Chương 65: Thrown Into the Unknown

Four days had passed. Today was the fourteenth of February. In those four days we only performed light self-training with little support from Master. We completed the usual morning routine and sparred against each other. I won against Galer, gaining more of a foothold as my Animo combined with my Vestuto crushed his newly adapted durability into dust.

Still, I could clearly feel the greater potential he carried within him and how he kind of was holding back as his thoughts drifted into combing his prims wings for something or at least that what it looked like to me. Master, true to his nature, had finally formed a great idea after thinking hard about how to push us to the next stage. Both of us now stood at 8, 100 Animo in base. Before telling us what came next, he gave each of us an individual task to improve upon. He spoke first to Galer.

"Galer, you need to finalize the combination of your prism wings with your crest. But first, it is more about believing in yourself, as I saw you question yourself way too many times during training. You also need to build on the durability aspect of your Vestuto so you can evolve it back to its original state, which exists thanks to your noble lineage." Galer accepted the task with a nod and a smile. His single eye shone with clear admiration toward Master and his direct guidance.

Then Master turned to me and asked only one thing: to learn how to burn my Cor Flamma into my brain, gain access to the Soul Attribute residing there, and apply it as my own. I argued against the idea at once, telling him that the last time I tried something similar I had lost control and still could not remember what happened while my brain burned and its to soon in my opinion, since i recently just learned my Cor Flamma. He flicked my forehead. I flew into the wall.

"You insolent disciple… why do you think I made you master your first attribute? Because it was unstable and you could not control it. That should not happen again. Now it will allow you to combine them slowly you create the Mold breaking power i am seeking to bring out of you." As I emerged from the wall like a smacked fly and fell back to the ground, I shouted, "Ouch, Master! That hurt!" A deep dent remained in the spot I had struck.

Master looked pissed for a moment, then quickly changed his tone as he continued explaining the true task.

"Both of you will fly to different close locations in the biggest battlefield nation. There you will find the greatest potential for growth and the answer to your problems with real combat and adversity." He wore a wicked smile. Before he could say more, Galer interrupted by bowing deeply toward our Master. He explained that he wanted to stay and work directly under him instead as his style is more suited to study more under master and his hard strict guiding hand.

Master did not like the request at first and demanded the true reason. Galer answered directly that I, Erumes, was already too far ahead in Vestuto comparrison, and that the trip would only make the gap even larger in my favor. He wanted to learn the Gyehanpa and combine it with his. Master became angry. The entire room began shaking. The training hall vibrated as his Animo rose rapidly.

Galer quickly added, "If I am not worthy of learning Gyehanpa, then at least I want your defensive style as an ideal I can apply to my own, like i already begged you esteemed master." Master cooled down, touched his royal beard, and finally agreed.

"If a student truly wishes to follow his master, then so be it. I will guide you, Galerius de Firius, so you do not fall further behind in your Vestuto. Then one day you will no longer follow Erumes' steps… and perhaps even outrun him." I jumped forward at once, also dropping into a bowing position, desperate not to be thrown into some strange location and instead learn from the best. Master, wearing that same wicked smile, simply scooped me up while I was still bowing and carried me outside the dojo.

Galer walked beside him. Both of them exchanged hidden laughing glances at my mixed complaints with pleading tone, which only angered me further. My temper rose. I cursed him openly. Master with a mad turning smile began air-walking upward with Galer right behind him. He asked if I had any last words, since he will no longer explain the things he wanted to explain. Now, I have to find everything out on my own... thanks to my cursing. I pleaded to be let go.

"I will clean the dojo! I will listen! I will ask no more stupid questions and also stop the cursing your are not an old fart!" He pondered for a moment, then answered, "I will throw you now. After one year I will pick you up and see how much that world has improved you." Right before the throw I shouted, "Wait, Master! There is one thing. I need my weapon the Diamoness, my sword-axe. If you are throwing me into a strange unknown location I need my weapon and some coin!"

Master looked at Galer and ordered him to fetch my weapon. He also slipped one osmium into my pocket from his own. Galer returned quickly with my sheathed sword-axe and secured it onto my back. I asked for one final mercy to be at least brought there not to be thrown.

"I can't even air-walk like you two!" Master's reply came in a derisive tone.

"That's a you problem!" With that he threw me with such tremendous force that I shot through the air. My face was forced backward by the sheer power of the throw. I screamed at the top of my lungs:"Master! When I meet you again in this Island I will destroy your favorite tea jar into pieces! I SOLEMNLY SWEAR! IF I SURVIVE, THAT WILL BE THE NEXT THING I DO TO YOUUUUUUU—!"

I flew across the wide world, soaring through the Gongreyo Nation toward the immense Beakian Mountains that formed the natural border between Gongreyo and the unknown nation beyond. The Beakian Mountains rose before me like the jagged spine of some ancient, sleeping beast. They stretched endlessly to create a colossal wall of stone that split the continent in two. The peaks stabbed high into the sky, many of them sharp and curved like the beaks of gigantic predatory birds the reason for their name.

Some summits were black as volcanic glass, others pale grey or deep iron-red, as if the mountains themselves had been stained by centuries of blood. Snow clung stubbornly to the highest ridges even though we were only in mid-February, while lower slopes were covered in dense, dark forests that looked almost black from above. Sheer cliffs dropped thousands of meters into mist-filled valleys. Razor-edged ridges cut through the clouds.

Between the peaks, narrow passes wound like scars, most of them clearly impassable without flight or extreme climbing skill. And the wind grew powerful and a storm raged around me. Right through the loud thunder I heard the heavy "bam" of impacts inside the storm. In my mind I begged Michaelanius to grant me a good path ahead to land safely. I prayed hard. The windstorm mixed with rain seized me and threw me from the west toward the north.

With that powerful force against me I was lifted and flung out of the raining storm into a cloud-free region of lush, spring-ready broadleaf forests covering huge hills. Those hills were themselves surrounded by enormous mountains. This new terrain and biome surprised me with how beautiful it looked, warming my flying heart. As my speed finally lost its footing I found myself above a huge mountain. I crash-landed into the trees, desperately trying to avoid the worst of it.

In quick response I hit the first massive timber with my back, then rolled with the impact toward the branches. I kept rolling, reducing the incoming damage by moving my body as much as possible and aiming for the branches rather than the thick trunks. I successfully slowed myself enough to grab a branch, roll up twice, and then land rolling with both hands on the ground, legs settling into a clean stance.

Leaves and broken branches exploded around me like a green storm as I landed in a low crouch, one knee touching the mossy ground, sword-axe still secured on my back. The impact sent a powerful shockwave through the forest floor, shaking nearby trees. Dust and leaves swirled violently around me. I slowly stood up, stretched my neck with a loud crack, and breathed heavily but remained alive in body and spirit. First question: where was I? Who could be here to help me?

I was also getting hungry, but that problem was already covered. From the pocket of my loincloth pants I took out a jar of the good stuff from Sasaldo the godlike-tasting honey. I licked some immediately and felt the taste satiate me, though unfortunately not for long. I had created far too much noise with my screaming and the crash landing. A group of four amber-hued skinned warriors with phoenix-like eyes reacted with angry expressions.

Their long green-golden glaives each carried a massive crescent blade at the top with intricate dragon engravings running down the reinforced shaft and a sharp counter-spike at the bottom. They wore Mountain Scale Armor, characterized by small overlapping scale-like plates arranged in a distinctive mountain-like pattern that gave excellent flexibility combined with strong defense.

The main color was deep black, accented by crimson red silk and bright gold detailing on the edges, dragon motifs, and decorative plates. Ornate helmets with tall white feather plumes, layered shoulder guards trimmed with white fur, red silk sashes and tassels, gold dragon emblems on the chest and shoulders, black-and-gold greaves with red accents, and long flowing dark grey/black capes completed their appearance. The armor mixed ironcoal, leather, and silk.

The four of them attacked me before even asking a single question. Before I could speak I dodged all four, jumped onto the point of one glaive staff, and kicked the man in the face... yet he did not budge. They were not weak on any means. I could not read their exact Animo, but I felt their presence more clearly now and judged them to be at least five to seven thousand Animo. So I raised my own Animo. Both hands balled into fists as I jumped back. My power released further.

They answered with the same kindness and raised theirs in turn. We had a good fight. I moved like a blazing shadow, Cor Flamma flickering across my arms as I traded blows with their glaives. Sparks flew every time metal met my hardened flaming fists. One warrior thrust his glaive toward my chest. I spun around it, grabbed the shaft, and used it as leverage to kick another attacker in the ribs. The forest echoed with the sounds of clashing weapons and the grunts we released.

They were coordinated and skilled, circling me with practiced precision. Their glaives whistled through the air like angry serpents. I ducked under a sweeping strike, countered with a flaming uppercut that cracked one man's chest plate and sent him crashing into a tree. Another tried a thrusting attack from behind. I twisted at the last moment, elbowed him in the jaw, and followed with a powerful kick that lifted him off the ground. The battle intensified. Leaves flew wildly from the trees around us as we moved.

I landed heavy flaming strikes, each one forcing them to defend desperately. One by one they fell until I stood victorious, breathing heavily as the four warriors lay defeated but alive around me. As I wanted to help them up and ask a question, another group joined the fray. Our battle had been loud and powerful enough that others nearby came to check the situation. This new group included a much stronger presence among them. I chose first to go into hiding. I did not want to stir more unwarranted trouble.

So I ran downward into the strange land with optimism and anxiety walking hand in hand. In a way… I kind of enjoyed this new challenge from Master...