FM Chapter 7

Remember this is an original novel written by Addis of ExR. This is not a translation.

Chapter Seven

Cackling laughter was the only sound the six men made as they stared at the three before them. Only one of them looked like he would give them any trouble. It was the large man up from. The bandits could tell that the man was a Beastkin by the way his pupils lengthened to slits before a snarl left his lips.

Looking at the group of three, the bandits knew that the one with the best treasures would be the young boy in the middle of the two cultivators. They couldn’t feel any pressure coming off of him like they could from those with a high cultivation. Suspecting that this child was going to the Capital to be tested, one of the six bandits laughed maniacally. Usually these prodigies carried valuables with them that they could sell for cultivation resources within the city. It seemed as though he would be able to earn a lot today.

All six men felt as if the old man in the back was of no concern. He had a pleasant feel radiating off of him that didn’t scream cultivator. They assumed he was the aid to the grey haired boy in the middle. Due to these assumptions, the group of six split accordingly.

Three of the bigger men went toward Faylor, their swords glinting in the twilight. One bandit went to Jaelen, creeping up slowly with a grin on his face. He was excited to be able to get the weakest of the three. The other two bandits strode towards Kai, their eyes flashing green with greed. They wondered if they should keep the boy alive and hold him for ransom to gain even more money. But then they thought better of it, if he really did have a powerful backer, they would all die even before they acquired their money.

Kai watched the two men move towards him. They were averaged sized men, both wearing the same dark green clothes that seemed to blend into the forest naturally. Camouflage. The word suddenly popped into Kai’s head and he raised any eyebrow slightly. He wasn’t afraid as the men walked towards him for some reason. A small distance away, the three men ganged up on Faylor, their swords screeching against their sheaths as they were drawn.

Faylor scoffed at the antics of this three men and roared before his entire body let out a blinding light. Where the human once stood was now a large blood red grizzly bear the size of an elephant. It’s paws were close to two feet long and it’s body alone was terrifying. The three bandits stopped mid step before roaring themselves and charging forward, swords shining brilliantly in the morning light.

At the same time Faylor and the three men clashed, the single man reached Jaelen. Worried about Kai’s safety, Jaelen tried to reach out with his magic to drag the boy away, HOwever, he forgot that Kai was resistance to his magic and the wisp of green elements dissipated in the air before touching him.

“Shit,” Jaelen frowned before converging his power into his hand as he face the bandit before him.

Even as the two men charged towards Kai, he was oddly calm, as if he couldn’t be bothered by what surrounded him. He was staring into the distance, watching the sunrise through the tree leaves. The sunlight glinted off the dew and sparkled with delicate mysteries. The moment one of the men stepped foot within a three foot radius of Kai, his eyes suddenly focussed on the man, both his gem like eyes narrowing with displeasure.

As if he wasn’t himself, and his body controlled by a mysterious force, Kai took a single step forward toward the bandit on his right. His eyes seemed to flared gold before he reached out a hand.

A sword or prismatic light cut into the bandit’s neck and blood flowed out, but it had not cut deeply. The bandit howled in pain and raised the knife in his hands. He was about to slash down when Kai’s heart tightened and he used all of his strength to push the sword made from Elements deeper into the bandit’s neck before twisting upwards.

Blood sprayed outwards, the scent of iron filling the air.

Warm blood covered Kai’s body, and the man’s corpse fell to the ground with a loud thump. After taking a life for the first time, Kai’s heart beat savagely as he breathed in raggedly. But, as if possessed, he didn’t feel anything else before slowly turning towards the other bandit.

That bandit had frozen in place, he had thought that it would be an easy victory, however, now, suddenly, the tables had turned.

Faylor was laughing manicallay as he cut down the foes in front of him, soon there was only one left and he was so frightened, his pants began to become wet near his crotch. He had peed himself in his fright. Bursting out with another laugh, Faylor struck out with a large paw and immetetily tore the bandit into pieces.

Jaelen had a sad smile on his face as his green Element began to change into a bright purple before it wrapped around the bandit in front of him. As that purple miasma wrapped around the struggling man, he let out a terrible scream. The flesh along his arms and face were the first thing to melt away before the man became nothing more than a puddle of viscous fluid on the forest floor.

Only one bandit was left, and it was the one standing in front of Kai. The man was trembling from head to toe, tears and snot running down his face. His comrades had thought these three would be easy targets, and now, with him being the only one left alive, he sorely regretted ever being the one to suggest robbing this unsuspecting trio.

Taking one step at a time, as if in a trace, Kai made his way forward. Once he was standing in front of the bandit, his eyes flashed gold once more before he reached out a slim, porcelain hand. The moment that pale finger touched that bandit’s forehead, the bandit let out a silent scream.

He could feel everything inside of him tremble at that finger and, in the span of a single breath, the man’s heart beat savagely one last time before stopping forever.

His voice calm, and never changing, Jalen approached Kai, “You did well, Kai. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Kai knew that there was something different about him ever since Clan Lord Hidel had told him he had amnesia. This word had sounded weird at first, but then after he thought about how he couldn’t even remember the simplest things from the past, it bagan to fit more and more. It almost didn’t feel real to him, as if he was living within a dream. However, not having memories didn’t bother him. Not being able to remember was surprisingly refreshing. Maybe it was better not to remember.

Faylor laughed once he say Kai was covered in blood. He reached his giant paw out and sent out a blue element that emitted calm. The blue was the water Element and as soon as it touched all three of them, it washed them clean.

The three of them looked at the blood pooling on the ground and turned away without another word, venturing deeper and deeper into the forest.

~~~

The seventh day into their trek through the forest, the three ran into another problem.

“Kai! Don’t just stand there! Move to the left!” Faylor yelled in beast form.

Unconsciously Kai moved to the left with Faylor’s demand. A heavy object crashed into the spot where Kai was just standing. The ground was shattered and fragments of earth scattered everywhere. A loud screech sounded out at the object that fell climbed back out of the hole it’s own body weight had created.

A large beast stood amidst the rubble and dust. It was a rank six Dire Beast which was the same as a Core staged individual. This Dire Beast looked similar to an armadillo with its shell that covered it’s back and it’s long tatil that could whip around. Bright blue scales covered it’s body, sparkling in the light. It was called a Blue Frost Isthmus due to it’s elemental powers over ice. Although the three combined had a chance to defeat it, with their levels either equal to or below the Direbeast, they were not in a good position.

The Blue Frost Isthmus spit out a stream of ice towards it’s biggest threat, Faylor. Retreating backwards, Faylor dodged the ice and grunted when a chunk of ice speared through his left flank. He roared at the Blue Frost Isthmus and gathered his Elements around his body before he charged forward and rammed into the beast. The Blue Frost Isthmus stumbled backwards but lifted up it’s bright blue head and chirped once before biting down onto Faylor’s shoulder.

Behind Faylor, Jaelen cast some of his magic toward Faylor and began to heal his injuries. Kai stood stupidly beside Jaelen, unsure of what he should do. He could feel the core inside of him responding to the other two using their powers, but he had no idea how to help them defeat this Blue Frost Isthmus.

There was one major reason why Dire Beasts were killed instead of left alone. Once a Dire Beast died, inside of their core was an Elemental Crystal. These Crystals held that Dire Beasts entire cultivation within it. If a normal cultivator was to use this Crystal towards their own cultications, then it was the same as a miracle drug. The Crystals were rare as only Dire Beasts Elemental Gathering stage and above could have one. Not many were willing to bet their lives in order to have a small possibility to find a Crystal.

With a whip of its tail, the Blue Frost Isthmus knocked all three of them off of their feet. Jaelen was knocked the farthest away and could no longer help protect Kai. Closest to the beast was Kai because Faylor was injured and was unable to defend himself. He was knocked even farther away from the beast than Jaelen was.

The Blue Frost Isthmus turned it’s armored eyes on Kai and growled low in its throat. Still on the wet forest floor, Kai wondered how he was going to get out of this alive. Both Jaelen and Faylor were hurt and he didn’t know how to properly control his Elements. Staring at the beast that continued to move closer, Kai felt terror in his heart for the first time since he had woken up.

In his core, the revolving crystal pulsed along with his heartbeat, sending out vibrations throughout his body. Feeling warmth coarse through his body, a golden light flashed in Kai’s green and blue eyes. A frown appeared on his pale face as he reached out a small hand, all of his powers concentrating at the tips of his fingers. He felt as though he only had one chance to do this otherwise the three of them would be goners.

The Elements in the air trembled as they gathered around the tips of Kai’s fingers, he could feel everything in his being gathering to that single point. It felt as though nothing was kept back. Soon a golden flickering light surrounded Kai’s hand. Just as he was about to release that energy towards the Blue Frost Isthmus, a cold voice echoed out from behind him.

“If you use that, you will die.”

From behind Kai, a man who had the bearing of a king walked out. Even though each step was graceful, it seemed like he would be able to take on anything and everything no matter what came at him. His hair was like molten gold as it cascaded down his back in a tight ponytail. He wasn’t looking at Kai, but at the sound of the small gasping sound Kai made, he turned his head and caught Kai with his eyes.

Kai froze, locked by the intensity of his stare. The man’s eyes were stark and cold, as cold as the green jade his eyes resembled. Those eyes focused on Kai, unblinking through the feathery strands of his golden hair, and it was like being watched through a cage by a complacent and calculating cat.