Black Clover: Nah I'd Lose (UPDATED)

(We are halfway in the week guys, 20 per cent in our goal for 50 Powerstones, on that note, please Gimme that, as whether I will continue this fic would solely depend on the support I would get, which is determined by either power stones or by number of patreon members)

"Oh, interesting, how did you escape?"

"Well, I trained my mana control for days, and once I reached a good level, I tried to break the lock and escape. Unfortunately, the guy noticed me, leading to a confrontation between us, which I lost. But a mana beast appeared and charged at him, giving me the chance to kill him and escape." He omitted key details like being the only one to escape and not even attempting to free others.

"Oh, do you remember his face or anything? Any dressing similarities? Anything would help," she said, writing everything he said in a notebook.

'Wow, she has the patience to do this too. I thought she only knew how to fight.' This time, he didn't change his facial expressions.

"Cool, I'll drop you out of the forest then."

"Wait, I don't want to leave. I think this is a good place to train," he protested immediately.

'This place is perfect to train, with the high mana concentration and a chance to hone my instincts—something I'd struggle to do otherwise. I'd rather stay away from the place with the young masters as long as I can.'

"Oh, why do you want to train?" she asked, amused.

"To get stronger."

"Oh, why do you want to get stronger?"

"So that nobody messes with me. Plus, fighting and investigating mana is fun too, I guess," he answered honestly.

"Oh, meet me in around 10 years. You might become a worthy opponent for me," she said with a smirk that had a primal edge.

He subconsciously shivered.

"Hell, I'll defeat you within 7 years," he tried to put up a strong front to hide his fear.

"Do you even know how to skin animals and cook them?" Her question caught him off guard.

"I don't know," he said shamelessly.

She looked unimpressed.

She pulled out a cubical object from nowhere, and a book appeared from it.

'A spatial device? How interesting. Does it work with runes or something?'

"Here, this should give you a variety of techniques on how to skin animals according to their body structure. You know how to read, right?" she handed him the book.

"Let me check." He quickly opened it and sighed in relief—it was in Japanese. If it had been in another language, he'd have been in trouble.

"Yeah, I can read it. Finally, I could eat some real food instead of plants." He cheered, tired of eating fruits and checking for poison, looking at how many animals had consumed the same food. It was a tedious and time-consuming process.

"Oh, if you're so kind, do you have books on mana control or something? I feel like seeing existing techniques and principles will save me a lot of time," he shamelessly asked.

"Sure, but these are the ones you can find in the general library. If you want something more advanced, those are generally reserved for magic knights or monopolized by nobles or royals." She summoned a few more books and handed them to him in a carry bag.

'Wow, the day feels so bizarre. I was just joking about that, and she actually gave me the books. Also, why is she carrying all these?' He was puzzled but didn't bother to ask.

Who would argue against a gift horse in the mouth?

"Kid, do you know a good bathing spot in this forest?"

"Hmm, there's a hot spring nearby. Let me lead you to it. Wait a minute, I'll come back after hiding these." With that, he went to his temporary hideout, stashed the goods he received, and then led one of the strongest people in the Clover Kingdom to the hot springs.

None of the animals approached them due to Mereoleona not hiding her mana. It seemed there were no suicidal fellows today.

"We're here." He motioned toward the large hot spring.

"Nice. I needed a place to relax after some training I did."

'For some reason, I feel like some beings were abused while she was "training."' He sweatdropped at the thought.

"About those books, why are you car—" His words stuck in his mouth as he saw Mereoleona getting naked.

"What about those?" She removed the last bit of clothing and dived into the hot spring.

"Why are you naked? No, more properly, aren't we supposed to not show our naked bodies in front of other people?" He instantly changed his question.

"Who decided that? Those decisions are individual to take." Her words silenced him.

"Well, it doesn't really matter." He sighed.

"Why don't you join me?"

"Hmm, sure, I guess. It's been a while since I took a bath." He didn't have even an ounce of shame when he said he hadn't bathed for so long.

"So, what were you asking about earlier?"

"Hmm, I forgot." He actually momentarily forgot what he was going to ask.

As he tried to recall, she asked a question of hers.

"How did you train so far? I can see your chakra control is unrefined, but it's amazing you reached this point without any books or an instructor."

"Well, I just thought of exercises as I went along. Their effectiveness is measured by how well mana is controlled within me, I guess," he shrugged, summarizing what he was technically doing.

"Interesting. I'm really looking forward to your growth. Don't disappoint me." He shivered again due to the intensity of her gaze. He felt like he was being looked at by an apex predator and was helpless to do anything. It was absurd that she was naked.

"Ahem, anyway, the water's the right temperature here." He tried to change the topic.

"I forgot to ask, but what's your name?"

"I don't have any," he replied subconsciously.

'Name, huh? Not like it matters.'

"Oh, how about I name you Akeru?" Her sudden statement caught him off guard.

"Um, why Akeru?" he asked curiously.

"I just thought of it randomly, and it reminded me of the last thug I beat."

He looked at her incredulously and then started laughing. "Hahaahaha!"

She also started laughing.

"Why not? I'll refer to myself as Akeru from now on," he—now Akeru—decided. At least it would remind him of something funny from now on.

"You're a very funny kid. Anyway, time for me to leave, kid." With that, she got up from the hot spring and put on her clothes in a flash.

"Well then, until we meet again, I guess. I'd at least be a magic knight level next time we meet, and that's within 5 years—if we meet, that is."

"Don't die, kid." With that, she turned around and paused.

"Hmm, actually take this. My brother gave me a few of these, and I forgot about them until now. I guess there was no situation for them to be used." She handed him an orange emblem with an animal engraved on it.

"I forgot what it does, but it should give you access to the library when you go out. Just show it at the main gate of Vermillion House. Cya!" With that, she disappeared, creating shockwaves due to her speed. Air was blown away, and Akeru found himself falling into the water.

He came out, put on his clothes, and placed the emblem in his pocket. He then headed toward his hideout—a makeshift platform of branches he had molded for sitting or lying down.

'Let's see. First, I need to check the book on cooking animals after skinning them.' He sighed and started flipping through the book.

He first focused on familiar animal types and even identified the exact species of some, narrowing his focus to them.

'I know I don't mind killing animals or cutting their heads off, but this must be another level.' He made a disgusted face and began looking for prey to kill.

Days passed, and he could now get food easily, and his training time increased.

Time passed quickly.

***

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