He offered a silent apology to Sanson. The old man's magic was far more versatile than he had previously thought. In addition to greater elemental magic, he had learned some all-purpose spells that suited the needs of his previous life.
Sanson had been born into the royal family of his land's largest kingdom, giving him a life of freedom to pursue anything he wanted. With dozens of older brothers and sisters above him, it was a foreseen outcome that he would never succeed their shared father as king. Fine with him, as he wanted nothing more than to be a mage.
According to him, he had learned the silence spell, which cast a barrier that blocked off all sounds in its area of effect. Many times when someone had interrupted his studies he'd seen fit to cast it. Because how was he going to learn the divine secrets of magecraft when everyone around him seemed so intent on telling him what to do?
After some probing, Kay learned that he also had access to a night vision spell to read books in the dark and a very weak spell that was useful only for turning the page.
The last two aside, Kay quickly decided to put the silence spell to use. It turned out that Sanson hadn't eaten in days. Everything he tried, from burning animals to crushing them with giant boulders, left the poor creatures a little too dead to eat.
"Can you cast that silence spell on me?" asked Kay.
"I can, but not for long. My mana is low. Right now I can't even cast Explosion," said Sanson with a frown. He looked downright depressed, his brown and wrinkled face etched with sadness.
Kay had them travel east, in the direction of the tower, but his intentions lay elsewhere. After the spectacle of the old man's magic, it was certain that the area would be bereft of any animals. Hell, even his instincts were warning him to stay away from the old wizard. But he needed him, so he headed east with Sanson at his side.
When they were a couple hundred feet away from the explosion site, Kay asked the wizard to cast the silence spell. He saw what he'd been looking for up ahead, two brown-furred deer-like creatures were drinking from a puddle. They had short, rounded horns and long, blackened mouths. Their backs turned, Kay saw a ripe opportunity.
Waving his staff took considerable effort from Sanson, who looked to be nearing his limits when it came to casting. Breathily heavily, he almost lost his balance but was able to use his staff as a cane for support. His wrinkles deepened, and for the first time Kay saw him as the older man that he was. The old man's mana seemed to be tied to his life force; overcasting had crippled him to the level of a frail old man.
The silence spell cast, Kay hurriedly helped Sanson into a sitting position in the cover of some bushes. He could no longer hear his own footsteps, nor the panting of his distressed companion. In the distance, he could still discern the sway of leaves and buzz of insects, however, everything within a ten foot radius around him had gone quiet.
Not knowing how long the spell's effects would last, he quickly scanned his surroundings and found the biggest stone he could find. It was a damp rock roughly 40-50 pounds heavy, which was starting to feel oddly at home in Kay's hands. Equipped with his weapon of choice, he kept a steady walking pace as he approached his prey from behind.
The spell should've masked all sound, so he was tempted to run but wanted to avoid the unaware animals from catching a sudden burst of movement in their peripheral vision. Wading through the exceptionally wet, marshlike mud caused by the traces of the Sanson's water spell, he thought that if not for the silence his prey would've long ago sensed his approach.
As he closed the distance and the deer-like beasts entered the range of the spell, their bodies stiffened. The sounds of their lapping tongues no longer produced sound, which seemed to have disturbed them. Hastening his pace into a slow jog, Kay fiercely fought against the harsh pull of the mud as he desperately inched towards his goal. Seven feet. Five feet. If he dived he could reach them.
Though it was impossible for him to be heard, the beast on the left turned its head towards him. Panic and fear evident in its eyes, it sank its long, powerful legs into the ground, kicking up clumps of mud, using the force to flee.
The other one responded a little later, starting its retreat just as Kay was swinging the deadly stone towards its rear legs. It crashed into the back two appendages, and though Kay couldn't hear, he felt it as the bones cracked. The lack of resistance as his weapon completed its arch left a sickening feeling in his stomach.
Falling on it's side, the crippled creature flailed wildly. Unable to stand and abandoned by its friend, it had lost any hope of survival. Its mouth opened widely and its throat muscles strained, repeating that action over and over again as it thrashed its torso and limbs frantically.
Several seconds passed and the deep knot in Kay's stomach tightened, the grave nature of his next action set in his mind. Though he had attempted to hunt several times in the jungle, each attempt had ended in failure. Even then, he had always planned on aiming for the head so that the death would be swift.
Things hadn't gone as planned. The beast had attempted escape, so he'd be forced to deliver a second blow. He'd never killed before. His last life had been free of violence and he hoped that the same would be true of his next life. He didn't know exactly where these trials were taking place. Some separate dimension or something akin to a dream he guessed. With any luck, the trials would be the only place he'd take a life.
With a silent apology he brought down the stone on the beast's head, putting an end to its silent screams.