Yuma pushed deeper into the forest, moving at incredible speed as he leapt from tree to tree.
Grandpa said I should head to the nearest town to register with the Hunters' Association… he thought.
As he continued, a sudden noise caught his attention.
Yuma stopped on a branch and peered down.
A boy was running as fast as he could, chased by three armed men.
— "Leave me alone!" shouted the boy.
— "Then hand over everything you've got!" one of the pursuers replied.
— "Never!"
Yuma frowned.
— "Well, we're not going to spend the whole day here. Catch him," ordered the leader.
— "Yes, boss!" the other two answered.
At that moment, Yuma leapt from his branch and landed in front of them, surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke. Everyone froze.
— "What… was that?"
— "I don't know… it's like something fell from the sky."
— "We don't care! Grab the boy!" shouted the leader.
The two henchmen charged into the smoke… only to be violently thrown back.
— "No one ever taught you that chasing someone is wrong?" Yuma said calmly.
He turned to the boy.
— "Hey, want a hand?"
— "If you don't mind…" the boy replied.
Yuma faced the last pursuer standing.
— "Come on, step up, thief."
— "Who do you think you are? You knock my men down and then challenge me? I'll teach you some respect!"
The man concentrated a blazing aura around him.
— "Watch out! He's about to cast a spell!" the boy warned.
— "Don't worry, I've got this," Yuma said.
— "We'll see about that… Fireball!"
A massive fireball shot straight at Yuma.
At the last second, he dodged, feinted a punch toward his opponent's face… and the man instinctively blocked it, leaving an opening.
BAM!
Yuma delivered a powerful kick to his stomach, sending him to his knees.
— "Now, gather your friends and leave before I really get angry."
The pursuer struggled to stand, woke his knocked-out subordinates, and said:
— "You got lucky this time… We'll leave you alone."
— "Yeah, sure," Yuma replied.
The three disappeared into the forest.
The boy approached Yuma.
— "Thank you… You saved me."
— "No problem. Had to put those thieves in their place."
— "By the way, I'm Enji Hyōga."
— "Yuma Sekyhiro. But I have to go, I'm in a hurry. Take care."
Yuma was about to leave when Enji called out.
— "Wait! You're not going to the temple to awaken your powers, are you?"
— "Yeah… How did you know?"
— "We're about the same age, so I figured."
— "You're going too?"
— "Exactly. We could go together, what do you think?"
— "Why not? It's more fun with two than alone."
The two boys set off together, talking about everything and nothing, getting to know each other.
Night began to fall, and Yuma stopped.
— "We should camp here. I'm exhausted… Aren't you?"
— "Yeah, you're right. I'm completely wiped too."
They prepared a small campsite. Yuma took out some food from his bag while Enji built a fire.
After eating and chatting for a while, they lay down under the stars.
Their adventure was only just beginning.
End of Chapter 3