Chapter 3: The Black Magic Cult Attacks! Striking Back in Rage!
For the next long stretch of time, Ren lived through peaceful days.
During the day, he hunted in the forest, and every day he brought back a solid haul.
With food no longer a problem, Erza also grew quite a bit during this period.
She was at an age when she needed to grow, but the lack of food before had left her slightly malnourished.
Watching Erza gradually grow up, Ren felt genuinely relieved.
In the village, Ren also met a few characters from the original story.
Because they were only minor side characters, his progress only increased by a tiny amount.
Seeing that he was still only at \(13\%\) progress, Ren sighed quietly to himself.
In a village like this, raising progress was difficult. He would have to leave.
But before leaving the village, he needed to wait for the black magic cult to show up, eliminate that hidden danger, and only then could he leave with peace of mind.
One day, Ren headed to the forest early as usual.
From a distance, he saw Erza standing at the village entrance, waiting.
When she spotted Ren, Erza jogged up to him.
"I told you, you don't have to walk me out every day."
Seeing Erza slightly out of breath, Ren smiled helplessly.
"No way. I have to watch you leave and make sure you come back safe."
Erza puffed her cheeks, then grinned at Ren with a pure, stubborn smile.
"Alright, alright."
Ren spread his hands, unable to do anything about her stubbornness.
Every time Ren went into the mountains to hunt, Erza would personally stand at the village entrance and wait.
No matter when he left or returned, he could always see her there.
"I'm going."
Ren turned and waved to Erza at the village entrance.
As she watched his back fade into the distance, Erza cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "You have to come back safe!"
Not long after entering the mountains, Ren found a perfect target.
A fully grown wild boar.
The instant he saw it, Ren's eyes lit up.
He charged out of the grass, staring straight at the boar.
The boar also noticed Ren immediately, its eyes fixed on him warily.
Ren licked his dry lips, then stomped hard on the ground and shot forward.
An afterimage flashed past the boar's vision, and Ren suddenly appeared at its side.
He clenched his fist and drove a punch into the boar's back.
With a piercing scream, the boar collapsed and struggled violently, frothy blood spilling from its mouth.
Not long after, it stopped moving completely.
It had been killed by Ren's single punch.
Ren snapped a large tree in half nearby, then found some vines and tied the boar's body to the trunk.
He carried the trunk on his shoulder and headed down the mountain.
From far away, Ren saw several figures at the village entrance.
Erza and a few others.
"Look, isn't that Ren?"
"It is! And what's on his back? It's huge!"
The kids spotted Ren coming down the mountain and pointed at him in shock.
Erza ran toward him the whole way.
When she reached him, she panted hard, staring at the wild boar on Ren's back, too stunned to speak.
Erza had never seen a whole wild boar before. This one was even bigger than the old ox the village used for plowing, and it scared her a little.
"A wild boar. How about it? Pretty impressive, right?"
Ren reached out and ruffled Erza's hair, and the two of them walked back toward the village side by side.
The other kids at the village entrance ran over too, staring in disbelief at the massive boar.
Back at home, Ren skinned the boar and cut the meat into portions.
"Erza, take this meat and share it with everyone in the village."
Ren kept a few of the best cuts, but planned to give most of it to the villagers.
After Ren and Erza's parents died, everyone in the village helped raise them.
They had grown up eating from many households and wearing what many households could spare.
Erza nodded happily. After taking a big chunk of meat from Ren, she hopped away, running into the village.
Wiping his sweat, Ren watched Erza's back and couldn't help smiling.
As night fell, Ren and Erza ate dinner together.
After they were full, they sat on the steps in the yard, looking up at a sky overflowing with stars.
"So beautiful."
It was as if starlight gathered in her eyes as Erza stared up and whispered.
"Hey, Ren."
All of a sudden, Erza turned her head to look at him.
Hearing her call his name like that, Ren paused, then met her gaze and smiled gently. "What is it?"
Looking at Ren's warm smile, Erza seemed to be infected by it. A pure, innocent smile spread across her face as she said, "You'll stay with me forever, right?"
"I will."
Ren reached out and ruffled her hair again, answering with a soft laugh.
"Yeah! You will!"
After getting Ren's answer, Erza nodded hard, delighted.
"Then I'm going home first! See you tomorrow!"
Erza stood up, clasped her hands behind her back, and bounced away toward the door.
Ren watched her disappear into the darkness, then turned and went back inside.
Lying on the bed, Ren stared into the dark room, slowly drifting toward sleep.
Suddenly, a violent explosion sounded outside, jolting him awake.
Ren sprang off the bed in an instant and rushed out of the house.
Seeing flames rising into the sky in the distance, Ren's nerves tightened.
He stomped the ground and shot forward.
Explosions rang out again and again through the village, and Ren's gaze grew heavy and fierce.
Then, two figures in black robes burst out of a nearby alley.
When they saw Ren sprinting, their eyes lit up, and they sneered as they moved to close in.
"A brat walking right into our hands!"
"Get lost!"
Ren's face sank as he roared.
He clenched his fist and threw a punch at one of the black-robed figures.
His fist smashed into the man's chest, and a violent blast rang out beside the other black-robed figure.
The companion's upper body was blown apart by Ren's single punch, flesh and blood spraying across the surroundings.