The boar leader's body lay in the dirt, its blood spilling out across the forest floor.
There was a cavernous opening on its stomach with innards outstrewn on the floor, mixing on the ground into red grime and mud.
A piece of bone flew out of the boar's body.
From within, Rain was busy digging through the flesh and tendons, scouring for his for the most delicate parts of this mana-ful beast.
He couldn't eat all of it, so he was mainly looking for the brain, the heart and…
There it was. The core, a small brown bead about the size of a baseball.
The beast had only recently perished so it still pulsated with strong waves of mana and earth.
In a motion, Rain crushed the orb and liquid spilled out into his mouth which he swallowed along with some of the beast's blood.
It was a good meal.
*******
In a regal church building far, far away from the rest from the shore-towns, two old clergymen were seen kneeling in front of a white haired woman in saintly garbs.
"Who is this new saintess candidate?" she asked coldy.
"Yo, your grace, she was seemingly just an adventure that got tested recently to have an extreme talent for holy elements," the priest stuttered.
"Better than me?" She asked.
"No… no, of course not, no one is as talented as you are, my grace." the priest answered in fear.
"Tell me the truth, Heinrich."
"Ta, talent wise, she measured higher than you… it was said that the mana circuit on the testing stone had exploded… but she's only in the third tier… the gap is too large, and the saintess selection is approaching. You are the much superior candidate."
"Good."
She turned away and walked to the far end of the room, picking up a yellowy glass of white wine.
"Deny her as many resources as possible. I don't want her getting in my way." She commanded the two clergymen.
"To your wish." They responded in sync and quickly stumbled out of the room, fearing her wrath.
*******
In a nearby river, Rain could be seen washing off his blood-soaked body. It was slightly difficult in his freshly awakened state as the cold mana leaking from his body slowly froze the moving water if he did not move around himself.
It was a hassle, but nevertheless.
Finding his way back to the main road, he arrived at a split. Instead of the intended path inland he was supposed to be taken before killing his driver, he would take the other path along the coast towards the Ventura marquessate.
He had come quite far already, so the journey would only be two weeks on foot at the most.
Luckily, by happenstance, a noble caravan escort seemed to be passing by.
So, disguising himself as a hurt, young peasant man, he intended to catch a free ride.
…
"Help! Someone help! Please!" He called out to the patrolling guards.
Some snide remarks passed through the guards and they shot him a few disdainful glares.
As expected, the militia of a noble-family were quite prone to status.
They ignored him, trying to carry on, but he continued to shout.
"Please, Help me," as he moved closer to the caravans, getting pushed down to the ground by a brawny guardsman in iron.
"A pack of wild boars attacked me while I was traveling through here, please, I can't continue any further." He said as he crawled and coughed out a mouthful of blood.
Inside the central cart, someone asked, "what's happening outside?"
It was a female voice, noble, tender.
"There's no need to worry ma'am, just a beggar." A snobby guard responded.
"PLEASE! Help me! I need to…"
"Get away!" a guard shoved Rain to the ground again.
"Let him through." The female voice in the main cart resounded.
"But, young miss,"
"Are you questioning my authority?" She cut him off.
"Let him through."
"Yes madam."
Rain staggered towards the caravan, acting as if his leg was injured.
He had cut himself a few times and the dirt from being kicked to the ground by the guards would be enough proof of struggle.
"Come in, sit." The noble lady called.
The caravan was much bigger on the inside than it seemed from out. It was decorated with intricate gold-crafts, runes, the finest leather and a mana-light that illuminated the entire cart.
On a red leather seat was a bronze skinned girl, about the same age as what Rain would be (if he were actually a human)--around 20.
She had greyish hair with barely noticeable streaks of auburn like autumn leaves on a pale morning. Accordingly, she dressed like a noble–corset, dress, light jewelry. Not extravagant, but clearly elegant.
"Thank you for hearing my plea."
"It's nothing." She responded curtly, sipping a dark cup of tea.
'He is quite a looker beneath all that grime.' She made a mental note, scrutinizing him.
"May I ask where you are headed?" Rain asked.
"Ventura."
"Oh, that's perfect."
It went silent for a bit…
"So… um, why did you help me?" Rain asked awkwardly.
"?" she tilted her head sideways and looked at him curiously. It was kind of cute in a way.
"Just interested." She smiled.
"... what do you mean… I mean, why did a noble like you care about a nobody like me?" Rain asked.
"Would you rather me kick you out then?"
"No… no! That's not what I mean't… I mean…"
She giggled a little, "You're funny."
"All of this noble life, maintaining an image, dressing, walking, talking a certain way, it gets to you, you know? It's all about politics, and I guess I just wanted someone to talk to." She explained to Rain–almost like a rant.
"Well… thank you for helping me, still."
It was truly an A-class performance from Rain to cuddle up into the good graces of this noble lady.
"Ah right, I'm Rain… just a commoner from a small town."
"Evelynn. But you can call me Eve." She responded, still maintaining that sort of smile.
"So… what brings you here to Ventura?" Eve asked.
"uhm… " whipping up a story, he said, "I came to find work here in Ventura. There aren't a lot of opportunities in my backwater town, so I thought I could make a decent living here."
"Hmm…" Even pondered for a bit.
"How about I hire you then?"
"Young miss, that would be…" a shy to the side spoke up while pouring her a new cup of tea, "that would be… improper."
"It's okay. He can follow me," she smiled.
"But miss, we would need to check his background, and we…"
"I told you, it's okay," she said with finality.
Rain watched the two in their small dispute, wondering if he even had a say in this anymore.
"So… what am I supposed to do?" he asked.
"Just follow me," Eve said as the carriage stopped in front of the Ventura estate.