"It's so cold..." Rebecca complained, stepping out of the carriage.
"Not at all," Ivan joked.
"No fun."
"Where are they going?" Theo asked, watching Amiah and Paul walk away.
"No idea..."
The two mentors entered the woods beside the carriages. Paul sat on a rock, while Amiah remained standing, searching for a vantage point to keep an eye on the students.
"What's up?" Paul asked, trying to light a cigarette. However, Amiah snatched it from his hand and threw it on the ground.
"Let's split them into pairs."
"But there are five of them. One will be left alone."
"I'll go with him. You stay in the carriages, keep watch, and assist the others if they get lost."
"You're going with blondie? Why?" Amiah and Paul locked eyes. "Ah... Because of the ether."
"His core must be collapsing. Ether is complex and denser than mana. Just giving him an amplifier won't help if he can't properly control his own energy. The same goes for the others. We need to show them how it's done in practice."
"Hmm..." Paul muttered thoughtfully. "What about you and his father? Both of you have ether, right? How did you manage it?"
Amiah sighed deeply.
"I met his father twenty-five years ago. He was still a teenager but already had a bond with the Phoenix. That was our starting point. Ethan and I have a mythical Wicca, while Theo doesn't and never will."
"How can you be so sure? As far as I know, Wiccas appear when you discover your essence."
"Yes and no. There are cases like Ethan's. He just discovered he had ether, and then the Phoenix established a bond. It was through my essence, but it took me over five years to achieve that. Theo hasn't even had a year, unless we help him."
"With what?"
"The energy has to go through nuclear fusion. At first, ether dissipates like water, unless the kid knows how to store it in the chakra disks. His experiment might be brilliant, but soon he won't be able to do anything due to the amount of mana trying to overpower the ether."
"Are you speaking from experience?"
"Yes," Amiah replied, staring intently at Theo. "It feels like a century ago, but I'll never forget it."
Theo felt a sharp pain in his solar plexus, as if someone was watching him. Looking into the woods, he saw Amiah and Paul returning.
"Alright, kids," Paul said, walking to his bag in the carriage. He grabbed five notebooks and tossed them to the students. "You'll split into pairs: Tony and Ivan, Beca and Aryna. Theo stays with Mentor Amiah. In each of these notebooks, you'll record information about every living creature in there. That means you'll have to study every animal and creature you find in this forest... Don't worry, I'll be out here."
"We have to catalog animals?" Antony asked, losing enthusiasm.
"Exactly. Good luck."
"Why?" Rebecca asked.
Amiah sighed heavily.
"This forest is called the 'North Wind Forest,'" Amiah explained. "Because of the anemo creatures inside. Generally, they're animals and beasts ranging from grade one to grade six. The cataloging mission will also help you earn reputation points and level up."
"Why are we here, then?" Antony asked, entering the forest with Theo and Ivan.
Rebecca's eyebrows shot up at the boy's sudden change in mood. Aryna grabbed her shoulders, saying:
"I told you boys are suicidal..."
☽✪☾
What's the worst feeling you've ever experienced? Maybe anxiety, or intense fear? That feeling that makes your adrenaline skyrocket. If you asked Theo, he wouldn't say death. He'd definitely say: The agonizing sensation of seeing what brings death.
Try to imagine something you can't process. A being so ridiculous you can't believe it exists. When Paul said to catalog the animals and creatures in the journal, the first thing that came to Theo's mind was him, the black knight who caused his trauma: Dullahan.
He started drawing on the first page. A helmetless armor, next to it, a loose head with long white hair. With no description other than the name, it's the only information Theo has. Flipping to the next page, he hides the drawing of the messenger of death and looks around.
"Found nothing?" Amiah asked, approaching Theo, who shook his head. "Alright. Put the notebook in a safe place. Sit on the ground comfortably and close your eyes."
"Meditation?"
"Yes."
Theo carefully closed the notebook, placing it under a rock, and sat cross-legged on the ground. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.
"How many energy points can you feel? And where are they?"
Theo felt as if his soul had left his body. A copy of his own body, but made of golden energy, appeared before him. Three points of light shone brightly.
"Three. One in the throat, another in the heart, and the last... in the solar plexus."
'Ether, wind, and fire...' Amiah thought.
"The one in the throat is the one that represents energy the most."
"Right. Makes sense, since your core is ether. Can you see a vein in the throat disk? Connecting upward."
"Yes. It's almost transparent and basically disappears at the chin..."
Amiah pointed his index finger at Theo's throat.
"Don't worry, I'm just amplifying the ether. It's like a covalent bond. I'm helping you reach stability. How's it going?"
"The vein is extending to the nose... now between the eyes, going to the forehead. Forming a disk..."
The energy vein stretched from Theo's throat to the center of his forehead, creating a disk that gave him a brief headache. Feeling a sharp pain, Theo opened his eyes.
"Don't worry. Now try opening your eyes and see what's changed."
"Nothing..." As he opened his eyes, he noticed no difference. But after blinking several times, he realized. "I can see more clearly..."
"What we did was awaken the third eye disk. It improves your perception. Not to mention, you now have two cores for the ether to stabilize."
"My problem is the lack of ether, not its overload," Theo retorted, massaging his forehead.
"Use that brain of yours. Do only deviants have cores?" Amiah asked.
"No. Any mana creature can have a core."
"Mana beast is a very generalized term. Like deviants, animals with cores also have energy derivations. The flying ones, for example. How do you think they fly? Like regular birds? No. They have an ether core."
"How does that change my current situation?"
"These animals kill not for meat, but for the core. They consume the ether in others' systems. See where I'm going with this?"
"So..." He swallowed dryly before continuing. "You created this cataloging mission so we can learn to kill and absorb their energy?"
"Exactly. It might seem savage, but it's what we used in wars," Amiah said, patting his clothes. "Alright, enough time has passed. The third eye chakra should have stopped bothering you. Start hunting," Amiah ordered, disappearing with the hiss of a snake.
"Son of a..."
☽✪☾
Antony ran through the bushes, leaping over branches, ravines, and small caves. A wolf's roar echoed to his right, making him speed up even more. Creating a shield and a sword out of metal, he turned around abruptly.
The wolf lunged at Antony's shield, its surface vibrating from the impact. Antony felt the weight of the animal, slightly retreating his arms, but he held on and swung the sword forcefully, cutting through the air. At the right moment, the wolf jumped up, narrowly escaping the strike.
The wolf let out a loud roar that emitted an intense vibration. The force was so powerful that it distorted the shapes of Antony's weapons in an instant. The shield began to warp, and the sword bent, rendering them useless.
"What the hell...!"
The animal charged at Antony and leaped onto his shoulders. As Antony leaned back, the wolf's claws tore through his skin. He let out a muffled cry of pain and fell backward onto the ground.
From a rock behind the wolf, Ivan jumped with his hands together and palms open. A cold breeze spread through the air, enveloping the animal's back, which writhed in pain upon feeling the ice.
Seizing the opportunity, Antony created chains to immobilize the wolf. Tying its two legs, he pulled the chains to the side, forcing the wolf to the ground.
Once on the ground, Antony threw a dagger to Ivan, aiming to finish the animal. Intending to end its suffering, Ivan struck with a cut to the throat, where one of the wolf's disks was located.
"I couldn't let it die of hypothermia," Ivan said, pulling the blade from the animal's skin.
"It's a Sirius. I've seen many of these at the castle. They're wolves trained for war, usually with some elemental ability, ranging from vishuddha to sahasrara. In the wild, they travel in packs, so we must not be far from their alpha," Antony commented, looking at his torn shoulders. "Did you write down everything I said?"
"What? I already cataloged the Riusverta serpent. Now it's your turn."
"Seriously? Look at my shoulders, man. Do you think I can do anything with this?"
"You're right," Ivan agreed. "We're two hours from the complex, maybe you should go back to Paul and ask for help. You can quit and go back to Wispells, stay there while we head to Fulmenbour."
"Quit? What's quitting?" Antony snatched Ivan's journal. The latter fell silent.
"I hate people like you. With motivational thoughts stuck in your head. You're fools who don't understand the value of a life."
"You like Theo, don't you?"
"Yes. He's the only respectable one among you four."
"He's just like me. The concept of 'quitting' doesn't exist in his vocabulary. For example: he's a grade two beginner, Mentor Paul is grade nine, he could defeat us with a single move."
Antony found support and sat cross-legged on the ground to start taking notes.
"Even so, he was the first to get up from the chair to fight. On a battlefield, it would be like a soldier with only a week of experience trying to face a Titan. He didn't quit and charged forward. He showed determination and courage."
"The difference between you two is that he understands the value of a life. Even though he's from a noble family, unlike you, he wasn't raised in a castle in the capital. For him, the world isn't made of gold, but of lives."
"Let's ask him when we find him."
"Whatever. Are you done?"
"Yes. Should we take the corpse to Paul? Like, something as valuable as a live Sirius is a dead Sirius. And the folks at Fulmenbour like to study this breed for scientific purposes. It must be about two years old, at the peak of its species' evolution."
"How do you know so much about this wolf?"
"I had one as a child, but my brother took it when he came to Vagus."
"I see. Then let's take it."
A shot echoed through the forest. The birds, startled, flew away at dusk.
"Is that Aryna?" Antony asked.
"Yes. They must still be fighting those turtles from earlier..."
☽✪☾
Mimicking a gun with her fingers, Aryna fired a water projectile while Rebecca created barriers to protect her friend. A giant turtle leaped from a stream bed toward Aryna, but she was shielded by the barrier. Upon impact, Rebecca absorbed the damage and was thrown back.
"These turtles have abnormal strength..." Rebecca complained, getting up.
"Yeah. Dispel the barriers. I don't want you getting hurt because of me."
As she dispelled the barriers protecting Aryna, Rebecca created two translucent disks and threw them at two turtles, which were launched away.
Aryna created a water whip at the tip of her right index finger and calmed her mind, taking a deep breath.
"For example, if you create a high-pressure water jet, you can cut through diamond like paper," she remembered Theo's words.
Swinging her hand, she lashed the water whip around, trying to hit the turtles, splitting trees and rocks in half in the process. Even the stream's flow was interrupted, and most importantly: six turtles were killed.
"Damn pretty nerd..." Aryna cursed, seeing the high-pressure whip cut her own cheek. "I used a lot of mana... maybe it's a warning not to push it further."
"That was both amazing and terrifying," Rebecca commented.
"Actually, it was overkill," Antony muttered from the top of a hill.
"Go to hell!" Aryna exclaimed. "What are you doing here again?"
"Your shots were echoing through the forest, we thought the defenseless little girl might need help."
"Was that the high-pressure jet Theo mentioned?" Ivan asked, descending the hill.
"Yes. I focused more on destructive power than precision. I regret it a bit... now my core hurts."
"You used too much mana, it's normal."
"It's getting dark..." Rebecca murmured.
"Scared?" Antony taunted.
Aryna jumped onto her friend's back, almost choking her with her robust chest.
"Beca, let's go. Leave this idiot talking to himself."
"How many animals have you cataloged?" Ivan asked before the girls left.
"Eight. We only got insects and are about to catalog the turtle now," Rebecca replied.
"They only asked for ten."
"Really? Then we're almost done," Aryna said.
With a chain tied to his wrist, Antony dragged the Sirius corpse down the hill.
"What's that?"
"We're taking it to Fulmenbour. Some scientists there like to study magical breeds," Antony replied.
"Good thing I won't be in your carriage. Imagine the smell? Gross."
"The two of us won't mind. I think Theo and Sir Amiah won't either."
"Speaking of Theo..." Aryna said. "Where is he now? I need to ask him how much pressure is needed for the spell to work."
"I think he's with Mentor Amiah..."
Theo was being thrown into an abyss.