I Reincarnated as a Shinai

As Orga was about to pour a small amount of Null Flower Potion into the beast's body, Stella suddenly stopped him.

"Oh… I also have a potion with me… Let me use mine instead." 

The latter kindly offered since the man would still have a long way to return home. He might need the potion along the way…

"I see… I'll take your offer then…" Orga smiled as he kept his potion with him. He only has a small bag with him so she was sure that he didn't bring many things.

"Are you still planning to stay here?" Orga asked after seeing that Stella was done pouring the potion to the evil beast. 

"Y-yes… I'll just have to rest for a bit and look for a place to hunt… How about you, Sir Orga?"

"Mhmm… I'm going to your village to meet some people…"

"Oh… Do you know someone there?"

"Not really… I just heard that Knights were staying at your village."

"That's correct… You know them?"

Orga shakes his head before answering…

"I just want to meet them and see their strength… Alright, I'll leave now… Be careful."

"Eh? Alright… You too… Thanks again for helping."

Orga just smiled and left the place after giving another glance at the sword she's holding.

As Stella watch Orga leave, she saw that a Crimson Eagle was tailing him…

"Ahhh… Be caref--"

'Don't worry… That's his pet.' Reiji said to Stella before she embarrassed herself. 

'Pet? That huge Crimson Eagle?'

'That's right…'

'I never knew that we could tame those beasts… Is that really possible?'

'What are you saying? They're just similar to animals. The only difference is that they possess  Spiritual Energy… I also heard that the beasts were just mutated animals due to the abundant presence of this awakened Energy…'

'Really?'

Of course, Evil Creatures like imps, trolls, and others were different… They were just categorized as Evil Beasts due to their strength and low intelligence…

Stella was amazed again by her master's knowledge. She only knows that Evil Beast or their kinds must be killed for resources. However, she didn't think too much about how they were bred or something. 

If the presence of Spiritual Energy affects the evolution of these beasts, does it mean that any low-grade beasts would have a chance of getting stronger as long as they are in the right environment?

She thought before that the evil beasts or wild beasts were born as low-grade or mid-grade already…

Stella can only shake her head to clear her mind since this is not the time to think of such things. 

'Anyway, I can get stronger… It shouldn't matter whether those beasts can similar grow stronger… Sigh~ I got too focused on learning about Arcana that I forgot to study about these beasts…'

'Alright… Let's rest for now… Find a safe place. I can't use my Take Over for some time so you have to be careful…'

'I understand, Master.'

Stella already understood that her Master's ability to control her body would cause a toll on his well-being. 

She wasn't sure how it is affecting the Sentient Arcana but she knows that her master can also be exhausted, that's why he needed to take a rest after controlling her for some time.

More than an hour had passed and Reiji's Take Over cooldown was almost finished. On the other hand, Stella returned to the edge of the forest and fought with several two-horned rabbits. Unfortunately, these rabbits were too fast and once they got hurt, they'll immediately run away. 

Even if she managed to kill one, their partners would actually carry their bodies before bolting away through the thick bushes in the forest. There was no way for her to follow them once they do that… It seems that there's a specific material or trap to hunt those rabbits.

Finally, after waiting for some time, the scent of the strong Evil Beast around the area have vanished as the wild beasts started to return. The warm sunlight was also up so most of the Evil Beasts that were only strong during the night must've returned to their lairs already…

"Master… I'll look for a worthy foe now… Hehe…"

"Go ahead… Don't be too careless… Low-Grade Evil Beasts can still roam around at this time."

"Yes!"

Stella acknowledged her master's words as she silently walks towards a rocky area within the forest… This is the place where rare plants could grow and be harvested in a specific season. 

Of course, Stella didn't come here for that… She aimed to hunt a few Winged Goats that lives near this area. 

***

"Master Orga, did you come here alone?" 

The beautiful receptionist stationed at the Jarnae Village's Hunter Association greeted the old man who had just entered the building.

"That's right, Kayla. Mhmm… So you're still working here, huh. Where's Liza and Shania?" Orga replied to the brunette lady. It seems that it wasn't his first time coming here.

"They've been transferred to a different branch… I heard that Liza is already working in the capital…" Kayla said as she gestured at the chair in front of her.

"Oh? That's good for her…" Orga answered as he sat on the chair. 

"Yeah… So what made you visit here?"

"I just want to meet with the Knights… Chaos Knights, if I'm not mistaken… It seems that they've encountered a strong beast inside the forest…"

"You're really impressive. That only happened a week ago but you already heard of it."

Kayla said as she remembers that going through the relatively safe route from Farahn to Jarnae Village would still take 8 to 10 days…

If someone could travel less than that, then it only means that they've traversed some extremely dangerous regions in the forest… 

Aside from that, it's also incredible to camp within this forest alone… Weaker Hunters may not even survive a single night unless they possess Magic Equipment that could effectively hide their presence.

"Some of them were training the village guards while the others seem to be patrolling the outskirts…"

"How about their captain?"

"He should be staying at Madam Arlene's Inn..."

"I see… Thanks a lot…"

Orga replied then asked for the names of the Knights. 

After that, he briefly met the branch head of this village before he left to meet Hendrick, the captain of the Chaos Knight unit stationed here.

***

"Ulysses, how's our captain's condition?" Misha asked the knight beside her. The two just finished eating and were about to meet with the village guards…

"Mhmm… He's already fine… The only problem was his broken sword…"

"Urgh… He can just ask for a replacement once we returned…"

"Well, that's still expensive."

"That's his fault for bringing only two other knights… He should've brought all of us if he intends to explore those dangerous regions." Misha grumbled after remembering that their Captain went on a dangerous mission without telling them. 

Hendrick said that they will only scout the area a bit but they probably got too cocky after they didn't meet a strong beast. 

"Haha… It will serve as his lesson. We don't have to tell that to our captain now, do we?"

Ulysses laughed after remembering their captain's pitiful state when he returned to the village last week.

"Sir… Someone is looking for you." 

A squire suddenly interrupted their conversation as he entered the inn. He should be feeding the horses outside at this time so it seems that it is an important matter.

"Me?" Ulysses asked curiously.

"Oh... He's looking for the captain. But Sir Hendrick told us that you'll be handling anyone who would want to meet him so…"

"Ah… You're right… You're right… Who are they?"

"Ahh… He's a Three-Star Hunter from another village. His name is Orga…"

Ulysses looked at Misha to ask whether she's familiar with the name.

The lady only shook her head telling him that she was similarly clueless about the guy.

"Alright, I'll meet him outside…"

Ulysses said as he took his sword and stepped outside to meet the Three-Star Hunter.

***

"Those are winged goats, huh… I don't think that they can fly with that kind of stomach…"

Stella commented after seeing the bloated beasts silently chewing the grass around the area.

"Mhmm… They were indeed unable to fly with that body…"

These goats were only Wild Beasts at the low-grade level… 

Unlike the evil beast that she defeated a while ago, this one doesn't have any Arcane Magic and can only do physical attacks… It was a perfect opponent to try her sword techniques. She wouldn't spend too much Spiritual Energy in the battle.

Reiji then used the cloning technique so that Stella can use Enkyoku to approach the Winged Goats…

She planned to quickly approach one and prevent it from running away.

There are only four Winged Goats right now, so she didn't mind whether the other three attacked her as she believed that she could handle them. 

In case the other three run away instead, it also didn't matter as long as she could take the remaining one.

"Haa!"

Stella then started her real hunt without being interrupted by Evil Beasts or other Hunters.