NOCTEM

Doubt

'Tch! what was I expecting.. for a minute I actually got my hopes up, I forgot how mad he was.. less than a year? What a joke.'

Nox could only shake his head in disappointment, he wasn't even looking at the eccentric wizard anymore. He had gotten a little excited from everything the wizard had mentioned, the fallen shadow god battle art in question was something Nox was eager to learn.

If he could learn a god's battle art, not only would he be able to defend himself but he could potentially become insanely strong, strong enough that his goal of getting revenge for the death of his parents wouldn't seem so distant anymore, but he seemed to have gotten his hopes up a little too early.

What was he expecting? For a sorcerer to teach him the battle art of a fallen deity, one that could at the very least take him more than a hundred years to master, he didn't have that much time on his hands and the mad sorcerer was blatantly spouting rubbish about teaching him something in which the deity had accumulated over his years of living.

But was the wizard really talking nonsense? What if the wizard was right, what if there was actually a way for him to learn it and that too within a year?.

Somewhere within his mind Nox was still hoping that everything the wizard said was in fact possible, and that there was a way he could learn it quickly, though learning something that wasn't meant for mortals and that in such a short while would eventually have its drawbacks.

"You doubt me?." Eren asked in such a carefree tone that if Nox was actually considering his words on the battle arts before, then now Nox had completely dismissed any lingering hope he had left.

Nox replied, his tone icy.

"Was I supposed to actually believe you?."

The wizard had a smug look on his face as he cleared his throat.

"Yes.. Yes, you should believe me when I say that you can learn the fallen shadow god battle art in less than a year."

Nox didn't even have the words to retort to the witch, pointlessly exchanging words with someone who seemed mad would automatically make him the same.

Instead he turned his head to the side, resting his face on his left hand, his facial expression had become distant once again and he was back to being immersed within his thoughts.

He stayed like that for a while, occasionally stealing glances at the eccentric wizard who was muttering something about being hungry.

When the mutters of the wizard had grown far too annoying for Nox to bear, he sighed and turned to the wizard.

"If you're that hungry then go and hunt for something to eat."

The wizard stopped his mutters, blinked a few times and then grinned.

"Oh my lovely student.. Thank you for volunteering to help this poor old teacher of yours."

Nox retorted with a deadpan look.

"I never said I was going to help you."

His teacher smiled cheekily with his eyes closed.

"~Now..Now, it's quite late isn't it? Hurry up little one, you know how dangerous these woods get when it's nightfall."

Nox usually didn't display his emotions nor did he this time, but there was a large bulging vein that was quite visible on his face.

'Damn you!'

****

Hunting for some edible beasts in the cursed forest didn't take Nox much time to accomplish, it was almost laughable how surviving and residing in a place known as a death zone was strangely comfortable for Nox and the eccentric wizard, granted he was slowly having some resistance to the hex of the forest.

He had hunted quite a feast, as luck would have it, he didn't need to venture deep into the forest before he stumbled upon the two hunts which he had killed.

One was trying to prey on a harmless bunny looking kind of beast, the predator looked like a warthog but it was a little bit smaller and fatter, it had several horns on its head, about five horns while it had four protruding out of its upper lips area.

Yes.. Yes, it was quite the ugly beast but did looks really matter when the stomach became the priority?, maybe to some but Nox sure wasn't going to be picky about his food when he was starving after a long session of training.

Luckily the ugly beast had injured its prey so the bunny type beast didn't have the strength to escape while Nox was killing the ugly beast.

At the moment.. he was back to the campfire where his eccentric teacher was humming a happy tone which only served to annoy Nox further.

"Would you quit doing that?" Nox angrily questioned as he glared daggers at his teacher.

The strange wizard gave a mocking look at his student.

"You're such a killjoy, are you sure you're even a kid?."

Nox scoffed.

"Are you sure you're an adult?."

"Why? I don't seem to have the body of a thirteen year old, now do I?" His teacher replied.

The wizard glanced at the roasted meat of the ugly beast, and that of the bunny beast, without moving from his spot he created two plates and various cutleries there were also some spice and toppings which he had laid down separately while he was grilling the meat.

He was about to serve the meat into the plates when a loud growl sounded from Nox's position.

Nox quickly tried to look away to hide his embarrassment but the eccentric wizard had already noticed his stomach rumbling.

'Great, now he won't let me hear the end of it. In a way it's his fault.. I've been swinging training sticks till I couldn't feel my hands anymore and I did the hunting it's his fault for being so slow with the cooking.'

Much to his surprise, his teacher merely smiled, continued dishing the food and added some toppings.

When he had finished, he gave his hungry student his dish and began to eat his in a surprisingly graceful manner.

Sometimes the eccentric spellcaster exhibited a regal behavior that felt so out of place with his strange nature, but then again eren definitely has the looks of a noble so it wouldn't even be much of a surprise if he was one.

Nox had noticed this as well but he didn't want to pry into the eccentric wizard background, he was a bit curious but that wasn't his priority, neither was that the question he had in mind to ask the wizard.

He contemplated for a short while before he finally asked the question that had been on his mind since the day his parents died.

" Eren.. Who is Irene?."