"I understand you want to teach me, but I don't want you to be my teacher," Rocky responded coldly. He enjoyed torturing the old man by making him wait in suspense. The truth was he was ecstatic when he found out how much Sheridan wanted to mentor him. He had mastered the Magical Evaluation Skill, the most powerful evaluation skill in the Wild Spirit Land. If he were to gain both Beast Taming Skill and Beast Curing Skill from Sheridan, he would improve enormously. He saw how desperately Sheridan wanted him, and Rocky decided to play hard to get. In that way, Sheridan would not withhold anything from him and would exhaust any means to help Rocky learn.
"Hey, young man. Show your teacher some respect. Actually, scratch that. I don't really care for formalities and stuff. Starting tomorrow, you'll be learning the Beast Taming Skill. After that, I will teach you the Beast Curing Skill. You still have a long way to go before you can master the Beast Evaluation Skill and you have still yet to learn about the spirit-manipulated beasts. Through the years, I have compiled this much information about spirit-manipulated beasts. Have a look," Sheridan told Rocky as he took out a thick, worn out directory from under his coat.
"There's no need for that. My brain is filled with information about spirit-manipulated beasts. I bet I know more about them than you," Rocky answered as he waved his hand dismissively. He had all the information from the Beast Encyclopedia stored in his brain. He could describe each and every kind of spirit-manipulated beast in detail.
"I doubt that. Please don't make any more excuses to get out of our lessons." Sheridan thought Rocky was making this up. He did not know Rocky owned the only copy of the Beast Encyclopedia in the whole Wild Spirit Land.
"If you don't believe me, quiz me then. If I answer any question wrong, I'll take you as my teacher. But if I get them all correct, you have to call me teacher," Rocky wagered, raising his eyebrow slightly. He was eager to provoke Sheridan.
"Oh, you're on!" Sheridan agreed. He was very skeptical of Rocky's declaration; he didn't believe he got everything memorized.
Sheridan started to quiz Rocky with difficult and quaint questions about spirit-manipulated beasts.
An hour passed and Sheridan was frozen in disbelief. He stared at Rocky in awe and dubiety. He was rendered speechless by Rocky's vast knowledge about spirit-manipulated beasts. Rocky had answered all the questions he raised correctly and quickly. Rocky's answers were even more accurate and informative than the information he had.
"What now? Did I win?" Rocky asked with a cunning smile.
"Hey, kid. Tell me. How did you know all those stuff about spirit-manipulated beasts?" Sheridan asked, still confused by how Rocky did so well. He was still struck with disbelief at how knowledgeable Rocky was regarding spirit-manipulated beasts.
"Did you not think there exist other people who are better than you? Well, a deal is a deal. You lost. You have to call me teacher," Rocky teased as he laughed at Sheridan's expression.
"Ha, ha. I will exhaust all means to teach you. I believe you can definitely surpass me. I have high hopes for you, and I am sure you will accomplish a whole lot more than me. When that time comes, I'm sure Priest Dean's mouth will bubble with envy." Sheridan erupted in a laughing fit.
'That is if he still got time to envy you. By that time, I would have taken everything from him. I will leave him with nothing but a bad reputation, ' Rocky thought, his eyes blazing with cruelty.
"I've got to go now." Rocky grew tired of the conversation he and Sheridan were having. He turned his back towards Sheridan, preparing to leave.
"Hey! Make sure you get here early tomorrow," Sheridan reminded Rocky.
Rocky continued to walk away. He just waved his hand as a response, then disappeared in an instant.
At the crack of dawn the following day, Sheridan who was habitually late arrived at the beast farm. He paced up and down by the beast stable, looking around constantly.
"Why isn't he here yet?" Sheridan looked anxious, afraid that Rocky wouldn't come. The more usual case was that people looked for teachers desperately. It was quite the other way around for him. He was eager to take Rocky as his apprentice. He considered himself so fortunate to have crossed paths with the exceedingly talented Rocky. He had a feeling he would regret not taking Rocky as his apprentice.
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