Chapter 8: Julius.
"Excuse me."
A young boy about the same age as Vincent approached him.
His hair was blonde, his eyes were blue, and his attire was simple. Wearing a garb that was not too flashy, anyone would mistake him to be a normal kid. But his teacher behind him was a powerful mage wearing the insignia given to the elites of the Adventurers association. Melida had the same one.
Mona came between them and said,
"I am sorry, but I cannot let him talk to anyone from the nobility."
James had been clear in his instructions.
"Young lady, master wants to take some tips on mana control."
The man was polite.
"You are his teacher. You should be the one helping him."
She answered almost immediately. There was fear in her eyes, and she noticed that he was looking right through it.
"True. But I deemed it beneficial for the two of them to share some notes. He looks new to magic, and the master has trouble making the most out of his mana."
Vincent approached the boy and asked,
"You want to learn how to control mana?"
He could see that the man was respectful. Mona could get into trouble because of him, so he decided to help the boy.
"Yes. Can you use fire magic?"
"No."
His nonchalant behavior threw the boy off guard. The kid in front of him didn't have any qualms about not being able to do something. His smile didn't falter at that question. He had no pride.
"Let's make a deal."
The kid raised his hand in front of Vincent.
"You teach me control while I teach you magic. That book gets pretty complex towards the end. I will help you master the basics."
Vincent looked at Mona, who was not happy that someone other than her was about to teach him magic. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were screaming at him to refuse.
"I am sorry. I have a teacher."
Mona looked relieved. Vincent picked the right option.
He looked at Mona and said,
"Let's go home."
Mona nodded and followed him. With commotion like this, she was going to have a hard time teaching him things. It was better to continue this in the forest.
"Wait!"
He looked back at the boy, who looked confused.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have behaved so rashly."
The boy bowed down before Vincent.
"Why are you apologizing?"
He asked in confusion as well.
His teacher responded this time,
"Young master hasn't met with anyone like you before. He believes that he was in the wrong in trying to build a friendship through a deal."
Vincent patted his head.
"It's alright."
He didn't actually understand what the noble boy had done wrong, but it felt nice to pat someone's head. Mona had been patting his head all this time, and now he understood why.
The kid raised his head and looked at Vincent, who was smiling at his gesture.
"My name is Vincent. What is your name?"
"Julius."
"That is a nice name. Let's see each other again later."
He stopped patting his head and left with Mona. Time for combat training.
Julius was rooted to his spot.
"Master, what should we do next?"
He stood up and straightened his robe. The creases annoyed him.
"We'll come again tomorrow."
---------------------------------------------
"That is a magic boar. An E-class monster."
James had switched duties with Mona. He was responsible for his combat training.
"First, we will learn to use the bow."
He picked up an arrow from his quiver and used the bow to aim it at the monster.
"Remember to keep your arm steady. Even if you move slightly, there is a chance that you might miss."
Vincent nodded, and James chanted a spell.
"Vibrate."
A bit of sound magic was focused on the tip.
"When you learn to use magic more effectively, you can use it to cast magic on your arrows."
He took a deep breath and released the arrow.
Vibrating ever so slightly, the arrow pierced through the boar and came out from the other side.
It hit a nearby tree. Quietly, James moved through the area and picked up the boar and the lodged arrow from the tree.
"The corpse is of no use because the meat tastes bad. It makes for a good training dummy, as they repopulate pretty quickly."
He handed over a smaller bow to Vincent and said,
"Your turn."
Vincent took the bow. It felt familiar.
"Take the arrow and aim. I will correct you if I see any problems with your posture."
Vincent aimed. His eyes were focused, and his form was awkward.
"Adjust your body. In this posture, you will end up hurting yourself."
He corrected his posture and said,
"Shoot!"
'Swish!'
The arrow flew towards the boar. It looked like it was going to hit.
The boar sensed danger in time and dodged. His arrow was slower than what James had done.
It ran away.
"Nice shot for your first try."
Vincent stared at the bow in his hand.
"James, it felt awkward."
"How did it feel awkward?"
James asked with a smirk on his face.
"I don't know. But can I do it with my posture next time?"
He sincerely requested James with a bow. James scratched his head and said,
"Don't bow. You can do it your way next time, but don't come crying to me if you hurt yourself."
They moved around for a bit before finding the next target.
"There. Try to aim for its head."
Vincent took his aim. His body looked awkward, but he felt confident.
The boar turned around for a split second, and James slowly whispered,
"Shoot!"
'Swish!'
This time, the arrow was more powerful. It was a bit off aim, but it was strong enough to take out the boar if it had been accurate.
"Better luck next-"
Before he could finish, the boar sensed the arrow and attempted to run away. The direction he took was totally up to chance, but it moved towards the arrow by some stroke of luck. It skewered the boar directly through its face.
James was speechless. What a foolish creature!
"Lucky brat."
He patted Vincent's shoulder. Vincent himself was over the moon at his success.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Honestdegenerate
Honestdegenerate Bit of context, Vincent was trained to be a hunter. His observational skills are tied to this as well.
Thank you for reading this chapter!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone