B2. 20 - Over the Plains

Elian tweaked his daily routine after they left the Sabyn Mountains and continued their journey to Ohmenstrat. He woke up early, with the last of the stars still twinkling in the sky before daybreak.

As the undrawn carriage rolled along the rough road, Elian sat on the soil box on the carriage’s roof, soaking in the vigorous energies of the Fecund Ground while meditating and summoning constructs. As luck would have it, the Fecund Ground also increased the Aether density around him, amplifying the effects of his Aether training. Numerous constructs floated around him, molding and churning unto themselves like abstract Rubik’s Cubes.

Such a long time ago… He’d get melancholic whenever he remembered tidbits of his life on Earth. He never did learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, despite a friend trying to teach him.

When this was all over, maybe he could invent the Rubik’s Cube. It’d be Elian’s Cube. The people of Fellenyr would probably buy it, and he’d retire on the small fortune he’d make.

Silly thoughts.

Elian looked at what Reese was doing. The young Grovenian pushed all their belongings to the end of the roof to make his own space for training. He practiced sword forms, making sure to maintain his balance as the carriage buckled on stones and uneven ground. Reese’s entire body glowed a slight crimson as he practiced finesse in controlling his energies.

The curious scents coming out of the windows of the carriage, some enticing, some nauseating, meant that Gideon was also awake. Elian guessed that Gideon was tinkering with the potions Lensa gifted them, probably trying to unravel how they were made.

When the sun had fully revealed itself, Gideon parked the carriage by the side of their path. Reese set out to light a small fire to boil water for a special tea. According to Gideon, the crushed magical leaves and other ingredients of the tea would help Elian and Reese in their training. However, the stoves inside Gideon’s carriage worked nonstop for his experimental brews, and so Reese volunteered to be in charge of their daily tea.

As Reese prepared the flames, Elian ventured away, finding a spot to call upon his Tribulation. Its powerful crash echoed throughout the forest, disturbing the resting wildlife. Elian couldn’t really do anything about the noise.

“Here you go, Penitent—erm, I mean, Elian.” Reese handed Elian a steaming cup of Gideon’s tea.

Elian took a sniff. A sharp medicinal taste went up his nose. What else could he expect from it? He held his breath and downed the drink in one deep gulp. The liquid burned his throat as it went down, eventually warming his stomach. His body tingled as the drink energized him. It was like drinking an energy drink mixed with three espresso shots.

“Wow, that’s strong!” Elian exclaimed, looking at his empty cup. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a week. What the hell is in this?”

“I don’t think the floramage would tell us,” Reese said as he shook his body. He then glanced at the carriage’s door. “He’s still not coming out?”

“Probably finishing writing down his observations,” Elian said. “Let’s not waste time.”

Elian and Reese had decided last night that they should spar every chance they got, so both of them could prepare for the Sarnival Port tournament. This benefited Elian more than it did Reese because Elian didn’t have any experience fighting another person with this zero Attack, super tanky build.

Elian was down to his pants—Reese would just tear his shirt anyway—holding his Warkodon mace with his left hand for added Armor. His right arm was still covered with the cocoon. He might be imagining it, but the cocoon seemed to have grown larger. Perhaps, it was unraveling.

“The tournament arena is around this large,” Elian explained to Reese, quickly drawing a wide rectangle on the ground using his Aether constructs. “There are three ways to win a match. First, you can knock out your opponent.”

“Does killing the opponent count as knocking them out?” Reese asked. “Do they have rules against it?”

“Killing isn’t disallowed, but very frowned upon. The Caelidon family, priding themselves as duelists, would think that the fighter isn’t capable if he cannot control his winning blow. It affects asking favors from them if you do win the tournament. Also, expert Healers are invited to the tournament. Only the most fatal of injuries will result in a kill. Anyway, the two other paths to victory are making the opponent submit and throwing the opponent out of bounds.”

“The last method is your best bet at winning,” Reese said. “Given that you’re not particularly trained in offensive combat. I suppose, you can call for your Tribulation.”

“Only if I’m left with no choice,” Elian replied. “I can use it only once a day. And whoever I’d use it on will most likely die or be grievously injured. I’d rather that not happen. That’s why I’m going to practice throwing people out of the arena.”

“Amusingly enough,” Reese said, “that’s also the way to defeat you.”

And, magic, Elian added in his head. He didn’t tell Reese about his weakness because he couldn’t yet trust the young Grovenian. Elian kept reminding himself that this Reese wasn’t his friend from his previous life. Yet. He was confident they’d eventually build trust between each other.

“That’s why I took the Amplify Weight shard as one of my rewards,” said Elian. “Along with Viney’s roots—I hope it recovers soon—I can secure myself inside the arena. Shall we begin? A few rounds before breakfast.”

Gideon alighted from his carriage, carrying a slab of cured ham and bread. He watched Elian and Reese square off against each other inside the drawn rectangle.

Reese drew his twin swords but didn’t ignite them. This was just practice, anyway—that was what Elian told Reese. Elian surmised that Reese’s power was a mixture of physical and magic damage, leaning more toward the physical side. But even if the magical part of the red energies was low, it could still cause significant to Elian.

Reese leaned forward, raising his right foot to take a step.

Elian quickly materialized a block of Aether beneath Reese’s right foot to catch his step. It was a level one construct, made most simply so Elian could instantly form it. As soon as Reese stepped on the block, Elian made it go right, Reese’s left, entangling Reese’s legs. It all happened in less than a second, and Reese was already starting to fall.

Elian followed it up with another block that’d catch the off-balanced Reese and throw him out of the rectangle.

But Reese wasn’t a prodigy for nothing. The sudden Aether block might’ve surprised him, but Reese quickly recovered and used his sword to stop his fall. Then he did a flip, avoiding the other constructs Elian made.

“That’s quite an unexpected trick there,” Reese said, laughing as he landed. “You could’ve flung me out of the—woah!” He looked behind him and slashed the Aether constructs fashioned into tendrils reaching for him. “This is quite an annoying strategy you have.”

Elian didn’t respond. Instead, he used Charging Winds. The three spell shards from Golden Grove were slotted into a bracelet that Maveron had given him. With increased speeds, he glided an inch above the grass as he headed for Reese.

Reese zoomed forward to meet him and then disappeared. Elian felt slashes on his back. He turned around to see that Reese was already hopping away.

“Your skin is like a dragon’s scales!” Reese exclaimed, laughing in surprise. “My arms are still tingling from the impact.”

“It’s not like I can harm you either,” Elian said, chasing after Reese.

Reese danced around Elian, showing off his speed. It was as if several Reeses flitted in and out of view. He moved so fast that he began to kick up dust. Blows hit Elian from all directions, with Reese slowly increasing the strength of each hit. Elian knew that Reese could strike so much harder, but was holding back for sport.

Reese whistled in amazement as his downward slash, his first serious attack, still wasn’t able to wound Elian. He jumped away, frowning. “How am I supposed to—? Hey!”

Elian materialized an Aether construct platform, catching Reese as he landed. Clamps gripped Reese’s ankles. Then, the platform sped to the border of the arena. In a blink, Reese sliced the construct and was free.

“Is that all that you can do?” Reese called. “It didn’t work the first time. What makes you think that will change?”

“It’s my only strategy, for now. I’ll keep repeating it until it eventually works.”

“I can also employ the same tactic.” Reese charged forward. Elian thought that Reese would slice him, but Reese stabbed his sword into the ground and circled him. Using his swords as levers, Reese pried up the piece of ground that Elian was standing on.

Elian found himself mid-air, along with a slab of soil. Reese kicked at the flying slab, sending both it and Elian heading out of bounds. Elian cast Amplify Weight. He slammed into the ground before he left the borders of the arena.

Laughing, Elian said, “You almost got me there. Your plan is better than—”

Not letting Elian finish speaking, Reese had already zoomed around him, digging at the ground with his sword again. Elian made Aether blocks to trip Reese, which Reese successfully evaded. Reese tried to flip over the ground, flinging Elian away. Elian made an Aether wall to catch himself.

This is insane, Elian thought, laughing as he came crashing down again due to his amplified weight.

Their game of throwing each other went on for several more minutes, until a grumpy Gideon called for them to eat already. “I have much testing to do!” Gideon said. “Science doesn’t wait while you two dig holes in the ground.”

“We made quite a mess, didn’t we?” Elian said, looking at the arena with craters.

After eating breakfast, they continued on their merry way. Elian meditated on Fecund Grounds while Reese resumed his swordsmanship practice. Gideon was inside the carriage doing Gideon things. And so, that was the routine of their party for the coming days.  

On the third day after leaving Sabyn Mountain, the undrawn carriage rolled onto the expansive plains that bordered Ohmenstrat. The ride became so much smoother as the wheels of the carriage met soft grass kept trimmed by the herds of hulking herbivores roaming the plains. The different kinds of animals had flattened the land by stomping on it over generations.

“I never imagined I’d be on such a journey as this,” Reese said wistfully as he sheathed his sword and sat down. He gazed back in the direction of Sabyn Mountain—they had traveled so far that the home of the Divine Twins could no longer be seen.

“I can say the same,” Elian said. The dozens of Aether constructs disappeared as he stopped meditating. “I never imagined I’d be in this world…”

“This world?”

“Uh, this world of becoming a Penitent, of having visions of a Giant invasion, and so on. I just thought I’d live a normal life, working the same job as many other people. I would only think about myself and the people around me, not caring about the bigger problem of the world… or other worlds. I’m the last person I’ll task with telling the world about the return of the Giants. I wonder why I was chosen.”

Elian knew the answer to that, of course. He wasn’t chosen. The Timekeeper was clear that it was random—all other humans on Earth had equal chances of getting taken, including babies. Still, there must be something more to this than pure chance. Bad luck, the way he saw it. Could fate exist?

Possible. So far, he was doing quite well. If indeed a baby was taken from Earth, the genocide of the humans of Fellenyr was assured. But because it was Elian who became the Timekeeper’s champion, the fight continued. Elian could even say that their chances of winning grew by the day.

“You were chosen because you were the right person,” Reese said. From the tone of his voice and the conviction on his face, Reese truly believed what he said. “I saw you hurl yourself from the heavens down into the maw of the giant shadow beast. You’ve managed to seal the Lost Souls in your arms and save the people of Golden Grove.

“Judging by the stone bracelet given to you by the Hundred-Armed Magistrate, saving our town wasn’t the first heroic feat you’ve accomplished. And it won’t be the last. Someday, as your legend grows, everyone will say that you were rightfully chosen by the Storm God. Recall the tales of heroes of old. No deity plucks them from the masses to anoint them a hero. Rather, they rise to the occasion. And so, have you.”

“Heroes are made, not born, is what you’re saying?”

“Heroes make themselves,” Reese said.

Elian nodded. “That, they do. That… they do.”

He could choose to give up now. He could build a boat and sail to some tiny island that the Giants wouldn’t conquer someday. Just live off fishing and fruit trees. He could forget about everything.

Or, he could continue fighting.

He chose to do the latter.

That makes me a hero, I guess.

Halfway across the plains, Gideon finished what he was doing. Or at the least, made significant progress that he decided to take a break. He wouldn’t share anything about his latest experiment. If Elian had to guess, it would be something related to plants, obviously. Perhaps something to make plant symbiotes stronger. Elian couldn’t wait to try it on Viney once it wakes up.

Gideon joined Elian sitting on the Fecund Ground while the undrawn carriage continued to make its way across the plains. With less than a week until they reach the edge of Ohmenstrat, the cocoon around Elian’s arm began to crack and fall apart like a smashed eggshell.

“Are the shadow beasts returning?” Reese gripped his sword, ready to draw it at the first sign of danger.

“Relax, Reese,” said Elian. “It’s Viney. It has returned.”

A tendril made out of gold poked through the hole in the cocoon and waved at Elian.