《Conclave of Tyrants》


 1 The Gutu Empire!

    Every village in the Gutu Empire had an orphanage... or at least one orphan.


    The Gumbo village, though tiny and on the outskirts of the empire, was no exception. It was perhaps due to the Gutu people''s warring way of life or to the volatile times which encouraged such a lifestyle... This is what caused so many children to lose their parents.


    That being the case however, the orphans'' formative years were spent being fostered by villages so closely knit and caring. It was only natural the gossip mongers peddled their stories about Taku and his strange behavior, one could be sure that it was not prejudice towards his orphan status.


    The villagers just found it slightly odd to see him react in amazement to the most mundane everyday events...


    Just the other day he had betrayed his surprise at seeing one of the village women breaking the bones of an antelope with her bare hands as she prepared the beast for eating. He would linger just a little too long watching warriors grinding large stones between their fingers, and watch in fascination every time someone jumped from one end of the village to the other, which was often.


    The astonishment on his face every time one of his peers returned to the village with a baby elephant slung over the shoulder was enough to raise suspicions. It was puzzling to the villagers why an eight year old who had grown up in this environment was suddenly looking at it as if it were foreign.


    It would be a pity for Taku''s behavior to intensify, as the village had little patience for those who lost their minds, preferring instead to release such people from their torment through death... Taku had become aware of this, and did his best to curb the fear, awe and wonder he felt at every turn.


    Moreover, it did not seem wise to him to disclose to his village, though they were family to him, the reasons for the change in his behavior.


    The Gutu people were believers in reincarnation, believing that death would not be a shackle to great warriors, who would instead live on and mark their paths once more in this world or another. Even the Gutu people, though, would probably attribute Taku''s ''dreams'' to a form of madness if he was to explain honestly.


    The dreams he had been having were vivid ¨C dreams of the strangest world for which he did not have adequate vocabulary to describe.


    These dreams, over the year during which he had been having them, had evolved into stronger and stronger memories... so much so that rather than getting used to the marvels he was now seeing daily, Taku had grown more bewildered by them. He began to identify more and more with these memories... His viewpoint began to mirror that of the twenty-first century man from earth he was in his ''dreams''.


    The magnitude of the change Taku was experiencing was not immediately apparent to the villagers. For one thing, as soon as he began embracing it, Taku did his best not to advertise the change. In addition, while the village took care of Taku, he was still an orphan...


    Although they looked after him collectively, no one individually took it upon themselves to keep a close eye on him. It also helped that, in these unstable times, everyone always had one eye focused on the next battle and tomorrow''s survival.


    Taku, therefore, could explore his ''previous life'' relatively undisturbed.


    What a fascinating life it was!


    He had been a programming prodigy at a young age, creating many ''artificial intelligence'' beings, capable of independent thought by the time he was twenty.


    He was a billionaire soon after, a thought leader and a captain of modern society. He was cementing his legacy, perfecting the last touches to his conquest, and preparing for the boredom that came with conquering the world, but that''s when he died.


    He didn''t quite remember the details of his death, but he remembered just how many enemies he had, and he knew that he had somehow been tricked!


    It was easy for him to conclude that the people who craved his skill and his inventions had finally got to him.


    They could not exert control over him, and, given his influence and stature, instead of just ''not being useful'', he was an inconvenience to his enemies!


    This was Taku''s deduction, but little did he know how wrong he was...


    Thus, his peaceful life on earth ended in an abrupt manner. Tossed from the top of one world to the bottom of another. Thrust from the life of a rich man wearing fashion crafted by the finest tailor to being an orphan child who wore hides that were poorly stitched with common threads.


    He didn''t mind his current circumstances though. The more he thought about it, the happier he was with this particular outcome.


    When the ''dreams'' first began, he would spiral into that abyss of mixed up memories every night, driven to the brink of insanity. Yet as the memories had taken over his consciousness, he had embraced this fate, knowing that on Earth he had achieved everything he wanted. He had been revered by the masses, seemingly holding an entire civilization in the palm of his hand.


    When enemies attacked the Gutu village on that afternoon, Taku was once again day dreaming about the life that had been and the life that now was. As warnings of the attack rang throughout the village, mothers hurriedly tried to scramble their children into the safety of their huts, and warriors wielded their weapons, ready for battle. Warriors leaped the length of the village, moving to meet their opponents. The sounds of clashing spears and bellowed war cries soon filled the air.


    Every person left in the village wore the same intense expression, because in the Gutu empire villages came and went as often as babies'' cries. Yet there was one person who was happy and smiling. Despite the turmoil unfolding, and the imminent threat from the ongoing battle, Taku was consumed by the invigorating thought that this was the chance he wanted and needed: A chance to take over the world again!

 2 The Coward Who Dances

    The Gutu Empire was like a behemoth, stretching for hundreds of thousands of kilometers. It encased hundreds upon hundreds of cities and thousands upon thousands of towns. With each city having even more villages around them, the amount of rural villages was such that it would seem impossible to count them all.


    The Gutu Empire operated on a feudal system: The Empire altogether had a hundred provinces, each of these provinces was broken down into counties. Finally, these counties would then further be divided into districts. Each district, would have hundreds of cities, towns and thousands of villages within.


    A province was ruled by a council of county chiefs, with the head of the largest county being the head of the council they were part of.


    These counties under the management of the council were allowed to battle each other for territory acquisitions and even assimilate each other.


    A county chief had complete autonomy within his or her county and was even allowed to rule their land with an iron fist. The chieftaincy of a county was hereditary, resulting in a society where family was everything. If one was not part of a clan, tribe or sect, then that person wouldn''t get to rise or become anyone worthy of notice.


    The districts also operated the same way. The county chief would be in charge of the main district and would allow the sub districts to battle each other, so long as the battles didn''t weaken the overall power of the county a lot.


    After all, what mattered in a dog-eat-dog world such as this was none other than one thing... power. To defeat other districts, a district would need to grow both strength and strategy wise.


    Of course, large scale conflicts would be more or less be controlled so as not to weaken the county''s overall power.


    As such, to strengthen the districts below his rule, a district chief wouldn''t prevent such conflicts, but instead would even encourage the cities, towns and villages to battle each other!


    All this would be following the creed of the Gutu Empire.


    ''The weak do not deserve to live!''


    After all, in the mind of such a world-shaking power, weak subordinates would bring the Empire nothing but trouble. Thus, why would a weak subordinate be allowed to live? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link!


    The Gutu and their insatiable lust for battle made other races in the world fear them. There were many races and creatures within the Gutu Empire and outside, and yet no one dared start a war with this behemoth!


    For many knew that if the Gutu Empire were to ''truly'' go to war and mobilize the armies of every village, town, city, district and county: Not a single person would be able to escape their wrath!


    A provoked Gutu Empire would be nigh unstoppable in its conquest!


    Fortunately however, even though the Gutu loved battle, they also believed in keeping the harmony of nature in the world. Hence, the Empire did not expand its borders,or at least, that was what the people within the Gutu Empire were told from birth.


    The Empire was heavily decentralized with many powers rising and falling within its borders... yet the Royal Clan still had an iron-tight grip over the Empire. There were many reasons for that.


    One of them was none other than the so-called ''Elephant Foot Guard''.


    That was an army which belonged solely to the royal clan and had jurisdiction to act anywhere within the Empire. They had two main purposes.


    The first was to destroy anything or annihilate anyone the royal family told them to.


    Few could evade the gazes of the Elephant Foot Guard and even fewer could possibly survive to tell the tale of their experiences. No mortal man would be alive long enough to hear of such a myth being sung in the taverns!


    The second was to search for talented warriors throughout the kingdom and bring them in so as to service the royal family.


    To do that, they were known to travel across the entire Empire every year, recruiting all young talents. They would send warriors known as Elephant Envoys to every known dwelling throughout the Empire.


    The day narrated in the episode that follows, was the day one such envoy arrived to Gumbo village...


    When the envoy arrived atop a mighty elephant, the villagers all bowed once before immediately erupting in cheers!


    They all planned a widespread celebration since Envoys were heavily respected throughout the Empire.


    One of the reasons for this was because a single word from an envoy of the Elephant Foot Guard could elevate an entire village''s status. They could even hope, if they were extremely lucky, to rise to the skies in a single step!


    Until a Gutu child was ten, they were no different from any children on Earth. This is if you left out the fact that their physical strength was slightly more powerful than a regular human.


    It was only through the awakening ceremony one went through once they reached the early age of ten, that one truly became a ''Gutu''.


    Hence, the day of the awakening ceremony was prepared every year.


    Finally, today, Taku would also be awakened: On that day, on that year, he had finally turned ten!


    Life for the young Taku had been difficult in the village.


    Almost from the very beginning, he had to fend and look after himself. Fortunately, due to the fact that he was mentally an adult, that had been much easier for Taku.


    He, who was a man in a child''s body, from the very moment that he had opened his eyes and glanced upon the world, had decided that it would become his property. It would be his!


    However, there was a slight problem with his initial plan to take over the world.


    He was a coward.


    "Line up for the honorable envoy!" Shouted the village chief. He was an old man with a head of white hair but his body was at the very pinnacle of physical perfection. There was no doubt that he would live for a very long time.


    The envoy was an old man just like the village chief, except he wasn''t clothed in furs. Instead, what he wore was an exquisite robe that covered his body from head to toe.


    The children who were going to be awakened that day were only a handful. Life in the village was tough, so many children died each year, especially orphans. Due to the difficult state of warfare in this place, there were quite a few of them.


    Most of them would not survive due to the fact that their bodies could not handle the harsh weather. If they safely passed through the winter, surviving the cold, merciless climate, there was no guarantee that they would also live through the summer, as many of them would die due to the extreme heat.


    Others instead would be poisoned by dangerous creatures while even more got poisoned from eating stale food. There were numerous ways to die within the villages, some much grimmer than others. However, that was the life of a Gutu!


    Taku had survived partially due to his wit, but mostly due to his cowardly nature that made him even more careful and aware of any dangers that could befall him.


    After those ten years, he had grown used to life in the village, but his cowardly nature was not only a blessing, but also a major problem. The villagers also knew him well due to it.


    Whenever he was challenged to a fight, he would run.


    Whenever he saw blood, he would faint.


    However, the biggest problem had emerged a short while after Taku had turned seven years old...


    Except for the fact that mothers were the ones that took care of children while the fathers were the one who went hunting, the Gutu had few distinction between the two sexes since both male or female Gutu could easily grow up to become warriors someday.


    Before that happened however, they would be taught different things.


    After all, although the Gutu had extremely powerful bodies, they would still need food and clothing to survive, right? Thus, the children would be instructed ever since birth on how to manage the village''s affair.


    Such lessons were given by the village''s elderly women, whom, after witnessing the sun rising and falling over the horizon for so many times, had grown old yet wise.


    Thus, young Gutu would study simple calculus, what was enough to allow them to execute the simple addition or subtraction required in their mundane life, and what could be defined as biology, so as to know the details of the beasts they would be hunting in the future.


    Pretty much, this was so the younglings could do thing such as calculating the food supply''s total amount and know what part of the prey was edible.


    After the age of seven however, there would be one of the rare distinctions in between the role of males and females in the villages of the Gutu.


    Usually, while males would learn the art of sewing and weapon crafting, females would learn how to cook, read and write. The village of Gumbo however was different in this aspect as, unlike most other villages, it had once been a huge city that had declined after the disappearance of its founder.


    Before he left, what he had left behind for his descendants to pick up was a single thing that had come to distinguish the village of Gumbo from its neighbours: Dancing.


    What the founding ancestor had left had been a mysterious dance.


    Just by seeing the dance, a person would feel their body feel lighter and their fatigue washed away. Often described as mesmerizing and hypnotic, this dance would thus be used as a way to relieve the hunters of fatigue whenever they came back from their hunts in the evening.


    Due to its importance as both a relic from their ancestor and a magical technique able to soothe the body, this dance had become extremely important for the Gumbo village. This was especially true, as it allowed warriors and hunters to be able to utilize their full strength without needing to worry about exhaustion. After all, they could recover every night when they saw the village''s prettiest girls execute such a magical dance!


    That''s right, this dance was mainly taught to young girls. While some boys knew the dance as it was something so important, it would only be taught to seven-year-old Gutu of the female gender, and these girls would mostly end up not marrying for their whole life.


    What a Gutu sought in a partner would not be just beauty, but also strength! To survive in the Gutu empire, the child would have to inherit the best possible genes! How could the village''s most powerful warrior pair up with a lowly dancer?


    However, a dancer''s role was of utmost importance in Gumbo village nevertheless! That was why, when a young girl announced that she would like to become a dancer for her whole life, the people''s gazes wouldn''t just be filled with contempt alone, but also with flashes of admiration and respect.


    It was a blessing and a curse!


    Still, the elderly still couldn''t help but cringe whenever they saw Taku sitting in between his friends, listening intently to the older woman, their teacher, showing the ''Butterfly Steps'', the first grade of difficulty of the ancestral dance.


    Was this child truly a Gutu? People still couldn''t help but wonder at times, despite knowing him from the very moment he was born, whether he was truly a man. No. Even girls smaller than him showed more courage. He was no man, he was no woman, he was just a cowardly chicken wearing human skin!


    If such a cowardly child could effectively become a warrior, then wouldn''t they have wasted their whole lives? How unfair could the Heavens possibly be?


    All that child was good at was running away from a fight and dancing!!!

 3 Destiny At Work

    The awakening ceremony was important because it meant more warriors would join the village, but the village had little to no expectations of Taku being one of the warriors.


    After all, how could a child who only knows how to run and dance become a warrior? They would essentially have wasted their lives if he could become one! He was merely a dancer...


    Heck, let alone this year''s batch of child-dancers: Some of the more experienced dancers in the village, even whilst being in their early twenties, could only stare in disbelief as that child easily left them in the dust after just a few months!


    As the children lined up in front of the chief''s hut, the awakening began.


    Taku had tried to learn as much as he could about the ceremony from other villagers, but his status as a cowardly orphan made it impossible to do so. All he knew was that when one was awakened, he or she would gain an ability.


    He was also aware of the fact that there were many types of abilities. Those abilities could make one strong and gain status within the village because, coward or not, in the Gutu Empire, strength was everything. Taku was hoping that the gift he would gain was useful, useful enough to propel him from the depths of poverty to the riches he once had.


    Then again, if he ever became some kind of earth-rocking genius, it would be the worst outcome. He had even picked dancing to avoid the gaze of those experienced warriors...


    If he had the talent to become incredibly powerful, wouldn''t he be sent out hunting as well?


    He would rather swing his hips and dance, thank you very much!


    As the children lined up, the envoy would approach them while holding in his hand what seemed to be a ball made out of ivory. It was an extremely peculiar object, perfectly round, as if it had been crafted by an incredibly skilled smith.


    The process of awakening was very simple, so simple in fact that Taku was surprised. He had been expecting some kind of heaven-shattering event, and instead everything was kept so simple that he had been left disappointed.


    "No light pillar ascending to the sky? No thunder striking down? No mighty dragon descending from the heavens? No strange voice in my head requesting for my name? What kind of sloppy fantasy land have I been reincarnated to?"


    First, the envoy would utter a chant in a strange language, which Taku didn''t understand.


    Secondly, he would place the ball on top of the child''s head. The white ball would then shine and reveal a certain light, which would encase the child before fading away.


    Somehow throughout the process, the envoy would suddenly get to know what power the child received and would explain to the crowd gathered around.


    Taku decided to pay close attention when the envoy was only two children away from him. He felt his blood pumping as he heard the envoy chanting in that mysterious language: At least the ancient language tag was present!


    The ivory ball was placed on top of a child after the chant and suddenly shined red after a few seconds.


    The envoy lifted one of his eyebrows in pleasant surprise. It was not enough to make him change his expression though, so he spoke without anything hinting to any change in his attitude:


    "Red grade, Healer. Not bad."


    When the envoy said that, the chief and the surrounding villagers shouted in elation. Healers were rare, and were in a lot of demand. A healer could reduce the death rate quite a bit. The little girl who had just been revealed to be a healer was guaranteed to have a safe and easy life.


    No one ever harmed a healer!


    From the beginning till then, from what Taku could gather, the colours represented some sort of grade. As to what or how it was being graded, Taku wasn''t sure. All he knew at the moment was that he wanted to be a healer.


    No fighting, lots of money, respect, and much more. What else could one ask for?


    Although warriors with a combat ability were the most valued vocation within the Empire...


    ''Healers were rare and lived their lives without going through much danger'' was what Taku had gathered from the conversation around him.


    Could it be any less perfect? After all, that was his aim: A life of luxury and no danger! Conquering the world with money and fame instead of strength!


    The next child didn''t really stand out like the girl, so there was no commotion and the awakening only took a brief moment to be completed. Finally, it was Taku''s turn!


    When the envoy''s gaze feel on the Taku''s body, the envoy frowned slightly after hearing some whispers from the chief. Taku had already known that his reputation as a coward would surely have preceded him, so there was nothing he could do, not that he minded.


    He said nothing and simply prayed in his mind that he would become a healer as the envoy began his mysterious chant.


    The envoy chanted quickly and placed the ball upon Taku''s head, without much expectation...


    And received the shock of his life!


    "Boy, you are coming with me."


    Without even talking to the chief, the envoy grabbed Taku, knocking him out with a knock to the head in the process. He immediately got on top of his elephant and rode like the wind. Leaving the entire village flabbergasted.


    ...


    When Taku came to, he was at the foot of a mountain, with winding steps climbing up for as far as the eye could see. The envoy, who had essentially kidnapped him, eyed him like a hawk as he got up from the ground.


    "Climb up the stairs. The ceremony is about to begin. Don''t be late. Welcome to the Elephant Foot Guard." The moment he finished speaking the envoy jumped and left Taku''s sight. That''s right jumped! His visage completely disappeared into the foliage of the mountain ahead of him.


    Taku was aware of how physically gifted the Gutu were, but he had never seen one jump hundreds of meters in a single leap, and so effortlessly at that.


    Taku''s mind was in chaos when he realized what was happening. Him being here meant that he had been chosen by the envoy!


    Not only had he not been told what his ability was, he didn''t even know the grade. Taku was stumped and felt lost. All he could do was stare at the humongous mountain ahead of him. It was so high it easily pierced the clouds, like a sword rebelling against the heavens. Its sheer size and grandeur made the boy speechless.


    After thinking it through Taku made his decision. He had no way of returning bad to that god forsaken village anyway, not to mention that this could be an opportunity for him to know this world better. Thus Taku put his foot on the first of many stairs, taking his first step to becoming the first under the heavens!


    ...


    An entire city stretched as far as the eye could see with clouds covering the horizon. Taku looked around, shocked that he had somehow reached the top of the mountain. He was positive that he had only been walking for a few minutes at most. Then a thought struck him, perhaps this city was built on the side of the mountain. But if so, then how was it not able to be seen from the bottom? The clouds ahead prevented Taku from seeing further thus he could only make due with this conjecture.


    "Ah! I don''t have time to waste! I am late for a ceremony I don''t even know about!"


    Shoving any thoughts of surprise and shock to the back of his mind, Taku raced to the city in front of him. It was stone, stone and more stone everywhere he looked. The designs were all simple and every structure looked like a copy of the other.


    This was clearly not a city for normal folk. There was a militaristic feeling to the entire city, from the weapons being sold on the street to the ridiculous amount of discipline that the inhabitants of the city moved around with.


    There was no noise, no fuss, everyone moved with distinct purpose and most important of all: Everyone was wearing a uniform. Although to call it a ''uniform'' was a bit of a stretch... Every inhabitant within the city was wearing animal furs while also having an animal totem pinned to their chest.


    The majority of the inhabitants were children, with the oldest adults looking no older than thirty. Taku looked for those who seemed to be his age group and followed them. Those who were late like him, were not hard to find, due to their hurried appearances.


    Like him, many children would get lost. Fortunately, those who were older were more than happy to direct them to the appropriate area.


    As Taku ran with his fellow inductees, he noticed something. The further they got to the center of the city, the more the soldiers changed. They became older, seemingly more powerful, and their clothing changed from furs to armour made from unidentifiable materials. The city itself seemed more advanced as they went to their destination, but due to the fact that they were rushing, Taku had no time to ponder on these scenes.


    After running continuously for almost ten minutes, Taku and his group arrived at their destination. Gasps were released by all those around Taku, as they arrived at what can only be described as the city square.


    A large opening that was capable of holding what Taku believed to be a million people at a time, with an incredibly tall tower in the center. The tower was made from stone and just like everything else within the city: It was simplistic in structure.


    It was also due to this it seemed more sensible to call the building a ''pillar''.


    On top the tower were warriors dressed in their military garb, ready to address the more than one million children beneath them.


    As the late arrivals, Taku and company had no choice but to sit at the outer edges. In that area there was little they could see, due to the multitudes of people in front of them, but as long as they could see the tower, that did not matter to those in charge.


    On top of the tower were many warriors dressed in seemingly flashy armour that made Taku realize that he had truly underestimated the level of technology in this world. Although he was quite a distance away from the tower, with the body and senses of a Gutu, Taku could see the people on the tower well enough to be able to discern that they were not wearing ordinary armour.


    Some armour seemed to shine with a metallic glint, while some armour seemed to be as stone like as everything else within this city. There were even soldiers wearing armour that seemed as if it was made from wood, but Taku had no doubt that this wood was not ordinary.


    The Gutu were superhuman in terms of their bodies, but their environment matched their physique. The stone in this world was many times harder than than stone from earth, the wood many times more durable. There were also many type of plants and materials with differentiating values, each with seemingly miraculous effects.


    Taku had no doubt that the armoured men and women on top of the tower were the top brass within this city, so it made sense to assume that they would be equipped with armour that matched their status.


    Finally, after a few more minutes, one of the warriors stood up. To Taku''s surprise it was a young woman who looked no older than sixteen. She had short hair and seemed younger than her actual age, but that did nothing to diminish the sheer explosiveness of her body. She was incredibly curvaceous and her armour was incredibly revealing. The square was filled with children, so this did not matter much, but Taku who had the mind of a man was blown away.


    Large breasts, a waist so narrow it would make one want to hug her and not let go, wide hips and a near perfect face, with the only flaw being the small scar on her cheek. Yet that seemed to have added its own charm.


    The children only thought she looked pretty, but the adult warriors behind her did little to hide the lust in their eyes. Taku was more than familiar with such things so he spotted it right away. The male warriors looking at her all focused on her butt. Men in the Gutu Empire cared about three things when it came to a woman. Wide hips, big breast and a big butt. Things that were highly valued on earth like a beautiful a face or skin were secondary here. In fact, Gutu men found strength a far more attractive feature than a pretty face or skin.


    Judging from the fact that this young woman was eligible to speak, there was no doubt about her strength. As for her beauty, it was quite obvious, thus she was quite the sought after woman within the camp. There was no microphone, or any device to get sound across, so Taku wandered how her voice would reach them.


    "Silence!"


    With an earth shaking shout, she managed to silence the entire square...

 4 The Battle At Hand

    With an earth shaking shout, she managed to silence the entire square. Taku had thought that he was used to seeing the Gutu do extraordinary things, but to him this was just too ridiculous Her voice had caused a slight tremor, and frightened countless children within the square.


    "If that was her ability, then she is very frightening! If that wasn''t her ability and she did that through sheer force, then she is even more frightening!"


    "My name is General Maka. I will be explaining where you are and what you will be doing for the next few years of your insignificant lives.


    Here your names do not matter, it matters not what tribe you came from, it matters not what clan you hail from, it matters not how talented you think you are, at the end of the day, in this city, only the survivors are strong!


    After a year, half of you would be dead, and after another year half of those remaining will also die, this trend will continue for four years until your training is complete and your abilities have truly been awakened!"


    At that moment Taku thought of how children from earth would react. He had no doubt that there would be children crying for their parents, despairing wails and even those who would wet themselves, not to mention how many ten year olds on Earth had no true understanding of what death truly was. How many children would be able to comprehend the fact that they would have a ''one out of sixteen'' chance to live?


    The Gutu from Taku''s perspective were truly frightening not only because their bodies were as steady as rocks, but also because their minds were and unbreakable as steel. As far as he could remember Taku had never seen a sentient Gutu child cry. From the moment Gutu children are born, they already have an incredible resolve to live, and it showed in their daily life when they hunted for food or fought.


    Now Taku was seeing this resolve in its truest of forms. Not only did the children around him know death, they experienced it on a daily basis.


    Taku judged that the majority of children within this crowd were taken from towns and villages due to both their crude behavior and simple clothing. He knew from experience that living in such places was a feat unto itself as one would be close to the jaws of death everyday.


    These children definitely understood death and knew what came with it, yet as far as Taku could see, not a single trace of fear could be seen. All he could see was a flame that had been lit within the eyes of all the children here. They had all come here seeking strength, for to them there was nothing as valuable as power! Even though they knew the majority of them would die, it did nothing to dim the embers that had already started growing in their little eyes.


    Taku marveled at the sheer sight of such blatant disregard of death, he didn''t know whether or not to call it courage, all he knew was that he had to survive, and he was willing to do what he had to do in order to do so. He had already died once, and he was not planning to do so again.


    Maka nodded in approval when she saw the desired effect, "All of you will be brutally trained to bring out the best of your capabilities. The Elephant Foot Guard are on a scale the likes none of you can even imagine, and we have plenty of duties, but none are more important than the quelling of wild beasts! During your time here, you will battle countless beasts time and time again, for it is only through shedding the blood of your enemy will you prove yourself, and it is only through treading the gates of death will you bring out your true potential!


    You have all gone through a basic awakening, but that is nothing, you have barely scratched the potential of what you can really do. Observe."


    Immediately after saying these words, Maka raised her hand. Taku was curious as to what she would do, only for his head to smash into the ground. Suddenly from nowhere his entire body felt like it weighed ten times more than it usually did, Taku felt like he was holding a mountain on his shoulders. It took all of his strength to lift his face and look forward, only to see the same thing. Hundreds of thousands of children were lying flat on the ground, struggling to get up just like he was.


    Wait? Could it be that everyone is feeling the same thing?


    Taku''s thoughts only needed a few seconds to come to a swift conclusion.


    This is the ability to control gravity!


    Indeed Maka''s innate ability was the ability to manipulate gravity. What shocked Taku the most was not necessarily the ability itself, but rather the range it had. One must know that this square had the capacity to host over a million people and was filled to the brim, yet with a single movement from her hand she was able to make it impossible for everyone within the square to kneel. The only people who seemed unaffected where the soldiers behind her. Taku wondered just how her ability worked, whether it changed the gravity in a specific area, or whether it was target specific. He was thinking that perhaps she had intentionally chosen to shelter the soldiers behind her from her ability, unfortunately, he was wrong.


    "Everyone within this entire city center is subject to my power, yet as you can see the warriors behind me are completely unfazed. Why? Because they are true warriors who have been baptized by the flames of thousands of battles and have had their true abilities awakened!"


    Every warrior behind her stood up from their chair and walked toward her. They walked in a manner so smooth you would think there was nothing different at all. Some were even having a nice chat behind Maka. Taku even saw one reading a scroll as if nothing at all had happened.


    "This is a city where warriors are made and weaklings fall! This is a city were titans rise and the meek become their stepping stones! This is a city that will either bring you glory, or it will be your demise. Train till the point where you near death, fight with every ounce of your being and pray to your ancestors, and perhaps maybe in six years you will be standing here with us! Welcome to Madhara!"


    The soldier who had been reading a scroll then stepped forward. She was a tall and extremely beautiful woman, seemingly also in her late teens. Unlike Maka who''s body was extremely bodacious, this woman was very slim. Her body was well-proportioned and she had intelligent eyes. It was as if her eyes could see right through the children who were gathered on this day.


    "General Shaya will now send you directly to your first battlefield. Your mission is to fight continuously without stopping until at least half of you are dead. You are advised to use the weapons provided for you and the battlefield, survival of this trial will be considered a pass. You may begin!"


    Maka''s gravity ability disappeared, allowing the children to regain control of their bodies. Taku got up and sighed in relief, only remember what had just been said.


    "Eh? Send us directly to our first battlefield?"


    At first these words didn''t register much in Taku''s mind, but he couldn''t help but feel like something was about to happen. When he looked up, he saw the most incredible thing he had ever seen since coming to this world.


    General Shaya had sent a hand forward, and a small tornado materialized withing her palm, but as the second went by, the tornado got larger and larger, carrying the bodies of all those around with it, Taku was at the edges, so he was one of the last to be carried by the tornado, and he was also one of the few who truly got to see its sheer immensity.


    It was hundreds of meters tall and seemed to be even more meters wide, it grew by the second, pulling in children by the hundreds. Never in this life would Taku have expected to see such a thing. The tornado itself was one thing, but the fact that it had been created by someone was another.


    Once he was in the tornado, Taku lost his sense of direction and his sense of time. He, like the thousands of other children within, were being hurtled around and incredibly high speeds, often bumping or ramming into each other. Taku lost count of how many times he had rammed into someone else, and he didn''t care, because the despair he felt at being treated like this overshadowed everything else.


    By the time the spinning stopped, Taku had long since lost his sense of balance, thus it took him quite some time to get up. To his surprise, they were no longer within the city, they were now in an open grassland plain. Another thing that surprised Taku that he was the first person to wake up as far as his eyes could see.


    It took minutes before another child woke up after him. After that however the children began to wake up and looked around them to be surprised by the sudden change of surroundings. On the ground were some dagger, sword and spear like weapons fashioned out of stone. Taku had since chosen a spear and was standing in the spot he woke up in, contemplating exactly what he had seen.


    The abilities the generals had revealed stunned Taku to his core. Gravity manipulation, wind manipulation, just what else were the Gutu capable off? As Taku was busy contemplating these thoughts, he heard some screams near by. These were neither screams of terror or sadness, these were war cries. Taku was very familiar with this shout as many of the children at his own village would do the same before battle in an attempt to motivate themselves and also in an attempt to mimic the adults they had seen.


    Since the children had done such an action, it only meant one thing...


    An enemy was approaching, or rather were already before then. Beings carrying a variety of weapons had flooded into the group of children. Taku was surprised to the point were he could barely move, not because of the fact that they were humans, but because of the fact that they were caucasian!


    Since his arrival into this world Taku had assumed that the Gutu were the only people here, but this site had shattered that notion.


    "Ha!" A blonde man shouted toward Taku as he attempted to stab Taku with what seemed to be a very short spear. Taku dodged the attack like his life depended on it!


    Like all the children here, Taku was well aware that this was a test. He was not sure what was being tested exactly but knowing the way the Gutu thought, Taku was confident that there was only one way to win in this test: Kill!


    In his previous life, Taku was accustomed to many martial arts and trained himself every day. Being the mixed martial artist he was he had trained himself constantly from the moment he arrived.


    His main focus had been on Muay Thai and Taekwondo. As far as Taku was concerned, his body needed to be protected at all costs! Even though he was a genius programmer, he never missed one day of training to defend himself just in case anything dangerous was to happen!


    The moment the blonde man neared Taku he lunged forth spear in hand, and Taku sidestepped, then the immediately got into position and threw out a round kick perfect aimed right at the blonde man''s face!


    Kacha!


    To his surprise the blonde man''s face twisted in a very odd fashion, which without a doubt was an indication of certain death.


    Taku had never killed a man before in this life or the previous one, but it only took him a second to get over what he had done and move on. There were too many enemies and he did not have the luxury to be able to take it all in. He steeled his resolve and looked for his next target. Once he found one, he instantly went into action!


    He had assumed that his first opponent had been weak so he took his next battles very seriously and approached with caution. The reason was he saw quite a few of his comrades dying at the hands of these foreign men, so Taku did not take them lightly, yet when Taku himself fought them himself he made an odd discovery. They were weak... very, very weak.


    No, he was just far too strong!


    Taku moved like a phantom, breaking necks and disfiguring limbs as if it was of second nature. The more he fought, the more natural his actions felt and the more he desired to kill. He was surprised by this odd vigor but he did not refuse it and welcomed it with open arms. After killing about twenty or so men Taku came to a conclusion. These men were without a doubt trained soldiers. They carried with them a multitude of weapons ranging from spears, to swords, to axes. He had even seen some archers here or there.


    These people all moved with trained precision. Taku was very astute and had no doubt that these men had gone through many battles to reach this point, yet at the end of the day, even if they were killing many children, they themselves were falling like dominoes.


    Such was the disparity in strength between these men and the Gutu. Even a child, given the right training and know-how, could kill an experienced warrior with ease. At first the children were overwhelmed by their enemies, but over time the tide of battle slowly started to shift. Like Taku the other children slowly got used to fighting and killing, and blood-lust started to permeate throughout their entire being. Unlike Taku, a majority were unable to maintain control over their minds and went insane. Some were crawling on the ground like animals, others were howling madly as the fought and some even used their teeth as weapons, biting of the ears and fingers of their opponents. It was truly a bloody and gruesome sight, but this sight only served to strengthen the children.


    One of the reasons the children had been overwhelmed at the beginning was simple: They were unarmed.


    However, many were smart enough to collect weapons from their foes and fight back. Taku however felt that he did not need a weapon so he fought using only his body. He had thrown away his weapon long ago. He moved like a leopard seeking prey at every turn, with a punch he would break a man''s chest, with a sweep of his foot he would break his opponent''s feet, and with a well timed headbutt he could crack the skull of his enemy. The enemy were also armored, but as Taku fought, he came to a discovery.


    These men and women are not from the same country. Yes, they were all caucasian, but their armours, weapons and fighting styles varied far too much.


    Some had simple leather armours, while some were armed to the bone with steel from head to toe. For Taku these were often the hardest to deal with, but in front of a Gutu child ordinary steel was nothing. Indeed, Taku had no doubt that this was ordinary metal, as compared to the ridiculously hardened materials that were in this land.


    Twenty became thirty, thirty became fifty, fifty became a hundred. When he passed a hundred, Taku became so tired he stopped keeping count and just fought for his life. His initial technique and calmness was quickly being reduced to savagery just like a lot of the other children. Despite his fatigue, Taku still kept fighting on, but as he fought something odd occurred, the children he fought started doing strange things. Some started breathing fire, other would start swimming in the earth as if it were water. Others would summon strange creatures and have them fight for them.


    There was no doubt in Taku''s mind that these children had fully awakened their abilities, the only question was, how did they do it? The longer they fought, the more children started gaining abilities. At some point incredibly powerful abilities appeared.


    There was one child who had the ability to release sonic blast waves all around him, harming both his enemies and his foes. Taku had made it one of his tasks to steer clear of that kid... Another child gained the ability to change into a huge stone giant and began to pulverize his enemies by the tens.


    A clear relationship started occurring, the longer the battle raged on, the more powerful the abilities that popped up became.


    Does that mean my ability will be incredibly powerful as well?


    After killing what he believed to be his two hundredth foe, Taku started feeling a change within his body, at first it was very subtle, but the less Taku had control over his actions the more this feeling took over him. Bloodlust was slowly taking over his mind, and Taku stopped fighting in an attempt to resist it but more and more enemies would come and provoke him. Taku''s vision started blurring and his heart beat became erratic, his skin started itching and he suddenly got an urge, and urge to destroy everything, an urge to hate everything and urge to smite!


    "Ahhhhh!"


    The last thing he could remember was having a strong urge to scream his lungs out... and so he did!

 5 Massacre

    "It looks like its another group that''s dominated by summoners." The man who had spoken was a middle aged warrior with jet black hair and was so extremely burly.


    "Shouldn''t you be happy Nyasha? You''re a summoner yourself, I don''t understand why you have to sound so disappointed when more summoners pop up." Another middle aged man spoke out.


    "Obviously people like you don''t understand." Nyasha started. "The more summoners there are the more work for me, and that will also create imbalance in our army. Imagine an army full of summoners and no proper warriors."


    "As much as I hate saying this, I agree with Nyasha." An old frail looking man spoke. "But there is nothing we can do about it. Its not like we can forcefully choose an ability for them."


    The people who were observing the battle were always bickering with each other, except for one man.


    Compared to the other people in the room, this man looked weak. Even the frail old man looked more formidable than he did. Even though his eyes were on the battlefield, unlike most people who were scanning the whole battlefield, he only focused on one point.


    Beside him was a very beautiful girl, this girl was non other than Maka. She had noticed that the middle aged man kept staring at one particular boy. At some point she was even intrigued by how the boy was fighting, but she lost interest when she saw that even after killing so many people he still was not able to awaken his ability.


    She had looked away for at least half an hour and had expected the man to do the same, but to her surprise the man kept staring at that one boy. The only difference this time was that he was looking at the boy the way a beggar would look a gold.


    "Why are you so interested in that one particular boy?" Maka asked. "Its not like he stands out. He is good fighter but so are the hundred other people down there. Even his fighting style seems kind of cowardly at times."


    "Hahaha..." The middle aged man laughed and then said. "That''s where you are wrong, he is the best of the bunch actually. He''s gonna survive this."


    "Oh! You''re that confident in him. Do you mind telling me wh-"


    "Actually let me rephrase that." The man said cutting Maka off. "He might be the only one who survives."


    Maka didn''t have the time to be shocked because as soon as the man had finished his words a deafening scream reverberated throughout the battlefield. This agonizing scream caught the attention of every single person who was observing the battle below, and when their eyes landed on that side of the battlefield they couldn''t help but be shocked.


    ...


    Down on the battlefield, Taku, who only a moment ago was on a killing spree, was now clutching his head in agony. Every part of his body felt like it was on fire whilst at the same time he felt as if he was constantly getting zapped by electricity.


    He felt as if his body could collapse at any time. Veins popped out across his body as he eyes turned bloodshot. At the beginning he felt like screaming and so he did, but at present he felt like just putting his fist through something. Be it a punching bag, a table, a wall or even a skull!


    To him, only the fourth option was available to choose. He quickly turned around and without even thinking twice he charged towards the closest person and smashed the poor victim''s brain. The minute he did so he felt an incredible bloodlust wash over his brain and caused his thoughts and emotions to be muddled. All he wanted to do at the moment was kill.


    "Ahhhhhhh!"


    Taku let out other scream as he charged again towards the closest person. Everywhere that he passed blood was spilled. At the moment he felt like the current battlefield was his playroom and the people were nothing more than toys just waiting to be tossed around by him.


    He had currently killed at least thirty people but he felt no fatigue at all, instead he actually kind of felt excited. At the moment his cowardice was nowhere to be seen, all that he had left was ruthlessness and excitement. He had all the money in the world when he was on earth but the feeling he had now were he couldn''t even properly control his body, was a thousand- No, ten thousand times more satisfying than having money.


    He wanted to kill, he felt as if that''s all he could do, all he wanted to do. He felt as if in his life killing was the only thing that made sense.


    Taku looked at the chaotic battlefield in front of him and felt a warm feeling creep up to his heart, it felt almost as if he had found the home he had searched for all his life.


    "Hahaha..."


    After maliciously laughing for a while Taku began moving again. As he moved he failed to notice that on his arms and legs, layers of smoke began to appear on the surface of his flesh. At first the smoke was barely noticeable, but the more he killed the thicker it became.


    He grabbed one unfortunate boy and threw him towards another, and then charged out towards them without giving them time to react.


    Taku punched towards the chest of the boy who was in the air, but to his surprise, the little resistance he was expecting didn''t show itself. Instead he felt as if he was punching through melting butter.


    Tsssss!


    Before he know it his fist had completely gone through that person''s chest and had arrived right in front of the other guys face. The second boy was so so scared he lost his ability to move. He just stood there looking at the incoming fist whilst cursing at himself for being too weak. He also couldn''t help but curse his bad luck for meeting a monster like Taku, because right now he was the only one who could properly see what was happening to the boy who had been thrown to him, that boy was melting.


    Yes, melting!


    Before he could even properly organize his thoughts the fist had already reached his temple. But unlike his companion who had been melted he simply just turned into dust. The people around who noticed what happened were so scared that they stopped their own battles and began running away.


    The rest were shocked to see their opponents running away, so much so that they couldn''t immediately chase after them. Some chased whilst some decided to fight whoever was around them. One unlucky bastard decided to attack Taku, its safe to say that he didn''t even have time to regret his own actions.


    He swung his sword towards Taku, and to his splendid surprise, Taku made no effort to dodge. The boy smiled viciously as he applied more force into his strike, but his smile quickly froze when he saw the casual smile on Taku''s little face. In the next moment, pure darkness invaded his vision as he slowly disintegrated...


    The sword had hit Taku but had quickly melted away, leaving the attacking person weaponless and defenseless. The rest of the spectators finally realized why the others had ran away, it was not because they had been afraid to die from fighting them, instead it was because of this monster of a human in front of them!


    The ones with strong will were still able to move and run away, but at least half just stood there dumbly waiting for their death. It didn''t take more than five breaths of time for Taku to completely clear the scene.


    This battle to him was the least interesting because he felt as if he was punching and kicking balloon statues that would pop on contact. To a certain degree he felt as if he was actually bullying these people!


    He quickly made his mind up to find himself more entertainment. He found that most people were running in different directions, but some out of panic had just followed the closest person to them. This led to there being groups of four or five people, and these groups were the ones he planned on targeting.


    He moved towards one particular group and in an instant he had caught up to them. This caused the group of children to be scared out of their wits. They all launched an attack towards Taku at the same time, but they found that after this attack only the handles of their swords remained.


    They were so scared that one of them decided to beg for mercy.


    "Ahhhh!... No! Don''t kill me...! I''m willing to b-"


    Before he could even finish his sentence, he had already been punched by a fist that had a thick layer of smoke around it. He was quickly turned into nothing as his companions tried to use this small amount of time to try run away.


    Their actions though were futile. As soon as they turned around Taku was already kicking out towards the closest victim. It is only took less than five breaths for him to finish the remaining three.


    Afterwards he looked around to try find anyone to fight with, but there was no one in sight. This left him very disappointed.


    "These children can surely run fast when they are close to death."


    After mumbling for a while Taku picked a random direction and went that way.


    ....


    The people who were viewing the battlefield were all flabbergasted, well except one man. That man had a smile on his face, and in his mind there was only one thought ''I need to get this kid''. Everyone else could barely find words to explain how they felt, their jaws were wide open and their eyes were almost popping out of their heads.


    They had overseen a lot of these battles and even though there was a lot of bloodshed it still didn''t compare to the battles they had participated in. At the end of the day it was just a bunch of ten year olds killing each other. It was nothing too intriguing, but this time it was different because this time they saw a ten year old, who in terms of ruthlessness, was at their level.


    What they didn''t know was that Taku at this moment could no longer control his thoughts or actions. He was already submerged deep into his bloodlust!


    Maka, who had previously called Taku''s fighting style cowardly, now felt a bit awkward. Of course she was right when she called it cowardly since that was before Taku had been completely taken over by insatiable bloodlust.


    "Looks like I was wrong. He really hid himself well..." Maka mumbled under her breath.


    "Haha..." The weak looking middle aged person next to her laughed and said. "You were right actually, its not that he hid himself well, but rather the fact that when you are that weak, what exactly does one have to hide? He has tremendous potential. Probably more than you do. But he can''t control his ability properly, thus leading to the current situation."


    "You want him, don''t you?" Maka asked.


    The middle aged man nodded.


    Maka replied, "Its not going to be easy to get him. Everyone is looking at him like he is made of gold."


    All the people observing had their own thoughts about what was happening down there, but all of them really wanted to have Taku as a student. But they all knew that doing so was not going to be easy, they could see the determination in each others eyes. None of them was going to give up that easily. Even Nyasha who was part of the summoning division was trying his best to come up with a way to snatch Taku away.


    The middle aged man didn''t even bother looking towards the other people. When he heard Maka''s words he just smiled and said. "You don''t need to worry about that, he''s already mine. You should prepare yourself, soon you won''t be my only student."

 6 Saru

    "Move along!"


    "Time waits for no one, brats!"


    "You there, stop talking and start moving! Even a cow moves better than you lot!"


    "Argh!"


    With a groan, Taku woke up from his sleep, the loud shouts outside making his ears feel like they were being bombarded by supersonic sound-waves.


    When he came to, Taku realized that he was in a small hut with a bed made out of straw on the floor and a table with a pot.


    "Where the heck am I? What time is it?"


    Taku had completely lost his bearings and couldn''t even remember the last thing he did. Whenever he tried all he got were flashes of the bloody nightmare he just had. Just thinking about it gave him shivers.


    "I''ve never had a dream like that before, it felt so real."


    Taku shook his head and slapped his cheeks to focus. He quickly got up from the haystack and left the hut. Outside was quite the sight. Many huts were placed adjacent to his, forming a neat line of huts. Taku looked back and saw that multiple rows of huts were behind him.


    Ahead of his hut was a booth, and multiple children were being herded to it like cattle by brawny men barking orders to and fro. One of them looked toward Taku and pointed.


    "You! What the heck are you-"


    When the man noticed who Taku was, he swallowed his words and took a step back, almost tripping in the process. The unfinished sentence made others follow his line of sight. Once the children and the men saw Taku, gasps and screams started spreading among the crowd like wildfire.


    Taku noticed that most of the eyes looking at him were showing signs of fear, some showed awe and some had mixed emotions. Whispers quickly followed the screams, and many pointed at Taku the same way one would point to a dangerous beast...with caution.


    "Silence! We are not a bunch of women who gossip."


    The cool and calm voice belonged to an old man wearing robes. No one could tell where he came from, as if he had come from nowhere, but there was a boundless pressure emanating from him that made everyone quiet. It was so quiet one could even hear the sound of a pin drop.


    Taku was even more flabbergasted because he knew who this old man was. It was the Envoy who came to his village!


    "Honourable Envoy!"


    Taku immediately went on one knee and started clapping his hands, each hand forming a concave shape resulting in a muffled clap like sound. This was the ultimate form of respect one could show to a human in the Gutu Empire except kneeling and pressing your head on the ground. It was only used on Elders or those far higher than you in status.


    The moment Taku saluted the Envoy the crowd mimicked him. "Honourable Envoy!" They also saluted him the same way Taku did. What was an Envoy? A highly respected being with the permission to roam wherever he wanted whenever he wanted! It was one of the most respected positions in society. Even District Chiefs, beings who were in charge of hundreds of cities, towns and villages had to show a certain amount of respect to an Envoy, let alone mere children.


    No one doubted that Taku was telling the truth about the Envoy''s identity. Doing so surrounded by members of the Elephant Foot Guard was foolhardy. It would lead to serious punishments, with death being a possibility.


    "Come to the booth and register, be quick about it!"


    The Envoy''s body exuded an aura that left no room for negotiation. Thus, even though Taku was still confused, he ran as fast as he could to the booth. Even though there was a queue in front of him, no one dared stand in his way in fear of angering the Envoy, and Taku did not refuse their gesture of kindness.


    When Taku arrived at the booth he did not see what he was somewhat expecting. After hearing the word ''register'', Taku was shocked. As far as he knew there was no alphabet or method of writing. Back in his village, everything was communicated via word of mouth. Thus, before he arrived at Madhara, Taku had no idea how scrolls were being used. When he saw General Shaya, the wind manipulator who transported him and the other children to the savage battlefield, use a scroll, he was somewhat shocked, but too much was happening at that time for him to dwell on such a matter. Nevertheless, Taku was no different from a frog in a well, looking up and thinking it can see the entire sky, when really it only saw a small portion. He underestimated the Gutu Empire, both in terms of strength and social development. Thus he was expecting to see some more scrolls, yet he met something else entirely.


    A rectangular stone tablet with markings on it was all that was in the man''s hand at the booth. The man himself was dressed in casual robes that seemed to be made from linen and had a scholarly feel to him. Even though an Envoy had arrived, the scholarly man behind the booth was far from being flustered.


    "What''s your first name, house name, age, place of origin, totem, ability grade and ability?"


    Taku was somewhat annoyed, because he still had no idea what ability he had, not to mention he had no idea what his grade was let alone what a grade is.


    "His grade is red, his ability is a unique body transformation." The Envoy had soundlessly arrived next to Taku and answered for him. Taku''s eyes went round from surprise because he never suspected he would have the ability to transform his body into something.


    At this moment he remembered something odd. In his dream he saw a child turn into a stone giant and squash others with a single fist.


    "Wait that wasn''t a dream? Then that means I..."


    Before he could finish his thoughts, the Envoy grunted, "Boy answer the rest. Quickly!" His fear of the Envoy made him forget his thoughts and instantly comply.


    "My name is Takunda. I have no house name, I am ten years old, I come from Gumbo Village and my totem is the Elephant Foot."


    House names were surnames, and people from a small village would not have such usually, especially orphans.


    Totems were still a mystery to Taku. He had no idea what they represented, all he knew was that everyone in Gumbo village had that totem. As far as he was concerned it could have a relation to the Elephant Foot Guard.


    The scholarly man swiped his hand over the board, making the markings disappear. Then he used his finger to make knew markings into the stone. He used no pen or pencil, but markings were still left by his finger. Taku was confident that nothing was underneath the man''s fingers. With no knowledge of this world''s alphabet, Taku had no idea what was being written down.


    Before Taku could contemplate further, his vision suddenly blurred. This sensation was akin to being pulled by a car moving at hundreds of miles an hour. Taku was too shocked to even scream. He could barely even breathe because they were moving too fast. Just like that, he disappeared from everyone''s sight.


    "That is absurd."


    Someone finally broke the silence with a gulp.


    "So that''s what an Envoy is like. Truly frightening."


    "One day I will be an Envoy."


    "Pah! In your dreams."


    The children entered into a clutter of noises once the Envoy had disappeared with Taku. The presence of an Envoy was just too much of a stimulus for them.


    "Oi, Simba." One of the burly men beckoned his companion.


    "Hmm?" Simba was still in daze when his friend called out to him.


    "Was that really him? The Retainer of Death? The one responsible for slaughtering a quarter of the participants single-handedly?" He mumbled under his breath.


    Simba was still thinking about the Envoy, after all, it''s not often that they show up in the camp. But the moment he heard the phrase ''Retainer of Death'', Simba nearly choked on his own saliva.


    The Envoy had truly taken the limelight from Taku, but Simba and his partner knew: The Retainer of Death would have a bright future. He would be a blessing for the Elephant Foot Guard, and a nightmare for his foes.


    ...


    Swoosh!


    As suddenly as he had been taken, Taku stopped moving. His journey lasted little more than ten seconds, but to him it felt like hours. When the Envoy let go Taku instantly vomited on the ground, unfortunately he had not had a chance to eat recently thus barely anything could come out.


    Once he gained his strength, Taku observed his surroundings. It was a small pond with a bit of greenery around it. In front of the pond was a middle aged man wearing old robes, fishing in the pond. They seemed to be in the middle of some sort of valley with grass surrounding them. The Envoy stood still like a statue. Taku took this as a cue and did the same, despite the fact that he was still feeling sick.


    The middle aged man was sitting on a simple stool and got up after a while, shaking his head.


    "You know, back in my days, this was a lot simpler. Or maybe I''m just getting old haha!"


    He started laughing the moment he stopped talking, as if he had just said the funniest joke in the world.


    "Bhure greats Lord Saru."


    The Envoy immediately knelt and saluted Saru the same way Taku and the others had saluted him. Taku''s brain almost stopped functioning. Although Taku did not know much about the empire outside his village, he did know that Envoys had respect almost everywhere they went. All Taku knew was that he was part of a prefecture, and that even the chief of the prefecture had to show respect to Envoys. Yet here, an Envoy was kneeling and greeting a poorly dressed middle aged man in the middle of nowhere. Taku realized that there must be a huge gap in status between him and this ''Lord Saru'' thus he immediately decided to kneel and know-tow, the highest form of respect.


    "Child, no need to do anything. Just stand there as you are." Saru''s soothing voice made Taku halt his movements. He did not dare disobey an order from a man that even an Envoy called Lord.


    "Bhure, you are dismissed. Thank you for your service." Saru waved his hand and smiled. "Understood!" The Envoy''s silhouette flashed, seemingly disappearing into nothingness. Taku was having a hard time seeing Saru''s face, as if he was looking at the man through a foggy glass. At first it was not clear but it became more obvious as time went on.


    "Don''t bother concentrating on my face young man it won''t do a thing. If I wanted you to see me then you would see me." said Saru with a snicker.


    "Y-yes Lord."


    "Relax, no need for the titles and honorifics. Just call me Saru, not Lord Saru, not Sir Saru, just Saru."


    "Yes...Saru." Taku reply had surprised the man. The Gutu were very respectful to their elders and superiors. Through their rigorous upbringing many found it difficult to drop titles and be informal. But Taku, a ten year old child no less, was able to do it instantly. Little did Saru know that he was talking to a man from modern day Earth as well ...


    "He must have quite the pair on him~ Haha!"


    Saru was pleased by Taku''s actions and started clapping. "Very good. I like you even more now. Good, good, good!"


    Hearing Saru say good three times in a row made Taku somewhat uncomfortable, but at least he made the man happy.


    Saru turned around and sat. "Come Taku, take a seat next to me." A stool suddenly appeared from who knows where right next to Saru. Taku gulped and briskly walked to the pond. Feeling somewhat intimidated he sat right next to Saru. At least Saru didn''t exude a frightening aura like the Envoy, making being in his presence easier. Nevertheless, his indistinguishable face still made Taku uneasy.


    Saru continued fishing. His rod was as simple as could be. A long stick with a wire tied to the end of it. The stick itself looked so ordinary Taku wondered if there was something wrong with his eyes.


    "Takunda Gumbo. Taku for short. Am I correct?"

 7 Soul Deviation

    Taku nodded vigorously. His name really was Takunda but people just called him Taku. As for the house name Taku assumed that as a villager without one they would just assign his village name as his house name.


    Saru did not waste any time and continued. "Well then Taku let me tell you and interesting story."


    Taku straightened up his body and started paying attention with all his might. He was scared of offending Saru, so he tried as best as he could to seem like a little boy who was concentrating.


    "Now before I tell you the story, allow me to explain something. Abilities we Gutu gain from awakening can be graded to how powerful the abilities are. The grades are colour based. From weakest to strongest there are red, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, silver, gold. To enter the guard one has to be at least a green level talent normally. Of course there are a few exceptions.


    The method of grading these abilities is beyond your understanding. All you have to know is that the grades work."


    As Saru spoke, a spectrum of the colours in the form of stripes appeared in front of the duo, floating in mid-air.


    "Envoys are trained to be able to detect the grades of abilities through special methods. They are also able to tell you what abilities you have.


    Now let me explain something else. There are five types of abilities. Reinforcers who can strengthen things or their bodies, Summoners who can summon creatures to fight on their behalf, Body Transformers who can change their body parts into something else, Manipulators who can control a certain aspect of nature and Muroyi who are essentially witches and warlocks with connections to spirits. All abilities have to be in at least one of these categories and an Envoy can tell what category it is.


    There are some Muroyi who can attack a person''s soul directly, resulting in damage to one''s soul. This damage is called Soul Deviation and it is lethal. Almost everyone who has it will die in a few years at best and in seconds at worst. The stronger they were when attacked, the longer they can survive, and it also depends on the kind of attack used. Below us is a special type of grass, one that induces bloodlust in humans over time. But it has has another effect, which is it facilitates the awakening of Gutu abilities. Its quite a plant. You still with me kid?"


    Taku''s eyes shined as he nodded like a chicken pecking corn. He was quite surprised because the grass below looked like normal grass.


    "This must be responsible for the blood-thirst we showed earlier..."


    Saru laughed and continued, "Now we can get to the story. Imagine this. A veteran Envoy who has awakened countless children goes to a backwater village to do a routine awakening ceremony. Only to come across a child with these results. Grade- Colourless, Ability - Indistinguishable, Ability type- All types. The Envoy was utterly stupefied, thus he knocked out the child and brought him to an expert Muroyi to find out what is happening, only to find out that the child is suffering from the highest class of Soul Deviation! A kind that should be able to leave even the strongest warriors in our empire bedridden! You following me now brat?"


    Taku opened his mouth and didn''t quite know what to say. He would be a fool among fools if he did not realize that the child in question was him.


    "Colourless? Indistinguishable? My soul was attacked? Highest class of soul deviation?"


    Many thoughts ran through Taku''s mind as he tried to process what he had just been told.


    "Boy, you wouldn''t happen to remember being attacked by a spell capable of wiping out an entire country now would you?" Taku''s empty eyes said everything. Saru couldn''t help but sigh. "I suspected as much."


    Taku stood up and started pacing up and down. A serious look of contemplation on his face.


    "Wait let''s look at the facts, my soul came from earth, then fused with the soul of the original Taku. My soul eventually took control, but I never would have thought that this could lead to such consequences."


    Taku had no doubt in his mind that his soul entering this body was involved, but he had no idea how on Earth he was still walking. After seeing General Maka and co, Taku had a glimpse of how powerful the Gutu can be. Not to mention that they were still quite young. Just how much stronger could they possibly get? What kind of monster do you have to be to attack the soul of a being so powerful?


    Taku was not sure if there was a direct correlation between the strength of one''s soul and the power of ones abilities, but Saru''s words seemed to indicate so.


    "According to common sense you should be dead a thousand times over, yet here you are walking. It''s quite the tale isn''t it?"


    "This is insane. Why am I still alive?" Taku pondered.


    "As for what could be happening I have thought of three possibilities. One being that your ability is so weak it can''t be measured, but your performance at the battle scratched that out. Second was that your ability is too powerful to be registered. Third was that the spell that attacked you is also keeping you alive. The only question remaining is which of the remaining two is correct, or are they both true?" Saru was grinning the entire time, as if he had found his favourite toy, sending a chill down Taku''s spine.


    "Uhm, is there a way of knowing which one it is?"


    Taku had many questions to ask, such as what exactly happened at the battlefield and what soul magic really was, but the pressing matter was assuring his safety.


    "Well there is a method, but it will cost me. So, if I am going to use this method to assist you, you need to do me a favour."


    "What could someone like me possibly do for him?"


    A scroll suddenly appeared in Saru''s hand. It was blood red and blank but it gave one an eerie feeling.


    "This is a blood oath scroll. It is extremely rare and expensive. The effect is simple. Anyone who makes an oath on this scroll will be bound by that oath, if they don''t follow through with their oath, their soul will be poisoned and would disintegrate, losing the chance to enter the afterlife. The oath I want you to make is simple. I will assist you in finding out the state of your soul, in return you have to promise me one favour that you will owe me in the future and follow one request of mine without fault."


    "Just when I thought things couldn''t get anymore crazy."


    Taku wanted to know the state of his soul, but at the same time he also did not want to give this man a blank check. What if he asked him to become his slave? Or something worse...


    As if reading Taku''s thoughts, Saru smiled. He put down the rod and bit the index finger on his free hand. Then he dripped some of his blood onto the scroll.


    "I hereby declare that I will assist Takunda Gumbo with his soul problems to the best of my abilities, if he agrees to owe me a favour, one that I swear will not be harmful to him." As soon as Saru finished, the blood he had dripped on the scroll was absorbed like a sponge.


    "Now it''s your turn kid." Saru hand Taku the eerie scroll with a devilish grin. This did not bode well for Taku, and to him it was a bad omen. He shakily held the scroll and gulped, weighing the pros and cons of what was being said to him.


    "Oh by the way, your soul could disintegrate anytime, and you''ll die regretting not taking this opportunity. Just saying." Said Saru as he continued fishing.


    Taku''s expression turned sour as Saru''s words hit home. It was not a pleasant experience for him. Too much information was thrust at him.


    Taku spent many minutes pacing back and forth, until he reluctantly came to a conclusion.


    Taku looked at his hands, a look of worry plastered on his childish face.


    "Any finger will do, haha."


    "What kind of person can casually bite their hand until they bleed?"


    Taku wanted to vent but he couldn''t think of anything, and he was still weary of Saru''s identity. As Taku looked down something caught his eye. It was a thorny flower barely 10 centimeters tall. Taku could not help but sigh in relief when he saw it. He quickly used one of the thorns to prick his thumb and dripped some blood onto the blank scroll.


    "I hereby declare that I will assist the man before me, Saru, with a task of his request if he helps me understand the nature of my soul."


    Hong!


    A loud noise, like a bronze bell being struck echoed in Taku''s mind, startling him. He dropped the scroll by accident but it mysteriously floated to Saru''s side. By the time it had fallen to the ground his blood has already been absorbed.


    Taku was shook his head and blinked his head a few times. Saru stood up laughing, "Good, good, good!"


    He arrived in front of the somewhat dizzy Taku. "Now to fulfill my obligation."


    Taku wondered exactly Saru would do. He was anxious and scared at what the results would be. This was an extremely crucial moment for him, one that could perhaps shed some light on the odd things that had happened to him.


    "Okay Taku listen carefully, I am about to send you to a special place. Three things will happen in that place. First is that you will see exactly what your soul looks like, this won''t last long so pay attention because you will have to describe what you see to me. Second is that you will be tested by our Guardian Spirits, follow their instructions and do not speak unless spoken to. Last but not least, if they grant you a name, remember it! Down to the pronunciation, understand? You only have one chance at this. Use it wisely!"


    Before Taku could reply Saru took action. He formed some symbols using his hands, joining them in different combinations, to Taku these looked like seals used in Asian oriental culture but they were somewhat different.


    A few moments after Saru began his movements the space around Taku changed. Immediately it became hard for Taku to move, as if he was trapped in quicksand, yet there was nothing. The wind around the duo began to pick up and clouds started forming above.


    Taku''s heart started beating madly, as if it wanted to leave his chest. His body started feeling weird, as if he was there but not there at the same time. And just like that Taku''s mind went blank. Fear was one of the emotions that he felt when he blacked out, but then it was quickly replaced by excitement and anticipation. It was at this moment that Saru ceased with his hand movements.


    He suddenly placed his right hand on Taku''s head, placing his thumb on Taku''s forehead with quite some force. Taku unconscious reaction was to scream because it was quite painful, but he could barely utter a sound due to the mysterious force that had bogged the space around him.


    Saru made his free left hand face the sky and started shouting with a thunderous voice, "Guardian''s, hear my call, I your humble servant has chosen this young boy for you. Please bring down your judgment upon him and deem if he is worthy of your protection!"


    Boom!


    As if an explosion occurred in his body, Taku started vibrating. Saru let go and looked on, worry evident on his face.


    "I hope I made the right decision. This is all for the sake of the clan!"


    After consoling himself Saru looked at Taku''s body, which was now slowly floating upward as if it was weightless. After floating for a few meters above ground the body stopped ascending and continued hovering. The vibrating stopped and the body calmed as it hovered.


    Saru''s normally cheerful eyes narrowed. "So it begins."

 8 Mysteries of the Soul

    Taku heard an explosion in his mind, then suddenly he was engulfed in a feeling of weightlessness. It was at this point that he noticed that his environment had changed. He was no longer in the valley with Saru.


    He was now in a very dark area with barely any visibility. It was almost as if he was under water. Except Taku could tell that he was not, because he was not breathing, or rather he didn''t need to!


    Breathing was a reflex that was conditioned in human bodies, thus it came as a surprise when Taku realized that his body did not feel this need.


    "This...could this be my soul? It''s so dark, so desolate, so cold..."


    Taku looked around, hoping to spot something to clear up his anxiety. Lo and behold, his answer came to him.


    At first Taku noticed that his surroundings started getting warmer, then in the distance he saw two objects approaching him. When they finally became clear to him he couldn''t believe what he was seeing. It was two shapeless entities that continuously clashed. Their shape changed every second but they were roughly the same mass.


    One was red. It seemed to be made up entirely of flames. The flames were scorching hot, to the point that even though Taku believed he was miles away he was already feeling as if he was standing in a desert in the middle of the day.


    The other mass was blue. It seemed to be made of what looked like chaotic lightning. The lightning was loud and intense. Its presence was overbearing to the point that Taku could feel his skin tingle just by looking at it.


    The two masses were clashing every second, hovering and moving at incredible speeds. Every time they clashed, a miniature discharge would occur, resulting in a lot of smoke forming around the two masses. The strangest thing to Taku however, was after a while he realized that the smoke formed did not disappear. It did not dissipate, instead it actually followed the two masses it their clash, resulting it what looked like a long snake made out of smoke... twisting and turning, following the two masses wherever they went.


    After a while the two masses stopped fighting, it was sudden, as if they both came to a consensus. All of a sudden Taku felt as if he was being watched.


    The sensation made him feel ill at ease.


    The two masses made their way toward Taku. He wanted to escape them but he was stuck floating in the same spot, no matter how he moved his body. A sense of helplessness overwhelmed Taku, because the two masses seemed far from friendly. Before he knew it, they were only a few meters away from him.


    Each mass was the size of sky-scrapper, and each was exuding a different vibe, one that started to overcome Taku the moment he focused.


    The fiery mass gave Taku the urge to destroy, obliterate, and conquer. It made him extremely angry for no reason whatsoever.


    The electric mass was similar. It also gave Taku the need to destroy, but unlike the fiery mass, the electric one gave Taku a feeling of majesty. If the red mass was a conqueror, then the blue one was a king who was high and mighty, above all other beings. It made Taku feel confident and courageous.


    The two destructive masses each went to one of Taku''s sides. The red one to his left and the blue one to his right. Taku was unsure of what was happening until the masses took action.


    "Arrgghh!"


    Taku felt as if there were two forces fighting for control over his body. The masses were both competing over Taku, attempting to pull him to their side. It was excruciating. Taku wished he could scream but no sound left his mouth. All he could do was wallow in agony.


    At this point, the smoke which had been forming with the masses suddenly caught up. It surrounded Taku, and to his shock, stopped the tug of war that the masses were engaging in. Or rather, it felt as it made the two masses balance out, creating a sort of equilibrium. While Taku was still taking this in, a flash of light occurred nearly blinding him.


    After a few moments the light subsided, allowing Taku to open his eyes. He was no longer in the dark place with the masses and the smoke. Instead he was now in what seemed to be a golden throne room. The room was like something out of a fairy tale.


    It was gold everywhere, with carvings of giants in the walls. The walls were also lined with every type of jewel possible, from diamonds to pearls to necklaces.


    In the middle of the room was a giant throne, depicting what seemed to be a war on the entire surface. The throne was simple and made of what seemed to be pure gold. It was crude in terms of shape but that did little to taint the sheer feeling of grandeur emanating from it. Power, wealth, strength, invincibility, supremacy These were just some of the words that came to mind when looking at the throne.


    Taku realized that he could move in this room, thus he decided to look around. Each of the giants depicted on the walls were incredible. Oddly enough as much as Taku tried to focus he could not seem to picture the giants, instead they seemed to be fuzzy. After a while the endeavor started to give him a headache so he decided to stop. With a plop Taku decided to take a break and rest, but before he reached the ground as his surroundings changed once again. He was no longer in the throne room, instead he seemed to be on what seemed to be an ancient battlefield.


    Skeletons, amours and weapons stretched as far as he could see. From time to time strange green lights flashed in the dark misty surroundings. A strong feeling of death and desolation welled up in Taku. He felt the urge to run away as fast as he could, but where could he run to?


    "First stage of the Unconquerable Trial. Begin!"


    A domineering voice entered Taku''s ears. Before he could make out what these words meant, a silhouette flashed and a man appeared before him. The man was wearing nothing yet he had the pinnacle of a human''s physique.


    The power radiating from his body nearly made Taku feel overwhelmed.


    Then, without warning, the man moved!


    Taku was no stranger to danger, thus he quickly reacted. With a back step he dodged a kick from the man. Seemingly unperturbed the man continued with a flurry of kicks, mixing in some knee and elbow attacks here and there. Taku was afraid of this man, but he was even more afraid of death, thus he moved quickly. The fact that this was probably not reality completely escaped him.


    "Wait, this guy, he is using Taekwondo and Muay Thai!"


    It took a minute or two before Taku realized what was occurring. These were the two martial arts he practiced before coming to this continent, and he had quite the achievements in both, especially Taekwondo. Taku was long used to fusing the two as they were quite compatible, however it had been quite some time since he had seen someone else use them against him, thus it took him some time to realize.


    Taku was unsure of the man''s power hence he dared not take on his attacks, dodging each and every one with practiced ease. As time went on Taku noticed that the combinations and habits the man had were quite familiar, until it struck him.


    "Is this the test that Saru mentioned? Since my soul is related perhaps he is using attacks from my memories?


    If that is the case..."


    Taku was well aware of his own habits, therefore he intentionally created a gap in his guard. The man''s eyes glowed with killing intent as he intended to finish the fight with a single punch. It was a right straight. Taku anticipated this, thus he quickly shifted his stance and jumped forward. To use a straight one has to step forward, and Taku wanted to use the momentum from that step to his advantage.


    Crack!


    Within moments Taku''s hands were holding the back of the man''s head while he was moving forward, then a knee to the face completely smashed the man''s face in.


    Taku flipped forward while the man''s body fell limp into the ground. Taku was a child but he still had the body of an awakened Gutu warrior. That and his knowledge of his own habits let to a crushing victory. Taku had also gotten somewhat used to killing from the battle he had taken part in earlier.


    At first it was a dream. A nightmare to be more exact, but unbeknownst to Taku, his subconscious was now slowly accepting it as reality.


    The man''s body dissipated into smoke and disappeared, much to Taku''s relief. As he watched it disappear, Taku looked at his own hands, his mind lost deep in thought.


    "If that wasn''t a dream, then just how many people did I kill? Hundreds, thousands? No this can''t be right, I can''t be this used to killing already."


    Taku''s memories drifted back to the plant Saru showed him earlier. Even though Saru said the plant induced feelings of slaughter in a person, Taku was still very uncomfortable with who he had become, or rather what.


    "First stage of the Unconquerable Trial complete. Stage two, begin!"


    Another man appeared in front of Taku, or rather to be more specific it was the same man, except he had a weapon. A large saber was in his hands. The saber was almost as long as Taku was tall and its blade reeked of blood.


    "This isn''t good! The reach on that thing is massive. Dammit I should have picked armour or a weapon of my own!"


    The man was just about to move when Taku''s body was only two meters away. Caught by surprise the man did a horizontal slice with his sword. Taku dodged it by ducking and sliding forward at the same time. Then with practiced skill a swept at the man''s feet.


    Kacha!


    Both of the man''s legs were broken by the fast sweep. As the man''s body touched the ground, his face was greet by Taku''s elbow with was supported by the weight of his entire body. There was no suspense as to the result.


    Clack!


    In was near instant kill. Taku breathed heavily after the deed was done. He knew it was a gamble, but the man''s saber was far too intimidating. Taku knew that his best chance at victory was taking the initiative while the man was still dazed.


    After he got up Taku immediately started scrounging the ground for armour and weapons. Taku was not trained in the use of cold weapons, thus he decided to go with what felt easiest to use. Oddly enough he managed to find a breast plate, foot and arm guards that were his size. In fact after paying attentions he noticed that most of the weapons were modeled for his body.


    Taku was still thinking about that large sabre, thus a thick metal shield caught his attention. It was not large but it was not small either. Taku was about to pick a weapon when the voice arrived.


    "Second stage of the Unconquerable Trial completed! Third stage, begin!"


    Knowing what was coming, Taku panicked. He immediately picked up a sword that was lying on the ground. The enemy that appeared was still the same man, except now he was wearing leather armour along with the large sabre. This time, as if he remembered what Taku had done the man lunged forward and swung vertically upward.


    Too fast!


    The sheer difference in movement speed between the first man and third man stunned Taku. The second man had been caught by surprise thus he was not able to exhibit his true power.


    Clang!

 9 Trials

    The saber greeted the shield, making Taku fly upward into the sky. The large man did not hesitate and followed through with another stab, this time his movement much faster showing the sheer power his legs held. While Taku was flying he caught up, ready to stab Taku in the chest. The shield was still in front of Taku when the man arrived. Taku at that moment felt as if death was nearby. His body turned cold and his mind raced like never before. It is said that when one is near death they are able to pull out their best potential; thanks to this experience Taku realized just how true this was.


    Using the weight of the shield as leverage Taku twisted his body somewhat. The shield was rotated, causing the large saber to deflect. Then taking advantage of his tiny body Taku placed his feet on the shield. The sword had been deflected downward thus Taku used the shield like a snowboard gliding on the long saber. The man was stunned by this feat, because the movements were incredibly unconventional. Before he had any more time to ponder, his head had already been separated from his body by Taku''s sword.


    The man landed headless while Taku landed panic-stricken. He did not realize what he had done until he landed. When he realized just how close he was to death he almost fainted, but the voice did not give him time to rest.


    "Third stage of the Unconquerable Trial complete! Fourth stage begin!"


    Taku''s body tensed as he realized that now he had lost his shield, not to mention that he swung the sword with too much strength, resulting in him flinging it far away. When he looked up, he saw a man if full metal armour standing before him. Even his head was armoured. Not to mention the aura this man gave off was completely different. If the other men were waves, then this was a tsunami, one that made Taku feel helpless. Then the unexpected occurred.


    "Boy, admit defeat. You cannot defeat me in your current state!"


    Taku stared at the man for a full minute. Should he concede? What would it mean if he did? Would he die, find himself back in that throne room or back by Saru''s side?


    These were the questions that were plaguing Taku''s mind. What would giving up really mean in this situation? After a full minute of thinking Taku finally realized how stupid he was being.


    If he fought he might get killed and actually die, if he concedes it might lead to death either way. There was no definite path for him this time, so he decided to go with his feelings.


    And at the moment Taku was really pumped. The last 3 fights had completely made him hungry for more.


    At first he really was scared sh*tless. He had gone from a luxurious throne room to an Ancient looking battlefield, where he was suddenly attacked by a man.


    But by the time the third battle started, he had actually began to enjoy it a little.


    F*ck it! I''ve got nothing to lose anyway.


    Taku closed his eyes and inhaled a large breath of air and then exhaled.


    He opened his eyes and ferociously stared at the man. This greatly shocked the armoured man, he had initially thought that his overbearing aura would be able to suppress whatever excitement that Taku had.


    He chuckled when he saw that Taku was not willing to back down. "Keke... You do have a good pair kid. But be careful, because if they outgrow your body they''ll only bring you down."


    After saying this the man grabbed his weapon which was a long Saber. The Saber design itself was simple and crude, but the aura of death that came from it almost made Taku choke.


    The man moved towards Taku whilst raising his Saber over his head.


    So fast!


    Taku couldn''t help but exclaim. He had thought that the third man was already as fast as people could get, but this fourth guy shattered his reality.


    Taku calmed his emotions, but by that time the man was already 3 meters away from him.


    The man swung his Saber towards Taku. At this moment Taku felt as though a huge mountain was being dropped on his head.


    He quickly dodged to the side, but he noticed that as soon as he dodged the Saber seemed to change direction.


    Even though the direction change came was a shock to Taku, he still managed to calm himself at an exceptional rate.


    He quickly jumped up and stepped on the Saber as he used its momentum to go further away from the man.


    But as soon as he landed 10 meters away from the man he realized that the man was able to catch up to him within a breath. Seeing this Taku''s expression turned grave, he didn''t think that the man would be able to react so quickly.


    By the time Taku thought about dodging the Saber was several centimeters away from his head. Taku laughed at himself mockingly for being so weak.


    He knew that the man was strong, but he had figured that he would at least be able to give the man a run for his money. But to his surprise he had been almost completely suppressed.


    Taku instinctively raised an arm to try block the Saber. He closed his eyes waiting for the indescribable pain that was supposed to make him wish for death.


    But to his surprise that pain never came. His eyes were shut for at least five breaths before he opened then. The minute he opened them he was almost shocked to death.


    In front of his eyes was a haze of smoke, smoke that to his surprise seemed tangible, as it was able to block the Saber attack. He could still feel both his arms, but not as if there were inside the smoke, but as if they were the smoke itself.


    Compared to his shock the armoured man was even more flabbergasted. He had honestly thrown everything into this strike, and yet it was ''casually'' blocked by a child. He didn''t even have the conviction to attack again.


    He just stood there and stared blankly at Taku for a long period of time. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that his most powerful attack in this level would be blocked so casually.


    "I admit that I underestimated you." The man started. "Without that smoke of yours you won''t even be able to last a second before your arm gets shattered."


    These words cause a chill to run down his spine. He looked solemnly at the man in front of him and a million thoughts raced through his mind.


    The man chuckled and continued. "Reaching the fourth level with your strength is already a massive achievement. I beg of you to stop here and get the guardian spirits of this level."


    Taku stared blankly at the man and asked. "What exactly is going on here?"


    "No need to ask me." the man said as he dropped his weapon. "That pompous old Fart will explain everything after you concede."


    Taku was still a bit skeptical of the man''s words so he decided to ask. "Won''t I die if I concede?"


    "Kid if I wanted to kill you I would''ve let you go to the fifth level and die."


    Taku had to admit that the man made some sense. The chances of this man lying to him were low but there was still a chance that he could still be on trouble after conceding.


    "Why are you helping me?" Taku finally asked after a long moment of silence.


    "Hehe..." the man laughed. " Your situation is a bit special. Almost everyone in this place knows that. So there is no point in killing you until we actually see how good you can be."


    Taku was flabbergasted by this answer. After thinking for a while Taku finally decided to concede.


    "Good choice kid." The man started. "Try not to disappoint me in the future. We all want to see just how good you are."


    After saying this the man began to fade away. After a couple of breaths he noticed that his surroundings had changed yet again. He was now back in the large throne room, but this time he noticed that he could vaguely see the giants now. After looking around, it seemed as if they were organized in some sort of semi secular manner, with one particular giant at the head of the group, right behind the throne.


    Before he could even think about looking around more a very loud domineering voice sounded out in the room.


    "Congratulations on reaching the fourth level. You can now choose which guardian spirit you desire. This will all depend on your luck as your choice will be completely random."


    As the voice cleared Taku noticed that the Giants became even clearer.


    ...


    In another place not so far from Taku the ''giants'' were having a heated argument.


    "This is bullsh*t!" One giant shouted out.


    "Why does he get to choose of us so randomly. Shouldn''t it be us who is supposed to choose which people we want."


    "He''s too special for us to choose. If we get into it we won''t stop bickering about him. If he chooses himself we won''t be able to say anything about it, we''ll just have to deal with it."


    Whilst most giants were complaining non-stop, there was one giant who stood out. He was lean, unlike other giants, and he was remarkably quiet.


    ...


    Back in the throne room Taku was stuck between a rock and a hard place.


    It nearly impossible for him to get a guardian spirit he actually wanted so he was a bit dispirited. He walked around the huge room for almost half an hour but he still couldn''t choose.


    "Why do they all look the same? Like shouldn''t they have something that distinguishes one from the rest. They are all so bulky."


    Taku couldn''t help but smile wryly at the injustice in front of him. During this time he completely failed to notice that both his hands were still covered by a faint haze of smoke.


    Just when he was about to choose a random giant, he felt as though both his hands were being pulled back by something. He looked behind him, but there was nothing there. Only when he looked down at his hands did he realize the problem.


    The smoke was surprisingly trying to drag him away from the position he was standing. From previous experiences he knew that the smoke had some kind of sentience to it so he decided to follow it.


    He felt as though he couldn''t control his own body when he moved. He noticed that the throne was a lot larger than he thought because after walking for about five minutes he realized that he had just passed his original position when he first came here.


    After walking for a couple of more breaths the smoke finally came to a halt. He looked at the giant he had stopped in front of and couldn''t help but feel annoyed. Just another bulky man!


    Just as he was about to choose that giant, the smoke suddenly moved as it flew upwards. It went up for at least a breath before it stopped at a weirdly looking giant.


    This giant was lean and unlike the ferocious looks the others had, its expression was calm. Him really?... Well I did want something different. Since it''s the smoke that chose him I will choose him as well.


    ...


    "What the f*ck!!!" One giant loudly exclaimed. "Him really!? Him?"


    When they had noticed that the smoke was now kind off controlling Taku, half of them had already given up. But at this point even the ones who knew that they had no hope from the beginning were a bit reluctant to accept Taku''s choice.


    As someone bred by the Gutu they were expecting him to choose the bulkiest Giant in the room, but Taku had taken a different route to their expectations.

 10 Guardian Kaguvi

    The person (Giant) that was sitting at the very top was also rather shocked. He calmly stared at the giant that Taku had chosen and sighed heavily.


    "It really is a good choice for him. Especially after seeing his soul... This kid is truly bloody blessed with luck. "


    Even after all the commotion that had happened because of him, the chosen Spirit was still sitting there as if nothing happened. There was no joy on his and not even a muscle was being moved.


    The Giant at the top just shook its head as it stood up and started to walk away. As it reached a certain point it was greeted by a fully armoured individual.


    Without any greeting he asked the armoured man. "What do you think about his selection?"


    The armoured man was precisely the man that Taku had just gone four rounds with. "It''s a good choice." The armoured man started. "But it''s not something we should be overly concerned with now. Let''s just see how it all unfolds. Aren''t you gonna explain what this is all about?"


    The Giant shrugged and said, "I will when the kid properly has a handle on his powers."


    ...


    Back in the throne room Taku noticed that all the giants started disappearing one by one. He also noticed that these giants that looked like statues almost seemed as if they sneered towards him.


    "That''s weird."


    Taku quickly threw it at the back of his head when he saw that the only giant left was looking at him with a smile. That expression that exuded calmness a minute ago was now filled with joy, uncontrollable joy.


    "You did a good job today kid." A weak voice transmitted into his ears. "You should''ve seen their faces when you chose me. It was Comedy, Pure comedy."


    Taku: "....."


    ....


    Saru was sitting beside the pond humming to himself when Maka walked towards him.


    He didn''t even bother raising his head to look at who it was, nor did he give her the opportunity to greet him. "Have you fallen for this kid so much that you have to come here at this moment, I never knew you were into small little boys, Isn''t he like 5 or 6 years younger than you, I kind of get what you doing though. Catch their hearts when they are still young."


    Maka could not even make a sound after hearing What Saru had to say. You''d think after being his Disciple for over 5 years she would be used to something like this. But every time it was Saru''s utter shamelessness that always kept her astonished.


    She just could not understand how such a well respected man in society could say such shameless words without any hint of embarrassment.


    "He''s a good fighter." Maka answered without emotion.


    "Oh..." Saru started. "Isn''t that the same as declaring your love for him."


    Maka sighed, there really was no way to reason with a fool. "How long till he wakes up?"


    "I have no idea." Saru answers truthfully. "He''s been in there for at least 4 hours. No one usually lasts that long."


    "What are your plans for him?" Maka asked.


    "Depends on the answers he found in that place. I can''t act on anything yet because I don''t know just what exactly happened to him. Once he is out I will get some info and make a proper decision then."


    "Just one more question..." Maka inhaled and exhaled before asking. "Even though he''s probably very talented, that kid is a walking bomb. How do you know that he won''t lose it and go on another killing spree? You''re usually a more cautious person than this. I mean sure we don''t know what type of cultivator he is but isn''t that a bad thing to a certain extent?"


    Hearing this, Saru''s expression turned slightly pale. "I wish I could give you a clear answer, but I can''t. Sometimes going outside your comfort zone is a good thing. And at the end of the day I am a Muroyi, and what fascinates me the most is the body and soul of an individual, and believe me he has one hell of a soul."


    "Huh?" Maka was a bit confused by this.


    "Oh, I didn''t tell you?" Saru looked apologetically at Maka and then continued. "Let''s just say, he should be dead and he''s not. He was hit by a spell that could wipe out a nation and he survived. Doesn''t that make you more interested in him?"


    ....


    Back in the throne room Taku was still trying to come to grips with what just happened.


    "So the giants can talk..."


    This completely shocked the daylights out of Taku.


    Does this mean they''ve been seeing everything I was doing? Was that man I fought one of them? But he was normal in terms of size.


    "Kid, when you come back to your senses please tell me so that I can tell you what I am going to give you." The giant spoke again.


    "Oh..." Taku felt a bit embarrassed. "Please advise me."


    As soon as he finished this sentence the giant began trembling and glowing. The glow ended up becoming so bright that even Taku was blinded by it. After a couple of breaths the light began to dim down, and to Taku''s surprise the Giant had disappeared.


    "What the..."


    "Over here." Just as Taku was about to sink into madness he heard that weak voice again, only this time it was coming from behind him. He turned around and he saw a middle aged man who was fairly lean compared to the average Gutu.


    "You are?" Taku asked cautiously.


    The man replied, "You have a very bad memory, don''t you?... We just spoke a couple of seconds ago."


    Taku''s mouth hung open for a while before he could utter a single word. "But..."


    "Don''t bash in your head about it." The man said as he walked towards Taku. "Let''s get down to business, I''m not like most spirits who deal with power related abilities. My abilities are quite, special."


    "I won''t give you any elemental power, nor can I grant you any special effects when it comes to reinforcement. I have no body transformation abilities."


    Taku was shocked.


    "This is bad. This guy is basically telling me that he can''t give me anything, then why did I choose him. What am i even doing here?"


    The spirit didn''t even bother with Taku''s expression as it carried on. "Let me explain to you how this works. To be honest the term ''Guardian Spirit'' is a bit of a misconception. It''s not like we are going to follow you around in all your travels and protect you when you are in grave danger. What we do is that, we give you our techniques and we allow you to use them at any given time.


    But you see the thing is, with some of these skills they require you to chant something that will summon the essence of a guardian spirit. Take it as if it''s a way to summon a part of us to help you. But mine is a bit different, that''s why not that many people choose me. My technique is not one you need my essence for, nor do you have to chant to activate it. All you need to do is train in it.


    That test you went through was for us to see how far you can go. If you had reached level 5 you could have gotten a better technique than what you could get in level 4..."


    "Sh*t..."


    Taku was a bit frustrated at this, and as if the spirit could read Taku''s mind, he smiled and said. "But it makes no difference to me. If you had reached the first level and chosen me I still would''ve given you the same technique, same as if you had reached the sixth or seventh level."


    "It''s either his technique is very weak, or it''s very unique."


    Taku at the moment had mixed feelings after hearing what the spirit had to say. Taku hadn''t even said a word the whole time, and just as he was about to speak the spirit appeared in front of him.


    It almost felt as if it had teleported because its speed was something Taku could comprehend. The Spirit placed its index finger on Taku''s hand and spoke "My name is Sekuru Kaguvi, and the ability I''m passing to you is a soul art. It''s called soul manifestation, I don''t think I really need to explain much about it, the name is pretty self explanatory. Cultivate in it diligently."


    Just as Sekuru Kaguvi finished speaking his index finger began to exude a bright blue light, and as if he was being shocked by electric currents, Taku began to shake uncontrollably. He felt as though his brain was being torn in two, the headache he had at the moment was enough to make a man want to kill himself.


    This all lasted for a couple of breaths before Taku''s world went blank.


    Taku only opened his eyes hours later. He still felt as though his head had been split in two. He was so weak at the moment that he could barely lift up a finger, nor could he even fully open his eyes. His vision was still a bit hazy as he looked around.


    He realized that he was in a very small room that only had the bed he was lying on and two stools. The first stool was vacant, but the second one was not. He saw a person sitting there silently looking up at the ceiling as if he/she was lost in his/her own thoughts.


    It took a while for his vision to properly go back to normal, and when he saw the person sitting beside the bed, he almost jumped in fright.


    "F*ck! What is she doing here?"


    If it wasn''t for the fact that he could barely move, Taku would have saluted her vigorously already. As he tried to move Maka noticed his awkward movements, stood up and walked towards him. Seeing this Taku turned stiff.


    "You''re awake." Maka started. "That''s good, I''ll go call my master."


    "That''s not necessary." Saru said as he walked in. "You truly scared me kid. Spending that much time in that place isn''t always good."


    Saru sat down on the previously vacant stool and gestured for Maka to sit as well. He then stared at Taku in anticipation. "Which level did you reach?"


    "4!" Taku answered honestly.


    Saru was shocked into silence by this. Never would he have thought that a 10 year old child would be able to fight himself to level 4. Maka on the other hand could barely contain her shock, her mouth hung open as her eyes went wide.


    This time it wasn''t Saru who asked the question but rather it was Maka. "Which spirit chose you at the end of it all?"


    "Chose me?" Taku was confused. "Don''t you choose a spirit at random?" Taku asked innocently.


    Hearing this Saru could not even keep his usual calm demeanor. He was flabbergasted beyond measure. This was the first time he has heard that a human could actually choose which spirit he wanted. Before this there was no other case of it happening. Maka on the other hand was a hair line away from losing her mind.


    She asked with a shaky voice. "So who did you pick then?"


    "Sekuru Kaguvi." Taku answered honestly again.


    "What!!" Saru''s expression at the moment was a bit comical. He was shocked to the core and his expression totally gave that away, but also a hint of joy was evident as well.


    "Quickly explain to me the state of your soul." Saru demanded impatiently.


    "My soul." Taku went on to narrate exactly what he saw in his soul. The explanation didn''t take long, but it was followed by a long silence that stretched out for 5 whole minutes.


    During these 5 minutes Maka couldn''t stop staring at Taku. She looked at him as if he were a demon wearing human skin. The facts about the Guardian Spirits aside, his soul was a mystery itself.


    Saru finally sighed and spoke. "Let''s recount the two possibilities. The first is that when you were hit by that powerful spell instead of it killing you, it split your soul into two and mutated the other part of your soul. Even though the spell should''ve been enough to kill you I think it is also what is keeping you alive. The second possibility is that you were born with dual souls and the other just recently awakened."


    Taku breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. For a moment there he felt as if Saru had almost found out about him being from another world. And it''s not like Saru hadn''t thought about it, in truth he had, but he thought that this theory was a little bit too outlandish to be true.


    "There is a higher chance that the first one is correct. And due to the mutation your souls began fighting to seize control and in the process they actually strengthened each other and as a result they created a third party."


    Saru looked at Taku the same way people looked at gold. He couldn''t help but smile every time he thought about Taku''s condition.


    "Sigh... This is just too wonderful. You got the soul manifestation art from Kaguvi, which at the moment completely goes hand in hand with your current state. We need to get you into the Elephant Foot Guard for training as soon as possible." Saru couldn''t hide his excitement as he left the room, leaving Maka and Taku alone.


    ...


    The moment Taku left Sekuru Kaguvi alone, the latter face palmed in regret, "Sigh, i forgot to tell the boy his title. Oh well, he will learn of it sooner or later." As Kaguvi returned to the walls, the other Guardians shook their heads in disappointment. Unfortunately there was nothing they could do, this was just his character, free and unrestrained...

 11 Back To Training

    Taku started. "General Maka."


    "Don''t call me that behind closed doors." Maka interrupted. "Just call me Sister Maka or just Maka. I don''t really mind."


    "Oh..." Taku was shocked.


    "What''s with these two and just dropping honorifics." Taku thought to himself.


    "Ma-Maka... Will you be an instructor at the Elephant Foot Guard?" Taku asked.


    "Yes I will be." Maka answered truthfully. "But don''t worry I won''t be in charge of you or anyone who might be around you. Because if I was I doubt you little brats can take it."


    Even though Taku was merely ten years old in appearance, his mentality was that of a grown man. So being called a brat by a girl who was probably younger than him, made him feel as if his pride was being shredded.


    "Before you ask anything else, let me ask you something." Maka looked intently at Taku and then asked. "Which weapons do you plan on using?"


    This question caught Taku off guard. There was so much going on at the moment that he didn''t even have the idea of which weapon he thought would suit him more. He was silent for a while because back on Earth he only did Martial Arts and specialized in close hand to hand combat, so he had never really thought about weapons.


    Looking at the little boy who was deep in thought, Maka couldn''t help but smile. "Your close combat is very good and it can be a valuable asset to you. But at the same time weapons also have their advantages. If you want to be a close combat specialist I won''t stop you, but only if you chose a weapon, or two to use as well."


    "I really know nothing about weapons." Taku said honestly. "Maybe you could help me out?"


    "Sure."


    ...


    Saru at the moment could barely keep his calm as he walked. He finally arrived at the pond and tried his best to calm himself but to no avail. He finally threw the idea at the back of his head and called out. "Bhure!"


    "Yes Lord Saru." The minute Bhure appeared, he was shocked beyond measure when he saw Saru''s current expression.


    During his time working with Saru he had only seen him like this once before. And that was when he had found Maka.


    "Looks like that kid is one hell of a gem." Bhure thought.


    "Bhure, that kid you brought is one hell of a gem. I''m so happy that I could die now and feel as if my life has been worth it."


    Bhure looked at Saru in shock. "Has this guy finally lost it...?"


    "Don''t look at me like that! I''m not crazy." Saru snapped. "Or at least I think I''m still sane,okay fine, let''s do it like this. I''m going to tell you part of what''s going on, and at the end of it if you can still keep your current state of mind I''ll help you get a promotion."


    Bhure was excited. "All I have to do is keep calm right? I was trained for this. Easy promotion here I come."


    Bhure looked at Saru in anticipation.


    "Okay then. You asked for it." Saru started. "He reached the fourth level..."


    The minute the last sentence was finished Bhure dropped to his knees. "B-b-but he''s 10 years old, how is that even possible?"


    Seeing this Saru couldn''t help but chuckle to himself. "Anyway I need you to do me a favour. I want to take this kid in as my disciple, but at the same time I want him to join the Elephant Foot Guard. I want him to join the Intermediate class and train in there for a couple of years. I fear that if he enters the class for nobles he''ll be taken away by some stupid clan. I want him to be the least noticeable person there.


    I know you have a brother who is an instructor there. I want you to have him wipe out any information about how outstanding this kid is. And I also want this kid to be personally trained when it comes to weapons."


    Bhure sunk deep into thought when he heard this. "To have my brother wipe the information is the easy bit. The part about personal training is the issue. It''s not that no one will be able to do it but the price of it is too high."


    "You know for a fact that money is not of any concern to me." Saru spoke whilst smiling. "Wait here and give me a minute. I need to go learn which weapon he wants to use."


    Bhure looked at Saru''s departing figure and couldn''t help but smile. Saru on the other hand was filled with anticipation. The minute he got by the door he couldn''t help but halt before he opened the door.


    This was because he heard Maka talking about weapons. "She beat me to it."


    "Since you are good at close combat its best if you chose a short sword and your primary weapon. But my advice is that you should also pick a weapon that will help you in long ranged fights. The most suitable one for that is a spear. So what do you think."


    Taku looked at Maka in amazement. Before this she had cataloged every weapon he could think of and gave him the advantages and disadvantages of those weapons. After that she picked the two weapons that would most likely be suitable to the way he fights.


    Saru who had only heard the last part of her explanation nodded his head in approval and then walked away. He didn''t even wait to hear what Taku had to say about it, because he was already too satisfied with Maka''s suggestion.


    In the small room Taku didn''t take long to agree with what Maka was saying. He knew nothing about weapons to begin with, but the girl in front of him knew quite a lot. So he decided to put his faith in her.


    "Maka, about this soul manifestation, do you know anything about it?" Taku asked.


    Maka shook her head. "That''s not my forte, we should wait till Master comes back and he will explain everything else."


    Taku nodded his head and the room went silent. But it didn''t stay like that for long, as Saru walked in a couple of seconds later.


    "Everything is sorted." Saru spoke. "You will travel with Maka to the Elephant Foot Guard in three days. Do you have anymore questions?"


    Taku asked. "The Soul Manifestation, how does it work?"


    "Oh that thing. I''m sure he told you that you don''t need to chant anything to activate it. There are a series of movements you have to do with your hands on order to activate it. But after some time you''ll be able to manifest your soul into anything with just a thought. But that is only after you have mastered the full set of hand seals.


    All the information should be in your brain. I advise you to start looking into it after a few days of rest."


    After he was done speaking Saru left the room again and left the two youngsters in the room alone.


    "You must be hungry." Maka started. "Go take a bath and I will take you to have some food. You shouldn''t overexert yourself too much in the following days. Just try your best to rest."


    Maka also stood up and left after saying this leaving Taku alone. Taku at the moment was still in pain, but he couldn''t help but smile at how it all turned out. He didn''t know what the future held, but he was eagerly waiting for it. He rarely thought of it, but the idea of taking over the world still lingered on in his mind, patiently waiting for him to acquire the tools required to achieve it. Taku was not a perfectionist, but he was thorough and careful. He would not take action until he fully understood this world.


    Even though he was excited about the future, he still couldn''t help but think of the past.


    "I wonder how the people on Earth are doing. Was there cultivation in my old world... as if!"


    Taku had a long expression on his face when he thought about his home. He couldn''t help but wonder what he would''ve become of he hadn''t died. He calmed his mind and got up slowly from the bed.


    And then he suddenly burst out laughing.


    "If there are cultivators on earth with abilities like here it would explain the UFO sightings. So it actually might have been two people fighting or just some guy flying."


    ...


    Three days went by in a flash, Taku and Maka were now on their way to the Elephant Foot Guard. At first Maka wanted to fly there, but Saru had insisted that they go by foot. This was because he wanted Taku to experience the world before he went into the Guard.


    They had to pass by dozens of villages before they could get to their destination. One of those villages was Taku''s old village.


    They didn''t go through the village, instead they just went past it, but it still triggered some nostalgia from Taku. Taku and Maka were wearing simple animal skins thus the villagers simply took them as passerbys. Due to his experiences Taku had changed quite a bit. His body had gotten slightly taller and his temperament had changed completely, thus no one could remember the young man. No one in the village liked him enough to care about what happened to him. As far as they were concerned they had one less burden to worry about.


    Along the way Maka explained to Taku that he needed to rest a bit by looking at nature. Which is why they took their sweet time reaching their destination. The surroundings were soothing to Taku, and he realized that Maka''s words were quite true. He felt his mental state improve bit by bit and he felt more and more invigorated as time passed. After a while Taku entered a trance like state.


    "Oi. Wake up."


    A voice brought Taku out of his trance. One look at his surroundings made him realize that he was now back to the area with huts, with Maka nowhere in sight.


    "What happened." Taku rubbed his eyes in disbelief at the situation.


    "You were standing there like a lifeless retard that''s what." It was one of the bulky men who had been abusive to the children during registration. It amazed Taku just how similar these men were. They were all bald and buff. There were only slight differences between them.


    "Where the heck did Maka go? Damn it she abandoned me. I still have a ton of questions to ask her. Flip!"


    "Brat, follow me. The training is about to start." The buff man started walking away. Taku wanted to ask what training, but after considering where he was he swallowed his words.


    "Sigh, I have no control over my destiny at all. It''s all because I''m too weak. I need to get stronger. No matter the cost."


    Taku had long realized that in the Gutu Empire power was everything. Now however he had truly accepted this in his heart.


    As the duo walked, the buff man looked back to see why Taku was so silent.


    "Hhmm? Are those the eyes of a ten year old?"


    The man would not admit it to anyone, but he was somewhat intimidated by the look in Taku''s eyes.


    "Looks like this batch will be interesting."


    ...

 12 The Gruesome Dombo!

    The duo arrived to a clearing in a forest which was near the collection of huts. Hundreds of children were lined up in front of a stage. Oddly enough there were perfectly spherical boulders the size of a soccer ball in front of each child. On the stage was a chair in which another buff man was seated.


    The other buff men were scattered around the perimeter of the children. Hard auras permeated from their bodies. Taku was lined up at the back. After a few minutes the buff man who was seated finally stood up.


    "Children of my Gutu Empire. I, Tanaka, welcome you to hell!"


    Tanaka''s voice was quite intimidating, but the children did not falter under its influence. Causing him to smile in approval.


    "The other men before you, are to be referred to as Protectors. I am to be referred to as Hall Master. Now to begin your training. Each of you, pick up the boulder in front of you now!"


    None of the children dared delay and each picked up a rock. All of the children had one thought when they picked up the boulders.


    Heavy!


    Some of the weaker ones almost fell over. But no one screamed and no one complained. Causing Tanaka to nod his head in approval once more.


    This is how a Gutu child should be!


    "Now listen up. I will only explain this once. The duration of this training is 4 years. It is to make you into a warrior worthy of the guard. The training is very simple. Each of you is tasked with carrying the rock you just picked up for the next 4 years!


    When you are sleeping you better be holding it. When you piss you better be holding it. When u shit you better be holding it. I don''t care how you do it, but your hand must always be holding the rock. If the rock touches the ground you are disqualified. If it is destroyed you are disqualified!


    Now let me say this. There are about three thousand of you, and my Gutu Empire does not force any of its citizens to anything against their will. Thus I will say this one time. This training is lethal, and losing your rock means disqualification which also means death. Thus if there are any among you who wish to quit now is your chance!"


    No child moved so much as a single muscle. Tanaka was once again pleased with this result and nodded.


    "Alright brats. This is going to be a simple training exercise. Every day, from morning till evening, each of you will move with the Protectors and climb a mountain. Coming down is also difficult thus do not underestimate it. Meals will be left at at the entrance of your huts at sun up and sun down. Mind you, this must all happen while you are carrying the rocks.


    Now in the Guard we have a motto. One which we will follow to our graves. Listen closely and repeat after me."


    Tanaka raised his hand and bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Pain before dishonour, death before defeat!"


    "Pain before dishonour, death before defeat!"


    The children echoed his chant as best as they could. Then something unexpected occurred. The rocks in the hands of the children started shining.


    Dum! Dum! Dum!


    This sound appeared all around the children as quite a few dropped their rocks. And the moment they did, their bodies would fall limp to the ground.


    "Argh!!"


    It took all of Taku''s willpower to not drop the rock. The rock had suddenly released a hot energy that rampaged all over his body the moment he said the motto. The energy acted like shackles, binding all of Taku''s body. His entire body suddenly felt much heavier and the rock in his hands became very hot. It was as if he was holding a mini sun. Even movement became difficult as if each of his muscles had been restrained by the hot energy.


    It was due to this that a few hundred children dropped their rocks. A few moments later the rocks stopped shining, and screams were everywhere across the clearing. From time to time a child would drop a rock, falling limp to the ground.


    "Each of you has now activated the spell in the rocks. These rocks are called dombos. A dombo is a special kind of metal or rock that has undergone enchantment. The dombos you are holding are special in that they are designed to restrict the energy in your bodies, making you much weaker while at the same time delivering torture in some form.


    These dombos have another function. Once they link with someone the person becomes dependent. In other words if you lose contact with your dombo you will die instantly. The dombos are also enchanted to disintegrate if they come into contact with earth type energy. In other words, if they even so much as touch the ground the result is instant death!


    If you were to touch another person''s dombo with your own body the result is instant death! If your combo gets destroyed or disintegrates it''s instant death!


    So understand this. We don''t need to monitor you brats. The dombos will do that for us. However know this, if you are caught by me or any of the Protectors trying to kill someone, then the result is that you will be killed on the spot!


    Why would you want to kill you ask? Because the moment only one hundred dombos are left, the spell binding you to the dombos will be canceled!


    If this happens before the four year mark then you can spend the rest of the time in the camp as you wish. Now all of you follow the Protectors. That is all, dismissed!"


    ...


    This was without a doubt the most miserable day in Taku''s life. Like soldiers the large Protectors goaded the children to march toward a mountain. The mountain was not high. Perhaps only five hundred meters. For a Gutu this was nothing. But the dombos changed everything. Those spherical rocks became the source of misery for Taku and his fellow students.


    The mountain''s uneven ground and its steepness became torture for the children. Surprisingly the trip downwards was even more torturous because the children were already tired from the climb, and the weight from the dombos made it difficult for them to balance themselves. Thus it took a lot of effort to get down without dropping the rocks.


    By the time they got back to the camp it was already night time. On the first day alone a quarter of the children had perished.


    The children were crying in their hearts. They never would have imagined that they would end up in such a spartanic situation. Many of them doubted how anyone could survive such an ordeal. Wanting to kill others? This was laughable. They could barely stay alive themselves. Who could attack someone while they could barely stand.


    Alas the children knew that they could not voice their grievances. All they could do was go to their huts and rest while they could.


    The food was far from ideal, but it staved off the hunger. The biggest worry the children had was the next day. They realized that the biggest danger in this training course was accumulated fatigue. But a saving grace appeared.


    When every child woke up the next day, they realized that their fatigue and injuries from the next day vanished. Many nearly cried tears of joy when they saw this. It was clear that this was the effect of the dombos. The Guard was not stupid, it would not provide a training regime that was not beneficial to its participants.


    Thus the perilous training at the training camp began. To leave the camp, climb the mountain and come back to the camp took nearly twelve hours. And the children would be too tired to do anything else besides sleep when they got home, thus the first few months were uneventful.


    There were still quite a few who died due to accidents, after all it was hard to keep holding a heavy, painful rock with you the entire time without allowing it to touch the ground. Many died in their sleep due to carelessness. There were even a few who died due to tripping.


    Needless to say, after a few months, the weakest had been removed and only the strong, cunning and careful remained alive.


    ¡­


    Far, far away, in a distant place, a large fleet of ships was approaching land after a long voyage. The ships were large and made out of high quality wood, adorned with many different markings to make them seem more intimidating.


    At the head of the fleet was fine ship, and at the front of that ship was a young Caucasian man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Wisdom far beyond his age was visible on his face as he used a pair of binoculars to look ahead.


    "So far so good. Nothing up ahead." Said the young man as he looked ahead.


    "You are being too cautious Captain! The Gutu monkeys will never see us coming!" laughed a bulky man with a red beard.


    "Do not underestimate our enemies McLeod. They are far more capable than you think. There is a reason why their empire has been standing strong for countless millennia." Said the young Captain.


    "Hmph!" The bearded man only snorted in response at his superiors words.


    "Captain Windsor, I believe there is some merit to McLeod''s words. Ours is only part of a mega fleet with nearly a million ships. Even if they are the Gutu of legend, their strength will have its limits. No matter how strong one is, there is always someone stronger."


    A charming voice came from behind McLeod. She was truly a lovely woman. Wearing a robe that hugged her nearly flawless skin she walked to Windsor''s position and hugged him from behind. Her face looked as if it had been sculpted from the most precious of diamonds and her hair cascaded down like a water fall. Even the muscle headed McLeod swallowed his saliva in her presence.


    "Well then let me also throw another idiom in into the mix. Do not underestimate your opponents. It is very simple but is quite effective. I plan on following these words down to the tee." Said Windsor with a stern face. He escaped the charming woman''s clutches and turned around. "Tell the mages to get their most powerful long range spells ready! I don''t want any mistake from any of you. If an error was to occur on this crusade, it certainly won''t come from my fleet!" Yelled Windsor.


    "Yes Captain!" yelled the crew in response.


    McLeod noticed that an odd expression was on Windsor''s face so he asked, "Captain, what is on your mind?" The charming woman was surprised because she assumed that McLeod was only a foolish brute, yet it seemed he had more to him than she thought.


    Windsor squinted his eyes as he looked at his hands, "I''m not sure why, but I have a bad feeling about this."


    "About what?" questioned the charming woman.


    "This timing is odd. I know the rest of the Western Continent has always been eyeing the lands belonging to the Gutu, and I know that this is the first time the entire continent has managed to form an alliance against the Gutu. But at the same time the Gutu are at their strongest in thousands of years, and according to rumours, their current Emperor is one of the most powerful in their history, not to mention the monstrosities he calls his children. We lack information! We need to know more before making a move! It''s too risky to make a move right now."


    "Aye, I understand how you feel Captain, but you must understand that those monkeys have an iron tight grip on their country. It''s easy to get in but leaving intact is harder than ascending to the heavens. If it was that easy to obtain information about them then we wouldn''t be in the dark." said McLeod after some contemplation.


    "Indeed Captain, since we have little information about those barbarians then its best that we act now. I am positive that even if we do not gain much in terms of material possessions in this war, our knowledge about these people will surely increase by many folds." added the charming woman.


    "Do you really think it''s that simple? Tell me McLeod, what do you think about the shinobi from the Yamato Shogunate?" said Windsor.

 13 Windsor

    Just the mentioning of the Yamato Shogunate made McLeod frown quite a bit.


    "Aye, their shinobi are known as the best spies in the world. From recon to undercover work to assassination, they can do it all. During The War of Sages and Saints they out did all other intelligence gathering organizations by manifold and are one of the two reasons the Yamato Shogunate are so powerful, despite being the smallest and least populated empire."


    "It is said that one of their best shinobi can even steal a living soul from the underworld. Although it is an a bit of a stretch, it just goes to show just how frightening they are." Added the charming woman.


    "Good." Windsor placed his hands behind his back and looked at the duo. "Now despite being so impressive, why on earth does the Alliance know next to nothing about the Gutu?"


    McLeod and the charming woman kept quiet, because they felt as if the answer would be a dangerous one. "I know you are all afraid to say it so I will. It''s obvious that the Yamato are keeping information from us!"


    "Hold on lad, I understand where you are coming from. You aren''t the last person to say this nor will ye be the last, but let''s calm down and think about this. What would those freaks gain from withholding information from us when they are also part of the Alliance?"


    "McLeod, they might be part of the Alliance but keep in mind that they are still the most detached entity within. If we do gain something in this war they gain the least, but at the same time they would have lost the least amount of troops in proportion as well. So, if they didn''t share the information they had on the Gutu, it can only mean one thing. They want us at the front lines to suffer as much damage as possible."


    "Hold on there you witch, they would also be in trouble if we don''t win this war so why would they deliberately do this? All the nations are in this together, so they are in the same boat as us."


    "Are they McLeod? Look around and tell me." said Windsor.


    McLeod looked at their ship and his frown worsened. Indeed their crew consisted of people from various nations, but McLeod could not see a single person from the Yamato Shogunate. In otherwise, the Yamato were not in the same ''boat'' as they were.


    Windsor smiled wryly and patted McLeod''s shoulder. "Old friend, I know you like to see the best in people, but sometimes there is more than meets the eye, despite what we might want. I have heard from many of my uncles that the Shogunate is part of the Alliance in name only."


    "Indeed, I have heard such as well, however Captain the Shogunate are men who value honour, and they are well known for following through with their word. So perhaps there is no need to worry." The charming woman stretched and yawned after speaking.


    "My dear Siren. I have a question for you."


    "Please go ahead Captain."


    "If they are so honourable, then why do they have the best spies in the world?"


    McLeod laughed as soon as he heard what Windsor said, it was indeed quite a good point, honour and espionage do not go hand in hand. Before the conversation could continue, warning sounds started ringing across the entire fleet. Then a panicked voice reverberated across the ocean.


    "Enemy attack!"


    ¡­


    Mountains are the goliaths of nature. A single mountain can act as the entire centerpiece for a terrain. Thousands upon thousands of creatures use mountains. Thus it would make sense for one to believe that a mountain was something that humans would look at in awe, yet for the Gutu, mountains were no different from glorified stepping stones.


    Boom boom boom boom!


    An army of Gutu warriors adorned in golden armour were performing a feat that would cause the other inhabitants of the Western Continent to open their mouths till flies enter.


    Boom boom boom boom!


    As if they were skipping along on a grassland, the procession of warriors were jumping from mountain top to mountain top. At the head of the procession was a child who looked around ten years old. The child''s body was exceptional, barely a single flaw in sight. Eyes that were like the ocean, deep and unfathomable. Skin that shone with a lustre that made stars envious and a baleful aura that would put even the most well known of killers to shame. With beautiful short spiky hair, the young child at first glance looked like someone who would grow up into being a handsome young man.


    Adorned in golden regalia, the child led the procession in their mountain jumping endeavor. Each jump covered at least 30 kilometers, yet no one even broke so much as a sweat. With a grunt, the procession made its last jump, this time lading on flat land.


    Boom boom boom boom boom boom!


    Like a barrage of missiles landing on an unsuspecting target, the procession completely destroyed the land beneath them. They were on the edge of a cliff, overlooking an ocean that stretched into the horizon.


    The child, who had knelt when landing, stood up with a serious expression. As it stood, the natural energy in its surroundings seemed to resonate as it oscillated at a rate visible to the others.


    "As expected of your highness. Even the zesa in the surroundings is obedient to you." said a large strong looking man. His uniform seemed a bit different to the others and he had the bearings of a leader.


    "Hmph!" The child snorted and looked toward the horizon. After snorting once more in disdain, the child then look behind.


    "There is no need for any of you to act. These are mere pests that don''t need our attention."


    "Yes your highness!"


    The entire army did a kneeling salute.


    "Rise, Masimba." said the child after some contemplation,


    "Yes your highness." The strong man in unique armour, Masimba, replied and stood up at attention.


    "Listen carefully, these foreigners are only probing us, thus there is no need to take them seriously. What were Imperial Father''s orders?"


    "Reporting to your highness! His majesty the Emperor requested us to make sure that none of the foreigners even step one foot on our land!" said Masimba.


    "In other words we don''t need to escalate it into a full scale battle. Hhmm. They should be thinking that this area would not have a powerful army to defend it, thus the forces they sent here would most likely be cannon fodder. A warning should suffice. I am far too lazy to engage in a pointless battle." The child yawned lazily. "I need to end this quickly and get back to training. Today was supposed to be the day I slayed my first dragon." A twinkle appeared in the child''s eye.


    "Then how would your highness like to proceed?" questioned Masimba.


    The child seemed to ponder for a moment before responding. "Hand me my bow and an arrow."


    "Yes your highness." Masimba handed a small bow and arrow to the child. Masimba was well aware that this bow and the arrow were made from ordinary materials, but that did little to hide the expectation that was building up in his mind. Similarly, the warriors grinned viciously in anticipation of what was to come.


    The child notched the arrow and pointed it skyward, toward the horizon. Then the arrow was pulled backwards. At first nothing occurred, but the oscillations that occurred before started happening, except this time they were much more intense. With the child as the epicenter, energy started gathering in large amounts. The waters in front started to boil as the temperature in the surroundings area started to increase.


    All of the greenery within 5 kilometres started to dry up, eventually catching on fire. A raging inferno suddenly encircled the army, its flames reaching into the skies, yet the soldiers did nothing, they merely looked at the child, waiting for something. And their patience was rewarded.


    Flash!


    A tiny little flame lit up at the head of the arrow. At first the flame was barely noticeable, but as the seconds went on, the flame started to grow in size, and its nature started to change. From an ordinary red flame to a yellow flame with black outlines. The flame encased the entire front of the child, but it did little to alter the child''s intentions. The child continued to greedily suck in energy from the surroundings, feeding it to the flame in front of it. Once the flame became the size of a wagon in stopped growing in size. What started changing was now the quality of the flame instead of the quantity.


    The black outlines on the flame gained a purplish tint, giving the fire a more menacing look. The fire then started shrinking in size, until it was eventually the size of an adult''s fist.


    Who knew death could be so beautiful.


    The warriors were all awestruck by what was happening. Despite the fact that the flame had reduced in size, it was now even now hotter. The soil beneath the group started getting baked but no warrior even so much as flinched. The inferno that was around the group suddenly disappeared. In its place a chill appeared, one that made the ground freeze over.


    "It''s ready." The child was now breathing somewhat irregularly but the excitement in its eyes was unmistakable.


    Swoosh!


    The child let go of the arrow. Like lightning the arrow launched from the bow, baptizing itself in the chilling flames in front of it and carrying them with it. What started as an arrow and a fist sized flame quickly changed into what seemed to be a yellow lightning bolt with purple black outlines which disappeared into the horizon.


    "It seems my control of the nether essence is still weak." mumbled the child in discontentment.


    The soldiers quickly felt their scalps go numb. What had just occurred was something even hundred year old fogeys in the royal family struggled to achieve, yet the child in front of them was actually disappointed by the outcome. This was the difference in standards! The difference in caliber!


    Who here did not know that the child in front of them was a dragon in the body of a snake? A prodigy seen once every 10000 years. Such was the nature of the being in front of such a being. Just what will this child be like as an adult? This thought made every soldier swallow their saliva.


    ¡­


    "Enemy attack!"


    The trio immediately went into action at these words and readied the mana circulating in their bodies. Windsor used his binoculars to look ahead, only to see what looked like a shooting star of death headed their way. With just one look he could tell that this was no simple spell.


    "McLeod! Fire phoenix! Maximum output! "Barked Windsor as he looked on.


    "Aye Captain."


    McLeod looked like a simple ruffian, but even Siren had to admit that he was a top class warrior. He was a well known fire user throughout the Western Continent thus when the crew heard that he was taking action their expressions eased up.


    McLeod raised his hand into the sky, resulting in a magic circle forming above the ship. A phoenix covered in flames was birthed from the magic circle. The sheer heat it radiated outward made many a man cover their faces in fear of getting burned.


    "Is that?"


    "It''s Lord McLeod''s Fire Phoenix!"


    "The main ship is taking action!"


    "We are saved!"

 14 Imperial Nether Flames

    The crew-mates on the other ships within the fleet had heated discussions about McLeod. Most of them had no idea what attack was coming, but after seeing the Fire phoenix they released shouts of joy.


    With a shrill cry the phoenix flew forward like a bolt of lightning. It did not take long before it reached the attack headed for the ships.


    It was at this point that the yellow blaze was finally discernible to Windsor.


    "A yellow flame with a black purple outline?" mumbled Windsor.


    Siren''s beautiful face exhibited horror when she heard Windsor speak. She wanted to say something but alas it was too late.


    Boom!


    The phoenix and the yellow flame clashed, resulting in an explosion, or what should have been one. The phoenix was almost ten times the size of the yellow flame streak but it was instantly devoured by the yellow flame until nothing was left. This Resulted in the yellow streak expanding, in terms of size, multiple times. It turned from a yellow streak to a yellow pillar of flames the thickness of a giant''s waist.


    Now that it was bigger the yellow flame was now visible for everyone to see. The disappearance of the massive phoenix was just far too eye catching.


    Windsor was gobsmacked, unsure of what to do, when Siren''s shaky voice sounded out behind him, "It''s the Imperial Nether Flame."


    Sirens words made McLeod and Windsor take in a breath of cold air. McLeod was a well-travelled warrior who had heard legends of what this was. Windsor remembered reading records of this flame when he was a child. The majority of the world believed it to be a myth, but now it seemed to be true. The Nether Flame had many abilities, one of which was just exhibited before them.


    "The ability to absorb any flame to increase its own strength, it''s actually true?"


    Windsor finally realized how grave of an error he had made, by making McLeod, a fire user, attack that flame. Unfortunately there was no medicine for regrets in this world. The flame was now quite close, and its menacing aura was starting to take effect.


    The eerie black outlines of the flames exuded a feeling of death. Some of the weaker soldiers in the fleet, were starting to faint, with foam coming out of their mouths. Most of those who did not faint started to experience illusions. Illusions of an ancient battlefield riddled with rotting corpses, rivers of blood flowing ceaselessly, unimpeded in this desolate land. Many of the crew mates started to attack their own men, shouting incomprehensible things in a language that no one there could understand.


    Those who neither fainted nor faced illusions were only the strongest of the strong among them, yet they were not left of the hook. The aura of death permeating from the flame was so strong many men started to lose control of the mana in their own bodies, resulting in them being unable to protect themselves from the surroundings.


    Many of the ships were made from wood, thus they started to catch on fire, even though the yellow flame was still many miles away. Suddenly a frightening thought hit Windsor''s mind as he looked back at his fleet which was now caught in a raging inferno.


    If the flame is this strong while it is that far away, then what will happen when it gets here?


    A chill ran down Windsor''s spine when he thought of the consequences. He did not want to see those who had followed him to meet a cruel end, thus he started to circulate his own mana in order to face the incoming attack. He knew that would endanger him, but he felt that he had no choice.


    "It takes royalty to defeat royalty, sigh."


    Siren noticed his actions and held his shoulder. Her own mana invaded his body, cancelling the spell he was about to activate. Enraged Windsor turned around to berate her, only to see an unusually serious expression on her face.


    "Captain, this flame can only be used by Gutu royalty. We may not know much about the Gutu but we do know that their royalty are monsters among monsters. This is just a probing attack, thus if we were to retreat they will likely not chase after us. However if you so much as use a single spell, attracting their attention, then this could become a manhunt, one that will result in even more lives being lost."


    Windsor could not rebuke her words, thus he could only sigh and look at the incoming inferno.


    "McLeod, activate a defence rune around the ship."


    "Aye."


    McLeod knelt on the ground with one knee and placed one hand on the ground, and a large rune appeared underneath the trio. Following this a shield made of pure energy radiated outwards, creating a bubble around the ship.


    "Captain, my rune magic is weak, the best I can do is protect one ship." said McLeod with a sullen face.


    "I know old friend¡­I know."


    ¡­


    "Hahahahaha! Fools, feeding my nether flames with more fire, how stupid! Looks like there is no longer any need for us to stand here. That fleet is as good as destroyed." harrumphed the little child.


    "Let''s get back home!"


    "Yes your highness!"


    Like specters, the army disappeared from the hill. Leaving it burned to a crisp, to the point that it was no unrecognizable.


    ¡­


    Fire was a tool mankind could not live without, it was something we couldn''t live without, yet it was something we should also fear. Windsor had once heard these words from his uncle but he laughed them off. How could someone as powerful as him fear measly flames? Yet as he looked at the inferno raging around him, he finally learned that his uncle was far from being a fool.


    "I want to check the damages, but I can''t even sense anything outside this ship." said Siren.


    "Don''t waste your time; according to the records I read, Imperial Nether Flames have the ability to block Divine Sense. Normal water can do nothing to those flames, and they only stop once they have burned everything they came into contact with." McLeod and Siren became even more depressed after hearing what Windsor said, thus they did the only thing they could do at that time. Wait.


    After a few hours, the flames had finally withered. The final embers had just gone out, with only a dense mist remaining. The bubble that was protecting the ship shattered, resulting in McLeod coughing up some blood.


    "Are you alright?" asked Windsor with a worried expression.


    "Aye don''t worry lad. If coughing some blood could kill then I would have died thousands of times."


    Windsor nodded and walked to the back of the ship. His Divine Sense had already told him what was out there, but he needed to see it with his own eyes. Once they arrived at the back of the ship, Windsor nodded to Siren.


    She clapped her hands. It was a light clap, but the shock-wave resulting from the clap was vast. It immediately dispersed the fog ahead of them, eventually clearing the fog that had enclosed the entire fleet. And what they knew was there, was exactly what greeted them; nothing, absolutely nothing.


    "Thousands of ships! Millions of men and women! Dead! Just from one attack." Windsor''s body shook as he saw what was left of his fleet. The oceans were clear and calm, without so much as a single piece of debris or life-form in sight for miles, as if Windsor''s ship had arrived alone at this place. Windsor looked at his own ship in dismay. Only him, Siren and McLeod were left alive. The rest of the crew had turned into corpses. The rune spell that McLeod had activated protected them from the heat of the flames, but not from the other effects. Siren, McLeod and Windsor had large amounts of mana, thus they were able to resist the Nether flames and unfortunately the same was not true for their crew.


    After burning all of the corpses on the ship, Windsor and his friends decided to head back home. It was destined to be a long and lonely voyage, but at this moment Windsor was grateful for the silence. It gave him time to think.


    "Yamato." Windsor gnashed his death as he spoke, fury evident in his eyes. He had already chosen who to blame. Windsor was a man of action, since he could not protect his men, he would make sure that he would avenge them and such was the nature of Benjamin Windsor!


    ¡­


    With a fast hand, a hooded man grabbed a white paper that was scribbled with gibberish on a table within a tavern. The paper was of poor quality, with the only discerning aspect of it being the insignia of a red eagle on the top left corner. The hooded man quickly walked out of the tavern, with 5 men wearing armour in pursuit.


    "Captain, he is getting away, we need to walk faster!"


    "Shut up! He is a Red Eagle! They are the most infamous criminal organization in the country, controlling gangs across the entire country! Do you think it''s that easy to catch a Red Eagle courier? Damn it!" Cursed, one of the armoured men.


    These men were highly trained knights belonging to the Palace Guard. That letter had come from the Palace and it was their mission to track it to its recipient. The Red Eagles had already infiltrated the Palace itself! This was a dire situation thus these men were acting like their lives hanged upon the success of this mission¡­because they did.


    "The General said that the recipient is most likely to be a high ranking member of the Red Eagles since this news was released in such a rushed manner. If the Reds had used their normal methods we would have never caught wind of this. This is our chance boys, if we see who receives this letter we will receive an incredible reward. Perhaps even become Lords!" Said the captain ,with unique fervour.


    "Aye!" replied the knights in unison


    ...


    The grasslands of the de Watzer territory shined under the intense radiance of the sun above. A lone carriage crept along the plains during this seemingly peaceful day. The carriage itself was simple and only had a few mild decorations. At first glance, one would assume it to be the carriage of a rich civilian or perhaps a low ranking noble. But if one with a discerning eye were to take a closer look they would realize that the two horses pulling this carriage were incredibly large and fit. Their every step made the ground beneath them tremble and the muscles rippled like continuous ocean waves with every trot.


    The carriage itself was simple looking, but the material it was made of was anything but simple. Amberwood from trees that were at least a thousand years old had been used as the main material, while chilling iron had been used as the secondary material among others. Just these two materials alone were more than enough to make a Baron tremble in envy.


    The driver of the carriage was an old man who was constantly smiling. He was smiling with such an intensity his eyes almost seemed as if they were closed. Yet not even an ant could pass in front of the carriage without his consent.


    Inside the spacious carriage were three ladies having a discussion. They were all veiled and wearing long robes but that did little to hide their alluring curves. Two were sitting on one side, while the other was sleeping on a bed behind a curtain.


    "Your majesty, are you sure of your decision? This matter is of the utmost importance thus it is best to choose suitable candidate." said one of the ladies.


    Her partner who was seated next to her flipped through the pages of the book she was holding and continued, "Your highness I must concur with Agnes, this choice is most¡­confusing"


    The woman behind the curtain giggled, her enchanting voice even made the other two blush. If they were not wearing veils they would have definitely been embarrassed. After giggling the lady behind the curtain spoke, "Julia, look at the book and tell me, what were the abnormalities listed about the de Watzer territory?"

 15 Lord Fatty

    "Reporting to Your Majesty; The de Watzer territory abnormalities are as follows: the entire territory has improved in terms of infrastructure over the past 7 years at an extremely alarming rate; from the crop yields to the number of residents living at a higher standard of living. There are more businesses, more schools, thus leading to an improved economy and a higher literacy rate.


    The towns are also now much cleaner. Beggars are said to be non-existent in the capital Morgen. New roads and clear sewage lines have been built making the town much more pleasant.


    There have also been less crimes being committed in broad day light. Robberies, murder and violence are now virtually none existent, which is already impressive for a territory near our borders. The true abnormality is that the number of criminals in the city has more than quadrupled in the last 2 years and yet no arrests have been made.


    Almost all the businesses are under the grip of the¡­um¡­Lollipop gang."


    The lady behind the veil could not help but giggle once she heard the name of the gang. To her it was amusing. Gangs normally have frightening names to intimidate their victims; however who would ever find a lollipop frightening?


    After the giggle passed Julia continued, "The gang has spread its influence across the entire territory. From smuggling to embezzlement, the Lollipop gang has been involved in every form of financial crime possible. Yet despite this, the territory and its inhabitants are happy. According to our spies the residents of the territory love the gang and actually have created some sort of symbiotic relationship with it."


    "Right, now Agnes, tell me, who is in charge of public administration within the territory and for how long?"


    Agnes coughed slightly, "Reporting to your majesty. The de Watzer Family has 5 sons, each in charge of one many areas of the city. The youngest son, Kylerius ''Fatty'' de Watzer is in charge of the Administration of the land. He has been in charge for 7 years."


    The lady sleeping on the bed nodded, "Now tell me, why is it, the criminals are able to take control of a city while improving the standard of living there?"


    Agnes and Julia remained silent; they too were baffled by this. The sleeping lady sat up and reached for grapes beside her bed. "Tell me, what is his reputation Julia?"


    Julia sighed, "He is known for being lazy and frequenting brothels. He often throws lavish parties and is well known for his perverse nature. They say he beds a different woman every day. He is also someone who fat and actually came up with the nickname Fatty. Oddly enough he is more than happy for the residents of this territory to refer to himself as such, thus the name Lord Fatty."


    This time it was Agnes who failed to stifle her laughter. Julia shook her head while the Lady behind the curtain smirked in amusement. "Since he is in charge of administration, this ''Fatty'' must be quite capable to have created a symbiotic relationship with a gang like the Lollipop gang. Am I wrong?"


    "No, your highness," both Agnes and Julia replied.


    "Oddly enough no one in the territory seems to realize his achievements and call him lazy. Our spies verified that the fatty does indeed never enter his office however he constantly has his assistant close by to carry out his orders. He barely ever records anything down on paper, meaning he somehow has a way of remembering most of the details regarding his work despite his constant debauchery. He is indeed perverse but lazy is not the word to use, he just does his job so well that he makes it look easy. Everyone attributes the city''s improvements to the gang but I believe there is more than meets the eye regarding this Fatty. After meeting with him myself I will confirm my decision. Now let me rest."


    Agnes and Julia remained quiet as their mistress began to sleep without a care in the world. Their distress was still evident as a sigh would escape their mouths every once in a while.


    ¡­.


    De Watzer Mansion.


    The doors of the de Watzer mansion opened with a loud creak. A young man exited, bottle in hand while swaying from side to side. The young man was quite fat, his belly protruded out of his stomach and hints of his chubbiness were littered all over his face. Yet despite this he still had quite the charming face. Were it not for his drunken expression he would look even more charming. He had fiery red hair and blue eyes that gave him an incredible contrast. His baby like face had skin as clear as jade and his large body made him appear larger than he was.


    Behind him was a middle aged man with glasses and a scar that stretched horizontally across his left eye. Many often wondered how he could still see with such a scar. The fat young man wobbled as he walked to the gate of the mansion with his aide in hand.


    Maids were working within the courtyard and started gossiping the moment the young man left house.


    "He is so disgusting!"


    "Why can''t he be more like his brothers?"


    "He is no different from a pregnant woman."


    The last remark made many of the maids giggle. Hearing their dainty little voices the fat young man turned his lecherous eyes to them and squinted so much his eyes looked like two horizontal slits.


    The maids in question screamed and ran for their dear lives. Fearing becoming his next victims, for this was the infamous Kylerius Fatty de Watzer, or Lord Fatty as he was more commonly known. Rumour had it that he a habit of forcing himself on any maid he chose, due to his noble status few could resist and even fewer were willing to talk about it.


    "Hmph! That''s right; you better make sure this daddy doesn''t catch you." With a snort Fatty ignored the maids and continued on his way to the gate. His aide, only known as Mr Ozil continued on, adjusted his glasses and followed his master.


    In his office on the second floor, Lord Jakob de Watzer looked on at the happenings below with disgust evident on his face. He was extremely annoyed by this son of his.


    "Ever since he was born he had always been a disgrace!" With anger he turned around and slammed his hand on his desk. Jakob was a handsome man with white hair covering his face. There was no doubt that when he was younger he was quite the lady killer like the young man in front of him.


    "Father, despite what you say, he is our link to the Lollipop gang, without him we would not able to communicate with them," said David de Watzer, the oldest son. Jakob looked at his blonde blue eyed son and sighed, slumping into his chair. "I just don''t understand. Why? Why does the Lollipop gang insist on using that fool! If they just talked directly with me things would go much smoother."


    David took a sip of his brandy. "Don''t forget Father that it was Kylerius who managed to communicate with them in the first place. He is quite smart, although he could make a few improvements¡­" As David''s voice trailed off, Jakob rubbed his temples in deep contemplation.


    Ever since Fatty was born his father had always looked badly upon him, Lady Anna de Watzer died giving birth to Fatty. Due to this, Jakob had been stricter on fatty than any of his other sons. Yet despite his close watch, the cunning little Fatty had managed to circumvent every trial thrown his way.


    Fatty was born large, and has been so ever since. From diets to training to magic, nothing worked on reducing his fat, making it impossible to train the boy in martial arts. Jakob started out as a peasant and made his way up to Knight then Lord through hard work. His first 4 sons were just as physically gifted as he was, but Fatty was a lost cause.


    As if pitying the boy, the gods blessed Fatty with incredible intelligence and wisdom incongruous of his age. He had the memory of an elephant and the cunning of a fox. That coupled with his hatred for physical labour and his lewd nature made an eyesore for the de Watzer Family.


    David always had a soft spot for Fatty for he was the only one among them who physically resembled their mother with his hair and eyes. Thus he made sure to have the boy''s intellect put to good use. Fatty was studied military tactics, sciences, multiple languages, magic, mathematics, astronomy, art and politics. David hoped to make the boy a pillar of the family, and indeed he did become indispensable, but in the matter that David hoped for. He was an excellent administrator, but his many adventures brought shame to the family and brought Jakob many sleepless nights.


    ¡­


    Fatty wobbled across the town of Morgen. Rum in his left hand and meat in his right, he strutted across the street toward his favourite brothel.


    "Fuck off you fat pig!"


    "Das right! Piss off you git!"


    A group of rag tag kids threw garbage at fatty while throwing insults. This was not an unusual situation in this town as many hated Fatty. Most of the garbage missed but a crumpled piece of paper hit Fatty''s right hand. He shrieked and dropped his meat and rum.


    The rum container broke on the ground while the drumstick rolled into a sewer.


    "No!" Fatty knelt when he saw his loss and cried in dismay. Then with his eyes red he picked up the paper that had hit him and aimed at one of the children that had hit him, but they scurried away quickly. Mr Ozil did nothing and merely looked on at the happenings. Fatty silently cursed and crushed the paper in his hands. In embarrassment Fatty moved quickly to his empty office that he barely ever used.


    His office was in the Lords Offices. He wobbled on, huffing and puffing while others laughed at his mannerisms. One look at his dusty knees and his embarrassment made no one question what had happened. They were far too used to his comical actions.


    Except for the ornaments and furniture the room was virtually empty. The moment fatty entered the embarrassed drunken look on his face quickly vanished. His wobbling stopped and his stature straightened.


    With practiced ease Mr Ozil locked the door and closed the curtains. Fatty sat on one of the sofas and unravelled the crumpled up paper. The insignia of a Red Eagle appeared at the top left of the paper.


    "Lighter!" Said Fatty in a cold voice.


    Mr Ozil brought out a lighter and lit it behind the paper. The scribbles squirmed and changed into sensible words. Fatty''s face once more formed slits as he read the contents. Once he was done he made the paper touch the lighter and it started burning in his chubby hands. Without being told so Ozil took the paper and carried it to the trash.


    Ozil was aware of his master''s secrecy thus he didn''t try to read the contents, but the word ''Marriage Proposal'' were written in bold at the top of the paper.


    Fatty smirked in his seat as he thought of the consequences of this letter. "Mr. Ozil, get me my finest suit. We are getting visitors today."

 16 I Refuse

    "I don''t understand Your Majesty, why my son? And if so I have two other unmarried boys that are far more suitable-"


    "Are you telling Her Majesty what to do?"


    David and Jakob were kneeling in front of the three veiled ladies, Agnes, Julia and their mistress. Their mistress was seated in Jakob''s chair while her attendants were standing by her sides.


    No longer pretending to be drunk, a Fatty in a suit approached his father''s office. The moment he arrived at the door he opened it with a confident look. When he opened it he was greeted with the visage of this odd scenario. His Father was a Lord thus there were few who he would kneel to, let alone sit in his chair. Even David wasn''t allowed that right.


    Seeing that someone entered the door without knocking Jakob was about to shout, but when he saw that it was Fatty he was shocked and thus his reaction delayed a bit. Fatty avoided his office like the plague and never came in without being summoned. Why on earth had he entered his office of his own volition? And at this time?


    Jakob regained his wits a bit too late. In a manner unbecoming of him Fatty knelt just like his father and brother. "Kylerius de Watzer greets Her Majesty the Princess." His actions and words made gasps spread across the room.


    The princess raised her hand and everyone became quiet. She stood up and walked toward Fatty. "How did you know? I only mentioned this to your father a few moments ago." She said with her silky smooth voice. Fatty kept looking down and smoothly responded. "Responding to Your Majesty, nothing happens in this territory without me knowing."


    "You insolent-" Agnes was cut off by her mistresses hand. "Oh really? Tell me then Fatty. Who am I?"


    "Responding to Your Majesty, you are Ruva men Rashe van der Euphoria, Fifth Princess of the Kingdom of Euphoria," said Fatty, Confidently.


    The Princess sat on the desk and crossed her arms, underneath her veil she could not help but smile at his reaction. "Correct! Well said, one more question. If you answer this correctly you will gain a gift beyond your wildest dreams. Now tell me why am I here?"


    But his response made her and everyone in the room nearly trip. "Responding to Your Majesty." Fatty then stood up and walked to the Princess slowly. Her attendants were about to move but once again were stopped by their mistress.


    Fatty smirked as if this was well within his expectations. When he arrived in front of the Princess he lifted her veil with an arrogant expression and said, "To ask for my, the most handsome and intelligent man in the country to marry her."


    Faces contorted all over the room, but the Princess''s stunning face smiled mischievously. "And his answer is?"


    "Responding to Your Highness, the answer is obvious. I refuse."


    ¡­


    Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years.


    Just like that four years passed in the camp. In the wee hours of the mourning, a young man was doing sit-ups while holding a dombo in his hands. Every time he sat up he would rotate his upper body left and right before going back down again.


    After doing hundreds of these the child would continue to doing squats. Once he did a thousand he would move to doing 200 one armed push ups for each arm. Suffice to say that each of these exercises were done with practiced ease.


    The past few years had changed Taku. His body had been completely remodeled. He was now much taller than he was before. Instead of the little seemingly malnourished child, he was now the peak of physical fitness for a fourteen year old.


    His face was neither handsome, nor was it ugly. He had short hair, with average limbs. Out of the remaining children in the camp, he was without a doubt one of the most average looking.


    "Attention! Training has started!"


    "Move it! Move it! Mooooovvvveee iiittt!"


    "Why the heck are you modeling in front of us? You think we are gay? Move it maggots!"


    Taku heard the voices and moved out. Now there were quite a few differences compared to four years ago. Only a few hundred of them were left. Each of them had survived through the gory training of the last four years. Even though they were teens, they gave of the temperament of battle hardened warriors.


    Now instead of walking the children ran with their fasted speed. Their target mountain had been changed multiple times. Now it was a mountain four hours from the camp. One that was much higher and much more dangerous than its predecessors. Not to mention the journey was now much more perilous.


    Within the Gutu Empire were many savage beasts, beats that were incredibly vicious and powerful enough to match the Gutu themselves. Everyday on their way to the mountain the children had to pass through a portion of forest that was filled with many vicious beasts, thus it was only natural that battles ensued.


    "Roar!"


    As Taku ran, a lion with a mane that was on fire appeared in front of him and roared.


    "A fire lion? What a bother. "


    Taku snorted in disdain and ran straight for the beast. The other children were entangled with their own opponents thus no one cared about Taku. Those who had no opponents simply ran.


    The lion ran for Taku and lunged straight for him.


    "Hmph!"


    Taku ducked, then using the combo as a weapon he hit the lion above him. Over the years many uses for the dombos were discovered by the children, one being a weapon. The lion''s belly caved in and it immediately vomited blood while it was in mid air. By the time it''s body hit the ground, it was a corpse.


    Taku did not need to look back to see the results of his work. He kept running because he knew that there was not time to loiter around. Unfortunately for Taku a large Buffalo with skin like bronze appeared in front of him.


    "Bronze Buffalo! Why am I so unlucky?"


    Taku knew this would not be an easy battle for him so he slowed his steps. This was a beast well known for its impressive defensive abilities. Taku was not intending to fight it head on thus he turned tail and ran in the other direction. The buffalo bellowed in rage and followed suit. The beast was powerful but its speed was lacking when compared to its defensive capabilities.


    Despite this Taku did not intend to give up on battling it, instead he intentionally moved somewhat slower than his full sprint in order to make sure the beast would have him in its sights.


    "Stupid cow. "


    Taku snorted in disdain as he looked back at the buffalo, causing it to get even more angry. The stronger a savage beast was, the more intelligent it was. Although the buffalo was not as smart as a human, it knew well enough when it was being mocked.


    Taku passed by a few of his fellow camp mates as they were engaged in their own battles. After a few hours of running, a mountain range came into view. The first mountain was so large its peak pierced through the clouds above it. This was their current target mountain.


    It was known as the untamed mountain, the reason being of the legends surrounding it. The mountain top was sharp, like a sword piercing into the heavens, and the grandness was more than enough to intimidate even the average Gutu, but Taku and his camp mates were far from average.


    Taku sprinted up the mountain with a smile. Bellows of a mad beast would follow from time to time. Taku could not help but be impressed at the creature''s stamina.


    "It''s not fair. How much hellish training did I have to get through to be able to reach this state, and all that cow has to do is eat!"


    Taku''s climb became harder and harder as he approached the steep summit. He was sure that he was now almost moving vertically upwards, yet the beast persisted in following. It was not fast, but it was surprisingly nimble. The beast started to get closer and closer to Taku as they approached the summit of the rocky mountain. Other runners were moving about but the buffalo cared naught. It was angry at the fact that Taku made it run all this way and it was not going to give up chasing him.


    At some point Taku seemed as if he made a fatal mistake and wobbled on the edge of a large rock. The beast''s eyes narrowed as it believed an opportunity had presented itself. It swiftly made for Taku with movements unbecoming of its large body.


    "No! Stay away from me!"


    Taku''s screams made the creature even more confident of its endeavor to catch him.


    "Moooooo!"


    Taku finally ''balanced himself and got ready to jump upward, only to have the buffalo hot on his heels. The buffalo was barely a meter when Taku spun around, swinging the dombo downward with all his might.


    Crash!


    The buffalo bellowed in agony as it was hit square in the face. It lost consciousness and started falling down the mountain. Before its vision went black, it noticed the snide grin on Taku''s face, and it was at that moment, that it knew it had been out maneuvered.


    ¡­.


    In a large wooden office, two men were having a discussion. One of them was Tanaka, the infamous Hall Master of the camp. He was seated behind the desk drinking some tea. On the other side of the desk was a young man dressed in simple robes, who had a scholarly temperament, if Taku were here he would recognize him as the man who registered him behind the booth.


    "I''m telling you Ticha, this batch is going to do wonders." said Tanaka as he put down his cup. Satisfaction was evident on his face, but it was not due to the tea, no it was due to the performance of his students.


    "I will be the judge of that Hall Master Tanaka. As you know there are still over a hundred students remaining. Thus we are force them to engage in other means to finish the training. The four years are up, it''s time for you to take in a new batch. The brass are getting impatient."


    Tanaka harrumphed at Ticha''s words, "The brass can go eat cow dung. These boys are true warriors. In all my years as a trainer in the intermediate camp, I have never seen such a competitive group before. Every batch would end up with the kids killing each other, reaching one hundred before four years are up. Yet in this group we haven''t experienced a single killing overnight for an entire week!"


    Ticha''s brows creased, "Perhaps this batch is just mediocre."


    "Bah! Nonsense! What does a nerd like you know about raising warriors. If you are unhappy with the numbers just host a tournament, then the losers will be dropped to normal infantry. It would be an honour for those losers to have some of my boys."


    "Hall Master, if you don''t mind my asking, is there any boy who stands out in particular?" Ticha could not hide the curiosity in his eyes when he asked Tanaka, causing the latter to grin with pride.


    "Didn''t I tell you that this batch produced monsters? Just wait for the tournament. You will see for yourself."


    ¡­


    When Taku got back to camp he noticed that some changes had been made. Instead of the rows of huts that had been there previously, there was a large platform made of bricks, with a stage that that a dozen or so seats right next to the stage. A variety of people were seated, from armored old men to gentle looking young women in robes.


    "So there rumors were true. There is going to be a competition."


    As Taku arrived he looked around for some friendly faces.


    "Taku, over here bro!" A skinny young man waved at Taku from the distance. Taku smiled and walked in his direction. "Taku I see you are as slow as always haha. Do you take a sh*t every time you run? You do know we have toilets here right?"


    "If you can call holes in the ground toilets sure." Thought Taku.


    "I''m happy to see you still breathing Kupa. Last month you had me worried there for a second."chided Taku.


    "Hmph, Tino and his cronies are always trying to ambush idiots at night. I am way too smart for their antics."


    "Doesn''t that make you an idiot too bro?"


    "..."


    Taku and Kupa chatted for a while in order to update each other on what was happening. Kupa was one of the more well informed members of their camp. He was a smooth talker. He knew when to speak, and more importantly who to speak to. He was an important source of information for Taku, thus Taku always made sure he was on good terms with him. Thus Taku wanted to get some info on what was happening now.


    "To be honest I''m not sure on that either, but I do know that it has something to do with the fact that there are too many of us." said Kupa after thinking for a while. "I do however know that the people watching are all of the Hall Master rank at least."


    Over the years Taku had gained a basic understanding of how the Elephant Foot guards was structured.


    The soldiers were divided according to their potential and fighting prowess rather than their experience, thus it was quite common for someone to be experienced.


    There were four different bodies in the guard. The Envoys, the Hunters, and the Ivory Guard and the Foot Guard.


    Envoys were special members that had permission to move throughout the kingdom in search of talent, they also held a significant amount of power in their hands during wars.


    Hunters were members whose main purpose was to act as the hands and feet of the royal family. Their main purpose was espionage and had an incredible intelligence network that spanned across the world. From what Taku gathered many people in powerful posts were actually Hunters in disguise, thus it was clear just how much power they had.


    The Foot Guard was the main army of the entire guard, and it mostly consisted of low ranking infantry. Their main purpose was to deal with beast hordes that plagued the entire empire. Their structure was simple and they had they had the smallest standing in the entire guard.


    The Ivory Guard was the special operations unit. Their purpose was to deal with situations that were far too difficult for the other bodies to deal with. They were the smallest body but they held the greatest power. Only the most talented and most powerful of warriors could enter The Ivory Guard. The Ivory Guard also had another purpose, to protect the royal family from external threats and quell any rebellions that sprouted within the empire. What really made the Ivory Guard unique was that they did not report to the Royal Family, and did not have to listen to their orders. Despite this they had power over the other three bodies.


    When the Ivory Guard told the other bodies to jump, they would say how high. Even Hunters, who operated under the direct orders of the royal family, still had to follow the orders of the Ivory Guard. According to legends, the Ivory Guard had more military might than the rest of the guard combined, and more!


    It always baffled Taku as to why the royal family allowed such a powerful being to exist. Were they not afraid of a rebellion?


    Thanks to the Ivory Guard, the entire Elephant Foot Guard was a cohesive unit. Hence it was the wish of almost every skilled youngster to join the Ivory Guard.


    As Taku and Kupa continued talking, Protectors arrived and started herding them to front of the front of the platform. Once they were all gathered, Tanaka stood up from his seat and stood at the front.

 17 Tournamen

    "Congratulations punks! You have now survived the intermediate exam. This is in itself quite the achievement. However there are still too many of you thus we decided to host this.


    Behind me are representatives from the four bodies of my Elephant Foot Guard. 100 of you lucky brats have a unique opportunity. Each of these bodies are looking for 25 warriors from this camp. In other words, after this tournament, we will have 25 Envoy apprentices, 25 Hunter apprentices, 25 Ivory Guard apprentices and 25 Foot Guard Officers! The rest will join the Foot Guard as ordinary infantry men!


    As you know, the Ivory Guard is a bit special, thus they have the right to choose first. Thus if any of you want to join them, I suggest you bring out 200% of your efforts brats! The rules are very simple. Every one of you brats are to step onto this platform. The last 100 will be the winners. The last 75 will join one of the three special bodies, and the last 25 will join the Ivory Guard. The last five will have the chance to skip apprenticeship and directly become an Ivory Guard Warrior. The last man standing will become an Ivory Guard Team Leader, how is that brats!"


    Tanaka''s final words made Taku swallow his saliva. It is common sense that the higher your starting point the more promising your career will be; Thus directly joining the Ivory Guard, skipping apprenticeship and becoming a team leader seemed very enticing. Taku didn''t even know what a team leader was but he was sure it was a very high rank!


    "Pain before dishonour, death before defeat!"


    "Pain before dishonour, death before defeat!"


    The children echoed Tanaka''s shout of the motto. After four years these children had said this almost a hundred thousand times each, repeating it after it was said became a reflex for them. This however was somewhat different.


    It goes without saying that all of the children there were holding dombos, but he moment they said the motto, the dombos in their hands turned into dust. Some of the less intelligent children thought that they had made a mistake and started to panic, but after realising that they were still breathing they noticed this was far from the truth. Not only that, the restrictions on their bodies placed by the dombos were lifted!


    This was without a doubt the most pleasurable experience Taku has ever had. It was actually quite embarrassing because many of the youngsters moaned in ecstasy. Taku almost did so but thanks to his resilience he kept his mouth shut.


    It was as if his entire body was unshackled, as if a mountain that was on his back had been removed. An energy unlike anything he had ever felt started rushing through his body, resulting in a second desire, one he could not resist. "Ahoooooooo!"


    Taku and all of the children shouted to the sky, howling like wolves looking toward the moon at night.


    "Hahaha! Finally! I can move freely!"


    "My powers are back again!"


    "Wow, was I actually this powerful?"


    Many discussions broke out among the children at the miraculous effects of losing the dombos. Tanaka grinned and nodded in satisfaction.


    "Listen up brats, this is the power of the dombo! Every day, whenever it healed you from you fatigue and injuries, it also improved your body''s caliber, over time even improving your talent, allowing you to break through your limits! Be grateful to those rocks brats, in the future, if any of you are still alive, you will truly appreciate them!"


    Taku could not help but agree to Tanaka''s words, he wasn''t sure what, but something had improved qualitatively within his body. It was at this moment that information flooded his mind.


    This? This is!


    Soul manifestation! Taku remembered what he had experienced with Saru four years ago. He had always wondered when the so called knowledge the Guardian Spirit promised his would arrive, but it never did. Taku hypothesized that the dombo was the reason why he could not access the knowledge and this moment proved him right.


    This is quite impressive. Its mainly a support ability, but its very useful, especially to someone like me. Lets see, soul manifestation is the ability to¡­


    While Taku was lost in his thought, the youths around him were messing around with their bodies, jumping around, punching air, activating their unique abilities, doing anything to test their new-found power.


    As Tanaka observed the youths going about their business he had a contented look. He had seen such a scene multiple times, but it never failed to please him. Nothing made him happier than to see younglings become stronger. As Tanaka gazed at the children''s antics, he noticed an oddity. A young man who was standing still with his eyes closed.


    Ho? This looks interesting, I haven''t seen a reaction like that before. That should be¡­hhmm¡­ Takunda Gumbo? Information on him was wiped, all that is known is his name. But Gumbo is the most common surname around these parts. I will keep a look on him.


    After a few more minutes, Tanaka finally felt that it was time.


    "Attention!"


    All of the children stopped their antics and stood straight. Taku opened his eyes, and if one were to pay attention, they would notice a certain depth in his eyes that sucks one in¡­


    "Alright brats, now that you are accustomed to your bodies get on the platform. Its time to begin!" As the children climbed onto the platform, the atmosphere around them began to change, from one of happiness to one of seriousness. Each of these children had been involved in many life and death battles, against nature, against savage beasts and most importantly against each other.


    Once all of the children were on the platform, Tanaka spoke, "The rules are simple. If you kill someone, you are disqualified. If you step off the platform, you are disqualified. If you are thrown off the platform, you are disqualified. Abilities may be used. May the best man win."


    After hearing the second rule, many of the less confident youths tried to squeeze into the middle. This was the moment that would decide their future! They would definitely do everything they could to win. Such cowardly actions immediately caught the attention of the seated Hall Masters, causing some to shake their heads. Taku was one of these children who were moving to the center, thus the sitting Hall Masters immediately pegged him as a weakling.


    After all the movement on stage had stopped the hall master finally declared that the battle Royale had started.


    The atmosphere was tense as every child was afraid to make a move. If it was a one on one fight none of them would have hesitated when attacking, but the situation this time was totally different.


    Most of them feared that if they were the first to attack then they might ganged up on. The silence only lasted for a mere five breaths before the first wail of agony came.


    The person who had been knocked out looked at the stage in disbelief. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that he would be the first to actually get eliminated. His self pity didn''t last long as he noticed that the person who had pushed him off the stage was also on his way down.


    "Bastard!"


    The youth below the stage couldn''t hold back his excitement as he shouted out. He quickly stood up and cocked his arm backwards and then flung it toward the falling youth.


    BAM!


    The youth who had just gotten a punch to the face immediately went unconscious. The youth who threw the punch just casually smiled, sat down and began watching the now chaotic scenes on stage.


    After the first two unlucky youths were knocked off stage the rest began frantically attacking in fear of being thrown off too. On one side it was very chaotic, but it was rather calm at the other.


    No one really bothered to attack the people on that side of the stage because they knew that they would only be asking for trouble. There was one person that everyone knew not to mess with and that was Tavonga.


    Even though everyone in this batch was considered top notch, Tavonga was the person who was at least a level above everyone, or so he thought.


    "Not bad!" Ticha exclaimed.


    Even though he said this when he took a glance at the teens who were fight mercilessly with each other, he had quickly switched his gaze to the youth who was in the middle of stage.


    What really surprised Ticha at this moment was that this youth actually had his eyes closed, but no matter how hard the others tried to hit him, they all failed miserably.


    At some point a very sinister looking kid had attempted to attack the boy who had his eyes closed from behind, but just as his fist looked set to connect, he suddenly lost his balance and slammed onto the stage.


    This shocked the people around them. They could clearly see that Taku had his eyes closed. The people fighting around them had paused for a second after witnessing this scene.

 18 Clearing Out The Trash

    Some decided to stay away from Taku for the meantime, but the rash ones decided to attack. In less than a breath six people had surrounded Taku, but even at this point Taku''s eyes were tightly shut.


    He dodged the incoming attacks effortlessly as if he could see them coming from a mile away. The attackers were flabbergasted.


    "What the f-"


    One of the attackers couldn''t help but shout out, but before he could finish his sentence, Taku, who had his eyes closed, landed a punch on his temple. The shocked youth flew directly from the middle of the stage to land outside the stage.


    The other five didn''t have time to react as Taku began to bombard them with attacks. He threw every part of his body that could be used to attack at the four unlucky people.


    The fight barely lasted ten breaths as Taku directly knocked all four of them off the stage. Even after he had accomplished all this Taku still did not open his eyes.


    Seeing this Ticha and the hall master were speechless. "This..."


    Tavonga just stared at Taku with a deadpan expression and as if Taku wasn''t worth his time, he quickly looked away.


    As everyone else was shocked into silence, Taku was pretty excited.


    "Holy... This is awesome. I can literally see anything within a meter of me. It''s almost as if i have eyes all over my head."


    Taku had found that he couldn''t really access part of the Soul Manifestation Art, but the little that he could use was already so awesome. When he had studied the Art he had read that he could make a domain around an area depending on his level.


    Taku who at the moment had yet to cultivate could only create a zone of about a meter. But this little zone had already brought him so many unexpected benefits. He opened his eyes for a split second to see whether he could do it with his eyes open.


    Even though he saw that he could still do it with his eyes open he still decided to shut them again. Why? Because it was fun, but it didn''t take long for Taku to frown as he noticed that no one was willing to come close to him.


    After some thought Taku casually sat down in a meditative position, he didn''t bother to go look for a fight, he kind of enjoyed it when people came looking for trouble.


    "You''ve got to be sh*tting me..." The hall master couldn''t help but stare at Taku in shock. "Who the hell is this little monster? How did he manage to hide himself so deep that even i couldn''t see how great he was? So another crazy monster like Tavonga has showed up, this just got interesting."


    Ticha just smiled at The Hall Master''s words. He knew that Taku would produce something spectacular, but what he saw today made him feel as if his expectations from before were a bit too low.


    "But even though he is powerful, I still don''t think he is a match for Tavonga." The Hall Master started. "Tavonga is a hair away from sensing Zesa, as for that brat he seems a bit far off."


    Ticha just smiled and continued to watch the fight.


    By the time Taku decided to open his eyes again only 50 people remained on stage. This didn''t really shock him too much, so he quickly shut his eyes and began studying the Soul Manifestation Art. At the moment only 48 people were really fighting.


    Taku and Tavonga just sat there as if all this did not really concern them. Some of the 48 got agitated when looking at the two. Tavonga had already shown his strength on numerous occasions in the last three years and people didn''t even think about touching him.


    But this newly emerged dark house left them seriously agitated. In the last three years he hadn''t really done anything spectacular, so people just thought he was ordinary.


    Especially when he had made his way to the middle of the stage, people had already ruled him out as a potential major threat. Even the vastly experienced hall master had not seen through him.


    "Hey, how about we stop fighting for now and attack that brat?" One youth with short black hair couldn''t take it anymore and made a request to the person who he was battling with.


    The two momentarily stopped fighting as the other youth who was bald actually weighed in the pros and cons of doing this. "It''s always best to eliminate the strongest first."


    Having agreed to a momentary truce the two jumped towards Taku. Most people even stopped fighting and began watching in anticipation.


    Just as the two people were a meter away from Taku, he suddenly lept up into the air, somersaulted and landed behind them. Without giving the two a chance to relax Taku punched out at one of them.


    BAM!!


    The youth had managed to turn around, but he couldn''t block Taku''s blow. He quickly flew off stage and immediately lost consciousness. Taku didn''t waste time as he kicked out towards the other youth.


    Crack!!


    The youth had attempted to block the kick with his hands, but it was a futile attempt as his hands broke and the force of the strike threw him off the stage.


    Just as Taku was about to rest he saw that three people were now inside his soul zone. If anyone knew that Taku had this cheat of an, ability they wouldn''t even bother to approach him, but alas no one had the knowledge to try decipher what was happening.


    Taku didn''t retreat as he turned around to face the three fellows. One of them threw himself to the ground as he slid and went for Taku''s legs. The other two put all their power into punching.


    Taku smirked seeing this. He quickly leapt up to avoid the sliding tackle, whilst reaching his hands out to catch the two punches.


    Pa!Pa!


    He effortlessly caught the two punches and without wasting a second Taku used all of his power and what gravity had to offer to throw his legs down at the idiot who was now beneath him.


    BAM!!


    "AH-" the youth didn''t have the time to cry out properly as he began gasping for breath. Whilst keeping his full weight on the body below him, Taku pulled in one of the unlucky punchers and head butted him, knocking him out with one strike.


    Seeing this, the other guy tried to wrestle his fist free from Taku''s grasp but to no avail. Just as he was about to start fully panicking Taku punched out and hit him in the abdomen with the first punch.


    Bam!


    Then the second landed on the poor boys temple.


    Bam!


    At that time Taku let go of his hand and then kicked out at the guy. Taku''s merciless kick landed right on the boy''s cheek and he flew straight off the stage.


    And as if stupidity was contagious three more people decided to try their luck in attacking Taku.


    Taku didn''t really mind as he felt excited, the more he fought the more he felt alive. It was as if he was born for this kind of life. Ever since he had reincarnated he felt as though he had nothing to live for. He had things that kept his thoughts running, things like the former host of this body.


    He had no idea what really happened to him before, nor should he have cared. But every time he thought that he shouldn''t care he would feel like his soul was getting ripped into two. And this pain kept him alive, now he had a different reason to live.


    The training was hellish at first but he found himself enjoying it in the end. And now it was the fighting. In his first battle he had blacked out and could barely remember what happened, but this battle was not the same as the last time.


    This time he was in control, and he enjoyed the feeling.


    Ticha chuckled seeing this. "Hehe, this Kid..."


    Taku didn''t give the three new victims a chance to even attack him as he quickly charged towards them. This time he added more power into his strikes as he punched out at his first victim.


    Bam!


    Just as his fist landed the other two launched their attacks. A kick and a punch made their way to Taku''s Abdomen and face respectively. Taku used his free hand to block the punch and used his leg to counter the kick.


    He then used the momentum of the counter to throw himself into the air as the kicked out twice in quick succession at the kicker.


    Bam!


    Left leg on the abdomen


    Pa!


    Right leg to the face.


    The youth vomited blood as his eyes turned white and he passed out. Whilst still in the air Taku twisted the fist he had caught. He landed behind the unfortunate youth whose face was now distorted from pain.


    Whilst holding the boy''s hand behind his own back in a weird position, Taku kicked at the boy''s back whilst pulling his arm, dislocating the poor boy''s arm.


    Crack!


    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"


    This scream was so ear piercing that even Taku let go of the guy''s hand. Just as Taku let go the boy jumped off the stage voluntarily. As he landed he turned around and gave Taku a nasty stare.


    Taku at this moment opened his eyes and instead of glaring right back, he casually smiled and waved at the boy. "You asked for it bro. I didn''t ask you to attack me."


    The boy knew that Taku was right, but he couldn''t help but snort as he began walking away. Taku sighed and then turned around to see only 17 people left of stage. Out of the 49 people Taku had eliminated 8 which was almost a sixth of them.


    Tavonga was the only one who was yet to eliminate anyone; In fact he was the only one who was yet to fight. Taku looked at the 16 others who were fighting each other and just sat there waiting for whatever conclusion.


    The sixteen turned to 8 and then from 8 to four, four to two. The two stared down at each other for a minute. The first one was a bald youth with a huge scar that went from his right ear to his chin.


    The other was a short masculine youth with a very honest expression. The scarred youth spoke first. "Even if you throw me out you don''t really have the confidence to win against any of the two... I suggest we take out Taku first. Even though he is powerful, he is still no match for Tavonga. We are the two strongest people under them.


    If we gang up on Taku we have a 90% of winning and if we gang up on Tavonga we have a 50% chance of winning. What do you think?"


    The other youth didn''t even hesitate as he said. "Let''s go for Taku."


    Without another word the two jumped straight for Taku. Seeing this Taku just sighed and stood up. The two punched out at the same time as Taku jumped back to dodge. And as soon his feet landed on the ground he jumped back toward the two.


    Just as he got close to the two he ducked, got between the two and tackled them to the ground. The minute the two bodies hit the ground Taku used to force to propel his body upwards. As he got back to his feet he casually looked at the two and spoke in a cold tone.


    "Just leave!"


    The two looked at each other and could only shake their head. They both stood up and left the stage a bit dejected. Taku then looked at Tavonga with a smile on his face.


    Tavonga on the other hand just glanced his way and said. "You''re still no match for me. After this it''ll only take me a short while for me to sense Zesa. So i am probably levels ahead of you. Do you think you can beat me?"


    Taku just shrugged and said "Who knows."


    Hearing this Tavonga smiled and said. "Fine then, just rest for half an hour. You fought and i didn''t so it''s only fair this way."


    Taku nodded his head and sat down quietly.

 19 Victory...Or No

    Ticha was a bit flabbergasted by the events of the day. But he noticed that the Hall Master was looking a bit sad. "What''s wrong now? Your intermediate class has produced 2 excellent boys. Why are you so down?"


    "There was this other boy called Tino who i thought would at least reach the top 4 but he didn''t even reach the top 20." The Hall Master was visibly distraught by this matter.


    Ticha just shook his head and asked. "Do you still think that Tavonga is going to win?"


    "Yes i do!!"


    Half an hour went by fast, Tavonga and Taku stood up and stared down at each other for a while. "Just give up!" said Tavonga.


    In response Taku only smiled and then charged towards Tavonga. Taku threw a punch At Tavonga''s head, which was blocked easily by the latter. Taku let out a series of light punches as Tavonga effortlessly blocked them all.


    After Taku was finished with his assault it was now Tavonga''s turn to test the waters. He also let out a series of light punches just to judge Taku actual power. But like Taku, he couldn''t really properly grasp it.


    That having been done, the real fight then began. Taku exploded forward as he threw his right fist towards Tavonga. Tavonga then countered with his own right fist.


    Bam!


    The two fists collided as they both staggered backwards. Taku had been expecting as much, but this came as a real shock to Tavonga. Before they had begun fighting he had admitted that Taku was a good fighter, but he still thought that Taku was a level below him.


    In this moment he finally found out just how na?ve he had been. With eyes filled with excitement and shock, Tavonga took the initiative to attack. He punched out twice.


    Pa!pa!


    But both punches were blocked by Taku. At this moment Taku''s expression turned solemn. He wasn''t too shocked about Tavonga''s power, but he knew that if he didn''t get serious he might just lose this battle.


    Taku took a step back, but Tavonga followed him relentlessly. He didn''t want to give Taku the opportunity to catch his breath. But through all this Taku remained calm, he was slowly bidding his time for an opening.


    "Hmmm..." The Hall Master''s expression was now solemn. If Taku''s previous show of power was shocking, then this one was just down right unbelievable.


    Seeing this Ticha smiled. "Starting to have doubts?"


    "Tavonga still has the advantage in my opinion..." the Hall Master started. "It''s shocking how powerful the brat is, but I don''t doubt for a second that he will win."


    "Oh..." Ticha was amused by this, "how about we make a bet then."


    "I''m listening." The Hall Master replied.


    "If Tavonga wins, i will make sure that you get a promotion within 3 years." Ticha started. "But if he loses, i want you to suggest that Taku be assigned to a team that is already out adventuring."


    "What are yo-"


    "Don''t ask what you don''t want to know." Ticha smiled. "I have my reasons. Now do you dare or not?"


    "Of course I dare."


    Back down on the stage the fight had just reached a new level in ferocity. The beast skin that Taku was wearing had been torn in several places. Tavonga was not any better off; his clothes were also quite ripped.


    Both their eyes at this point were bloodshot. Taku was ecstatic at the moment; he was enjoying this very much. On the other hand Tavonga was a bit uncomfortable; everything that had happened in this fight was shocking to him.


    There had already exchanged at least a hundred moves. At first he thought that Taku would only last ten moves, but after ten moves he changed it 20. Then 20 to 30, 30 to 40 but he soon gave up on gave up assuming and counting, all he wanted to do now was win.


    And he was desperate for that win. He threw another 3 quick punches towards Taku.


    Pa!Pa!


    Taku blocked the first two, and then leapt backwards to dodge the third. The minute he got away for the punch, he unleashed a kick towards Tavonga''s waist.


    Pa!


    Tavonga raised his leg and blocked with his knee, and without giving Taku a moment to breath he leapt towards him wanting to tackle him down. Tavonga dived at him with open arms in an attempt to catch and tackle him down.


    Taku then ducked a little, just enough for Tavonga to be two heads taller than him. He turned his body at a 90 degree angle and shoved his shoulder into Tavonga chest. The minute the shoulder landed, Tavonga improvised as he swung his elbow towards Taku''s head.


    Seeing this Taku smirked as he added more force into his elbow. Tavonga''s body leaned back slightly as his elbow missed Taku''s head by a hairs length. Taku did not back away as he rammed his shoulder into Tavonga again.


    This time Tavonga flew several metres away from Taku. Tavonga summersaulted and landed on one knee. He had a bewildered expression on his face when he stared at Taku. It was one thing to fight him on par with him, but Taku had actually overpowered him, causing him to fly out.


    "You hid yourself well..." Tavonga said whilst standing up. "I hope you don''t blame me for doing what i have to do in order to win. Fist and legs have no eyes if i end up injuring you too badly, i apologise."


    Saying this Tavonga stood up and calmed himself, he didn''t even say anything else as he leapt towards Taku. To everyone''s excitement Taku also leapt towards Tavonga in full force.


    Tavonga threw his right fist towards Taku, and the latter countered with his own right fist.


    Ba!


    The two fists collided and caused both the boys to take two steps back. This trend continued for some time; a punch to counter a punch, a kick to counter another kick.


    Pa!


    Ba!


    Each time they collided they always took a step or two back. Taku was using 110% of his brain to try get an opening. And after exchanging a dozen or so moves his opportunity finally came.


    Tavonga''s threw his punch a little too on the inside, this allowed Taku to dodge to the side and then grab Tavonga''s hand. He pulled him close and threw his knee towards Tavonga''s kidney.


    Bam!


    The knee connected and caused Tavonga''s legs to lift off the stage. Taku used this opportunity to step back and threw a ferocious kick towards Tavonga''s temple. The poor boy who was unable to dodge flew over ten metres after receiving this kick.


    Bam!


    Tavonga landed right on the edge of the stage, and this time it was Taku''s turn to be astonished. He had been sure that this kick was enough to knock Tavonga out. But to his surprise Tavonga slowly but surely began to stand up again.


    This time Tavonga had blood rolling down his face and the falling to the ground. He had a huge cut on top of his right eyebrow. He stared venomously at Taku and began laughing.


    "Haha... Looks like at the end I was in the wrong." Tavonga started. "I underestimated you from the beginning, maybe if I had taken you seriously from the star-... No i don''t think even then I''d be able to defeat you."


    "Actually you are a little more powerful than I am..." Taku started. "But you emphasize power over skill. I''m better than you in terms of technique, that''s enough for me to beat you any day."


    "I admit my defeat." Tavonga said as he jumped off the stage the hundred plus youths below the stage were shocked. Never in their wildest dreams did they think that the person they thought was the most powerful would actually lose.


    "What the f*ck! Since when has Taku been this strong." Kupa couldn''t help but exclaim when it all concluded. Kupa had managed to get into the top twenty but he was too shocked to even celebrate his own feat.


    The others were equally shocked as they began whispering to each other.


    "Just fucking unbelievable, i can''t believe i was actually stupid enough to attack him. I might have reached the top ten if i didn''t."


    "Sorry for you bro! But I''m happy. I didn''t come anywhere near that monster."


    Ticha at the moment was staring at Taku with a wide grin on his face. He had thought that Taku could potentially reach the top twenty. But halfway through his expectations rose.


    He looked towards the Hall Master whose expression showed a mixture of shock and sadness. Shocked by the result which led to his sadness of not being able to get that promotion


    Ticha smiled seeing this. "Now about that time, you''ll suggest him to..."


    ¡­


    "It''s funny how, before father got injured these bastards used to send us gifts and praise our family for its strength. But after he fought for their well-being and got injured in the process, they began looking at us with disdain.... I can''t even walk down the road without them whispering sh*t." these words were spoken with by a young man who looked as if he had not passed the age of twenty.


    There were a series of different expressions that played out on his face as he said these words. Traces of anger, sadness and loss were all plastered on his face. His expression got even worse when he looked at the child he was walking with.


    Han Ming, he was barely 12 years old but thanks to the way his family was treated ever since his father was crippled, he became much more mature, way beyond his adolescent age. He himself felt as if part of the ridicule that the family received was because him. It''s not that he couldn''t cultivate nor was he crippled in anyway, but when he was younger and when he got graded it showed that he was not even close to being a grade 1 talent. The higher the grade talent one was, the faster one could cultivate and the easier it was to sense yuan Qi.


    Most children his age who had mediocre talents were already at the 6th layer of Body Refinement, whereas he was stuck at the 1st layer. He barely left their household as he felt that he would lose face for his clan, but due to his father''s injury the family had lost most of its status and the only servants that stayed behind were those born into the Han clan. This ultimately forced him into going put and running errands with his older brother.


    During this period though, it was hard for them to even run errands without being bullied by other clans or ridiculed by the civilians. When his father got injured around the time he was 5 years old, he had vowed to get stronger and teach these people a lesson, but reality was harsh on the lad, by the time he was 10 he had been shown by a rival clan child just how foolish his dreams were. And since the day that he got humiliated he barely spoke to anyone except his father.


    So even when his brother was lamenting their misery all he did was lower his head and walk. This left his older brother at a loss, all he could do was feel sorry for his younger brother but apart from that he felt useless.


    "Ming''er, I kno-"


    "Don''t worry about it too much brother. There is no way we can play God and change the situation so complaining about it won''t change anything. Just be happy that father can still spend time with us."


    "Sigh, between the two of us I always wonder who is the oldest yet you''re 6 years my junior."


    "haha, I''m still but a child, I still need brother to protect me." When Han Ming heard his brother''s words he couldn''t help but chuckle and sheepishly spout out this sentence. And his brother couldn''t help but smile at this rare sight of his brother smiling.

 20 A Tale Of Three Brothers

    "What are you doing here?" A sweet but exasperated voice asked out.


    The person who spoke was a young girl who looked no more than 20. She had a helpless expression in her voice as she asked this question. The person she was asking was a fairly large lad who looked like he was made of nothing but round balls.


    The fatty casually stared at the girl and said, "This King is here to join this group. You should be happy that I am here, you know that you enjoy my company."


    The girl sighed and was about to speak when she was interrupted by a rather excited voice, "A new team member! Finally we are now three, just two more and we can start going on missions¡­ Hi there, I''m Nyasha it''s nice to meet you."


    Nyasha held out his hand and the fatty did the same.


    "My name is Ranga and I am Tadi''s fianc¨¦. It''s an honour for you to be acquainted with me."


    Nyasha was lost for words when he heard the round boy''s introduction. He looked at Tadi questionably. He did not know that there would actually be a man who would be bold enough to claim that he is in a relationship with her. In the three days he had known her she had probably only said two or three words to him. To say the girl was cold was am understatement.


    "You¡­"


    "He is not my fianc¨¦!" Said the girl coldly as she turned around and went into a nearby stone house.


    Nyasha could only shake his head. He looked back at Ranga and said. "It''s a pleasure to meet you Ranga."


    "Of course it is¡­" Ranga said arrogantly as he walked past Nyasha to enter the little stone house.


    The minute he entered the little house he noticed that Tadi was a bit stiff. He quickly walked towards her and realized why. In the middle of the room that they were in was a table which was surrounded by five stone stools, and on one of them sat an elderly man.


    Nyasha was the only one who was not so shocked when he saw the man. He respectfully greeted the elder and proceeded to sit on one of the stools. Tadi and Ranga immediately followed suit and greeted the man, then sat down.


    "My name is Banabas and I am your team supervisor. I am here to inform you that the two remaining people of your team will be joining you shortly, but before they show up you three have a mission, they might even join you during the mission."


    Nyasha and Ranga couldn''t hide the excitement on their faces when they heard this. They had been waiting for this moment ever since they graduated. Tadi on the other hand had close to no expression on her face but the light in her eyes gave her away.


    "Now you see here is the problem¡­" the man started. "You guys barely know each other. You have known each other for at least a couple of days, but I''m sure you barely know shit about each other. As a team you will need to know each other inside and out. There is not much we can do to improve your understanding of one other in a short period of time. So to make it slightly better I want you kids to tell each other about your past and all. This is not a request but an order so none of you have the right to disobey."


    The three youths looked at each other for a good five seconds, and just as it felt like neither was willing, Nyasha finally spoke. "My Name is Nyasha, I am 19 years old. My story goes like this¡­"


    ***


    "The heavens really don''t favour my Clan. Three sons, three sons!! All of them useless! What do I have to do to get a proper cultivator?" The middle aged drunk man couldn''t help but shout this out when his last son went through his awakening.


    "Bule calm down. It''s not like they are as useless as you''re thinking. Kudzai is just lazy, Tawanda just isn''t a summoner but he is still a cultivator, as for Nyasha, well he is a bit odd but at least he can summon¡­ something¡­" Another middle aged man spoke.


    "Don''t get it twisted¡­" Bule started. "I love my boys, all of them, and I will support them in anything they want to do, but as a father I had my own expectations. You will naturally understand if you ever have kids."


    The middle aged man could only sigh and help Bule drink down his sorrows.


    The two of them were in a big mansion, and on the other side of the big mansion there were three boys sitting and laughing together.


    "Haha¡­ you little shit, turns out you''re just as worthless as me and our older brother. We should throw a banquet to celebrate."


    Tawanda was the first to speak; he didn''t really care how worthless he and his brothers looked to other people. As long as the three of them stuck together then nothing else mattered.


    "Hahaha¡­" Nyasha who was only 6 at this point began laughing and said. "We should just cut off our dicks, that way we can really be useless¡­."


    "Haaaaa¡­.. You little f*cks who said I was useless like you bloody eunuchs. At least I can summon what I draw¡­" Kudzai who usually had a deadpan expression was actually grinning like a crazy person.


    Both Nyasha and Tawanda rolled their eyes when they heard this.


    Tawanda stared at his older brother and said playfully, "Yes, you are good at summoning paper. That''s very miraculous¡­ haha¡­ I actually shouldn''t be counted as useless because I can still become a general; I got the brains for it, unlike our little bro here who has nothing. "


    Hearing this Kudzi laughed and added, "Haha, can barely draw and think, it''s sad how we are going to take care of his ass in the future¡­"


    Nyasha pouted and retorted.


    "You two are the worthless ones. I can actually summon something, it might not be a full beast, but it''s still something."


    Kudzai rolled his eyes and said.


    "Lil bro go sleep, its way past your bed time now."


    "How do I still have a bed time when I''m now so old?" Nyasha retorted.


    "Cause you are 6 years old. You are still a bloody baby." Tawanda said playfully.


    Nyasha stuck his tongue out and proceeded to leave the room. He only walked down four doors before he arrived at his room. He got in and threw himself on his bed. He couldn''t help but sigh when he stared up at the ceiling. He and his brothers did not care about how other people looked at them, but he knew that his father cared.


    He couldn''t even imagine what his father was going through at the moment. He knew that he and the other two were close to worthless in a clan of summoners, but they still had to work hard in what they could do.


    The one thing all three of them didn''t want to do was disappoint their father more than they already had.


    It didn''t matter how they were going to do it, but all they had to do was make him proud, and one way or another they were going to do just that. As Nyasha laid in bed he couldn''t help but think about how he could improve his ability.


    In the end he just shut his eyes and slept.


    Four years later, the three boys were together in the same room. But this time there were not in the comfort of their own home. At the moment all three were tied up in the middle of a dark room.


    There was not even a single hint of panic on their faces as the three of them were conversing and laughing.


    "Haha, our clan is useless." Kudzai started. "We got kidnapped a week ago and yet we are still here."


    Tawanda then added. "These bloody kidnappers probably asked for a ransom or something. It gets more complicated when they do shit like that."


    "I''m now hungry though¡­" Nyasha spoke. "I think it''s about time we left don''t you think?"


    It did not take time for the trio to release themselves from the rope. The rope was not really tight to begin with so Kudzai just drew a knife on the muddy floor and then used it to cut them free.


    "Remind me again why we didn''t just free ourselves earlier?" Nyasha asked.


    Tawanda sighed and said, "Because home was boring and we thought this could actually be fun."


    "Well it wasn''t fun and we made another bad decision. Oh well," Kudzai replied.


    Tawanda looked at his younger brother and spoke. "When we open that door summon the essence of a Golden Winged Garuda."


    "Cool!" Nyasha uttered.


    In less than three hours the three brothers were walking into the gate of their house. Everyone was happy that they were back, but behind those excited looks, there was also shock. Most of the people who saw them were thinking the same thing.


    Did the kidnappers grow hearts and willingly let them go¡­


    It had only been two days since the kidnappers had sent the ransom note, so it was a shock to many people when the three boys just swaggered back unharmed. Only their father had a smile on his face.


    "Your mother would''ve lost it if you kids skipped dinner again today."


    Hearing this, the boys couldn''t help but laugh and apologise.


    "Haha¡­ sorry, father"


    The servants and people on the street couldn''t help but gawk at the short exchange between the father and his sons. It almost felt as though they didn''t really take the kidnapping seriously at all. The four of them casually entered the house and proceeded to eat dinner.


    Another four years passed and on this day, Nyasha''s mother passed away. For the first time ever in their lives the trio were in the same room but didn''t even utter a single joke.


    It took more than a month for them to escape their depression.


    It took even more for their father to properly get back on his feet, but thanks to the three boys he managed to find joy again.


    A year later Tawanda directly entered the military, Kudzai decided embrace the fact that he was the next clan head and began being more involved in the clan''s affairs, and Nyasha joined the training camp of the elephant foot guard.


    At first the brothers met twice every month, but as time went on the amount of time they got to spend together got smaller and smaller. But deep down Nyasha knew that his older brothers would always be there for him, and they too felt the same way.


    ***


    "It might not exactly be the most horrible thing that you have heard, but that has been my life so far." Nyasha finished.


    "This King now respects you." Ranga was the first to speak. "It is definitely not the worst past I have ever heard of, but it was definitely interesting. When will you see your brothers next?"


    "I don''t know¡­" Nyasha answered.


    Banabas looked at Nyasha whilst wearing a complicated expression. "So you''re more of an illusionist than you are a summoner then?"


    Nyasha nodded.


    "Anyway¡­" Ranga started. "It should be my turn now. To be honest with you, This King hasn''t had a very hard life; in fact I''m a noble so my life has been very smooth. But I do have secrets and things that almost broke me. It all started¡­"


    ***


    "Ah¡­ she''s here!" a young excited voice sounded out from the balcony of a lavish mansion.


    The chubby boy quickly ran from the balcony and proceeded to exit the room, but as soon as he reached the corridor he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.


    He abruptly stopped and jerked his head backwards.


    Behind him was standing a middle aged woman who wore a sweet caring expression when looking at the chubby boy. "You should calm down." The woman started. "You don''t want to chase her away do you?"


    Ranga smiled even broadly after hearing this. He then said. "Come on mom, I just can''t wait. She is already my fianc¨¦, so she won''t be able to run away from me even if she tried."


    The woman could only shake her head.


    She then grabbed Ranga''s hand and said. "Let''s go, you''ll see them in the main hall. Your father is already waiting there.

 21 Tragic Love Story... Somewha

    The hall was large enough to fit a thousand people, but at the moment there were only 4 people present. Ranga had an excited look on his face as he saw his father and the three guests. The guests consisted of two adults and one child. The two adults were dressed lavishly in blue, whereas the girl was wearing a simple white dress. His gaze quickly landed on this girl who was just about his age, and at that moment his mind went blank.


    Growing up in a nobleman''s house, Ranga had seen a fair share of beautiful women. From the maids to the large amount of guests that they received, all of the women were beautiful. But at the moment he realized that he had been just a frog stuck in a well.


    The girl was slightly taller than he was; she had big brown eyes and short black hair. She looked towards Ranga indifferently and slowly hid behind her mother. Ranga and his mother respectfully greeted the guests and then the introduction came after, then the adult proceed to talk about the country''s affairs.


    During this time Ranga couldn''t help but constantly stare at the girl in front of him.


    Never in his life had he seen such a beautiful girl.


    From the moment he had laid eyes on her he had instantly become infatuated. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was just opening and closing without uttering a single word.


    The girl on the other hand continued to hide half of herself behind her mother. The four adults looked at the two kids and smiled. After seeing that her son was not going to say anything any time soon Ranga''s mother spoke. "Why don''t you take her on a tour of the house, I am sure she''d love that."


    Ranga could only nod and then began walking, not even look at whether the girl was following or not. The girl was hesitant to follow at first, but her mother urged her to go. After an additional breath of hesitation the girl followed Ranga.


    The two walked in silence for the whole tour. Ranga only spoke when necessary, and that was only when he was naming rooms that they were passing. It was a bit weird for him because he was used to being talkative, but in front of this girl he found himself being a little bit more cautious with his words.


    And in the blink of an eye a month passed, and by now Ranga was now more accustomed to his fianc¨¦.


    Over the last month the two of them would walk around the house or visit the market together. The first couple of times were a bit tense, but the more time they spent together the more comfortable they got around one another.


    "What do you usually do when you are at home?" Ranga asked the girl.


    The girl answered. "I usually train. My dad wants to make sure that I get into an academy after I beginn to sense Zesa."


    Ranga was astonished by this answer. He himself was yet to even begin any form of training. If he really had an option then he wouldn''t even bother going to an academy. But even though his innate ability was crap, his talent for actual cultivation was rather superb


    "What is your innate ability?" Ranga asked.


    "I am a Muroyi." The girl answered and then added with a bit of hesitation "My ability is a bit weird though¡­"


    Ranga noticed that she was not comfortable in discussing the issue so he didn''t pursue the matter; instead he decided to open up. "My innate ability is life force. So I should basically be a healer but the problem is I can''t use it to heal anyone. I can heal myself just fine though, funny isn''t it¡­?"


    The girl was at a loss for words at this moment; she had never expected that this youth actually had almost the same problem as she did.


    After another month the girl''s parents left for their town leaving her behind at Ranga''s house. They had initially planned on taking her with them, but she had flatly refused. Ranga was pleased by this development because he knew that she was staying behind to spend more time with him.


    Time moved fast and in a flash, the girl had to go back to her home, much to Ranga''s displeasure.


    It had been a full year since she had gone home, and even though his and her mother traded letters, it still wasn''t the same as seeing her.


    They bid farewell to each other and promised to frequently exchange letters. It was a hard month for Ranga as he was now used to spending most of his time with his fianc¨¦.


    At the end of the first month since she left, a letter arrived from her.


    It was a short but sweet letter, which told him that she had arrived safely and that she loved him. Reading it caused Ranga''s heart to almost jump out of his chest.


    He was so happy that he could just die.


    He quickly wrote a reply like his life depended on it. He sent it out and waited.


    A month went by and nothing came. He decided to wait another week.


    Another month went by and still nothing.


    Half a year went by and still nothing.


    A year and still nothing. It was at this point that he went to his father.


    "Dad, I haven''t heard from her in a year. What''s going on?"


    Hearing this question his father''s face turned solemn as he said. "I wanted to wait for the right time to tell you this¡­"


    Just hearing this Ranga''s heart sank. His expression turned grave as his father continued, "A month ago we got worried because we also had not heard from her family in a while, so we sent a bunch of our men to go and check if anything was wrong¡­ and ¡­ we found that at least three quarters of her family and servants had been murdered. We recovered her parent''s corpses, but no hers. The survivors'' claim that she managed to run away, and we are yet to find any trace of her, so for now she''s missin-¡­"


    Before he could even finish he noticed that his son had already let the room at an abnormally fast speed. Ranga did not even bother explaining anything as he called for the men who had gone to his fianc¨¦''s city. They quickly saddled on their horses and began their journey.


    It took them two weeks for them to reach her city and when they reached her house Ranga''s eyes turned bloodshot.


    A rare solemn expression appeared on his face as he gazed at the half burnt house. He quickly ordered the men to spread out and search for her, but after two months of fruitless results he finally headed home.


    It took him a good half year for him to be able to get back to normal, but anyone who knew him before could sense a slight change in him. Even though he still referred to himself in third person, people noticed that at times he would have a serious expression on his face. The Ranga from the past was always a happy-go-lucky spoilt kid but ever since he returned he had had moments in which he wore nothing but a serious expression.


    A month later people were even more shocked to find that Ranga was now training by himself, a year later on the eve of his fourteenth birthday Ranga sensed his first strand of Zesa. It was quite an impressive feat since Ranga had not joined any military academy. His current level was all thanks to his hard work and determination.


    When he turned fifteen he decided to try and join the ivory guard, and to many people''s surprise he actually got in. It was surprising because it required one to go through the Elephant foot guard before joining the ivory guard, but Ranga just got in.


    He spent four years in a team that was ranked second on the Red Ivory Ranking Board, his team was rather special because he who was born with an enormous amount of life force was actually the tank of the team (The person who was responsible for defense and gaining the enemy''s attention).


    The team had another healer and even though his life force energy was not as abundant as Ranga''s, he was not bad.


    But just as they were going on a mission that would give them enough contribution points to surpass the team ranked first, Ranga who was the leader of the team, suddenly just quit.


    He did not give any sort of explanation, all he said was "I''m sure you guys can make it without me."


    ***


    "And that''s how I ended up here¡­" and with that Ranga finished his story.


    The trio who were listening were all flabbergasted by this tale. It wasn''t gruesome but it was definitely something that caught them off guard.


    Tadi especially had a strange gleam in her eyes;


    Nyasha''s eyes were full of respect at the moment. The determination that Ranga had shown had completely shocked him.


    Banabas was the first to speak. "So you did all of this for a girl?"


    Ranga nodded as everyone''s gazes fell onto Tadi. Each of the trio''s gazes was different, but the most emotional of them all was Ranga''s gaze.


    To everyone''s surprise she started her story at a rather interesting point.


    "After I left Ranga''s house to go back home¡­"


    Even though both Banabas and Nyasha had assumed that "the girl" in Ranga''s story was Tadi, actually hearing it from her was still shocking to them.


    Tadi though did not care about their shock as she continued.


    ***


    It had been a month since Tadi returned home, and to say that she was lonely was putting it lightly. Even though she had friends here back home she still felt alone. As much as she did not want to admit it, she really missed Ranga.


    She had written to him a month back and she knew that it took just that amount of time for a person to go back and forth between their two cities so today his letter should arrive.


    She had waited outside of mansion for a half a day now and still there was nothing.


    Just as she steeled her resolve to wait a bit longer one of the maids walked up to her.


    "Young Mistress, it''s time for lunch now."


    Tadi sighed, got up and walked into the house and then went straight for the dining hall.


    When she got there her whole family was already there. She greeted her parents respectfully as she sat down next to her mother. Both her parents knew why she was in such a terrible mood so they did not bring it up.


    Even though she had been in the dining hall for a good half hour, Tadi had barely even touched her food.


    Her mother looked at her with a warm gaze and said. "I am sure he got the letter and replied to it, so do not worry about it."


    Tadi could only nod her head, but just at that moment a maid walked into the hall holding a piece of paper in her hand, but at the same time she wore a very grave expression.


    "Master, Mistress we have a huge problem! Those Makudo bandits are currently on their way here as we speak."


    Tadi saw her father brow furrow, but then he said. "It''s just those monkeys; we can easily deal with them."


    The maid then replied. "Yes sire, if it was just them then we would have nothing to worry about¡­"


    Tadi saw her father''s expression turn grave. "Don''t tell me that the Machero Family has banded with those bastards in order to remove me as mayor of this city."


    The maid bowed and replied. "It is just as Master said."


    Just as the maid was about to take her leave, she suddenly realized that she was holding something. She quickly turned around and then handed the letter to Tadi. Even though Tadi knew that she should be happy, she couldn''t help but feel bitter because of her family''s current predicament.


    Before she could even open the letter she noticed that her parents had already stood up and summoned one of the guards. "Take Tadi and run to the Elephant foot guard. Take this medallion with you. Show it to the people there and they will know who to call."


    The guard grabbed the medallion and hurriedly picked up Tadi.


    "No... Put me down¡­ Mom! Dad!"


    Her screaming was in vain as she was carried away. The guard quickly picked a horse and sped outside the city from the south gate.


    A short while later Tadi and the guard could see smoke coming from the city.


    The sounds of fighting and slaughter penetrated the air and Tadi couldn''t help but cry.


    The Guard''s face also turned emotional and could only helplessly shake his head. He couldn''t even utter a single word to the crying girl.


    It took them a full week of non-stop travel to reach the Elephant Foot Guard, and with his mission complete the guard decided to go back and fight for whatever was left, leaving Tadi in the care of the elephant foot guard.


    ***


    "After that I was taken in by Mbuya Nehanda as a disciple, but no one really knows about it since I did not want any attention. Even though I sensed my first strand of Zesa at fourteen, Mbuya did not want me to join any team and made me go out adventuring by myself."


    And with that Tadi had finished her story.


    Both Banabas and Nyasha could only sigh and look at Tadi sympathetically.


    Ranga on the other hand had eyes filled with killing intent.

 22 Discussing The Fruits

    Only after a couple of breaths did Ranga manage to hide his killing intent. His trademark bashful smile returned to his face as he said, "Do not worry anymore. Now that you have reunited with your King nothing bad will happen to you."


    The trio of Banabas, Nyasha and Tadi all rolled their eyes at this statement.


    "Ahem¡­"Banabas cleared his throat and said. "This was just for you guys to get familiar with each other, so now let''s get down to business. Normally we wouldn''t send an incomplete team out for a mission, but every available team is currently out on a mission. There is a place called Honde Valley in the territory that the invaders took. Before those people came to attack we had a team that was patrolling the area and we noticed that there was a Tohwe tree that had twenty fruits that were not quite ripe yet.


    It would take three years for these fruits to ripen, and before they could ripen those bastards attacked us. Even though our cultivation differs a lot from the invaders, the fruits still bear the same results. These twenty fruits would help us a lot, so your mission is to go behind enemy lines and retrieve the fruits. This mission was supposed to be an A ranked mission, but since you guys are not a complete team, and your new teammates are literally newbies it will rise in difficulty and it will become an S ranked mission. "


    "This King has a question¡­"Ranga started. "These newbies, which class do they belong to?"


    Banabas replied. "The first one is an enforcer. As for the second¡­ we are not too sure which class he belongs to but he is probably a body transformation cultivator."


    Not too sure¡­?


    The trio was shocked. This was the first time that they heard something like this.


    One has to know that the process of determine the talent and ability of a person was actually foolproof, and previously there had never been anything like being ''Not too sure''.


    Seeing their dazed expressions Banabas smiled and continued. "I don''t know much about him, but I was told to inform you about what I do know, since he is going to be your captain anyway¡­"


    The three had shocked expressions on their faces. For a captain to be chosen the team would hold a meeting and vote on who would be the leader, but at the moment they were actually told that they already had a captain.


    Banabas did not bother explain as he continued. "His name is Takunda Gumbo, he is fourteen years old and he just graduated from the Elephant Foot Guard. As far as we know he is an orphan from the Gumbo village. The envoy who found him did not get any definite results and when he brought him back to the EFG, he immediately threw him into the trial to join the EFG.


    In that trial he murdered at least a quarter of the participants. And then from there he went through 4 years of intensive intermediate training and he came in first in the battle royal that the EFG hosted. You will know more about him and the other guy when you guys meet up."


    After saying this much Banabas took out two pieces of paper and handed it to Nyasha and said. "Those are the full details of the mission and a map of the region you are going to. Your teammates will meet you there. Good luck!"


    With that Banabas stood up and left.


    The three youths spread out the map and were shocked to see the size of the valley that they were going to. One had to know that the continent that the Gutu Empire was located was very vast. In fact it would take them at least three months to get to Honde valley, and this is if they were on foot. If they used horses it would take less time, but they would also have to take care of the horses and this would add a little bit more labour.


    The three studied the map in awe for a minute.


    The map was very detailed as it showed the safest routes and the most dangerous. If they did not meet any enemy forces then it would be a relatively safe trip, since most of the beasts that were in Honde valley had yet to cultivate, and were just normal beats without any tiers.


    After a couple minutes of studying the map, Nyasha finally spoke. "I suggest that we take three days to prepare and then set out then. What do you guys think?"


    The two nodded and then all three parted ways to make preparations for their journey.


    ***


    Three days earlier back at the training camp of the Elephant Foot Guard, the higher echelons were in discussion.


    "Hall master that is just too crazy, are you trying to get the boy killed! I know that you probably hate him because he beat Tavonga in the end, but this is just too much. I won''t accept it." the person who had spoken was a middle aged man with red hair. He was one of the trainers in the camp, his name was Nhamo.


    The hall master had announced that the winner of the battle royal (Taku) was to join an active team as the captain, and on top of that he would have to meet up with his new teammate''s mid-mission. This announcement had been met with silence at first before Nhamo had spoken.


    Immediately after Nhamo had spoken, people began to whisper to each other.


    None of them could comprehend what the hall master was thinking.


    He was never one to get bested by his emotions, so the current situation was rather shocking to most people.


    The hall master was silent as he watched the people in the large hall whisper to themselves. He did not really like explaining himself, when he made a decision, but with the current situation it seemed as though he really did not have a choice.


    He had thought of many ways to dodge the issue, but ultimately he had to give some sort of explanation. To be honest he was in a very difficult position, it was one thing to make him a team captain but it is another to have him be the captain of an active team which had people who had more experience than he did.


    After staying quiet for a couple of breaths and sighing the hall master finally spoke. "Listen to me. I am not doing this to put him in any danger, and even if I was it would only benefit him. In case you have not noticed, that kid is close to sensing Zesa. If he gets in situations in which he can reveal his potential then he would be able to form that strand of zesa even quicker. We all know that cultivation is not all about absorbing zesa and meditating.I don''t really owe you people an explanation about why I am doing what I am doing, but all I ask is that you people trust me. My ultimate goal is to strengthen the Gutu Empire so why would I attempt to kill a genius of the Empire? Do you all believe that I am crazy enough to do sh*t like that?"


    The hall suddenly became quiet.


    No one really knew what to say at the moment.


    On one hand they couldn''t really figure out why he was doing what he was doing but what the hall master had said was true. He was a person who always had the empire''s future in mind; he would even go as far as defying his higher-ups if it meant that a decision could benefit the Empire.


    "If it makes you people feel any better¡­" the hall master stopped and sighed before continuing, "I will allow Tavonga to go along with him. It is fair that way isn''t it?"


    Most of people nodded in agreement. If you were already going to send out one genius, you might as well gamble and send two.


    Before any form of agreement could be reached Nhamo spoke up again. "Even though this eases our suspicions, I do not believe that it is such a good idea. To be honest after your explanation, I now agree with you just a little bit, and I wouldn''t mind you sending out Taku and someone else, but just not Tavonga. Tavonga was second to Taku only and I do believe that even though he accepted his loss, he still has a bit of his pride left. You cannot have two tigers living on the same mountain."


    Most people were shocked by Nhamo''s words because they realized that they could not really dispute with what he was saying. There had been cases in the past were people who had small rivalries would end up in the same team. This led to lack of stability in the team and would end up disbanding or in worst cases, killed when out on missions because of lack of coordination and or killing each other.


    The hall master then nodded in agreement. He had seen his mistake and was quick to acknowledge it.


    He then sunk deep into thought. He could not just send out any person with Taku, it had to be someone who was at least close to sensing zesa and someone who would be able to assist Taku at any time.


    The list was not long to begin with, but he knew for a fact that others would not be able to keep up with Taku so he had only one option to be honest. But he looked rather reluctant to announce his decision.


    This was because the person who he had in mind was his own nephew, Tino.


    Tino had not done well in the battle royal. Not because he was weak, but because people had ganged up on him and attacked. Only after fighting with his thoughts for a while did the hall master finally speak.


    "I have a suggestion. I have a nephew called Tino. He did not really do too well in the battle royale but he is a good fighter."


    "What!"


    There was uproar when the people heard this. The hall master was willing to send his own family out to join Taku.


    Everyone in that hall knew that if it were them then they would not be able to send out their family.


    Yet again the hall turned silent. They were truly moved by the hall maters actions and felt a little bit sorry for him actually. They admired the faith he had in his nephew but the danger it posed just made them feel more sympathy than anything.


    Not waiting for anyone to reply, the hall master spoke. "So its decided, Taku and Tino will head out in a week to meet up with their other teammates. Now¡­ let me explain to you the mission so that you can be more at ease. The mission is a mission to Honde valley. Four years ago a tohwe fruit tree was found in the valley. The fruits would need another 4 years to ripen but then those bloody f*cking invaders came, and the current location of their camp is located near Honde valley so we have not been able to go near it.


    It is more of a stealth mission so we don''t need to send out powerful personnel, the weaker the better. So I am pretty confident that they will be safe. There are a total of 20 tohwe fruits and they are about to ripen and we cannot, under any circumstance, let them fall to the invaders."


    After saying this much, the hall master left leaving the hall shocked once again;tohwe fruits were very important to the growth of any empire, and now they actually found twenty.


    Everyone in the hall was happy. But at the same time they felt a bit of anxiety.


    Because if they were to land in the hands of the enemy, then it would be a disaster.

 23 Nobody Is Perfect, But Nobody Is Normal Either...

    It had been a week since Taku had won the battle royale, and in this one week he felt as though time was moving way too fast.


    At first he thought that he would be the captain of a newly formed team, but to his surprise his team had a lot of experience already.


    This was weird because Taku himself was yet to sense to sense zesa, so for him who had no cultivation to lead a team of cultivators was unheard of. As much as he tried to not believe it, the facts had already been laid down in front of him.


    He was even more shocked to find out that the team he would go meet was already on a mission and he would have to meet up with them mid-mission.


    Luckily Tino was also assigned to the same team which was also quite a shock, but the real sucker punch came when the two kids were told that they would have to travel alone to a Valley that was 3 months away from where they were.


    The only form of transportation there was around here were either Elephants, horses or their own feet.


    Even though the elephants were powerful and safer to travel with, they were still rather slow.


    If they were traveling on foot it would take them even longer so their only option was to use the horses.


    Horses were not very welcome in the Gutu Empire. Even though they were faster than Elephants they were not as secure. A normal elephant could easily handle a dozen or more attacks from a low level cultivator, but horses would die in an instant.


    At the moment, he and Tino had no other option. A week after the battle Royale and Taku was already going on his first ever mission.


    He didn''t even have a cultivation base and yet here he was waiting to depart.


    Most people began sensing zesa at 16 but there were some who were abnormal like Tavonga and Tino who were only 15 and another monster like Taku who was only 14 years old. So usually after graduating most people would form teams and go into the nearby forest to train in actual combat against normal beasts.


    Taku and Tino would not have such luxuries though.


    Even though Honde Valley barely had any Demonic beats, it did not mean that they didn''t exist within it. The demonic beats there just barely showed themselves. Over the years there had been a few sightings of demonic beats, and most of these beats were at least tier two beats which scared the living hell out of lower level cultivators.


    At the moment Taku and Tino were sitting in silence in a hut near the training camp. The two had not bothered to say a word to each other as they waited for their orders to leave. To their surprise the hall master came personally. The two greeted him respectfully as he entered.


    The hall master nodded and told the two to sit as he began explaining.


    "Normally this stuff would be explained to you in the period of the next two years but I have no choice but to explain this now¡­ ultimately there are 3 levels of cultivation and each level apart from the last, have 3 other sublevels, the last level having 6 sublevels."


    "The first level is called the Pamamonya and the sublevels consist of the Tohwe, Zhanje and Tamba levels. The first level is to temper the skin and your Zvikanganwahama (Kidneys): although the tempering of the skin is important the tempering of your Zvikanganwahama is just as crucial. This will determine which element you will be using afterwards¡­


    After you temper your Zvikanganwahama it will determine whether you will use Rudyi (Yang) or Ruboshwe (Yin) elements. Most men use Rudyi but there has been cases in which a male cultivator used Ruboshwe elements. Usually in this level you will require the MaTohwe fruit to help speed up the process of tempering your skin."


    "The second sub level, which is the Zhanje level, is the level in which you temper your bones and muscles. In this level you require the aid of the MaZhanje fruit to speed up the process."


    "The third and final level is the Tamba level which is the level you use to temper your organs through the Zvikanganwahama. This is to allow all your organs to be better suited to your elemental affinity.


    As you know there are 5 types of cultivators. Even though it is essential to temper all the organs, the type of cultivator you are determines which organ your Zesa will focus on more when tempering."


    "Reinforces, mostly have to temper their Moyo (Heart)."


    "Summoners, have to temper their Mapapu (lungs)."


    "For those practicing Body Transformation, they''d have to temper their Dumbu (stomach)."


    "Manipulators, on the other hand, have to temper their Pfungwa (Brain)."


    "And lastly, Muroyi (Necromancers) mostly focus on the Chiropa (Liver)."


    "Reinforces are cultivators who can use their zesa to reinforce weapons and or their bodies. Since their zesa focuses more on tempering their Moyo, their zesa (qi) is purer than most, thus even though most people can infuse their qi into their weapon, the reinforcer''s qi is so pure that he will be able to strengthen his body or weapon by at least ten times that of someone in the same level. I don''t really need to explain summoners and what they do, but the reason why their Mapapu gets tempered more is because they are required to use chants in order to summon their beats. The level of beast one can summon is determined by their very own cultivation level.


    Body transformation cultivators strengthen their Dumbu because it is the base of all body transformation cultivators'' power.


    This also applies for the Muroyi who temper their Chiropa, this organ is the one that stores more of the eerier, ruboshwe energy than any other organ, so it''s essential for necromancy.


    Manipulators usually mostly consist of healers, and even though it''s not an organ, they have to temper their Pfungwa.


    "Now, the other thing I need to explain is how martial skills work for us in the Gutu Empire. Most of the martial skills we have are like templates. They don''t have really have a definite element that they are designed for. So you can find that a Bone Piercing punch has different variations to it.


    Any questions before I continue?"


    The two youths were in a bit of a daze at the moment of all the information that they were flooded with they only really knew a tenth of it.


    It took them a good minute to completely comprehend what they were being told. Tino kept quiet and didn''t ask anything as his ability as a reinforcer had already been successfully explained.


    Taku on the other hand had one thing that was bothering him, and he could not help but ask. "Hall master, I was told that I have no definite class as a cultivator. Won''t this be a problem in the future?"


    The hall master''s brow furrowed as he sunk deep into thought. There had never been a case like Taku''s in the history of the Gutu Empire. Only a few people knew about his condition, and the only reason why The Hall Master knew was because of Saru.


    He had met Saru once after the battle Royale and he had been told about Taku''s special "Condition" and he himself had asked this very same question.


    Yet even someone as knowledgeable as Saru could not answer it, so how could he a mere Hall Master of a training camp be able to answer?


    After staying silent for what seemed like an eternity he suddenly shook his head and said the same words Saru had told him. "Young man, you are going to have to wing it."


    "Ah!"


    Both Tino and Taku could not help but exclaim in shock when they heard this.


    The hall master just smiled when he saw their reaction and then continued.


    "Your situation is rather complicated and there are no records of it at all in history. So there is really nothing I can say. You are on your own on this one."


    After this, Taku simply nodded and the Hall Master began his second explanation.


    "The Place that you are going to is not a very dangerous place for me, but for you it could be considered a nightmare; with your current strength both of you could easily fight normal beasts and also maybe tier 1 and some tier 2 demonic beats. And even though these are the most common beasts that you can find there, there have been sightings of a tier 3 beat, and even once of a tier 4 beast."


    The two felt rather dizzy when they heard this. The trip which was supposed to be relatively safe for them was now pretty dangerous. They both had no words to say so they just kept quiet and continued to listen.


    "The place that you guys will be visiting is relatively safe and the most powerful beast that was found there was a tier two beast. But you will still need to be careful¡­ Now about your teammates. You have Nyasha who is supposed to be a summoner¡­"


    The two boys could only cry out in their minds: Supposed?


    "¡­his ability is weird, since he can only summon the essence of the beast and not the beasts itself. So to be honest all he can do is summon a projection with the aura of the beats. But luckily he is a rather good fighter.


    The second is Tadi who is a Muroyi. Usually most Muroyi can raise anything they want from the dead and use it, but she can only use humans and only those who haven''t been dead for more than a day.


    The last member of your team is Ranga, he was born into a family of manipulators, healers at that. The difference between most manipulators and healers is that healers are born with life energy which they use to heal people. Ranga has the most life energy of any healer in his clan''s history but the problem is¡­ he can only really heal himself and no one else."


    The last part really caught the two youths off guard.


    Just when they thought that there was someone normal in the team they got hit by this sucker punch.


    After finishing his explanations the Hall Master handed Taku a piece of paper and told him that it was from Saru, then wished the two good luck and left.


    Taku wryly smiled and looked towards Tino and spoke. "Looks like you''re the only normal person in our team."


    Tino let out a bitter laugh when he heard this and then said. "Actually I have something to tell you.."


    F*ck!


    "I am pretty good at enforcing weapons and amours and all. But I actually can''t enforce my own body. I have tried a million times but ultimately I have failed. So you do not have to worry about me not fitting in and being the odd one out. We basically have a healer who can''t heal, a summoner who is probably the best fighter out of us but can barely summon anything for assistance , a Muroyi who has a time limit, an enforcer who is useless without weapons and¡­ well¡­ a body transformer who turns into smoke."


    The two boys broke out laughing at how useless their team sounded, but both of them knew that one doesn''t just join a team without some sort of ability.


    Even though they were laughing now the two boys couldn''t help but feel excited at the prospect of working with such a dysfunctional group.


    "It''s about time we left now¡­" Tino started. "I know that we have had our differences in the past, but I hope that we can work together well in the future."


    Taku smiled and nodded.


    Tino then took out a pouch and handed it to Taku. "This is a storage pouch and has enough space to fit 6 elephants."

 24 Cities, Colors and Cubs

    It had been two weeks since Taku and Tino set out for Honde valley.


    So far during their trip there were no problems whatsoever and they had set up camp tonight so that the horses could rest. It was this night that Taku decided to read the letter that Saru had given the Hall master:


    Dear Takunda


    Congratulations on winning the Battle Royale, I know that Tavonga was not an easy opponent so you did well.


    I have been monitoring you ever since you entered the ELEPHANT FOOT GUARD and I have to admit that even I am shocked by your progress. Initially I had thought your soul would hinder your progress since you did not quite understand it, but with your progress I''m guessing that in a way you are improving so fast thanks to your soul.


    There are somethings that I feel you should know.


    I won''t waste our time explaining about cultivation since I know that someone else will do that for me. What I want to explain is the structure of the Gutu Empire.


    So far you have only seen a couple of villages of various sizes and only one camp of the ELEPHANT FOOT GUARD , you have never really been to any cities as it is so your knowledge is a bit lacking at the moment. I will be focusing more on the undercurrents of power, instead of the common knowledge of provinces you know.


    Of all the cities In the Gutu Empire 23 are a cut above the rest and have a special existence. They are the 7 main cities and 16 minor cities of the Gutu Empire. I won''t go into detail about them, but I can tell you that even the size of a minor will shock you. Most minor cities are controlled by chiefdoms and can hold up to a hundred thousand people. These chiefdoms have a hundred percent control over the City and only have to annually pay taxes to the Empire.


    Even though they are counted as part of the empire these cities have their own armies and the Empire does not really get involved in their power struggles, and this is only if their power struggles don''t hinder the Royal family''s dealings and the Safety of the Empire as a whole.


    But if the Empire is in dire straits then these cities will lend their armies to the Empire¡­


    Reading up to this part Taku could not help but think of the hierarchy back on earth. Even though some countries still used the Monarch system, most countries had abolished this and to him it was a better system. Having a Government to him was more sensible, and created more freedom for the people of that nation. He tried to think of what would happen if the government did not have full control of their cities, he had no doubt in his mind that the results would be worse than the ones in the Gutu empire.


    Thinking to this point Taku shook his head and continued reading.


    ¡­The 7 Major cities are under the full control of the Royal Family.


    In these cities the Royal family placed their most trusted subordinates to monitor everything that happens in that city. It is more like these families are ambassadors for the Royal family.


    These cities don''t indulge in power struggles since they are basically run by the same power; the military is all the same anyway. In each of these 23 cities there is an ELEPHANT FOOT GUARD camp nearby.


    The ELEPHANT FOOT GUARD you were a part of was close to a minor City called Mutoko. The ELEPHANT FOOT GUARD in small cities are smaller than those near big cities, in your ELEPHANT FOOT GUARD intermediate camp only a little over a hundred people graduated and survived, but in those that are close to major cities over thousands of people graduated.


    After graduating, people from the ELEPHANT FOOT GUARD can join the Ivory guard if worthy. Each city has its own Ivory Guard Hall and in minor cities those of the Ivory Guard are on par in terms of authority with the chiefdoms, although there are not really allowed to get involved in the affairs of the city, but they do have all the freedom to do what they want. It is only in the major cities that the Ivory Guard has to be a bit more reserved but even then they hold a certain authority in the big cities.


    Now to explain how the ivory guard works.


    Teams in the ivory Guard are ranked by colour. These colours are Red, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Red being the lowest rank and Gold being the highest. Currently your team is one of over a thousand Red teams, and each colour has its own Ranking board. In order to raise a team''s rank the team needs to have a certain number of contribution points which can be earned by completing missions.


    The red team that is currently top of the ranking has ten thousand points and still require an additional ten thousand for them to be able to raise their rank. It took this team 3 whole years to accumulate this many points so you can imagine how hard it is to get contribution points¡­


    Taku felt dizzy when reading this. He was only fourteen and if he and his team were as fast as those people then they would be able to raise their rank when Taku turned 20. Six whole years to raise the rank of team. He could not help but wonder how many years the Gold ranked team had taken to reach their current rank.


    Taku continued reading.


    ¡­you can also earn contribution points by hunting demonic beats and selling their parts to the Empire. You can use this method to exchange for gold if you are short on money, but this usually is not necessary because even the lowest ranked Red team gets a thousand gold coins a month as salary.


    Apart from this the other way is to kill an invader.


    The amount of contribution points you get by killing an invader are determined by how powerful that particular invader was. For this the Empire created badges that can sense the energy of an invader since their cultivation is different from ours, so if you kill an invader it can automatically be recorded and you will be granted your points on the spot.


    The most contribution points that were gathered from killing an invader was when a Gold team leader killed an invader and got a million contribution points. Another thing is that contribution points can be used for training purposes and to trade for Martial skills, weapons etc.


    The cheapest of all skills and weapons start from ten contribution points; the most expensive I have ever seen was a martial skill which was going for six million contribution points.


    Anyway that is all I needed to explain for now.


    Good luck on your trip and do come back safely, or else I swear Maka will kill me.


    Kindest Regards,


    Saru.


    After finishing the letter Taku only had one thought in this mind and that was Maka. It had been four years since he last saw her and in those four years he had been thinking about her almost every day. They had spent a couple of weeks traveling together and to this day it still remained as Taku''s most peaceful period.


    He did not know whether she was part of the ivory guard or some other department, but he did know that four years ago when she was only sixteen, she was more powerful than most of his teachers back in the Elephant Foot Guard.


    He couldn''t help but shiver when he thought to this point; he could not help but wonder if he could ever catch up to her, she did have a six year advantage on him.


    And that ass, damn.


    Taku smiled bitterly and then placed the letter inside his storage pouch and slept.


    After three whole months of non-stop travel the duo had finally arrived at the outskirts of Honde valley. They could no longer continue with their horses so they set them free and then continued into the dense valley on foot.


    After walking for half a day Tino let out a sigh and could not help but complain."I can''t believe that we have another full two weeks of traveling before we even reach our destination."


    Taku smiled wryly and then said. "I wish I could say that we signed up for this, but we didn''t and this level of fuckery is just a bit too much for me to tolerate."


    After saying this Taku abruptly stopped and looked at Tino with a sly smile. "Well, we are supposed to be tempering ourselves aren''t we? There are at least 3 beasts a couple of minutes away from here, but it is off route. Are you willing to go?"


    Taku''s soul was incredibly sensitive and if there was a beast near them he would be able to sense them in an instant.


    Tino smiled after hearing this. "Do you even have to ask? Lead the way."


    Taku smiled as he turned left and disappeared into the bushes with Tino following right after. The two ran for close to 10 minutes before reaching their destination.


    They were filled with shock as they witnessed the very chaotic scene of a lioness fighting three hyenas. The beats in this forest were usually very territorial and another beast would not step into another''s territory.


    The two looked around to find why these four were fighting, and not far away they both spotted a crystal like object that was just behind the body of the lioness.


    "That''s a demonic beast core¡­"Tino whispered. "It should at least be a peak tier two core. Its baffling that these normal beasts actually have it."


    Hearing this Taku could not help but ask. "Are these Demonic beast cores important to these normal beasts?"


    Hearing this Tino stared at Taku weirdly before answering. "Yes, the cores are very important. If a normal beast can consume that core, it has the possibility to evolve and begin cultivating. But it is a bit too risky because if the energy in the core is too much then it would simply explode."


    "Oh!"


    After this explanation the two youths then continued to focus on the battle between the Lioness and there hyenas. They could both see that even though the lioness was very vicious, the Hyenas were very cunning and had managed to severely wound the lioness.


    What had the attention of the two was that the lioness did not seem to care about the Demonic beast core at all. It kept on looking towards the cave that was behind it before attacking again.


    "It probably has a cub in there." Tino stated.


    "Yeah!" Taku replied.


    Just as they finished this short exchange they noticed the little cub fearlessly run out of the cave and then consumed the beast core.


    The mouths of the two youths were agape when they saw this scene unravel. The lioness on the other hand began panicking and attacked even more ferociously than before. The three hyenas were angry at the little cub for swallowing the core that they wanted.


    They wanted nothing more but to rip the little cub, which was now laying limp on the ground but alas they could only wait until they had taken care of the lioness before they could kill its little cub.


    The fight lagged on for another five or so minutes before the lioness dropped down to the ground and breathed its last breath.


    Of the four Hyenas, one was dead whereas two were badly injured and only one had minor injuries.


    Despite the other two being severely wounded the three Hyenas attacked simultaneously.


    Just as they were about to reach the little cub, the hyena that had minor injuries suddenly stopped and took several steps back. Of the two injured Hyenas, one was able to step back just in time as the other one got crushed by a giant rock.


    The Hyenas looked forward only to see two youths standing before them. One of the two youths was holding the cub in his hands with a look of astonishment on his face.


    "It''s actually still alive!"

 25 Princess of Death

    In a despondent jungle, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, a group of people old and young were held in ropes, tied up. Across their faces were expressions of fear, sadness and most prominently loss of hope. There was no one surrounding them, yet they knew that there was no escape from their situation. Death was coming and it was in the form of a child.


    After a while a procession of warriors armed in golden attire came following a fourteen year old youth. This youth gave a strong impression; the youth had spiky hair, brown skin without any flaws and sharp eyes that seemed to have been tempered by a thousand battles. This disparity between youth and experience created an uncomfortable sensation upon all who looked at this young child.


    At first sight you would think this was a young man growing into manhood, but in actuality this was the diamond of the Gutu Empire, the legendary princess of the underworld. Her name was Princess Kufara Gumbo.


    Her name Kufara meant happiness, yet to all who were involved in her life all she gave was dread. Oddly enough no one called her Kufara, everyone called her Kufa which in actuality meant death.


    As Princess Kufa approached the group of tied up victims, the feeling of dread in their hearts made their very being palpitate with anticipation of what was to come. The fear in the air was so intense one could almost believe it was tangible.


    When the procession arrived they stopped directly in front of the middle aged man, his face reduced to a mere mass of nothingness. The fear was evident on the faces of all who stood there but there was no shame in her eyes as she pulled out her sword.


    Her voice was liquid with no clear indication of age, she commanded despair with every utter.


    "You!" she screamed, pausing for a second as if to induce fear in his eyes, "Where is he?"


    The man simply stared and with one swift movement she cut of his throat, moving on to the next man in line without so much as a glance or any sign of sympathy.


    "You! Where is he?" she uttered pointing to the next man in line and a bead of sweat could be seen flowing from his head before it was swiftly chopped off, falling with the next and the next.


    At some point in her brutal interrogation she arrived upon a young man who reeked of fear.


    Kufa was like a maddened hound on the hunt, once she caught a whiff of that irresistible smell she couldn''t let go. Oddly enough she didn''t say anything to him and skipped him arriving in front of a hardened old man. The old man was the complete opposite of the young man before him; his facial expression as flat as a slab of stone.


    Without even talking to the old man her hand as quick as lightening, reached into the old man''s chest and pulled out a beating heart. Blood sprayed like a fountain, dying the surroundings red, yet oddly enough not a single drop of blood touched her, as if the blood itself was sentient and feared her.


    As she pulled out the heart the beats got slower and slower. The old man''s corpse fell to the ground with a loud thump.


    When the heart reached what seemed to be its last beat, the princess squeezed the heart and it lit aflame. The fire itself was eery instead of being hot it was frighteningly cold. The flame itself was yellow with a black outline that had a purple hue. As soon as the flame lit up, the heart started beating. Louder and faster than before, at the same time what should have been the corpse of the old man started to spasm and bellow in pain as if he was actually alive.


    The Princess took the beating heart that was on fire and brought it in front of the young man who she had skipped. She stopped the heart right before his face. All of the facial hairs on the young man''s face started to freeze and he slowly started losing feeling his skin becoming numb.


    "You know legend has it that the royal family has the ability to manipulate death. Death is a scary thing isn''t it? But at the same time I need death because it''s so much fun."


    After she spoke the princess innocently giggled in a manner that was unbecoming of her actions, frightening the young man even more. She started toying with the heart in her hand as if it was a pebble squeezing it from time to time.


    "You know death could be fun for you too, all I need you to do is just not answer me then I''ll pull out your heart. And then like the old man next to you, you can join in the fun as well. I mean just look at him, he''s having the time of his life."


    Using the spear in her hand she forced the young man''s face to turn and look at the elder. The moment he did so, his pupils dilated to the point where the whites in his eyes could barely be seen.


    His body started shaking, just like the old man except he was not in pain; on the contrary he was in paradise. What made it worse was that the young man knew this himself. The Princess used the spear to bring back his attention to her, yet all he could see in front of his eyes was the beating heart that was on fire.


    "So please I am begging you," as she spoke she started breathing in a manner that was so perverted, she looked like an old man in a child''s body, "Please say nothing." This was almost like a whisper from the devil himself.


    "Now, let me ask you, Where is my brother?"


    ¡­


    Later on, the princess was sitting in a thatched hut, lazily playing with the cup that was holding in her drink. She looked up summoning one of the servants fanning her as a group of warriors walked in with serious expressions plastered all over their faces. As the servant approached her he kneelt at her feet, "What are your orders my Princess?"


    "I want to deliver a message to my royal father, tell him that I have a rough idea of where my brother is, but it has something to do with the Gundu clan making this a bit tricky, especially if that old witch is involved. Tell royal father that I shall be waiting for further instructions, I''m feeling lazy today." She nonchalantly waved her hand to the servant dismissing him. The servant silhouette flashed for a second and his visage disappeared from sight. As the Princess lazily reclined in her chair she started playing with the flaming heart in her free hand. The heart seemed to have appeared from nowhere, if one was to pay attention whenever she squeezed the heart, the screams of a human being could be heard except these were not the screams of an old man but the wallows of a young man in the prime of his life.


    ¡­


    A decorated European style carriage approached a large palace, the carriage itself was red all over with flames surrounding it. The carriage was being pulled by two horses, the horses themselves seemed normal except for one thing; the horse''s mane seemed to be made out of flames too. There was no one leading the horses, no carriage man. They travelled with a sense of purpose and didn''t need one.


    As the carriage neared the palace, the palace guards at the palace gates came into view, each of the guards were armoured from head to toe. They were tall, broad shouldered and very intimidating. It was clear to anyone looking at them that they had been through many battles and their hands had been dyed in blood but as soon as they saw the carriage that was approaching, these battle-hardened man completely restrained their auras and obediently saluted the carriage as it approached.


    They moved opening a path for the carriage, one of them looked back and shouted, "Open the gates, it''s Lord McLeod!"


    The large palace gates opened in a speed unbefitting their size.


    As the carriage moved in the soldiers started whispering to each other. Angus McLeod was a legendary warrior. Legends of his expeditions had travelled far and wide. He started off as a normal peasant but built his fame and fortune through his own hands. Most famous warriors were born in nobility thus they grew up with silver spoons in their mouths. With countless resources aiding such warriors their path to fame was much easier, whereas McLeod built his fame with his own two hands.


    The masses have always favoured the underdog especially one they can relate to.


    Despite the fact that McLeod had become a noble he still treated everyone around him equally earning him the respect of his peers. Thus the soldiers could not help but be excited upon seeing that it was him approaching the palace. There were many famous people that came to the palace that day but only McLeod was able to truly touch these men. The palace itself was as large as a city, the closer one got to the centre of the palace the more heavily fortified it was. This was no normal palace; it was one of the designated meeting points for the alliance.


    The alliance had taken care to make sure that the palace was as secure as possible. Even the position of this palace was information previewed to only to a few people. The purpose of the meeting that was occurring today was known by even fewer people.


    As the carriage got through countless inspections and fortifications it finally reached the centre of the palace, a large dome-like structure. Multiple carriages belonging to multiple famous and powerful characters throughout the continent where parked outside. McLeod''s carriage found its own spot just outside the dome and was greeted by a plethora of servants whose main purpose was to greet guests and meet any of their needs. It was not surprising that all of these servants were extremely beautiful young woman dressed in extremely revealing clothing.


    The carriage opened and McLeod walked out, behind McLeod, Windsor and Siren followed. Despite the fact that McLeod was a well know person, the servants completely ignored his presence and knelt in front of Windsor.


    "We welcome you your highness, Prince Windsor."


    McLeod didn''t even try to hide the lust prevalent in his eyes, which was the normal reaction a man would have in front of such a situation. Multiple woman scantily dressed kneeling in front of you would be enough to stir the loins of any man...


    Well, almost any man.


    "Rise!" said Windsor with a deadpan expression; he was not a man who was easily moved, especially by mortal desires. His eyes were there but his vision went far further, looking at the bigger picture. The head servant got up and quickly led the trio to the entrance of the large door-like structure; she was well experienced and knew that Windsor was not a man for pleasantries. Thus she quickly took action in order to avoid his ire.


    As the trio was led into the dome McLeod couldn''t help but to whistle; it was a large circular auditorium with thousands upon thousands of seats. Dignitaries from across the entire Western Continent had arrived to discuss the issue at hand. McLeod couldn''t help but be impressed by the sheer scope of the event. He knew that the war with the Gutu was something big, the biggest thing that had happened in thousands upon thousands of years, but never in his wildest dreams would this man who began as a mere beggar on the streets thought that he would be involved in something of this magnitude.

 26 The Yamato Shogunates Plan

    Inside the large dome was a large stadium-like auditorium with thousands upon thousands of seats filled with foreign dignitaries. In the centre of the stadium was a large circular table with what seemed to be about 20-something seats.


    These seats were different from the other seats in the stadium and quite a few regalia were surrounding the chairs in the middle of this stadium, showing these chairs were seats meant to be taken by people of extreme importance.


    As Windsor and the other two who were following him entered the stadium, the head servant who was leading them announced their entry, "Introducing his highness Prince Albion Windsor, The Fifth Prince of Greenwich."


    As soon as Windsor was announced the clatter and the noise within the auditorium that was nearly filled to the brim instantly dimmed down to silence. It was so quiet one could even hear the sound of a pin drop. Albion himself was famous across the entire Western Continent; one could even say the entire world, due to a certain incident that had happened when he was younger.


    Normally someone of his age wouldn''t be of importance in such a meeting but knowing his own place, Albion took Angus and Siren and walked straight to the large circular table in the middle of the auditorium, he took one of the seats and sat down while Angus and Siren stood behind him. No one else had sat by the table yet but almost all the other seats had been taken.


    As time went on other important characters started coming in late filling up the seats at the important table bit by bit, until all twenty four seats had been filled. The moment that happened, the entire stadium became quiet once more.


    Although it was meeting for thousands of dignitaries, the other thousands were merely a decoration, it was these twenty four who truly had the right to talk. Each of the twenty four had people standing behind them and each of them was a person whose name resounded throughout the western continent with a force that should not be underestimated. Each of these people had a reputation no lower than Albion''s, each of these people were proud people, powerful people, people with experience in such matters, people with an agenda and people representing their own nations.


    The western continent was divided into six major nations; one Nation was the Gutu Empire, the Gutu Empire was isolated and kept to itself, thus the other five nations united together to form the Western Alliance. These Nations were the Qin Empire, the Vajra Empire, the United States, the Greenwich Kingdom and the Yamato Shogunate. These five nations made up the Western Alliance and it was these five that decided how everything was supposed to occur. There were many other minor nations that existed within the Western Continent but they were not worthy to be represented at this table. Each and every minor nation was definitely subject to the control of on these five nations. In other words each and every nation that wasn''t a part of these five was a colonial nation at best.


    One of those who were sitting at the table, one of the supreme dignitaries, stood up and raised his hands, "My friends, I welcome you to this meeting that is going to decide the fate of our Western Continent. We may not be the most important people in the whole continent but we have been placed in the front lines of a war that will determine the fate of our continent. Please, I ask you to put down your pride and humble yourselves as we try to look for a way forward despite all of our differences. Many of us have warred with each other but now we face a greater enemy, The Gut Empire."


    As soon as the man stopped talking, every face within the stadium turned grim.


    The Gutu Empire had been standing as a behemoth for thousands upon thousands of years but everyone knew that this current generation was the strongest ever recorded in history. Luckily for the other five countries their current generation was also the strongest that had ever been recorded in history; thus they decided to strike whilst the iron was hot.


    The Gutu Empire had no intention of mixing with other countries; in fact it had no intention of invading other countries or expanding its borders. It was perfectly happy with what it had, however due to certain underlying currents and extenuating circumstance the other five nations felt forced to invade the Gutu Empire; thus this Great War had begun. Although to the Gutu Empire it was nothing more than a small scuffle breaking out, as they had so much pride that they didn''t even believe the other countries were qualified to have a war with them. To them this was no different to a minor scrimmage that would disappear with the sands of time.


    The first person who had spoken was a white-haired middle aged man. His face was filled with wrinkles of experience and his eyes were deep, pulling in one''s attention. He was a well-known traveller and he had no nation that he stood for. This was the main reason he had been chosen to be the main speaker and mediator for this meeting. His name was Anglius and he was only known as old man Anglius. He had no last name, he had no house but people knew that this man was one of the most powerful majors who had ever existed.


    His past was quite the mystery; this man had no allegiance to any nation. He was a free spirit roaming and doing as he pleased. Something happened in the past which led to him bearing a certain amount of hatred for the Gutu Royal family. Thus he agreed to be part of this alliance to be fighting the Gutu people.


    So Anglius was put forward as the leader of the first wave of attacks against the Gutu, this meeting was called by him. He was the speaker, he was neutral, he was wise and he was experienced but most importantly he was powerful. Thus every person in the stadium, in this entire palace, within an area of thousand miles paid attention to what this old man said.


    "Now let''s get down to business shall we, please? Mr Shinzo will you begin telling us about our current situation followed by our current progress, such that we may know where to start from," asked old man Anglius as he sat down pointing to an oriental man.


    This man was known as Shinzo Takamura, he was a representative of the Yamato Shogunate, which was known as the country with the best information capturing abilities on the whole planet. No other nation could match them when it came to espionage. Shinzo stood up, opened his palm and a three dimensional map of the entire continent appeared above their table. The entire continent was visible with lines representing divisions and dots representing cities. There were other miniature shapes as well on the three dimensional hologram representing different things. Shinzo started to move around this three dimensional hologram that was floating in the middle of the stadium and started to explain the current situation.


    "As we all know, we as the Western Alliance have tried to attack the Gutu Empire for the past four years but alas, we have barely been able to achieve anything. If we try to attack by sea they sink us, if we try to attack by land they stop us, if we try to attack by air they shoot us down. Every battle we have initiated has resulted in crushing defeat." The entire stadium knew everything that this man had just said but hearing his words only made them much more depressed.


    "However despite the fact that we''ve suffered defeat after defeat, we now have a better understanding of the Gutu Empire than before. The Gutu Empire is somewhat decentralized power, with the royal family standing at the top. So far we''ve managed to infer that Empire has multiple provinces each province run by different rulers. These provinces work independently but still have to pay heed to the royal family. So even though the Gutu Empire is united there are many sub cultures within the Gutu Empire so instead of thinking of it as a large empire one might like to think of it as a large cluster of colonies with the royal family as the main country in the centre. Now here is our main problem¡­"


    The hologram in the air was zoomed slightly to the East Coast of the continent, the point where by the Gutu Empire meets with the Qin Empire, "We as the Western Alliance decided to use the might of the Qin Empire to try and invade the Gutu Empire, despite the fact that the Gutu Empire is large and is powerful, there the amount of numbers they have pales in comparison to the mighty Qin Empire."


    Within the stadium dignitaries who came from the might Qin Empire could not help but show a smug grin when Shinzo said these words. They were very proud of their nation and knew very well that what he said was true but what he said next completely poured water over their expressions.


    "However, despite this advantage the mighty Qin Empire has been able to achieve nothing. Their numbers have only served to act as concord. There are only three countries which share a border with the Gutu¡­" The map hologram highlighted each part as he spoke, "The Qin Empire, the Greenwich Kingdom and The United States. The Greenwich kingdom has got a natural defence against the Gutu in the form of a large mountain base filled with demonic beasts whereas the United States and the Qin Empire defend manually against the Gutu. We have attempted to invade the Gutu from these two points, but it''s seemingly impossible due the Gutu''s strange and wondrous abilities and their bodies as well. We truly, truly, cannot find a way to start this war. For it to actually become a war there has to be somewhat of a balance between the sides but so far we have been crushed. After doing some investigations the Yamato Shogunate has come up with a plan they would like to present to the Alliance with the permission of Sir Anglias."


    Everyone in the stadium started to whisper to one another including the twenty three main dignitaries sitting at the centre of the stadium. Shinzo''s words were a serious surprise because they did not think that Shinzo would be able to come up with a plan or rather the Yamato Shegunate would be able to come up with a plan that would be able to deal with the Gutu.


    "Please, Shinzo, talk; I would like to see what plan you have." Said Anglias, with a cunning smile.


    Shinzo bowed and then turned to look at the map."There seems to be a slight disturbance in the Gutu Empire, this stems from how the Royal family is structured. The Royal family is actually made up of three independent families. The Emperor of each generation is chosen between a battle that occurs between the successors of each Royal Family. These families are known as The Gumbo Clan, The Ngundu Clan and The Sibanda Clan. So far the nation is being ruled by The Gumbo Clan they are the ones who have been in control for the last thousand or so years. However the Ngundu Clan and the Sibanda Clan have not been sitting around idly. They are very close to matching the Gumbo Clan in power and each of them is eyeing the throne reverently. Thus the situation is not that simple to take care of. We as the Yamato Shegunate have an idea; a war on two fronts, starting a war on the outside and a war on the inside at the same time. Let us take advantage of the great disparity between the royal clans, their blood feuds and the so-called unity that exists between the provinces in The Gutu Empire"


    Shinzo''s words were very bold and they shocked many observers. Few people thought that such a plan couldn''t take place: it involved one too many variables and, honestly speaking, it would be very hard to try and tear apart such a united nation. However, no one could doubt that the Yamato Shogunat''s ability to gather information was unrivalled. They would never say anything unless they were sure there was really a chance...

 27 Proposal

    Old Man Anglius raised his hands quieting the entire auditorium once again. He then looked up at Shinzo and spoke, "This seems to be worth pursuing, please go into detail."


    Shinzo smiled and began to explain his plan in more detail to everyone present. It took him hours to explain it, but from time to time one would hear gasps of shock and awe at what Shinzo had said. After the entirety of Shinzo''s plan had been explained, massive, thunderous applause was expressed. People''s shock and awe at the Yamato Shagunate had increased; their sheer espionage skills shocked everyone. It was no wonder they managed to remain one of the five super powers despite the fact that their nation was extremely small compared to the others.


    After Shinzo explained the plot that his country had come up with, the other twenty three dignitaries engaged him into a debate trying to see if they could come up with a better plan. After much deliberation, it was decided they were going to relay all of this information to their superiors and then going to see if they could actually come actually come up with a way to execute this plan.


    During the entire debate between the twenty four dignitaries Albion was the only dignitary who had said nothing the entire time. It was only when the debate was finishing that Anglius, being the witty man that he was, looked towards Albion with narrowed eyes.


    He raised his arm signalling the entire auditorium to quiet down, then looked at Albion and asked, "Your Highness do you have something to say?"


    The other twenty three dignitaries at the table were chosen because of age and experience but Albion was far, far, younger than the other twenty three. Most of the people in the stadium believed he should have been in the stands like the other dignitaries instead of being one of the main twenty four. However his work history and circumstance gave him the qualification to sit at that table making many people uncomfortable. Albion knew this, hence he kept quiet for most of the meeting , he did have something to say but knew that his time would come, now that Anglius had approached him, Albion knew that his opportunity to speak had come.


    "Thank you, Sir Anglius for the opportunity you have given me. My fellow noblemen, as you are well aware, the Gutu are quite united, however don''t let it fool you. They are as fragmented as they are united, as Sir Shinzo just showed us there is a way for us to attack them from the inside. Although Sir Shinzo''s method is good, I feel we should take a more delicate approach."


    Anglius raised a brow at Albions words: his curiosity had been piqued. Shinzo could not help but frown at these words, for the young man was now tearing down what he had spent quite abit of effort to build. Albions'' efforts were no different to slapping Shinzo in the face.


    "Siren if you please."


    Siren raised her right hand and a dark blue sigil appeared, none of the dignitaries moved because they were aware of what she was doing. This was a common spell for sound proofing a certain area. Albions'' intention was that no one outside of those sitting on the table would hear what he was about to say. Siren dropped her hand and things continued as they were.


    "Forgive me for taking these extra ordinary measures, but I feel as if it is possible for my next words to cause quite a stir; thus the less who know the better."


    Anglius nodded giving his approval; it was common place for such an action to occur during meetings of such great importance. They were an alliance however they were not completely unified. Everyone at the table was aware of this so no one objected to Albions actions. Infact the majority of those at the table did not want so many people to be attending the meeting in the first place. They believed that only those who were at the table should have attended, however the five great countries were far too large. Thus there were many nobles and politicians who wanted a piece of the cake that was the Gutu Empire. To appease these nobles, the five great nations allowed them to attend this war council but at the end of the day they were no different from place holders.


    Siren''s spell was not only a sound-proof spell but it also created a misty haze around those sitting at the table, preventing those who had skills like lip reading from finding out what was occurring. This without a doubt aroused the ire of quite a few nobles but albion believed the gamble was worth it.


    ¡­


    "This, this is¡­"


    Anglius wanted to speak but he didn''t know quite what to say. He did not expect such a bold plan to come out of the young man''s mouth and if it was true then the consequences would shake the continent at its very foundations.


    "This is outrageous!"


    "This is absolutely foolish!"


    "Young man understand that what you have just proposed could put us all at risk."


    Multiple voices showed their discontentment after a brief moment of silence due to the plan Albion had proposed. Many dignitaries did not even speak but merely snorted in disdain. Anglius was stuck in-between a rock and a hard place: should such a plan work the results would no doubt be fantastic and be exactly what everyone needed; however should it fail, the consequences would be catastrophic.


    Among the dignitaries was a woman. She had red hair, slanted eyes, a small nose and cherry red lips. Her body was curvy where it needed to be curvy and slim where it needed to be slim, she was wearing loose oriental robes but they did little to hide the sensuality oozing from her body. Her name was Lady Long, she was a representative of the royal family from the Qin Empire. She had two reputations; one as one of the most sought after woman on the continent and the other as one of the most ruthless strategists in existence. Her tactics and machinations had resulted in the deaths of millions and in the misery of many more. Despite the fact that she looked like a young maiden she was more than half a century old.


    As the dignitaries voiced out their opinions of Albions plan, her reaction stunned everyone. At first she was shocked just like all the others but after gaining her wits about her she started clapping slowly.


    It was a slow but thunderous clap, forcing the attention of the entire table to focus solely on her.


    Her devilish charm only served to further enhance the attention she was receiving be it for the wrong purposes.


    "I have to say I did not expect such a young man to come up with a plan so vicious. It seems I may have found my Prince Charming."


    Her voice was like the echoe of a fairy from the 9th heaven tempting the poor soul that heard it. Even the battle-hardened Angus could not help but drool when he saw her speak. Even Siren could not help but blush slightly. Old man Anglius chuckled as he marvelled at the woman''s ability to tempt people; he had seen far too many things to have his desired brought up to the surface by a little girl from the Qin Empire. Nevertheless he still had to respect her charm.


    "Hmph!"


    This loud snort was like thunder in a clear sky snapping back every person who had been enamoured by Lady Long back to reality. She had been able to pull the attention of everyone except for the young Albion. Anglius could not help but whistle in appreciation of the young man''s mental fortitude. Was it not the desire of every boisterous youth to conquer every seductive woman in his path? But Albion was different, he was immune to Lady Long''s charms, one could even say he was annoyed by her.


    "Last time I checked my first name was not charming, neither was it my last name, perhaps you have me confused with some other person Lady Long."


    Lady long could not help but giggle slightly, "I hope I did not offend you Prince Winsor it was not my intention. I merely wished to state that I support your idea."


    While Albion was a bit unhappy with Lady Long''s behaviour her support was absolutely invaluable. One could even argue that besides Anglius she had the greatest sway amoung everyone on the table. Not only was she known as one of the best strategists, she was also the head representative of the largest empire in the world. Her support meant the support of the Qin Empire and all of its colonies. As Prince Albion was the head of the representatives of the Greenwich, two of the five great nations now supported his idea. Only one great nation was required to tip the scales in Albions favours. This support however came from the most surprising of sources.


    It was no doubt that the five great nations were split into three factions. One faction which had the United States and the Yamato Shugunate led by the United States. The other faction comprised of the Qin Empire and Varja Empire. The Greenwich kingdom was rather neutral and represented the third faction which did not want to get involved in these power struggles meaning it was the was the faction which had the power to tip the scales. So it came as a surprise when the greatest enemy of the Qin Empire; The United States threw in its support with Albion.


    There were five dignitaries from the United States and so far only four of them had taken part in this meeting, the fifth and most important one had only spoken from time to time but now she felt it was time to speak. Clad in tight fitting amour from head to toe, Jane Doe was eye catching; she had a cold temperament with blonde hair and blue eyes. Unlike lady Long who had a fairy sensuality, Jane Doe had a more reserved beautify to her. Her body was the epitome of perfection but her face was the amalgamation of all a man could desire from an ice cold beauty.


    Her stark contrast to Lady Long was quite ironic considering the fact that she was the latter''s sworn enemy and rival. Hence her next actions stupefied everyone at the meeting.


    "I support Prince Winsor."


    She was well known for being a woman of few words, thus every word she spoke was heavier than gold and far more valuable. That one sentence instantly put the United nations behind Windsor tilting the scales in his favour. Shinzo was the head of the group from the Yamato Shogunate, thus Jane''s action was akin to a second slap in the face for Shinzo.


    One from a bigger hand with more force than the last, Shinzo bit his lower lip so hard it bled a little in his mouth but due to his country''s relationship with the United states, Jane was effectively superior so he had no choice but to swallow down this humiliation along with his own blood.


    The leader of the Varja''s Empire group was a man clad in full body amour from head to toe. He was an incredibly large man and his body exuded the aura of battle. His name was Sanjay Singh also known as the sixth armed demon. He wasn''t happy with the flow of events but he had no choice but to grunt in approval.


    Anglius being a neutral party had no choice but to go along with the flow and thus it was set in stone they were going to go with Albion''s plan.

 28 Apes And Pythons

    "is it really?" Tino asked anxiously.


    Taku nodded. "It is, but it feels like its body is on fire!"


    Hearing this Tino smiled and replied. "Yeah! That''s how it goes when beasts swallow cores that are way above their grade. If this little cub survives then we will a potential tier 1 Demonic beast, and since it''s still an infant it will be easier to tame¡­ I can fight these Hyenas, so just keep the little guy safe."


    Taku just nodded in response and then stared at the little lion cub that looked like it was going to blow at any time.


    Tino returned no less than five minutes later. Even though he hadn''t cultivated yet, taking care of creatures like hyenas was not much of a problem for him. The Gutu were known for their physical strength, and in the fight with Tino, the Hyenas had experienced just how fearsome someone from the Gutu Empire was.


    Seeing the concerned look on Taku''s face Tino shook his head and said. "Do not worry yourself so much. Even though there is still a possibility that it will die, the most dangerous part has already passed. So its chances of survival have already exceeded ten percent¡­"


    Just as Tino''s voice faded, the cub began trembling furiously.


    Taku and Tino anxiously stared at the little cub, and its body began expanding at a rate that was clear to the naked eye.


    Just as it looked like it was about to blow up from the energy within it, the cubs body began to shrink again back to its original size. The two stayed frozen for at least five minutes but nothing seemed to be wrong with the little cub. To be honest it looked normal, which surprised Tino to no end.


    "Is it still alive?" Tino asked.


    Taku nodded and then asked. "Is it possible to put it inside the storage sack that you gave me?"


    "Yes you can¡­" Tino started. "It would be weird if you carried it around in your hands."


    Taku placed the little unconscious cub in his storage sack and then the two teens carried on with their journey. It was pretty uneventful for the first week, but as the two kids relaxed, they were suddenly attacks by two tier 1 Black eyed apes.


    At the moment Taku could not see Tino from where he was. The two apes had caused the two teens to separate. At the moment Taku''s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the ape. This was by far the greatest challenge he had ever faced. The beast in front of him was an actual Demonic Beast. If it was a normal ape then he would have finished this battle already.


    The ape took a step forward. A sinister glint flashed across his eyes, before his fist punched out. The power behind it was so tremendous that a low sonic boom could be heard.


    A genuine killing blow right from the start, the Ape evidently planned to dispatch Taku in the quickest way possible. The terrifying fist rapidly grew bigger before Lin Dong''s eyes. However, in the blink of an eye, his palm suddenly extended and with a ''chi liu'' sound, the palm slipped past the ape''s fist and grabbed its wrist. With a firm pull, the force actually managed to cause the ape''s body to be pulled forward.


    In the instant when the Ape''s body was jerked forward, an ominous glint flitted across Taku''s eyes. His knee abruptly thrust upwards, fiercely smashing towards the ape''s neck, a rather ruthless attack.


    Taku''s attack was so quick and violent that even The Ape momentarily panicked.


    However, it instantly regained his wits as his hands hastily slapped at Taku''s knee.


    "Thump!"


    Both of the ape''s palms heavily slapped against Taku''s knee and a sharp pain immediately transmitted from his hands. The Ape felt as if it had slapped a piece of metal. However, it had also borrowed the resulting force to stabilize its body, and from there, its hand furiously lashed at Taku''s head.


    Taku was greatly shocked by the intelligence that the ape showed. He was certain that his blow would be able to at least heavily wound the beasts but to his surprise the beast had blocked it, he did not have time to think it through as the ape had thrown out an attack of its own. He almost felt as though the creature knew some martial arts.


    Taku clenched his fist as he threw himself towards the big ape. It was truly a comical scene as it looked like an ant was trying to punch down a bear.


    Taku threw a punch at the ape, and the ape replied in kind with its own punch.


    Bang!


    The two punches collided as Taku took a dozen steps back. The difference in power was evident as the ape only took four steps back but these four steps were enough to infuriate the Ape.


    Never had it ever thought that it could be pushed back by a small human who hadn''t even cultivated yet. The enraged ape threw caution to the wind and carelessly threw itself towards Taku.


    Taku''s eyes brightened when he saw this. He quickly stepped aside to dodge, and then threw a kick towards the Apes head.


    Ba!


    Even though Taku''s kick cleanly connected, the ape only staggered for a bit before turning and furiously stared at Taku.


    The Ape threw fist after fist towards Taku, but thanks to Taku''s fast movements he was able to continuously dodge. He could only dodge at the moment because his attacks were rather futile. He racked his brain for a potential method to deal with the ape.


    The only thought that came to mind was to flee, but he knew that Tino would probably be in a shoddier situation than he is. He suddenly threw caution to the wind as he began trading blow for blow with the ape.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Taku''s fists continuously countered the ape''s fist but every time the two fists collided Taku felt as if his whole body was going numb. He knew that if this continued then he would ultimately be killed.


    The ape threw another fist and instead of meeting it head on, Taku ducked and slid through the apes legs. Just as he passed he threw his fist towards the middle region of the ape.


    Ba!


    Even though he had punched the most vulnerable part of the ape, he still felt his fist go numb. The ape could only let out a pained roar as it hit the ground whilst clutching its nether region. Taku took this time to quickly slip away and run toward Tino''s direction.


    As he arrived he realised that Tino was indeed in a shoddier situation. At the moment Tino was bleeding from his nose and looked rather weary, but apart from the nose bleed he looked ok. Taku sighed in relief seeing this, but he did not waste any time as he threw himself towards the ape that was attacking his colleague.


    He threw a fist towards the unaware ape.


    Bang!


    The ape staggered a bit, and just as it was about to find its footing, Tino took the opportunity to throw a fist to its abdomen.


    Bam!


    The ape took two steps back, but it did not get the chance to react as the two teens began attacking it from both sides.


    Bam!


    A fist landed on its head.


    Bam!


    Another on its stomach.


    After continuous punches landed on the ape, the ape began bleeding from almost everywhere. it looked as if it was close to its last breath. Taku and Tino both threw out a punch at the ape.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    The ape finally fell down whilst breathing its last breath. Just as the two fellows were about to sigh in relief, they heard a low growl that was filled with killing intent coming from behind them. Taku could only helplessly shake his head when he thought about the fellow who he had completely forgotten about.


    Tino just sighed as he flicked his hand and two silver spears appeared out of his storage sack. He handed one to Taku as he turned around stared intently at the new enemy.


    As Taku turned around he couldn''t help but quickly ask. "You know spear skills?"


    "Nope¡­" Tino started. "I haven''t even sensed zesa yet, so how could I learn spear skills. Just swing it around!"


    Taku could only shake his head and then proceeded to stare intently at the onrushing ape. The two did not give the ape any chance to attack as they simultaneously charged towards it whilst raising their spears.


    The two spears dropped as they smashed into the ape.


    Bam! Bam!


    The ape took two steps back but did not fall. Its face was increasingly becoming enraged as it was pegged back by the two youngsters.


    What truly enraged the ape was that the two did not even give it a chance to find its footing as they threw attack after attack towards it.


    Tino swung his spear towards the Apes head, and as the ape was about to raise its hands to block, Taku thrust his spear towards the ape''s leg. The Ape roared in agony as it lowered its hand in an attempt to punch out at Taku, and it was at this moment that Tino''s spear strike connected.


    Bam!


    The Ape this time took at least a dozen steps back. Taku though did not wait for it to even breathe as he ran forward and swung his spear towards the ape''s legs.


    Bang!


    The ape then slammed down onto the ground, with Taku tacking a step back as Tino once again appeared and stabbed towards the ape''s neck.


    Puchi!


    The spear point penetrated the neck of the ape, but the ape kept on struggling to get up, but at this moment Taku, who stepped back a moment before had raised his spear and stabbed it towards the ape''s back. The spear penetrated but the ape struggled for at least a full minute before dying.


    "We should move¡­" Tino started. "This fight could potentially attract other demonic beasts to us. If we don''t move now then we could potentially get killed."


    Taku nodded and just as the two turned around, they both couldn''t help but curse in their minds.


    For f*cks sake.


    This was because when they turned they around saw that there was a tier one Horned Python.


    They looked at each other and they helplessly shook their heads. They knew that fleeing was pointless at the moment. The Horned Python was famous for its speed. It was not as strong as the Black Eyed ape, but in terms of speed it would be ranked in the top ten of all tier 1 beats.


    The two knew that they could not escape, so they proceeded to attack. They did not even give the large python the time to attack as they charged over.


    Tino was the first to swing his spear towards the snakes head, but the python quickly dodged to the side. The two were not surprised at all by this, they just continued to throw attack after attack towards the python.


    The python at the moment could only dodge. The moment it had tried attacking one of the two, the other would slightly injure it. So its best bet was to continue dodging. The two teens knew that if they were to prolong the fight it would attract even more beasts.


    Taku knew that he had to make a plan, and so he did. He mustered all his strength and threw the spear into the air. This throw was not aimed at the Python at all which caused Tino to be flabbergasted.


    He looked at Taku with a questioning look, because he just could not figure out what he was trying to pull off.

 29 M-mother?!

    At this moment, seeing as how the spear Taku threw did not pose any threat to it, the Python decided to attack.


    It shot its large body towards Taku, but just as it was a meter away from him it suddenly threw its head into the air and let out a shrill scream. Taku used this moment to grab tino and ran.


    "How did you know that it would land on the pythons body?" tino asked whilst running.


    Taku sighed and then smiled wryly. "To be honest it was a bit of a gamble. At the time I could not see the full body of the snake, so I just calculated where the tail might be and I got lucky. But those spears are strong to be able to injure a tier 1 beast without us using any Zesa."


    Tino smiled and replied. "Those Spears are made from a mineral called Sirivha. It is not a rare mineral, in fact there is a lot of it back at the Foot guard. This mineral is very hard and can only really be broken by beasts that are above the second tier but it can help a normal human being fight a tier 1 beast."


    The two then looked back to check on the current situation of the python.


    The Huge Python was clearly in pain, and as it looked behind it saw the reason for its pain. A large silver spear was lodged into its body. It did not bother to remove the spear as it looked back towards where Taku and Tino were, only to see the two almost several hundred meters away.


    The Python did not waste time as it charged towards the two. The boys looked behind and saw it coming so they decided to increase their speed, and it was at this moment that Taku and Tino felt a somewhat warm feeling coming from their stomach going up to their chest area.


    They both knew what this signified.


    Zesa!


    This was the moment that both of them had been waiting for, but it was unfortunate that it came during such a difficult situation. They both needed to find a place to quietly sit and meditate so that they could circulate the strand of Zesa through their meridians and organs.


    At the moment they had no way of doing so due to the huge Horned Python that was currently chasing them. If they were able to shake it off then they could freely breakthrough, but this was easier said than done.


    The horned Python was famous for its speed and could easily catch up to the two children.


    Taku then spoke. "Give me your spear!"


    Tino hesitantly gave Taku the spear as he asked. "Do you really think that it will fall for the same trick twice?"


    "You would be surprised¡­." Taku replied as he threw the spear into the air again. To Tino''s surprise Taku had not thrown it towards the snake''s tail, but instead he had thrown it straight up.


    "What are you¡­." before Tino could even finish his sentence a shrill scream sounded out from behind them. Turning around Tino noticed that the python had another spear lodged into its eye. The Python did not bother to pursue them any further after this. It quickly turned around and fled.


    The two heaved a sigh of relief as they also fled in the opposite direction. Tino did not have the time to ask any question as the two found an abandoned cave and sat inside in the lotus position.


    Taku at the moment was feeling very hot from the energy that was inside of him. This made him think of the small little cub that was in his storage sack. He made a mental note to check on it after he was finished with this matter.


    Taku suddenly breathed in deeply to calm himself. Even though it was rare, quite a number of people had failed at this very first step. Back in the foot guard the children were given detailed information on the process of breaking through.


    Back at the Foot guard he had learnt that the first step was rather slow and would take at least a couple of minutes if not hours to finish. But to Taku''s surprise, the minute that he controlled the strand to move, he seemed like he had completely lost control of it as it raced through his meridians and organs.


    He knit his brows when he saw this scene. It was safe to say that this was never recorded in any of the information that the Foot Guard gave them but he quickly sighed in relief when he saw that the speed brought no negative effects.


    He was just about to relax when suddenly the Zesa inside him moved again and went for a second round of purification.


    This greatly shocked Taku, because as far as he knew, when a person senses Zesa for the first time then it would only circulate once.Surprisingly the zesa within him had circulated twice. As soon as the second circulation was completed Taku opened his now bright eyes. Just as he was about to cry out in excitement he realised that his body was sticky all over.


    As he noticed this a very pungent smell suddenly penetrated his nose.


    After checking on Tino and realising that he was far from completing his first cycle, he quickly left the cave and then searched for the nearest water source. It was here that he began asking himself questions and attempt to search for any related info inside his head.


    It was the first time that he knew of something like double circulation and what really gave Taku a headache was when he realised that he had no organ that was "Specially" purified by the Zesa.


    All his organs were purified all the same. Taku was hoping to take this chance in order to figure out which class he belonged to, but at the end he was naturally disappointed.


    He had also once heard that a cultivator had attempted to double circulate with his first strand of Zesa, but the result was that the man ended up becoming crippled. So why was he able to do it without any consequence?


    Is it because of my two souls?


    He knew that there were possibly many reasons to why this happened. He just had to find a high level Muroyi to help him figure out the reason for this. The only problem was that it had to be a muroyi he could trust. At the moment the only person he knew was Saru, but the man was not a person who was easily found.


    It had been four whole years since he had met Saru.


    He still owed the man a favour for helping him that one time. They had even made an oath so there was no way that he could back out of it.


    He could only laugh bitterly when he thought about this.


    What Saru had done for him was extremely beneficial to him and he knew that he had to pay back the favour at some point.


    But then the whole situation was rather shady. It was a known fact that Saru was one of the most respected cultivators in the whole Gutu Empire, even the King would have to be slightly polite when talking to him. So what did this well respected and powerful Muroyi want from him?


    He had racked his brains countless times about the matter but it yielded no results. He had also tried to get some information from Maka when she was escorting him to the Foot guard, but she would just smile and keep quiet whenever such questions were asked.


    When he finished bathing Taku took out a set of clean clothes and wore them. He then sat down and peeked into the storage sack. It had been over a week since he put the cub in the sack and during that week he had checked on it a couple of times, but it had shown no signs of waking up. The minute his eyes landed on the cub, he froze.


    This was because the Cub was awake and staring right back at him.


    What surprised Taku the most was that this little lion was not looking at him viciously at all, In fact its gaze contained a hint of gentleness when it looked at him. What surprised Taku the most was that this little creature which looked like it was just newly born already had a mane.


    From the knowledge he had from earth, he knew that it would at least take a couple of months before the mane would grow out. So looking at the Cub which had a mane and yet looked like it was barely a month old was very shocking to him. He quickly took out the cub from the sack and placed it in front of him.


    Neither made a move as he studied the cub. He noticed that apart from its natural golden colour, there were faint streaks of black on its mane and it appeared as though they were beginning to extend to the rest of its body. He had read that most cultivators could forcibly tame a beast by forming a master servant contract. He had thought about doing so with this little creature but after studying it for some time he decided against it.


    At the moment he was not in a position in which he could cater for the little lion. He had to rush to find his new teammates and if they met with danger he was not confident that he could protect it. He had thought of putting it back in his storage sack but ultimately thought against it.


    Tino had told him that it was not a suitable place for living beings. Even when the cub was unconscious he had to take it out frequently in order for it not to die.


    It was a very annoying process and he did not want to go through it again. The only option he had was to let the little guy go. He tried by all means to make the cub move and go, but the little lion just stood there and stared at him blankly. After noticing that the cub did not have any intentions of leaving, he just shook his head and decided to give his body another look.


    He closed his eyes and used his soul power to examine his body, he was in no rush to check on his Zvikanganwahama because he already knew which elements he had. He did a quick survey on his body and noticed that each organ was at least five times sturdier than before. He knew that this was one of the effects of purifying your organs using Zesa, but he still felt like the results were rather outrageous.


    The whole check-up took at least twenty minutes, and after opening his eyes he was shocked to find that the Cub was still standing in front of him, just staring blankly at him. He could only shake his head when he saw this.


    He could not figure out why the little cub refused to leave.


    After throwing the issue at the back of his head Taku stood up and began walking back to the cave. After walking for a couple of seconds, Taku looked back and saw that the little cub was quietly following behind him. He just smiled and did not attempt to chase it away, he had attempted to before and had failed miserably.


    Just as he got to the cave entrance he noticed that there was a silhouette of a young man standing inside the cave with an excited expression.


    Seeing Tino''s excited expression Taku could not help but ask. "You''re done? Feels good doesn''t it?"


    "It feels great! Well apart from the horrible smell it feels awesome! So this is the first sublevel of the Pamamonya level. Hehe¡­ my goal is the peak!" Tino replied.


    Taku laughed as he directed Tino to the little lake he had found. Tino hurried there and came back only after 20 minutes. Just as he entered the cave again, his footsteps suddenly froze when he noticed the creature lying next to Taku. He couldn''t help but point.


    "That¡­"


    "Oh, this¡­" Taku reacted. "This is that little cub we saved that day. I have tried chasing it away but it just won''t go away. You can try form a contract with it if you want."


    Hearing this Tino''s eyes suddenly lit up, but almost immediately he supressed his excitement and said. "As much as I would love that, I don''t think this beast is suited for me. Plus it followed you back for a reason. To be honest most beasts would have ran off by now."


    "Yeah¡­" Taku then stared at the cub before continuing. "I have been trying to think of a reason but nothing makes any sense at the moment."


    "Maybe it sees you as its mother¡­" Tino responded

 30 Ambushed

    "Maybe it sees you as its mother¡­"


    Taku''s expression turned dark when he heard this. "There is no way that could happen. It''s not like it hasn''t seen its mother before. So there is no way that''s possible¡­ right?"


    Tino grinned when he saw this reaction. "Tell me mama lion, do you have a better reason for why it is constantly following you. The only thing that is left is for it to ask for milk, only then can we be completely sure."


    Even though Taku knew that Tino''s theory was probably bullshit, he couldn''t help but shiver at the thought of the little cub asking for milk from him. Just how was he supposed to pull that off? He looked suspiciously at the cub beside him and couldn''t help but smile wryly.


    "Anyway¡­" Tino started. "We should get going. We are already a week behind schedule. We shouldn''t keep our teammates waiting."


    Taku just shook his head and replied.


    "So what if they wait, it''s just a week after all. It is not like they will die of waiting."


    **


    "How long till we reach the Tohwe tree¡­?" Tino asked.


    "According to the map¡­" Taku started as he took out the map. "We are about two weeks away. We should pick up the pace a bit."


    "I can''t believe this little fellow is still following us though." Tino said as he looked at the cub that matching them for pace.


    Hearing this Taku looked at the lion cub with a warm expression and replied.


    "Yeah¡­ but it has not been a burden on us, in fact it has saved us a couple of times. So far I have collected 3 tier two beast cores for it. Do you think it will be enough for it to break through to the next tier?"


    Tino shook his head. "Even though consuming beast core would be faster for it than to absorb Zesa, it would still take a large amount of tier two beast core for it to break through."


    It had been a month since the two broke through to the tohwe level and they had used this month to solidify their cultivation bases. In this one month they had fought with at least a dozen peak tier one beasts and 3 tier two beasts. It was a relatively easy battle when they fought against the tier one Demonic Beasts, but it took a massive amount of effort in order for them to kill the tier two beasts.


    At a certain point the two of them almost lost their lives whilst fighting a Red Scaled Rhino. Apart from its hard defence which was near indestructible, it also had a massive amount of strength that had left the two teens flabbergasted. At the end of the day it was actually the lion cub that ended up taking the Rhino''s life.


    It had sneaked under the Rhino''s body when it was defending against the two. It then launched its jaw towards the only part which was not covered in scales, and that was its belly. It was a fatal hit and after only ten breaths of wailing in agony the Rhino finally died.


    Taku had retrieved the Core from the Rhino with the intention of feeding it to the cub when the situation had calmed down.


    After travelling for another two or so days the two decided to take a short break and rest a bit. It was at this moment that Taku gave the three beast core to the cub. Instead of taking them one by one the cub gulped all three down. After doing this it sank into deep sleep. When it was time for them to leave the cub still had not woken up yet, the two just shook their head helplessly as Taku put the Cub back into his storage sack.


    "Have you thought about naming it?" Tino asked.


    "No actually I haven''t yet¡­" Taku replied as he sunk deep into thought. It never crossed his mind because there had never been a time he needed to call it over. The little cub had always been right beside him. After thinking for a while his eyes suddenly lit up as he said. "How about we call Him Ganyamuto?"


    "Hahaha¡­" Tino couldn''t help but laugh when he heard this. "It''s not a dog. Don''t you know that lions belong to the cat lineage?"


    "I know that much¡­" Taku started. "But first of all, you probably do not have anything better. And have you not noticed how most male lions look nothing like cats? They look more like huge Dogs with a mane."


    "Still, It would not be right to name a cat a dog. We will naturally come up with a name for it in time." Tino replied.


    Taku nodded as the two continued on their journey. In the following two weeks Taku and Tino travelled without much of a hassle. Apart from the occasional tier1 beast there was nothing really that stopped them in their tracks.


    "This should be it right..?" Tino asked as he stared at the empty Tohwe tree in front of them.


    "Yes! But our team is not here and this tree has no Tohwe''s in it." The two looked around for some sort of clue or something along those lines that could help them figure anything out.


    "Ah!"


    Just as Taku took three steps to the left of the tree he suddenly exclaimed. Hearing this Tino ran to Taku''s position. "What happened?"


    Taku lifted his finger and pointed forward. Tino also involuntarily let out a scream. This was because about 10 metres away from them was a severed hand. What shocked the two was that this hand was extremely pale and looked nothing like the hands of people from the Gutu Empire. Looking at this hand the two had the same thoughts running through their mind.


    They fought with the invaders.


    The two moved towards the hand and when they got close they noticed a plethora of footprints. The footprints all went towards the same direction which meant that their teams were either chasing the invaders or being chased by the invaders. The hearts of the two could not help but shiver as they felt drops of sweat fall down their forehead.


    To begin with they had no idea who was chasing who. Secondly they did not know how many people the invaders had, and lastly they did not know the level of power that the invaders had reached. They were too far away from the Gutu Empire, if they were to travel back to get reinforcements it would take at least half a year. They also had no way of communicating with other teams of the ivory guard or anyone from the empire.


    The two were largely inexperienced when it came to these type of situation, so it took them a good minute before the two strengthened their resolve as they began to follow the trail of footsteps. They travelled for at least half a day before they noticed that the number of footprints had gradually decreased and when they reached a certain point they noticed that there were only 7 sets of footprints left. And the further they moved the more they smelt the stench of blood, but no matter how hard they looked they could not find any dead bodies.


    These five sets turned into four when they noticed that there were skid marks, almost as if someone got captured and was being dragged. Seeing this the teen''s hearts sank. They hurriedly followed the footprints which were now heading southwest from their current position.


    **


    In a tent a couple of miles away from where Taku and Tino where, there were three other young adults who were tied to a pole.


    "Goddamn these bloody damn vines. How are they able to supress our cultivation like this?" A very annoyed and loud voice shouted out.


    "Ranga! Can you ever shut up?" Tadi asked weakly.


    Hearing this Ranga turned his head and replied. "Do you think those two inexperienced brats will come save us? That is if they haven''t already been eaten alive out there. It is now up to this King to make a plan for us to escape. If only they hadn''t used these bloody irritating vines to bind us."


    Nyasha who was also with them just smiled wryly as he stared upwards. They had arrived at Honde Valley a week ahead of time and it had taken them three months to reach the tohwe tree. When they arrived the fruits had already ripened and to their surprise the tree had over a hundred tohwe fruits. They could not figure out why the report they were given said that there were only twenty of them.


    After picking the tohwe fruits and carefully placing them into their storage sacks they set up camp a mile away from the tohwe tree in order to wait for their new teammates, but who would''ve known that the invaders also had their eyes on the tohwe fruits.


    It did not take long for the invaders to know the situation when the saw the nearby tents. The invaders attacked mercilessly. After exchanging a few blows with the invaders the trio of Ranga, Tadi and Nyasha noticed that more were coming their way so they decided to run. They were pursued for half a day before being captured.


    The invaders were not really more powerful than they were, but they had strength in numbers, so at the end of the day they all still got captured and brought here. The only reason that they were still alive was because of the tohwe fruits. When they had noticed that the invaders were coming the three had a dug holes and buried their storage sacks in three separate positions.


    When they had arrived at the enemy''s base they were thoroughly searched and the invaders had found nothing. They all knew what was coming next, Torture. Even though tohwe fruits were quite useless when it came to Zesa, they still help when it came to strengthening the skin. This alone was enough to get countless cultivators to kill each other. The fruit was not very rare, but the problem was that they took too long to ripen.


    The three were bound by Ropa Vines. If a cultivator''s skin came into contact with these vines, then that person would not be able to use any zesa for at least half an hour. So to be bound by them was incredibly annoying for the three.


    It was already late at night when another person entered the tent that they were bound in. This person was a tall middle aged man with a beard, who had blue eyes and dark brown hair. He looked savagely at the three as he spoke. "The Gutu Empire people are truly powerful aren''t they? For you younglings to reach this level in cultivation at such a young age. Even back home you guys would be considered geniuses¡­ now if you don''t want to lose that power that you have worked so hard for, you better wise up and tell me where you hid those tohwe fruits."


    "Hahaha¡­" the trio burst out laughing when they heard this.


    "Do not f*ck with this King you measly peasant¡­" Ranga said as he venomously stared at the man in front of them.


    "You will cripple us, or even kill us after obtaining them. So f*ck off!"


    Tadi and Nyasha at the moment also looked at the middle aged man with mocking gazes.


    They knew that if no one came to save them they would die, and if they told the invaders about the location of the fruits then they would still die either way, or even worse, they could get crippled. So these young adults decided to put their faith in their new teammates who were supposed to meet up with them.


    They did not know whether the two kids had the power or the balls to come save them, but at the moment it was all they could hope for. There was no way the two could call for reinforcements so the captured trio knew that their chances of living were low, but they still had some belief.


    The middle aged frowned when he heard these words from Ranga.


    He quickly walked towards Ranga and punched him a couple of times.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!

 31 Confrontation

    Bam!


    By the time he was done Ranga''s face was swollen but to the middle aged man''s surprise the boy just kept on laughing whilst spitting venomous words out of his mouth. "Haha¡­ my mother punches better than you shitty old geezer. You can go ahead and kill this King whilst you still have the chance, because once I escape I will hunt down your family and **** your wife and daughters!"


    The middle aged man''s expression stiffened when he heard Ranga''s words. He could only tremble at these words as he turned around and left the tent. He was given strict orders not to kill the three or cripple them until they got the information that they wanted. So he could only swallow his anger as he left the tent.


    The middle aged man left the tent with the captives and walked straight to the next tent.


    Their campsite was not big since they were just a scouting group. The group at the beginning consisted of ten people, but after fighting with the three they had lost four of their comrades.


    If they had gone with everyone when they wanted to collect the tohwe fruits, then they would not have lost so many people. The middle-aged man entered the tent and saw the rest of his teammates.


    "Haha¡­ see even Bruce failed! That Fat bastard talks too much. Why can''t we just cripple one to scare the other two? " another middle-aged man asked.


    Bruce, the man who had just come from the trio had a solemn expression when he entered. "I completely agree with Glenn. Why should we be this nice to a bunch of enemies? I say, let''s just kill one and we will see if they talk or not."


    "You two are just brutes¡­"A sweet voice sounded out. "If we kill or cripple one of them then the others could potentially commit suicide. If that happens then we are the ones who will get into trouble. We were told to return with those fruits at all costs."


    Hearing this Glenn snorted and asked. "What is so special about those fruits anyway?"


    "Well¡­" another melodious voice sounded out. "The tohwe fruits are rumoured to be able to strengthen the skin. We are facing the Gutu and we need to have powerful bodies in order to do that. Even though we don''t know whether they will work for us or not, we can still stop the Gutu from getting any. And we are also going to use this batch in order to determine whether we can use them or not."


    The rest could only sigh after hearing this. The Gutu were feared for their physical strength. And some of the people in the tent had experienced that first hand. The fact that the tohwe fruits could temper the skin was alluring to anyone who fights the Gutu. Even though it might not make them as powerful as the Gutu it would at least raise their defensive.


    "Anyway¡­" Glenn started as he stared at one of his teammates who had blue hair, whilst grabbing his sword. "You and I should go out scouting now."


    **


    About a mile away from the camp, the two teenagers were still following the footprints. The two were surprisingly calm despite their lack of experience. Even though they were a bit excited at first by the prospect of fighting, they had quickly calmed down.


    They had been following the set of footprints for half a day now and they were surprised to find that at some point the number of different prints had risen. It seemed as if the party had met some of their comrades on their way back and this cause the two youths to raise their vigilance.


    They walked for another half hour before they began seeing the outline of tents. Just as they were about to move forward another step Taku grabbed Tino and hid behind a tree. He had noticed that two silhouettes had exited from one of the tents. The two hid behind the tree and peeked at the two figures.


    "Judging from how they are acting I think the two are about to go out scouting." Tino spoke.


    The figures that they were watching went their separate way and at this moment Taku''s eyes lit up. "It is best if we take these two out, even though they are a level above us, they should not be an issue because of our body strength. I''ll take the guy with the sword and you go get the blue haired guy."


    Tino nodded and just as they were about to go their separate ways, Tino grabbed Taku and handed him a pair of gauntlets. "It would be hard for you to face a sword. So I believe that these will help somewhat."


    Taku nodded and wore the gauntlets, then proceeded to follow the man who had gone east.


    He followed from a safe distance whilst waiting for the man to lower his guard. But after following for an hour he noticed that the man never dropped his awareness, not even once. This made him impatient. At some point he almost just rushed out and attacked, but he managed to calm himself on time.


    On the other side Glenn felt as though he was being watched. He was feeling a faint sense of danger, yet when he looked around he saw no one. He kept his guard up as he began walking towards a cliff that was some distance away. On his way he looked at every tree and bush but still could not figure out why he felt like he was being watched.


    He stopped when he was a couple of meters away from the cliff, and here he shouted. "It is not very honourable to sneak up on someone! Please show yourself!"


    Taku could only sigh as he climbed down from the tree and faced off with Glenn.


    Glenn threw off his dark cloak and revealed a man clothed in a black tunic and long tight fitting tan pants, bound together with a rope at his waste. His face was scrunched up in anger. He slowly drew a long sword from his belt, the blade made a hissing whisper as it was removed from its sheathe. All the while, Glenn was holding Taku firmly in his gaze.


    "Don''t hold back or I am going to break you." Glenn snarled at Taku.


    Taku shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and slowly brought one foot behind his back. He put his weight on it and brought an open palm up, "Wait." he said and put his hand up to say "stop".


    Glenn rushed towards Taku. He dipped and weaved right as he was about to reach him and slashed downwards with the sword. Taku parried with one of his gauntlets and the blade clashed against the metal strapped to Taku''s arms with a shriek that sent sparks flying into the air. The swordsman was quick and uppercut slashed at the hand to hand warrior, attempting to catch Taku from stem all the way to stern.


    Taku sidestepped to the right just enough and the blade passed a hair''s breath from his face.


    Quickly, before Glenn could respond with a follow-up, Taku swiftly punched Glenn in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of the swordsman, and stunning him for a brief moment.


    The fight had taken Taku and Glenn dangerously close to the edge of the cliff and Taku had his back almost to the wall, despite his counter offensive.


    Glenn was still open for more attacks though and Taku was not done.


    The quick blow had opened Glenn up for another attack and Taku obliged him, putting a simple sidekick into the swordsman''s stomach, doubling him over. Taku followed that up with a quick rising uppercut.


    Taking the opening and using the environment to his advantage, back flipped onto the tree and pushed off towards Glenn. The manoeuvre sent his front flipping towards Glenn and just before he reached the swordsman, Taku flattened his body out, feet first. Instead of colliding with his adversary though, Taku opted to wrap his feet around Glenn''s neck instead.


    The manoeuvre caught Glenn off guard as he was recovering his wits, once again.


    Taku gave him an apologetic shrug, mid-air. As if to say, "sorry" for what was going to come next.


    Taku used his momentum in a creative, instead of piling into his opponent; instead, he jerked to the right and swung around Glenn. Then, when he was directly behind his opponent, Taku curled his legs into his body and angled his body towards the ground, changing the direction of his fall, putting the weight of his jump into a powerful throw.


    Glenn was pulled off his feet violently and was thrown across the ground. He skidded and tumbled along the ground, uncontrolled. He was stopped by the other end of the dance floor, about five feet from the wall at the back of the dance floor... A groan escaped his lips as the pain from the attack started setting in. Glenn looked up and his eyes opened with surprise.


    As Taku was about to let go of Glenn, during the throw, he had planted both hands on the ground. When he completed the attack, Taku sprang off his hands, throwing himself into a quick back spring, followed by another, another, and another to build momentum. When Taku was almost to Glenn, Taku bounded off the ground and threw himself into a spin that would have made an expert gymnast jealous. Flattening out in the air like a sideways whirling tornado, so that his body was perpendicular with Glenn''s as he neared the fallen swordsman, Taku''s spin got increasingly fast as he whipped his arms in and out, efficiently putting Taku into an almost uncontrollable rotation, arced at Glenn.


    Just as Taku was about to reach Glenn, the warrior threw one of his legs out, shin angled down. The entire force from the spin was pushed into his leg.


    The entire forest was silent and it was as if time itself was holding its breath as Taku descended.


    Glenn barely had time to breath, let alone dodge. But, it was a testament to his experience in battle that Glenn kept the presence of mind to roll to the right in a desperate attempt to dodge this deadly attack. Just in time.


    Taku''s leg smashed into the ground, slamming into the ground with his knee and shin flat into the dirt, crushing the ground into a torrent of fragments that rose up around him in the air.


    Seeing Glenn dodge, most warriors would have allowed their opponent to stand up. That was the honourable thing to do. But, there are no rules in a life or death fight.


    With the speed of a cat, while the fragments were still hanging mid-air, Taku spun his body around and swept his foot towards his opponent''s head. The attack was so quick that Glenn wasn''t hurt; it actually pushed the assassin a foot and a half into the air.


    Glenn was curious, why had that not hurt?


    That was Taku''s intention.


    Swiftly, Taku rolled forward and halfway through, slid straight, so that he slid under Glenn and stopped facing the rising assassin''s back.


    Taku cocked both arms back and double punched upwards into Glenn''s back. Air whooshed from the swordsman''s lungs as he was pushed even higher into the air. The impact from the attack gave Taku a couple feet between him and Glenn.


    Taku looked to his right and saw a huge sturdy tree, just an arm''s length away now, "This is going to hurt you, just as much as it is going to hurt me." Taku promised Glenn with a forewarned wince.


    Taku quickly performed a handspring to his feet, crouched just under Glenn with his legs coiled underneath him. Taku exploded from the ground towards Glenn''s rising form. He grabbed the enemy around the waist, twisted mid-air, and arched the two of them towards the tree, easily angling Glenn head first, towards the raised lip of the dance floor.


    Glenn collided with the raised floor and his head ploughed through the bark with a painful cracking and crunching sound as the tree shattered under the enormous pressure from the attack.


    Taku let go and managed to aim himself towards the level below. He landed with ease and rolled to his feet.


    Then, Taku looked back at Glenn and a look of brief chilliness flashed across his face.

 32 Night Raid

    Glenn''s body hung vertical for the briefest moment, suspended in an ephemeral moment in time, then he collapsed, head still firmly stuck into the tree. The rest of him hit the ground in an uncomfortable position, but Glenn was still breathing.


    Taku looked at the injured man as he hesitated. The hesitation only lasted a second before he walked towards the tree. He quickly pulled Glenn into a sitting position breaking the man''s arm.


    "Ahh!" Glenn let out a scream as he felt the pain all over his body. He was already gravely injured and the pain Taku brought this time around made him want to beg for death. He stared venomously at Taku, but behind that ruthlessness there was a hint of fear.


    He could clearly tell that he was at least a level higher than Taku, but in the end he was still beaten into such a state.


    They had been told about how powerful Gutu people were, and this was the first he had fought with one. When his comrades came back with the trio of captives he had begun to doubt all the rumours about the Gutu.


    Some of his teammates had been killed off by the trio, but he just assumed that it was due to their carelessness but after fighting with a Gutu soldier he realised that he had greatly underestimated the people from the Gutu Empire.


    Taku on the other hand just squatted down and stared expressionlessly at the man.


    "How many of you are there?" Taku Asked.


    Glenn just sneered and looked sideways, even though he could not understand what Taku was saying he knew that the man in front of him was trying to get some information out of him. It was clear that he was not going to give Taku any information. Seeing this Taku just smiled and grabbed the arm that was yet to be broken by him, but what surprised Glenn was that Taku did not break it, instead he grabbed one of Glenn''s fingers and began to pull.


    Puchi!


    "Ahhhh! ... You fucking asshole." Glenn couldn''t help but scream in pain after Taku ripped off one of his fingers. The pain he was feeling at the moment was enough to make a normal man unconscious. On the other hand Taku was quite surprised because he noticed that the man''s way of speech was very similar to the English language that was spoken on earth.


    He suddenly smiled wryly as he realised that the man probably had no idea about what he had just asked him. Taku cleared his throat and surprised the man by his next sentence.


    "Do you really think I don''t understand your language? Now tell me how many people there are at your camp."


    Glenn was greatly shocked when he heard Taku speak his language. There were certain parts that he did not really grasp but he ultimately got the gist of the information that Taku really wanted. He had been told that only nobles in the Gutu empire studied other continents languages.


    Is this child part of a noble''s family?


    This prospect had clearly excited Glenn as he knew the rewards he would get if he brought a noble back to the camp but this excitement quickly died down as he realised that he was no match for the boy in front of him.


    He gritted his teeth and ignored the pain as he stared at Taku with a mocking smile.


    Taku just smiled as he ripped off another finger.


    "Ahhhh! F*ck" and these actions were repeated three more times. At the moment Glen couldn''t wait to die. He regretted bringing Taku so far away from the camp. He knew that none of his comrades could hear his screams.


    "You know¡­"Glenn stated. "Your friends will die if you keep me here for long. Do you not care about your people? Why don''t you let me go and go save them? It''s not like I am of any danger to you now." Glenn had said this with a pleading look on his face.


    "First tell me how many people there are in that tiny camp of yours!"Taku retorted.


    Glenn just smiled and stared at him and said. "You know I cannot do tha¡­"


    "Old amn¡­" Taku cut him off. "I do not really care about those people that you captured. All I care about are the fruits that are in their possession. if you do not tell me what I want to know then I will go kill everyone at that camp, but I will leave you alive and take you back to the Gutu empire. There you will be tortured until you die and the torturing could take days, maybe weeks or months, maybe even years. It''s all up to you."


    At the moment Glenn was truly terrified. He was just a low level soldier. Never in his life had he ever met someone who was so ruthless. He was terrified of the prospect of going back to the Gutu empire to be tortured, and just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, Taku spoke. "Please think before you answer. I was not afraid to rip off your fingers. If you say shit then your toes are next."


    "You¡­" the man stared at Taku in fear. He could not even bring himself to calm down, he was terrified beyond measure. He looked into Taku''s eyes and saw the ruthlessness inside them, and it was at this moment that his last wall of stubbornness crumbled down. He knew that this boy in front of him was not playing with him.


    "There are 4 more people back at the camp¡­" Glenn spoke weakly as he stared into Taku''s eyes.


    "How strong are they?" Taku asked bluntly.


    Glenn hesitated for a moment, but then he noticed that Taku''s hand was reaching for his leg so he quickly answered.


    "Only the captain is stronger than I am, the other 3 are all a level below me."


    Glenn did not bother telling Taku about the other scout because he knew that Taku had been following him right from the camp. So he assumed that the other guy had already been taken care of.


    "Thank you." Taku smiled as he thanked the man. He quickly put his hand around Glenn''s throat and proceeded to crush it. This was the first time that Taku had intentionally killed someone and it left him with a bit of a sour taste in his mouth.


    After calming himself down for a minute he quickly searched Glenn for any valuables. After searching for a full minute he only found a ring that had a green gem on it. He could not tell what was really special about the ring, so he just casually threw it inside his storage sack and left.


    He quickly made his way towards the place that he and Tino had separated. When he got there he saw that Tino was already sitting there with a bored expression on his face.


    Tino looked at Taku and smiled wryly. "I''m guessing your fight was more interesting than mine was."


    Taku could only smile and replied. "Was it that easy?"


    Tino sighed and began narrating his battle to Taku. Tino had followed the man for about a mile before he was discovered. Tino had only exchanged a dozen blows with the man before he critically injured his opponent. When he actually wanted to torture him, the man had died from pain and blood loss before he could get anything out of him.


    Taku laughed when he heard this and then went on to tell Tino about what Glenn told him.


    "Turns out that there are still 4 people in the camp at the moment. The one I fought told me that only the captain is more powerful than he is. Apart from that, the rest are a level below him."


    Tino nodded and then spoke. "When I got back here there were two people who exited that tent that those two came out from. Those two went into the tent on the right. Now there are two people in each tent. The two people that went into that tent are both slightly weaker than I am, though if they join hands then it would take me a while to put them down."


    "As long as you are confident in putting them down then there is no issue. You go that tent and fight with them. I will go to the other, I am sure that the captain is in there."


    Tino nodded and the two teens stealthily approached the two tents. Before they attacked Taku spread out his soul power and to his surprise he noticed that his range had increased. Back at the battle Royale he could only spread it out a distance of a metre. But now surprisingly he could see everything within five meters.


    Tino threw caution to the wind and threw himself into the tent. Taku on the other hand spread out his soul power as he reached the entrance of the other tent. He saw that the two people inside were seated a couple of meters away from each other, so it was impossible for him to take them both out at the same time.


    Taku rushed in and threw a fist towards the man who was closest to the entrance. Even though the man was surprised he still reacted fast as he grabbed the Blade that was behind him and used it to block Taku''s punch.


    Bang!


    The fist left a mark on the huge bland as its wielder was pushed back several steps. The man looked at Taku with clear surprise in his eyes. He could tell that Taku was weaker than him in cultivation, but for some reason he was actually pushed back.


    Just as Taku was about to launch another attack, a sweet voice suddenly sounded out beside him.


    "Gutu people truly are scary."


    Taku had clearly underestimated the other person in the tent. After looking at her closely Taku realised that this very skinny lady was actually slightly more powerful than the man he had fought before. He had known that part of the information was going to be false, but he didn''t expect it to end up like this.


    He calmed himself down as he threw his punch out towards the man with the blade. Only this time there was a faint roar of thunder when he threw it out. Midway through the attack Taku''s Fist turned into smoke, and in the smoke there were strands of fire and lighting that were intertwining. The fist landed on the blade yet again as the man raised it to block again.


    Bam!


    This time the man flew a couple of feet away and directly uprooted the tent as he flew out. The lady was slightly surprised when she saw this, but she did not hesitate as she fell back and took out a Bow and pulled on its string. Surprisingly an arrow formed out of nothing, and this arrow looked as if it was made of fire.


    She let go of the string and the fiery arrow went straight for Taku''s head. Taku did not panic; he knew that he could not dodge this arrow due to its speed so he just raised both his arms to block this dangerous strike.


    Boom!


    The ground shook as the arrow collided with Taku''s arms. The explosion was not big and majestic but it was large enough to fill anyone with fear. The captured trio and the trio that were fighting in the other tent were directly blown away by this explosion.


    Due to the shockwaves that the collision had caused the captured trio were freed, but they still could not use their cultivation for the next two hours.


    The blade wielding man stood up after the flames had receded and proceeded to stand right beside the lady who had unleashed the arrow.


    But as the flames continued to withdraw they noticed that the boy inside was barely even injured. Only the gauntlets on his two arms were cracked.

 33 Tinos Relief

    Taku took off the broken gauntlets in front of everybody. These were the only things that received any form of significant damage. Even his beast skin clothing had not been damaged. Taku''s expression turned solemn as he turned around and spoke to Tino. "Protect those three, make sure that those two enemies don''t kill them and that they don''t come intervene here."


    Tino nodded as he squared off with the two people. The trio of Tadi, Ranga and Nyasha were shocked by the power that Taku was showing. The three of them were only slightly weaker than the two that Taku was facing off with. In fact if it wasn''t for that lady with the bow then the tree of them could''ve easily ran away.


    Taku on the other hand was extremely cautious. Not because of the threat that the opposition caused, but because of his own threat. He knew that the only way he could defeat the duo in front of him was if he used the weird smoke power that he had.


    The only problem was that, the last time that he had used this weird power he had completely lost control. He had experimented with it a couple of times after that, but he feared that he might go on another killing spree, so he had restrained himself. He did not want to turn the Foot Guard into a mess.


    He stared intently at the duo in front of him and proceeded to attack. His feet began turning into smoke as well, and what surprised the two is that Taku''s speed went up a level. In but a blink of a eye, Taku was already in front of the blade wielding man. He punched out and the man this time barely managed to raise his blade to block. This time around the blade was suddenly surrounded by a dim brown light.


    Bam!


    The minute Taku''s fist landed on the blade he felt as though he had hit an indestructible wall. The man took a dozen steps back, but was perfectly fine; he was not injured at all. What surprised him the most was that Taku did not bother attacking him again instead he used his situation to his advantage.


    The man and woman were standing right beside each other when Taku attacked, and now that he had pushed the man back he was not going to give the lady any chance to retreat and open up a gap between the two. He had experienced just how deadly this woman''s archery skills were, so at the moment he was not going to take any more chances.


    He threw out his fist with the fastest speed that he could muster. Now the lady was well prepared as a wall of fire suddenly appeared in front of her. Taku did not bother stopping his fist when he saw this. His fist rammed into the fire wall and the flames immediately retreated a bit.


    Ba!


    Even though the woman was not directly hit by the fist, she still spat out a mouthful of blood as she retreated. Taku noticed what the woman was trying to do so he quickly moved his feet as he followed the woman. Just as he was only about to close down the distance, he found that the blade wielding man was coming up to attack him.


    He used his very keen soul power to see this man. The man swung his blade towards the target that he thought was unaware of his presence and attacked. Taku just smiled as he ducked down and dodged the blade by only a hairs length.


    "What!" The duo could not help but exclaim, when they saw that Taku had dodged this attack. The woman knew just how dangerous the blade wielding man was when he was sneaking up on someone. Even people who were a level above him would be injured if he sneaked up on them, especially in an environment like this which completely supplemented his earth element.


    Taku just smiled as he kept on chasing after the lady, fist after fist were thrown at her, and time after time she used her firewall to block.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    The man kept on trying to attack from behind but each time Taku would dodge without any effort. Just as the man was about to attack again Taku spoke. "You should just sit down and wait for me, I would have finished her a long time ago if it wasn''t for you being such a pest and slowing me down."


    The man was truly enraged when he heard this. He knew that if it wasn''t for him then the lady would have died already. Just as the man was about to attack the lady spoke. "Bruce you should go help those other two out. I can hold on for a couple of minutes. Once you are done that side then the three of you can come back and assist me."


    Bruce only smiled as he spoke. "Captain it is not that I don''t want to listen to you, but it is just that this monster would kill you before I even have time to take care of the other brat that side." After saying this; the man''s body was surrounded by a dim golden light as he aimed his attack at Taku.


    "Brat! Taste my Earth Annihilation."


    This attack was incredibly deadly as it swept its way towards Taku. Taku knew that he had to think of a way to dodge and cursed at himself for not learning any martial skills before he left. He quickly stomped his foot on the ground as he flew into the air but to his surprise the blade followed.


    Taku twisted his body when he was still in mid-air and then used his hands to block. The hands that were covered in smoke collided with the massive blade.


    Bam!


    Taku was thrown further up into the sky as Bruce''s feet dug into the ground. The lady took this opportunity to draw her bow again. This time the arrow seemed as if it was a level more powerful than the one Taku had faced before. The lady let go of the bowstring as the arrow flew towards Taku.


    Whizz!


    It was at this moment that Taku''s eyes turned bloodshot as his whole body turned into smoke. His body quickly drifted out of the trajectory of the arrow as if the wind itself was carrying him. His speed once again doubled as he sped towards Bruce and sent a kick out.


    Bam!


    Bruce raised his blade by instinct and managed to just barely block the attack, but he paid a heavy price from it. His hands turned numb as he flew away whilst spinning awkwardly in mid-air. He landed several meters away, but at the moment he could barely get up. A hint of fear could be seen in his eyes.


    "These damn Gutu freaks!"


    He looked at the battle between the other three and noticed that his teammates were actually about to be defeated. He struggled to stand up and looked and Taku who was just standing there looking mockingly at him. He then looked towards the lady and poke softly.


    "My lady you should hurry and escape. Even if we all die you should escape."


    The man this time had spoken more like a servant would to his master. Instead of calling her captain he had used ''My lady''. The lady hesitated for a bit. "Do not let my sacrifice be for nothing." This roar from Bruce''s immediately brought her back to her senses as she turned around and ran.


    Taku was about to go chasing after the lady, but at this moment that Bruce used all his strength to launch a barrage of attacks towards Taku. Taku had no choice but to take a couple of steps back in another direction, he could tell that this man was now going all out to let that lady escape.


    Bruce then spoke. "If you want to chase after her then you will have to do it after you have stepped over my dead body."


    Taku was calm as he replied. "As you wish!"


    Taku then launched himself towards Bruce, blade and fist met as a deafening boom sounded out. Taku took two steps back as his fist felt a little bit numb. The man staggered back as he spat out some blood, the tip of his spear was slightly melted when he looked at it.


    When he was about to attack Taku he noticed that another silhouette passed by him and entered the forest. He then looked towards the place were two of his teammates were fighting with another youth. And as his eyes scanned over he was greatly shocked to find his two mates lifelessly lying on the floor.


    His heart sank when he saw this. He did not bother chasing after the boy who went chasing after his captain. He knew it was pointless because this boy in front of him would not let him turn around even if he wanted to.


    Seeing the situation the blade wielding man threw himself towards Taku. He used his last remaining strength to throw this attack towards Taku. He knew that he would not be able to kill the boy, but he was hoping to injure him enough for the boy to be unable to move. He knew that if he lost here then Taku would be able to chase after his captain and with his speed he would be able to catch up to her in no time.


    Even though the other youth was fast, he would still need to discharge a lot of energy to catch her. So he was still slightly confident that she would be able to escape. He was very grateful at the moment that the other three would not be able to chase as well.


    This last strike of his contained all his remaining power and it was pretty scary. The captured trio''s faces all turned ashen when they saw this. Even though they thought that Taku was powerful, they also knew just how powerful this attack from Bruce was.


    Taku just stood there motionlessly as he welcomed the incoming blade attack. The blade was only two feet away from him when he finally threw out a fist. The roar of thunder this time was very deafening as fist and blade met one last time.


    Boom!


    It was at this moment that the intertwining threads of fire and lightning exploded and sent both Taku and Bruce flying. As Bruce landed with a thud his body released his last bit of breath as he died on the spot. On the other side Taku was slowly getting up. he looked towards Bruce''s lifeless body and then sighed in relief.


    Just as he was about to stand and give chase his vision suddenly turned blurry. Taku knew what was going to happen, so in order to keep his new teammates and Tino safe he sat back down and began meditating.


    The trio behind him were not surprised by this because they thought that he was heavily injured from the last exchange. What they did not know was that Taku was actually about to lose control like he did a couple of years back.


    The smoke around his body began to fade as he meditated. He felt like he had just dodged a bullet. If it was not for the fact that he was a little bit more powerful than he was back then, then he probably would''ve have lost control again and attacked everyone on sight.


    Just as the last strand of smoke disappeared Tino came back. He looked rather dejected as he walked back but when he saw Taku meditating he only had one thought in his mind.


    Thank God! At least it''s not like four years ago.


    Even though Tino had not been part of that group that witnessed Taku''s brutality, he was still informed of it. Especially when they were leaving, he was told by his uncle to run away if Taku began using this strange power of his but the stone in his heart landed when he realised that Taku was now somewhat able to control it.

 34 Powerless

    Even though Tino saw that Taku could control himself, he was still somewhat hesitant when he passed by him. He reached the captured three and greeted them sincerely.


    "My name is Tino and over there meditating is Taku. It is a pleasure to meet you all."


    "Of course it is a pleasure to meet this King. How could it not b¡­"


    Before Ranga could even finish his sentence he received a slap to the back of the head by Tadi.


    Nyasha smiled seeing this scene and then proceeded to greet Tino and then introduced the other two. "My name is Nyasha. This is Tadi and Ranga. I would like to thank you on behalf of everyone for saving us. Please do not take Ranga''s words to heart. He is just like this."


    Tino just smiled and nodded. "We are teammates after all, it was only right that we save you. We will have to wait till after Taku stops meditating so that we can discuss a few other issues in depth."


    "It''s ok¡­" The one to talk this time was Tadi. "Though aren''t you guys a little bit late?"


    Tino smiled embarrassingly when he heard this. He knew that if he and Taku had arrived on schedule then the trio would not have been captured. He sincerely apologized as he narrated what had happened to them in the valley.


    "You actually met those irritating apes, and you even fought with them before you even had started cultivating. That''s impressive." Nyasha was the first one to heap praise on the two youths as he stared in amazement.


    These two were faster than him by a year when it came to sensing zesa, which greatly shocked him. It was known that most people usually sense zesa when they turn 16, but then there were geniuses like the trio, Tino and Taku who began cultivating before that age. And there was also a rumour that the little princess of the Gutu Empire began cultivating when she was 9 years old.


    That news had shattered the pride of all the people who considered themselves geniuses. All they could do is lower their heads with respect, because they knew that they would never be able to compete with such a monster in their whole lives.


    "It was nothing¡­"Tino started. "We had the help of Sirivha spears when we fought with them so we were ok. Apart from that there was this other demoni¡­"


    Reaching this part Tino suddenly stopped talking as he started looking left and right for something. He walked around the place for five whole minutes before he stopped. "Where is it?" he mumbled but it still did not escape the ears of the trio.


    "What are you looking for?" Ranga asked.


    "Oh¡­" Tino was snapped back to reality by this question. "I am searching for Taku''s son."


    The trio were shocked. Son? They all looked at Taku suspiciously before turning to Tino expecting an explanation. Tino saw the Trio''s expression and began laughing. "Haha¡­ sorry, how do I put this¡­" Tino pondered for a moment before sighing and telling them about the little cub.


    The trio''s eyes almost fell out of their sockets when they heard the story. It was normal for a normal beast to eat a demonic beast core and then start cultivating but that was only if the beast could take the damage that the energy brought. So for a cub which had not matured yet to consume a tier two beast core was shocking.


    They had never heard of anything like it before. The trio became excited when they heard that neither Taku nor Tino had subdued it yet. The excited trio began helping Tino as they searched for the little beast. Even though it was a risk to form a contract with a beast when it was still young, most would be willing to take the risk due to the fact that it survived when it consumed a tier two beast core when it was an infant and it survived.


    But after searching for half an hour the quartet stopped very unwillingly. They just could not find it. It was very puzzling to Tino who knew that the little guy never left Taku''s side. In the end he could only think of the possibility that Taku had placed it within his storage pouch because he had not seen it since they arrived at the enemy''s camp.


    After pondering for a while Ranga could not help but ask. "Could he have placed it inside a storage ring or storage sack?"


    Tino did not hesitate shaking his head when he heard this. "I was with him all the time. If he had placed it inside any type of storage item then I would have noticed. And if it did run away, then why now?"


    They had travelled with the cub for almost a month now. Even when they faced some danger the little cub did not run, but instead it helped them from time to time. It had stayed by Taku''s side like a servant following its master. So for it to just disappear was truly shocking to Tino. The best he could do was waiting until Taku woke up.


    The wait took longer than all four of them expected. By the time half an hour passed by, Taku''s expression was incredibly ugly. It did not take long for the quartet to realize that Taku was in pain, but the problem was that they could not do anything about it. The four teens could only sit down and share their experiences amongst themselves.


    Taku on the other hand was trying to keep his conscious from crumbling down. The minute he sat down to meditate he realised just how dangerous it was to use his weird power at his current level. The problem now was that, not only was it dangerous to others but to his body and mind as well.


    When he entered his sea of consciousness he realised the lighting and the flame were still fighting. He was shocked that he was able to see this scene in front of him. The only way a person could look into their souls was if they had the assistance of a high level muroyi. The other way was to reach a certain level in cultivation.


    The level of smoke had clearly increased from four years ago. The fight between the two entities in him had created the smoke, that at times was able to subdue the two entities but when he used the smoke ability just now, the equilibrium it brought was temporarily absent; which led to the two entities to fight again.


    What shocked Taku the most was that the smoke did not move in to calm things between the two. Anoher deatil that shocked Taku was that when these two forces clashed, parts of the torrents of lightning would dim and or fade away but the remaining lighting would be purer.


    Same thing applied for the fire. The fire did not have its previous dark colour; instead it had a faint golden hue that was radiating from it. The flame was a size smaller than last time, but it was definitely purer than before.


    Taku looked on helplessly at this scene. He had no way to intervene in this fight, and he was worried that if he left then he might lose control again. So he just stared there, looking helpless as the two forces came closer to killing him.


    After a couple of breaths the fight became intense. It was at this moment that Taku became worried. Am I really going to die a second time? He was truly unwilling, but his life at the moment did not seem like it was in his own hands so he could not think of a way to resolve this problem.


    He couldn''t help but think of the time he spent back home on earth. Even though not every day was peaceful, it was still his home. It would be a lie if he said that he did not miss it. Even though this world had everything he could only dream about back on earth, it was still lacking in certain aspects in his eyes.


    One of the things that he greatly missed was an actual toilet. Even though they had toilets here in the Gutu Empire, the toilets were a bit, ugh¡­


    He could not help but smile when he reached this point. The one thing that this world gave him that earth did not was actual friends. He felt sad having to leave after only spending a decade in this world. He had a feeling that he might actually have made this place his new home after another decade or two, but it looked as though he would not have that chance.


    He thought back to when he arrived and how seeing someone lift up a boulder was very shocking to him, but he himself was now able to do it. The time he left the village and entered that battle examination was the most intense part of his second life so far.


    He thought of the way the kids looked at him after his slaughter fest. They all made way for him as if their king was the one walking. Even though it was quite amusing, he still felt rather embarrassed about scaring a bunch of kids. He thought back to Saru and how he will never be able to know what favour the man would have asked for.


    The moment he thought of Saru another person suddenly drifted into his mind as he smiled wryly. He knew that he was attracted to her. That time when he first saw her he had the same expression of lust as those soldiers who were behind her. Behind his small childish frame was the mind of an adult and he could not help but feel attraction towards her.


    When they were travelling together to the Foot Guard, he had tried his best to not look like a crazy ten year old. During that journey he couldn''t help but steal a couple of glances towards her. He knew that he had no way of being with her so he had thrown the issue at the back of his mind almost as soon as the thought appeared.


    Even after entering the foot guard and gaining a bit of power he still knew that he was far away from her level. Maka had already been Cultivating for over a year when he first saw her. That was four years ago. There was a five year gap between their cultivation and this gap was incredibly hard to overcome.


    So at the end of the day, even though he was attracted to the girl, the thing that gave him most motivation was earth. He wanted to go back at first, but the more time that he spent here. The more that he questioned his own desire.


    Do I really want to go back? This question plagued his thoughts every day. He was not even sure if it was even possible for him to go back. But he knew that if he reached the peak then he might have some hope.


    He looked at the fight between the two and realised that as he was lost in his thoughts the two entities had unexpectedly stopped attacking each other. He saw that the smoke was now creating equilibrium between the two. It was almost as if the smoke saw that he was about to die and then stepped in to preserve his life.


    Why does it feel like the smoke was allowing the two to fight, and then when it really became dangerous to me it stepped in? He knew nothing about the soul. Only Muroyi''s who had a high enough level could help him.


    He made a mental note to search for Saru to ask him about this but just how will he find such a figure? Just as disappointment was about to set in, his eyes suddenly brightened as he exited his consciousness.

 35 The King of Fa

    Taku was very excited when he opened his eyes. He was very elated that he was alive, but the other thing that excited him the more was that he had just figured out a way to find Saru. He turned around and saw his teammates looking at him with a weird expression.


    He just smiled wryly as he introduced himself. "Hello, my name is Takunda Gumbo. It''s nice to meet you all¡­."


    "Of course it''s nice to¡­" Again Ranga was the first to reply, but before he could even finish Tadi had already placed her hand on his mouth.


    "My name is Nyasha Ngundu."


    "I am Tadiwa Moyo. This idiot here is Ranga Mambo. He has this stupid idea in his head that everyone should be pleased to meet him. " Tadi said this as she rolled her eyes at Ranga and then removed her hand from his mouth and it was at this moment that Ranga went on a rampage.


    "Of course people should be pleased when they meet this King! Even if you are in love with this King, with such a beauty by my side do you think that people should look down on me? I conquered your heart and that is enough for people¡­"


    Ranga did not even finish his sentence as he was directly punched this time by a visibly embarrassed Tadi. Nyasha who was used to this type of scene just smiled wryly when he saw the two acting this way. Taku and Tino had on the other hand were greatly shocked by this scene. They looked at Nyasha both with a questioning look on their faces.


    Nyasha could only laugh bitterly and spoke. "You will get used to it in time."


    The two just nodded and stared at the duo who were wrestling with each other on the ground.


    Over the course of their journey to Honde valley, Nyasha had gradually gotten used to the two of them. It had taken some time for him to adjust to the two, but in the end he found them rather amusing. There was time they faced off with some bandits and the bandit leader had made remarks about how he was going to defile Tadi after he killed off the two boys.


    This greatly enraged Ranga. Instead of recklessly attacking like most hot blooded youths would, Ranga first berated the bandit leader before freely declaring the love he and Tadi "apparently" shared between each other, and as if to prove that he was telling the truth, Ranga went on to smack Tadi''s ass in front of everyone.


    Instead of focusing on the enemy before them, Tadi threw out a punch that sent Ranga flying and then chased after him and began her barrage of attacks. When they came back, Ranga was so swollen that it looked like he had lumps on top of lumps. With his very Fat figure the scene was pretty comical.


    As the trio decided to face-off against the bandits they realised that only the leader and about two of his men were left. The trio of bandits immediately leapt off their horses as they kowtowed and begged for forgiveness. Nyasha felt sorry for them because the scene of Tadi beating up Ranga was one that could injure any veteran soldier''s pride.


    Tadi knew why this situation had turned out like so and could only smile wryly whilst feeling sorry for the Bandits. Ranga on the other hand was not so forgiving. He remembered the bandit leader''s words about Tadi and he was not ready to let them go just yet.


    After mercilessly beating up the bandit trio, he quickly ran out and captured all 34 of the other bandits who had run away. He stripped all of them naked and tied them up onto different trees in groups.


    At the moment even though Tadi was not being as vicious as she was in the past, she was still strangling the poor fat guy. The trio of Taku, Nyasha and Tino could not help but laugh out loud at this very hilarious scene. Tadi''s tiny hands were not even big enough to wrap around Ranga''s neck. After seeing that she was not really inflicting any damage she reluctantly got off the big fellow.


    Ranga got up and looked at Tadi as if he had just won a prize. "This King¡­" he opened his mouth again when Tadi sent out a kick and sent him flying several meters away. Tadi stood there and smiled wryly towards the trio in front of her.


    She was usually calm and cold in most situations, but every time that Ranga opened his mouth she would be left agitated. Most of the times she could not help but throw a punch or two, at the poor fatty.


    "Anyway¡­"Taku started. "Before anything I wanted to ask you guys a question."


    The trio and the returning Ranga all looked at Taku with questioning gazes.


    "I''m looking for someon."Taku said. "Since you guys have been in the Ivory Guard for a while now. Even though it''s a long shot to ask this, but have any of you heard of a girl called Maka? She should be about 20 this year."


    His teammates thought long and hard for a while before Nyasha spoke. "You should know that in the Ivory Guard teams are ranked by colour. We belong to the lowest Red rank, and this rank alone I can think of seven girls that go by that name. You should try being more specific with your details."


    Taku nodded and then spoke. "I know that she is a manipulator."


    "Well then I don''t know any Maka who is a manipulator, unless it''s¡­" Nyasha said.


    Ranga just shook his head when he heard this. "It is impossible for him to be looking for her. He is just a village boy; he would just be courting death if he was looking for her. Only people who are as noble as this King can search for such people."


    Tadi glared at Ranga for a second before turning to Taku and asking. "Do you know what she can manipulate?"


    "Gravity if I''m not mistaken." Taku answered plainly.


    The quartet all sucked in a breath when they heard this. They all looked Taku like he was a crazy man. "Why are you guys staring at me like that?"


    "It really is her." The group of four all said in amazement.


    This was a really weird question to ask. Who did not know this girl? Everyone knew her. Four years ago this girl was already at the Kudyara level, which is the first sublevel of the Kusakura level. This level was a full realm above the Pamamonya level the all five of them were at.


    After four years one could only imagine what frightening level she had reached now. "Why are you looking for her?" Nyasha suddenly asked.


    Taku''s expression sunk when he heard this question. He needed a pretty damn good reason in order to cover up his actual reason but he just did not have the time to come up with one. He did not want to disclose any information about his soul at the moment. Even though they were his teammates he was not ready to let such sensitive information out.


    The four saw Taku''s expression and did not ask any further.


    "The girl you are looking for is very important person in the Ivory guard." Nyasha started. "Her status is something that the likes of us can touch. The team that she is a part of is in the Top 50 of the golden ranked squads. She was once invited to join a team in the top ten but she refused. She is the youngest person in all the gold ranking squads, she''s rather cold and detached so if she is the person you want to find I suggest you just give up."


    "Yeah, this King shall give you some advice, she would not even be obliged to give me or Tadi face when we meet, and I am the son of a noble and Tadi is the disciple of Mbuya Nehanda. Even though my family''s nobility is not high, we are still on top of chiefdoms. So you can imagine what type of status you would need to get her."


    Taku was dumbfounded by this situation. I only asked whether you knew her or not. Who said anything about getting with her?


    "It is not like that." Taku started. "Just tell me how I can find her, and after that everything will explain itself."


    Nyasha shook his head. "That is going to be hard to be honest. Apart from being part of the Ivory guard she is also a general in charge of an army. It''s safe to say that she is forever busy, and is always in different locations. So finding her will be hard."


    "Oh well."Taku shook his head in disappointment. "I am sure that you guys have the Tohwe fruits. We should get going now."


    "We actually buried them..."Nyasha was the first to speak but was immediately cut off by Ranga.


    "This King cannot accept this," He fumed. "I get that the higher ups told us that you are our new captain, but I am not convinced. What qualifications do you have to be the leader of this King?"


    Taku was shocked by this. He was greatly surprised because he himself had forgotten about the issue and for Ranga to bring it up now and in such a manner, not only shocked Taku but the rest of the team.


    "Don''t disgrace yourself My Lord¡­"Tadi spoke with a sweet smile. "You are 19 this year and you are at the second sub- level of the pamamonya level. You are considered quite talented, but¡­ he still beat and killed the people who captured us. He showed that his battle power is no less than ours."


    "I am still not-" Ranga wanted to retort but was again cut off, only this time it was Taku. "I actually have no interest in the leadership role. If any one of you wants it then you can discuss it between the four of you." Taku had ambition buried deep within himself, but at the moment he had bigger fish to fry.


    Tino then smiled wryly and spoke. "It is not that simple. If you are appointed as leader by the higher-ups then no one in your team is allowed to oppose it and take your role away. It is either that person leaves the team or the leader goes and requests to step down from his role. So until then no matter what the King of fat may say, you are still our leader."


    Taku''s expression went dull when he heard this. What kind of f*cked up system is this.


    Ranga''s expression on the other hand was very ugly. Not because of the law but because of Tino''s other words. "Who the f*ck are you calling me the king of fat?"


    "You obviously." Tino retorted. "You keep calling yourself a king but you never tell us what you are the king of, so I could only guess by your appearance."


    "You f*cker!" Ranga was getting ready to attack when he was again punched by Tadi.


    "Don''t just randomly attack your teammates. As far as we are all concerned Tino has a point. King of what?"


    Ranga stared blankly at Tadi for a minute before he smiled slyly and said. "If I remember correctly, you did call me your King back when we were kids, so hey little brat, I am Tadi''s king. If you have a problem with that, then you can seek out this King''s beautiful wife."


    "You¡­" Both Tadi and Tino did not have anything to say. Tino was shocked because he hadn''t realised that this fat guy''s skin was so thick. Tadi on the other hand was just embarrassed. She had not thought that Ranga would remember such an insignificant thing.


    Taku and Nyasha on the other hand were just speechless. Just what games were you people playing when you were children.


    It was at this moment that Ranga was sent flying again by Tadi''s kick.


    Taku looked towards Nyasha and smiled wryly. "At least as a team, we have the chemistry part down."

 36 I Want It Because It Almost Killed Me

    It was truly a sight to behold as the rest began laughing. Just as the laughter died down Nyasha spoke. "I know of a way that you can meet General Maka."


    Taku''s eyes immediately lit up when he heard this. "There is a mission that was posted. You know that apart from invaders we also face the threat of demonic beasts. Some of our cities are built right in the middle of demonic beast wastelands, and they are victims to beast hordes. There is a small city not far from here and they have been fending off a beast horde for the last week or so. The mission is to go give supplies to this city.


    There are going to be three supply teams. One that is going to leave a week from now, the other is going to leave a week after that one as well, and the last one will be on the third week. According to analyst three weeks from now is when the horde is going to issue a full force attack on the City and the amount of tier 2 and tier 3 will number in thousands. No Red or Bronze ranked team is willing to take this risk since the first two slots have already been filled.


    This mission was specifically posted for teams in this town since it is only 4 days away from the city. There are mostly red ranked teams in this city and none of them are willing to risk their lives and take the last supply mission. The city is called Bindura, it''s a tiny city and the person who put up this mission was none other than the person you are looking for."


    Taku knew that this was a great opportunity to meet up with Maka, but he could not disregard the danger that the mission brought. "How are we going to get into the city if there are being attacked by the beasts? Won''t we get killed before we even reach the city?"


    "No we won''t." Nyasha replied. "The other reason why this mission is specifically for teams in this town is because there are underground tunnels that lead straight to Bindura. The tunnels are filled with mutated rats, but it is a lot safer than using the main road to get there. Even though this mission is a bit dangerous since we will be going there when the situation reaches its climax, it''s still a good opportunity not just to temper ourselves but also this mission is worth eight thousand contribution points and an additional ten thousand gold coins. So I suggest that we take it."


    Taku obviously wanted to take up the mission but he was not sure that his teammates would agree. Since Nyasha was willing he looked towards the other two for confirmation. Tadi just nodded her head in approval, whilst Ranga opened his mouth. "This King will only help you this one time. I am afraid that if I let you children go alone then you might actually die. Without this King there would be no surviving."


    No one paid any attention to him as they all looked towards Tino. He just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled "Whatever." before continuing to eat. The rest just smiled and Taku used his token and accepted the mission. The full details of the mission was then provided for them. Their mission was to take the food supplies to Bindura. The first two supply teams were carrying either medicine or weapons. After a period of silence Tadi spoke. "You guys did not go through the two years of training after you graduated from the Foot guard, so I am guessing that you don''t have a specialised weapon that you use, I suggest that the both of you guys take this time to go to a training hall and learn something in the next three weeks."


    Both Taku and Tino nodded. Even though they had used spears before, it was just them swinging them around. After Tino finished eating, the group travelled to the nearest base , then they went to take a bath and afterwards they set out to search for a training hall. Taku had told Shumba to stay behind because he really did not want anyone to caue trouble with him because of this Beast. The team agreed that after they learnt a bit about their respective weapons the two should buy spirit weapons to use afterwards.


    Spirit weapons were also ranked by tier. The lowest was a tier one spirit weapon and the strongest was a tier 8 spirit weapon. Spirit weapons were weapons that developed a spirit in the process of it being created. The weapons that the rest of the team had were all tier 1 spirit weapons and were nothing really remarkable. The thing that irritated the most was that using gold coins to buy spirit weapons would cost them five thousand gold coins for one tier one spirit weapon. So they had no choice but to use contribution points, which would cost them fifty contribution points for one.


    What surprised everyone else was that Taku completely declined for them to buy him a weapon. The quartet were startled by this and all looked at Taku in shock. They could not wrap their thoughts around why he did not want a weapon, but they chose not to ask anymore after he reassured them that he had a good reason on why he did not want a weapon.


    The team found a training hall nearby and paid for two private teachers to attend to Taku and Tino. Tino had chosen to use a spear, taku on the other hand hesitated for a bit before choosing archery. He had seen how powerful archers were from his previous fight with the invaders. If it was not for the gauntlets that he had gotten from Tino he knew that his hands would have been crippled by that woman''s fierce attack.


    Tino went towards a room that was to their right as Taku was lead to the back of the hall. When Taku entered the door he realised that it led into a garden that was riddled with a variety of flowers and trees. It was truly a sight to behold as he suddenly relaxed and entered a trance like state as he looked around.


    "Why do you want to learn archery?"


    A deep voice sounded out as Taku snapped out of his trance like state. He looked around and he saw that there was a middle aged man with white hair sitting underneath a tree. The man seemed to perfectly blend in with nature, which shocked Taku. If it wasn''t for the fact that the man spoke, Taku knew that he would not be able to notice. Taku regained his composure as he stared intently at the man. "I almost got killed by an archer."


    The man Froze for a minute, clearly stunned by Taku''s reply. He had been teaching archery at this hall for the last ten years after he retired from the army. He had heard a myriad of answers to his question, but this was the first time he heard such an answer. He was only shocked for a breath before regaining his wits. He turned his head and solemnly sized up Taku for a period of time before sighing to himself.


    He quickly retrieved his bow and threw it towards Taku. He turned his away and said. "Without using Zesa to supplement your power, you should freely pull the bow string to its maximum length. Tell me when you are able to do that that is when I will begin teaching you real archery."


    Taku was a bit shocked by this. Wasn''t it just pulling the string? How hard could it be? After trying to pull the string the first time he realised how na?ve he was before. He calmed himself down and tried again, and again, and again, and again. By the time he had tried for the fiftieth time he was still not able to pull the string at all.


    He was shocked by beyond reason. What is this string made of? Every time he tried pulling the string he felt as if he was attempting to pull a giant boulder. Just as he was about to try again, the man suddenly spoke. "Not so easy now is it? You probably thought that it was easy and looked down upon the test right? I won''t help you out on how to try pull this string, in fact. "


    The man suddenly disappeared and appeared in front of Taku. This suddenly caused Taku''s eyes to go wide. The speed that the man possessed greatly shocked him, he did not imagine that people could be so fast. Seeing Taku''s reaction the man smiled and spoke. "Don''t be shocked by my speed. There are so many people who are way faster than I am. Although I will admit that seeing your expression makes me feel pleased."


    Taku was flabbergasted by the man''s words. What happened next shocked him even more. The man stood before him and looked as if he was just standing there doing nothing. But during that time Taku felt like his fingers were getting heavy. He quickly looked down and realised that there were rings on all of his fingers.


    The rings were gold and thin, very thin, but at the moment he felt like the rings weighed a ton. He had no idea how the man managed to place the rings on his fingers. He felt a chill down his spine when he thought about the realm hat the man had reached to have such speed. Taku was about to say something but was cut off by the mans words.


    "Hey kid, would you like to be my disciple. If you agree I will impart all my archery skills to you. I am also a swordsman, what do you think?"


    Taku froze when he heard this. "This old man is moving too fast!"


    He could barely even pull the string after trying over fifty times. He could not help but think of what could''ve made this man want to take him as a disciple. Taku hesitated for a long time and just as he was about to reply the man spoke again.


    "You don''t need to make a decision now. Think about it for the next couple of days, or at least give me an answer after you have managed to pull the string of the bow."


    Taku nodded and then the man disappeared from in front of him and reappeared again under the tree. "Those rings are weights I specifically made for training. Im sure you know how heavy they are right now, they will make your training ten times harder, and also you are not allowed to take them off even after you leave, well you actually won''t be able to take them off even if you tried. Continue your pulling for the next three hours, after that you can leave but be here tomorrow as early as possible."


    Taku just nodded and continued to pull on the string. He wasn''t surprised at all by the difficulty this time around. He was aware that it took all his strength to lift his fingers, so pulling the string was out of question. His fingers were miserable for the next three hours and then he walked towards the man and handed the bow back to the middle aged man.


    "Don''t tell anyone about me asking you to be my disciple." The man started. "But do think about it seriously."


    Taku nodded and left. After he left the man''s expression turned solemn as he sunk deep into thought. He sighed to himself and his lazy expression returned to his face, it was at this time that a voice rang out. "You are actually considering taking him as a disciple? What''s so special about him anyway? He is weaker than most kids his age in terms of physical strength. Even though it is remarkable that he managed to sense zesa at his age, there are still one or two people like that who are better than him. So why him?"


    The middle aged man just smiled and spoke whilst looking down at his bow. "You don''t understand..."

 37 Disciple Greets Master

    "What don''t I understand?" the voice spoke again after a brief silence. "He can be considered talented, but not talented enough that you have to take him as a disciple."


    "I agree with you." The man started. "But do you really think that I, Chiwenga, would just ask him to be my disciple for nothing?"


    "Then what is your reasoning?" the voice retorted.


    Chiwenga sighed. "My bow is a very peculiar weapon as you know, after all which tier 7 spirit weapon isn''t queer. My soul power is the most powerful thing that I possess, as you know I managed to attain it way before the required level. As such I am very sensitive to other people''s soul power."


    "Wait! That boy already has access to his soul power?" The owner of the voice was visibly shocked. Taku was only at the very beginning of his life as a cultivator. How could he possibly be able to use his soul power?


    "Not only that," The man began as his face turned solemn. "I tried to look into his soul with my soul power. He is weaker than me in both soul power and cultivation. But all I saw was a haze of smoke and purple and golden lights that were very indistinct. If someone more powerful than me in both areas was to look into my soul he would find that my soul is surrounded by a golden hue, because I am fire attributed. His soul was hazy and had two lights. Tell me what that mean?"


    The voice was completely silent after this, so Chiwenga continued. "At first I thought his soul was weak. But then I thought that if his soul was weak then how come I couldn''t see through it. The only person who I know who can answer this question is that Muroyi who helped me with my soul all those years back."


    "You''re talking about Saru? Should I contact him?" the voice asked.


    "No let''s not contact him now. I will only go look for that old man after this kid has accepted me as his master." The man said as his usual lazy expression returned.


    "You don''t even know his name¡­" The voice retorted.


    Chiwenga. "¡­"


    .....


    By the time Taku got back into the hall, he noticed that Tino was already done with his training and all four of them were waiting for him. Tino was feeling rather low because he had just endured what he described as the hardest training of his life, but after seeing how miserable Taku was, his mood lifted a bit.


    The rest were lost for words when they saw him. It was silent for a while then Ranga decided to ask. "Did you sneak out to go to a brothel or something? This King has never seen a person like this after archery training. I know the look you have now so well, this King has been to many broth-¡­"


    Ranga did not get to finish his sentence as he was struck down by Tadi, who looked to be fuming. Taku who was miserable at the moment because of his training and Ranga''s words could not help but smile when he saw him getting beaten. Taku smiled at Tadi and gave her a slight nod, Tadi returned a wry smile as she kicked out at Ranga again.


    "But seriously though¡­" Nyasha Started as he sized up the exhausted Taku. "How can archery tire you out so much? I can understand if you say that your arms or fingers are numb, but you look close to death."


    Taku just smiled as he lifted up both of his shivering hands. Tadi and Ranga were baffled by the ten thing rings around Taku''s fingers. They did not understand what exactly he wanted to show them. After a brief silence Tino spoke. "Your fingers must be going through hell right now right? Those are weights, judging by the quality of the rings they should weigh over five hundred kg''s, each!"


    The trio''s faces hadn''t changed much when they heard the explanation, because 500 kg''s was nothing to the average adult in the Gutu Empire, but when they heard the "each" from Tino, they could not help but suck in a breath of air. They knew Taku''s condition. He was not exactly the most powerful person when it came to raw strength, in fact he would be somewhere towards the bottom. So for him to carry around 5 tonnes with him every single day should be extremely difficult. Not to mention that the weight was concentrated on his fingers.


    All four of them looked at Taku sympathetically. All of them then left then left the training Hall and went straight to eat. After eating and grabbing a lot of meat for Shumba the team finally left for home. When Taku got into his room he threw the meat towards Shumba and then collapsed on his bed. He slept soundlessly that night. He had slept right after sunset and then woke up the next morning at dusk.


    He took a quick bath and then went out to have breakfast. This time only Nyasha was awake, and just like the previous morning Nyasha handed him a plate of meat. "Why are you up so early? Tino told us that you guys have to be back at the training hall at noon."


    "That''s what he was told?" Taku asked as he received the plate and sat down. "I was told by my instructor that I should come there as early as possible."


    Nyasha smiled. "Such a slave driver."


    Nyasha and Taku spoke for about an hour before Taku set out for the training hall. Taku was in a rather pleasant mood this morning. Even though his fingers were almost numb he felt excited. He had been afraid of a challenge, but at the same time it lit the fire on competition within him. It did not take him that much time for him to reach the Training hall as it was fairly close to the house they were staying in.


    The door to the hall was open, but when he entered he was surprised to find that there was no one present inside. He frowned and then walked towards the door that led to the garden. The door was unlocked and he entered.


    "At least you are diligent."


    Just as he entered the garden a familiar voice drifted into his ears. He looked up and noticed that there was a bow flying straight at him. He quickly caught the bow and then he heard the man''s voice again. "Begin practising, you don''t have all day."


    Taku knit his brows and then sighed to himself. He quickly lifted the bow and began to attempt to pull the string.


    This trend carried on for the next week without exception. By the third day Taku was able to slightly pull the string a little bit. Seeing this, Chiwenga was secretly shocked, even though he did not show it on his face, inwardly he was in shock. He thought for a while before he decided to add more weights on Taku. To Taku''s surprise the weights this time were placed all over his body.


    Every step he took made him feel like the ground beneath him was trembling. The rest of his teammates could only cast sympathetic gazes towards him. By the end of the week with these newly added weights he was again able to pull the string a little bit. Chiwenga was again surprised but this time he chose not to anything about it.


    After another 3 days pull the string until the bow bent a bit. This had greatly shocked Taku because at first he had thought that it was a hard bow that did not bend. At the end of the day Chiwenga stopped him and the proceeded to remove the weights from Taku. When the weights got removed, instead of feeling free and unrestrained, Taku felt a bit empty.


    Chiwenga just smiled and spoke. "This is now enough! Now do you want to be my disciple or not? Even if you say no I will teach you some of the things that I know so feel free to answer freely."


    Taku clasped his hands together and said resolutely. "Disciple greets master."


    Chiwenga was clearly delighted when he heard this. He let out a hearty laugh and then spoke. "Good, Good, Good. Come back tomorrow morning and I will teach you some stuff. I know your team accepted a mission and is setting out in a week and a half. So make sure to come very early every day."


    Taku then nodded and left. Just as he left a shadow manifested behind Chiwenga. This shadow had no shape and was extremely strange. Turning around and facing the shadow Chiwenga spoke. "What do you think of him now?"


    "Hehe¡­"the voice laughed and went silent for moment before speaking. "He is indeed a good seed. I wonder how he would feel if you told him that the weapon he is training with is a tier 7 spirit weapon."


    Chiwenga just smiled as he went back and sat under his usal spot.


    The next day Taku arrived early yet again and headed straight for the garden. When Chiwenga saw him he motioned for Taku to sit down and then spoke. "There is something I need to ask you. If you feel like it is too personal then you don''t have to answer it after all we all have our secrets."


    Taku nodded and then Chiwenga continued. "I have a very powerful soul. The reason why is because I gained my soul power way earlier than most people. The level at which people attain soul power is usually after they enter the Kusakura level. I got mine as soon as I began cultivating, it was a problem for a while but then this other powerful Muroyi helped me with it. I tried to use my soul power to inspect your soul because I sensed that you could already bring it outside your body. Is this true?"


    Taku nodded and Chiwenga continued. "Good! When I peeked into your soul I saw nothing really. It was hazy and I could only see two distinct lights. Do you know why it is like this?"


    Taku hesitated for a bit and then sunk deep into thought. Seeing this Chiwenga spoke. "You are now my disciple you can tell me anything. But if it is too personal then I don''t mind if you don''t speak about it."


    Taku smiled wryly and then decided to talk a bit about his condition. "I don''t really know what happened for me to be like this. As far as I know I was born like this. But when I was young I was attacked by a Muroyi who used a spell that ultimately should have killed me. But somehow I survived, apparently after that my soul transformed instead of dispersing this led to me having two attributes in my soul, and they are two entities which are ever fighting against each other."


    Saying this much Taku lifted his hands and in an instant they were covered in smoke. "This smoke became an entity that was created from the result of the two fighting each other. The two entities tend to calm down and cease fighting when the smoke surrounds them. But the minute that I bring the smoke out of my body and use it for a long period of time the two entities go back to fighting again."


    The smoke retreated back into Taku''s body. Taku had purposely altered some of the information. He did not believe for one second that if he told his Master that he transmigrated, he''d actually believe him. At the moment Chiwenga''s mouth was wide open, he did not know what to say at the moment. He thought that his issue with his own soul back then was horrible. But after hearing Taku''s story, he felt as though he went through nothing at all.


    There appeared a shadow behind Chiwenga which was also staring blankly towards Taku. Taku almost jumped in fright when he saw the shadow but then Chiwenga spoke. "Don''t mind him. He is an old friend who does not want to leave me alone."

 38 Seals

    Taku almost jumped in fright when he saw the shadow but then Chiwenga spoke. "Don''t mind him. He is an old friend who does not want to leave me alone."


    Taku calmed down a bit after hearing this. He stared at his Master and the shadow behind him silently, he could tell from his Master''s expression that he was truly shocked by what Taku had told him. Taku could only imagine how he would take it if he told his Master the whole truth. It took a while but Chiwenga finally calmed down


    "This world has too many mysterious things! So what happens when the two entities start fighting again?" his Master''s gaze contained a bit of worry when he asked this question.


    Taku''s expression heard this question and he stiffened a bit before saying. "Did you hear about the incident at one of the Elephant foot guard bases four years ago?


    Chiwenga nodded as his expression turned grave. "I slaughtered a quarter of the participants that time. Whenever they begin fighting I usually lose control and turn violent. I will kill anything that has a pulse."


    Even though Chiwenga had anticipated the answer, his face still turned grave when he heard it. Taku was relatively weak in physical power when compared to other people. So Chiwenga could not help but ask. "Did you have your awakening early? Most people like you rely on such means to know which type of cultivator they are. But some noble families have a way to awaken their children''s ability without using such a risky technique."


    Taku just shook his head which caused his Master to sigh. "This is the first time that I have met someone like you¡­ I thought that my situation was bad, but yours is just on another level." By the time that he was done talking the shadow behind him had already disappeared. This further led Taku to believe that his Master was far more powerful than he had initially thought. He chose not to ask questions and just kept his suspicions to himself.


    Seeing this his Master smiled and took out a book which he handed to Taku. "This book is a soul skill. It''s a nameless technique and its purpose it''s to create these things called soul seals. These seals are similar to inscriptions that you find on certain weapons."


    Chiwenga stopped explaining when he noticed the confused expression that his disciple wore. He sighed when he knew that his disciple did not even know this." Most spirit weapons have these things called inscriptions. When you pour your zesa into your weapon this inscriptions will light up and will either increase the weapons offense or defence. These soul seals are similar to that. The only difference is that you don''t put these on weapons after you make them.


    Instead you place them on your soul. Now here is how it works. The more seals you create the better. Each seal you create has a different use, for example I have created 10 seals, one is for tracking, if I place this seal on anyone then no matter how far away from them I am I can find them or my arrow will always follow until it hits its target.


    The other on is a zesa amplification seal, every time I want to increase the power of any skill I sue this seal. It can amplify your zesa to a terrifying degree, but it has its side-effects. the side effects aren''t that severe if you use it once every two or so days but if you use it repeatedly you could lose your battle strength for hour or even a couple of days. I will only tell you about these two for now."


    Taku opened the book and realised that it truly only had descriptions of these two seals. "But Master, what about archery?"


    "You will spend five hours every day on target practice. As for archer skills, I will only impart you some when your accuracy reaches 90%." Taku''s expression turned blank when he heard this. His Master smiled and continued. "There is another seal that I will teach you later on. This seal will allow you to control weapons with your soul power. Like you know how you can spread your soul outside your body and see everything around you? This seal does something similar. Only when you place the seal on a weapon it will carry a carry a strand of your soul. You will be able to see whatever is around that weapon. And you can also control that weapon even though it''s not in your hands."


    Taku quickly began reading the descriptions of the seal. He fully engrossed himself in his studies to the point where he forgot the flow of time. He only lifted his head and went to practise Archery after his Master had told him to do so. The Master and disciple duo left the Training hall and left the town. The town was surrounded by a desert, this desert was called the Kalahari. It was awefully barren and had nothing really to spectate.


    The duo walked for about an hour before they arrived at a place that looked like a place that held archery competitions. His Master stopped when they were about 20 meters away from the targets. "We will start from here. If you reach 95% accuracy at this distance then we will increase it to 50 meters. The maximum distance that I want you to when training with me is 200 meters."


    His Master had offered him bow, which Taku refused. Stating that he wanted to familiarize himself with his own weapon. Chiwenga was shocked by this, he had never seen Taku with a Bow before, so he began to think that Taku had put it in a storage ring or storage sack. He quickly passed some arrows to Taku and told him that it was easier to use real arrows for target practise instead of using those that he created by using his Zesa.


    Taku grabbed the arrows and nodded. He calmed himself down and raised his hand whilst he began clenching his fist like he was about to catch something in mid-air. He did not fully clench his fist as some smoke began forming in the middle of his hand. The smoke then began taking shape and in a couple of breaths it formed a bow that was rather rigid.


    Chiwenga''s eyes at the moment were wide open with shock evident in them. He could clearly see that this bow made from smoke looked similar to his own spirit weapon. He did not know much about the smoke that Taku possessed. All he could think about at the moment was to go and seek out the Muroyi who helped out all those years back. But he only intended to do that after the week was done, for the upcoming days he needed to spend every bit of them to study his student.


    Taku the grabbed an arrow and placed in on his very unorthodox bow string and then pulled. He held on to the arrow for five breaths in an attempt to fully visualize his target, after these five breaths he let go of the arrow. The arrow whizzed in the air as it flew towards the target.


    ''sii'' ''Pa!''


    The arrow hit but Taku immediately furrowed his brow. Even though the arrow had hit the target it had hit the outermost regions of the target. "Keep going. You can go retrieve your arrows when you have finished them all. And another thing, there are 10 targets there I expect you to practise on all of them from the position you''re standing right now."


    Taku''s brow knit together even more when he heard this. If only he could spread out his soul power he would not be in his current predicament. His soul power can only spread out a couple of meters and he knew it was useless to even try. Some of the targets were even at a very acute angle. For him to hit them at this point with his current level of skill was impossible.


    He decided to continue to aim at the target that was dead centre. He wanted to shoot a hundred arrows at it to see how far he could go at the moment. The results made him feel disappointed. After continuously shooting out a hundred arrows he was only able to move his arrows an inch away from the edge and closer to the bulls-eye.


    Taku was visibly disappointed which made his Master feel some shame. Not because his disciple was performing badly, but because it had taken him a full day for him to hit the target. And at that point he did not even hit the bulls-eye until a week later. Seeing his disciple''s made him feel like he was not talented at all in archery.


    The shadow appeared yet again behind him and began to speak in a hushed tone. "I take back my words! Now I think that you don''t deserve to be his Master. Such talent! Do you think you can handle it? Do you need my help?"


    "Do you even have to ask?" Chiwenga answered. "My disciple is your disciple. If you have anything to give him guidance in. then please go on and help me." Chiwenga said all this with a slightly helpless smile.


    The shadow replied. "I want to see how far he can reach in archery first! If he can hit the bulls-eye in the next three days then we both have to nurture him well. Even though he is slightly weak in raw strength he full makes up for it with his artillery. If he can hit that bulls-eye within three days then I advise you to try have him come stay with us for at least 5 years. The rest of his team can come too and we will guide them from time to time."


    Chiwenga nodded and spoke as his face turned solemn. "I just pray nothing unexpected happens to him. I know for a fact that if we guide him for the next five years then he would be able to become a prominent figure in his generation. The Gutu Empire truly got a talented individual this time."


    Hearing this the shadow began laughing. "hahaha¡­Too bad that he is your disciple right? If those people knew that such a gem landed in your hands, they would try to kill him immediately."


    Chiwenga''s expression turned complex after hearing this. "They can try if they want to, but that is why I also told him not to tell anyone anything yet. Even when his teammates come to stay with us we will have them complete a life-blood oath before they can stay with us."


    "Aren''t you being a bit too cautious?" The shadow asked in a mocking tone.


    Chiwenga said with a smile. "You yourself know that one can never be too cautious."


    The two chatted and lost track of time. During that time Taku shot over a thousand arrows, but the results still did not feel satisfied by the results. He was now only 30 cm away from the bulls-eye which was also about same distance from the edge which was his starting point. When his Master and the shadow looked up towards the target they were shocked by the progress he made in such a short amount of time.


    Taku went and retrieved all the arrows. By now his training was already done, after five hours of continuous shooting he was visibly tired. He walked towards his Master with his head down and stooped in front. "I am sorry this is as far as I can go today. I''m just not that talented when it comes to archery."


    Hearing this his Master''s mouth hung open from shock. He had no idea how to respond to such a statement. ''Not talented'' wouldn''t that mean that I am just trash? At the moment he had no words to say and was fighting the urge to stand up and beat up this disrespectful brat.

 39 A Powerful Pony

    Time flew and Taku''s archery skills progressed at a rate that really made the old man feel hopeless. At some point, Chiwenga just became numb to the astonishment he recieved from the lad.


    Taku tried to draw the seals that he had been taught a couple of times after archery, but ultimately it ended in failure. He knew that he had to take his time to practice these seals. His master had earlier told him that it had taken him half a year to be able to completely draw the Zesa amplification skill. It was the simplest of all the seals and the shape itself was rather crude.


    Taku calmed himself down as he began to meditate. His soul power was slowly but surely recovering, which led to Taku being slightly annoyed. Before today he had never used his soul power to this point. Before, all he used to do was use his soul power to see everything around him. This was the first time he actually used his soul for something different.


    It was at this point that he remembered the soul manifestation art that he had gotten from Sekuru Kaguvi. He had taken a look at it before and had attained some basic knowledge of it, but he had not really taken the time to properly study it due to the dombo trials.


    Taku calmed down and then began to search his consciousness for the information regarding the soul manifestation. It did not take him long for him to find it and skipped the first couple of lines because he had already understood them. He then continued reading from where he had left off before.


    After reading for a while Taku''s face turned grim. He had not expected that after coming from the torture of trying to draw seals he would be required to draw objects with his soul power. Taku was reminded of what one of his tutors on earth had said. " When it comes to studying, sometimes it is wise for you to jot down notes. Once you have written something down with your own hand it is hard for you to forget it, of course this does not mean everyone can do it, but maybe you can."


    Taku sighed and then continued reading the information about the skill. The skill had just two levels in total. The first level he has to have drawn an object for him to be able to use his soul power to manifest it. He was only able to attain the second level after he had managed to draw and manifest at least a thousand objects.


    If he was able to do that, then he would be able to break through and achieve the second level. If he was able to attain the second level then he would be able to manifest an object just from giving it a slight glance. The first issue about the first level was that he had to draw at least a thousand objects, and he was not able to repeat an object that he had drawn before. The second was that his prowess in the second level were fully depended on the size and detail of the object.


    At the moment Taku really hated drawing. He thought that drawing just random objects with his soul power would be easy, but to his surprise it was harder than he thought. He had only managed to draw part of a bow before his soul power was completely drained. After recovering for some time he attempted to draw it again but he again failed.


    After trying several more times that night he ultimately gave up. He decided to rest, he after all had to start a journey tomorrow. Taku was already at the apex of the tohwe level and could break through at any time, but his master had advised him not to. He told him to try his best and solidify his foundation at this level.


    At his current level he could easily go a couple of days without sleeping, but Taku loved his sleep and would not miss a day of it.


    Taku slept soundlessly he whole night and only woke up about two hours before they had to leave. He quickly took a bath and then left to go bid farewell to his master. Th man wanted to say something, it was ckear from his hesitant demeanor, but he decided to keep his mouth shut and wished Taku a safe journey after going over what Taku had learned so far.


    He only bid farewell to his teacher after talking to him for over an hour. By the time he left he had about half hour before the team had to set out. He had discussed with his teammates and they had agreed that Taku would meet them at the Ivory Guard base when he was done.


    It took only close to five minutes for him to reach the base, but when he got there he saw Ranga in a heated conversation with a couple of people. Taku just helplessly shook his head because he knew that Ranga had a tendency of annoying people. Seeing that none of his other teammates were outside, Taku knew that the rest of the team was already inside.


    The moment Taku approached, Ranga turned silent, the people that Ranga was having an argument with were shocked by Ranga''s silence and then looked towards Taku. The 4 people saw the embroidered ivory bracelet around Taku and were immediately shocked. Such a young person was actually part of the Elephant Foot Ivory Guard. The quartet did not dare underestimate Taku because of how old he looked, instead they greeted him formally and then turned back to Ranga.


    The one at the front who was a burly man who looked slightly older than 20 was the first to speak. "Ranga do not waste your time in this team! There is no future here. Without you it would be hard for us to rise in rank. You left us in such a dire situation in order for you to join a newly formed team. What does this team have that we don''t, aren''t we actually way more powerful than they are?"


    Ranga just shook his head and grabbed Taku and then headed towards the door. Taku did not say anything, it was not really a conversation he could participate in. He had never seen Ranga so conflicted before. Just as they reached the door Ranga turned around and spoke. "There are some things in life that are more important than power. Initially I wanted power in order for me to get what I wanted, but then I found what I was looking for and now I''m pursuing it. This King won''t back down just because you are offering me people with more power." Taku had new felt admiration for this odd fellow after hearing his words.


    Ranga and Taku then entered the base and reunited with their teammates. Taku greeted his teammates, but Ranga was surprisingly quiet. He was only silently looking at Tadi as if he was looking at a rare treasure, he was looking at her as if his eyes were glued to her. Tadi consciously looked down and did not meet Ranga''s gaze.


    The rest of the team just shook their heads and did not say anything. A minute later all five of them were seated inside a small room waiting for the mission information. Only after waiting for another 5 minutes did another person walk into the room.


    The person who walked in was a middle aged lady who wore a sweet smile on her face, the woman was wearing a very long but tight red dress that caused even Tadi to steal a couple of glances. The woman smiled when she saw the teams actions, she was not really offended by their gazes, in fact she was rather amused.


    "My name is Tate." The woman started as she sat down close to Taku. "The mission this time is rather dangerous. The time you guys are arriving is probably when the beast horde will be at its climax. So I suggest that you not get involved unless you are ordered to. Another thing is that the load has been changed. You guys are now transporting medicine and herbs. It will take you a couple of days to reach Bindura via the tunnel, so I will inform you of the dangers inside the tunnels."


    Hearing this the faces of the whole team changed. ''Dangers?'' the team had assumed that the tunnel was relatively safe, for them to hear that there might be danger caused them to feel rather pressured.


    Seeing how everyone''s expression had changed Tate smiled and continued. "The dangers you will face are not that bad actually. The worst thing that you could come across is a tier 2 demonic rat. Apart from that there are only normal rats or tier 1 rats. The problem is not their level of power, but the numbers."


    The expressions of the five youths did not change at all when they heard this. In this world, those who had power were held in high regard. The issue though was that an individual could be as powerful as twenty men, but he would still fall short if he face fifty men. At times strength came in numbers and this was one such case.


    None of them were elated about this arrangement, they had taken the mission blindly because it was the only way that Taku could see Maka. They had put all their effort into trying their best to raise their power that they did not even think to research about the possible dangers they could potentially face.


    All five of them just shook their heads and then listened to the rest of the briefing. It was now too late to turn back and regret anything. They had chosen to take up this mission and that was all that mattered. Tate finished her briefing and then left the room.


    Taku smiled wryly. "I honestly did not think that it would be this dangerous. If I had known I-"


    "We made the choice as a team." Tadi cut him off. "If we did not want to go then we would have said so."


    "She has a point," Ranga added. "This King is not afraid of a bunch of rats. If was to break down and cower just because of some rodents, then I wouldn''t dare go to the battlefield. This King is a man, and men do not back down from anything."


    There was nothing more that Nyasha and Tino could say so they nodded. What they would have potentially said had already been laid out by Tadi and Ranga, so the two of them just smiled to reassure Taku.


    Taku was still rather dejected even after hearing them say things like that. Meeting Maka was supposed to be a personal matter, yet he had dragged his teammates into it. Unbeknownst to him, Taku was now already gaining the bearing of a leader.


    After a while he strengthened his resolve and led his team away from the Ivory Guard base moving towards the tunnel that they were using for their journey. They arrived after about ten minutes and upon arrival, their eyes almost fell out of their sockets. Taku was extremely shocked when he saw the carriage that was the same size as a truck from back home on earth.


    He circuled around the ''carriage'' and when he got to the front he felt an urge to quit this mission. There was only one horse at the front of the carriage, one horse! He was about to cuss in his heart, but then Nyasha''s voice drifted over. "At least they gave us a good horse!"


    Taku was shocked. "This is considered good?"


    Nyasha nodded. "This is actually a tier one demonic horse. They look no different from normal horses. The only difference is that demonic horses have a black line that starts from their forehead and reaches the nose."


    Whilst talking Nyasha went and properly assessed the horse, giving a couple of nods here and there as he circled the creature. When Taku had seen the horse, he was slightly tempted to take out Shumba and have him pull the carriage, but he ultimately thought against it. One major reason why was because he did not feel as if he could trust such a lazy animal in pulling such a heavy load.

 40 45 Year Old Virgin

    The five of them stood there in a daze as they saw the material they had to transport. It came as a shock because initially they only had to transport a couple of weapons but seeing the mountain of herbs and medicine in front of them caused them to hesitate, seeing that amount of care they had to put in to the goods now was far more than they had to put in a pile of metal. Taku could only shake his head as he moved towards the carriage, the rest of the team followed but it was evident that none of them really wanted to take this mission on anymore.


    Taku then said, "I am inexperienced when it comes to driving carriages, I would like to ask if anyone among you guys actually has any experience in driving a carriage."


    The four of them looked at each other solemnly, most of them were spoilt brats, growing up they never really had any time to learn simple things like driving a carriage or any form of miscellaneous tasks.


    Ranga then said, "This King is not a peasant, do not ask me stupid questions about tasks that are only meant for those who serve this king."


    Nyasha, Tadi and Tino just shook their heads when they heard what Ranga had said. By now the whole team was used to hearing such crap from Ranga.


    Nyasha thought for a while and then shook his head, "I have only done such tasks a couple of times when I was a child, I barely even remember most of this. The other problem is we a traveling through a tunnel so even if I could drive a carriage, we still need a professional so I suggest we hire someone."


    Due to the fact that they had only stayed two months within the town, they still had additional gold left. It was expensive to try hire a coachmen using contribution points as there was no set price for hiring using points.


    Taku nodded, "One of you can go and hire the coachman and one of you can go and grab necessities that we will need during the journey, me and Tino will stay here and meditate."


    They all agreed since Taku and Tino were the weakest in the group in terms of Zesa accumulation, they needed all the time that they needed to cultivate. Tino went to one side and sat in the lotus position and began his meditation. Taku on the other hand calmed himself down, and began moving his finger in the air, it all looked random at first but after a while there was a golden hue that was suspended in the air as his finger moved. He managed to draw an arc but just as he was about to continue he started sweating profusely as his hand stopped, staying suspended in the air.


    He realized that even though his soul power had increased from the previous night, it was still not enough to draw a quarter of the Zesa amplification seal. He knew that this was not something that he could just attain within a night but he couldn''t help but be impatient because so far everything had just come so easily to him...well except the dombo endeavor.


    His master had told him that drawing stuff like seals would at least take him up to six months but then the problem was Taku knew the dangers that were coming and he knew that if he didn''t raise his level or at least raise his battle prowess, he would not only put himself in a bad position but he would also endanger the lives of his team mates.


    Taku was aware that he did not really have the qualities to be a leader but due the hierarchy in this world he was unable to step down from his role. Be it in terms of wealth or experience he was the weakest in the team. So as a way to compensate for his lack of experience and wealth, he wanted to at least have enough strength and skill to lead in battle.


    At the moment he realized that with his soul power seals were slightly beyond him, so he decided to try and cultivate the soul manifestation art. Even though the process of cultivating the soul manifestation art was similar to cultivating the seals, from experience he knew that he had a higher chance of drawing a bow than trying to draw something as complicated as a soul seal.


    He tried to put the failure of not being able to complete the seal behind him but he couldn''t help but feel irritated every time he used his soul power. He felt as that cultivating the seals would improve his power faster than soul manifestation. The art required him to at least draw over a thousand objects using his soul power, this made him feel lazy because he knew that by the time his done drawing all one thousand objects, he could have already have cultivated one or even two seals. On one hand he wanted to improve his power on the other; he knew that the soul manifestation art wouldn''t improve his power significantly but he was aware that he had to cultivate it in order for him to have any impact during a battle.


    Even though the Zesa amplification skill enabled him to make his energy more robust and domineering, it did not allow him a chance to actually improve his skill and technique. Whereas he needed a weapon to use during battle, he did not feel comfortable holding an actual physical weapon. At some point during the training, Taku had an insight. Instead of using a bow, why not male one himself?


    The smoke his body made was tangible and its physical properties could be partially manipulated by him. After quite some time of experimenting Taku succeded, and the results were more than pleasing. When Taku used the smoke inside him to create a bow, he felt as if the bow itself was a part of him.


    He was satisfied with his hand to hand combat but after experiencing the might of a weapon when he was saving his teammates he understood that it wouldn''t hurt for him to pick up a weapon or two.


    For some reason he felt as though the path of being an archer which he had chosen was actually harder than he had initially imagined, not because he wasn''t talented in it but because of his current condition whereby there were certain things he couldn''t ignore.


    The fact that he found it uncomfortable to use physical weapons was a mystery to him. He had asked his master about the issue, but even he who had a soul that was slightly similar to his had no idea why this problem was appearing now.


    At the end of the day to Taku skill and technique trumps power any day, so he cast all unnecessary thoughts aside and then began to attempt to draw a bow. There were simpler things he could have chosen to draw first but since a bow and an arrow were his weapons of choice he had decided to start by drawing a bow and then follow that up with an arrow. By the time his team mates came back he was only able to draw about three quarters of a bow before it crumbled into nothing.


    The people who were no present could only stare in shock at the sight before them. Even though his team mates knew that Taku had a slightly more powerful soul. They didn''t realize that he was at the level where he could already use soul power. Nyasha was with a middle aged man who was wearing a long blue robe.


    Nyasha then introduced the man, "This is Tapiwa, he has been a coachman for the last twenty years and he has experience in traveling through the tunnels. He knows the dangers that lie ahead and he wants a salary of two gold coins to go from here to Bindura and back."


    Taku did not think too much of it because even though they only had five gold coins, the road ahead was dangerous and since the coachman would be at the fore front he would be prone to more danger.


    Taku nodded and turned towards Ranga and Tadi, the two of them who had gone to grab necessities such as dried meat and other rations were holding six bags that were the size of a small boulder. Taku did not bother checking the bags; he just nodded as he trusted his two subordinates.


    Nyasha woke Tino up from his meditation and told him that they were about to leave and with that the five of them boarded the carriage that was filled with herbs and medicines and waited for the coachman to complete his preparations. It did not take long in about two minutes they were already close to the tunnel.


    Just as they entered the tunnel, Taku turned towards Tino, "With your spear it would be simpler for you to fight against any danger we come across since you have such a long reach. You and Tadi can go and guard the coachman as the rest of us meditate."


    Just as Tadi and Tino stood up, Ranga who was sitting next to Tadi stood up as well, "This King feels as if he has reached a bottleneck in his training, and this King feels as if only combat will help me break through this bottleneck, thus this King suggests that I go with Tadi and Tino."


    Taku was about to open his mouth to tell Tadi to stay behind but that''s when he realized that if he was to do that, Ranga would also want to stay behind. Taku just nodded as he felt it was unnecessary for him to even attempt to explain the situation to Ranga.


    The other reason why he decided to shut his mouth was because Ranga before was a leader of a team and he knew that even though he was infatuated with Tadi he would not do anything which would put the team in danger.


    Just as the three got out of the carriage Nyasha began chuckling softly, "I swear if any of my brothers were as whipped as this guy is, I would disown them in a breath, I mean look at that. Did you know he had a reputation of going to brothels and screwing his maids but now look how the mighty have fallen."


    Taku smiled wryly, "I think it''s actually sweet because it shows that he would do anything to make sure that she is safe and protected."


    Nyasha clears his throat and replied, "He is at the apex of the Zhanje level and so is Tadi, things like demonic rats of the second tear are of no threats to them. If he really wanted to protect her, he should have stayed inside and mediated instead of going outside and forcing her to listen to his arrogant rubbish."


    Taku laughed a little and said, "Even though I am all for the love, one can''t help but feel pity for Tadi having to live through all his antics."


    Nyasha replied, "I get that she is probably in love with the guy, and that''s why she stays, but if I was a girl and I heard that a guy that I love has been with a thousand women, I would not exactly see him the same way after that, or maybe it''s just that I''ve never been in love yet but if it''s the same feeling that I get when I''m drunk, then I''ve been in love a thousand times."


    Taku scoffed at himself at this moment, he was now at least thirty years old, back when he was on earth he had never even tasted alcohol before and now that he was in this world were you would see even ten year old drinking he was yet to take even a single sip.


    Even though he did not find it weird himself; that he was yet to drink, he knew that if he was to tell Nyasha this fact it would be a bit embarrassing but none the less he still said it, "I actually don''t know what it feels like."


    Nyasha was flabbergasted by Taku''s words, he couldn''t help but look at him and solemnly asked, "Don''t tell me by your age, you''re still a virgin as well?"

 41 Booty, Melancholy and More Booty

    It had been a day since they started traveling and during this time they had only met either normal rats or demonic rats of the first tier. Thus the trip so far was relatively safe, most of the time Taku and Tino were cultivating, whilst the others stood guard next to the coachman.


    During the last twenty four hours, Taku could feel his power slowly rising, be it in soul power or in his actual cultivation base. He found that every single time he exhausted his soul power, he noticed that when he recovered his level in soul power would have risen by a bit. Someone''s soul power went hand in hand with that person''s cultivation base.


    The more powerful your cultivation base, the more powerful a person''s soul power would be. In this world there were no techniques to increase soul power, the only thing you had were soul techniques that allowed you to attack, defend and control soul power but there were no techniques that allow to raise your level of soul power.


    Somehow Taku seemed to be different, the more he exhausted his soul power, the more powerful he felt as he recovered his soul power. At this point he did not think too much into it cause he had realized long ago that he would go insane if he was to compare himself with this world''s logic.


    He really could not wait to meet Maka so that he would have the opportunity to meet Saru. Saru was the only person he knew who had knowledge with things regarding the soul. He was the one who had initially helped him to understand the predicament that his soul was in. The problem was that even if he did meet Maka there was no guarantee that he would be able to meet Saru. Not to mention that big, beautiful...ehem.


    Traveling now he couldn''t help but envision the three months he had spent with Maka and truth be told he would rather have been stuck with her in the carriage than these two sweaty mongrels. He had often closed his eyes, in an effort to remember her eyes. Even though he had seen her at only ten years of age; the man in him could never help but be entranced by her beauty and power. She was the one person who he would willingly raze a million villages if it meant spending just one night with her.


    He immediately shook his head attempting to stop the feelings of lust from distracting him. He knew that the feelings he harbored for her were nothing good. He knew that if he was driven by lust only it could lead to something that he would never be able to live with. Even though in this world things like a pure heart did not coincide with cultivation, he still felt guilty because of his thoughts towards someone who was visibly on paper of course younger than him.


    He had no idea why he was having these thoughts now, back on earth he could have any girl he wanted. It was just that back on earth he had no time for them, from running a business empire and trying to lead a stable life for himself, he had no time for any form of romance or lust nor was he interested.On earth his IQ was incredibly high but his EQ was very low. So it came as a huge shock to him that he could actually feel the way he felt now towards this one particular person.


    The way he felt for her felt wrong, but from time to time he couldn''t help but think what that one night with that luscious piece of perfection would feel like. Taku had a nagging feeling that if he got that far, he would be distracted from his training for a while. Sitting in the carriage he knew that he would not get any work done even if he tried, so he decided to step out and join the coachman.


    "Aren''t you a little bit too young to have such a troubled look on your face," the coachman uttered, noticing Taku as he stepped out of the carriage.


    Hearing this Tadi and Ranga who were already with the coachman looked towards Taku with questioning glances; Taku only sighed and went and sat beside the coachman and informed Taku and Ranga that they could go back inside if they wanted to cultivate.


    Even though they both nodded Ranga had a very peculiar expression on his face. He was happy that at least he and Tadi would be inside but he wasn''t happy that there were still two people inside the carriage which made him feel rather dejected.


    As the two went inside, the coachman asked Taku the same question again, "Aren''t you a little bit too young to have such a troubled look on your face."


    Taku then goes, "It''s not that I''m troubled, it''s just that a lot of things in this world don''t make sense."


    The coachman replies, "Isn''t that a bit contradictory, seeing as how if something that you want badly doesn''t make sense, it''s still something that troubles you. Young men should be full of ambition, especially those at your age, you should be dreaming about reaching the peak of power. Things like logic and laws should not apply in certain situations, I mean look at you, you are only this young and you are already a member of the Ivory guard. In fact not only are you a member but you are a team leader. I know people my age who can only dream about joining the Ivory Guard. With your talent logic is something that''s absent, seeing as how, someone so young is already at the peak of Tohwe level."


    Taku stared at the coachman is shock, when they first met he could not sense any ripples of power coming from the coachman and had only thought of him as an ordinary mortal. Yet this man could easily tell how high his cultivation base was. There were only two possibilities, the first was that Ranga with his big mouth had accidentally coughed up information about his cultivation when he was complaining to Tadi; which was the more plausible reasoning, or the man in front of him was way more powerful than he had originally imagined.


    This sent a chill down Taku''s spine because at the moment he did not know whether this man had any malicious intent or not. If he did not have any malicious intent then why did he feel the need to hide the fact that he was a cultivator?


    The coachman saw Taku''s wary gaze and could not help but chuckle, "He he he¡­ If I had any bad intentions you would not have made this far, so just relax. The cultivation world wasn''t for me, there was just so much that I had to sacrifice for me to be able to reach the superficial goals that I thought I wanted, but by the time that I realized that all that I wanted was back home, it was slightly too late."


    The coachman''s expression turned solemn as he gazed forward as if he was lost, his eyes were blank, as if he was reminiscing, Taku just sat there and did not say a word because he knew that it was not his place to say anything. He waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity and only after five minutes did the coachman regain his senses.


    With a sigh the coachman spoke, "You should only worry about mortal matters once you''ve reached the goal you wanted because the minute that those mortal thoughts come to you, It will completely ruin your cultivation heart. Even though things like love, and lust and friendship, can drive a man to the peak but they can also ruin one''s life. So in this world if you are a cultivator you need to be able to sacrifice everything that you love or not love at all. Because those you love could either hold you back or you could just leave them behind.


    Taku thought about his feelings towards Maka at this moment, he had nothing but desire towards this woman. What made it even more dangerous was that he felt this way but he barely even knew this woman. They had traveled together for that short period of time but they had barely even traded any personal information.


    Taku shook his head and just said thank you to the coachman because he knew this little piece of advice would go a long way in helping him to either figure out why he felt this way, or to completely eradicate the desire that he held in heart altogether. He suddenly turned toward the coachman but his gaze was no longer that troubled, instead he looked towards the coachman with curiosity because he could not fathom the fact that this cultivator, was here driving a coach.


    As if the coachman could read his mind he sighed and the spoke and then spoke in a very sad tone, "Before I was at the peak of the Tamba level, I was getting ready to break through into the Kusakura level but it was at this moment that I heard that my family had been murdered by a local gang. You see in my family I was the only one in the last thousand years who had the talent for cultivation; my family was just a local merchant family.


    Since I was the only person who could cultivate they did not have the resources to help me with my cultivation. So my father found me a master who I followed, and before I knew it, I had gone forty years without ever seeing my family.


    By the time I went back most of the people that I grew up with were already old and grey but I hadn''t changed, I was still the same even though they were still my brothers and sisters. Time went by and another forty years passed and by now only my brothers and sisters descendants were left, and instead of going to take care of them I decided to live my life in the cultivation world.


    It was during this period that a rumour spread, and that rumour stated that inside the tombs of my brothers and sisters was wealth that was imaginable. This lead to a lot of people wanting to take control of my family and raid the tombs.


    But my family was firm with their stance and this led to them making several enemies and these enemies attacked, and not only did they raze my family to the ground they also disturbed the peace of those who had been laid to rest and dug up their graves. It was such a psychological blow to me that even my cultivation level had been affected so I dropped down to the Zhanje level.


    Doing what I do now, helps me gain some sort of peace of mind because even though helping ordinary mortals won''t help me bring back my family, I can still protect them on their journey and make sure that at least for that time, they are safe."


    Taku was shocked at just how dangerous it was to have kin in this world, especially if you were a cultivator. Cultivation was a cruel path that involved killing and certain people would not hold back, and would even go as far as to use under handed methods to get what they wanted. Taku had never been so happy to be an orphan in this life because he knew that without any form of kin no one would be able to threaten him with anything.


    This also made him understand just how much of liability his feelings for Maka could truly be. He wasn''t exactly worried about his team mates because not only were they talented but all four of them had a significant background and no one would dare to mess with them. His only concern was Maka, he needed to make sure that whatever he felt for her now would never grow into anything more. He knew that if he grew any type of romantic feelings towards her, she would be his Achilles heel, or him hers.

 42 Rat Attack

    It had been about three and a half days ever since they set off, during these couple of days they had met one or two dangerous situations. In the first one they had met at least one hundred tear one demonic rats. Even though it was easy to deal with one demonic rat, the sheer number was enough to frighten any cultivator in the Zhanje level.


    During these three and a half days Taku fumbled about trying to improve his strength, with little success. Here is what he understood so far.


    Cultivation was a process whereby one senses natural energy also known as zesa and takes it into their own body, reinforcing one''s powers and body.


    The body''s capacity to bear zesa could be increased with meditation, but was dependent on two factors: talent and effort. Talent however was the dominant factor when it came to cultivation, and only a small percentage of the Gutu have the talent for cultivation.


    Taku so far knew two levels of cultivation, each level containing 3 sub levels. These levels refer to the amount of zesa one, determining one''s strength. The gap between each sublevel becomes higher the stronger one becomes.


    The two levels Taku knew were the Pamamonya Level and the Kusakura level. The three sub levels in Pamamonya were: Tohwe, Zhanje and Tamba. For Kusakura the three sub levels were: Kudyara, Kurima and Kukohwa.


    Taku had just started cultivation thus he was at the Tohwe level. Due to lack of experience he could not measure how fast his speed in cultivation was, but he did know that his talent was quite above average.


    The coachman was at the Zhanje level but previously he was at the peak of the Tamba level. He regressed due to depression, which was very uncommon but quite possible.


    Those with a weak mental fortitude could have their zesa affected by their mental health. Similar to how someone with a heart condition could worsen if they became agitated. With his current skills Taku could take on tier 1 and some tier 2 beasts, but this was a conservative assumption from his end.


    Most tier 2 demonic beasts would not pose any threat to most Zhanje level cultivators but these demonic rats were not only dangerous because of their sheer quantity but they also had slight intelligence. These tunnels were rarely used, so no one had ever really thought about eradicating these pesky rodents. In the carriage Taku had an elated expression plastered all over his face. After three days of non-stop drawing he was finally able to draw a full bow and arrow using his soul power.


    Even though he achieved such tremendous results in the soul manifestation art, his progress with soul''s seals was nothing to be proud of. By now he was only able to draw half of the zesa amplification skill.


    At some point he had even thought about giving up and picking it up again after he had completed the mission. So he had to constantly remind himself that he did not have all the time in the world and he needed to use every minute like it was his last. After all Taku was a soldier, who knew when he would face a dangerous situation?


    He reached out his hand and smoke began to materialize from his hand and in a couple of breath''s it had formed a long bow that was almost as tall as he was. The smile on his face widened almost reaching his ears, he just could not hide the joy that he felt from being able to create a weapon for himself.


    He did not know how his weapon would classified since it was not a weapon that came from a black smith, but one that was formed from part of his own soul. If anything ever happened to this weapon while he was using it, if it was ever destroyed, then he would ultimately lose part of his soul. This was an assumption he made on his part but he was confident of his conjecture.


    He pulled the bow string and the poured his zesa into his hand and just as his zesa reached the bow string, a glowing red arrow began to form from his hands. Just as he finished forming the arrow he breathed a sigh of relief because he was not too sure that it would work, and just as the arrow dematerialized, he was suddenly struck by a thought.


    Taku had formed an arrow that based off his fire affinity but then he remembered that he also had the thunder affinity inside his body as well because of his peculiar soul. He calmed himself down and placed his free hand on the bow string again and as he began pulling, a bright blue light began taking shape from the bow string.


    This blue light formed an arrow that in terms of power was slightly lacking when compared to the arrow that was made from his fire attribute. Taku felt slightly more familiar with this arrow than he did with the previous one, it almost felt as if even without the soul tracking seal he would be able to control this arrow.


    The advantage of archers in this world was that as long a their zesa did not get depleted, they would have an unlimited number of arrows. The only thing that they required from time to time would perhaps be a new bow. As Taku was basking in his triumph he suddenly heard an alarmed cry coming from the front of the carriage.


    There were two other people with him in the carriage. These two were Tino and Nyasha and all three of them, including Taku at this moment jumped out of the carriage. As they landed close to where the coachman, Ranga and Tadi were sitting they could not help but freeze.


    In front of them stood close to five hundred rats, this time it wasn''t the sheer amount of rats that caused them to feel dejected but at least eighty percent of these demonic rats were of the second tier. The carriage came to a stop, as the coachman was afraid that these rats would immediately attack the horse that was pulling the carriage.


    Taku looked around and in this pitch black tunnel the only light source they had was the torch that came from the carriage. So even though they could see five hundred rats thanks to this light, they were still worried that there could be more behind the curtain of light that the torch provided. Taku stood there in a daze because even though he was the leader he had no idea what to do at this point, he looked tohordes Ranga who was also a former leader of a different team.


    Ranga noticing Taku''s gaze could only shake his head. "This King doesn''t really have a solution at the moment, because if they were normal rats we could have just burned them, but these demonic rats are not only immune to normal fire, their level of intelligence is frightening. If we just recklessly charge through then I fear that this King would not be able to protect any of you and all the goods on this carriage."


    Tadi had the ice element, Ranga was wood, Nyasha was air, Tino was earth element. Taku knew that the fire element in him was not normal so he could use it to destroy the rodents in-front of him. They could have easily used earth to crush the rats but then that could leave the road ahead slightly unusable and their journey prone to accidents.


    Taku had been practicing archery for a little over two months now and even though his precision was not the best he was still confident he would be able to deal with these rodents without having to destroy much of the path they were using.


    Nyasha then lifted his head with confidence and said, "Since you know archery then you should be the one to fight with these rats. Since your arrows have the fire affinity, if you shoot an arrow tohordes them and make it combust just as it reaches them, then even though the blast would destroy part of the path, I''m sure Tino with his earth element would be able to pave a way or create a way for us.


    Hearing this Tino nodded, "I have sufficient confidence in creating a path, if we just tried to blast open a path then the structure of the tunnel would be damaged and we could run the risk of being buried alive."


    The old coachman had not said a word during this conversation but he nodded in approval when he heard of this plan, even though he also had some tricks up his sleeve that could help these youngsters deal with these rats, he knew that by lending them a hand, the five of them might become complacent. Taku calmed himself down as a bow materialized in his hand, he pulled the bow string as the red arrow began to appear. He took aim tohordes the center of the horde of rats.


    Just as he was about to release the arrow, the rats began moving tohordes them at a frightening pace, crawling tohordes the carriage like a leopard running at its prey. The distance between the rats and them was about several tens of meters and this gap could easily be closed in mere few breaths. Taku panicked but quickly calmed himself down as he refocused his arrow and tried his best to aim at what would be the center of the moving rats. He breathed in and out several times before finally letting go of the arrow.


    Whizz!


    The arrow whizzed through the air and at the point of impact a large amount of flames flared up and traveled in different directions burning everything it touched. This eruption lasted for several moments and just as the flames began to dissipate, he noticed that even though part of the tunnel had collapsed more and more rats were still climbing over the rubble charging tohordes them.


    It was at this moment that Taku also noticed that his worries were not baseless because he had just killed over five hundred demonic rats but more and more kept crawling to them. Without attempting to calm himself down Taku formed another arrow and shot it tohordes the incoming hoard but he did not just stop at that one arrow, he fired two other arrows in succession.


    It was at this point that he turned tohordes Tadi, "Since you have the ice affinity can''t you just freeze them or something?"


    Tadi shook her head, "The techniques that I have for my ice element are mostly indirect defensive techniques since I am a Muroyi. As for the attacking techniques that I do have the are not, they are not techniques that I could use in a battle like these. None of them are able to freeze within a large range so my attacking prowess is virtually useless. Most of my battle prowess does not lie with my element but lies with the undead that I use."


    Muroyi were the Gutu equivalent of witches and had many supernatural talents, so her words made sense to the crew listening. A low level Muroyi was better at support rather than attack.


    As Tadi was speaking the fire continued to burn longer than the previous eruption. As she finished talking a deafening boom rang out in front of them, more and more of the tunnel had collapsed but the rats were now nowhere to be seen. Taku breathed a sigh of relief because even though they had created more work for Tino they had stopped their immediate threat of these rats. Without saying a word, Tino strode forhorde and proceeded to use his elemental powers to create two pillars that supported the tunnel.


    The Gutu''s greatest weapon was the ability they awakened, but familiarity with one''s element was very useful, especially for such situations. Tino wasn''t much of a talker but he was versatile and dependable.


    Tino then began clearing a path slowly but surely, it took his about half an hour to clear everything out. They did not bother to check whether it was safe or not they all just stood on top of the carriage as it began moving forhorde. During this final stretch of their journey they met one or two small hordes of rats but they posed no threat, as Taku and Tino used these small hordes of rats as a way to increase their battle prowess. What shocked Tino, was the level of enforcement he could now exhibit.


    If he enforced a tear one spirit weapon then it would be similar in might to a two tear spirit weapon, this caused him feel elated. By the time the fourth day had arrived they could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even though they were about to exit this damp and horrid place there were no looks of joy on anyone''s face because they knew the real danger was ahead.


    Even though they had directly entered the city through this tunnel and did not face any of the dangers that would come from appearing out of the city walls, it was still a bit risky to arrive in any city when that city was being attacked by a beast horde. If the defenses failed then that would mean that they would be caught unprepared just as they arrived. This was truly a case of escaping the frying pan to only end up in the fire.


    When they exited the tunnel they immediately saw a guard who was stationed close to the tunnel, they asked this man directions to the nearest post of the Ivory Guard and to their bemusement, the Ivory Guard base of this city was way on the other side. It would take them at least two hours to reach the base, they all sighed helplessly as they begun moving tohordes the Ivory Guard base. Taku could not help but feel uncomfortable as they passed the streets. There was barely anyone outside but he could feel the tense atmosphere.


    He turned and asked. "Why can''t they just evacuate all the citizens through the tunnel and take them all to a different city? Yes, the city would be destroyed by the beast horde but it eliminates a certain element of risk if they did that."

 43 Half A Man

    He turned and asked. "Why can''t they just evacuate all the citizens through the tunnel and take them all to a different city? Yes, the city would be destroyed by the beast horde but it eliminates a certain element of risk if they did that."


    Ranga shook his head, "Peasants like you would not understand but this King does, so let me explain it to you. The area in which each city is built has a specific mineral and or object that is needed, if they evacuate and leave the city unguarded then the city would be destroyed and mining would stop. This would cause the industry to collapse and the cost of most things that include weapons and other metal amenities would increase. The mines here not only produce the type of metal we need for weapons but they also produce these other gem stones called ngoda, which make jewellery for nobles and it is a very expensive material. If production stops the noblemen will not be too pleased. It would also cost way too much to rebuild the city itself and to start rebuilding the mines and all thnoddedr industries once they are destroyed."


    The Gutu were an honour bound people, and their served their nobility with an extreme fervor. Taku, having been raised on earth, had a different outlook on things, but he chose to do the wise thing.


    He nodded in understanding and kept his mouth shut for the rest of the journey and so did everyone else. When they arrived at the base of the Ivory Guard two hours later, they were shocked at how barren it was. When they entered there was only one person sitting behind a desk, this person was a youth who had a cultivation base of the Tohwe level. The youth lifted up his head and stared at the five people who had just entered and proceeded to greeting them respectfully. The five returned his greeting and Taku handed him a piece of paper.


    The young man read through the paper and then called out, "Tinashe, the goods have arrived, you can now take them to the front lines."


    Just as he finished talking the door that was behind him swung open and an old man who looked old enough to be their great grandfather walked out with a smile on his face. He bowed tohordes Taku''s team and thanked him for delivering his goods and turned tohordes the youth behind the desk, "Tendai. How many times do I have to tell you to call me elder, I am already old enough to be your great grandfather''s father."


    Tendai rolled his eyes, and then sent the man off with the goods, after the man had left he said, "You guys should rest for a while, whether you are planning to go to the front lines or go back to the city you came from, it is still wise for you guys to get a bit of rest."


    They all nodded but before they left, Taku asked the youth if there was any way he could contact General Maka.


    The youth was slightly shocked by this question but he quickly composed himself and answered, "It is a bit tricky at the moment because she is at the front lines but if there was message you wanted to leave for her, you could leave it with me and I will tell her."


    Taku smiled wryly, "That is not possible, this is something that I have to personally deliver to her myself, but if you could please send her a message that, Takunda Gumbo is looking for her, I would be grateful. "


    The youth nodded and promised to try his best, he then gave the team their contribution points and gold coins for completing the mission. Then the team left to look a place to rest, the team found an inn nearby and rented out five separate rooms. They had offered to pay for a room for the coachman but he had strongly declined and told them that he had other businesses to take care of.


    He told them that if they needed to find him all they had to do was go to the City Lord''s palace and look for a servant by the name of Tapuwa. Taku did not waste any time and headed straight for his room, he was tired and he needed some time to rest and cultivate later on. When he got into his room , he quickly took out his storage poach and the removed everything in it. As everything came out a lion which was about a meter in height jumped out.


    Shumba stared at Taku with displeasure written all over his face, Taku was quick to notice this and apologised because he knew that he could have taken Shumba out at any time, but he had earnestly forgot him. Still looking displeased, Shumba went and lay down beneath the window. Taku fell on the bed, initially he wanted to look around the room to see where everything was but he was so tired he decided to just sleep.


    He only woke up the next morning at sunrise. He looked around and he noticed that there was bathroom to his left. He got up and headed straight for the bathroom and took a very long, cold shower. After he was finished bathing and changing clothes, he went downstairs but was shocked to see that in the whole inn only he and his team mates where present. He decided not to think too much about it as he went downstairs and sat with the rest of his team mates who had woken up way ealier than he had. He found out they had already ordered food so he sat down and dug in. Took him about five minutes to finish his meal


    As he finished Nyasha spoke, "It seems like you and General Maka are pretty close. Just this morning Tendai came with a letter from her, the letter stated that if you wanted to meet her, you would have to come to the front lines in three days. The problem is this was the same day the beast horde will be attacking for the last time, which means that the beast horde will be at full strength."


    Taku nodded and said, "During the next three days, try your best to raise your level; I know that we did not come here to fight but it is really important for me to meet up and talk with Maka. If any of you do not want to come with me, it is okay, you can stay in the inn or you can go back through the tunnel."


    Ranga was incensed when he heard this, "Do you think that this this King is a coward, that you have to use such words. This King was raised to protect the weak, to be righteous, so even if you had told us to go back home, I would still have gone to the front lines and disobeyed your orders."


    After finishing his words, Ranga stood up with a proud expression on his face and proceeded to grab Tadi and began walking with upstairs. At first Tadi tried to struggle but she knew that she was not a match for Ranga as she just obediently followed. As they entered the room, Tino was the next to stand up, and left and went into his own room to go and cultivate.


    After the three of them left, Taku tried to go to his room but just as he stood up he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and noticed that it was Nyasha who had stopped him and he had a mischievous glint in his eyes. He forcibly sat down and then Nyasha stood up and went and retrieved a couple of jars from the inn keeper. As he came back with them and sat down, Taku felt a faint aroma flood his nostrils. The aroma was brutish but at the same time sweet. He couldn''t help but take a couple of glances tohordes the jars.


    Seeing this Nyasha smiled, "Today my brother is when I show you what being a man is like, I can tell that you are one of those waiting for ''the one'' type of people, so taking you to the brothel is out of the question, but what I can do is help you turn into at least half a man."


    Taku would be stupid if he was not able to realise what was going on, he felt slightly hesitant as Nyasha passed him the jar but after a couple of breaths. He grabbed the jar himself and began chugging it down. He only stopped when the jar was about half empty. He looked towards Nyasha and noticed that he had a dead pan expression on his face. Taku scrunched his face a little as the alcohol passed through his system. He had chugged it down so fast that he had been barely able to taste it but now that it was settling in his stomach he wasn''t quite sure if he was happy with this mundane habit that people here and earthlings alike seemed to consider a rite of passage.


    It took a little while for the liquid to take full effect and even though neither of the two had spoken since, Taku didn''t know why but at the moment he felt that it was really hard to hold back his laughter. Nyasha looked towards Taku, the glint in his eyes only growing brighter and noticing the look on Taku''s face he was the first one to erupt into a pool of laughter.


    The boy''s kept on laughing for a while until Taku finally spoke up saying, "I can''t help but feel that this is a rather wasteful use of our time considering-"


    "Honestly sometimes one would think there was an old man stuck inside of you trying to break through." Nyasha spoke up cutting Taku in the middle of his speech, which shocked Taku quite a bit. "Instead you should be telling me what about this woman Maka is so special, you have us all charging straight into battle."


    Taku snickered a little, now feeling visibly awkward but the alcohol had this freeing effect that made him feel liberated enough to say what he said next which surprised them both.


    "I think I like her."


    Taku stopped laughing after that his eyes bulging out a little, which made Nyasha start laughing all over again. "Relax man, you would think you had just seen a ghost, liking someone is perfectly normal. It''s just a clear sign that your loins work and they aren''t there just by design."


    Taku who was about to eat a bun he had left over from breakfast, choked as he heard the last part of Nyasha''s speech.


    "What I''m trying to say is now that you''ve taken the first step by experiencing bliss within a bottle, you really should do something about the other thing. I understand wanting to wait for ''the one'' he he he okay, I don''t support it but that''s beside the point. You don''t want to finally get her to give you a chance and be embarrassed by your lack of experience now do you?"


    Taku now visibly uncomfortable took a large swig from the jar, he wasn''t sure he likes were this conversation was going. It wasn''t that he was worried about his lack of experience at all rather the opposite. He was worried about the intensity of his desire. With each growing day as he grew more powerful so did his want and need for this woman, he had not seen in years and the one thing that kept him up at night was the fear that when he finally did see her, he wouldn''t be able to control himself. This just didn''t make sense to Taku. Just why was he so obsessed with this woman? It was completely unlike him.


    Nyasha noticed the growing distress on Taku''s face, "Okay, okay don''t worry she will love you just the way you are and all that jazz, no need to pop a vein. Reminds me of my first time, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, haha who am I kidding she was the most beautiful woman I had seen that day¡­"


    Taku drowned him out as he let the alcohol drown out the rest of his senses.

 44 Grab it by the...

    The next morning Taku woke up with his head feeling like it weighed a ton. His first experience of drinking was both pleasurable and agonizing., he remembered most parts of last night but over half of his memories from last night were blank. He barely remembered anything he said but most of what Nyasha said was still vivid though. Since he was a novice in both cultivation and the art of drinking, he did not know that all he had to do was circulate his Zesa and the headache would soon disappear. Since he did not know this, he dragged his body from his bed, went past Shumba who was still by his window and went straight to the bathroom to take a bath.


    He took a warm bath, after he finished he felt slightly refreshed but at the same time that feeling of having a mountain weighing on him did not disappear. He changed his clothes and went downstairs to have breakfast with the rest of the team and as always Tino was silent, Ranga was sticking close to Tadi but the usually quiet Nyasha was now staring at him with a smile plastered on his face. A smile that at the moment looked evil beyond measure. Taku suddenly felt the urge to turn back and go sleep, especially when he thought about the fact that he could barely even remember what he said last night.


    What made him feel awful was the fact that he had no idea what type of information he had spilled to this wolf in sheep''s clothing. If he remembered then he would be able to cover it up with some lies, but at the moment he had no idea how to counter the words, he didn''t know he said. He greeted everyone and sat down but he still looked warily at Nyasha.


    Noticing the weary gaze from Taku, Nyasha smiled, "Last night was great wasn''t it? We should definitely do it again. It was a real eye opener into your life and I feel as though now that we are sworn brothers, things such as getting drunk and showing each other the right path to man hood, should be things we do on a daily basis."


    Taku shivered when he heard this. He was not used to the way Nyasha was acting, he was used to the more quiet and reserved version of Nyasha, not this new and shrewd person. Taku was not fan of alcohol and he had no intention of repeating what happened last night. If anything it only made him more vigilant.


    He gulped down his meal in record time and then went back to his room. He sat down on his bed and calmed himself down. He was trying his best to get rid of any unnecessary thoughts before he began cultivating, because he knew that if he began cultivating whilst he was still distracted he would make close to no progress at all. It took him a while, but after what felt like eternity he finally managed to calm himself down.


    He sat there meditating for a couple of hours but he still did not feel any type of sensation that indicated that he would be able to break through any time soon. He had now been cultivating for about three months and even though he knew that things like this could not be rushed, and it was heavily dependent on ones talent, he still felt rather low because he thought he was taking too long to power up.


    He knew that he was somewhat talented when it came to cultivating but he still felt as if he was way too slow in attaining his breakthrough to the next level. Then he began of thinking of how if he was so talented, then how could a person like Tino who was at least a level below him in terms of talent be able to keep up with him.


    Tino was in the middle of the Tohwe level yet his talent was inferior to Taku''s. Even though this was mainly due to the fact that Tino had a lot of resources that would aid in his cultivation, Taku still felt it was odd because he was way more talented. With or without resources he should be able to quickly surpass everyone around him.


    Taku sighed and knew that any logic he tried to apply to this would not work. He began to attempt to draw the Zesa amplification skill once again. As he moved his finger in the air, that golden soul power remained suspended in the air. He began drawing this complex seal, and when he was to complete it, he felt dizzy and light headed. He gritted his teeth and tried to persevere, he took everything he had but with the last flick of his finger he suddenly felt his zesa turn violent. It was at this moment that his world went blank.


    He only woke up that evening when the sun had already set, he felt groggy and it took him a while to actually be able to stand up. Shumba only lifted his head and saw that Taku was awake, and proceeded to put his head down. Taku shook his head when he noticed how lazy and uncaring Shumba was.


    Taku calmed himself down and then began inspecting his body. There seemed to be nothing wrong so Taku began inspecting his organs and soul. After the organs, he got the biggest shock of his life when he inspected his soul. Right there on top of the three entities in his soul was a seal. The Zesa amplification seal that he had tried so hard to create was now lying there in his soul.


    To say he was elated would be an understatement. He quickly activated the seal and felt his zesa boiling. The brutality of the energy made Taku flinch because of the pain. At the same time he could feel that his zesa was now a lot stronger and also a lot more abundant.


    The next two days went by in a flash. In these two days, Taku had tried his best to avoid drinking, but then on the second day Nyasha had somehow tricked him into drinking again. Today was the day that he was finally able to meet Maka again, but as he woke up he felt no joy at all. He did not circulate his Zesa immediately as he took the time to remind himself why it was such a bad idea to drink.


    To be frank he did not really mind taking in alcohol. The problem was Nyasha. Somehow this guy would find a way to bring the topic of his escapades. Every time Taku drank he felt like a broken record. The only thing he could think about when drunk was his infatuation towards Maka. Taku shrugged and then circulated his Zesa. After a couple of breaths Taku felt rejuvenated as he went into the bathroom to take a bath.


    He quickly went downstairs and had breakfast with the rest of the team. As they finished their breakfast, Taku was getting ready to stand and go get Shumba when Nyasha suddenly spoke. "I am sure you can''t wait to see her. You are probably running to take and bath and maybe masturbate a bit so that junior won''t embarrass you later."


    Ranga gave Taku a knowing look. "There is nothing to be afraid of young one. There is no shame in beating your lizard before your face the person of the opposite sex that you like. I beat mine every morning because I know that I will be setting my eyes on Tad-¡­"


    Before he could finish his sentence, Ranga had already flown half the inns distance. The kick he got from Tadi this time around was very brutal. A couple of Ranga''s teeth had fallen off as he spit out a mouthful of blood. With that Tadi did not say a word as she left for her room. Tino opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but he quickly closed his mouth after a breath.


    "Don''t be ashamed bro,"Nyasha said to Tino. "We are all boys here. You are probably still a virgin so let us enlighten you two children."


    Tino could not find the words to describe how he was currently feeling. He definitely could not tell these people anything. He had spent the last three months with them but he did not feel that they were at the level of sharing such sensitive information.


    "Maybe we should use the same tactic you have been using on Taku recently." Ranga said.


    "Yeah, yeah,that did get us a lot of information." Nyasha added.


    Taku immediately got up and left for his room. He did not want to be part of this conversation anymore. They about three hours before they had to set off and meet up with Maka. He got into his room and found that he had nothing else to do so he reluctantly decided to go back to the rest of the boys.


    As he steeped out of the door he heard Ranga''s voice.


    "There is this other position-"


    He quickly turned around and went back into his room. At the moment he was happy that there was no other person in this inn. He thought about the talk he had been given by Nyasha when they were both drunk, and he really felt happy for hearing most of it when he was drunk.


    Some information was vivid but some was unclear, and Taku was happy about this. He really felt sorry that there was no way the lad was going to escape the two, and because Tino was sober when hearing this, the effects must be horrible. Taku was struggling in his brain to find a reason why the quiet Nyasha was suddenly so lively.


    Three hours passed and a carriage came to get them at the inn. The ride to the front lines was relatively quiet. What shocked everyone was the fact that Ranga actually had a serious expression on his face. Not once did he open his mouth to utter unnecessary words. Today was the day that the battle with the hoard reached its climax and there was no room for complacency.


    They reached the city walls and got out of the carriage. There were still no words shared between the five of them as they gazed at the hundreds of soldiers and cultivators that were injured. They could tell from this scene alone that it was a hard battle.


    The five of them were brought to an empty tent and were told to wait there as they go inform General Maka that they had arrived. They all had nothing against this arrangement, but they could not help but take glances towards the injured people outside.


    Nyasha and Ranga had been on many missions before, but this was the first that they had seen so many injured people. They could only imagine the death rate.


    After a couple of minutes a soldier came to get Taku. "Takunda gumbo! The General has summoned you to her tent. The rest of you can wait here and food will be delivered to you shortly."


    They all nodded and Taku went with the soldier. They walked for at least five minutes before they reached a large tent that was surrounded by at least two hundred people. With just a glance Taku was able to discern that none of these two hundred people were weak. And his intuition was right, because these people were not only a sub level above him but they had already passed the first sub level of the Kusakura level. To his surprise, when he passed the people greeted him respect, though some looked at him enviously.


    He did not understand why they would envy him so much. Just as he was about to discard the thought the soldier spoke. "You are very lucky, you know? Not that many people have the right to have a private meeting with the General. You should cherish this opportunity and grab it by the balls."


    "¡­"


    Taku did not know how to respond to that. Is everyone here in love with this girl¡­


    "Here we are! Don''t keep the general waiting now."

 45 Boiling Blood

    Taku stood there like an idiot. This was the moment he had been waiting for for the last couple of months. But as it was presented to him, he could not help but feel nervous.


    He tried his best to calm himself down to no avail. He looked at the tent in a daze. He dared to go and save his team before he could even cultivate, How could he now be afraid of meeting a girl? He quickly realized that it would be impossible for him to calm down so he just walked straight into the tent.


    As he got in he noticed that the tent was rather empty. Apart from a table and a bed there was nothing really inside. Makanaka was sitting at that table whilst reading a piece of paper. Her brows were tense and Taku knew that he should stay there silently and not disturb her.


    On several occasions he almost reached his hand out to touch her but he would always stop himself right at the last moment. Every time that his eyes landed on Maka, his heart would begin racing. He felt really embarrassed because he knew that Maka was way more powerful than he was and could probably sense what was going on.


    There was no way he could change anything so Taku just stood there like an idiot. He stood and waited for five minutes before he heard Maka sigh. "Do you not know that it''s rude to just stand and stare, at least site down first before you undress me with your eyes."


    Taku wore a wry smile as he went and sat down opposite Maka. It felt as though Taku went mute when he came into the room. So far he had not even said a single word. Maka smiled. To be honest if anyone dared to look at her the way Taku did then she would''ve killed that person already.


    But Taku was different. This kid was someone that her master had constantly praised and he had told him to try protect him at any cost. She was having quite the headache at the moment. She did not think that he would actually be able to come here. What made it worse was his timing. He just had to come when there was a beast tide.


    "What are you even doing here?" She asked. " Didn''t you get briefed about the mission? If you did why did you still come? You should know how dangerous this city is at this moment in time."


    "I do, but I had no choice." Taku replied.


    Maka furrowed her brows. Why did he come then? Could he be that horny?


    Taku smiled wryly. "The issue is that I am having trouble understanding somethings about my soul. I initially wanted to go search for Saru but even knowing that, it would be impossible for me to meet him. So, I went for the next best thing. I thought that maybe if I could find you then you might be able to bring me to him."


    Maka sighed. "Indeed I would have been able to take you to go see master. The problem is that master is not currently in the empire. As for when he might come back, I also have no idea."


    Things got silent and awkward pretty fast. "Thank you, I will take my leav-..."


    "Which weapon are you using?" Taku had wanted to say his goodbyes but was cut off by this question from Maka. It was not that Taku did not want to spend time with her, but he was so disappointed at the moment that he could barely even think straight.


    Taku organized his thoughts. "I am an archer. Although I have only been doing it for several months. My master says that I am now at least on the same level as some people who have been practicing for years."


    Hearing this Maka slightly frowned. Her expression turned back to normal in an instant. It was so fast that Taku did not even realize it. Which master is this kid talking about? And he actually chose archery over close combat weapons...


    "How good is your close combat?"


    "I am at least above average." Taku started. "I have never used a weapon in close combat, but I am fairly decent in my hand to hand combat."


    Maka smiled and made a decision to test Taku out. Just as she stood up a soldier ran inside with a panicked expression. "General! The beat tide has begun!"


    Maka''s expression turned solemn after hearing this. She sunk deep into thought, and only spoke after a couple of breaths. "We need to finish this fight early. The weakest go out first, but tell them not to be reckless."


    The soldier nodded and left. Taku stared at the tent entrance with a worried expression. Even though no one could order his teammates to fight, he knew that since they were here then they just had to participate in the battle. He turned around and was about speak, only for him to open his mouth and couldn''t find words to say.


    He stared in disbelief at Maka. The girl who he lusted for was right in front of him, half dressed. He saw the half naked Maka walk towards the her bed and immediately his thoughts ran wild. His heartbeat quickened as his body began heating up. The sheer size of her behind in proportion to her body could pit any woman to shame. Taku would give anything to see her bend over to pick something up


    The distance between the bed and the table was not that far. It would have taken less than three breaths of time to reach the bed. The only issue for Taku was that Maka was taking her sweet time to walk to it. Every time her hips swayed from one side to the other Taku could feel his junior throb as if it would escape at any time.


    Maka then bent down, properly revealing her lower body to Taku. It actually happened! The child who was witnessing all this almost jumped out of his chair. Taku wanted nothing more than to grab Maka and pin her to her bed. So he looked away and tried his best not to think about it. It was to no avail as Taku still found himself turning his head. As his eyes landed on Maka again he saw that she was now fully covered. She was wearing a silver amour that covered every single part of her body.


    Taku breathed in a sigh of relief, but he could not hide the disappointment in his eyes. Maka had noticed all of Taku''s actions earlier. She had not done all she did on purpose. She was so agitated that she forgot about the child she was with. By the time she realized that she had taken off her clothes in front of him, Taku''s heated gaze had already seen everything. Seeing that, Maka decided to test his endurance, so she took her time in going to retrieve her amour.


    Seeing Taku''s bloodshot eyes, Maka could not help but smile. Taku on the.other hand almost fainted when he saw this. The smile made his heart jump out of his chest.


    "Come on, let''s go..." Maka started. "You are here, so it''s best if you join the fight. You might not be able to fight with the tier 3 or 4 beasts but there will be a number of tier 2 beats and you can sharpen your combat ability when fighting. Try your best not to use your bow, only use it when necessary."


    Taku only nodded and did not dare to open his mouth. With that the two of them left the tent and went straight to where Taku''s team was. They walked in silence, as Taku did not know what to say. The place was now empty as most of the people were already atop of the city walls fighting the beasts. The only thing that could be heard were roars and shouts.


    From these noises alone Taku was able to tell that it was a very gruesome battle. Thinking this far Taku could not help but ask. "What is usually the reason for a beast tide like this."


    "There are numerous reasons." Maka started. "But only two really stand out. The first being that, there are beast kings in the mountain. And if these beast kings feel that their forest is now overpopulated then they will send the demonic beats out to fight with humans. The other is simply because someone has enmity with someone of a high status in the city and has a way to control demonic beasts, so he attacks the city. The first one is the more likely to happen."


    The two of them casually spoke about the other reasons, and by the time they finished they had already reached the place we''re Taku''s teammates were. The quartet were already outside and we''re surprisingly calm.


    When they saw Taku and Maka approach all of them froze. They were all a bit tongue tied when they saw Maka. This girl was roughly the same age they were but she was already so powerful. The four of them greeted Maka with respect, whilst she smiled and greeted them back.


    Taku gave a brief introduction, and then turned towards Maka. "One thing has been bothering me. Where is your team?"


    "Back at the capital." Maka answered. "We were taking a short holiday and so I came here. But who would have thought that the minute I get here there would be such a situation. If i were to call to them for help it would take them at least 2 months to get here so there was no point to in doing that."


    Taku finally understood. With that out of the way the six of them went up towards the city walls. When they reached the top the expressions of everyone excluding Maka changed. They had never seen so many dead bodies before.


    The amount of corpses made them take in a deep breath. Maka smiled when she saw this. "You will get used to it in time. The first I saw a scene like this my knees actually went weak. Calm down, soon it will be our turn to fight. Make sure to only attack beats that you know you can handle. Do not try to be a hero."


    They all nodded and waited patiently for their chance. As the battle raged on the five of them gradually got used to the bloodshed. Everyone in the team had killed someone before, but it all felt like nothing thanks to the gruesome battle that they were experiencing.


    As they gradually got used to the battle they felt their bodies heating up. They felt as though they could no longer control their bodies. They just wanted to jump in and fight alongside everyone else. If they held any fear before then at the moment it was currently gone. This was the Gutu blood within them boiling, ready for action!


    They wanted to fight. Subconsciously they all took out their weapons. Even Maka took out her spear and nodded in approval at everyone''s actions. Her eyes lingered on Taku who was covered by a layer of smoke. Her thoughts went back to that fight four years ago, back then Taku looked frail and weak. But four years later he had changed and even though he was not as burly as most kids his age, he still looked sturdy.


    Thinking about that fateful day four years ago she could not help but feel worried. Four years ago Taku lost control and killed a lot of people. Is that why he wants to meet master? Don''t tell me he lost control...?


    Maka began to worry when she thought this far. If he lost control would he still be able to distinguish before demonic beasts and humans? Would she be able to get to him before he killed all those around him?


    Maka quickly threw the issue at the back of her head. She decided to deal with things as they came. Right now she needed to fully focus on the battle. She was the strongest person here and she needed to perform in order to increase morale.

 46 Bestial Martialism

    Maka stood there watching the rest of the of the cultivators fight. Her own men which numbered in the hundreds had not moved yet. These soldiers had no specific classes and we''re just regular cultivators, but their cultivation bases and martial arts were at a high level. They were battle hardened and could easily fight with these low level beats that were currently attacking.


    They had their orders and could not attack at the moment because they needed to save energy. Five minutes went by and these five minutes felt like a lifetime for Taku and his team. They were itching to fight. The beasts became fewer and fewer as time went by.


    And just as it felt like the tide was about to finish, Taku and his team almost let there guard down, only to be reprimanded by Maka. "Don''t let your guard down! If beast tides were as easy as this then we would''ve finished this days ago. This was just the first wave. The second one is coming and that is the wave we are all fighting in."


    They five of them nodded and waited impatiently for the next wave. In about a breath they could hear roars. The ground began trembling as they waited. The demonic beats finally came into view and it caused everyone to be shocked. There were only a dozen or so tier 2 demonic beasts that they could spot, but apart from that the rest were all tier 3 and above.


    Maka looked towards Taku with a worried expression plastered on her face. Only to see him confidently smile. "I''ll be fine and Tino will be able to cope as well. We are way more powerful than you think."


    Tino also gave a confident smile and turned towards the incoming demonic beasts. Maka nodded and raised her hand.


    "Charge!!"


    The minute she gave this order. Her own men and thousands of other cultivators charged towards the incoming horde. There one unlucky man who was in the Kudyara level (first sub-level of the Kusakura level) who had been surrounded by a pack of wolves and was killed.


    Even though he had taken a large majority of the wolves down with him, he still perished because he ran out of zesa. Watching this scene unfold Taku and his team took this opportunity and ran straight towards that fallen cultivator. Ranga was the first to arrive as he jabbed his sword into a wolf''s eye. The wolf let out a pained howl as it fell back dead. The remaining wolves pounced towards Ranga, but it was at this point that Tino showed his worth.


    He was an earth attributed enforcer. So after enforcing his weapons he swung his spear towards two of the remaining six wolves. The two wolves did not die, but they suffered heavy injuries.


    Nyasha summoned the essence of a wolf king which scared the remaining four wolves. Taku and Nyasha attacked these wolves that had just been scared, Tino followed the two he had injured before whilst Ranga stood guard next to Tadi who was kneeling in front of the dead cultivator.


    In the space of a minute the remaining wolves were dead and the dead cultivator was now on his feet. The only difference now was that he had weird circular markings on his face. The whole process was so quick that those around them had still not fully processed the events. What shocked people was that these 5 individuals did not even use any type of martial skill or anything of the sort.


    Taku and Tino were yet to learn any martial skills and we''re fully depending on their physical strength to.fight these animals. The rest of the team felt no need to use their martial skills in such a situation. Even Maka had a shocked expression on her face. She never imagined that they would be so coordinated and strong. This allowed her to throw all her worries into back of her head and fully commit herself to her fight.


    Taku looked at the undead that was right beside Tadi and nodded in satisfaction. "He was powerful when he was alive, even though his level has dropped a bit it is still powerful enough to save is a lot of trouble during this period of time."


    The problem with using an Undead was that it''s power level was dependent on the Muroyi''s cultivation level. Tadi was less powerful than the man in question so when she revived him he dropped down in a level and was now at the Tamba level (third and final sub-level of the Pamamonya level)


    Taku''s whole body at the moment was covered in smoke. It made him look like a floating cloud. Only his bloodshot eyes were visible. He quickly gave the command for his team to charge through into the heat of the battle. The five of them did not separate as they charged through. They placed the Undead cultivator at the front and began their slaughter.


    Everywhere that they passed was followed by a trail of blood and corpses. Ranga who was just behind the Undead had taken on the most attacks from demonic beasts. To everyone''s astonishment even though he got injured he did not stop or even cry out in pain. The wounds healed as fast as they came. Even though Ranga could not heal other people, his ability to heal himself was really on another level.


    The people who were resting on the city walls could not keep their eyes off this team on five and an Undead. The battle had only been raging on for a minute but dozens of beasts had met their end I the fight because of this team. It was at this point that five powerful beasts set their sights on Taku and co. Taku quickly ordered them to engage the beasts one on one.


    "Who are these kids?" A person spoke in a soft voice.


    "I don''t know! But the strongest seems to only be in the Zhanje level." Another person replied.


    Discussions and arguments began to fill the air at this moment. " I heard that if you reach a certain level of power then you can alter your appearance at will."


    "That still makes no sense you idiot. I doubt that people can also reduce their own cultivation bases."


    "In this world nothing is impossible!"


    Taku and his team did not care about the discussion. All of their attention was on the battle they were in. This was the first time that they were getting separated. But they still did not panic. They were each facing a top tier 2 beast and they all had sufficient confidence in fighting and killing them.


    Taku was facing a large gray bear. And he was excited by the prospect of sharpening his combat ability.


    At the moment Taku could not see the rest of the team from where he was. The five demonic beasts had made sure to separate the five individuals. The level of intelligence that they showed did not surprise Taku but instead it made him even more excited. At the moment Taku''s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the Bear. This was by far the greatest challenge he had ever faced. The beast in front of him was an actual Demonic Beast. If it was a normal Bear then he would have finished this battle already.


    The bear took a step forward. A sinister glint flashed across his eyes, before iys paw flew out. The power behind it was so tremendous that a low sonic boom could be heard.


    A genuine killing blow right from the start. The Bear evidently planned to dispatch Taku in the quickest way possible. The terrifying paw rapidly grew bigger before Taku''s eyes. However, in the blink of an eye, Taku''s palm slipped past the Bear''s paw and grabbed it''s wrist. With a firm pull, the force actually managed to cause the Bear''s body to be pulled forward.


    In the instant when the Bear''s body was jerked forward, an ominous glint flitted across Taku''s eyes. His knee abruptly thrust upwards, fiercely smashing towards the Bear''s neck. A rather ruthless attack.


    Taku''s attack was so quick and violent, but the bear did not even flinch or panic. In fact the bear raised its paw and slapped away Taku''s knee.


    "Thump!"


    Both of the Bear''s palms heavily slapped against Taku''s knee and a sharp pain immediately transmitted from its paws. The Bear felt as if it had slapped a piece of metal. However, it had also borrowed the resulting force to stabilize its body, and from there, it threw itself back at Taku who had also just stabilized himself.


    Taku was not shocked by the intelligence that the Bear showed. But he was a bit shocked at the fact that the bear was yet to fall down. He had been certain that his blow would be able to at least heavily wound the bear. But to his surprise the beast had not only blocked it, but was also preparing to counter. He did not have time to think it through as the Bear had thrown out an attack of its own.


    Taku clenched his fist as he threw himself towards the big Bear. It was truly a comical scene as it looked like an ant was trying to punch down a bear.


    Taku threw a punch, and the Bear replied in kind with its own paw.


    Bang!


    The paw and fist collided as Taku took a step back. What shocked Taku was that the bear actually took several steps back. With the smoke covering his whole body, not only did Taku''s speed increase but also his power did as well.


    There was slight hesitation in the bear''s eyes at the moment. Never had it ever thought that it could be pushed back by a human who was in truth a level below it. Thinking this far the bear was enraged by the fact that it had actually shown weakness in front of a human youth. How laughable was that. The enraged Bear threw caution to the wind and carelessly threw itself towards Taku.


    Taku''s eyes brightened when he saw this. He quickly thought of the battle that he had with a bear back at Honde valley. In that fight he was still just a mortal with incredible strength. But today things were different. Not only was the opponent stronger, but he too was stronger. And to a certain degree he had learnt how to use this smoke rather effectively.


    Taku threw out a kick towards the oncoming bear.


    Ba!


    Even though Taku''s kick connected, the Bear only staggered for a bit before turning and furiously stared at Taku. Behind the fury in its eyes the bear was looking at Taku with a look of disgust and as well as mockery.


    The Bear launched all its attacks towards Taku, but thanks to Taku''s fast movement he was able to continuously dodge. With every dodge he made, he threw a fist out which always cleanly landed on the bears body. As the fight went on the bear became more enraged and also more reckless.


    The only thought that came to mind was to sharpen his skills so he did not kill the bear whenever he got the chance, but he knew that his teammates would be done with their respective opponents soon so he started meeting the bears attacks head on!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Taku''s fists continuously countered the Bear''s paws. But every time the fists and paws collided Taku felt as if his whole body was going numb. He knew that if this continued then he would ultimately be killed.


    The Bear threw another paw and instead of meeting it head on, Taku dodged to the side and then grabbed the bear''s paw. He pulled the bear towards himself and then used his shoulder to land a blow right on the bear''s neck.


    Ba!


    The bears neck did not break, but I was about to fly away because of the impact. But how could Taku allow that to happen. He quickly grabbed the bear and then pulled it back. This time around he threw out his knee. As his knee and the bears skull connected a bone cracking sound could be heard as the bear took its final breath

 47 Abnormal Flame

    By the time Taku was done with his opponent, his teammates were already fighting with other demonic beasts. He smiled wryly and then joined them. He could have finished his fight earlier but he still needed time to sharpen himself. Not to mention that this was a top tier 2 demonic beast. A month ago this would have been far out of his league, so he had to tread carefully. Now after a battle he was aware of where his strength was.


    The beasts came thick and fast and after an hour the warriors were now feeling the fatigue. Everyone but Taku that is. He noticed that ever since he''s cultivation base increased he''s been able to stay in his current state for much longer. Is it really a question of my cultivation base? The stronger I get the less likely I am to lose control...?


    Even though this theory seemed plausible he was sure that it was not the right one. He needed to find Saru as soon as possible. If he failed to do then he would need to find a person who was proficient in things of the soul. The only one he knew and trusted was Saru.


    "If you guys are tired then go rest. I doubt this will be the last wave and we have it under control so go save some energy." Taku was not exhausted at all. He still needed to fight and gain more experience, but he had noticed that his teammates were now feeling rather exhausted.


    "How about you?" Nyasha asked


    Taku replied. "I''ll be fine don''t worry, none of these remaining beasts are really a threat to.me."


    "Oh you don''t say." Ranga started. "This King will go wait for you. If you don''t come back alive then you don''t deserve to be my leader."


    "..."


    With that Ranga turned around and began walking toward the city walls. The rest of the team shook their heads and followed. Taku smiled and looked around him. There were still a couple of battles happening in and around him. He was not really interested in these small scale battles, he was looking for mama''s position.


    When he didn''t find her on the ground he immediately looked up into the air and saw that she was in a heated battle with a group of demonic birds. She was holding on quite well considering the fact that she was going against five demonic beasts of the fourth tier.


    Watching the fight between Maka and the birds he had a feeling that she was not really going all out. And as if conforming Taku''s suspicions Maka looked down towards him and have him a slight smile.


    Taku was not the slightest bit shocked and smiled back. He then looked forward and saw that there was a pair of horned monkeys that were charging towards him. Taku smiled and leapt straight towards the two incoming beasts.


    He activated his soul power and to his surprise he could now spread it out for about 15 meters. The pleasant surprise was truly something that came when he really needed it. When he spread out his soul sense he noticed that there was another beast that was creeping up on him from his blind-spot. Taku just smiled and continued his charge.


    Taku threw out a punch that was met with a palm from one of the monkeys. To the monkey''s surprise, when it''s palm met with Taku''s fist it was immediately blown away. The other monkey did not even have time to react as Taku threw out another punch that landed on its face.


    Bam!


    Kacha!


    With this punch Taku dislocated the monkeys jaw. The monkey flew several meters away and with that Taku twisted his body in a weird manner and turned around. He extended his hand and his bow formed in an instant. He pulled the string and a blue arrow materialised. The moment it was done materializing he let go.


    ''Whizzz''


    The arrow flew threw the air and penetrated the head of a leopard that had been sneaking up on him. The leopard fell down dead. Taku breathed in and walked towards the two heavily injured monkeys.


    Taku had two weapons at his disposal. Arrows made from his flame control and arrows made from his lightning power. His flame arrows had more destructive power and required less zesa to use, while his lightning arrows were faster and more accurate.


    Taku quickly killed them off and opened up their heads and retrieved their cores. He had not brought Shumba with him this time around. He knew that the beats he would be facing will be way too strong for the lion so he decided to leave him at the inn.


    What he wanted to do at the moment was to take some monster cores for the lion. Just as he was done picking out the cores, he heard a voice coming from directly above him.


    "Do you collect these cores to sell them or do you give them to alchemist so that they make pills for you."


    "Neither." Taku answered as he looked up. "I have a demonic beast. This is the only way they can power up faster so I''m planning on collecting a few."


    "Oh." Maka answered as she extended her hand and handed Taku some beast cores.


    Taku did not decline as he took the cores and put them in his storage pouch. "How long do you think till the next beast wave comes."


    "About half an hour...."


    As Maka answered a deafening roar came for the forest in front of them. Everyone who was still in the area immediately froze as a very oppressive aura penetrated the air. Maka''s expression turned solemn as she sensed this aura.


    She could clearly feel that the approaching beast was at least a level above her. "Leave now!" Maka shouted towards Taku. Taku though shook his head. "There is no point really. You guys might have felt the aura of one beast but I will tell you right now that there is actually two of them."


    "I know, that''s why..." Maka answered helplessly. Taku still just shook his head as he cut her off. "I am guessing that you can deal with one, and two would be a stretch for you? Judging from those auras I would say that the beasts are at least 4 or so levels above me. And since you can''t fight with two and i can''t even fight with one, out best bet is to lead them away."


    It took a while for Maka to fully register Taku''s words. Not because there was anything complex about them, just that she never would''ve thought that Taku would come on with a solution on the spot. She knew that his solution was the best possible plan, but executing it was the issue.


    Taku then leaned over and whispered something into Maka''s ear which caused Maka to frown a bit. "Are you sure?"


    Taku then gave Maka a confident smile and nodded. His body got covered by a layer of smoke as he darted towards another part of the forest. Maka stared in the direction that Taku had disappeared for a good second before turning and facing the incoming beasts.


    ***


    Deep withing the forest there were two silhouettes that were sitting cross legged in a cave. There was a middle aged man who had a pale face, and sitting in front of him was a hooded figure who gave off close to no presence at all.


    "Are you sure that this will work?" The paled faced man spoke. "We need her alive. If your stupid beasts hurt her in any way we won''t be able to negotiate with him."


    The hooded figure chuckled. "Hehe... don''t worry about it. Even if she puts up a resistance, she won''t be able to get away. She is facing two beasts that are a level above her, and she is alone. Anything she tries is going to be futile."


    "I hope you''re right." The paled faced man started. "If we manage to capture her then the tide in this war will slightly shift."


    The hooded figure just remained quiet.


    ***


    Maka on the other hand was facing two giant demonic beasts. The first one was a Flame Gorilla, and the second was a Mastiff. She did not bother moving as she stared at the two tier 5 demonic beasts. She felt rather awkward because she knew that the success of what they were trying to pull off hung on Taku''s shoulders.


    The Gorilla moved forward slowly, acting as if it had no ill intent whatsoever. The beasts were intelligent and could tell that something was amiss when they noticed that Maka was doing nothing. So the Gorilla approached with caution.


    It was a meter away from Maka and was about to reach out its hand and grab her, and it was at this moment that a great sense of danger overwhelmed it''s senses. It''s hair stood on end as it turned around to try block the incoming attack.


    It was slightly too late, because just as it turned the arrow was already thirty centimeters away from its face. The Gorillas pupils dilated as it noticed that this Red arrow was rather peculiar.


    Boom!


    The arrow landed it''s face, but instead of penetrating into its head, the arrow suddenly exploded as the head of the Gorilla got engulfed in flames. The ape staggered backwards and it was at this time that Maka took action.


    She retrieved her spear and ran straight towards the Gorilla. The Mastiff saw the situation and attempted to charge forward, only to be stopped by a blue colored arrow that hit it''s leg. This blue arrow not only penetrated it''s leg, but also burnt it slightly and left the leg feeling numb.


    By the time that the numb feeling had disappeared the Mastiff noticed that the Gorilla was rolling on the ground I pain, whereas Maka''s silhouette was already disappearing in the opposite direction.


    That Mastiff was slightly angered as it quickly roared and chased after Maka. The Gorilla got up with a bit of a struggle and followed closely behind. By now it''s face was already half burnt and disfigured.


    Deep in the forest the hooded figure shook for a couple of breaths. He then took in a few breaths and chuckled. "Hehe... looks like she has help from a powerful archer, and his flame is abnorma! Its almost as if...wait, I thought that you said that she has no relationship with the royal family."


    The paled faced man was shocked by these words. "She doesn''t! What exactly happened."


    The hooded figure just shook his head. "This plan has has failed today. My children are chasing after her but I doubt they can catch her now."


    On the city walls, Taku''s teammates wore expressions of horror. By the time they tried to react Maka and the two beasts had already disappeared into the forest. Taku on the other hand was nowhere to be found.


    This led his teammates to fear the worst. They could not even process what just happened and now they could not even find their own leader. "Do you think he is okay?" Tadi asked with a worried expression.


    "If he is with general Maka then there is a large possibility that he''ll be fine." Nyasha started. "If he is alone though, then I don''t think he has a high chance of survival."


    As everyone was feeling dejected, Tino spoke. "The only thing we can do is check on whether he is still alive or not." The trio looked at him quizzically and waited for him to talk. "If Taku dies then Shumba will immediately lose control so we need to go and observe Shumba''s actions."


    The trio nodded and without saying a word to anyone they disappeared from the city walls. They ran to the inn they were staying in and it took them a full twenty minutes. When they arrived at the inn they realize that Tapuwa was waiting there.


    "I was beginning to think that you guys died because of the wave. And to think when I got here I actually wanted to warn you not to go."


    The faces of three turned solemn when they heard this. They didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. Did this warning not come a little bit too late. Nyasha was then the first one to speak. "We appreciate the fact that you came here with good intentions, and even though we are curious as to why you didn''t want us to go. We need to check on whether or not Taku is still alive. He disappeared on the battlefield when these two giant demonic beasts showed up."


    Hearing this Tapiwa''s expression went dark.

 48 Desperation

    Taku and Maka sprinted away from the city at the fastest speed possible. At first Maka thought that she would either have to slow down because of Taku''s low cultivation level. Worst case scenario she would have to carry the guy. But her surprised when she was using about 70 percent of her speed Taku was still able to keep up.


    Taku at the moment only had some smoke covering his legs. He was pushing himself to the limit. He knew that he could not keep this up for long since he had fought for a while before they met this screwed up situation.


    Taku could slowly feel himself lose control with every passing second. He was cussing at himself for not coming up with a better plan. If he was to lose control now...


    Taku subconsciously took a glance at Maka who was beside him. He was afraid that he would do something that he would regret for the rest of his life. He knew that if he lost control then in his eyes every person is an enemy. Maka felt Taku''s gaze and turned to face him whilst maintaining their speed. She looked at Taku''s bloodshot eyes and knew that something was amiss. "How long do you think you have?"


    When she asked this question she couldn''t help but think of that incident from way back then. Even though it wasn''t her first time seeing something so gruesome, it was her first time seeing a ten year old kill with such ruthlessness. She replayed that fight every night. Taku on the other hand had nightmares about that day.


    Taku sighed. "A couple of minutes at best. I don''t really know to be honest. I am just afraid..."


    "Don''t worry." Maka cut him off. "I will knock you out before you can cause any trouble. Besides, even if you go crazy it won''t be hard to put u down."


    Hearing this Taku actually frowned a little. Not because her words were hurtful or anything but he actually felt his heart racing when he heard that. What the heck! Am I turning into a masochist because of this girl.


    Taku made a note to stay as far away from this girl until his current self grew older and learnt how to control his emotions. He shook his head and continued running in silence with Maka. After about five minutes or so Taku finally felt as if he was losing control.


    He quickly came to a stop and sat down to meditate. Maka also stopped. "You have about half an hour before those things catch up, so if you can be ready in 15 minutes then it would save us a lot of trouble."


    Taku did not even open his eyes as he nodded. Exactly fifteen minutes later Taku got up and the two began running again. Due to the momentary stop a the two beasts had almost caught up. After running for another hour Taku began feeling like he was losing control again. He threw a helpless glance towards Maka as he stopped again.


    "I am sorr-"


    "Don''t waste your breath." With that Maka went and grabbed Taku and placed him on her back. "Just meditate and leave the running to me. Even though this will reduce my speed a bit it will still be enough to shake those two off."


    Before Taku could even reply Maka took off. Maka was moving at the same speed that they were moving at before. Was she slowing herself down on purpose so that I won''t be left behind...?


    For the first time ever in his life Taku felt like a burden. He was silent for the following two hours as Maka ran. And after these two hours Taku could clearly tell that Maka was getting tired. She would have been able to run faster and lose less energy if she was alone. Maka was in the Kusakura level,thus she could achieve incredible speeds. Speed was actually her weakest attribute but if she moved at full speed Taku would not be able to survive the force generated, not to mention it could make him go haywire.


    Taku knew that this was not the time nor place to be belittling himself so he quickly got off her back and then reversed their roles.


    Maka was now on Taku''s back. Taku had been resting for the last two hours so he was close to his peak condition. In the blink of an eye smoke covered his whole body as he exploded forward at full power. Maka was a bit shocked by the speed that Taku had unleashed. They ran for another hour and Taku was starting to pant heavily.


    It was at this moment that they both felt a chill run down their spine as a grave sense of danger overwhelmed them. Taku quickly leapt of the ground and just as he left the ground, the place where he had jumped from caved in.


    Taku looked down and saw a 30 meter long worm like creature that was starting straight at them as if it was looking at its dinner. Whilst in the air Maka tightened her grip on Taku as she began flying away. She had not flown before because it took consumed too much energy. There was no other choice in the matter now. They had to escape not only from the Mastiff and Gorilla, but now there was a new edition to the chasing party.


    The giant worm like creature charged underground and occasionally came back up to check it''s progress. Taku noticed that no matter which direction They flew in, the worm was still able to follow them.


    Taku knew that Maka would not be able to hold on for much longer. "Make me face the direction that we last saw that worm." Maka did not ask why she just did as Taku asked. She knew that Taku wanted to try something so she tried her best not to obstruct his hands. Taku waited for a couple of seconds before finally seeing the worm emerge again. Taku grinned and extended his hand, his bow materialized in a second and he did not hesitate in pulling the string. He did not bother with aiming at any specific object he just released his flame arrows at rapid pace.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    As each arrow landed a deafening explosion would follow. After shooting out a dozen arrows Taku finally stopped and breathed in a sigh of relief. Most of the surrounding area was covered by flames. The huge worn attempted to go underground and then pop up at an area that had no flames, but by the time it managed to find a safe area, it was already several kilometers away from Taku and Maka.


    Maka also let out a sigh of relief. "Maka watch out!" Just as she was about to let her guard down she heard Taku''s desperate cry, so she looked back only to find that several large boulders were heading straight for them. It would''ve been easy to deal with such a threat if she was not carrying someone. Taku on the other hand had used up most of his power in his previous attack.


    Maka just kissed her teeth and sped along. Taku on the other hand kept on looking around to find the source of the boulders. He noticed that about several meters away from the flames stood three gigantic beasts. The gorilla, the Mastiff and the giant worm were all staring at them intently. The Gorilla smiled and then picked up another boulder and threw it towards the two of them.


    The following scene really surprised Taku, because right after The Gorilla threw that boulder, it immediately grabbed the Mastiff and with a loud roar it also threw the Mastiff towards Taku and Maka. Most demonic beasts did not have any type of specific skill and only possessed tremendous physical strength. But the Mastiff was different. The Mastiff was part of a certain bloodline that had one specific skill.


    This skill allowed the Mastiff to burn its life force in exchange for ten minutes in which it would be able to control any element of its choice. The Mastiff this time around chose to control air. The Mastiff roared and gale swept up everything in the surrounding area. This gale slowly began taken form as it turned into a tornado. All of this happened so fast that the previously thrown boulders had not even reached Taku and Maka yet.


    By this point the two of them did not even bother about the boulders anymore. Not only was there a tornado chasing after them but right behind it was the Mastiff which was surprising manipulating the air around it to allow it to fly. Seeing this Taku frowned. What was the point of you getting thrown if you could use your ability to fly? I am starting to question your intelligence now¡­


    Maka did not have time to think to think about any of this because the suction force from the tornado was so strong that she had to use all her remaining power to try pull away. It was to no avail as the tornado became fiercer and fiercer. The two of them suddenly found themselves several meters away from the tornado and the Mastiff. The Mastiff licked its lips and roared yet again. This time around the Mastiff formed a bunch of wind blades.


    "Maka stop flying and hold on to me." She knew that this was not the time to ask unnecessary questions and did as she was told. Before the two could even fall to the ground they got pulled in by the tornado. The Mastiff was elated because it thought that it would have to put in more effort, but who would have thought that the people they were chasing would willingly give themselves up. Soon after these thoughts the Mastiff''s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.


    Taku, who was several meters away from the tornado, unleashed a series of flame arrows at record speed.


    Boom!


    As the deafening sound rang out, the shock-waves threw the now powerless duo far away from the tornado. The Mastiff stared in horror as its tornado got engulfed by flames. The air around it began heating up as it quickly retreated. There was something very weird about this flame. It felt as though this flame could burn anything it touched. Even though the Mastiff was a demonic beast of the fifth tier, it still felt weary when facing this kid''s flame arrows.


    The Mastiff retreated back to the only place that was not shrouded in flames. The Gorilla was quite angry at the moment. It had really wanted to get a hold of that kid and torture him. When he saw that they were being pulled by the tornado it could not help but be happy. The issue came when that kid began shooting those red arrows towards the tornado. It was at that moment that the Gorilla knew that it would not be able to get a hold of Taku.


    It had become very familiar with this flame, it vowed to find Taku in the future and kill him at any cost. This kid had not only ruined their plan, but had also redesigned its face. The three beats knew that they could no longer chase the two youths so they all turned and left. As they felt the Mastiff took a close look at the gorillas face and shrugged. It almost felt as if the Mastiff preferred this version of its partner. The gorilla was slightly enraged as it saw its partner''s actions. It quickly swallowed its anger as it knew that they were in no position to fight. The three beats retreated at rapid pace.


    On the other side of the forest in a cave, the paled faced man had a grim expression on his face as he looked at the hooded figure in front of him. "What do you mean by that? How could they escape?"


    The hooded figure did not answer his question as he also replied with his own question. "I thought you said that she was not related to the royal family? I might stay away from worldly matters but I know that Saru has no connection with the royal family, in fact they are enemies. So tell me why the Nether Flame appeared? You wanted to capture this girl as a way to lure out that old freak? You should have known that it would be hard, and even if you knew this I am surprised that you did not find that she had someone from the royal family with her. I don''t want to get involved with those monsters so if you may, please take your leave."

 49 Mans Fury

    Chiwenga was currently in a very horrible mood. His one and only disciple was nowhere to be found. It had been four days since he disappeared and Chiwenga felt as though his life was crashing down. He had ran all the way to Bindura when he heard the news and even went into the forest to search for his disciple. The only hope that him and everyone else held was thanks to Shumba.


    Shumba was yet to react in anyway. This at least signified that Taku was still alive. They had attempted to use the connection between Shumba and Taku to locate Taku but it was to no avail. According to Chiwenga Taku was too far for Shumba to be able to get a definite location. The reason what Chiwenga knew this was simply because he left a soul imprint on Taku which no weaker than the connection Taku had with Shumba. And with that soul imprint, he could only vaguely sense its position.


    The problem was that the forest was way too large. If they just started searching at random places then there was chance that they could come back empty handed, even though there was a chance of success it was slightly too low. With the evidence that Taku might still be alive the Ivory Guard issued a search mission. Maka''s team even cut their holiday short as they rushed from the capital to Bindura.


    A total of two hundred teams went out for the search. But after a full month of searching, they all came back empty handed. Some teams elected to give up and it was at this moment that Maka''s team arrived in Bindura. Without wasting time they went straight to the inn that Taku''s team were staying in. The streets by this time were now bustling with people. The beast wave had ended and the citizens did not have to worry about their safety anymore.


    This inn though was now not accepting any more customers. When Chiwenga came he just presented the inn owner with an offer he could not refuse. And with that this place became Chiwenga''s house. Of course Chiwenga kept all of the chefs and staff. Maka''s team entered the inn and immediately saw Taku''s team sitting quietly on around a table.


    Seeing the team of four walk in. The quartet of Tadi, Ranga, Tino and Nyasha did not even greet them in any formal way. They just gave them a slight nod and maintained their silence. The opposite party did not feel the slightest bit wronged by their behavior. They knew exactly how they felt and returned their own nods.


    Maka''s team consisted of two males and two females. They all sat down around Taku''s team and remained for a while before a girl who was wearing a blue amour spoke and introduced herself and her teammates to Taku''s teammates. "My name is Rujeko, these are my teammates. Rumbi, Tafara and Masimba.


    "My name is Nyasha. This is Ranga, Tino and Tadi. It''s a pleasure to meet you all."


    Maka''s team nodded in agreement. Tafara was a pretty big guy, but with a glance one could tell that he was incredibly hyper. The same could be said for Rumbi, she was fairly beautiful, to the point that Tino kept stealing gazes at her. Masimba on the other hand was rather reserved, out of all of the people here he was the only one who looked really calm. What gave him away was the anxiousness in his eyes. Rujeko looked to be the most mature out of all of them and also she seemed to be strongest.


    "I heard that you guys have a way to see whether your leader is alive or not. Is this true?" After a brief period of silence Masimba asked the question that was on everyone''s mind. Tino nodded and then explained. "The contract of equals that Taku and Shumba signed is a bit peculiar. If Taku was to die the Shumba would feel incredible pain and would potentially go berserk. The stone they used to make has a soul binding effect, so their souls are pretty much connected."


    "If their souls are connected then doesn''t that make it easier to find him?" Tafara spoke with a hint of impatience. "He should be able to sense his partner''s position right? How useless is this creature and its master that it can-¡­"


    Before he could even finish his words he was already up in the air being held by the throat by a black figure. "Do you dare finish those words?" everyone in the room except for Taku''s teammates broke out in cold sweat when they saw this scene. Tafara at the moment was extremely terrified. He could not even sense anything beforehand. Before he knew it his feet were already dangling in the air.


    Rujeko tried her best to calm herself down as she spoke. "I apologize for my teammate''s rude remar-.."


    "Shut up!" the black figure shouted. "Who gave you the right to speak?"


    Rujeko immediately shut her mouth and did not have the courage to say anything anymore. Even the usually calm Masimba was slightly frightened by this scene. Just how powerful did the opposite party have to be for them to not even pick up on his movements?


    "Now can you please complete your sentence from before?" the figure spoke without hiding its hostility at all.


    "That''s enough." A masked man walked into the inn. "There was no need for that. His teammate also went missing. He just let his emotions get the best of him that''s all. Just put him down."


    The figure slowly put Tafara down, and during that process the figure was still filled with killing intent. "Our disciple is missing as well. You don''t hear us saying sh*t like this. At least we can tell that our man is still alive. Can you people even tell if that girl is alive or not?"


    All of Maka''s teammates lowered their heads. True the only thing they brought with them was hope and nothing more. Tafara who was now timid opened his mouth wanting to apologize but he was cut off by the masked man. "Do not worry about it. We already know that you are sorry. Just sit down and calm yourself down."


    With that the figure disappeared into thin air. The masked man was of course Chiwenga, but for whatever reason he had decided to hide his identity. Even though Tino and the rest of the team found it strange they still did not ask any questions. As Chiwenga also sat down, Shumba who had been in Taku''s room this whole time finally came out and lay down next to Chiwenga.


    Chiwenga stroked its mane and then lifted up his head, only to be met with a couple of shocked gazes. "I am guessing you can''t tell what type of demonic lion this is right? To be honest with you the evolution of demonic beasts is fairly unusual. When some beasts evolve they will either turn into the already known demonic beast species. In some rare cases they will evolve into something completely different. I don''t even know which type of lion this is."


    Chiwenga sized up Maka''s team and found that they were incredibly powerful for their age. That is of course if he didn''t put them in the same bracket as Taku and Maka. As Chiwenga was thinking about this everyone from Maka''s team had the same thought. A master this powerful should have a monster of a student.


    Chiwenga was yet to flaunt his prowess, but just because he was able to make that black figure retreat they knew that he was someone they could not afford to offend. Chiwenga sighed. "I know that you guys are worried about your friend. But I really do believe that you are mature enough to remain calm. We can only vaguely sense their location, even this isn''t enough for us to find them. Two hundred teams were sent out in the last month to search for them and all of the team have come up empty handed so far. I just want to tell you not to get your hopes up about anything and also just be prepared for any possible outcome."


    The teams could only nod as Chiwenga continued. "I am leaving today to go and try find him. You guys will obviously need Shumba. But let me warn you about something. Even though Shumba can vaguely sense where Taku is, it is still a gamble because you can travel in that direction for months and Shumba would only still vaguely tell his position. This forest is way too big for anyone at the moment."


    With that Chiwenga did not say anything else as he stood up and walked out of the inn. Whilst walking out he suddenly remembered what he had said to his disciple before. "After you have finished this mission I want you to come stay with me for a period of time. Of course during this period of time you team can also come stay with me, I will be able to give them guidance from time to time. And I will be responsible for all your needs, this includes food and a place to stay."


    Thinking this far Chiwenga just shook his head and kept on walking. He was really looking forward to the next five years. In these five years he knew that he would be able to create a very sharp sword that would cut down anything in its path. But at the moment all those dreams were about to be demolished. Even though he did not want to admit it, he was looking forward to have his disciple help him resolve some past grievances.


    As he left everyone from Maka''s team breathed a sigh of relief. Masimba glared at Tafara. "You had just had to open your big mouth didn''t you? I swear that black figure is the most powerful person I have met so far ever since I started cultivating."


    His trio of teammates nodded at the same time, and they had met powerful figures with reputations that could strike fear into the hearts of billions. The amount of pressure that Chiwenga and that black figure gave them was enough to suffocate them. In the Ivory Guard they were considered an elite team, each member qualified to lead an entire army, but in front of such pressure they could only lower their heads.


    "You guys should not think of it much." Tino started. "He would not have killed you, maybe he could have tortured you until you begged for death. At least you will be alive right." Tino said all this as if it was nothing, as if it was something that they were all used to this type of thing. The people looked at Taku''s team as if they were looking at exotic animals.


    After casually talking for a while the eight began discussing how they would go about searching for Maka and Taku. "I think it''s best if we split and search separately."Tafara suggested. "This way we will be able to cover more ground as well."


    Nyasha shook his head. "The problem with that is that one of us would have to take Shumba with him or her. And even though it sounds effective it is risky as well. Even though these Ivory Guard bracelets can allow us to communicate with each other, we might still not reach each other in time to assist, and if we get out of range, sigh."


    Hearing these words only Tino was shocked as he just stared at his bracelet. He knew that this thing represented status and a way to record contribution points, never did he think that it also had such a function. Nyasha scratched his head when he saw Tino''s expression. "When you get these bracelets as team they will already be configured to be able to communicate between each other, we forgot to tell you about this. But if it was someone who is not from your team then you will need to leave a Zesa imprint on the bracelet. The problem is these things are also ranked and we have the lowest ranked bracelets and can only communicate with people who are several hundreds of meters away."


    "Wait since they are a gold ranked team that means their quality is also better, right?" Tino asked. "If that''s the case cant they attempt to contact Maka."

 50 Inner Conflic

    Taku slowly opened his eyes as pain radiated throughout his whole body. He could faintly recollect what had happened before but he had no idea that his actions would produce such a shocking back lash. He had no idea how far he and Maka had flown but he knew that they had probably landed rather awkwardly. As his eyes opened he realised that the sky was dark and it was already night time. He had no clear way to discern the time at this moment. He tried getting up but he could barely lift a finger as he felt pain the minute that he tried to move.


    He took a quick glance at himself and realised that his whole body was bandaged; in truth he looked like a mummy. He had no idea regarding the amount of damage that was done, but he could tell that he would be bed ridden for a while. Taku could not even move his head and he could only stare up at the sky. At this moment he was just worried, worried about Maka. He had no idea what happened afterwards but the fact that he was bandaged meant that either he was found by someone else or Maka had woken up before him and applied first aid, but he had no way of knowing which was which and at the moment all he could do was worry.


    He tried to spread his soul sense but to his astonishment his soul power was completely diminished. This meant that he had no way to check his surroundings and at this moment this left him completely feeling even more helpless. Taku felt like his world was collapsing right before him, before he could even meet Saru this accident had to happen. He began to wonder how his team was doing and how Maka''s team was doing; he began to even wonder about his master and that black figure that was always behind him. He knew that if he didn''t recover and if Maka wasn''t safe he would never be able to go back to the Gutu or anywhere for that matter where he could meet his friends or his master.


    Taku sighed and tried and tried to move again and it was at this moment that a voice drifted into his ears, "Don''t move!" Maka exclaimed, "You''ve been out for five days, I did not realise it at first but you actually got injured more than I did and by the time I bandaged you up, you had lost most of your blood and that is why you have been unconscious for so long. Just try not to move okay, I will feed you some porridge just now."


    Taku just slightly nodded as he was not able to move much, he knew that at the moment the only thing that he could do was wait and recover. He mumbled a thank you to Maka and proceeded to just lay there like a corpse. Maka came close to him about five minutes later with a bowel of porridge.


    Taku was flabbergasted and couldn''t help but ask, "How do you have porridge and utensils at a time like this."


    Maka was slightly shocked by this question; she did not know why someone would think of such things at a time like this.


    She promptly recovered from her shock and answered, "I made these utensils when I woke up a couple of days ago, which was about three days before you did. As for the porridge, it''s a type of porridge that is made from bamboo leaves and bamboo shoots that my master taught me when I was young. It might taste horrible but it is good for the body."


    At the word horrible Taku cringed there was nothing more in this world that he loved more than his food, and for him to be told that the food he was about to taste was going to be horrible mad him feel as if there was really nothing worth living for anymore. As Maka came before him, he realised that although she wasn''t as injured as he was, she was still heavily bandaged. Some guilt and helplessness crept into Taku''s consciousness, if only he was powerful enough then they could have avoided this situation. At the moment all he wanted to do was get up and train, the last thing he wanted to see was Maka get hurt especially because of him.


    By this time Taku had already accepted his feelings for Maka even though he was still afraid to mention them out loud, he made a vow that he would become stronger and protect her. Maka raised the bowl of porridge and slowly fed Taku. By the time Taku was finished his face was distorted from the taste but he could faintly feel his body lightly get better. He felt his muscles relax and his wounds stop hurting. He could even slightly move his head now. What shocked him the most was that he could now, not only move his head but also his fingers were able to move. This porridge was truly miraculous.


    Maka jut smiled down at him and then sat down, "I think those three beasts were after me or at least after my master."


    Taku frowned a bit, "Isn''t your master Saru?"


    Maka nodded.


    Taku continued and said, "I guess it is a pretty effective plan to kidnap you as a way to get to Saru, but Saru is a pretty powerful individual. Or at least I am guessing he is. I am sure he has a high standing in the empire, wouldn''t kidnapping you be the same as provoking the whole Empire?"


    Maka shook her head, "The empire is way more complicated than you think. Even though my master is a higher up in the empire, there are still certain factions within the empire. For instance there are factions who support the current royal family and there are others who support the Ngundu clan."


    Taku was slightly shocked when he heard this, it almost felt as if the Ngundu clan was put within the same bracket as the royal family. He was surprised because even though he had heard that the Ngundu clan was a very prosperous clan he just thought that it was one of those rich, wealthy merchant families. Little did he know that the clan his team mate was from was actually a very big clan.


    Maka could tell that Taku was slightly shocked, she shook her head and began explaining, "Ultimately the Empire has three royal families, the other one right now is currently not worth mentioning but the Ngundu clan is part of that cycle. After every three hundred years they are supposed to change their seat but the Gumbo family have been in the royal seat for last couple hundreds of years because they keep on producing superior talent and the other families cannot seem to catch up. Are you shocked because your team mate is from such a prosperous clan?"


    Taku nodded.


    Maka continued, "It is actually not that shocking if you look at it, everyone wants to join the Ivory Guard. Everyone wants to become a part of the project, coming from the Elephant Foot Guard going to the Ivory Guard, it''s something that everyone wants to do. Being part of something so prestigious makes you feel not only great about yourself but it also brings great honour to your family."


    Taku just nodded. But he was still in state of shock because if Nyasha''s family was so prosperous how come they never helped him once? Was it because of his disability when it came to summoning? This was the only conclusion that he could to because there was no other reason he could use to justify his team mates actions or more so, his families actions.


    He smiled slightly when he thought about his team mate, put of all his team mates, Nyasha was the most unpredictable and the most perverted. He remembered the night that Nyasha had given him some advice about Maka and thinking about this, he couldn''t help but steal a glance at Maka but he felt too embarrassed and he slowly closed his eyes.


    The two of them were silent for a while, both not quite knowing what to say. Taku was nervous this moment was what he had slightly hoped for; apart from meeting Saru, being alone with Maka was one of his goals but at the moment even though he was alone with her, he was in a lightly awkward predicament.


    He smiled bitterly and the spoke," There is one thing though that I do not understand. How come even though you are so young, you are still so powerful? I mean fine you are six years my senior but then when you were sixteen and we first met you were already so powerful? I don''t get that. Also, why didn''t you use your gravity manipulation?"


    Maka smiled and said, "You are only fourteen and you are still this powerful. Those beasts that we fought were at least three or four levels above you but you were still able to fight them weren''t you?"


    Taku smiled bashfully and said, "I was but it was with your help and I don''t know what it is but this fire inside of me, feels like it has special properties. It feels like it can bend through anything. "


    Maka nodded, "Truly that''s the case, it reminds me of the Nether Flame that the royal family is known for, that flame can burn through anything but even though they are similar, yours is slightly purer than theirs is?"


    Taku was taken back by this, the royal family had a similar flame? He just shook his head he did not want to think about stuff like this at the moment. Maka also covertly dodged his question regarding her gravity manipulation ability. All she did was fly and nothing else. Taku still vividly remembered the first day he saw Maka, when she used her power to supress at least 1 million trainees. Taku was also not sure aa to why he did not want to discuss his possible ties to the royal family. Its as if a subconscious intuition told him to avoid the matter at all costs. Besides, there were bigger fish to fry.


    Since both parties had issues they did not want to talk about he just nodded and turned to Maka and said, "What level are you exactly?"


    Maka just smiled at him slyly and said, "Don''t you know its rude to ask a lady about her level?"


    Taku was shocked, he stared at Maka with his eyes wide, unblinking and the responded, "Shouldn''t it be about age and not levels?"


    Maka coughed dryly and said, "One in the same thing."


    Taku could only smile, he knew that this year, Maka was twenty years old and he knew that four years ago when Maka was sixteen he was already a level higher if not two from where Taku was now.


    Taku shook his head and said, "How old were you when you started training then."


    Maka smiled and then looked at the sky, she was reminiscing about the old days, "If you are talking about just martial arts training, as in basic martial arts, I started when I was just six years old. That''s when I was taken in by Saru but training to be a cultivator and actually cultivating, I sensed zesa the first time when I was twelve years old and then by the time I was sixteen, I was already slightly powerful as I was already a general by that time. To be honest with you, I am not a big fan of all this, fighting and training and everything. I would rather just go find a place to sit and spend the rest of my life doing nothing, but like everyone else I have a goal and my goal can only be reached if I get more powerful."


    Taku was shocked again, at this moment he began asking himself, what was he really living for in this current world that he was in? Even though he had feelings for Maka they weren''t so deep that he was willing to live just for her and these were questions that plagued him. What was he really living for?


    Taku started to mildly lose his sense of self. On earth he was daring and ambitious, and even at the dombo training he had set a few goals for himself, but something within him was making him lose his purpose, or rather his sense of direction.


    Taku shook his head again trying to get the negativity out of his mind. Right now he had to focus on recovering. At this moment Maka put her hand on his head and told him to rest and surprisingly as these words fell, Taku''s world went blank as he passed out.

 51 Opening Up

    Taku woke up again a couple of hours later, by the time he woke up it was already past dawn, he tried to stand up and to his amazement he was able to move his upper body. He sat up and looked around and realised that they were in the middle of a forest that was densely packed with bamboos. He was slightly flabbergasted because he didn''t know that there was a place with bamboos in the Gutu Empire. As he looked around he noticed Maka several meters away from him training. As she was training she was wearing clothes that were slightly revealing. Taku was dazed and for a moment he was entranced, he didn''t know what to say or what to do at the moment, so all he could do was just blankly stare.


    As if feeling Taku''s gaze Maka turned around and stared right back at him. Taku could only stare as he had no words to describe the scene that was in front of him. Maka just smiled and continued her training, and even as she continued her training Taku just continued staring. It was as if his eyes were glued to her. It took about ten minutes for Maka to finish her training and even after she was done, Taku just continued staring. On the surface it seemed as if Maka didn''t mind but even she felt quite awkward under so much scrutiny from one person. Taku did not shift his gaze at all even as she finished her training and walked towards him.


    She sat beside him and asked, "How are your injuries?"


    Taku was instantly woken up from his stupor, he suddenly felt as if at the moment woman were the most dangerous thing he had ever come into contact with. With just her training alone, his feelings aside he was entranced.


    He cleared his mind and answered, "I can at least move now, I am not too sure if I can walk but I don''t think it would be much of an issue. Where are we anyway? I never heard of a place in the Gutu Empire which has bamboos."


    Maka sighed and replied, "Even im not too sure, in the whole Gutu Empire there is no place with bamboos and even in the whole continent there is no such place so even im stumped. Whilst you were unconscious, I tried to explore a bit but after walking for half a day and leaving traces of my footsteps, I wasn''t able to get out of this bamboo forest. I was planning on carrying you out but I was afraid of making your injuries worse so I decided to wait until you had recovered so that we would be able to leave together."


    Taku could just nod his head; he had nothing to add on what Maka had said, to be frank that was their best option. He knew that his recovery could not be rushed and at the moment they had no form of medicine on them so all he could do was wait patiently until he was at least able to walk, but judging from his current condition he would need at least half a month before h would be able to walk.


    Maka looked at Taku her eyes filled with worry, she knew that men had their pride and most men could not admit when they were in pain, especially Gutu men. She knew she couldn''t just blatantly ask or at least that she didn''t want to. She opened her mouth several times as if wanting to say something but she ultimately didn''t.


    Taku smiled and said, "Don''t tell me the only thing we have to eat is that bamboo porridge?"


    Maka smiled and said, "Don''t tell me you hate my cooking?"


    Taku released a hallow laugh and then said, "I think your cooking is exquisite because that porridge did not taste half as bad as you said, so I''m guessing your cooking skills are actually excellent."


    Saying this much, Taku suddenly frowned and asked, "You need water to make that porridge right? Where did you get the water?"


    "Oh!" Maka exclaimed, "There''s a river not far from here, the river seems endless, I saw it when I was trying to get out. It''s the river I followed for half a day but couldn''t seem to find any way out. I''m guessing there''s bound to be a place it comes from so when you have recovered we can check it out."


    Taku could only just nod.


    Maka stood up and said, "Let me light a fire, it''s about time I cook so that we can eat."


    Taku again nodded.


    Maka went to cook and this cycle of waking up and watching Maka train and cook continued for the next fifteen days. Every day he would just stare at her as she trained and day by day Maka gradually got used to it. By the time he was able to walk most of his injuries where healed and due to that Maka forced him to train a bit.


    As they trained together, they stayed there for another half month before they decided to set out, but before they left Maka couldn''t help but turn to Taku and ask, "Why does it feel like you don''t know that many martial skills?"


    Taku sighed and said, "I really don''t. See I didn''t go through the two years of training I was supposed to go through after I graduated from Foot Guard.


    Instead I was just thrown into a mission and went out on the mission there and then. I only know one or two martial skills but they are not really worth mentioning."


    Maka sank deep into thought and then said, "There are a couple of moves I can teach you, the good thing about martial skills in the Gutu Empire is that they are more like templates, they just show you movement and its for you to fill them up with your preferred element. There is no one martial skill that is designed for one specific element.


    Taku nodded and the two of them proceeded to walk away from their camp site. As they walked Taku could only steal glances towards Maka. The last month or so had been heavenly, or at least for him it was half. There were moments were he thought he was going to man up and confess to her and even moments were he thought he was going to be bold but ultimately he had done nothing.


    He had tried to encourage himself on multiple occasions, even going as far as to tell himself that he had goals that covered the heavens but no matter how hard he tried, he could only just talk about basic stuff with Maka.


    The only thing that he truly had to show for was that after all they had been through these past months they seemed slightly closer. Part of him really wanted to get out of this place but part of him also wanted to stay because he knew that outside of this Maka was a very busy girl.


    It was complete silence for an hour, Maka didn''t mind but it was slightly awkward for Taku. The atmosphere was slightly suffocating to him, he had no idea what to say or what to do so they just walked up stream silently. Taku was itching to say something, anything, but again he just couldn''t find the balls to say anything.


    Just as he thought that all was lost, Maka spoke, "There was a battle I was fought, I think I was fifteen, it was the first battle I had fought in which Saru wasn''t by my side and without my master by my side to be honest I felt rather confident but as the battle started I felt lost. I had no idea what to do, because back then I knew that if I made a mistake then Saru would be there to save me at some point, so I panicked, I made a couple of bad decisions and I ended up getting injured.


    Worst of all it took me a full twenty minutes for me to even gain an upper hand after that. It was slightly embarrassing actually. I felt as though my whole world was crushing down on me as I was being attacked, it felt weird that''s why I hate being lost."


    Taku was dazed for a moment he didn''t expect Maka to just start talking; he gazed up at the sun and sank deep into thought. He was actually quite shocked because it only took her twenty minutes for her to actually calm down and gain an advantage.


    He on the other hand was always nervous in battle, even though he always tried to calm himself down and he looked calm on the surface but when the battle begun he was still nervous, he just did a really good job of hiding it.


    After sighing he finally replied, "When I first came into this world-" Taku suddenly stopped as he said this, he had realised that he had let something slip. Maka just stared at him weirdly. ''First came to this world?'' she thought.


    He cleared his throat and said instead, "When I first entered the world of cultivation, I didn''t know what to expect to be honest, on one hand I knew that there would be gruesome battles and that there would be moments that I would come close to death.


    All I wanted was to live my life peacefully; this is the only moment or at least one of the few moments that I can openly share about me being lost. I didn''t know what to do and then I met Saru and he told me about the condition of my soul. I didn''t want to die yet but I decided to take up his offer blindly which I did. I didn''t know what the future held for me but I guess this made me slightly excited because I felt as though I was actually living and not just breathing. Part of me still had some reservations about cultivating and all that but after the last few months I feel as though it has become such a large part of my life and I don''t think it''s something I can walk away from anymore."


    Taku then turned his head and smiled to Maka, he had left out a couple of words, if he didn''t cultivate, if he didn''t get stronger, he knew that he wouldn''t be able to get a girl like her so he had to. On one hand he had the motivation of trying not to die because of his souls and ultimately trying to figure out why the old Taku ended up in the state he was in.


    He had gotten a few clues like his flame being similar to that of the royal family but he had quickly dismissed the notion because he didn''t feel as if it was plausible because what would someone from the royal family be doing in an orphanage in a small village.


    Maka smiled when Taku was done and said, "I actually wasn''t scared, like I said before I need power to do what I want to do, to do what I have to do. If I''m not powerful enough then I won''t be able to do and to do what I have to do."


    Even though Maka was smiling Taku could still feel the depression and the loneliness coming from her and he wasn''t too sure what to say. He was itching to ask what she was looking for, what she was hoping to find by getting more powerful but he thought it would be rude just to blantaly ask so he shut his mouth.


    Maka at this moment spoke again, "Actually what I am looking for is not at all that hard to find but I have to reach a certain power level for me to get all the answers that I want because at my current level there are only a few things that I can find out."

 52 Desperate Measures

    Maka at this moment spoke again, "Actually what I am looking for is not at all that hard to find but I have to reach a certain power level for me to get all the answers that I want because at my current level there are only a few things that I can find out."


    Taku was again lost for words; he so badly wanted to ask her what exactly she was looking for. He wanted to know what was so important, to make her work so hard. He could tell that she was lonely and she was slightly depressed but as someone with quite a low EQ he had no idea what to say or what to do in this situation.


    All he could do was sigh and then Maka continued, "I''m actually an orphan, I was found by Saru when I was five years old. To be honest with you it''s pretty weird, because even though I''m from the Gutu Empire according to Saru I''m only half Gutu, I don''t know my mother nor do I know my father nor do I have any kin of any sort. So I need these answers, as much as I take the Gutu as home and as much as Saru is like a father to me, I still need to find who I am you know? So until that day I will continue to be lost."


    After Maka finished what he had to say, Taku couldn''t help but think, ''Saru really loves picking up orphans doesn''t he?''


    Taku smiled and looked at Maka and replied, "I''m in the same boat as you actually, I am also looking for the same type of answers, maybe mine are closer to home than yours, but we are in the same boat. All I remember is waking up in the Gumbo village one day and just being me, you know, I didn''t even know I was talented in cultivating, I just thought I was just another person."


    Maka nodded, "Seems like it, but I''m sure one day you will find the answers you want, I am trying my best as well but the older I get the more I feel as if it is all useless. I already take the Gutu Empire as home but I always have that nagging feeling that always wants to find out the truth. I feel as if this curiosity will be the death of me one day but I just have to find ouThe


    Taku just nodded, he didn''t know what to say again, so they just walked in silence. They walked for about half a day and it felt as if the river was never ending and it just kept on going. Taku was growing slightly annoyed and the usual calm Maka was annoyed as well. They wanted nothing more at the moment than to leave this place. They wanted nothing more than to go outside and taste a different type of food besides bamboo porridge.


    After walking for another half day, night fell upon them and they decided to rest. What made Taku depressed was that even though they were currently at a river, there were no fish or any living creature in the river or anywhere near them. Taku was increasingly annoyed by this and so was Maka. Another night and they had to settle for bamboo porridge again. The two of them were now immune to the taste and it didn''t quite bother them anymore. They just ate it as one would eat that vegetable you don''t like but know is good for you.


    That night they slept soundlessly and then the next morning they proceeded with their journey, a day turned into three days and that into a week, a week turned into a month and still they kept on walking along the same river, going upstream. Nothing eventful happened throughout the month and there was nothing that they could do. They walked everyday through the month without rest and only rested at night but still to this day they had not been able to find an exit to this bamboo forest yet.


    Taku''s injuries had slightly healed, at this point only his upper body was still riddled with wounds. His lower body still had scars but he was all but healed. During the last month they had indulged in idle chatter and they gotten slightly closer, Taku was over joyed by this because he knew that meant he had a chance even though he had close to no experience with dealing with these type of matters, and with girls in general, he knew that he was at least progressing. He would even catch her stealing glances from time to time.


    They continued on for another week and this time, they truly felt helpless because the river felt endless. What irritated them the most was that this place had a day and a night so it showed that they weren''t trapped in any illusion or anything of the sort, they were still somewhere in the Gutu Empire but they had never heard of this bamboo forest which was also so large and so vast that it couldn''t be as big a secret as it seemed to be.


    Taku frustrated beyond measure at this point began to aimlessly throw pebbles towards the river watching as each time it hit the water and cascaded down the endless thing. Maka after a while picked up some pebbles and began to throw them as well making sure to try and throw them further away than Taku''s own could reach. Before long it had turned into a game of sorts and both of them were laughing each time one tried to outdo the other.


    "You know, I always dreamed about being able to beat you at something," Taku blurted out before he even knew what he was saying.


    Maka looked at him weirdly, stopping her hands mid motion even though it had been her turn to throw, "So you dream about me huh?"


    Taku coughed at her answer, now smiling awkwardly, "It''s fast approaching sunset, maybe we should settle down for the night."


    Maka smiled at him knowingly but started looking around for the perfect place for them to lay down their heads and rest.


    She turned to him and smiled, "You know me and you are kindred spirits after all."


    Taku simply smiled back at her not quite sure how to respond and afraid that if he did respond he was bound to say the stupidest of things like he was prone to. They worked together like a well-trained team, having grown used to their nightly ritual. Maka was collecting bamboo for their porridge whilst Taku was collecting wood for fire and water from the river.


    Every so often Taku would stop and watch as she worked, letting thoughts that he seldom allowed to linger to capture his attention. What if they were indeed lost forever, would the world be so bad? With no wars to fight and battles to continuously train for maybe this was blessing in disguise, a chance for them to be awarded with peace he was sure neither of them had known since childhood.


    She looked beautiful, under the moonlight but who was he kidding, her chocolate skin was hand crafted by the gods and she was an irresistible beauty to behold regardless of the time and regardless of the light illuminating her. It was no wonder she had never lost a fight, he himself would have been too distracted to raise a hand against her.


    She was also lost in thoughts of a different kind, she had never opened up to anyone before and the more they were stuck in this maze of a forest, the more she felt lost in the trust and bond she was creating with Taku and she knew more than anything, trust was a dangerous thing. The only way she had been able to survive thus far was by relying on her own strength and power to survive, relying on another only meant weakness and if she was ever to reach her goals, she had to keep Taku from tearing at her defences the way he was.


    ¡­.


    Back in the city; Ranga. Tadi, Tino and Nyasha were still staying at the inn that Chiwenga had bought. They were just sitting there, just waiting. They had tried searching and they searched for at least three thousands kilometres going all around them but they couldn''t find not on trace of a clue or an idea of where Taku and Maka could be.


    They were told to come back by Chiwenga as the places they were now going to had become dangerous. Maka''s team had opted to go back to the capital in order to finish off their own business. At this time the atmosphere was very tense, neither of them knowing what to say. Taku was not dead, they knew that much, or at least he wasn''t dead yet. Shumba was still there but after searching forthree thousand kilometers even he was unable to find Taku''s location but that vague connection between Shumba and Taku was still present. The area that they had to search became larger and larger.


    They were slightly dispirited but Shumba seemed not to worry much although the feeling was still vague, the connection was becoming a lot more distinct. He could tell that Taku was moving and moving towards them so he didn''t really worry much. The four humans on the other hand could not even sleep.


    Chiwenga had gone out on multiple occasions in an attempt to search for that vague connection but even he ultimately had to give up in the end. These days he looked as if he was in conflict with himself. Ranga and the rest did not know why but even though he was worried he looked as if he was holding something back.


    In the room upstairs Chiwenga was in a discussion with the black shadow that always seemed to be following him around, "Do you think I should go and ask those guys for help?" Chiwenga asked.


    The black figure chuckled and then said, "Its amazing how when you are worried about someone you can throw away your pride, have you forgotten what those people did to you?"


    Chiwenga shook his head and said, "I haven''t forgotten but this is my disciple and those people are good at tracking, good at finding people, good at finding things. Do I truly have a choice?"


    The black figure was lost for words, he slowly calmed himself down and said, "I think its best you find that person who helped you with your soul all those years ago, it might be hard to track him down but then like you, yourself has said, you have to."


    Chiwenga was silent for a long time, he knew that the possibility of finding that person was as hard as finding a needle in a hay stack or trying to find a specific drop of water in an ocean, but he knew that finding him had way less adverse consequences than finding the people he was opting to find in the first place.


    Chiwengwa was stuck between a rock and a hard place, he really had to find his disciple, because on he was unwilling to let such talent go to waste, and he was quite curious to find out just how far Taku could go. Lastly he had his own selfish desires, needs and battles that he needed to Taku to fight alongside him.


    Chiwenga sighed and said, "I need an art that can help me change my appearance and once I master it then we can go to the capital and we can go and find that man."


    The figure nodded and then said," I know one such skill, that even people who are at the peak of this worlds power might not even be able to recognise you once you use this skill."


    Chiwenga nodded.

 53 Mysterious Saru

    On the other side of the Gutu Empire about a year''s travel away from the city that Chiwenga was in, Saru was standing on top of a mountain. He wore a darkened expression as he gazed into the horizon. He knew that Maka was powerful, but for her to face three beasts like that alone with Taku who was insignificant, made him feel as if he had failed as a master somewhat.


    He was a smart man so he already knew what was going on. Apart from being just another outstanding part of the younger generation, Maka was crucial to Saru''s future plans. As her master he had placed certain seals in which he would be able to sense Maka''s location, these seals also had another more important function, which he was planning to use soo . Yet at the moment her location was extremely vague and there was no way for him to pin point her direct location.


    The only thing he could sense was that Maka was alive and the only thing he could do was wait until she reached a certain point in which he would be able to sense her precise location. Reality had hit him, because he realised that no matter how powerful one was there was certain things in this world that even he would feel helpless about just like the current situation. For the first time ever he had no idea what to do. He began thinking of the people who he could possibly have a grudge with who would opt to get to him in this way.


    Ultimately he figured that the invaders wanted to draw him in and then kill him but using such a foolish tactic did not entirely work on him. Even though he was worried, he knew that his disciple had one or two tricks up her sleeve so he wasn''t entirely worried about her. He was confident that she could undertake any threat that was thrown against her. The moment he could pin point her location his enemy''s plan would be foiled, it would only be a matter of time.


    What Saru was shocked about was the fact that Taku was there at that place already. He had no idea what he was doing there, if he had known that it was a beast horde then with his level he should have known that it was a burden more than anything.


    Saru could only helplessly sigh and wait. It was at this moment that he saw a bird coming towards him. It was a small bird that looked eerily similar to a sparrow. The bird landed on his shoulder and as if telling him a secret, it placed its beak on his ear and actually spoke.


    As the bird spoke, Saru''s expression turned grave, with every word, Sarus expression turned uglier and uglier and after some time as the bird continued to speak , the bird seemed to just disappear from its spot.


    ¡­


    Maka and Taku at this moment were still walking, they couldn''t see an end to this world, and they had been walking for another half month so it had been slightly over a month and a half of them just walking. Taku at his point had mostly healed and he was at least able to do more aggressive training. They walked and talked and walked, though sometimes they even walked in silence for the whole day. As much as Taku didn''t want these days to come to an end he knew that ultimately they might, but if they didn''t he truly would have no problems with it.


    At the end of the second month when they were getting ready to give up, they noticed that the river was getting narrow. Sensing a way out the two of them began running. They ran and ran and ran for about half a day and when they finally did reach the end they were shocked; for at the end of the river there was tall black wall, that looked like it was cascading into the heavens and had no end in sight.


    Seeing this, Maka''s expression turned grey. Taku noticed Maka''s expression and before he could even ask Maka spoke, "I think I know where we are¡­"


    "Oh?" Taku exclaimed.


    "¡­This is a pocket world, you see when a cultivator reaches a certain level they can create these pocket worlds. It can be a place to come train or it can be a place to come and rest. Or it can be their burial place, a pocket world can be an illusion whilst not an illusion at the same time, it''s pretty vexing. The pocket world itself is not dangerous but the passage to the pocket world is what''s dangerous," Maka continued.


    Taku was shocked; how the hell had they ended up in a pocket world? Judging from what Maka had mention, this was something akin to a different dimension. The very idea that humans could create their own dimensions was ridiculous to him.


    Taku then looked at Maka and asked, "What dangers are past this wall?"


    Maka inhaled and said, "Possibly there could be beasts, because every path to a pocket world has to have guardians and I don''t know whether or not this Senior thought to put guardians beasts there, but I think the fact that we managed to pass through this path in the first place shows that at least it''s not that dangerous."


    Taku exhaled and said, "Well considering we were unconscious at the time, how we even managed to find the path to this pocket world is a mystery to begin with."


    Maka nodded, and then just said, "I think we should go now."


    Taku nodded and simultaneously the two of the stepped into the black wall and disappeared. As they disappeared the air above the river began to distort and a figure clad in blue robs appeared there with a smile on his face and said, "That kid''s body seems very nice, if I can possess it then I will be able to get out and get my revenge."


    He had not been able to possess them whilst he was in this pocket world because there were certain restrictions on him, but then once he they had entered that path the he would be able to fight and destroy them and take over Taku''s body once and for all. He had been trapped in this world for as long as he could remember, and every single beast that was in the path to the pocket world was killed by him, but when he reached the end he realized that he was just a spirit and he didn''t have any actual body. And to be able to pass through to the real world he would need an actual body. Not only that but a body that was strong enough to withstand his power.


    Even though Taku barely made the quota, it was the only choice he had, he knew that he would have no success with Maka because her cultivation was too high. With that he smiled viciously and then proceeded to enter the black wall.


    Maka and Taku did not know what was coming for them. If Maka had seen the spirit behind them, then she probably would''ve lost all hope. Even though Maka was considered powerful by many, she was still slightly lacking compared to the spirit body.


    The spirit body was called Musen. He was a powerful figure on the continent for hundreds of years. He was known to be vicious and decisive. He barely had any peers close to him, the only purpose that humans had in his eyes was to be used if they were weak and those who were above him were just stepping stones.


    He viewed no one as his equal, as he felt that at the end of the day he would just surpass those he met. He was a great threat to the Gutu Empire for what felt like an eternity. He had gone through countless cities, looting everything he found valuable. He killed any witnesses and always left his name at the scene of the crime, as if he was taunting the officials.


    He was the subject to a lot of manhunts and bounties, but ultimately no one was able to catch him. After several years of being solo he decided to form a bandit group in order to get more capital. For years they terrorized the Empire, even daring to steal from the Emperor himself.


    No one dared to laugh at the Royal Family, Not out of fear but everyone just understood how powerful and merciless this Musen was. What surprised people was that those who witnessed the theft in the Palace kept their lives. It was something that had never happened before.


    When all this happened the current Emperor of the Gutu empire was just a child. He was relieved that when he succeeded his father, Musen was already long gone. No one had heard about him ever since the robbery of the Emperor''s palace.


    Most people were actually very perplexed when it came to the disappearance of Musen. He had caused havoc for hundreds of years and then out of the blue he just stopped. His lair was found later on, but to everyone''s surprise every valuable thing he looted was still there.


    The Emperor greedily took all of it and claimed that it was going into the Empire''s treasury, as the Empire was in great need of resources because of the incoming invaders. It had now been 15 years since Musen disappeared, no one would believe that the man who gave numerous Kings a headache was now left in suck a pitiful state.


    If the two of them knew that Musen was after Taku''s body, then they would be forced to run in the same way they did when the 3 beasts were chasing them. When the two entered the black wall they had no idea what to expect on the other side. Apart from expectation there was also anxiety in Taku''s eyes.


    Taku was very self conscious at the moment. Not because he thought he was the ugliest man alive, but because he had realized just how insignificant he was. Even though he was at the peak of the Tohwe level, he was still disappointed in his own strength . In truth most children his age had not even began to cultivate. Most people considered him a genius, even when it came to archery and soul techniques he was still a genius.


    But when those beasts locked in on them, he felt like all he could do was run. He had tried to come up with some solutions, but ultimately all he could do was run. He knew that there was potential danger wherever they were going. He had constantly asked himself if he would be able to take charge in a dangerous situation, and the answer was always no.


    At the moment all he could do was rely on his speed and Maka. He just sighed. At the end of the day Maka had also promised to teach him some martial skills. He relied so much on Maka at the moment it made him feel uncomfortable. If it was any other girl he would not have minded, but this was the girl he liked. He lived in a place in which all the women wanted men that were more powerful than they were. He frowned so much lately, that he even almost convinced himself that he was constipated.


    His master had constantly scolded him about raising his power prematurely. Even though he was a genius he still needed a solid foundation. Even though this was his second life, he was still lost in so many situations. I honestly believed that wisdom came with age.¡­ That phrase is bullsh*t.


    Maybe it was because of the cultural differences between his two lives, but getting a woman should not be hard... Right?


    "What the f.¡­"

 54 The Infamous Musen

    "What the f.¡­"


    Taku''s thoughts were immediately broken by Maka''s astonished voice. He looked up only to let out a surprised yelp. What was in front of them was not the "Outside" they were hoping for. The two looked back and noticed that there was a small vortex behind them.


    The vortex was not that big and could only fit about two people at a time. Maka''s expression turned solemn. "This is a transfer gate."


    "A transfer gate...whats that?" Taku asked.


    Maka did not reply and began studying the transfer gate. Taku was not bothered by her silence at all and turned around to study their surroundings. Looking around Taku found houses all around and a large temple right at the middle.


    He felt like he was looking at an abandoned city. What surprised him the most was that it felt as though they were inside a mountain. The issue was that the whole place had no openings but there was still a source of light. It almost felt as if the sun outside could shine right through the Mountain rock.


    He began studying the small city and was constantly surprised as his eyes scanned everywhere. He could not help but think back to all the detailed history about earth. No matter how much he scanned and examined the place he couldn''t help but feel familiar with the place.


    The setting of the houses was not something you could find in the Gutu Empire. The architecture reminded him more of earth, or at least something recorded in earths history books. He saw the temple which reminded him of an article he once read. Even though the article had images, they were drawn out and not exactly accurate.


    The article read:


    "?atalh?y¨¹k


    In 7,500 BCE, this city in the Mesopotamian region (now Turkey) held thousands of people and is believed by many to be one of the world''s earliest urban settlements. But the culture of the people here was unlike anything we know today. First of all, they built the city like a honeycomb, with houses sharing walls. Homes and buildings were accessed by doors cut into the roofs. People would stroll on the streets across these roofs, and climb down ladders to get to their living quarters. Doorways were often marked with bulls'' horns, and dead family members were buried in the floor of each home. It''s not clear what happened to the culture of the people who lived in this city. Their architectural style seems to be unique, though archaeologists have found many fertility goddess figurines in the city that resemble others found in the region."


    Everything here looked exactly as what was described of the ?atalh?y¨¹k city. He could no longer hide his shock as his heart began beating rapidly and his breathing quickened.


    Is there some sort of connection between this world and earth. Why is there a city that looks exactly like those recorded in history books?


    Taku was so lost in his shock and thoughts, that he couldn''t even notice that the space above his head was distorting.


    "Move!"


    Taku was only woken up by Maka''s shout. Before he could even do anything he felt a sharp pain coming from his chest. He looked down only to find nothing there, but his eyes became bloodshot. Taku had a very sensitive soul and could feel that something was attempting to attack it.


    Taku quickly sat down cross legged and began meditating. He took a look into his soul and what he saw left him shaken. Initially there were only 3 entities in his body, at the moment there were 4. The three main entities were actually working together to attack the fourth entity. Taku could not hide his shock as he saw that the new entity was actually shaped like a human.


    At the moment that human spirit was not having such a good time. Musen had initially thought that possessing someone so weak would be easy. It was something that should have taken less than ten breaths to do, but now he had only been inside Taku''s body for ten breaths and all he could think about was escaping.


    When he was still alive he only really had one setback and that was when he was trapped in this place. At the moment his expression was really ugly. The moment he tried to leave he would be surrounded by the smoke inside Taku''s body.


    This left him depressed. He was one of the most powerful people of his generation, also known to be one of the most cunning people to ever live, but on two consecutive situations he had made decisions that left him with regret.


    He looked around for an opening only to see Taku staring back at him. A conflicted look appeared on his face. He had just attempted to take over this boy''s body, but at the moment he really felt like asking him for help. Be it when he had a body or now with his spirit body, he had never been in such a dire situation before.


    Every time he tried to move the smoke would bind him down. What made it worse was that the lightning kept on striking his body and the fire was at his feet burning him. It almost felt as if he was being cooked alive. His spiritual body kept on shrinking and a pleading look appeared on his face.


    Taku did not care at all. He had noticed how every time the mans body shrunk his soul power would increase slightly. Even though the change was small, he could still feel it. A look of joy appeared on Taku''s face. He ended up just standing there watching this intruder getting refined.


    Musen was now really afraid. He saw that Taku had no intention of stopping. What really scared him was the fact that there were 2 different elements. He had never heard of a person who carried more than one element. What type of monster is this. Then there was the smoke like fog that was binding him. He had never seen anything like it. He felt as though all three of these forms had a certain level of sentience, almost as if Taku''s presence was not needed.


    After a couple of more breaths his body was now the size of palm. He then looked at taku. "Kid, i come here with no ill intentions. I just wanted to stay in your body until we leave this place. I can''t leave this place in my spirit form.So can you stop refining my spirit?"


    A complicated look appeared on Taku''s face as sunk deep into thought. He knew that what the man was saying was just a bunch of bullsh*t. How stupid does he think i am? No ill intentions? I don''t even know if i can stop these three from doing what they want.


    Taku finally sighed. He really did not trust this man at all, but the issue was that the man seemed to have some information about this place. In truth he would rather refine this spirit once and for all, but alas they needed to leave this place and return to the Gutu Empire.


    With a thought the smoke and lightning retreated. This greatly shocked Taku. This was the first time that he was able to freely control these two. But he could not help but let out a sigh as he noticed that the fire was still somewhat resisting him. Well it cant always be perfect.


    Taku shook his head and constantly gave the order for the fire to retreat. Only after Taku had commanded a dozen times did the fire stop and retreat. As it retreated Taku could feel its unwillingness and rage. He felt helpless in this situation.


    He then stared at Musen who was now the size of an adult index finger. The minute their gazes met Musen moved. Even though he was small he was still quite fast. He rushed towards Taku with a vicious expression on his face.


    Taku was shocked by the speed that the man possessed, but he still kept calm and just casually dodged. When Musen saw that Taku had dodged, he did not even bother to turn back and attack, instead he chose to escape.


    Maka was staring at Taku with worry written all over her face. This was the first time that she felt so helpless. She had not even noticed that there was another life form in this place. By the time she saw it, it was already about to enter Taku''s body. All she could do now was stare at him and hope that he''ll be okay.


    Just as she thought that nothing would happen anytime soon, she noticed that taku''s body had a faint white hue around it. A breath later she saw a finger sized human spirit flying out of Taku''s body. Her face turned grim and just as she was about to act, she saw the smoke rising from Taku''s body as it flew chasing the spirit.


    In a second the smoke caught up and restrained the spirit. F*ck! Musen couldn''t help but cuss in such a situation. "You vile kid! You have already consumed at least three quarters of my spirit. What more do you want?"


    Taku opened his eyes and a look of ridicule appeared. He really did not know what to say to this man. He had tried to possess Taku and now he wanted to leave just like that. If the world was really that merciful then he really would have let him go.


    "Trust me kid! Keeping me here won''t be of any benefit to you. Once i recover i might just attack you. You don''t want that now do you?" Musen had all this in panic, but taku did not pay mind to it. He turned his head and began explaining to Maka about what was going on.


    The more Maka heard the more she felt shocked. No matter how powerful Taku''s soul was, it still should not be powerful enough to stop this man. Even though the spirit''s energy was vastly depleted, Maka could feel that the man was at least 10 times more powerful than Taku was.


    She looked towards the tiny spirit and spoke. "If you know a way out of here i suggested you tell us. That is the only way i can ensure that your death will be quick and painless."


    Musen''s face contorted in rage. "How dare you say such words do me? Do you know who i am? I was a prominent figure way before you were even born . I used to strike fear in the hearts of the Royal family. Do you even know who you are saying such words to?"


    Both Taku and rolled their eyes. Such empty words actually made them want to roll around and laugh. Taku looked at the man. "You are already just a spirit. If you were not reckless enough to try possess me before then your words would have been able to strike some fear into us, but now you are nothing more than our captive."


    "You as*hole! I am the most feared man in the Gutu empire. I am sure there are still plenty of my wanted posters around. It would be a shame if you do not know who i am. My name is Musen. Did you hear that, Musen. Are you scared now?"


    Taku still just rolled his eyes, but Maka had a surprised look on her face.

 55 Shumbas Roar!

    Maka was shocked. Who in this generation had not heard of such a famous character. He was the previous generations most feared individual. The man was merciless and could kill countless people without batting an eyelid.


    "I have never heard of you. Are you supposed o be famous." Taku replied with innocence.


    Maka was shocked again. How could he not know about Musen. Almost every kid has heard about him. Maka could not help bust cast a questioning gaze towards Taku. "Sometimes i wonder whether you were born in the Gutu empire or not."


    Taku had a wry smile on his face when he heard this. He really was not a person from this place so the statement made him feel really awkward.


    Maka just sighed. "Anyway, my offer still stands. Tell us how to get out of here or you''ll suffer before you die."


    Musen smiled. "Little girl i am not afraid of a little bit of pain. What you say does not scare me at all. At the end of the day i will die anyway."


    "Oh really?"


    Maka smiled and reached into her clothing. She took out a bottle of green medicine. Maka walked up to Musen and began pouring it on the spirit. "This is a medicine that specializes in healing souls. I will have you recover a bit of your power. After that i will give you to Taku and he''ll refine you for a few days, and this cycle will continue until you tell me what i want to know."


    Musen''s face contorted. "You dare?"


    Maka smiled. "I am taking it as if i am doing my duty as a citizen of the Gutu empire. God knows just how many people you''ve killed. Wouldn''t you say that i am actually being kind, it is just torture for several days. I''m sure the great Musen would not be scared of such naive methods, right?"


    Musen was almost afraid enough to talk, but he still grit his teeth and shut his mouth. No how bad the torture was he would still not tell them anything. The end product of any situation now was death. There were no benifits that he could reap so why bother helping them.


    "There is going to come a time when you run out of that sh*t! I will endure till then."


    As he finished his resent filled words, Taku commanded the smoke to drag Musen back into his consciousness. Musen did not say a word as he entered, but his face was filled with anger. Maka sighed in relief when Musen disappeared. Even though he was now just a powerless spirit in front of her, he was still a very feared man.


    She knew that these type of old geezers had plenty of tricks up their sleeves. Regardless of how powerless they might seem, they could still cause a lot of damage.


    Taku just casually threw Musen inside his consciousness and left him there after observing for minute. It had not taken long for the entities inside him to attack Musen. He then opened his eyes to see Maka staring right at him.


    "What?"


    "Nothing." Maka replied. "The Martial Arts that you know are a bit low grade. I think i should teach you some now."


    Taku''s eyes lit up when he heard this. At the moment he only knew how to use one soul technique and that was it. He eagerly sat up and waited for Maka''s instructions.


    **


    On the other side of the Gutu empire Ranga was sitting in his room with a solemn expression. At the moment he was really praying for Taku to come back as soon as possible. Most of his days were just spent in this very room staring at the door.


    What ate him was that he had not even felt like leaving this now rundown team. It was not that he held any special feeling towards the group of people as a whole, but he knew that if he wanted to leave then he would have to leave Tadi too.


    He had not even bothered to ask her whether she wanted to leave or not because he already knew the answer to it. He had been so depressed lately he could not even cultivate, well neither could the rest of the team.


    They spent most of their days praying and hoping. Chiwenga had already left several weeks before in an attempt to search for Taku. Shumba could still barely sense Taku''s whereabouts and this left everyone including the lion, a bit depressed. Without a leader the team was useless.


    If Taku was actually dead then the four of them were free to do whatever they want. The rules of the Ivory Guard were strict though. Unless they had permission from the captain, no one could leave.


    Ranga got out of bed and proceeded to go downstairs for some lunch. He reached the dining area and saw everyone else there.Tadi, Tino and Nyasha were all sitting in silence. Shumba was laying right beside the door with its eyes closed.


    "You guys should talk a bit more." Ranga spoke as soon as he entered. "Look at all this negative energy. The bastard is not even dead yet, and yet here you all are sulking like he is."


    The trio couldn''t help but smile as soon as he walked in. Before they could even retort Ranga stared at Tadi. "And you! How dare you think of another man in my presence. That is just downright disrespectful. How am i supposed to face the world now. My woman is being stolen by a 14 year old missing boy. Tell me my dear wife, will a 14 year old do what i did to you last...-"


    Before Ranga could even finish his sentence he was already half way across the room.


    Bam!


    His body slammed against the wall as cracks began to appear. He fell from the wall and immediately landed in the scorpion position. His legs twitched for second before he tried to pull himself up. Tino and Nyasha were pretty much grinning from ear to ear at the moment.


    Ranga always came up with new and convenient ways to cheer them up, the only problem was that it resulted in a lot of beatings from Tadi. Not only did the two boys have deep respect for Ranga, but they also felt a tinge of fear when it came to women. Especially Tadi.


    After spending a couple of months without missions and analyzing the relationship, they grew to realize that Ranga would at least have one black eye a day. If this was the price that one had to pay to be in love then they would rather not fall for anyone.


    Their phobia for women got even worse when they began thinking about how Taku was also in love with a girl who could potentially give him a beating. Every time they thought of Maka''s strength, the two could not help but say a little silent prayer for taku.


    The atmosphere had slightly turned for the better, and it was at this moment that Shumba abruptly sat up. There was joy evident in it''s eyes as it stared at the people that sat on the table.


    Roar!


    It let out a loud roar and then just broke down the door and sped off. The quartet were stunned for a second, but they immediately gathered their thoughts and sped off in Shumba''s direction. They did not have time to ask each other any questions as they ran off. All they were thinking about was catching up to Shumba.


    They reached the city gates and saw that shumba was just waiting there. It looked left, right and then forward. A slight frown appeared on its face as it looked around. Just as the quartet were about to lose hope again, Shumba moved and ran forward.


    They followed it again and Ranga could not help but ask. "Do you think that he has gone crazy? This should not be normal behavior right?"


    Tino shook his head. "If it had gone crazy then that would mean that Taku was dead, and believe me it would not think twice about attacking us when that happens."


    Hearing this everyone''s expression turned solemn, but their eyes also lit up. They knew that Shumba''s current state signified hope. Hope that Taku was still alive. Shumba who was up ahead was concentration hard on trying to sense Taku.


    The feeling was not as faint as before, the only problem was that he could tell that Taku was still far. The only thing that he thought about at the moment was to run towards Taku''s direction.


    Tino''s expression turned stiff. "What if this takes several days. We are not exactly prepared for something like that."


    "We''ll just have to wing it then." Ranga replied. "We probably won''t be traveling at night so we need to find some suitable beasts to hunt and cook later on. We are in a forest so firewood is not exactly an issue."


    "We have a couple of hours until the sun sets." Tadi started. "Since Nyasha is the fastest out of all of us, then he should go hunt some beasts and then catch up with us later."


    Just as everyone was about to nod their heads in agreement, they heard a furious roar coming from the front. When they looked towards Shumba they realized that he had run into a herd of demonic buffaloes. Shumba was at a slight disadvantage as he was facing over a thirty tier 2 beasts by himself.


    The quartet did not idle around either and they all attacked with their various forms of Martial Arts. All of them had thrown fairly simple punches that could at least instantly kill these beasts. The first attack was rather fruitful as each attack killed at least two buffaloes each.


    To their surprise, the next wave of buffaloes was actually made up of Rank 3 buffaloes. Tino immediately took out his spear and attacked. This time there was a faint red hue coming from his spear, this red hue ended up enveloping his body as he charged towards the oncoming herd.


    He launched himself forward and just as his feet left the ground, his body began rotating at an incredible speed. The beasts seemed to not care what type of danger Tino posed, instead they just continued with their charge.


    Bam!


    Tino collided with the first buffalo and immediately tore a hole through it, when his body came out the other side of the buffalo, he had slowed down a bit, but there was still enough power in his strike to know the next beast down.


    He was also knocked back a couple of steps and without attacking again he immediately retreated. Just as he retreated an extreme cold swept over the place as all the the bulls in front were frozen in place. Tadi was standing at the center of the ice and was effortlessly releasing more by the second.


    Bam!


    Since the buffaloes in front were frozen in place, the ones that were following closely behind collided with them as they got knocked back. Shumba and the rest saw this opportunity and leapt over the frozen buffaloes to attack those behind.


    "Hahahahahahaha.¡­"


    Ranga looked like a maniac as he swung his sword. With a each slash a life was taken. There was blood all over his body but he did not mind. Oh God! I missed this sh*t!

 56 The Solitary Sword Sovereign!

    Mutoko, one of the top tier cities of the Gutu empire. Although it was only a minor city among the 23 top tier cities, its influence within the province was unmatched.


    "Caw!"


    Above the city, within the vast skies, a large bird like creature flew at incredible speeds. Saru sat atop the bird with an anxious look on his face.


    As a man who stood at the peak of the Gutu Empire, Saru was well known for being calm, after all, what could possibly freak out a man of his caliber? Today however he had received news that made his stomach churn.


    His destination was Madhara, the Elephant Foot Guard training base close to Mutoko, it also happened to be the place were Taku was trained. Madhara was one of Saru''s areas of relaxation. A place which he used to calm down and observe the next generation of the empire.


    Yet as he got closer and closer to Madhara, an invisible pressure he was all to familiar with crept into his consciousness. The bird seemed unnerved, but Saru knew that this was because it was simply too weak to feel what was happening.


    The bird arrived at a valley and landed. Saru swiftly jumped off the creature and went on his way, not even bothering to pet the creature as he usually did, much to its chagrin.


    An old friend of his was already waiting on the ground. He wore simple robes and had a scholarly feel to him. He was Saru''s best friend, and one of the best hunters in the Gutu Empire.


    "Ticha, tell me what happened."


    Ticha sighed as he started walking with Saru. "Bhure received a notification that someone barged into your private area, so he took it upon himself to investigate, but he never came back. I decided to check for myself, when I felt the Sovereign''s presence. Thus I sent the message to you."


    Saru then looked toward his friend, "Any idea why the Sovereign is here?" Ticha shook his head. Saru remained silent and simply walked on. He said little because he knew that the Sovereign could hear their words, from the moment he could feel his presence, he was already within that person''s domain.


    By the pond which Saru usually fished at was a peculiar sight. A young man was walking around a young woman who was training her sword moves, while Bhure stood still frozen. Literally frozen, in ice.


    Once they were within a few meters of the young man, they kowtowed on the ground. "Saru and Ticha pay their respects to The Solitary Sword Sovereign."


    The young ma had a head of white hair and brown eyes. He had dark brown skin and wore a light blue robe. A sword was sheathed by his side while both his hands were covered by gloves. He looked to be about 16 years or so.


    The young lady seemed was a typical Gutu girl. Curvaceous, brown skin with short hair. Her face however had an unusual masculine vibe to it.


    The girl kept swinging her sword while the young man started walking toward Saru and Ticha. "Hey guys, long time no see. I hope I didn''t come at a bad time. Rise"


    Ticha and Saru rose. Saru then said. "No, no, Sovereign. Anytime you visit we will be at your beck and call. Might we ask what we might do for you today?"


    The duo completely ignored the fact that Bhure was frozen. They knew he was alive, so they decided to see if they could please their visitor first. He was known for being eccentric.


    "Jumping right to it huh. Anyway Saru it has come to my attention that your disciple has wondered into a pocket world I made. I thought I should give yah a heads up, you know, since we are friends and all."


    Saru''s expression eased up. He thought that the Sovereign had come to order him around as he usually did, but it turns out it was actually to help him out. Ticha became befuddled. Since when was the Sovereign so nice?


    "Here are the coordinates." Information suddenly popped into Saru''s mind without warning. Ticha shuddered as he thought of what was happening to Saru, because he had experienced it multiple times. The idea that their minds were like playthings to the Sovereign was very disturbing. They could hide nothing from him. It was no different from being naked. For a person like Ticha who was used to being in a position of power, this was quite immaculating.


    "Saru you crazy bastard!" Without warning, the Sovereign suddenly jumped and shouted. Ticha had no idea what was happening and looked at his friend in dismay. Saru looked back saying with his eyes that he had no clue as well.


    Three chairs made out of ice materialized out of nowhere and the Sovereign signalled for the duo to sit. "Saru my boy, tell me about this Taku kid. And I mean everything."


    ...


    Saru then went on to explain everything he knew about Taku so far. Ticha was also quite shocked. Saru had told him that the young man was special, but he had no idea it was to this extent.


    Once Saru finished his explanation, the Sovereign lifted up his palms. A large three dimensional projection appeared before the trio. A blue orb was clashing with a red orb, with smoke being produced as a byproduct.


    "This gentlemen is Taku''s soul. The blue orb represents the dominant soul, the lightning element. The red one represents the original owner of the body, the fire element. This gentlemen is a case of a Pyroclastic Soul." The Sovereign saw the looks of confusion on Saru and Ticha''s faces, and decided to go into detaiis


    "Ehem, when the original Taku was born, only the fire element soul existed. Someone wanted to kill Taku without actually killing him, thus they took advantage of the fact that the original Taku had a powerful Soul and cast a nasty spell on him. Resulting in serious Soul Deviation.


    The left over soul was just a piece of energy without a consciousness to guide it. Now comes the interesting part. A soul with a living consciousness with equal strength to the original one entered Taku and slowly took over his body. This is the lightning one. The fire soul decided to reflexively put up a resistance, resulting in their clash. The new consciousness spread across both souls.


    This will result in three things. First the body will find fire techniques much easier to do as they are more compatible with the body. Second is that he will find that soul techniques requiring the fire soul to take action are very difficult to do.


    The third and most crucial aspect is the creation of a third soul. The fire and lightning souls are 100% equal in terms of power but oppose each other in terms of attributes. Finding two souls that are 100% equal in terms of soul power is extremely difficult, and I doubt anyone would find any if they tried, even an Immortal such as myself. Personally I thought it was only a rumour until i saw this."


    Ticha and Saru took in a breath of cold air. They knew the implications of what was said, especially an expert of the soul like Saru.


    "The two souls have equal soul power, opposite attributes, but are balancing due to the fact that they share a trait. The red soul is the Empyrean Nether Flame, known here as the Imperial Nether Flame, that the Gumbo royal family have, which has the aspect of purifying excess. The lightning soul posses the 9 Heavens Empyrean Thunderclap. A lightning that possess the trait of purifying evil.


    The flame is purifying the excess from the lightning, while the lightning is purifying the evil from the flame. And the resulting product is the smoke like soul. A force of pure purification. No, erosion is more like it. So long as something has an evil trait or has excess, which is almost everything in existence, it will get wiped out of existence by the smoke."


    Ticha stood up from his chair and slapped his cheeks. He could not believe what he had just heard! The Empyrean Nether Flame! Of the Gumbo Royal Family! That means Taku was royalty! And his lightning soul was nothing to scoff at. Ticha had never heard of anything like the 9 Heavens Empyrean Thunderclap. And judging from Saru''s face neither had he.


    Saru was more concerned about the smoke. A force that exists to purify all excess and evil, how frightening was that?


    "The smoke like soul is acting like a glue, holding the three entities together. So instead of saying we have three souls in one body, it would be more accurate to say that we have one soul that is split into three parts. If i am not mistaken, the more the boy uses the smoke, the less balance there is between the fire and the lightning soul."


    Saru then clapped his hands in realization. This is why he goes berserk! But then a new issue came up.


    "Ehem, Sovereign, Ticha and I have no idea what to do with this boy, what advice would you have for us?"


    This was what the Sovereign had been waiting for. "Don''t worry about him. I will help you out regarding him. He is the most impressive Gutu child I have ever seen."


    Suddenly, a voice called out from behind the Sovereign. "But Master, I thought you said I was the most talented Gutu you have ever met.


    It was the girl. She was done with her training and was moving towards the trio. Ticha and Saru looked at each other in dismay. A child who had been referred to as the most talented Gutu by The Solitary Sword Sovereign himself. What was she?


    " Ah yes boys, this is my new disciple, Kudakwashe. She is a gold level talent."


    Saru opened his mouth but didn''t know what to say. There had only been seven gold level talents recorded in the entire history of the empire, now there was another? A gold level talent was the most valuable resource of the empire. They would without a doubt become a peak level powerhouse if they didn''t die. The most well known gold level talent, the current heir to the throne, was also a world shaking powerhouse despite her age. That would mean that at this very moment, the empire possessed four gold level powerhouses at once. This was without a doubt the peak of their strength!


    "Kuda, let me explain. You have far more talent than him, but he has more potential. Talent and potential are not the same. Because talent can be measured were as potential cannot. I can already see your limit, but i have no idea how far that Taku boy can go..."

 57 Talent Vs Potential

    "Hmph!"


    Kuda snorted as she heard the Sovereign''s words. Potential? Wasn''t talent a measure of potential? As far as she was concerned she only had four rivals in this world, and none of them had a teacher as amazing as her. Thus, it was only a matter of time before she stood at the peak.


    Her master''s words made her uncomfortable as he rarely spewed nonsense. That''s all this was, nonsense, her ego wouldn''t allow her to think otherwise.


    "Master, please tell me what''s so special about him. His smoke? It isn''t bad but he couldn''t possibly reach a high level of cultivation like me. Not to mention, the spell cast on him is still in effect. No way he will surpass me."


    The Sovereign cast a glance at Saru. "Please," He said gesturing to Kuda, "Why don''t you explain to her why Taku is so special."


    Saru gulped then nodded. After all, even if her station stood far below her master''s, she was still a gold level talent. Within ten years she would be strong enough to snuff him out with her pinkie.


    "Ehem, Lady Kudakwashe. The smoke is more than a result of a fusion between both souls. Think of it this way, if both souls were purifying each other, why would a third suddenly exist? Thus the only conclusion is that he is absorbing remnant souls, these make up the smokes energy source. While the two provide the traits."


    Kuda''s face contorted In confusion. "What is a remnant soul?"


    Ticha piped up this time. "The energy we Gutu use is zesa. But it is not the only energy that exists. The first form that energy takes is called World Energy. This is produced in nature. When a person dies and their soul enters the cycle of reincarnation, some remnants of that soul remain, and these remnants are in the form of traits. If a fire manipulator died for example, then the remnant soul bits left behind would be fire manipulation bits. These would fuse with World Energy, forming what we know as zesa. In other words, zesa is World Energy that has fused with soul remnants." Ticha paused for a moment to gather her thoughts then cleared her throat and continued. "Taku is constantly absorbing soul remnants, each with individual traits. At some point in time, the more domineering of them will engulf the others. Resulting in the smoke having more than just one. How many it gains, only time will tell."


    Kuda frowned once she understood the crux of the matter. This was what her master meant by potential. The Sovereign was the one to finish it off.


    "Not only that. The smoke is constantly absorbing remnants as time passes by, fixing the deficiency created by the Soul Deviation. Gutu powers come from the soul. As he is constantly absorbing new souls, each with their own abilities, his talent is constantly in flux, and his ability has no stable form. Making both unidentifiable."


    "But master, why would he atttact remnants in the first place?"


    "The reason is simple. Conservation of energy. The two souls are purifying each other, creating a soul energy vacuum that needs to be filled. Since a third party was needed to act as the neutralizer, the smoke happened into existence. Gold level talent? Taku could have a higher level. An amazing ability? Taku could theoretically do everything. But this is reality, and his body can only handle so much. Hence the uncertainty of his future."


    Kuda snorted once more and went back to training. She still found it hard to believe. After all, she was only a child. This conversation of theory and what not failed to interest her any longer. As far as she was concerned, this Taku would learn his place when her sword tasted his blood.


    The sovereign shrugged, "Sorry about that guys. You know how these geniuses are. They think they are everything."


    Ticha recongnized his chance and took it. "No need to apologize Sovereign. She is truly a one in a billion talent. Worthy of your teachings." Saru smirked, the man never missed a chance to bootlick.


    "Anyway guys, I''m interested in this Taku kid. Saru, if you hand him over to me, I will owe you one favour. Think about it."


    Saru replied immediately, "You can have him Sovereign!" Ticha clicked his tongue in envy. A favour from The Solitary Sword Sovereign himself. There was nothing he could think of that was more valuable.


    The Sovereign smiled, "Good. Saru, make the necessary arrangements and have me get close to this kid. I need to be extremely close to properly observe his situation. This has to be covert, as you know, other immortals are observing my movements."


    Saru nodded grimly. "Sir, remember that the child was chosen by Sekuru Kaguvi. Please be careful."


    The Sovereign frowned, "Kaguvi huh...man I hate Gutu immortals, always getting involved in the matters of their descendants. At least its Kaguvi, he is lax, he probably won''t take much action. Not to mention that Kaguvi was a maniputor who knew next to nothing about soul theory. But if memory serves, he did have a soul art that is pretty handy. That''s probably what he gave the kid. Anyway, we have to do this on the down low. Saru, you know what to do. Oh yes, I almost forgot."


    "Bwah!" A loud sound of exhalation came from behind as Bhure was freed from his ice prison.


    Bhure had attacked the Sovereign without knowing who he was, thus his unfortunate fate. Fortunately the Immortal has a new play toy which brought out his good side. Bhure immediately kowtowed and apologized which the Sovereign waved away saying ''no big deal''.


    ...


    Taku and Maka were reviewing his knowledge on Martial arts. Maka thought he knew nothing, it turns out that he did know a martial art! The Butterfly Dance.


    At first Taku mentioned it in passing, but Maka found it strange. How could a dance learned in a small village relieve fatigue and make one fleet footed. The young man had completely forgotten about the dance due to the events of the last four years. Dancing was the last thing on his mind.


    As Taku kept executing the dance, Maka had an idea. "Attack me." She said whilst he danced. Taku''s face screwed up in confusion but he complied. Both their faces contorted this time only from shock instead of confusion.


    His attacks became very unpredictable and he was now able to change the angle of each one quite well. Of course he was still much weaker than Maka, but martial art skills showed power according to who used them. The Butterfly Dance was already this effective while Taku was only at the Tohwe level. How powerful would it be when he was at her level?


    He didn''t like the name and thus changed it to Butterfly Steps. The butterfly part left a bad taste in his mouth as well but Maka begged him not to change that too. Saying that its name could be a clue to a powerful heritage.


    Gumbo village was once a powerful city according to the village elders, but the younger generation took this information as poppycock. Maka had reason to believe otherwise.


    "Two souls, the ability to refine a powerful soul and now an ancient martial art. Just what else is this boy hiding?" Maka''s thoughts were filled with the enigma that was Takunda Gumbo.


    For the next few days the duo kept torturing Musen only to find that the results differed from what they expected. Musen''s personality was changing. At first he was a vile, nasty old man who swore at any chance he got. In the end he became something else entirely.


    At the moment, a thumb like figure was floating in front of Taku, radiating an aura of righteousness. "Children like you shouldn''t resort to such horrible means. I am disappointed in you. You should be ashamed. However, you have helped by freeing me from that prison, so I see no harm in returning the favour."


    Maka was dumbstruck while Taku could not believe what he was seeing. This was absurd. The Musen infront of them looked exactly the same as the one they had seen before, but his aura had changed, as if his soul was possessed by another consciousness.


    "Children, no need to fret, tis still I. Nevertheless, I am so ashamed. Oh the sins I have committed. The shame! The shame!" Musen wailed. Maka sat on the floor, her mouth ajar, Taku followed suit. She knew quite well how proud the Infamous outlaw was. He would never say such words, not to mention the aura of righteousness he gave off was blinding.


    His soul was now much smaller, but it was giving off a blinding radiance that could put the sun to shame. The beautiful light made Maka want to kneel and confess her sins. She was familiar with such power. This was Rudyi Force. Energy that was the amalgamation of all that was considered good. Only those who had a pure and righteous soul could emit such a power. Yet this same power was now being emitted by one of the most heinous criminals the empire had ever seen. Maka looked at Taku as if a monster had appeared.


    There was only one explanation. Taku had refined the evil out of Musen! Thus the remaining soul was incredibly pure. Any excess energy had been vanquished. Maka had never seen such a potent and concentrated portion of Rudyi energy before.


    "Taku, how did you do this?" She asked knowing the answer that would come from the boy. There was no explanation, especially from someone who knew next to nothing about souls nor energy.


    "Oh great universe, I have seen the error of my ways! Verily I shall change from this moment. Henceforth, I shall no longer be known as Musen, but I shall be known as Nesum!"


    From that point Musen...or rather Nesum continued blabbering nonsense about justice, kindness and happiness. At first Taku and Maka were mystified, but after hours of Nesum''s preaching Taku finally had enough. Smoke snaked from his body and reeled Nesum into his soul.


    Maka questioned, "Are you able to refine him further?"


    "Nope, I just got bored of his preaching." She giggled, it sounded heavenly, Taku''s eyes refused to deviate from her smile.


    "So, should we get going? It shouldn''t be too hard for me to bust us out of this place." She stood up as she spoke.


    Taku was about to reply, when a voice echoed from across the street. "That won''t be necessary."


    Taku and Maka looked to the source of the voice. It was a youth with spiky hair. Her eyes were like war itself, filled with bloodlust and the desire to spread misery and suffering.


    "Taku ru-" Before she could finish, her words were cut short.


    "Silence wench!"


    The shout echoed across the entire city. And with it, came an overbearing pressure that made Maka''s knees wobble and she fell.


    "Do not disturb me while I am talking to my brother."


    As soon as she was done, a ring of fire that was meters high suddenly covered the entire city. The flames had a black-purple outline. They were extremely hot but an eerie chill accompanied the heat.


    As soon as Taku heard the word brother, memories flooded into his mind. As if a dam had shattered, knowledge came in a torrent.


    "It''s, it''s you!"


    Boiling rage overtook Taku''s body as his eyes started turning blood red. Smoke started eacaping his body, engulfing him as it quivered.


    It didn''t take Maka long to figure out what was happening. Taku was going berserk!

 59 Completion

    Kufara Gumbo, the diamond of the empire they called her. The royal family bore many children but none could hold a candle to the young mistress. The reason being, she was a gold level talent.


    To the Gutu, strength was everything, strength was determined by talent, thus talent was everything. It was ranked according to colour. Ranging from red being the lowest to gold being the highest. Each level represented talent that was present in every set number of people.


    Starting from the bottom, red was the lowest, one in every ten people being red. Followed by yellow, which was one in one hundred, then blue and so on, covering green, purple, black, white, silver and finally, gold in that order. Gold being one in a billion. Starting from ten at the bottom you would multiply that by ten to get the next highest talent and so on repeating the process to figure the next talent level.


    There hadn''t been a gold level talent among royalty for generations, thus Kufara''s position as the next ruler of the Gutu was set in stone. Usually, the emperor chose the ruler, be it male or a female. This time the he had no choice. Had he not appointed her, he would have been branded as the greatest fool in history.


    As Kufara Gumbo grew up, her violent and cruel nature preceded her. By the age of six, her being drenched in blood became common place, by ten, she had already taken thousands of lives. Her cruelty and vicious personality pleased the current emperor, further cementing her position. She would be as strong as him within a decade. There was only one thing blocking her path to ascension, and it was now upon her in the form of Takunda Gumbo, her younger brother.


    After months of grueling research and torture she finally discovered his position, only to learn that it was countless miles away.


    She came up with the means to capture him with the use of a powerful spell. It required her to create a living, breathing avatar of herself. In order to do so Kufara had to sacrifice thousands. Thousands of lives that didn''t matter to her one bit. The avatar contained a portion of her own power and was now facing Taku and Maka, as well as a suicide squad of hunters that was on their way to capture him. She needed to buy time. Her orders were to bring him in alive.


    ...


    Hidden within Taku were memories that his mind had been stowing away for years, seeing Kufa finally brought them to surface. His vision began to blur as rage took over every inch of his body. Maka lept backwards, Taku wasn''t a threat but something felt off. His current form was different than before but she couldn''t quite place what about it strayed from the norm.


    "Brother, did you know that I''ve dreamt of this very moment for so long? The moment I would find you at last!" The princess trembled. "Oh, the sheer ecstasy of it makes me tingle!" Kufa bit her lip so hard that it bled, she quickly licked her lips and giggled in delight.


    "This girl is nuts!" Maka said to herself as she subconsciously backed away. She was well aware of the Princess''s exploits. Having witnessed them a few times at events held in the capital. Not only that but Saru had warned her multiple times to keep a good distance. Maka was brave, some might even say fearless, but none of it applied when it came to the royal clans. Each of which could exert a pressure that weakened a Gutu. That''s why fighting against royalty was extremely rare, practically non-existent. No matter what, Maka couldn''t muster the courage to do anything, that included warning Taku. Kufa''s earlier words still rang in her ears.


    A thought suddenly occurred to her. "The princess is calling him brother? That means..."


    Kufa began flexing her arms. "Now then brother," She crouched on the ground like a leopard ready to pounce, "Let''s see who has the stronger flame."


    Boom!


    The moment she left the ground a deafening noise rose into the air. The ground beneath her immediately shattered, leaving a crater in her wake. In mid air she covered her fist in concentrated Nether Flames, aiming it straight at Taku. An attack made to destroy. Like her, Taku had a high affinity for the abnormal fire so there was little to worry about in terms of killing him.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Taku flew backwards like a meteor, crashing into the surrounding ruins, turning them to rubble. Kufa stabilized herself and frowned. "I knew he was weak but this? It''s pathetic, he better be alive otherwise the old man will kill me."


    Dust and debris flew everywhere as Maka covered her eyes. She did not dare activate her zesa lest the princess notice her. Maka was also capable of moving the same way the princess did, for a person at her level it was possible. Only if she went all out without worrying about zesa expenditure. Where as Kufa did it as a casual opening. The sheer gap between them was evident and more than Maka would like to admit.


    As far as she knew, Kufa was fourteen, which meant she already reached such a level before adulthood. "So this is a gold level talent. Just how strong would she grow up to be?" Maka was a silver level talent, thus she was considered top notch wherever she went, however, in front of Kufa she felt insignificant.


    "Pa!"


    With a simple clap, Kufa cleared the dust and debris, clearing the battlefield. Just a clap from the young lady already had such an impact, the very thought sent shivers down Maka''s spine. Maka had seen more powerful beings, but the age was what was bothering her. "Taku? Where are you? Still alive I hope? Please say yes, it would be really nice of you not to die so easily."


    She started walking, peeking around corners, looking for any sign of life. As far as she was concerned Maka didn''t even exist. "Darn." She started scratching her head. "I should work on holding back."


    At that very moment, some rubble moved, and out of the ashes, Taku arose. He still wore a faint haze of smoke but his eyes were different. The red had vanished, a sense of calm replacing it. Maka looked and realized a simple fact. The Taku she knew was gone forever.


    ..


    In the hall of Guardians, Kaguvu was staring at the events, his eyes glued in place. "The kid''s finally one proper whole instead of a jumbled up mess. The pointless parts are history. Now let''s see what he can do."


    ...


    Taku exhaled a gentle breath, his features relaxed. This was no longer the Taku from earth, nor was it the previous one. This was a whole new entity, a fusion of both personalities.


    This new ''Taku'' started waving his limbs about, as if this was the first time he was moving. Kufa watched his antics, a smirk painted on her face. "Little brother, you''re still alive. Excellent! Now I won''t have to explain your death to royal father."


    "So this is the purification effect of the true Nether Flame. good¡­ very good. Thanks for ridding me of my unnecessary parts sister." Said Taku after some thought. Kufa was well aware of the flames capabilities but she had no idea what Taku was on about.


    "What are you talking about?"


    Taku replied. "I''m thanking you for finally putting me back together. Nehanda was right after all."


    The name Nehanda made Kufara cringe. Mbuya Nehanda, the greatest Muroyi in the history of the Gutu empire. One of the four gold level talents of the nation, and the person Kufa hated the most.


    "Brother, why did you mention that old hag? Is she the reason you are still breathing?"


    Taku nodded with a smile. He was quite happy. For the first time in a long time he finally had a proper hold on himself, he finally had a sense of who he was and it felt great. All his uncertainties and negative feelings were gone. Taku felt like a new man, and technically he was.


    "Sister, no need to get fussy, I am willing to let you take me. On one condition. You let her go." Taku nodded toward Maka. Kufa crossed her arms, a frown dampening her features.


    "Why should I? She clearly means something to you. It would only benefit me to take her as well."


    Taku sighed and placed his hand on his heart. "If you don''t let her go, I will kill myself."


    Kufa raised a brow, "You wouldn''t dare. I know you better than anyone else brother, you value your life more than anything."


    Taku grinned. "True, but we both know that if I die now, I wouldn''t necessarily die in the truest sense of the word."


    "Hmph! A theory at best!"


    "The fact that I''m breathing despite the Soul Deviation was also just a theory, yet here I am, talking to you, face to face."


    Kufa frowned and her foot started tapping. Taku did have a point. His death was an outcome no one desired, especially her father. If she failed to handle this properly it could affect her ascension to the throne.


    "Very well brother. You have my word. The wench may leave with her life, if you come with me without resistance."


    Taku smiled and started walking toward Kufa. "Of course sister. I have placed a flame by my heart. If you go back on your word I die instantly."


    Kufa snorted in response. Maka looked on at the situation in dismay. There was nothing she could do. Fight Kufa? Impossible. Taku had given up his life for hers. There was no way she could go against his wishes. She was a trained soldier, thus she knew that leaving alive was the best option, the only option.


    The princess created a large fireball and blasted the earth, creating a large hole. Outside was a vast grassland typical of the Gutu climate. They were indeed in a mountain. Kufa created chains from fire and tied up her brother. He winked at Maka before Kufa walked out with him.


    Maka felt incredibly powerless. She squeezed her fists until they bled. Such was the situation. Power determined everything. She was just to weak. So all she could do was watch on, as her friend was taken away by a demoness.


    ...


    Within a few hours, Saru arrived atop his bird with Ticha to retrieve Maka. She told the duo what had happened, causing their faces to become ugly. Maka did not need comforting as she had nerves of steel. Only anger and humiliation at having her life bargained for remained in her heart. She knew that the chances of getting Taku back were non-existent, so all she could do was get stronger.


    There was once a warrior who attained the same level of strength gold level talents while being born a measly bronze. His name went down in the history of the Gutu as the Supreme Martialist. Maka set her eyes on doing just that, breaking past her limits and getting her revenge on Kufa. Saru was one of the best teachers the Empire had ever seen, and she had unlimited resources. Now she had proper motivation. She was not sure if she could save Taku, but she would be damned if she didn''t give that royal b*tch a run for her money.


    Saru had no intention of saving Taku for some reason. He was far stronger than Kufa was, not to mention a mere avatar. Yet he refused to save the young man, saying it was not their place to interfere with royal squabbles.


    Maka knew that Saru was right. The power of royalty was vast. Maka had a royal clan supporting her, but they wouldn''t go out on a limb for Taku just because he and Maka were friends. Thus she could only swallow her humiliation and make an oath to get stronger.


    As the trio of Maka, Ticha and Saru traveled back to Mutoko atop Saru''s bird, a solemn atmosphere weighed down on them. Yet, if one looked closely, one could notice a slight grin on Saru''s face. Ticha did not fail to notice, but pretended as if he saw nothing.


    "Maka is now even more motivated, and The Solitary Sword Sovereign owes me a favour. This day couldn''t get any better." Honestly speaking, Saru was in a very good mood. Ticha pitied Kufa regarding what she had done. "Kidnapping someone who has been chosen by an Immortal, sigh, when it rains it pours for the Gumbo Family."

 60 Enemy Attack!

    ...


    The suicide squad met up with Kufa''s avatar and took custody of Taku at a clearing near a mountain pass. The energy sustaining her avatar was dwindling thus she had no choice but to hand him over. It wasn''t that the squad wasn''t capable, rather, she trusted no one other than herself.


    A large burly man dawning a glimmering set of golden armour from head to toe made a promise to Kufa''s avatar. "You have my word your highness. I will deliver the prisoner at all costs, even if that means giving up my life."


    A squad of fifty men stood behind him and in perfect unison, saluted their princess. "Pain before dishonor, death before defeat!"


    Kufa nodded. She then looked at Taku who was slouching, his energy seemed drained. His zesa had been depleted. The flame lingering near his heart had been done of his own accord and he began to regret it. The flame''s upkeep required what little zest he had left in small increments. Now he had none.


    "Now I''m going to track down that wench and bring her as well." She said with a sneer. All she had to do was create another avatar through sacrifice. The sacrifices didn''t weigh on her soul as they would a normal person, especially if it meant gaining a leg up on her brother. She would have that avatar track Maka and deliver her to another squad.


    "Don''t bother." Said Taku, his face was contorted into a sneer of his own. He was tied up in chains and held in a prison carriage.


    "Why wouldn''t I? She is important to you. So she is important to me."


    Taku shook his head. "If you want to start a war with the Ngundu clan go ahead."


    Kufa frowned, "What do you mean?"


    "She is Sarudzai Ngundu''s disciple, which means she is also Nehanda''s grand disciple."


    Makanaka Wakatama. This was a name that Kufa was all too familiar with. The only disciple of Sarudzai Ngundu. Maka was said to be one of the golden stars of this generation and had been adopted by the Ngundu Family, she was the disciple of Sarudzai, Nehanda''s favourite. Nehanda treated Saru like a son and Maka, as if she was her grand daughter. Thus, she was not someone who Kufa could touch without consideration.


    Kufa sneered as another idea occurred to her. As if he read her mind, Taku spoke. "Also, if you are thinking of attacking my team that would be unwise." Kufa had without a doubt noticed that Taku was in the Ivory Guard thus he must be part of a squad. Her next idea was to take his squad captive, but Taku''s next words poured cold water over her objectives.


    "Our reinforcer Tino is in the line of succession of the Chikosi Family. Which means he is royalty. Our Muroyi is Mbuya Nehanda''s newest disciple. Our summoner is the brother of the successor to the Ngundu family, making him royalty. And finally our manipulator is the successor of the Mabwe Family, making him top tier nobility, not to mention he is the fianc¨¦ of our Muroyi. So if you want to go ahead and attack someone in our team. Pick one, I guarantee it won''t end in your favor."


    Taku''s words were like a lightning bolt from the ninth heaven. Stopping Kufa in her tracks.


    Gutu Royalty had three clans. Each clan representing the epitome of the three aspects that make the Gutu so superior. The Gumbo were masters of magic with their Imperial Nether Flame. The Ngundu were masters of soul magic, with half the muroyi and summoners in the nation under their direct command. While the Chikosi Family had the best bodies in the land, and were masters of reinforcement. The majority of the greatest healers also came from the Chikosi Family.


    Every generation, the Emperor would appoint a successor, but if the other two families believed that their successor was superior they could issue a challenge at any time. For the last four generations the Gumbo Family had held power, but the Ngundu Family had been fighting back, their moves shrouded in secrecy. The Chikosi family was neutral but each family had different factions so it was not clear who the Chikosi would side with.


    The Mabwe were a family directly under the Chikosi and were acknowledged as the best healers in the Gutu Empire. The Gumbo Family had been trying to curry favour and pull the Mabwe Family for years with little success.


    Last and certainly not least was Mbuya Nehanda. The gold level Muroyi who was acknowledged as one of the strongest beings in existence. She was adopted by the Ngundu Family while she was young thus she was their retainer, but she grew too powerful, becoming an independent force, one to be reckoned with. The Gumbo Family clashed with the Ngundu many times but made it their mission to avoid angering Nehanda.


    A team that had ties to Nehanda, the Chikosi, the Ngundu and the Mabwe Families? What kind of monstrosity was this?


    As Kufa''s avatar faded, she took one last look at her brother. Just how had he been able to become part of such a thing? It wasn''t possible for him to lie because she could easily attain the truth within seconds due to her true body being at the palace. She would certainly look into his team. Something else nagged at her. Such a team would not exist by coincidence. Someone was pulling the strings in the shadows, but the question is, who?


    As Kufa''s avatar faded, the leader of the squad, Nhamo looked at Taku, his eyes widened as he forced himself not to tremble. They had no idea what Kufa''s motives were as far as bringing him to the capital but after hearing his conversation with her they knew he was no ordinary person. The families which he had casually mentioned were all behemoths that could make any of these soldiers disappear within seconds.


    Ivory Guard Squads stressed teamwork. A squad being no different than a family. There was no doubt that Taku''s ''family'' would try to get him out of this situation. Unfortunately, with them being a suicide squad they were destined to die, so they steeled their resolve and moved on. As Kufa''s avatar disappeared she nodded in approval.


    After learning about her brother''s identity she decided to create another avatar to travel along with the party. She couldn''t travel with them indefinitely but she could appear at critical moments. She had no choice. Her brother''s identity was too important to be careless with. This squad was filled with members that were just as strong as her if not stronger, but her identity as the heir to the throne was what was truly mattered.


    The royal families has suicide squads placed all over the nation. Hidden and waiting to act in case of emergencies. Now was such a time. It was of the utmost importance to have Taku firmly in their grasp, alive. Thus an order swept across the entire empire!


    Any and all suicide squads loyal to the Gumbo Royal Family were to join with Nhamo''s squad and insure that Taku be safely transported to the Capital!


    "Nhamo, you know how to summon me. If you are in any situation and you need my help don''t hesitate to call!" with those last words the avatar vanished. As soon as this happened her real body started preparations for a new avatar. Thousands of people were beheaded at the royal palace. The cells ran red with crimson.


    Blood flowed like a river as the palace workers did their jobs, pleasing the grim reaper.


    "Alright gentlemen, march!" Nhamo shouted as the crew went. Taku lost consciousness as the carriage moved. He could no longer hold on. But as his eyes closed, he managed to catch a sentence..."Enemy attack!"

 61 Samurai Sword

    Taku groggily opened his eyes. His body swayed and an odd pressure jabbed into his stomach. He squinted, attempting to ward off the strong winds pelting his face and noticed he was being carried. The feeling in his stomach was someone''s shoulder which he had been thrown over. The powerful breeze washed away any traces of sleep left on his body, sobering him up instantly.


    "What the fu-" Before Taku could finish, a feminine voice cut him off.


    "Don''t whine like a bitch. I just saved your ass." He could tell what his current position was, and thousands of questions plagued his mind. He had no idea where to start and before he got the chance, his body jerked forward. They had come to a halt


    Taku hit the ground, rolled, and came up with a face full of dirt. It wasn''t graceful but it would do. He ended up in a kneeling position and instantly locked on to his captor. His eyes raked her from head to toe. It was a girl dressed in unusually long robes that fit her tremendously well. A slit ran across one of her legs. The outfit did little to hide her incredibly curvaceous body. The slit teased at Taku''s desires but his mind immediately drifted to Maka. The woman''s explosive figure was the epitome of beauty but couldn''t quite compare. There were few parts where the words little or tiny could be applied and fortunately, they were the right places.


    Her skin looked flawless and her sharp eyes had an intense gaze that would put many a warrior to shame. Her whole being exuded an aura that was incredibly sharp, giving Taku the impression that she was the personification of a sword. Born and made for battle. In contrast to her aura she had a beautiful face and incredibly short hair.


    Few Gutu women chose to have short hair, and she was clearly one of the leaders of the pack. On earth she would undoubtedly become a famous supermodel. Her proportions were insane.


    "Who are you?"


    "The person that just saved your life you retard." She snorted as she put her hands on her devilish hips. Taku stood up as he started to recall what had previously happened. Indeed he was no longer in a cage. Instead, he stood at the base of a mountain, having just traversed the pass.


    Taku wanted to ask her why she had saved him, but shouts from the mountain caught his attention.


    "Here." She tossed him a small red ball. Taku caught it and carefully looked it over. It was a small, red bead-like object that gave off a sweet aroma. Taku''s face turned grim, he knew what it was.


    The girl looked toward the mountain. "I have a message from my master. He said, ''You''ll never walk alone. Red or dead.'' Whatever that means."


    Taku''s eyes dilated as soon as he heard those words. He was shocked to his core. He never expected to hear that phrase in this world. There was no doubt about it. Her master had a connection to earth.


    "Take it. This one takes time to kick in so you should take it if you want to survive that." Taku looked to where she pointed, his expression contorting even further. There was only one way Taku could describe it. A flame tsunami!


    A massive inferno covered the mountain range in front of them. It blanketed their vision, making the surroundings hot. The Imperial Nether Flame, something Taku was all too familiar with. The flame descended, seemingly headed straight for Taku and the girl. Without hesitation, Taku swallowed the red pill.


    It was called a burning power pill, designed to give the user an temporary boost in power, at a terrible cost. The first being that it drained the user''s life force while in effect. Second being the user would be unable to use zesa for quite a few months after the effects wore off. Once the effects disappeared, one''s ability to sense zesa would become even weaker. The third being weak users would go berserk. Taku was as weak as they come, so the odds were not in his favour.


    Taku didn''t want to take the pill, he was all too familiar with the side effects, but he had no choice. The flame tsunami approaching was without a doubt from his sister. It was an area of effect skill that indiscriminately burned everything in its path.


    Taku braced himself as the flames approached. That''s when his peripheral vision caught something. The young woman had taken a sword from within her robe. It was something Taku was all too familiar with.


    A long, slightly curved blade with only one sharp edge. It had a round like guard with delicate design. Its grip decorated with triangular shapes in a variety of colours.


    "A katana!"


    This was without a doubt a katana, also known as a samurai sword. A Gutu woman holding a katana facing a flaming tsunami. There was something about the moment that made Taku feel out of place. It was definitely something he would never forget.


    When the flame was only a few meters away, Taku started distressing. The pill he had taken had not yet kicked in. He knew he had no way of surviving such an attack.


    "Am I going to die?"


    That''s when it happened.


    Swoosh!


    Boom!


    Within a fraction of a second, the roaring flames dispersed, as if they never existed. Only the charred ground beneath and the smokey remnants were evidence that they had ever been there.


    Taku was gobsmacked! With a wave of her sword, the woman had blasted the tsunami to oblivion! Taku slapped his cheeks to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating.


    Considering his history, Taku should have been immune to surprises of this kind. There was something wrong here! This was his sister''s flame tsunami! How could it be waved away with a mere sword! And by a teenager! Not to mention there wasn''t even the slightest zesa fluctuation.


    Suddenly, figures appeared in the sky and landed on the ground in quick succession. Everywhere they landed, small craters were created. It was clear that they had jumped from behind the mountains. His sister and her suicide squad, they had arrived.


    Kufa crossed her arms on her developing chest. "So, you are the whore who stole my brother?" As soon as Nhamo and the soldiers heard Kufa speak, they felt like digging a hole and burying themselves.


    The girl had attacked like lighting. She destroyed the cage, stole Taku, then bolted across the pass. Nhamo quickly summoned Kufa while in pursuit. Luckily, Kufa was focused on the task otherwise he would be dead.


    "Whore is the wrong word. I like to think of myself as being sexually charitable." Kufa laughed at the girl''s words. "You indeed have a pair on you. I like that."


    The girl shrugged. "Look princess, it''s clear that you and I are in a completely different league. Neither of us want Taku dead, so how about we take our fight somewhere else and let these boys take care of themselves?"


    Kufa was surprised. This arrangement seemed disadvantageous to the girl. Yet she proposed it herself. Kufa couldn''t resist the urge to battle the girl. Someone who could snuff out her flame tsunami with a simple wave of a sword was definitely worth fighting. There was a greater value to the girl because she also looked to be around 14 or so.


    "Interesting. Very well. Nhamo!"


    "Yes princess!"


    "I expect you to take care of my brother. This is a simple task. If you fail again..." Kufa moved her finger across her neck with a feral glint in her eyes. Knowing her abilities, Nhamo gulped and saluted.


    "Yes your highness!"


    "Whore, let''s go." Kufa looked toward the girl. "After you princess." The girl signalled for Kufa to go first. "Hmph!"


    Kufa jumped and the girl followed suit. Both of them disappeared into the skies. Their jumps created shockwaves that shook the ground. Nhamo and co could not help but marvel.


    "Argh!"


    Taku cried then landed on the ground, clutching his chest in pain. The soldiers had no idea what was happening but they decided to not waste any time.


    "Surround him!"


    "Yes sir!"


    The group encircled Taku, ensuring he had no escape. This wasn''t necessary considering how weak Taku was, but they couldn''t take any chances. Kufa''s threat made them tremble.


    Nhamo stood outside the encirclement with his arms crossed across his muscular chest. "Hhmm?"


    Nhamo was the first to feel the abnormal zesa fluctuations around Taku. It took a few seconds, but a tornado made out of zesa started gathering as he kept screaming. Most of the soldiers were not sure what was happening, but Nhamo had a rough idea. "What, don''t tell me?"


    He quickly realized what was happening, but it was a bit too late. It was at that moment that the entire zesa body was sucked into Taku. He knelt, covering his face in his hands as he slowly rise from the ground.


    "Aaaaargh!" A scream completely unlike the other came out of Taku''s mouth, along with an immense amount of energy. Nhamo looked on, baffled, he had never seen anything like it. Taku''s right side was completely red with a purple-black hue, while his left was completely blue with a hint of white sparks here and there.


    The two colours split the boy''s body straight down the middle.


    "Retreat!" Nhamo''s order came a second too late, as Taku''s hands could no longer cover his face as he faced the sky, screaming once more.


    "Aaaaa¨¤aaaaaaaaaargh!"


    This time the energy erupted from his body. A blazing inferno erupted from his right side while a thunderous light boomed from his left. Completely engulfing everyone and everything!

 62 Product X

    Kufa and Kuda faced off against each other many miles away from Taku and the suicide squad. Kuda was on the ground while Kufa hovered in mid air. The ground was littered with craters and debris. In the small amount of time it had taken the soldiers to encircle Taku, the duo had already traded multiple blows, each of which could have killed any regular person. That''s when it happened.


    "Hhmm?" Kufa turned her head toward Taku''s direction. Kuda followed suite while whistling. "Wow princess, didn''t know your bro had it in him. I didn''t know he would go this far."


    "What did you do?" Kufa''s face turned red and she wanted nothing more than to burn the whore to a crisp. She was not sure what had happened, the events had taken place too far away, but the spike in zesa around Taku''s location drew her attention.


    "Let''s just say I gave him something to even the odds. Anyway, he isn''t important. Let''s focus on us. Have to admit, you are pretty hot." Said Kuda with a glint in her eye.


    "Disgusting." Said Kufa. The very idea of Kuda being sexually attracted to her made her stomach turn. Kuda''s sword rested on her shoulder as she replied, "Bitch please, I''ve heard the rumours. You and I are alike, I know you are also on my team."


    "It seems you are mistaken about something whore." Said Kufa as she landed.


    Kuda raised a brow."What might that be."


    "I am indeed into women, however, I am the hunter. Never the hunted. Plus, I never get with other lesbians." A snort escaped her lips while she dismissed such a heinous idea.


    "Tsk tsk tsk princess." Kuda shook her head. "It is you who is mistaken. I am not a lesbian. I''m bisexual. What a waste it would be to only pluck fruit from one tree don''t you think? One needs a bit of variety in their diet. Besides, I know you are attracted to me. I can see it in your eyes."


    "While your body is indeed to my liking, your existence is not!" Kufa covered her body in Nether Flames, as her aura rose, so did the temperature for at least a kilometer. Kuda raised her sword defensively.


    Kuda was well aware that this was merely an avatar, but she still didn''t dare underestimate it. The avatar only had a portion of Kufa''s power but she was still a gold level talent. One who was quite capable of overcoming her limits. Kuda had done so, so she assumed that her enemy could as well.


    ''Always assume that your opponent is at least as good as you are, if not better, if you feel that they are threatening.'' These were words given to her master, and she took them to heart.


    Kufa raised a palm to the skies as zesa gathered around her. Within an instant, a gigantic palace made out of flames appeared in the skies. The structure exuded majesty, Kuda was like an ant in front of the gigantic construct, while Kufa looked majestic holding it up.


    "Take this." Without sparing any more words, Kufa dropped the massive structure on her opponent, hoping in the deepest recesses of her heart that she would be able to block it!


    ...


    "Urgh." Nhamo groaned while holding his head, it throbbed and he shut his eyes tight. He hoped to somehow relieve the splitting pain. He knelt on one knee and tried to force himself to stand but to no avail, the pain was severe.


    "What? What happened? Did I lose consciousness? For how long?"


    Nhamo tried to look around, finding nothing but a sea of thick smoke. This was no regular smoke either. It somehow made a Kusakura powerhouse like Nhamo lose his bearings.


    "What is this? Hmph!" Nhamo snorted while he gathered some zesa in his hand as he stood up.


    "Ha!"


    Nhamo clapped with all his might, creating a shockwave that dispersed the smoke near him. What was revealed made his pupils constrict.


    Half of his squad, or rather what was left of them, littered the ground around Taku. To the left were charred remains that were smoking, with the occasional spark here and there. While the bodies to the right were charred with Nether Flames still burning, consuming the remainder of the corpses down to the bone.


    Nhamo was well experienced with the Imperial Nether Flame, so he needed little more than a glance to identify it.


    "This brat is royalty!"


    Nhamo finally had an inkling of Taku''s identity, but it didn''t make sense to him.


    "Why would the Gumbo attack one of their own?"


    Nhamo was a part of the Gumbo Family but he was a distant relative. He knew very well that the royal clans were tight knit units. There may be factions, but they valued their bloodlines, and did their best to cultivate their most talented heirs.


    Taku''s flame was so pure that the very sight of it made Nhamo shiver. He could tell that Taku must be part of the main line of succession, so why on earth was he being hunted like a stray dog?


    All of this took some time to explain but happened in less than a fraction of a second. Nhamo gathered his wits about him and focused on the cause of all of these events.


    "This! This is!"


    Nhamo knew that Taku had taken a burning power pill, and he knew what the effects were.


    "Shouldn''t he be going berserk?"


    Standing before him was a Taku completely different from what he knew. A white viscous liquid was leaving the boy''s body, and parts of that liquid were changing into smoke that seeped into his surroundings.


    Nhamo was a man who had been honed by hundreds of life and death battles. His intuition had kept him alive many a time, and this time it was telling him something.


    "That liquid is dangerous!"


    Taku was just as surprised as Nhamo, if not more. He thought he would be berserk, but it seems that the smoke interfered. Now it was not appropriate to call it smoke as it was currently in liquid form.


    Taku''s cultivation had entered Kudyara level. The first sub level of the Kusakura level. He had jumped 3 levels in power. And the results were quite pleasing.


    "So as my power increases it changes state? If I become stronger will it become a solid? Just what on earth is this." Taku observed the liquid. Since he had no idea what it was he decided to call the ability Product X. So right now it was liquid Product X, with some gaseous Product X here and there.


    The spike in power came with quite a few boons. For starters, Taku felt like his control over Product X had increased by leaps and bounds. It was almost as if it was now more than just an extension of his body. It had become another sense entirely.


    Taku''s control, power, and ability had experienced a qualitative and quantitative leap, and he decided to make full use of it.


    The soldiers from before were still there despite their numbers being hacked in two. Some were unconscious while others began to wake up. Taku realized that he had to take this opportunity, thus he decided to dispose of them while he could. Currently, Taku''s zesa was at the peak of the Kudyara level, as this was the limit his current body could take. Most of the soldiers were also around that level, with some at the Kurima level, the level after Kudyara. Nhamo was the only peak Kurima warrior there, a cut above the rest, but Taku decided to dispose of the weaker ones.


    The young man wanted to take advantage of his current state, so he started brainstorming on how to better understand his abilities as a whole. Meanwhile, Nhamo was inwardly screaming. Taku''s aura was becoming more intimidating by the second. This was the suppression effect royalty had over others.


    This was the same issue Maka had suffered when facing Kufa''s avatar. It was an ability known as the Tyrant''s Oppression. It had many effects, but at Taku''s current level all he could do was intimidate Nhamo and his men. This intimidation was very effective, because it made one become unable to use their full ability.


    Taku was unaware of the fact that he was emitting the Tyrant''s Oppression, thus he didn''t know the advantage he now had. Currently, with Taku''s pure bloodline and his cultivation level, he was able to make Nhamo and his men one sub level weaker than they actually were.

 63 Divine Thunderclap

    ''Only the foolish stand and observe while a tree falls on them.'' This was an idiom passed down the Gutu population for many generations. Its meaning was simple. One must act quickly before a disaster occurs. Nhamo was in a similar situation. His disaster was in the form of a child.


    By the second, Taku''s aura got stronger, indicating that he was getting used to his new power.


    "I can''t let this go on!"


    Nhamo decided to act before Taku gained control of himself. As a veteran, he would have acted sooner, but the Tyrant''s Oppression Taku emitted disturbed his mind. He had royal blood within him, thus he had a little bit of resistance. The others, however, had none. They could only rely on their strong wills, which would take time.


    Nhamo, like most in the royal family, was a manipulator. He specialized in weaponizing his flame. He quickly forged it into a spear which glowed brilliantly and threw it at Taku with practiced ease. The entire process was a combination of movements that blended into one seamless action, his demeanor mirroring a flowing river unimpeded by anything.


    He barely made a sound while attempting to catch Taku off guard. The former even went as far as to sacrifice the usual amount of power, going for technique and accuracy instead. His target, Taku''s head which was bobbed downwards as he observed his hands. The spear hit him dead on and flames instantly covered his entire body.


    Nhamo was hoping for Taku''s head to be blown off, after all, such an attack would have left even him dead. However his eyes were greeted with the sight of his flames being snuffed out like candlelight during a windy night. He panicked as he realized a crucial error.


    "That''s right! The boy is pure royalty. His body has a certain degree of immunity to the royal flame, not to mention my meager variant. If he was at his original level, at least the force could have injured or killed him, but now..."


    Nhamo quickly calmed himself as he tensed his body. Although Taku was looking down, he had a complete understanding of the actions around him. Product X in liquid form was like an extra sense, giving him an omniscient feeling. Nothing within his immediate surroundings escaped his scrutiny. From smell, temperature, form and energy, especially zesa.


    Product X gave Taku a unique perception of energy. Unlike anything he had ever felt. Even if he wanted to, Taku knew this could not be described.


    The boy sensed the flame spear and knew it would do little to no damage. He had a far better understanding of the Imperial Nether Flame than Nhamo due to his upbringing.


    "A spear huh."


    Taku suddenly remembered something. In the past, he and Maka had decided on him using a spear as his weapon to make up for his combat deficiencies.


    "Maka, I wonder if she is alright..."


    Taku smiled and calmed himself. With a thought, some Product X left his body and formed an oddly shaped staff. One end was concave, as if something was supposed to be there.


    "Now for the finishing touch."


    In the center of the bowl shaped end, a hole formed. A blazing Nether Flame escaped through it and formed a blade that was a couple of feet long. The blade was curved in a manner that reminded Taku of Chinese curved swords.


    "A spear is what the old Taku wanted. It is too simple. I think this is more to my liking."


    This was indeed not a spear but a halberd instead! The king of the battlefield!


    Taku was born and raised in the royal family up until he was six years old. He was a very intelligent child, and soaked in all the information he could. His earliest memories all being unpleasant, but there was one memory he would never forget.


    Taku and Kufa were taken to a battlefield were the elite of the nation were facing a horde of powerful beasts. These elites were only a dozen, but with a single attack they killed hundreds, if not thousands of beasts. One of them in particular stood out from the rest. At that time he was only a teenager, but his might was a cut above the rest.


    Every time his halberd was swung, the entire battlefield would rumble, thunder raining down from the nine heavens, razing every thing in his path. His eyes glowed while electricity encircled his body, making him look like a god of war. It was almost as if the other elites were only there to pick up his left overs. Taku knew the teenager''s name, but everyone called him by his title, The Divine Thunderclap King.


    Divine Thunderclap was Taku''s hero as a child. He was a hero among heroes, a titan among titans. It was said that whenever he fought, there would only be two sides. Thunderclap and the rest. He didn''t need an army, he didn''t need tactics, all that was required was his presence, and victory was guaranteed!


    Taku''s memory of Thunderclap was his most treasured from this world, thus when he regained his earlier ones, he created what he had always wanted, a halberd similar to the one his hero used. Except this one was slightly different. This one had his own powers imbued into it.


    Taku wanted to use his lightning power as well, but he had little to no knowledge of what it did. Taku did not want it to clash with his flame, not to mention that this body was more attuned toward using the fire anyway.


    He desperately wished he could use the lightning as his hero did, but alas, now was not the time for fantasies, now was the time to secure his freedom.


    Taku''s formation of the halberd only took a few seconds. Nhamo marveled, his mouth agape. The oppressive aura coming from the flame tip made it hard to breathe.


    "There is no doubt about it. This lad is true royalty."


    Nhamo steadied himself and decided on his next course of action. He was a manipulator, but he was also well trained in martial skills from other fields as well, especially reinforcement. Nhamo decided against using his flames for now. They would not yield any advantage.


    "I have to drag this out until the effects of the pill wear off. That''s my best bet."


    Nhamo immediately changed his plan. He knew that the greater the benefits the pill brought, the worse the backlash would be.


    Taku was also aware that he had little time. So he decided to take the initiative, launching himself at the soldiers that were still alive. With a swing of his halberd, heads flew, leaving smoldering bits. The overbearing nature of the Imperial Nether Flame were truly a sight to behold.


    "Oh sh*t!"


    Nhamo''s plan to bide his time immediately went down the drain. Six men had lost their lives to a mere single swing of the halberd. Absurd, absolutely absurd .


    The Tyrant''s Oppression was in full swing, so the soldiers were still muddleheaded. Nhamo knew that if he didn''t take action, all his men would die. So he did.


    Nhamo reinforced his body and leapt at Taku. He aimed to strike the boy''s head, but Taku bent backwards and swung his halberd at his opponent''s back. Nhamo thought that he would only meet the shaft as the distance between the two was short. The weakness of a halberd was displayed at this moment.


    Taku snickered in his heart. This wasn''t a true halberd, this was a weapon made from liquid Product X!


    Taku made the halberd curve so that the flame blade aimed for Nhamo''s head. Nhamo reacted quickly and jumped away in response. Taku did a flip and balanced himself.


    Nhamo snorted and grabbed a sword from one of the charred remains on the ground. With a shout, he charged toward Taku. Now that he knew that the halberd could bend according to Taku''s will, he became more cautious.


    The two exchanged multiple blows. Nhamo''s objective at the moment was to gauge Taku''s power and his abilities with the new weapon. The results made him quite happy.


    Taku fought as if he had eyes at the back of his head. No matter which angle Nhamo attacked, Taku would always take measures to counter. But the measures he took would always be evaded by Nhamo, and the cycle repeated itself.


    "This brat is powerful, and his senses are sharp, but he barely knows how to use that weapon of his."


    Nhamo''s eyes squinted as he caught onto Taku''s greatest weakness. The halberd was a powerful weapon, but it required a lot of training. Martial skills were the one area Taku was lacking, and Nhamo used that to his advantage.


    "Boy, give up! You are unworthy of using that halberd. Its too big for your little hands."


    Nhamo taunted Taku but he remained weary. He wasn''t quite sure what the boy could do with his flame which made him anxious. All he could discern was that Taku''s control over the flame was quite good. The higher the quality of the flame, the more difficult it was to control. Taku''s control over his top class Nether Flame was a testament to his skill in flame manipulation.


    Suddenly the battle stopped. Taku jumped back and created space between himself and Nhamo. He then extinguished the flame and absorbed the halberd back into his body. Nhamo became even more cautious. Just what was the boy going to do now?


    Nhamo''s objective was to stall for time, so th less they fought the better. He would not take the initiative to attack unless Taku attacked his men.


    Taku started to try as best he could to control the liquid Product X around his body. He made it disappear until only around a fifth of the original amount remained. Then he forced the remainder to cover his body, spreading it thin. At first, Nhamo was confused, but then he figured out Taku''s intention. Body armour!


    Taku made Product X into a shell that covered him from the neck down. Yet oddly enough the armour was only thick around his feet, knees and elbows. The armour around his feet created pointy shoes that gave the impression of a sharp arrow.


    "What is he up to?"


    Taku''s reasoning was simple. His understanding of weapons was poor. Nhamo was an expert in Martial Skills, so Taku had to bring out what he was best at.


    Taku quickly raised his hands into a boxing stance, while one leg was raised with the knee jutting out. There was a red sheen around the areas that were thick, with Nether Flame energy coursing through.


    "What kind of skill is this."


    Taku knew next to nothing about weapons, but hand to hand combat was a different story. On earth he was a muay-thai and taekwondo master. This world''s magic had made him forget what he was good at, so he had not focused on his greatest assets. He was not going to make that mistake any longer.


    Nhamo didn''t know why. But Taku''s current stance made him weary, or to be more specific, scared.

 64 Totemic Power

    The Gutu were born with three advantages that made the other races look at them with envy. The first one being that their bodies were superior. The second being the natural abilities they possessed. The third one being totems.


    Taku had always fallen short in front of Kufa regarding all three aspects, which is why he was in his current predicament. Kufa was particularly blessed regarding totems, while Taku had no talent in that field at all.


    Taku never gave much thought regarding totems, but during this fight with Nhamo, he was awakened regarding the value they possessed.


    With a spring in his step, Taku launched himself at Nhamo, who responded with a stab from the sword. Taku snorted and ducked, following with a uppercut to Nhamo''s belly.


    "Aaaaaah!"


    A scream unlike anything Taky had ever heard escaped from Nhamo during the moment of contact. A soft, sizzling sound was also caugh by Taku.


    "Product X is corrosive?"


    Taku didn''t have time to ponder over this new development as he continued with a barrage of uppercuts to Nhamo''s stomach, lifting up the former. Nhamos lost the sword he was holding during the barrage of strikes. Whenever Nhamo''s feet were about to touch the ground Taku would follow with a punch that lifted Nhamo once more. At some point Nhamo spat a mouthful of blood which made Taku jump back.


    Taku saw his opponent rolling on the ground in agony. Nhamo''s belly had been covered in armor, but there were now fist sized gaps in the armour all over the mid section. Taku''s fist had melted the armour away!


    Taku looked at his own fist in apprehension. Product X was still in liquid form, so even though it was in a shape, it was more like molten candle wax that was in a state of hardening but never hardened.


    Taku looked on the ground and saw that his foot steps didn''t corrode the ground. Which confused him.


    "That''s it!"


    Nhamo''s shout caught Taku''s attention. The former punched the ground and stood up groggily. Zesa started gushing in until steam started forming from his body.


    "This is Nether Infusion!"


    Taku was surprised. Nether Infusion was a martial skill were by one infused their flesh with the Nether Flame to boost strength and speed. Taku was very familiar with the skill as he had also learned it during his childhood years.


    It was a skill that was part of a set, so unless one possessed the other skills in the set, it was advised not to use the skill as it caused irreparable damage by itself.


    Martial skills and spells were applications of zesa that one would learn to improve their battle prowess. It was possible to learn martial skills/spells that had nothing to do with your ability or elemental affinity, but it was much more strenuous.


    Take Maka for example. She had the earth element affinity and her ability was gravity manipulation. Thus most of her martial skills revolved around manipulation of force and strength augmentation. If she tried to learn spells regarding soul magic she would instead suffer from lack of progress.


    Taku knew the full set of skills to use with Nether Infusion, but he was rusty and needed lots of practise as it required a lot of concentration. Not to mention he learned the skills when he was six years old. How much could he remember?


    Hand to hand combat skills were much simpler and he had used them before in this body so he was confident. During the dombo trials they had saved his life many a time.


    Taku was about to attack when he felt a zesa fluctuation he was all too familiar with.


    An apparition of an elephant''s foot appeared above Nhamo as his energy spiked.


    "Totemic Power!" Taku gasped. Totemic Power was one of the many abilities under the third reason the Gutu were envied. It was a power Taku still didn''t quite understand. All he knew was that it came from their ancestors and it could only be unlocked once one achieved the Kusakura level.


    To enter the Kusakura level properly one must be able to commune with the ancestors and gain the right to use Totemic Oower. Totemic Power allowed someone to add an extra attribute to any ability or martial skill.


    One only gained one Totemic Power per level. Applying Totemic Power was far from easy as it required far more concentration than most martial skills. Hence those who could apply Totemic Power during battle were highly valued as the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me. Anyone can run. But only the best can make a living from it. It was a similar principle.


    "No wonder he is the head of a suicide squad."


    Those who could apply Totemic Power in battle at a young age were called chosen. How skilled one was in Totemic Power had nothing to do with graded talent or hard work. It all depended on whether or not your ancestors liked you.


    The Gutu empire only had one religion. And it was believed in that religion that when one died their soul would go serve the ancestors. Once the service was done one would reincarnate. If the ancestors were pleased with your service they would grant you a favour in return, allowing you to become a chosen.


    Nhamo was clearly a chosen as he was able to use Totemic Power at such a young age. If you were not chosen then you would only be proficient in Totemic Power once you started growing white hair.


    Taku had no idea what ability Nhamo had gained from his totem, but he was confident it could augment his Nether Infusion because the steam being released by Nhamo became even thicker once he activated his Totemic Power.


    When it camr to Martial skils/spells and Totemic Power, there were two paths of growth. One would either opt for skills that eliminated weaknesses or skills that augmented one''s strengths. It was clear that Nhamo had taken the second path of augmentation.


    Nhamo''s body reaked with the eerie aura of death that the Imperial Nether Flame often emitted. His eyes became bloodshot and veins bulged out from his forehead and other exposed areas.


    Right now Nhamo gave one the impression of a untamed beast looking for blood. Nhamo had trouble controlling himself in this state, but Taku had given him no choice. Nhamo could feel that whatever the liquid that Taku''s hand was made out of was, it was poisonous. An energy was permeating his body from the point of contacts with Taku''s fists.


    Nhamo struggled to resist the energy, and felt that the only way to deal with it was to activate all his trump cards at once.


    As a suicide soldier Nhamo was ready to die for his mission. He had a nagging feeling that the energy that Taku had brought into his body would only weaken him further, until he was dead. Thus he decided to go all out and give his best. Taku was of the utmost importance to the princess and Nhamo gave his word. His honour was riding on this.


    "The princess will definitely defeat the other girl. All I have to do is hold on until the pill''s side effects kick in, then my brothers will handle the rest."


    With a roar, Nhamo lunged at Taku. "Fast!" Taku could not help but be shocked at Nhamo''s new found speed.

 65 Faster!

    Nhamo attacked without a care for his own life. There was no thought put into defence, all Nhamo was thinking was how he could damage his opponent as much as possible. Taku was afraid, but he would not cower in such a situation. Nhamo was faster, but Taku was prepared.


    Nhamo threw quite a few punches as Taku was dodging. This time it was Taku who was on the defensive. Nhamo had the intensity of an untamed bull as he roared with each strike. It was almost as if he was moving on instinct. All he was doing was punching out. Taku could see a lot of holes in Nhamo''s offensive, but he failed to exploit them, because he was simply too slow.


    Nhamo''s physical capabilities were now much higher than Taku''s. The only reason Taku was able to dodge Nhamo was because the latter was predictable, not to mention Taku''s senses were boosted by Product X.


    I need to be faster.


    As Taku ducked and turned, he started to push his own body to its limits.


    I''m stronger than this, I know I am!


    Taku knew he had little time, thus the pressure forced him to exceed his limits little by little.


    I''m f*cking Gutu Royalty! The best of the best! Heaven''s chosen!


    Bit by bit, as Taku fought, he began to become more arrogant. It was almost as if this arrogance was in his blood, and all he had been doing all along was stifle it. Now he would no longer do so.


    F*ck it!


    Now Taku let nature take its course. He burned all the potential he had in his body as zesa started coursing with wild abandon within his body.


    They have always hated me.


    Nhamo kicked out, resulting in Taku jumping backwards in response.


    I was always an outsider.


    As soon as Taku landed, Nhamo approached with a right hook aimed at Taku''s crouching body.


    I was only a child, but I had no one!


    Realizing he couldn''t dodge in time, Taku stepped forward and tumbled forward diagonally, narrowly avoiding the blow.


    What the f*ck did I ever do to them? What did I ever do to them? Why did it happen to me?


    Taku didn''t realize, but slowly as time went on, his temper started to rise. He was slowly becoming berserk bit bit bit. The more he fought, the less he remained calm. As soon as Taku released the inhibitors on his mind, his emotions ran rampant.


    F*ck it all!


    Nhamo quickly turned around with a speed unbefitting a man of his size and madly rushed at Taku.


    Faster! I need to get faster!


    Nhamo was once more dodged by Taku, but this time something was different. Taku was faster.


    "What''s with the sudden zesa spike? Where is all this energy coming from?"


    Nhamo panicked slightly, but he continued his onslaught. Punch by punch, kick by kick, Nhamo noticed Taku was changing. He was becoming faster. Also an unusual amount of bloodlust was suddenly unleashed upon him. Each time Nhamo struck out, he would shout, with winds blasting around kicking up dust. But Taku was different. He was eerily calm and focused, and whenever he moved he was quiet and undetected, like a shadow in the night.


    Nhamo knew he was not weakening, so the only answer was that Taku was getting stronger as time went by.


    "Where is the strength coming from?"


    Nhamo''s mind started feeling a disturbance in the air. This was an instinct he had developed over many years of constant battle. This was the sort of feeling when prey was being observed by a predator. Or to be more accurate, when the predator was sure of catching its prey. Nhamo felt indignant as his thoughts ran wild.


    "Impossible! Impossible! He is still only at the Kurima level."


    The aura Taku gave off every second was escalating. It didn''t make sense to Nhamo. This was not logical, it didn''t make sense! Taku paid no heed to the changes happening within him. All he could think of was one think of was one thing.


    I must be faster!


    Nhamo was starting to panic as he realized something. Taku started to leave openings in his defence intentionally, but Nhamo could not attack them. He was just too slow!


    Faster!


    Nhamo started to hear a crackling sound, but he did not have the courage to look down, in fear of retaliation from the increasingly faster Taku.


    "This can''t be happening! How is he becoming faster than me?"


    The crackling became louder and louder as Taku became faster and faster. A dim white radiance started shining from Taku''s feet. For some odd reason, this light made Nhamo feel as if his entire existence was a sin. The radiance penetrated his flesh and went straight to his heart.


    "Is this Rudyi energy? How is it so pure? How is it possible for an inheritor of the Imperial Nether Flame to have Rudyi energy belonging to the righteous?"


    Nhamo started getting tempted. He wanted to see exactly what was happening at Taku''s feet. Taku on the other hand couldn''t care less.


    Faster!


    He only had one thought in his mind.


    More speed!


    His heart only had one thought.


    Must be quicker!


    Taku started feeling it. He was getting faster. He had no idea how or why.


    Faster!


    All he could thinking of reaching his limits!


    Faster!


    Faster!


    Faster!


    Finally the crackling started to resemble thunder, and the intensity started blinding him, so he could no longer resist. He looked down temporarily, only to notice something odd. Electrical currents were running around Taku''s feet. Nhamo''s eyes expanded, leading to a moment of distraction. This was an opening Taku did not miss.


    Chance!


    Taku was only thinking about one thing.


    Kill!


    He gathered all the energies that were coursing through his body. At this point in time, Kudakwashe and Kufa had arrived above the duo. The aura that Taku was giving off led the duo to form a temporary truce, so that they could see what was happening.


    "This is Taku?"


    This was a question, but Kufa didn''t know who she was asking. The Tyrant''s Oppression Taku was emitting was like an omnipresent mountain, suppressing the surroundings.


    Kufa was not suppressed because she was Pure Royalty, and Kuda had her own means of resisting, but the duo were still impressed nonetheless.


    "He actually is starting to look hot."


    Kuda licked her lips as lust was raging in her eyes. It was at this point that Nhamo got distracted, and Taku took advantage.


    Nhamo had stepped forward to punch Taku with a right straight, and he had put all of his might and weight behind the punch. But he instinctually looked down. It was at this point in time that Kufa saw something she would never forget.


    Kufa was far faster than Taku, so she saw his movements clearly. Taku moved to throw a right counter at Njamo. The lightning that had been coursing through his legs moved to his right fist. At the same time, blazing Nether Flames lit up his fist.


    As a user on the Nether Flame, which was the nemesis of Rudyi energy, Kufa was very sensitive to Rudyi energy. Yet before her eyes, Rudyi lightning had somehow combined with the Imperial Nether flame to form something she had never seen before!


    A fist covered in reddish white energy approached Nhamo''s fist at the speed the latter could not match. By the time Nhamo had looked up, the fist was already upon him.


    Katcha!


    Boom!


    The punch landed cleanly on Nhamo, and Taku unloaded everything he had on his foe!

 67 Brother, What Are You?

    "Common sense is only a collection of prejudices one retains from young. My master once told me these words, it is only now that I can truly say I understand them" Kuda spoke with a deep voice. Her eyes just could not process what had happened before her.


    Kuda and Kufa were gold level geniuses, proud daughters of heaven who were destined to stand at the pinnacle of this world as long as they did not die. There were few and far between youths who possessed the amount of knowledge and resources this duo had, yet they couldn''t make heads or tails of what had just occurred before their very own eyes.


    A large crater hundreds of meters in diameter with Taku''s body at the epicentre lay beneath them. There was nothing within the crater. No debris, dead bodies, remains¡­ nothing. It would be more accurate to describe the crater as a bowl. That was how smooth the ground beneath Taku was.


    Taku stood shakily, trying his best to catch some air. The Product X armour turned into smoke and slowly dissipated. The zesa within his body shrank and shrank until barely anything remained. The fire and lightning that had accompanied him previously disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Right now Taku was only in his ragged robes, with the hem fluttering in the wind.


    Kufa and Kuda slowly floated downwards. Kufa landed a few meters from her brother and touched the incredibly smooth ground. Kuda landed next to the weary Taku, who was struggling just to remain conscious.


    "The ground was bombarded with strong Rudyi energy along with a powerful variant of Ruboshwe energy. One removed negative energy while the other removed excess. The remainder could support its existence as matter and changed into pure positive energy which scattered into the environment¡­"


    After finishing her analysis, Kufa stood up and looked toward her brother with weariness in her eyes. Kuda agreed with Kufa''s analysis and did the same.


    Ruboshwe and Rudyi were two conflicting energies. Ruboshwe was a negative, evil energy often associated with death while Rudyi was a positive righteous energy often associated with life. The two were polar opposites that could never mix. As a Gutu one could only properly cultivate one of these energies. It should be impossible for one to have both energies to coexist within one''s body like this.


    "My master once told me that where he came from there were similar energies called yin and yang, but zesa was an energy that had remnants of souls, so human will was attached to it. Thus Ruboshwe and Rudyi energies differed from yin and yang in that they possessed a will, or ''intent'' as master called it. Yin and yang could exist in harmony but Ruboshwe and Rudyi cannot exist in harmony due to the clash of wills. Just who is this boy?" Kuda got lost in her own thoughts as she looked at Taku.


    "Brother, what are you?" asked Kufa while squinting her eyes.


    "Wrong question sister." Replied Taku as he coughed slightly.


    It should be who am I


    Taku kept the remainder of his thoughts to himself. Kuda put Taku''s arm around her neck as she supported him.


    "This changes nothing. My suicide squads are already nearby. Just because you defeated one squad means nothing. While I keep this whore busy they will take you away." Snorted Kufa with defiance. She was apprehensive about her brother''s skills, but she was still far more powerful than he was. Kufa was confident in being able to restrain Kuda while the army approaching came.


    Kufa had given the suicide squads a point a few kilometres away to congregate as an army. Once they reached a thousand they were to then march while other squads stood on standby elsewhere. She was still the princess of the Empire, and she had thousands of soldiers at her beck and call wherever she went. Although Kuda''s identity was mysterious, it did not put her off her main task, which was capturing Taku alive. His previous display had only strengthened her resolve.


    There was only one thing bothering Kufa. In her previous battle with Kuda, the latter had not used zesa at all. All she used was the sword to create incredibly powerful sword winds that dissipated any of Kufa''s attacks. This was only an avatar, so it only contained a small portion of Kufa''s strength. But she was still Princess Kufara. Yet someone her own age had matched her own avatar without even using zesa.


    "It''s almost as if she is stalling for time, which doesn''t make sense."


    As time went on, the advantage would only land in Kufa''s favour.


    "Unless she has backup, but so far I haven''t sensed anyone nearby."


    Kufa''s true body was back at the palace. She was constantly using multiple powerful spells to scan the area, spells which often came at the price of lives. Few people, not even her father, could evade the detection of these spells.


    Kuda had seen the army congregating from far away, but her expression did not change.


    "Princess, I advise you to send your armies away." Said Taku with a weak voice.


    Kufa crossed her arms defiantly and said, "Oh really, why would I do that?"


    "Because my master is here."


    Kufa was confused by Taku''s answer, and before she could reply a powerful zesa wave flooded the entire region. Kufa looked toward the direction of her army only to see a sight she would never forget.


    Arrows fell like rain, filling the entire skies above the plains. The arrows appeared so abruptly it was as if they appeared from nowhere. Each arrow was covered in incredibly thick and powerful zesa fluctuations.


    The army looked up and raised whatever means of defence they could. Blinding lights and loud noises came up as every soldier used up their arsenal of skills. Each arrow had an intent about it that made the fearless soldier cringe and enter survival mode. Talismans, spells, totems, martial skills. Multiple defences were put up, yet they were like paper to the arrows.


    The arrows were slow but powerful. Each arrow had a designated target, and every target had their hearts pierced without a doubt. It didn''t matter what position you were in, so long as you were part of the army, there was an arrow which was intending to make your chest its home.


    Gutu abilities usually leaned toward excessive power, thus such an incredible precise control of skill made Kufa flabbergasted. One by one like dominoes, her suicide soldiers fell. No matter the rank, no matter their disposition, each man fell under the storm of arrows, till no one was left. All that was left was an army of dead bodies with arrows running through them. The screams and wails of the soldiers deafened Taku''s ears, but their fates were sealed.


    Making Gutu suicide soldiers wail?


    Kufa could not believe what she was seeing. The ground that was trembling by the thousands of footsteps moments ago was steady and silent, as if nothing had happened.


    Flash!


    A silhouette wearing a black hooded robe suddenly appeared in front of Kufa''s avatar. Before she could react, the silhouette''s hand had already covered her little head.


    "Tell your father to f*ck off from my disciple."


    That was the last thing Kufa remembered before her avatar''s head was crushed.

 68 Currents Behind The Scenes

    Within an empty training chamber, a man was meditating cross legged with a few swords around him. The man was tall, incredibly muscular and intimidating. He was the epitome of Gutu physique. He was wearing training robes while a string had the locks on his head tied backwards.


    Kufa walked into the room, her footsteps unsteady and her eyes blazing with fury.


    She had intended to create another avatar, but she received notice that her father had ordered her to stop all activity and come to his training chambers.


    Kufa was embarrassed because of what the hooded figure had done to her, but she was in no position to disagree with her father. So she briskly travelled to his chambers, well aware of what was to happen.


    "Ready yourself." Kufa''s father, Kuziwa, threw a sword to his daughter, and proceeded to attack her. Kufa snorted and counter attacked.


    Recently, Kufa had come to learn many sword skills. Although she had not mastered the sword, her progress with her sword skill had come a long way. But seeing Kuziwa''s attack, Kufa quickly learnt what a true sword skill was.


    That did not mean Kufa thought the skill was powerful, however. It gave her the feeling that Kuziwa was an extension of the blade he wielded and vice versa. The sword and the person were bound together, like one. That was what was so profound.


    Dong!


    The ancient sword Kufa wielded effectively blocked Kuziwa''s sword. Kufa had reached the one with the sword realm, which allowed her to sense the strength delivered in Kuziwa''s attack. Quickly, she took a step back.


    Kuziwa''s waist turned, and the sword became a spike. It drove towards Kufa like a drill.


    Kufa had never before seen a person use a sword skill so naturally. There was never much difference in the performance of sword skills from person to person, but Kuziwa had truly taught her that she had much to learn. Being one with the sword was nothing, Kuziwa was one with the universe!


    Usually in their spars, her father would use his bare hands, thus his progress in the way of the sword was truly enlightening.


    Kuziwa''s wielding of a sword was so dexterous, adept, and natural-looking, it really looked like the sword was a part of him. It was like a third arm connected with his flesh and bone, creating the illusion of a living metallic limb.


    Kufa''s power was stronger than Kuziwa''s, or rather it was more accurate to say that she was using more power in her attacks, but when he attacked, he did so only with his sword. When Kuziwa attacked, his whole body was an extension of the metallic weapon, the moment he stepped forward, a domino effect would take place from movement to final blow.


    Kufa was able to evade each attack, but every time she tried to return a hit, her sword clashed with her opponent''s and she was forced to fall back. Even though their sword skills were seemingly even, Kufa was at a disadvantage.


    If Kufa hadn''t reached the one with the sword realm, not only would she had lost miserably, she would not have even noticed how wide the gap was between her and Kuziwa. To Kuziwa battle was something which robbed him of all emotion, he would only exist within the moment. He was holding back a lot in this bout with Kufa, but this required even more focus from him. When you had his level of power, even making a 1% error in judgement could bury civilisations. Let alone one person. Kufa was a Gutu, but she could still be killed. True Gutu royalty were often called immortals because they had very long lifespans. They didn''t need to eat much, sleep and were not affected by ordinary diseases. They could heal from injuries that are deadly to mortals and had a far higher aptitude for the mystic arts.


    With one final clash, their bout ended. Kufa believed Kuziwa gained nothing from their fights but he claimed otherwise. She was not his disciple, yet he had taught her quite a bit. Kuziwa treated all those under him that way, earning him respect.


    "When that boy becomes older, the world will enter a state of turmoil." Said Kuziwa with a grin.


    "What do you mean father?" Said Kufa with her head tilted. The previous bout had calmed her down. Her father''s presence had that effect on her quite often.


    "Well it''s quite simple really. Right now the world is in a delicate balance. The flames of war are being quelled by a delicate balance, but that balance won''t last forever. With his abilities of disrupting the equilibrium of things I am sure this boy will bring about the result which I am finally hoping for."


    "So you believe this boy will end the war?" Kufa questioned.


    Kuziwa looked at her like he was looking at an idiot. "End it? Why would I want that? No, no, no my dear. Taku will not end the war. Far from it, in fact I am sure he will start it! Mark my words. His words and actions will result in the deaths of trillions upon trillions of lofty foreigners who believe that they are untouchable."


    Kufa didn''t quite understand. She knew Kuziwa as an advocate for peace. He read her mind and looked at his sword, "There is a difference between peace, and silence my dear. For there to be true peace, the era has to change, and that change will be brought by a wave of blood!"


    Kuziwa was a man who wanted absolute control, and his daughter was no different. He did not want to fight with foreigners because it would disturb his other plans. He was obsessed with training himself in the martial arts and the results were very fruitful. The number of Gutu warriors that could defeat him in hand to hand combat could only be counted on one hand.


    "Father, I am not sure what your plans for the boy are, but he is still in my way! If we don''t use this opportunity to capture him, then the Ngundu could blind side us!"


    "Mbuya Nehanda has offered us a deal, which I have just accepted." Said Kuziwa as he went back to meditating.


    "What deal father?"


    "She will not interfere with our future clashes with the Ngundu for the next ten years, as long as we don''t touch Taku."


    Kufa''s eyes widened. She never expected Mbuya Nehanda to make such a move. Right now, the Ngundu and Gumbo Royal families were clashing for the throne. It was essential to have more gold level talents on your side to succeed. The nation possessed four known gold level talents. The Ngundu had Nehanda while the Gumbo had Kufa. One gold level talent had already expressed complete neutrality while the other was very hard to rope in.


    Currently Kufa had not matured, so she was nothing compared to Nehanda who had been alive for hundreds of years. These ten years could buy Kufa the amount of time she needed to develop in order to be a true asset to the Gumbo family.


    Yet a sour taste was left in Kufa''s mouth. This would mean that Taku would be left alone to develop as well.


    "No matter. I will become stronger than him. I will kill him once his time was up."


    Nehanda''s presence was like a looming blade over the Gumbos. Now that they had a treaty with her for 10 years, the Gumbo could focus on roping in the last gold level talent.


    "But that freak of nature won''t listen to common sense." Kufa stood next to her father as she started contemplating the next move. Kuziwa had long given her full autonomy on the decisions she made. Thus it was up to her to decide what their next move would be.


    ¡­


    On a mountain top, two people were enjoying tea while having a discussion.


    "I did not expect that The Solitary Sword Sovereign would ask little old me for a favour. I am truly honoured to be of service to a True Immortal." The speaker was a voluptuous woman. She exuded sexuality from her entire being. Her flawless face and red hair could light any man''s loins on fire. Her tight fitting robe did little to hide her sensuality. This was Mbuya Nehanda.


    The Sovereign could not keep his eyes of her chest as he spoke, "Well that kid is connected to me, so I need to give him a helping hand. As I promised I will assist you in your attempt to attain immortality."


    Nehanda was amused by his blatant lust, but her mind was more interested in what the so called connection between Taku and The Sovereign was. Nehanda was only able to get Taku ten years of amnesty, because he was extremely important to both the Gumbo and the Ngundu, yet the Sovereign was willing to offer assisting her in her attempt at attaining immortality just for those ten years.


    "Is he confident that the boy will become strong enough to fend for himself after yen years? Against that Kufa?"


    Nehanda was well aware that Kufa''s talent was above her own, despite both of them being gold level talents. "The only person able to match her in ten years would be that freak of nature, if he even wants to, but he is too difficult to understand." Nehanda thought to herself.


    "Do you wanna bet?" said The Sovereign.


    "What bet would that be Lord Sovereign?" replied Nehanda with a seductive smile.


    "Taku will kill Kufa before ten years are up. If I win, you will become his servant for eternity, if you win, I will introduce you to the Heralds."


    Nehanda could barely hold her composure when she heard this bet. Being introduced to the Heralds was far too enticing of an offer to refuse. The only problem was why he was so confident in Taku being able to accomplish this.


    "I assure you, I will neither train nor give him any objects to help him along. And neither will any of my friends. Do we have a deal?" The Sovereign''s hand stretched out as a devious smile was plastered on his face.


    Nehanda had lived longer than he had, thus she believed that she knew quite a bit about cultivation. According to what she knew, there was no logical way for Taku to accomplish what the Sovereign had said he would. "Of course if you are not interested-" Before the Sovereign could pull back his hand, it had been firmly clasped by Nehanda, "We have a deal!"


    The Sovereign was surprised for a moment, which changed to a devious smile. "Pleasure doing business with you."

 69 Supreme Martialis

    "I have to say young man, I am impressed."


    Taku awoke to a familiar voice. He groaned as he sat up, taking in stock of his surroundings. It was the throne room he had been in when he fought the guardians. Taku was shocked and stood up abruptly. For now he knew where he was.


    Back when he first came here he had no idea what this place was, now that he understand, he became even more respectful of Saru.


    This was known as the Hall of Guardians. It was a place where one could meet with their ancestors. The ancestors would place one in many trials to measure their ability. As the Gutu valued combat above all, the trials consisted of mainly battles.


    If any ancestors are impressed by the examinee''s performance, then they can choose to become that person''s Guardian. The significance of a Guardian was not to be taken lightly, as it was directly linked to Totemic Power, the hallmark of Gutu power.


    The Guardian has many roles, most important of which is to bestow the chosen with a title and Totemic Power.


    One can only possess Totemic Power if chosen by a Guardian. Certain events in his childhood prevented Taku from being allowed to take the test. Thus he had no access to Totemic Power. Leaving him at a massive disadvantage as compared to his other relatives.


    One can only receive Totemic Power once they know their title, which can only be given by one''s Guardian. The more unique the title, the more powerful the Totemic Power.


    The Gumbo family was incredibly large. Gumbo means leg, and the Gumbo family''s totem was the Elephant. As the family was large, variants of the Elephant totem occured. Due to the literal meaning of their namesake, the Gumbo royalty adopted the Elephant foot as their totem. As the first royal family of the nation, they had the right to name the army as they saw fit, hence the name Elephant Foot Guard.


    Taku felt aggrieved, because he was confident that Sekuru Kaguvi had not given him his title. The young man stood up in a groggy manner and faced the owner of the voice.


    As usual Kaguvi had a relaxed and nonchalant demeanour, except this time there was a hint of excitement in his eye. He looked up and down the young man''s body, approval showing from time to time. Taku, now aware of Kaguvi''s esteemed status, felt awkward. He wasn''t sure how to communicate with such a powerful entity. While he was confused on what to say, the Guardian spoke.


    "You are so strange, an existence with three souls. The odds of this happening are just ridiculous. Amusing, truly amusing!" Kaguvi said with a grin.


    Taku smiled wryly, "Thank you Sekuru for your compliments, but your servant humbly asks for guidance on a particular matter."


    Kaguvi showed confusion and signalled for Taku to go on. Taku scratched his forehead nervously. "Ehem, it''s the matter of the title, Sekuru..."


    Kaguvi clapped his hands in realization and said, "Oh yes! The title! Of course, how could i have forgotten about that... I am truly sorry young man. This is my first time as a Guardian you see, so I hope you can forgive my grave error. I decided to take advantage of your current situation to bring you here so i can pass it to you"


    Taku hurriedly shook his head and said respectfully, "No, no Sekuru, the fault lies with me. Last time i was not myself and failed to mention it."


    "Indeed, your soul was a bit messy last time. It seems your sister did you a favour by attacking you."


    Taku smiled wryly at the Guardian''s comment. Had his sister known that her attack would benefit Taku, she never would have done so. If she knew the consequences of her actions, she would no doubt be fuming with rage.


    "Ehem, anyway, I Sekuru Kaguvi, hereby grant you the title, Mosi Oa Tunya! The Smoke That Thunders!" As soon as Kaguvi finished his dramatic speech. Lighting flashed above the duo. The room rumbled as if an earthquake was happening around them. This noise lasted for a few moments before peace and quiet returned to their surroundings.


    Kaguvi touched his chin and whistled in an impressed manner, "Wow, that title must be quite impressive. I haven''t seen this place react like this before." Kaguvi''s words made Taku quite curious as to what the usual reaction was.


    Did this mean that his Totemic Power was impressive? How would he even find out what it was? As Taku collected his thoughts and remembered something old Sekuru had said.


    "Uhm, Sekuru, you said something about my current situation?"


    "Oh yes, you are not in a good spot young man."


    "Would you mind expanding on that sire?"


    Kaguvi thought for a bit before saying, "Well the effects of that burning power pill got you good. You''re completely unable to sense zesa for quite a while. And when you do regain your ability to sense zesa, it will be slightly weaker, although the difference isn''t much due to the pill''s high quality. So your real issue is not being able to use magic for a couple of months and having your body in a slightly weakened state."


    Taku sighed in resignation as he heard the elder''s words. He had forgotten about his current predicament as he was in awe of his surroundings.


    "Fret not young man. All will be taken care of. I may not look like it but I am very reliable."


    It took all of Taku''s strength to not frown at those words and curse his own fate. Why could he not receive a more formidable, more experienced Guardian?


    "When I was alive, I even had a nickname. Now what was it again?"


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    Taku ignored Kaguvi''s ramblings and continued thinking about his dilemma. Just before he had passed out, he remembered hearing Chiwenga''s voice. So he had no doubt that his master was taking care of his body. With him around, Taku felt a little more assured of his safety. Although his master''s true identity was still shrouded in mystery, Taku had seen enough clues to know that he was far from ordinary.


    The only question was, who was that girl? Why had she saved him? Taku was anxious to find out the answers to these questions, so he was itching to have Kaguvi bring him back to consciousness.


    "Ehem, esteemed Guardian, i am in a perilous situation, so if you don''t mind, please bring me back to reality." Taku said in a somewhat panicked tone.


    Kaguvi nodded and put his palm on the boys chest. "Your Totemic Power''s properties will come to you as soon as you wake up. Since I have no reason to see you anytime soon, we won''t see each other for a very long time."


    Taku pretended to be hurt by those words and tried as much as he could to appear aggrieved, but truth be told, he could not wait to wake up. Not only did he have to find out his situation, he was also curious about his Totemic Power. Just what would it be?


    Right when he was about to push Taku, Kaguvi had a sudden revelation, one that shocked the young man to his core.


    "Ah now i remember. They called me the Supreme Martialist! Ah yes, good times... Anyways, by Kiddo."


    "What!" Alas Taku was too late. He was pushed back to reality by Kaguvi...

 71 The Sovereigns Intentions

    Let''s rewind time a bit.


    In a yard, 3 people were seated. Chiwenga was sitting with his trademark frown, while two people were seated opposite. Kuda stood by her master, The Solitary Sword Sovereign, who was grinning like he had won the lottery.


    "Brat, what did you have to gain from helping me out? I don''t trust people who assist without receiving anything in return." Said Chiwenga while crossing his arms on his chest.


    At first, Kuda was only slightly impressed by Chiwenga. Although the man had effortlessly destroyed Kufa and her men, her master was an immortal after all. Now, however, her thoughts on the man had completely reversed.


    For as long as she had known him, Kuda had noticed that any and all who knew her master''s true identity treated him with awe and reverence. From kings to other immortals. Yet there was a mortal man who dared call her venerated master a brat. Just who was this man?


    "To be honest, when I learned that the boy''s master was a hero of The War of Sages and Saints, I was gobsmacked. To think I would meet the great Chiwenga himself, it is truly an honor." Said the Sovereign.


    "Cut the crap and answer kid." Grunted Chiwenga.


    "Sigh, I see tales of you are true. As straight as the arrows you fire. Anyway as Senior knows, I can''t make moves in this world, so I can only move through others, that''s why I had to inform Senior."


    Chiwenga smacked the table between them, "Do you think I am a fool? I want to know why you had your disciple protect mine! What do you want from me?"


    The Sovereign raised his hands defensively, "Senior you are mistaken, it is not you who I want to help, it is your disciple."


    Chiwenga raised a brow in suspicion but signaled for the Sovereign to continue. The latter coughed and said, "Your disciple has immense potential, far more than you can imagine. So I hope to-"


    "Hold on," Before the sovereign could continue, he was interrupted by Chiwenga, "Do you intend to recruit him into the Heralds?"


    The Sovereign nodded, "Indeed, senior has impressive foresight."


    Kuda had only been with the Sovereign for a few years, but she knew next to nothing about the man. All she knew was that he was a foreign sword immortal and that he was part of some organization called ''The Heralds''. That name would always pop up when the Sovereign talked to immortals or incredibly powerful mortals. Kuda was not sure what the name meant, only that each name that new of it was a powerhouse that could crush nations and split continents with ease. Yet each of those powerhouses would show signs of fear or reverence when the phrase ''Heralds'' was spoken.


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    "Just what on earth are these Heralds?" Kuda thought to herself. She never asked her master, and he never took the initiative. She was hoping that her master would take the initiative to tell her and her pride refused to have her ask first. Her pride was one of her many faults.


    Chiwenga''s shock was no different from the others. His pupils dilated while his whole body shivered. His face looked down and he said, " So my disciple is qualified to take the test?"


    The Sovereign shook his head and said, "He doesn''t need to take the normal test, he only needs to achieve a few objectives. I will create an objective for him to overcome. When he overcomes each objective, the support the Heralds give him will increase. Once he overcomes the final objective, he will become a True Member Like myself."


    Chiwenga did not need to breathe like a normal person, but he could not help but choke at the Sovereign''s words.


    "True Member, True Member! A disciple of I, Constantino Chiwenga is worthy of being a True Member of the Heralds! The heavens have eyes, they have not forsaken me, hahaha!" For a while, Chiwenga laughed maniacally at the skies for a while until he regained his composure.


    The sovereign then said, "Calm down old ma-, ehem, I mean Senior, time will still be the judge. The one testing him is me, and I don''t take it easy on anyone."


    Chiwenga paused at the sovereign''s words. Chiwenga scolded the Sovereign and called him a brat, but that was because he knew the Sovereign could do nothing in the land of the Gutu.


    The Sovereign''s true power was a sight to behold. The Heralds were monsters among monsters. Each had talent that could suppress fate itself. To become a True Member one has to be the best in their field.


    The leader of the heralds, The King of Titans, was a man who caused even Chiwenga to break out in cold sweat. He could command any one of the heralds to follow his orders, any of them, except for the man before him.


    Chiwenga then sized up the young man before him. Rumour had it that there was an internal war within the heralds that resulted in most of its members becoming seriously wounded, the only exception being the King of Titans and the SoLitary Sword Sovereign. But that was not all, rumor had it that there were only two factions. The King of Titans and the rest of the heralds versus The Solitary Sword Sovereign. The King of Titans himself did not enter battle, only commanding from the sidelines, but the Sovereign decimated everyone else by himself.


    This led him to have the title, Herald of Might. Before he ascended to immortality, he had been given the title strongest mortal who had ever lived. There were even rumors that he had defeated immortals as a mortal. Such a feat was possible but was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. The number of people who Chiwenga had heard of who could achieve this could be counted on one''s hands.


    One of the reasons the Gutu were feared was because they were one of the very few races among humans capable of defeating immortals as mortals. Despite that Chiwenga only knows of only a dozen or so Gutu capable of such a feat.


    Yet before him lay a person claimed to have been able to walk over immortals as an ordinary human.


    "How on earth did he become so strong?" Chiwenga was getting lost in his thoughts when the Sovereign clapped his hands. "Senior, I know I am handsome, but I don''t swing both ways like Kuda. I don''t play for the other team either. I only like females, sorry to disappoint you."

 75 Taku...Or TK?

    TK liked taking simple walks in the park. The radiant sunshine, the chirping of birds and the fresh air all welcomed the young man as he entered the park, but his main reason had nothing to do with simple relaxation...no he was there was a different reason.


    TK Liked to pick a spot by a bench that was close to the runner''s trail, a spot most joggers in the morning used. There he would sit and observe to his heart''s content, TK wasn''t much to look at. He was of average height, brown skin, a slim build with an afro adorning his round head Like a crown. Indeed, he was somewhat nothing special, but he did have one weapon in his arsenal of temptation, one he used well.


    Many a target passed by TK as he sat but few were worthy of his attention; that was until he saw her. She wore a tight two-piece tight that hugged her delicious curves in an almost sinful manner. Her long black hair cascaded down Like a waterfall, reinvigorating her surroundings. The mountains on her chest swayed from side to side with reckless abandon, while the valley in between them was Like a magnet, pulling all of his attention to her cleavage. Her hips were wide while her sumptuous thighs rippled with a vigor that TK just couldn''t resist. Her waist was so narrow one might think her sole purpose in Life was to be held in someone''s arms...in TK''s arms.


    Her flawless caramel skin and her brown eyes were the cherries on the cake. TK had found his match. His target. Lola had a lot on her mind that day, and this early morning run was just what she needed to cool off. She needed an outlet to relieve her stress, she needed to feel good about herself again, and she welcomed any form it might come in. But she was often strict on herself.


    All of a sudden, a dark-skinned man with shades got in her way. He was not bad looking, but he had a smile shy smile about him that momentarily triggered Lola''s maternal instinct. "Excuse me, sorry for bothering you, my name is TK, and I was hoping you could help me out. I''m in a bit of a dilemma you see."


    Lola was in a foul mood and about to ignore him, but his silky smooth voice and accent caught her off guard. "Damn he had to have a British accent. Ah, I could Listen to him all day." Lola kept her thoughts to herself and crossed her arms in front of her impressive chest. "Oh, okay, how can I help you." Lola had the intention of telling him off and continuing her run in a bit, but it was at this point that TK unleashed his secret weapon.


    He took off his shades and looked straight into her eyes, "It''s quite a simple request. I just need you to answer a question of mine." Lola was gobsmacked by his eyes. They were a shade of green she didn''t think humans could possibly have, it was as if a pair of unsullied emeralds were staring into her soul. That coupled with his voice was enough to make her lose herself for a bit.


    "Ah, erm, oh sure go ahead." She could barely string a sentence together while being stared at Like that, so she reflexively held her arm with her other hand and looked down. For a moment.


    "Well, it''s quite simple really, when I first stopped you," TK became emboldened at this moment and stepped forth, holding her chin up forcing her to look into his eyes, "What did you think I was going to say?" Lola''s mind was in chaos right now. He actually touched her!


    The touch was like a spark that had gone off in a room filled with gasoline. All of her nerves were screaming from the excessive feeling that was coming from her chin. Electricity rampaged through her body while thunder boomed in her mind. She couldn''t think of what to say. She didn''t realize this but TK had subtly moved from his shy demeanor to his confident smirk. He now looked more charming than ever.


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    She opened her mouth but didn''t quite know what to say. That''s when it happened, like lightning TK moved to her lips and kiss her. She wanted to push him away, but her internal conflict made it hard to even do so. Her internal temperature rose while she started feeling moist in her loins.


    "Impossible, just from a kiss?" Lola''s thoughts ran amok while her body slowly lost the strength to resist. TK''s tongue was like an anaconda, burdened with glorious purpose as it swept the recesses of Lola''s mouth, much to her delight. TK slowly massaged her sides in a rhythmic movement that made Lola quiver in delight and shiver in anticipation.


    Moments later, Lola slowly opened her eyes while their lips slowly separated, that''s when she realized it. She didn''t just want this man, she needed him...


    ¡­


    "Hah!" With a gasp, Taku woke up from the strange dream he was having. It was the first time since he had fully awakened that he had had such a vivid dream about the earth.


    "But that wasn''t me, I would never do something Like that." In his previous Life, Taku was not much of a socializer. He was obsessed with his work as a programmer and often interacted little with the real world, outside his exercises and work-related meetings.


    "Dreams are beyond my understanding, thus you might as well forget about understanding what you just saw lad."


    A lazy sounding voice awakened Taku from his stupor. The words were said in a leisurely manner, but they seemed to have an effect on Taku. For a moment he spaced out and laid back down again.


    "I need to get paid for this. From that moment on Taku never woke up from his sleep. He slept like a baby, silent and content. After quite some time, the same lazy voice spoke out.


    "Get up lad, we have much to discuss."


    This time, the man, or rather, Kaguvi''s words, had a different effect on the boy, arousing him from his sleep. He looked around only to see that he was back in the throne room he had met Kaguvi in, and the latter was standing above Taku who was lying on the floor.


    " I must say I impressed. "

 76 Castles In The Sky

    In the beautiful heavens, far, far away from the Gutu empire, in an area that is not accessible by ordinary means, stood an immense structure floating in the sky.


    It was a large silvery city. Different kinds of buildings, from large to small, covered most of its surface. They were all unique in some way. Be it in shape, size, and position. Yet they all had something in common, silver.


    All of the structures were silvery, shining brilliantly in a manner that made it hard to dislike. The entire city, from top to bottom, was covered in those silvery buildings, making the entire city shine, its splendor made it look Like it was made by the caring hands of deities. Or rather to be more accurate, it was.


    The city had many floating structures above it, giving one the impression that the city was divided into levels. Judging from the outer appearance, one could even say that the higher one went, the sites were more lavish and the surroundings looked more imposing.


    At the highest level of the city stood only one building, this building was the tallest and the most beautiful of them all. It stood erect, Like a silvery sword piercing the heavens.


    In front of the building was a garden, which had many people wandering around in it. Every one of these people was extraordinary, be it in bearing or in appearance.


    With a flash, a figure appeared within the garden. No one reacted, as if this was a normal occurrence. This figure was a man. It was Kaguvi; the same Kaguvi who had claimed to be Taku''s guardian. Kaguvi was dressed in robes that seemed to be the perfect balance between lavish and simple. He walked through the garden, seemingly unnoticed.


    This did not bother him at all. He simply walked on, with the same calm smile he always had. He arrived in front of the entrance to the building.


    Two armored guards were standing there, fully equipped and exuding a powerful aura.


    As soon as Kaguvi arrived in front of them, however, they immediately kneeled and shouted out, "Kaguvi!"


    Kaguvi nodded his head and said, "One of you go to the Guardian Supreme and tell her that I am convening a conclave of the Guardians."


    The guards opened their eyes in surprise when they heard what Kaguvi said, but they still reacted quickly. One guard''s silhouette flashed, leaving the other kneeling in front of Kaguvi.


    "That will be all," said Kaguvi as he waved his hand. Kaguvi walked into the entrance, leaving a surprised guard by the door. Although he had straightened out his expression in time, his heart was still in turmoil.


    ''Kaguvi is calling for a meeting of the guardians. That means he has finally chosen someone to take on his mantle!''


    The normally stoned hearted guard shivered at the effects of this event.


    ...


    The Conclave of Guardians, the holy land of the Gutu immortals. The Gutu existed in many realms, the one Taku living in being one of countless more. Even among the many species in the multiverse, they were special, hence a special group was created to monitor their activities from high on up.


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    The Gutu had violent tendencies and a natural disposition to battle. The Conclave''s existence prevented the Gutu from getting wiped out of existence. If it doesn''t do its job properly, the other races would not hesitate to team up and wipe them out of existence, they were that much of a threat to the others.


    The Conclave was split into multiple areas, each area housing factions. Each faction led by a powerful and important Guardian. These factions constantly fought each other for control over the conclave. Thus there was a need to keep things under control. Every certain time period, the Guardians would host a fighting competition. The winner would gain the most coveted seat of them all, The Guardian Supreme!


    The current Guardian Supreme was very strict. She did not care about what was happening in the Conclave, so long as no rules were being broken. Her strength was unmatched and she was feared, rightly so. She was decisive and cruel. Countless lives had perished at her hands, so much so that a baleful aura followed her wherever she went. A ruler truly fitting for the Guardians of the Gutu race.


    Not to say that the Guardians were the strongest Gutu, but they held a unique authority within the higher realms.


    Rebellion, due to certain circumstances, such as the Guardian Supreme''s power, was completely out of the question. So the Guardian Supreme had no need to monitor the Conclave as much as she did, yet she did none the less. She rarely took part actively in meetings, but when she did, her every decision would cause shockwaves across the multiverse.


    Nonetheless, someone had to run the city''s day to day running. Due to the Guardian Supreme''s inactivity in such mundane tasks, the weaker guardians fought for the positions of power within the city.


    The twelve great factions were usually even in terms of power but at this particular time, one faction had taken the lead. It was the faction led by Guardian Mugabe. He was a ruthless and spiteful man, but he was also powerful and very clever. The faction closest in terms of power was led by Guardian Nkomo. She was a wise and reserved woman, and she had a lot of backers to support her, though unfortunately for her, a certain event had tipped the scales in Mugabe'' favor.


    Needless to say that the Gutu people were involved in countless wars among the many domains. Each realm was under the control of a faction leader. To prevent favoritism, the faction leader had to work with people from different factions to run a particular realm. Hence even though the Guardians had formed multiple factions over the ages, they were all quite familiar with each other. The intricate relationships of power between them were not as simple as being decided by factions¡­

 77 The Conclave Begins!

    The Guardian Supreme had come for one reason and one reason only. Someone had convened a Conclave. One could only convene a Conclave under three conditions.


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    First, if the Gutu race was under threat or about to get affected in some way. Second, if there was information that could affect all the Gutu in the lower realms. Third, if a Guardian had chosen a successor. Kaguvi had never convened a meeting before, he wasn''t even that old. He was actually one of the younger Guardians, but no one underestimated him. Anyone who was informed knew that he was a dragon in human form.


    He preferred to spend his time indulging in carnal pleasures. Something, however, had caught his attention. Thus it could only mean one thing! Everyone moved as fast as they could to the meeting, their minds buzzing with anticipation.


    The Guardian Supreme was a stoic woman, but there were rare moments of entertainment for her. As far as she was concerned, whenever Kaguvi moved, something would happen. As for what that something was, The Guardian Supreme had a clue but she did not want to assume anything, so she sat there patiently, waiting for the show to begin.


    "Creak."


    Kaguvi opened the large doors to the room. The entire city was called the Conclave of Guardians, but it was in this stupendous room was where the true Conclave occurred. The room was surprisingly simple. Brown walls and a brown floor, decorated with the images of the various totems from the various factions and clans.


    Thousands upon thousands of Guardians had taken their seats. There was no exact number of Guardians as it fluctuated, but the Gutu people were currently experiencing a prosperous period, thus the number of Guardians matched that prosperity.


    The room was split into 3 parts. The first two were filled with the seats the Guardians sat on. In the middle of the two was a silver carpet, splitting the room in half. The carpet led to a throne seemingly made out of wood. Instead of it looking carved, it seemed as if a verdant tree had naturally grown into this shape. This was the seat of the Guardian Supreme!


    Every Guardian stared at that seat with deep-rooted reverence and worship in their eyes. Especially focused on the one seated on the throne. The Guardian Supreme was truly the epitome of perfection. She had the beauty of an angel but the sexiness of a demon. Her existence was like a contrast, defying the laws of the universe.


    The top half of her face was always masked, leaving much to the imagination. Nevertheless, what little part of her face that was exposed was striking.


    She had incredible breasts, while her seductive narrow waist made many a Guardian gulp, both male and female. Her hips were wide, while her buttocks were large and sumptuous. Her thighs were perfectly shaped and her slender legs made it seem as if the floor was unworthy of her steps.


    She wore a tight-fitting purple dress that ended at the halfway point of her thighs, while a triangle gap revealed the inviting cleavage above. If it was not for the baleful aura, many a person would find it difficult to resist staring at her without reserve.


    As Kaguvi entered the hallway, he ignored the gazes of the others and walked straight down the carpet. As he walked, plenty of Guardians spoke, murmuring to each other, each with various means of covering up their voices.


    There was no official seating plan, but it was an unspoken rule that the closer you sat to the Guardian Supreme, the stronger you had to be in terms of cultivation. Thus it came as no surprise that Guardian Mugabe and Guardian Nkomo sat to The Guardian Supreme''s left and right respectively.


    Mugabe scowled at Kaguvi''s presence. He thought the man to be a thorn in his side, but for now, he kept to himself. Kaguvi''s circumstances were far too special to ignore. No one knew his true cultivation, and the man did well to keep to himself. Resulting in Mugabe achieving failure in his attempt at recruiting Kaguvi. The fact that they belonged to different factions meant little since Kaguvi seemed to not have any ties to his own faction, but every time he failed dismally, resulting in a big loss of face.


    The Gutu valued honor and face quite a bit, so Mugabe held a grudge against Kaguvi. Mugabe even suspected that Kaguvi had moved against him in some of his endeavors, but he had no evidence to suspect his conjecture, so he did nothing.


    Mugabe''s rival, Guardian Nkomo, was not happy either. Kaguvi was under her Nzou faction in terms of totem, but he chose to stand alone, a rare decision for young guardians. After all, it goes without saying that the older you were, the stronger you were as well. Kaguvi was only a few millennia old, practically a baby to her, but he made her feel uncomfortable somehow¡­


    Kaguvi walked up to The Guardian Supreme and knelt on one knee, doing the traditional greeting. He clapped his hands in a way that made him seem as if he was trying to keep an insect alive insect without killing it. The cupping clap was the male Gutu way of greeting their elders or superiors in certain situations.


    "Great elephant, the one who roams unimpeded across the realms, the undefeated protector of our people, The Guardian Supreme of our Gutu, your humble subordinate Kaguvi has come to greet you."


    The Guardian Supreme was a Gutu, so it goes without saying that she also is part of a faction. She was part of the Nzou faction, whose totem was the elephant, so Kaguvi greeted her using totemic greetings. This was one of the many ways of greeting superiors, and it was one she favored because it was one of the oldest traditions of her people. As a stickler for the rules, The Guardian Supreme was visibly pleased by Kaguvi''s attention to detail and waved her hand magnanimously.


    "You may rise. Kaguvi, since you have convened this meeting, I assume you have chosen?" said Guardian Supreme in a mysterious tone.

 78 Help

Long story short, Onion just lost a very dear family member.


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    Thank you everyone, and I wish you happiness in these trying times.


    ~ Cookie

 79 Cavea

    After the Guardian Supreme spoke everyone became silent waiting with bated breath. Kaguvi was a mysterious man and each of his actions attracted a lot of attention, despite his best efforts to avoid the limelight.


    Rather than saying he was famous, it would be more accurate to say that he was infamous. He was infamous for his laziness, perverseness and strange temper, in other words, he was the personification of being eccentric. Imagine if such a person was about to make a life-changing decision, wouldn''t it catch a lot of attention.


    Kaguvi rose while clapping in respect to the Guardian Supreme. No matter how arrogant Kaguvi was, he could do nothing but respect the Goddess above him.


    "Thank you, Ancestor. My fellow Guardians, I have chosen a young Gutu child on the Western Continent."


    The words ''Western might refer to many continents as the Gutu were on countless worlds, but in this instance, no one doubted which one it was.


    Nkomo tensed up, ''The place where the war of Saints and Sages happened!''


    It was a relatively young continent, but it had been involved in a war between immortals. Many mortals rose to fame during that period. Many became strong and ascended. Kaguvi was born on the Western Continent just after the war had finished!


    The cogs in Nkomo''s mind started to spin, ''If I''m not mistaken, this fool managed to kill a chosen of the chikosi as a bronze level talent. His methods are still unknown because he is under the protection of the Nzou for some odd reason.''


    Kaguvi''s achievement was a first even among the many Gutu worlds. A gold-level talent was a monster, but there were monsters above monsters, these were the chosen. Tendai the Immortal was said to be unkillable by a mortal, but he was killed by this bronze level weasel.''


    The Gutu rewarded impressive feats. Kaguvi entered the Conclave at the second-youngest age since the Conclave''s inception. The first was the Guardian Supreme sitting on her throne, bemused.


    "I have chosen but I wish to make a bold request."


    The Guardian Supreme''s eyes flashed before she said, On account of your feats despite being a meager bronze talent, I will humor you, but do not overstep your bounds."


    Kaguvi started the cupping clap, "I would never Great Elephant. My request is simple, I would like to hide my choice''s identity for 10 mortal years."


    This was a common request, so the majority of the crowd nodded understanding. To them what Kaguvi achieved was impressive, but he was still a bronze level talent. Overcoming the talent levels was a superb achievement as a mortal, overcoming it as an immortal was nigh impossible.


    "You have permission to do so, but there is a caveat. The Western Continent is a rather¡­ special place, hence after those ten years, the candidate will be free to be chosen by another Guardian. Do you accept?"


    The others breathed a sigh of relief, the Guardian Supreme was still the Guardian Supreme. She had never instilled such a caveat on such a meager request. Most attributed it to his bronze level talent, but Mugabe could not help but shrink his eyes. Nkomo saw this and smelled a plot. Something was off, but she could tell nothing.


    Granted the Western Continent was special but it couldn''t possibly warrant such attention.


    "Henceforth the person you choose shall inherit your legacy for ten years! Afterward, he or she can choose another Guardian if they so wish. Conclave adjourned!


    ¡­


    "I must say I''m impressed," said Kaguvi as Taku stood up groggily. By reflex, he said, "Impressed by what?"


    Kaguvi smiled and said, "There are too many things to note, but let''s start with the first one. That second soul, what kind of world is it from?"


    Kaguvi''s question hit Taku like a thunderbolt. The latter was never really good at masking his emotions and he was seen through by the wily old fox."


    "You know why they called me the Supreme Martialist? Its because I am obsessed with them to the point that I studied all the martial arts in our worlds. It took me a while, but finally realized after I had sent you off that I had never seen those movements! That was clearly a thoroughly developed martial art or should I say arts, should about two no?"


    "Uh, ehm, haha, uhm¡­"


    Kaguvi''s works made Taku stutter nonsense. He saw that Taku was using two different Martial Arts even though he had never seen or heard of them before? What ridiculousness was this? His title was truly well earned!


    Then Taku realized something, if he was The Supreme Martialist, why had he taught him nothing? All he had done was zap him and affect his soul somehow.


    "It''s called Soul Filter. Your soul or souls were weak. I strengthened them and separated them properly, dispelling the nasty curse on you. It works passively and strengthens your souls at the base continuously over time. You can literally sit there and do nothing but your soul will get stronger and more refined. The refinement also allows you to have better control of your souls so long as you cultivate. If you cultivate zesa then¡­"


    Kaguve palmed his hands and exaggeratedly separated them.


    "Boom!"


    Taku was scared for a second and then relaxed. He was constantly cultivated so he was okay, right?


    "Don''t worry you always cultivate your zesa so your good, but on the flip side your souls are incredibly powerful and get stronger every second so...good luck buddy."


    "Oi, please tell me your joking."


    Kaguvi put on an oddly serious expression. "I wish I was."


    Taku gulped at the thought of his head exploding while Kaguvi shifted to a thinker position, "No like seriously I really wish I was joking, this would make epic material on comedy night out with the boys."


    Kaguvi noticed the usually calm Taku and smiled, "Don''t worry, I have a solution, but for the solution to work, you need to tell me about where you really come from."

 80 Innocent Arrogance

    Taku spent what felt like days discussing earth to Kaguvi, who was more interested in the science side of things. Especially technology for some odd reason. Taku was incredibly impressed by Kaguvi''s intelligence. The man understood everything he explained perfectly. It was almost as if he was hearing the elementary version of something he was already familiar with. This got Taku thinking.


    Perhaps the Gutu knew more than he understood. For example, the stone tablets they used to store and send information. There must be some sort of principals behind it. True magic was simply science he didn''t understand. A quote he got from Tony Stark, one he firmly agreed with. In fact, he saw himself as real Earth''s Iron Man, except he wasn''t, he was just a rich nerd.


    But he did understand Muay Thai and Taekwondo. Being bullied in his youth taught him the importance of self-defense, even in the Age of Information. He practiced the martial arts to fortify his mind, not his body. It''s part of the reason his soul was able to smoothly integrate with another soul. Not only was it of high quality but it had a tough will.


    ''If this guy really is the Supreme Martialist, then his mind must be like Fort Knox.''


    The Gutu were a warrior race, hence psychology was important to them. They knew the effects of training on the mind.


    ''But he acts like he is a nutcase. Maybe its some sort of ruse?''


    Taku continued to make his conjectures while simultaneously talking to Kaguvi, who was like a black hole, sucking as much knowledge as possible. Then at some point¡­


    "Hahaha!"


    Kaguvi was rolling on the floor laughing, much to Taku''s displeasure.


    Kaguvi got up removing a few tears, "Wait wait wait wait, you are telling me that the majority of your planet uses electricity? Electricity? You have to be joking? Do you know how backward you sound?"


    Taku couldn''t wrap his head around this. Earth was backward for using electricity? Shouldn??t it be the other way around?


    Kaguvi somewhat understood what Taku was confused about, "I''ve been to many worlds that took the route your world did, in fact, there is a country on this continent that uses electricity. But its incredibly inefficient and highly volatile. World Energy, Zesa, Qi, Mana, and Yuan. These are the true energies worth exploiting for technological uses. I assume since your world uses electricity, it is heavily reliant on technology, hence when you saw the Gutu you thought them to be backward no?"


    Kaguvi''s words hit the nail perfectly. "Well young man let me explain, believe it or not, we use far more technologies than your people, it''s just that we value our heritage. Technology can be powerful but it can easily be countered, in the end, nothing beats personal strength, although I do understand since your people could not cultivate. But I am interested in something your people made, you called it programming?"


    "And you say you were the best at programming?"


    "I had no equal." This was bragging, but there was no vanity, only clarity. He was that good of a programmer. He had near-perfect memory and an IQ of over 200. He was a paragon in the world, which was now dominated by computers.


    "Hmm. Okay now, let''s talk about that smoke like soul of yours."


    "I call it Product X"


    "How¡­ creative. Anyway, it is a byproduct of the interaction between the two original souls. As your Guardian, I see everything you see. Its purifying aspect is truly frightening. The lightning purifies anything while the flame burns away the excess. This causes it to purify something until it only has Rudyi energy. No matter can survive in such a state so it turns into energy which goes into the smoke before leaving a small byproduct of the process which is like glass. The massive bowl you created was as smooth as a pebble one finds on a beach. I will analyze the byproduct later. But you can somewhat control Product X''s shape right?"


    Taku thought carefully before saying, "I can control its shape in liquid form but I can''t do anything else."


    Kaguvi smiled, "Why can''t you do the same to the gas version?"


    "The gaseous form is hard to control, it''s like trying to move a thousand bodyparts at once. My brain can only do so much. In liquid form, it''s one entity so its simpler."


    Kaguvi shook his head and said, "I''m not asking you to simply will Product X, I''m asking you to program it!"


    Taku opened his mouth but didn''t know how to reply. Program it? How?


    "How do you think spells are cast, boy? We give Zesa specific instructions in the form of runes and chants. All you have to do is learn the basics and come up with a way to create a ''programming'' language for Product X.


    Kaguvi''s suggestion smacked Taku right in the face. How had he not thought about this? He is a programmer! He didn''t have to toil his way like others. The Gutu Mages were very powerful, but Taku doubted that they had anything that could compare to earth in terms of calculative power. Things like compression algorithms, Newton''s laws, quantum physics and so much more! He may have been a programmer but he loved anything with math in it. So he took a few courses on the side.


    ''This is going to bed fun.'' Taku said while grinning perversely.


    Kaguvi patted Taku''s had and said, "I will miss that creepy side of yours. Don''t worry about your secrets, I''m your Guardian so I tell no one. Now go, I have a party to attend."


    Kaguvi pushed Taku''s headed, teleporting him out of the throne room.


    "Okay, now to call a conclave and choose him. I don''t want the others to see what he can do so early because they will just mess it all up. I have to a bit sneaky about this."


    Kaguvi walked out of the throne room, plotting and scheming for the future. It was his favorite hobby after all.