After taking care of all the patients, Ash was finally free in the afternoon.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and stretched his arms.
"Mom, I'm going out," he said.
Myra looked up from her desk and nodded with a smile.
She was still happy every time he called her that.
During the first few years, Ash had never called her Mom. He had only referred to her as Myra.
That had changed over the last few years.
Now he called her Mom naturally, and every single time he did, it filled her with joy.
Even after all these years, the feeling hadn't faded.
"Be careful," she said.
"I will."
Ash waved goodbye before leaving the clinic.
A while later, he arrived at the Life Woods.
Looking at the familiar forest, a grin appeared on his face.
"Time to fight magical beasts again."
Without hesitation, he leaped onto a tree branch.
Then another.
And another.
His body moved swiftly through the forest.
Soon, he reached the center of the woods.
There was a natural lake there.
The area was home to several magical beast species.
The most common were the Kroxy, crocodile-like magical beasts with Water and Earth affinities.
The other dominant species were the Koa, fish-like humanoid magical beasts with Water and Air affinities.
As soon as Ash approached the lake, two figures emerged from the water.
One was a large crocodilian humanoid covered in dark scales.
The other was a slender fish-like humanoid with blue scales.
Both were familiar faces.
Or rather, familiar beasts.
The Kroxy snorted.
"Bitch, you're here again."
Ash rolled his eyes.
"Nice to see you too, asshole."
The Kroxy, Saber, grinned, showing rows of sharp teeth.
Beside him, the female Koa shook her head.
"Childish."
Aqua then looked at Ash.
"Let's practice."
Ash nodded.
"Sure."
Despite their appearances, both beasts were actually good friends of his.
Over the years, he had become familiar with all the major magical beast species living in the Life Woods.
Besides the Kroxy and Koa, there were three other dominant species.
The Ry, wolf-like magical beasts with Fire and Air affinities.
The Shyf, puma-like magical beasts with Air and Earth affinities.
And the Xogh, beautiful fox-like magical beasts known for their cunning and intelligence.
Ash knew the leaders of all five species.
Just like Saber and Aqua, the others often trained with him.
The relationship was mutually beneficial.
The beasts helped Ash improve his combat skills by acting as sparring partners.
In return, Ash served as a healer.
There were no Light-affinity magical beasts living in the Life Woods.
As a result, healing injuries was difficult for them.
Whenever one of the beasts was injured, or when their cubs got hurt, Ash would treat them.
Over the years, a strong mutual trust had formed between them.
Of course, that trust didn't stop them from beating each other up during training.
In fact, Saber was already cracking his knuckles.
"Come on, human."
A savage grin spread across the Kroxy's face.
"Let's see if you've gotten stronger."
Ash grinned back.
"Only if you don't cry after losing again."
The entire lake suddenly became silent.
Aqua slowly took several steps backward.
Ash and Saber moved to opposite sides of the clearing while Aqua took her position between them as the referee.
She looked at both fighters carefully.
Once she was sure they were ready, she lowered her hand.
The moment she did, both Ash and Saber exploded into motion.
They immediately used Body fusion to empower themselves with elemental magic.
Ash infused his body with Air and Earth mana.
The Air element increased his speed and agility, while the Earth element strengthened his body and improved his durability.
At the same time, Saber used Water and Earth mana.
The Earth element enhanced his physical strength, while Water made his movements more fluid and flexible.
Both of them rushed forward.
Boom!
Their fists collided with enough force to create a shockwave.
Neither side backed down.
Ash immediately followed with a kick aimed at Saber's ribs.
Saber blocked it with his forearm and countered with a claw strike.
Ash narrowly dodged and retaliated with a punch to the stomach.
The two exchanged blows at incredible speed.
Dust rose around them as the ground cracked beneath their feet.
With Saber, Ash mostly focused on physical combat training.
The Kroxy leader enjoyed close-quarters fighting far more than spell battles.
Ash didn't mind either.
Physical combat helped him refine his Body fusion or elemental reinforcement techniques.
Of course, that didn't mean magic was completely absent from their fights.
From time to time, both combatants would weave spells into their attacks.
A wall of earth.
A jet of water.
A burst of wind.
Nothing too powerful.
Just enough to keep things interesting.
Meanwhile, Aqua watched from the sidelines.
She occasionally shook her head whenever the two idiots became too excited.
Despite fighting each other regularly for years, neither of them had become any calmer.
If anything, they enjoyed these battles more with each passing year.
Boom!
Another collision echoed through the clearing.
Ash slid backward several meters before digging his feet into the ground.
Across from him, Saber grinned widely.
"You're getting stronger, brat."
Ash cracked his knuckles.
"So are you."
Then both of them smiled.
And charged at each other once again.
Ash and Saber collided once more.
Their fists met in the middle with a loud bang.
This time, neither of them held back.
Saber swung his tail toward Ash's legs.
Ash jumped over it and immediately launched himself forward.
His fist shot toward Saber's face.
Saber tilted his head and narrowly avoided the punch before driving his knee into Ash's stomach.
Ash grunted and stumbled back.
Before Saber could follow up, Ash stomped his foot.
A pillar of earth erupted from the ground beneath the Kroxy.
Saber reacted instantly.
Using his Water affinity, he twisted his body and rolled away before the pillar could hit him.
The moment he landed, several water spears formed around him.
With a wave of his hand, they shot toward Ash.
Ash raised an earth wall.
The spears smashed into it and shattered.
Then Ash used Air magic to propel himself forward.
He appeared in front of Saber almost instantly.
Punch.
Kick.
Elbow.
Knee.
The two exchanged a rapid series of attacks.