GUARDIAN OF THE END

AN: Gentlemen, don't let your thoughts wander somewhere else. This is a family-friendly chapter. Or maybe… xD.

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"Ok, so I have to milk- Wait what?!" Jason did a double-take as he saw a grin appear on Karna's face. The shepherd was clearly about to enjoy the things that would happen next.

"Don't get me wrong here but I do need help in milking all these animals," He casually waved his hand over the herd of animals. "I am getting old you know and my back hurts the more time I spend doing these things."

Jason's jaw twitched a little when he heard Karna's reason. He wondered whether Issac and Karna were friends due to their matching personalities.

After all, even though Karna looked old, he was in no way weak. He also didn't need to do anything manually and could collect the milk from the animals easily by waving his hands and using a bit of magic.

Jason would have to do the entire thing manually which was not a fun thing. He wondered whether it was a clever plan formed by Karna to make him quit just after a few days.

'If that's the case, I will stay here until he teaches me.' Jason thought resolutely before nodding at Karna.

"So, when do we start?" He asked aloud.

"We start right now." Karna then led him to the interior of the shelter before settling down on a chair.

The shepherd raised his index and middle finger to his mouth and whistled loudly, followed by the movement of the animals inside the shelter.

A herd of goats suddenly got into line as Karna nodded in approval.

"Good morning, Feta," Karna greeted the goat standing right in front of the line. "Today, I am going to manually take your milk. You mind?"

"Meeeh!" The goat bleated before shaking its head and getting into place.

Karna then lifted a silver bucket beside him and placed it under the goat. He started the process immediately after that.

'Ugh…' The entire time, Jason felt extremely awkward and wondered how he could even manage to do such a thing. He hadn't made the mistake of thinking that it would be an easy task and now that he had seen it, he knew it was hard.

[ Need a shortcut? ] The system asked.

'There is one?' Jason sounded surprised as he was eager to know a shortcut to help him get things quicker.

[ Yes there is. ] The system chuckled as Jason got even more eager. However, its next sentences made him look resigned and continue to observe Karna. [ Its self-practice. ]

Jason continued to observe Karna a few more times as the shepherd went through several goats. Soon enough, Jason was ready to try it himself as he gestured to Karna that he was ready.

"Just be gentle and everything will go well." Karna encouraged as Jason gulped and saw a goat move in front of him.

He began doing what he had seen Karna do and started the process.

'Be gentle. Be gentle. Be gentle.' He repeated the same thing over and over before he pulled on the object near his hands softly.

"Ahh!" Suddenly, a spray of pure white milk directly hit him in the face. Karna couldn't prevent himself from laughing as Jason jerked back.

"Stay still." The shepherd ordered as he got his laughter under control. He then waved his hand in front of Jason's face as the boy felt someone splashing water across his face.

The milk was immediately washed away from his face as Jason rubbed his eye which had directly been under assault by the goat.

Jason then gave the goat a lethal glare to which it responded by showing her horns in his direction.

He didn't want to admit it but the look the goat was giving him was quite lethal as he averted his gaze.

Jason suddenly felt something soft under his right hand as he looked down to see Feta standing right under his right hand.

"Don't worry about being attacked. Feta is very kind and gentle as long as you don't threaten her or do anything wrong with her." Karna spoke after seeing the exchange. "Let's continue."

Jason nodded as he felt a bit more confident after hearing Karna's words and the change in goats was also a good thing.

He once again bent down and started the process again. He kept his head far away this time but by doing so, he managed to press quite hard which made Feta meeeeeh loudly.

Feta glared at him similar to that from the last goat before she licked his right hand and walked away. Jason sighed at this as Karna patted his head gently.

"I didn't learn it in one day either and just so you know, I started manually. Come back daily at the same time and we will try again." Karna said encouragingly and was about to go back inside but was stopped by Jason.

"What about teaching me?" He asked curiously as Karna smiled,

"Your lesson for today was already over, Jason," Karna replied before walking back inside and not looking back once.

'Did he just scam me or something?' Jason wondered, knowing well that there would only be a single reply.

[ He definitely didn't and it's just day one. Try again tomorrow, host. ] The system encouraged, making Jason sigh and looked down at the ground around the entrance to the shelter.

Karna had left a bottle of milk for him before leaving. Jason bent down and picked it up before drinking it completely.

'It feels sweeter for some reason.' He observed silently before making his way back.

After reaching the manor again, Jason focused on the palm of his hand. The result was the same.

"Grandma, big brother is knocked out again!" Nora, who was now awake and looking at Jason from one of the windows of the manor, shouted.

Risa's footsteps echoed around the house as she climbed down the stairs while sighing. She walked out of the door and saw her grandson knocked out cold on the ground.

"I did say that you will learn from your mistakes but that doesn't mean you will keep on doing the same thing over and over again. The results won't change that easily." Risa sighed as she picked Jason up and took him back to the manor.

From that day onwards, Jason would go to Karna's place daily and would take the milk out of Feta. The goat had also started becoming friendlier with Jason and would gently meeeeh if he pulled too hard.

A month passed by in such a manner before Jason managed to learn how to control where the milk would fall.

"It's impressive to see that you can learn this much in a small span of time," Karna muttered in a genuinely impressed tone while observing Jason.

The latter rolled his eyes at the praise as he stood up from the ground.

"I have been working for free for an entire month. You better teach me something today or I leave." Jason demanded while glaring at Karna.

Feta, who had been watching him carefully, shook her head and moved away. She had seen the same thing happen a few times and Karna had already sent Jason back too many times.

Feta could tell that Jason was getting impatient and today was the day when he wasn't going back since his expression contained resolution. In the end, she was fine with anything as long as she got to sleep and eat.

"You still haven't realized it, have you?" Karna asked with a gentle smile as Jason kept on staring at his face.

"What?"

"What you have been doing for a month was a part of your training," Karna replied while sitting down on his knees so that he could be at Jason's eye level. "Go ahead and try using the first way to present your mana."

Jason was doubtful that he had received any training by milking a goat. However, it didn't hurt to try.

"If I am knocked unconscious, you better drop me at my home." He said with a glare before he closed his eyes and raised his right hand.

Jason then focused on his mana and slowly brought it out, expecting it to blow and knock him unconscious. Contrary to his expectations, it didn't happen.

"What did I tell you?" Karna smiled as a ball of light appeared in Jason's palm.