Once she and Daiko were ready she then lifted the paper from her bag to her face to read it out loud. ''We are to pretty much get a jewel up there.''. Her right hand points up to the peak of the mountain itself. ''And then bring it to our Guild Master - wherever he is suppose to be.''. Her golden eyes look straight at Daiko who was with his bird. ''I'm guessing he'll be at the bottom of the other side or something, but it doesn't tell us exactly where.''. Softly she sighed and then turned towards the Mountains. ''Do you have everything prepared?'' she wondered as her eyes cornered to look at him again.

She had a bag of important tools since she had to be prepared for anything. Sadly, she still didn't know any spells as she had no time for that life yet. It was all training and helping the Churches. All this training is making her wish she had a significant other to do this with. Hiking seems romantic as well. Her heart pained and it was seeking it. Maybe in all this traveling she will find answers. If not this trip nor the last trip, perhaps the next one will. Once Daiko was ready she began from the bottom. The Mountain was quite large and tall so it will possibly take a day or so to get up there. It depended on the weather, the speed of both of them and determination. For her, she was quite determined to show the Guild Master she was ready for anything and will help her guild member do so as well.

275

275/3000

Okay, so Shahrbaraz wanted them to retrieve a jewel… that was easier in his head. At least, he didn’t have to stay overnight - if they completed the task quickly, then they could continue to their next objective. Although, he shouldn’t think like that… firstly, they had no idea where this jewel was. Shahrbaraz gave no details about its location other than it was here at this mountain. Okay.

At the very least, Daiko was prepared. He had brought ropes, hook blades, connectors to the ropes and backpack. They would have to check the mountain out for the jewel… which would take a while. Most likely the entire day if they had to be thorough. Maybe he should let Coda fly around once more, but she was dead set on perching on his shoulder for now. Besides, he too wanted to prove himself for the Guildmaster; he was capable of solving every issue by time, and he would overcome any obstacle. As primitive as it sounded, strength was honored in their guild - but it wasn’t just physical strength. Whoever thought like that was a foo; physique, spirit, focus and all aspects of self-control were all associated with inner and other strength that the guild yearned to excel at.

This would be but a stepping stone in Daiko’s path to strength. His magic would increase in strength, his focus would compact, his eyes would sharpen and his very body and soul would develop. Every inch of his being was training, and any sort of training always promised results in the long run… perhaps the greatest strength to supplement it all was patience.

“I’m ready.”

WC: 274

Her hair was up in a pony tail, a black scrunchy with a skull jewel on it, like her necklace that was hiding under her shirt. She bought it from a merchant a few hours ago before she found out about the new training session. It was a perfect skeleton skull with jewels as eyes, shining green and sometimes it liked to talk. For some reason it had sarcastic remarks to say to whatever she wanted to say unless she puts him inside her shirt. He shuts up then. Her golden eyes gazed at Daiko and then back towards the Mountain as soon as he said he was ready to get going in the most simplest way possible. Her heart was beating fast as she felt nervous. Kai did love the idea of all this, but it was just the reason behind it. What did the jewel or 'Gem' in his words looked like? He wasn't very specific, but it better be there when she gets there.

Slowly her boots kicked a rock as soon as she was starting to trample upwards. 'At least the mountain isn't super steep till mid-way.' she thought. ''Oh my Holiness... I hope it doesn't get too freezing up there.'' she spoke loud enough for him to hear. Her bangs winded in her eyes, but strands left enough room for her to see where she was going. Her heart burned for the Holy Prince and her eyes glowed with passion to succeed for him. Even if that was so, Kai knew that going slow is better than wasting energy on going faster as they'll have to at least find somewhere to rest in between. This silence was going to bother her though.

290

565/3000

Daiko had little issues with climbing up a mountain… unless if it took too long. They would surely have to camp somewhere, in the end - oh god, this would take a long time to complete, so Daiko could just forget all his thoughts earlier on about how ‘easy’ this quest would be. He quickly grabbed a rope and swung it around one of the hookblades, preparing it for a swing later. For now, though, they would take this journey on their search for a gem on foot… ‘a gem’, further noting that they knew little about its descriptions and whereabouts.

He could’ve at the very least have specified the location of this gem.

“I really don’t like this cold weather…” Daiko commented. He began grinding his palms together again as flames began appearing on his hair, flaring up and covering his head like a crown. “Ahh… much better.” Coda would often bathe her head in the harmless flames for comfort, which often worried Daiko. He didn’t know how his magic could function like that; it was a miraculous feat.

The top of the mountain was steep, yes. It was explained by Shahrbaraz, now that Daiko remembered it clearly. Although… he could’ve described its appearance. He was rethinking ridiculous thoughts once more.

They were approaching a cracked ravine that cut the path that they were taking. It was deep and wide, but the ropes from earlier could do the trick. Daiko would hand Kai a rope with a hookblade and swing his own towards a nearby stone at the other side of the ravine. “These holes can’t stop me,” he assured her as he used the hooked rope to swing over to the other side of the ravine.

It required some trust to the rope itself. One would have to trust that it could hold your body whilst swinging over.

WC: 310
TWC: 274 + 310 = 584

The cold weather wasn't too bad as there was no intense wind nor was it snowing at the moment. Her hair was in tact and her eyes weren't watering like they could be if it was windy. She followed up, but heard something making her turn her head enough to look at Daiko playing with whatever flames he's creating. 'The Holy Prince smiles on me today as we walk upon the path.'. Her head tilted up to look at the cloud covered peak. She has climbed Mountains before, but not this one. She wondered what this was suppose to teach them, but it didn't matter anyways as she got to know Daiko more.

He started to be like a son who she cares about and helps her out. Age didn't matter as this is what her heart felt. 'Perhaps he'll do great things in the future.'. Her thoughts were hopeful. Once they got to a part of where they'd need to walk off course, Daiko too charge. A quiet giggle escaped her pure lips as she watched him make some use out of hook and rope. First, she let him rope over to the other side and then her eyes looked downward. It was quite a ways if something were to happen. She doubt anything was going to happen, but negative thoughts cloud the mind here and there. It's quite normal for her at least. Once it was her turn she gripped onto the rope tightly and slowly let her feet slide a little to the edge. Her heart started to race as she began to get nervous. 'I...' she thought and then accidentally tipped over too much and roped over to the side. Swiftly she put her heel on the edge so she'd stop. With that she jogged over away from the edge and ahead of Daiko. Truthfully, she wanted to get away from it as soon as possible. Her face flushed in embarrassment as she didn't like these kind of heights.

Her eyes searched any way to make things easier for them as they walked into the path that seemed to be already made. To her it was strange as they were man-made tracks. ''Wonder if Shah made these or if someone went ahead of us to do the same thing.''. Kai wondered out loud as she carefully walked in the path. They weren't even half way up yet as the sky was soon going to be darkened. She hated the dark, feared it as it makes her feel indifferent. ''Perhaps we should hurry and find a cave.'' she instructed sweetly like any mother would. She was sure Daiko could take care of himself, but if they go up anymore than a yard, the temperature will decrease rapidly more in the night than in the day time.

480

1045/3000

The obstacle was easily crossed by Daiko, but Kai seemed to have a slight anxiety with her swinging. Because of that, she swung a tad to the side rather than a static arc alike the Fire Wizard. He couldn’t help but chuckle a little after she got out of danger’s claws. If anything, this was the easiest task for flying birds like Coda - and yet, she stuck to Daiko’s shoulder the entire time, not even bothering her bird-only way of travelling. Birds should fly around and be happy, not stick to shoulders and laze around like toddlers.

“There’ll be more holes on the way, I’m sure of that,” Daiko assured Kai. He paid little mind to how the path was formed out for them, because it would probably change the higher they got. This was a renowned place, and people often passed by to climb around and do hiker stuff. Therefore, some places felt as if they were already inhabited by other hikers, while the taller, more extreme areas were moreover left wild and untouched. Around the tree zone, where trees and vegetation would stop growing, Daiko prepared himself mentally to use his hands more and more on the climbing rather than casual, knee-lifting strolls across rocky floor.

“Yeah, Shahrbaraz would pity this place for a training ground,” Daiko replied to Kai. He was well-aware that Shahrbaraz embodied the term ‘endurance’, and he was even co-training with their previous Guildmaster. That meant that theoretically, Shahr would be just as powerful in the same aspects as Aguero. “He would spit and mock this place… something like ‘what a kindergarten excuse for a training ground! I’m doing you guys a solid’… but then again, I think it’d be different now.” This special training wasn’t special for nothing, after all as Daiko continued: “He really wants us to improve ourselves, so rest assured; if we complete this challenge with flying colors, then we can celebrate!”

Yeah, he would love to fire up a huge bonfire and dance around the fireplace with a cooking bull impaled on a metal pole like a shishkebab, accompanied by his fellow Lamia Scale Wizards. As bewildering as the picture looked, Daiko also felt like an embodiment of the guild’s values; strength, spirit, hardness… even monster. Lamia Scale was often referred to as ‘a monster’s guild full of power in carne’. That was why Shahrbaraz wanted them to undergo this training - it was fun to confirm the rumors of Orchidia’s population and at the same time assure them a guild that stayed loyal and friendly with its neighbors.

“There are caves everywhere now… uh, let’s take this one,” Daiko suggested. He was eyeing a hole in the mountain that led to a small area where the height to the roof was about 2 meters. There were rocks and boulders in random places, so sitting down on one would do some serious hallucinations upon whoever looked at them. Like having chairs upside down and stuff.

WC: 497
TWC: 584 + 497 = 1081

Kai could feel the crisp air that went against her rosy cheeks. Her flawless fair skin was starting to turn more red and soon into a different shade. Her heart was pounding as they marched forward up the mountain. Her and Daiko had to go around due to that crease. The constant walking in the heavy snow made things harder, made her heart work harder as she was breathing fast. Puff of smoke escaped her dried lips with each fast breath. She knew she was going to make it as her body wasn't cold at all, just her face. 'Should've brought a scarf or something.'.

Someone's going to be a popsicle. Just give up.

Hurry up and find a cave.

As long as you have your friend, we'll be okay.

The voices spoke, they were heard, but she already knew what she had to do. It was simply to survive. She heard Daiko talk about finding a cave, but before that she heard him say some other things. To their Guild Master this was sure to be some cake walk. If he knew this was a simple task then why did he send them here? Why did he send the others here as well? Kai didn't know, but what she did know was that she was going to make the 'Holy Prince' proud of her. Her heart burned with passion as she thought of what he may look like. She wasn't in love with this unknown entity or anything, no, she just wanted him to notice her. Her soul belonged to two others. One side of her heart for each, like a Ying and Yang. If one destroyed her heart then she still had her other one, but if he too destroyed it... It was unknown, but it wouldn't end up good. Good thing was that she didn't know how had her soul/heart pieces. Not yet at least.

Soon enough she saw some cave that looked deep enough to get out of the night's chill. Kai didn't want her face to get frost burnt from the cold embracing her. It was like Jack Frost kissing all over her face with wet kisses. It kept her heart going, but she was cold as if hell was freezing. ''Daiko, over there!'' she talked loud enough for him to hear, but not loud enough to cause the snow to collapse. Quickly she swayed her hips, ran with her legs and arms swaying upward and downward as she went towards it to block the wind's power. Her skin could feel frost chilling, giving her goosebumps and hair sticking up like electrical shock. As soon as Kai went into the cave she collapsed with her body hitting the flatbed of the cave. Thankfully, it wasn't flat and hopefully, Daiko knew to make a fire.

480

1525/3000

The cave did look well… uh, constructed? He wouldn’t say that, since it was clear that the cave was somehow unused by other travelers and hikers. There were no signs of leftovers, trash and… maybe he was right. They could have also left the place in perfect condition akin to a perfectionist, but he could have his thoughts and theories. His main tool for cleaning a place that he wouldn’t use anymore would be the flamethrower.

As soon as he approached the cave, though, he spotted snow. Damn it, they were at the tree zone already? Daiko could barely- oh, there it was. The stingy cold that just drilled into your skin and left blue marks everywhere. Daiko had to sustain his body with warmth, or he would go down as easily as a lonely pup. This cold just couldn’t be bothered with the likes of him, could it? Please, leave him alone!

He was so eager to continue the training further down south… where the weather was likely better. Maybe he would reach the beaches of Hargeon Town again. That would be delightful for him and Kai.

Kai’s work did appear to take a toll on her. From this point on, Daiko could see the facial contortions that just screamed ‘it’s cold’. In the end, though, they both managed to enter the cave and cover themselves from the stingily cold wind. Upon entering the cave, the temperature increased and provided them a bearable treatment compared to outside.

And by time, the temperature became warmer…

“Phew… we got shelter, now,” he assured her quite optimistically. He would grab a couple of stones and rethink this idea over; would Shahrbaraz tolerate them using magic, or would he be even more impressed if they went through the journey without using magic at all? This was a test of physical capabilities, so…

Wasn’t magic a part of people’s physiques?

He could always wonder about that question later, because two stones and some old wheat from his backpack was enough to set up a fire. And oh boy, his entire body was thrilled by the heating air around it. He hoped that Kai would enjoy the warmth for as long as it lasted.

Hmh… it seemed as if they would make a pause in here. Coda began nibbling Daiko’s hair in boredom, then she suddenly lunged her head towards Kai in fascination. The bird-like creature was very interested in beautiful women, weren’t she? It wasn’t the first time that Daiko had experienced her act like this - a certain motorbike suit flashed his mind from the last time that Coda put all her attention to another woman.

“Hehe… Coda really likes you,” Daiko explained to the blonde, “The truth is, she easily gets along with women. I still haven’t seen her get along with any men other than myself.”

WC: 475
TWC: 1081 + 475 = 1556

She felt cold to where her nose had a hard time being used to breathe. It was cold as if nipped by a turtle with some frost magic. Her heart felt slow now instead of fast as it was trying to relax with the stinging sensation. Kai was happy she was here with Daiko as she didn't know many other Guild Members other than Kyam who happily signed her contract. It was hidden well as it wasn't even there. The skull amulet felt painful against her chest as it pressed the skull in between each pillowy bosom. 'Ugh...' Her thoughts exactly were the noises she made as she was feeling disgusted with the weather and smell of this cave.

After a few minutes of warming up thanks to Daiko, she lifted herself up with her hand pressed against the cold floor. Her hair was a huge mess and no hair brush to use. ''After I get hom-...'' she was about to say, but her mind interrupted her with the fact that she doesn't have a home. She lived in Churches there since they were kind enough to let her stay in a small room. The small room had a bathroom where only one person could walk into. The bedroom was the room itself as each turn was where the kitchen was as well. The place was about eight meters long and four meters wide. Truthfully she had to share the kitchen with everyone else and it was where she cooked food for the homeless.

Every Church had this set up for her as she was one of the 'True' Helpers. She had a lot of faith in the Churches and believes that The Holy Prince will smite those who ruin such charity. It was either him or his loyal guards, servants and the like. She wasn't quite sure who was all like her, but she knew there were more than just herself. There had to be, right? She continued to get warmed up, but as she was she looked up towards Daiko who was still standing. Out of no where the bird appeared before her as it scanned her like some researcher. A sweet smile appeared on Kai's now moist and shining lips as her hand reached slowly towards the bird. It stopped a few inches away from the bird so it could know their surroundings and her scent. She never knew when it could be useful in this mission and usually that's how an animal knew a person. Typically, animals sniffed each other's scent as a way to say hello and remember it.

''Animals are the Holy One's friends as they are mine. Innocent, sometimes naive, but beautiful and friendly. Some are not, but it's mainly due to their survival needs and their surroundings.'' she explained simply and turned her head to look outside. ''It looks like the wind is picking up. We should sit in here for an hour at least for it to calm down - if it does.''. Her voice was still like a French accented sugar cookie with soothing chocolate. Kai wondered if the weather was going to calm down, but if it didn't then that was going to be okay as well.

545

2070/3000

Huh… the Holy One. He seemed to be fond of animals. And just as Kai softened to the curiosity of the raptor in front of her, Coda’s head slowly accepted the approaching hand of hers. She poked her head around it for a little while before gently rubbing her head on Kai’s hand as a way to ask for a petting. Daiko would let Kai decide whether if she wanted to accept the bird’s request and pet her or not - the bird was intelligent enough to ask for such a thing in a calm manner alike many other birds that dealt with new faces now and then.

Innocent… Coda was a brat. In Daiko’s eyes, she was like the embodiment of a 2-year old toddler. She wanted his constant attention at random times, and at other times, she just wanted to fly around or flirt with random women. Often, she perched on a lamp pole while munching on a dead rat, or she would hide the rat in Daiko’s hair - ugly instances, which he worryingly tried to wash off his mind and body with water and attention to other things. However, for a man in the woods with nothing but his bare hands and the trees around him, Coda was by far the closest friend that Daiko had. She was also the only family left after his mother passed away, so he treasured her immensely.

That was why it was joyful to see her open up to new friends of Daiko. She would get used to the guild, Lamia Scale, and had to get along with its wizards and Guildmaster. Now, first meeting with Shahrbaraz was a weird one; he simply eyed the bird as it eyed back, before he challenged her to bite his finger off. As repulsive as Coda was to strange men, she happily put lots of force in her beak as she bit Shahr’s finger… but he simply laughed and patted Daiko as Coda slowly got tired from all the effortless work.

That was a funny moment that the Fire Wizard wouldn’t forget…

“An hour…” Daiko mumbled as he eyed Kai. She looked a little exhausted, so maybe he should suggest that they took a nap or something… after a little talk. He did notice a necklace, since she didn’t wear any scarf, and Daiko remembered that the booth back at Orchidia was willing to sell an enchanted emerald ring. If he remembered correctly…

“I see that you got a necklace there, Kai,” he commented as he pulled up his own iron necklace, “I should have a ring to compliment this one… there was this one emerald ring back in Orchidia that I wanted to buy. It was darn expensive, though, but it was said to strengthen the body in response to injury. A fine ‘Lamia Scale’-like value, don’t you think?”

WC: 477
TWC: 1556 + 477 = 2033

Randomly her stomach started to rumble and looked at the bird. 'No. I cannot eat one's friend.' she thought respectfully. Her heart was still in a slow rump as it pounded slowly against her chest. It came to her own boredness that she didn't know much about Daiko other than his name, the bird and the guild he's in. She felt like this will be a good time to actually get to know someone from her guild. Oddly though, she felt like she already knew him to a point, but why? Kai doesn't remember any information about him. It's just a feeling from her gut. She'll think of questions to ask while going up the mountain more...

Her eyes looked back outside of the cave as the snow slowed down. She knew that there was only so long till it was going to completely stop. The sky was surely crying like ashes from hole of screams and puffs of sorrowful souls. Her golden mirrors got lost in the unknown colors of the blue, white and grey colors outside as her mind was thinking of it's own thing. 'I feel caught up in a web of feelings that I don't even know.'. Slowly, her hands reached into the top section of her shirt and in-between her bosoms to grab ahold of her amulet. She didn't even think about Daiko being there and the possibility that he could be gazing. Of course if she did, Kai will get embarrassed. Sadly, he knew about it by seeing the string part as it was beautifully made. Slowly, she held the amulet up while it was still around her neck to reveal what it looked like. It had beautiful green diamond made eyes and it's mouth is closed - for now.

''It reminded me of someone that I... I feel close to or more, but I don't remember him... or her.'' she started to explain as she faced away with sadness being seen across her face.

''A man proposed to his lover. She grabbed the diamond and looked at it carefully, after he asked her to marry him. She said, I'll answer you in just a moment.!'' He joked and a hallow laughter escaped.

''Right, he does that so I sometimes shut him up by putting him in my shirt.'' she spoke in a calming tone.

''No, you put me in your shirt for special keeps.'' He joked once more and laughed again.

Swiftly, she put him back into her shirt and looked back at Daiko. ''Well, if you're ever bored. I can just let him talk. Otherwise I feel that a peaceful time here would be hard with him around.'' she said. Anyone at least a few feet from her could swear they could hear some muffled talking from her shirt. Simply, Kai ignored and then saw that the snow stopped. ''I assume this is our time to go.'' she smiled happily.

500

2570/3000

The wind began to catch up, but it would always reach a top speed and then die down by time. Usually, it would take half an hour or something along the line from now on, so… yeah, Daiko had to wait for that half of an hour to pass by. Coda looked at Kai with hopeful eyes, curious as to why she looked so deep in thoughts. Daiko didn’t notice that feature on her facial expression despite being not that far away, and to be fair, he would have taken notice after a while of nothing else happening. However, she slowly reached her hand down her bosom right in front of him to try and grab something… okay, he was well-aware of how women used their bosom at times to store small objects, but he couldn’t help but feel a little shameless and simply enhance the picture of her hand deep beneath her cleavage. A small blush appeared on his face, whilst Coda was fantasizing about having her head deep down Kai’s shirt herself.

P-Pull yourself together, you indecent lad…!

At the very least, it lifted the atmosphere. And she did bring up something - the necklace of hers turned out to be a skull with emerald-like eyes and realistic features (a very small one in comparison to a human skull, though). A reminder of a past friend of hers, perhaps? Daiko had assumed that given by Kai’s words only, but the skull began to speak as well! Out of nowhere! It remarked on how the man proposed to a lover, and that the lover was like ‘just a moment!’. Daiko was taken aback by the joke as his eyes were blank with no idea how it was able to speak - magic, perhaps… that was some awesome necklace that she wore!

She explained how he often came up with such comments, but Daiko would rather find out how he was able to speak on his own! Was there a soul in there? Hello? “U-Uhm, that’s… impressive,” Daiko spoke up in amazement, “… I bet he doesn’t protest against that.” He swiftly looked to the side to avoid eye contact, should his comment have made Kai notice its meaning and possibly have gotten embarrassed.

The silence that soon waved over the cave signed the end of the harsh winds. It was time to move on. “Alright, time to move,” Daiko commented to Kai as he rose up, “We’ll hopefully reach the top of the mountain from this point on…!” He eagerly escaped the cave and entered the rather cold but safe environment outside, eyeing the top of the mountain up ahead. He and Kai would have to move now that the wind had died down.

Coda was still stuck on his shoulder for some reason. She was such a brat at times…!

He readied up his hook and rope as he swung it up to climb up to the next even level of the mountain. There was a better foothold up there, and the man-made trail was ending here. “Watch out for the slippery mountain wall,” he warned Kai before beginning his ascension.

WC: 523
TWC: 2033 + 523 = 2556

They both left the cave as it was safe to walk up to the peak of the mountain. She was sure that there wasn't much left as in the distance. The weather was fine, but still cold. The Amulet probably will make jokes about impure things after all this due to the fact that it was cold and he was next to her bosoms. She didn't mind it though as the poor Amulet skull was most likely cursed for something he did or just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It can happen to anyone. Perhaps the skull man was some handsome guy who was super nice, saved some beautiful woman and in-turn he was cursed. What was this messed up fantasy Kai was thinking about? There were plenty fantasies that Kai thought about since she can't do much of anything else other than help people. Her 'Fantasy' dreams most likely won't happen, but that was just her negativity thinking.

The crunching of the snow was louder, snow was heavier and it was harder to walk through. She realized that nothing was going to make this easier so she trotted slowly to make sure she wasn't wasting any more energy than she had to. Her head turned back to make sure Daiko was behind her and not too far away so if either of of them - herself or Daiko was in danger. One of them can help or save the other.

Her head turned to look up to where she was walking towards as she was excited to finally get to the top. It was as if she could reach it. So far yet so close to her reach. What did the gem look like, she wondered. Soon enough though her and Daiko got to the top of the mountain. On top was a small flat space with a tree next to it. By that tree was some rock. ''I think... This is it?''. She wasn't sure as she questioned what she just said. Cautiously, Kai walked to the rock and saw something shining by it. ''I found it!'' she reported to him. With that they were to walk down the mountain and to the guild master. She knew though that when they got there that she shouldn't bother him with many questions if none at all.

Her and Daiko went down the path on the other side of the mountain from where they just came from. Slowly but efficiently they got down from the mountain and met up with the Guild Master. Where he was was unknown, but once they found him they finally gave him the Gem. Soon enough both Daiko and herself left to the next exercise.

-exit-

460

3030/3000

Daiko would carefully climb up the mountain wall with Coda hanging on his shoulder. With her lazy butt, he would be struggling a tad more than if she just flew for a damn moment. Was she this lazy on purpose? Did Shahrbaraz command her to perch on his shoulder all day long to stack more training up on him? He could imagine the terrifying Guildmaster whispering into Coda’s ear ‘just perch on him all day, you get lots of birdseeds from me’, and that Coda would just obey. Man…

It was getting colder the higher they got and the closer they approached the top. Daiko simply bit his lip and pulled himself up using his two arms. This test was, to say the least, tapping on his physical strength more than the previous one. The previous test in the forest - the one-night stay - was more like a test of patience and endurance than anything. Shahrbaraz had made sure to spread out the points of a human being that he thought needed training, didn’t he? What would the next challenge be like? A test of speed, perhaps? Would Daiko and Kai be running after a dove holding a piece of paper that held the key to their equipment? Daiko hadn’t seen his equipment since he took off. Wow… actually, Daiko rarely saw equipment in his hands. Shahrbaraz had taken his bow, but that was it.

He should go and get himself set when he had finished this training season. He would come out powerful, healthy and prepared for any obstacle that would meet his path.

Once upon reaching the top of the mountain, there was a flat space wit ha large tree in the middle… wait a second. They had passed the tree zone a long while ago! Why was there a tree here!? “T-That makes no sense…” he commented with a confused look on his face. Despite the confusing idea that one tree managed to make it all the way up here without being affected by the weather like all the other trees as shown down below at the tree zone, Daiko did forget all that when he laid his eyes upon a random gem at the foot of the tree.

Kai found it while he was too busy thinking about the tree. Now that they had finally completed this task, they were ready to descend from the mountain. It felt as if Daiko had elevated himself in his mind and spirit, and these trainings… became more and more routine by time. He would likely just continue climbing up mountains and crossing rivers bare-feet like this, because if it strengthened his body, then it would also strengthen his spirit.

WC: 451
TWC: 2556 + 451 = 3007

-exit-