Chapter 48  

“You want me to take your sister as an apprentice.” Moui's voice made clear what he thought of his request. He didn’t sound very delighted.

Kai wasn’t deterred. At least it wasn’t the blunt no the hunter had given him when he thought Kai was asking for himself. He could work with a maybe.

Would it be so terrible to take a world-class genius like yours truly as an apprentice?

He was a little hurt. But if he had to be honest, in Moui’s shoes, he would also refuse to have someone like himself around all the time.

Am I that annoying? Well…

The citizens of Greenside were not the only ones starving for entertainment. At the estate, he had not done anything except train and study. It wasn’t unpleasant after he got used to it, but he had not realized how much he needed a break. Out of any better options, Moui had somehow become his only outlet to have a little fun.

Damn, my only friend is a grumpy hunter. I need to meet more people.

Moui cleared his throat. Now it was not the time to reflect on his sad social life. He had to convince the grouchy hunter first.

“Why not? My sister is the perfect age to start an apprenticeship and you’re free from what I know.”

“I don’t have time to teach someone.” Moui crossed his arms in front of his chest, trying to make his words sound final. Little did he know that as soon as he chose to engage in this argument, and not outright deny the possibility, he had already lost.

“You don’t look so busy to me.” Kai looked around at the empty room to emphasize his point. “You live alone and all you do is hunt. It wouldn’t take much time to bring along an apprentice and teach her what you’re doing. My sister could also help you with the tasks you find boring. Isn’t that what apprentices are for?”

From what Kai understood, apprentices were akin to unpaid interns. Just with even fewer regulations to safeguard their rights. People had to be very careful with who they chose to apprentice to.

“I can’t bring a kid to the depth of the Veeryd jungle,” Moui argued. “You know how dangerous it can get. I can’t hunt orange-tier beasts while being responsible for someone else.”

“You clearly can perceive any threat long before they get close,” Kai said, remembering the distance from which Moui had noticed the red-tier boa. “And you told me you just hunt on the outskirts most of the time. With you by her side, the danger there will be close to none. And you don’t need to bring her along in the deeper parts of the forest before you think she is ready.”

The hunter still seemed hesitant, but he was struggling to come up with a reason to say no.

Just a little more.

“Come on, uncle. Taking an apprentice might be fun, I also heard teaching someone else can help you level your skills. Why not try?

From his thoughtful expression, Kai could see he had almost won him over.

Time for the finishing blow.

“You don’t need to commit right now. Just give this a chance. Try teaching my sister for one month. If it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll have learned what it’s like taking an apprentice.”

Kai went all out, then he took a step back to make his proposal sound more appealing. There was no need for a long-term commitment. No harm in trying something new. What is one short month in the grand scheme of things?

Moui sighed, defeated. “Fine, I’ll take your sister.”

Hell, yeah! Victory!

Before Kai could celebrate, the hunter continued talking.

“But there are two conditions.” He counted on his fingers. “First, I’ll only give her a trial period of two weeks.”

Kai nodded, it didn’t matter. He just had to get his foot in the door. From there he was sure the hunter would not send Kea away without a good reason. He had faith his sister would not fail if she put her mind to it.

“Second, I need you to answer a question truthfully before I can agree.”

“Sure, uncle, ask me anything.” Kai didn’t hesitate to accept. What was Moui so curious about to put that as a condition?

“I need to know if your sister is half as annoying and shameless as you.” Moui said with a completely straight face.

Excuse me!? I’m not that bad.

Kai tried to maintain his smile. “Why half?” He could only mutter. He was doing his utmost to not give Moui the satisfaction of sounding bothered.

Moui laughed. “I don’t think there is anyone as annoying or shameless as you on this side of Yanlun. Half is already the most I can imagine.”

Now, this feels like a personal attack on my character.

Kai pursed his lips in annoyance. His uncle was just having fun at his expense. At least it meant he had already accepted the deal in his mind.

“I swear, my sister is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I’ve never known someone as kind and patient as she is,” Kai solemnly said. “Happy, now?”

Moui had not specified which sister he was referring to. So, he had not technically lied. He would let him discover Kea’s character by himself.

“Then I accept,” Moui said with a smile.

With the deal done, they agreed Kai would bring his sister the next day. Mana Manipulation training wasn’t over yet.

It was still a frustrating experience to teach someone to manipulate their mana without Mana Sense, but less than the day before. They had already found which exercises worked best, it was only a matter of trying a few tweaks. The hardest part was over.

Muoi had gained a very rough impression of how to perceive his mana. There was no more need for Kai to tell him what was happening through his Mana Sense every step of the way.

As the day progressed, Kai had time to let his mind wander. There was still one step to complete in his plan to have Kea take an apprenticeship under Moui. The hardest step in fact - convincing Kea herself.

He had let Moui think she was the one who asked him for this. She didn’t even know about this yet. If he told her directly, Kai was sure she would refuse. She never agreed to anything he proposed out of principle.

He had to come up with the right strategy to get her here and motivate her, so she would give this an honest shot. Kea had not shown much interest in any job, but he was sure she had not considered hunting yet. Their mother would probably prefer her to choose a safer profession, but it beat leaving her to roam around Greenside till she ended up in something worse.

Moui was the best hunter in town. If she completed an apprenticeship under him, she would get good prospects for the future.

After lunch, while they rested, Kai took out the book he brought with him today: Common Herbs and Their Uses - volume 2. He brought it to put Moui in a nice mood.

Despite what Reishi had led him to believe, the book didn’t turn out to be as useful as he had hoped. It contained what was advertised, the descriptions of many red-tier herbs and a few orange-tier ones. While it said ‘Common Herbs’, it didn’t refer to the ‘Common Herbs’ of the archipelago, but of the Republic territories on the mainland.

He wanted to slap himself for being so stupid, he should have expected it. It wasn’t like there was a big community of alchemists residing in the Baquaire Archipelago. The book could only have been written somewhere else.

It wasn’t a complete scam, ‘volume 2’ dealt with the herbs that could be found in a tropical climate. He had found some overlap with the flora present around Greenside, but it was far less useful than he had initially thought.

It was a free gift, so I can’t complain too much.

As the two examined the book, and discussed the herbs they recognized, Kai turned out to be the one who gained the most from the exchange. While the hunter didn’t know what most herbs were used for, or in what conditions they grew, he was quite knowledgeable about which ones could be found in the Veeryd jungle.

With his help, Kai was able to divide the plants and mushrooms described in the book into three categories. Those he should look out for because they grew somewhere on the island. The ones Moui knew couldn't be found on Yanlun, that he shouldn’t bother learning about. And a final group with all the herbs slightly different from the ones the hunter recalled finding, but similar enough to likely be close subspecies.

If I want an accurate encyclopedia of the herbs of the archipelago, I’ll have to write it myself. Dora might also have something, but I doubt she visited all the islands.

Kai agreed to lend Moui the book for a week. It might give him some ideas about where to look for valuable herbs in the jungle, and then check with his contacts if he had overlooked something.

It had taken a couple hours to go through all the pages. It was time they went back to train Moui’s Mana Manipulation. They continued for about as much time before Kai had to leave.

The hunter even managed to gain a level in the skill. Kai attributed that to his far higher stats. By now Moui had some ideas of what he should do to keep his mana presence under control. He was far from mastering it, but with the foundations built, he didn’t need Kai to babysit him at every turn.

After all the disdain he had shown for mana skills, Moui looked very satisfied with his new ability. Kai wasn’t surprised, mana skills opened a whole new world of possibilities. The hunter had only scratched the surface.

Now it’s just a question of time before he comes to his senses and realizes Mana Sense is one of the best skills ever. Another acolyte joins the cult! Muahahah!

Saying his goodbyes, Kai headed home. It was time to see if his plans would work or fall apart when faced with the stubbornness of his sister. It would be incredibly embarrassing if he couldn’t convince her and had to knock on Moui’s house alone the next day.

At home, he was glad to see his mom was already present. With Ele starting to earn a living as a pearl diver, and the silver he had provided, Alana had agreed to take things easier for a while and stop working every hour of the day.

She was standing on a chair busy cleaning and checking their roof for any leaks. Not exactly taking time for herself, but she insisted that didn’t count as working.

Baby steps. I’m sure Ele will be able to wear her down, eventually.

“Mom, what do you think about Kea becoming a hunter?” Kai broke the news without wasting time, better he told her now than later. Alana stopped what she was doing and climbed down the chair to stand in front of him with her hands at her sides.

Kai continued to smile brightly. “Uncle Moui agreed to offer her an apprenticeship. Isn’t that great?”

“Kai…” She paused, scolding tone already on. “Do you remember when we talked about taking important decisions together with the family?”

“That’s why I’m telling you now. I’ve yet to tell Kea.”

“So, I imagine if I say no, you won’t speak a word to Kea, and tell Moui she refused the kind offer?”

Kai smiled, embarrassed.

Touché. I’m trying my best, okay? Baby steps for the both of us.

He knew if he answered yes, Alana might tell him no just to prove her point.

Growth is never easy…

“Yes, mom. I’ll do as you say if you think that’s best.” He said honestly.

Alana looked at him in the eyes. The moment felt interminable as Kai waited for her to pass judgment.

“Let’s discuss.” She finally said.

The following conversation went about as Kai expected. He assured her nothing could happen under Moui’s watch. His mother wasn’t thrilled by the idea of Kea going to hunt in the Veeryd jungle, but she couldn’t deny it could give his sister a good career.

Land hunters were a bit of an odd bunch in the seafaring culture of the archipelago, but they were well paid. With Kea not showing interest in any other profession thus far, Alana had to admit it wasn’t the worst idea.

“If you can convince your sister I won’t oppose it, but I won’t encourage her either.”

“Thank you, mom.” Kai smiled and went to give her a hug.

With this, the second mini-boss had fallen. Now he only had to defeat the final boss. Kai rehashed his arguments in preparation for the face-off with his sister. He couldn’t falter at the finish line.

Starting to pace back and forth as he waited for Kea to come home, Alana recruited him in her cleaning efforts to take his mind off things.

The first to come home was Eleni, who was then informed of the news. Kea arrived not much before dinner time.

I don’t want to know what she does every day to come back so late. But if this goes according to plan, she won’t have so much time to get into trouble much longer.

Kai began to throw around hints at the dinner table. Casually leading the conversation to how cool and mysterious were the hunters who went into the Veeryd jungle. Kea started to show some interest, asking him more and more questions.

“If you’re interested, I can ask Moui if he’s looking for an apprentice.” It wasn’t the most subtle of ways, but he only had till morning to make her agree.

To his relief, Kea seemed to consider the offer. “Yeah, maybe. I’ll think about it.”

That’s not good enough.

At this point, Kai had to go big or go home. After dinner was over, he knew exactly what he should say to convince her sister. He would have preferred not to employ this ace, but he was sure Moui would forgive him.

“Can you keep a secret?” He whispered to his sister.

That immediately got her hooked. “What secret?”

Kai used Acting to seem hesitant. “I don’t know if I should tell you.”

He continued the back and forth a while longer to ensure he had all her attention.

“Do you swear not to tell anyone?”

Kea solemnly nodded.

Suppressing a smile, Kai whispered in her ear. “Uncle Moui is the person with the highest race grade in all of Greenside.”

He didn’t have to see her reaction to know he got her. What better way to ignite her competitive spirit than dangling a dangerous apprenticeship with the mysterious strongest person in town?