The Traveler: Martial Druid

Chapter 13

After that day Aria kept visiting Katsuo but she would run away the moment she sensed Aranel Sensei. Today was also one of those days.

But today carried a deeper meaning for him. Today was the day he could finally start learning how to use mana!

After his  [Martial Arts: Seiryuu Style Karate] skill reached Elementary lv.9 it stopped growing. If he wanted to grow it any further he needed real combat experience, not just sparring. His sensei noticed this as well so she decided to finally teach him how to be a druid.

"Well then. Son, tell me how jobs are divided in this world."

Aranel Sensei didn't forget to use this opportunity to test Katsuo's knowledge.

"Yes, Sensei! Jobs in this continent can be divided into three paths. The path of warrior, which focuses on how to use weapons and tempering the body. The path of rogue, which focuses on utility and dexterity. And lastly, the path of mage which focuses on casting spells and attuning to mana."

Aranel Sensei nodded.

"You are correct. The three jobs you listed are the most basic jobs in the world and every different profession in the world can be a more advanced version or a variation of them. Then which path does druid belong to?"

"Path of mage Sensei!"

"Correct again. Even though we, druids, have stronger bodies compared to a normal spellcaster, at our core we are still casters. Then, how are ranks divided in this world?"

"Ranks are divided into nine in this world. The first rank being the weakest and the Ninth rank being the strongest. We can also further divide it into three. The first three ranks are basic ranks, the latter three are expert ranks and the last three are master ranks."

"Well done dearie, seems like you didn't forget what I taught you. But why do we divide the ranks into basic, expert and master?"

"Because of the sudden jump in strength. 5 rank two warriors might be able to pin down a rank three but not even a hundred rank three warriors would be able to hold down a rank four."

"Yes, because of that different titles are given to those who managed to reach such ranks. List the titles of druids."

"Basic rank are called druids, for the expert rank it is the Hand of Nature and for the master rank it is Voice of Nature."

"Do you know the meaning behind those titles?"

"This- I am ashamed to say I don't know sensei!"

"Sheesh, no need to be so serious son. Just tell me your guess. Why do you think they are called as such?"

Katsuo pondered this question. He knew that there could be unjust names in this world but there couldn't be an unjustified title.

"For the hand, I guess it might be because we become closer to nature and implement its will and for the voice maybe it is because we are speaking on behalf of nature"

"Smart, but that is not completely true. The answer is when they reach expert ranks the power of nature actively starts to help the druid on its own. Imagine this, you are travelling through the forest and suddenly you trip and fall. You raise your head and see that there is an arrow stabbed into a tree just where your head would be. For any other person this would be luck but for us, druids, this was nature helping us. It wasn't luck. You would be surprised how common this happens.

Think about yourself. Did you think it was only luck that you encountered Relsai on your first day? It was drawn to the power of nature that you possess and it was also the reason it let you go. Even if Relsai is a demonic beast it is still part of nature so subconsciously it obeys nature's will. You also met Scarlet afterwards and she took you in. These were all the will of nature helping you

As for when we reach the master rank, it is when we completely get in touch with nature and learn its language. Only when they become a master can a druid talk to both the animals and flora alike. On this front, you might be considered a cheat. You are not even a basic druid yet but you are already favoured by nature and can speak to all sorts of beings. Your strength on the other hand still leaves much to be desired"

Katsuo nodded his head. He wasn't sure about the luck part as it sounded like hogwash. It was like saying to a person 'oh, you won the lottery? It must be the will of god!' or something along those lines. Then again he wasn't going to deny that it might be true. After all, this was a truly magical world. Only a self-conceited modern person would deny the workings of magic and divine beings in this world.

It was like in the books he had read, modern people were always portrayed as better than the residents of the fantasy world. Oh, you want to use magic? Huh! I learnt this equation in middle school I must be some sort of magic genius! Or kingdoms are bad! How could you obey one person when you can vote on it and become a republic? But in a fantasy world Kings are the ones that lead the country on the forefront during wars.

Katsuo especially admired the King of Hakmeth Kingdom, also known as the King of Knights. They had a weird custom to inherit the crown. It was inspired by the War Chief custom of Orcs. In Hakmeth Kingdom if you want to inherit the crown you have to fulfil one of the two conditions. You either have to get approval from all the knight orders in the country or you have to defeat them all in one on one combat.

That meant in order to rule this country you either have to have unmeasurable strength that can protect it against outside threats or you have to be a competent politician. No matter which scenario the one who inherited the crown would be a worthy person. But a normal person would immediately scream 'Monarchy Bad! Republic Good!' without even confirming if it was a good form of governance for this world.

To sum up, don't be self-righteous and try to understand, even if you believe your culture is superior.

"Okay then, we will soon start the inheritance ritual. Then you will be able to condense mana in your body"

As Aranel Sensei was preparing the ceremony a dark blue raven perched on her shoulder. It looked like the raven was whispering something to her ear and she started to frown.

"Is everything okay sensei?"

"Hm? Oh, no need to worry dearie. I just learnt one of the kids I knew had just died so I was processing it"

"Really? Who?"

"Right, I should have taught him about you before. The one who passed away was Richard Karrion"

"The Lord of Free City of Dawn? The undisputable strongest person in the world? He died? Most importantly you knew him?"

"This kid, what do you take me for? Of course, I knew him. I am also a master rank and most importantly he was a half-elf. We elves always treasure one of our own, it doesn't matter if they are half, quarter or even 1/8th. As long as you carry our bloodline, you are one of us."

"So are you going to the funeral?"

Aranel smiled bitterly and shook her head.

"We elves don't like attending funerals. And most importantly he was getting on his age anyway. I was expecting something like this might happen in the future but not this soon. Anyway, little one. Take off your clothes and get ready for the ceremony"

After Katsuo took off his clothes Aranel Sensei started to paint his body with runes. The paint was made from the sap of world tree and other valuable herbs.

As Aranel drew more and more runes Katsuo felt his body heating. It was like his body was burning inside out.

Once she was done painting Aranel started to drum.

*Ooomph*

At first, it started slow but it started to pick up the pace.

*Ooomph* *Ooomph*

He didn't know when but at one point his heart had synchronized with the beat of the drums.

*Ooomph* *Thump* *Ooomph* *Thump* *Ooomph* *Thump*

Aranel started to chant something but Katsuo couldn't hear it. The only sound in his mind was the sound of his heart and the beat of the drums.

Katsuo's muscles were wriggling all over his body creating a disgusting sight. He wanted to scream but he couldn't, his jaw was locked in place.

As his pain reached its peak he heard a welcome sound.

*Ding*

Passive skill [Source of Mana(lv.1)] has been created.

Along with that notification, Katsuo finally let himself go and passed out.