Betuko was scared. The Great Mamba had taken at least two of his friends. All the Hunters knew this beast well. It was a powerful and old Awakened beast. He should not have even mentioned it.

But how could he have known this young master would be so foolish to actually contend with the Mamba. What could a child do that a dozen Hunters and Warriors couldn’t do together? 

Betuko had heard of the young sorcerer, and even laughed at the ridiculous rumors about the raptor attack fended off by a Little God.

Peh, Little God, my foot.

Maybe the child had some magic. Betuko admitted that he had clearly awakened the System very early, so maybe some talented noble from Baros. Why was he here then? Some politics beyond his head, most like.

Either way, when Betuko heard of this expedition, he thought it was just to give the child some experience. Maybe kill a few regular mana beasts and be done with it. 

But two weeks deep in the jungle to look for Awakened beasts. With only six Warriors? Veena or not, this was deadly foolish.

He understood the governor’s position. There was some power struggle going on, and everyone knew it. Betuko was loyal and would do as the master told him. But what in the spirits’ name was this foolishness? Did the governor really think this child could challenge the Belator prodigy, when even the young miss Veena could not?

The young miss seemed to respect this child, which was passing strange. The governor’s daughter wasn’t known for paying respect. Maybe the child was a cousin of hers, and she doted on him?

But she… wasn’t in charge here. Betuko couldn’t understand why. And the woman— Ramona insisted she wasn’t either. Why would they put this toddler in charge? Was this a joke? The Great Mamba could kill half of them in a single chomp if they were not careful.

The young master was bad news. Arrogant and too young for command. Who would believe he was some sorcerer, when he could barely walk. To his credit, the boy was nice enough. As far as arrogance went, the young miss of the governor’s house was much worse. 

“Mother of sea dragons, why is it always me?” Betuko muttered from his hiding spot in the bushes. If this attempt on the Mamba went wrong, he would escape.

He was under no obligation about desertion. The Warriors took an oath, but Betuko was a civilian at the end of the day. This was not his fight. At the first sign of trouble, he would run back to the city and call for healers to save the wounded.

What a waste of six good Warriors. But the governor was desperate, Betuko supposed. But in his opinion, the master had been hoodwinked by these outsiders.

This was pure madness. Just who did this little boy think he was?

Then the boy started casting his sorcery.

A globe of water appeared above his head. Heh, maybe he did have some cantrips. Betuko had seen magic before. He had shared drinks with some Shamans and even met a Witch Doctor of the Trola from the Pirate Islands. This little water spell was not a big deal. Did this young master really think he could kill the Mamba by splashing water at it?

Betuko felt the urge to run up to Veena and put a stop to this foolishness, but then the young sorcerer’s spell changed.

The water started… vibrating. The air was filled with a hum and Betuko’s Perk Danger Sense flared up. Suddenly the little cantrip had become a deadly evocation of mystical  power. Whatever the young master was doing, was suddenly urging Betuko to stay the hell out of the spell’s way. He had seen the Witch Doctor invoke a water spirit to topple a fishing boat. That had been impressive. All the Witch Doctor had to do was ask the spirit. There had been two men aboard the boat, who had toppled over. By the spirits, had Betuko laughed.

But he was not laughing now. He had been scared of the Mamba before, but now he was getting nervous about the spell. Betuko hadn’t seen anything like that before. What was happening?

And then the water mass started growing. First a globe as big as a coconut, then it grew rapidly to the size of an adult hog. And all the while the vibration increased and there was a terrible whine in the air, that chilled Betuko’s blood.

“Okay,” Betuko muttered. “That is impressive. Maybe the boy is a sorcerer. I can see why the governor likes this child. But this is a waste of good talent. He will get himself killed by the Mamba. Well, I already warned them. The better folk will make their own decisions, foolish as they are.”

But the water mass only grew further. It swirled and vibrated violently over the small child’s head, and cast a large shadow over them, for it was already the size of a small house! The warriors around the boy took a few steps back, and watched in open shock. The pack mule brayed nervously.

But the boy’s mother only smiled placidly. Even the young miss only scowled as if annoyed.

Annoyed? How was she not quaking in her boots?

“Go wake the beast up,” the boy said with an air of confidence befitting a lord from Baros.

And all the while the vibration grew. Now that the water mass was no longer growing, it seemed that whatever mystical energy the young sorcerer was infusing his evocation with, was getting unstable. 

There was an ominous hum to the water mass. It rippled as if a storm raged inside of it. Betuko’s understanding of magic had reached its limits. But he could understand the primal fear he felt deep in his core. The vibration was getting unstable and violent.

The warriors ran forward and soon the snake emerged.

It was just as frightening as Betuko remembered. He had seen it once in his early years and almost soiled himself. It had grown since.

Perhaps fifty feet in length and thick. The underbelly was a striking sickly green, and the black scales all over it gleamed in the sun. It towered over them and hissed loudly. Black bile shot out from its mouth that hissed when it hit the ground. Betuko had seen a man melt under that bile, and it still haunted his dreams.

The snake’s head undulated and rose to tower above them. The muscular gigantic body rippled as it considered its next prey. The predatory eyes flicked from target to target, but the Warriors were already sprinting to the safety of the woods nearby, where the great beast would have reduced mobility. That left the sorcerer standing in the middle of the opening.

Betuko’s heart dropped. It was so foolish to face this great monster on an open field. The boy would die here.

The Mamba attacked without hesitation. It surged towards the mana-rich boy with terrifying speed, and it crossed the opening in a few slithers. This was one of the fiercest Awakened beasts Betuko had seen.

But he was more afraid that the spell would destabilize completely right now. His Danger Sense was on full alert about the blast radius.

Thankfully it didn’t.

When the Mamba was a mere twenty feet away from the sorcerer, he unleashed his spell.

There was a loud pop in the air as the water mass above the little sorcerer launched. It coalesced in the air and turned into a point. Instead of a vibrating blob, it was now shaped like a spear. It blasted outwards with such monstrous velocity, that it dragged the leaves from branch and bush nearby, leaving Betuko in naked view. 

The water mass whistled through the air, but when it struck the Awakened beast, it did not crash into it.

Instead, something impossible happened.

It pierced the snake’s throat straight through!

The massive water mass maimed the giant snake as if it were a spear wielded by a giant. 

Then it exploded outwards from its body, creating a wide hole in the snake’s back. Water and blood mingled, leaving a cascade of pink mist behind the now teetering Mamba. Its charge was cut short and it collapsed on the ground and slid forward only to land at the feet of the sorcerer.

Betuko heard the sorcerer mutter something about inefficient stacking of kinetic components.

What in the mother of sea dragons was that?!

There was dead silence among the warriors. They emerged from the woods and simply stared at the impossible carnage staged by this toddler. This had not been a fight against an Awakened beast. 

This had been an execution.

Betuko felt his legs give and he tumbled on his hind. Even the young miss was looking at the sorcerer in pure astonishment. Only his mother smiled as if she was in on the joke. 

This felt like a joke played on them. No, no joke could be this elaborate and ridiculous. This was doubtlessly a fever dream.

JUST WHO WAS THIS YOUNG MASTER!?

“Wh—what kind of a spell was that?” the young miss asked in half a whisper.

But the sorcerer only turned to young miss Veena and gave her a stupid smile. “A big one. Pretty good, huh? It was a bit of a freestyle. I didn’t get all the components right, but the next one should be even better!”

Young miss only shook her head, while the sorcerer’s mother laughed.

Betuko was too stunned to laugh. He looked down and found he would need to change his pants.

The young sorcerer was just chatting, as if he hadn’t just turned Betuko’s understanding of what was possible on its head. 

“That’s one down. Where do you think the core is? I’d rather not dig it out myself.”