The King Of Tricks And Magic 97 Bandit Hunting

[ Name: Ren Arken

Age: 14

Race: Human

Strength: 200,000 (+1,300,000 [Mana])

Agility: 300,000 (+2,300,000 [Mana])

Vitality: 800,000 (+1,200,000 [Mana])

Mana: ~~~

Spiritual: ~~~

Intellect: 300, 000

Unique Skills:

-Magic cards -appraisal -evil gaze -strengthen -leap -basic magics -Magic mastery -Grimoire of death -Real Clone [Heavenly Slime] -Eye of Wisdom -Sword G.o.d -Fenrir Arken -Predator of the sky -Wild Beasts Skills -Knight's soul -Defiler of the banished, Ataraxia]

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*Sound of a wagon moving*

"Waaa~" Fenrir's enjoyed voice resounded on Oz's ears. Strangely, Fenrir is currently sitting on top of Edreale's lap while being treated like a doll by Edreale. Oz found it amusing for the expressionless Edreale to be so excited when she saw Fenrir's mini form, and surprisingly, Fenrir doesn't mind being treated like a doll by Edreale.

While on the other side, Reo is...

Pant! Pant! Pant!

Reo, using his huge form is running next to the wagon. While Seraphina is adoring Reo's huge body and n.o.ble figure, imagining herself riding on top of the huge black lion.

"Um... Reo? Are you tired?" Oz couldn't help but asked Reo who is running next to the wagon. 

At first, they want to hire a carriage service or a wagon service to go to the Bareland city, but it turns out all carriages and wagons going to Bareland have an absurd price of 10 pieces of gold. After feeling irritated that all of them don't want to lower their price, Oz decided to buy a new wagon using his money, hearing the news, Fenrir makes a ruckus because of feeling excited. But when Oz wants to pay the wagon, it turns out the princess had already paid it before him, while he's gratified to get his expenses covered, he couldn't help but feel troubled.

Because hiring a coachman will need more costs, imagining the princess will pay it again, Oz didn't want the princess to feel like he owed a favor to her, so Oz decided to be the coachman himself, and it turns out that he starts to grow a liking towards being a coachman and handling the horses.

Oz summons Fenrir and Reo not only because they wanted to be summoned, but Oz also wants to take advantage of their sharp senses to make sure their safety. While on the other side, several 'Jack of All Trades' members is on their way to escort Oz and co to Bareland city from the shadows by Brad's orders, they keep their distance enough to make sure Alfred and co didn't sense their presence.

Bareland city is quite far from the capital, Oz estimates that with their current speed, they will arrive at Bareland city in 5 days, but they are not in a rush, all of them agreed to travel without haste to ensure their safety.

There are no other cities or villages in the middle of Grandaria capital and Bareland city, making people from the capital who want to go to the Bareland city needs to prepare to have a camp in the forest. The kingdom's royal family decided this to make sure Bareland city's lord to not be able to manipulate other regions of the kingdom from behind the scene and get too much influence and become potential harm to the royal family.

Oz continues the journey until the sun completely disappears and the moon had risen to replace it. The party votes whether they will continue to travel or stop and rest for the night. The result of the vote is 5 to 2 while stopping and rest for the night had the majority votes. Oz explains to them that even if they continue the journey, he could let his shadow clone from his shadow skill to act as the coachman, but it would be better if they have a better quality rest rather than getting low-quality rest and have their prowess limited because their body is not at their best condition.

The wagon is big enough for them to sleep together, but since it's impossible for them to sleep together with the ice princess and incur the royal wrath of the royal kingdom, they had brought a tent for the boys to sleep at while they let the girls sleep inside the wagon.

"I'll take the night watch for today," Oz said out of the blue.

"But Ren, aren't you tired from being the coachman?" Edreale asked with concern.

"It's fine, I'm not sleepy anyway. And I could sleep tomorrow when we continue our journey while letting my shadow clone take control of the wagon," (Oz)

"I see..." Said Edreale as her expression reverts to her usual flat expression.

"It's fine, Edreale. Ren is stronger than all of us after all. Since he's strange enough to like being a coachman, maybe he also has a hobby of taking night watch too, well, as long as he doesn't peep on you and the ice princess it's fine, right?" Alfred said with a grin and a shrug.

"I won't," Oz rebuked.

"I'll wake you guys up when it's near dawn, I'll be on top of this tree," Oz said as he pointed the big tree that height around 24 meters and climbed it.

"There he goes, he's such a loner..." Albus said with a wry smile and a shrug.

"Indeed... He should rely on us a little bit too," (Peter)

"Agree," Sen agrees to Peter's statement.

Watching his little brother Sen shows his agreement with Peter's statement that clearly displays his affection towards Oz, Alfred smiled satisfactorily as he says, "That's what makes us trust him, right? He's too caring to be a bad guy, and he doesn't wear any sugar mask in front of us," with his usual frank att.i.tude.

"Indeed..." Said Edreale as she gazes the silhouette on top of the mighty tree while the countless stars decorated the skies above, fully represents his figure that resembles the night sky. beautiful, calm, soothing, but yet distant.

Not only Edreale, the others felt the same way when they follow Edreale's line of sight. At the moment, a certain someone is looking at Oz's figure with a different thought.

(Why...) (Seraphina)

(How could such a person, have such a sad and lonely back...) (Seraphina)

But as the princess, she knows how to read the atmosphere and refrain herself from saying what she just thought about Oz's back. She just stares at Oz's back while she felt a strange pain inside her heart.

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(What is this...) (Oz)

Oz felt a hollow sensation at his heart as he sits cross-legged on top of the highest tree branch while gazing at the beautiful night sky.

"Strange... I thought I have no attachment to that world..." (Oz)

Oz touched his chest that felt a rare longing to his former world.

(Indeed... Too many things had happened here so I never really have any time to think about the past...) (Oz)

Oz weakly scoffed at himself.

(So this is my curse, huh. No matter how strong or how many people trust me, the feeling of being an outsider won't cease haunting me... An outsider will always stay an outsider...) (Oz)

"Nature's first green is gold,

her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

but only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

so dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay," Oz recited the poem from his former world that he remembered. When he recites the poem, the memories from his former world until the present time got replayed inside his head. And a hint of fear appears inside Oz's heart. The fear of losing something important.

Fenrir and Reo actually heard Oz's self monologue because of their contract and their connection. But both of them decided to stay silent as they could feel Oz's pain inside his heart too.

"Okay! Let's not get drown at depression. I need to continue to cultivate my powers, but first of all, let's check on my stats first, it's been ages since the last time I checked it," (Oz)

"Appraisal!"

[ Name: Ren Arken

Age: 14

Race: Human

Strength: 400,000 (+4,300,000 [Mana])

Agility: 500,000 (+7,300,000 [Mana])

Vitality: 1,000,000 (+10,200,000 [Mana])

Mana: ~~~

Spiritual: ~~~

Intellect: 700, 000

Unique Skills:

-Magic cards -appraisal -evil gaze -strengthen -leap -basic magics -Magic mastery -Grimoire of death -Real Clone [Heavenly Slime] -Eye of Wisdom -Sword G.o.d -Fenrir Arken -Predator of the sky -Wild Beasts Skills -Knight's soul -Defiler of the banished, Ataraxia -Slime Soul Diversion -Slime technique: Split -Tarot Emperor -Master of The Dragon King, Atlas]

(Good! It grows rather nicely!) (Oz)

After checking his stats, Oz checks the new unique skills he obtained.

(Hm... The slime skills came from the demonic slime king... Looks like the Tarot emperor skill came from the dungeon imperial core... Ah! Atlas is still sleeping, huh! I wonder what he will be when he wakes up!) (Oz)

Oz's quite interested in some of his unique skills. Strengthen, leap, and basic magics should be normal skills rather than unique skills. Oz checks his normal skill cards, and it turns out that there is also a copy of the three unique skill cards at the normal skill cards. 

(I see... So these are the upgraded versions of the normal skills) (Oz)

The description of the unique skill and the normal skill turns out to be different, the benefits from the normal skills couldn't be compared to the unique skills at all. The normal basic magics skill only gives the user the power to use the basic magics, while the unique skill card gives the user a boost at all of his magic according to how the user understanding of the concept of basic magics.

"Okay, it's been a while since I cultivate. It'll be a waste if I don't cultivate under this beautiful night," Oz mutters to himself as he closes his eyes and cultivates his mana.

Oz's focus is something that made even Fenrir and Reo amazed. His concentration could be pictured as a drop of water that fell from a leaf. Highly compressed, relaxed, concentrated, yet elegant.

Oz compresses his mana as thin as possible, his mana surrounds his body and made a beautiful and colorful thin aura. As if Oz's enveloped by a rainbow, all elements of mana gathered to him, but not rough like how other mana cultivators cultivates. Like stroking a baby's head, he gathers the elements slowly and with full of care.

Not only Reo and Fenrir, Sen, Alfred, Edreale, Albus, and Peter secretly observes Oz's actions from below, when Oz cultivates, they felt as if the tree Oz's sitting is slowly glowing. As if the spirits gather because of Oz's cultivation, the forest's surroundings felt brighter to them, the wind is strong yet soft as if the whole forest cultivates together with him.

All of them stares at Oz with more admiration than before, the 'Jack of All Trades' also silently praising their emperor from the distance. Everyone stares at Oz's aura that felt vivid, beautiful, soothing, yet they could feel a hint of sadness from it.

Peter who observes Oz with gleaming eyes silently thought to himself.

(My gut wasn't wrong. I choose the right person to follow!) (Peter)