the way Ragnar led them — enthusiastically and fervently — made Benimaru know that they were still not able to calm down their hearts.
Benimaru didn't mind, as he knew they both still had not enjoyed anything in their lives, which made him realize that he also had not thoroughly enjoyed life, so he decided to capture ever such moment in his memories.
Ten or so minutes later, Ragnar stopped Benimaru and Ravenna. He pointed his finger forward and said to them, "Lord, the one sitting on top of the tree is the demon knight of this area."
Benimaru and Ravenna looked ahead and saw a skinny yet toned-muscled demon sitting on top of a thick branch, leisurely sitting while chewing on a human hand. It had a rosy body, a pair of spiral short horns, and a snake-like tail, but no wings on its back.
Benimaru raised his eyebrows when he saw it, as it was not what he was expecting. 'Can't there be anything like Ragnar or Ravenna who has a simple human-like body?'
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