“Dzamn it! A feint!?” Otto groaned.

“Ugh! This little shit! He made me think he used the Word again!”

“VELUM!”

“If I let him move too much, I will never win this fight. I should trap him in one place and after that, I could begin my offense.”

Otto purposely held his body low to expose his head.

“REVELO!”

Zaine appeared in front of Otto, preparing to bash his head with his hand.

“Hah! Ghotcha!” Otto uttered.

He shielded the attack with his arm.

“After a failed Head Bash, the next move will be…”

SWOOSH!!

“A Swinging Kick!”

As predicted, Zaine tried to kick Otto’s head. To evade it, Otto stooped his body lower.

He also used the chance to counter and grab Zaine’s pivot foot. Otto wrapped his two hands around the foot.

“Come on, Dhan! Just give me this one please!”

He then chanted,

“LAPIFORMA!”

His prayer seemed to be heard; crystal started sprouting from the ground.

The crystal kept emerging until it covered Zaine’s foot, enough for him to be immobilized.

Zaine tried to retaliate by punching Otto’s face.

Otto didn’t expect the punch; he was dazed and stumbled several steps backward.

Zaine used the opportunity to make his next move,

“VELUM!”

After a short while, Otto finally recovered back to his feet.

“That shit hurts, Man!” Otto complained. “But thankfully, it made me sober up!” he said.

Otto observed the situation,

“Eh? He turned himself invisible? That’s too desperate,” he thought.

Then he noticed something, “Didn’t he notice that the crystal in his foot is still visible? How reckless!”

“Your body may be invisible, but I know that you’re still trapped in that same position!” Otto shouted as he charged toward Zaine’s location.

Otto swung his arm, preparing to deliver a powerful punch.

“Taste the punch of a REAL MAN! WAAAAHHH!!!”

WHOOSH!!!

The punch missed.

“Huh!?”

Otto looked again and discovered that the crystal changed its position - slightly near where he stood, just enough to…

“REVELO!”

Zaine appeared like a sly snake and quickly wrapped his arms around Otto’s neck.

“Shit! He lured me!”

Out of desperation, Otto used all his strength to shake off his opponent.

However, the situation became more favorable for Zaine as the crystal started to break because of the forceful swaying.

It made Zaine move more freely and gave him an opportunity to perform his final move - a Triangle Choke Hold.

“Gaaaa!!! Let me go!”

“You’re still a musclehead when you’re sober,” Zaine uttered as held Otto tightly.

It was not long until Otto finally tapped out and surrendered.

Zaine let go of the struggling Otto.

Otto lay down on the ground to catch his breath.

Triggs and the 2 girls came in.

“Congrats, Zaine! You won this time! Yahoo~” Calla congratulated.

Lae went straight to heal Otto’s wounds using her Word.

“I told you. You can’t just keep doing this and expect me to heal you every time,” Lae scolded, but with a calm voice.

“Oh, thank you. Lae. Hehe…” Otto’s impish reply.

“Guys, please! Just don’t overdo it next time!”

“Okay, okay! Chill out!” Otto said to Lae. Then he turned at Zaine,

“Hey, Zaine… Your new Word - what is it about?”

“‘REFRACTIO SIMPLEX’,” Zaine answered. He explained,

“It covers an object in concealing magic. The magic hides the object’s true position, making it appear like it’s in a different fake position.”

“Wow! That’s one handy Word you got there, Man! Imagine the things you could do with that!”

“I still need to practice it,” Zaine responded.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Calla asked Triggs, “Did you enjoy watching the action, Triggs!”

“Mmm-hmm! It still fascinates me to watch you use your Words.”

“That’s nice!” Calla responded with a smile.

“Let’s get back to our chores, guys,” Lae said. “Calla, did you water the Hanziel Tree already?”

“Ah! You’re right! So - Sorry, I haven’t yet…” Calla’s jittery response.

“Then, please…”

Calla was intimidated by Lae’s sudden serious demeanor. She hurriedly went to the Hanziel Tree.

She stepped closer to the chunky roots of the Tree. She held her palms together and chanted,

“AQUA PURIFICA!”

A sphere of water condensed in the air above the roots.

After reaching the size of a beach ball, Calla separated her palms and the water lost its formation, raining down to the roots of the Tree.

“All done!” she signaled Lae.

Lae stepped in and placed her palm on the stem of the Hanziel Tree. She whispered a word,

“TERSUS!”

Her hands glowed.

The Tree resonated and also glowed.

After a while,

“I’m also done,” Lae stated as she stepped away from the Tree.

Curious, Triggs asked, “What did you do?”

“I used the Word to cleanse the Tree from negative energy. It will help it bear more Fruits.”

“Oh, okay.”

Calla tapped Triggs on his shoulder.

Triggs turned around and saw Calla hiding something behind her back.

“I have something for you,” Calla said with a smile.

She showed her hand and on her palm was a Fruit.

“A Hanziel Fruit?”

“Mmm-hmm! Now that you’re officially one of us, you should now eat lots of these!”

“Hmm… Okay!”

Triggs grabbed the Fruit and took a bite.

“If you always eat that Fruit, your soul will be cleansed, and you will feel more elevated. That’s what Lola Vega said!”

“That’s nice!”

As Triggs continued to munch down the Fruit, Monty could be seen arriving at the scene,

“Hey-hey-hey!!!”

“Hey, Monty!” Triggs greeted back.

“Monty! Guess what!?”

“Yes - I know, I know… He already joined us,” Monty replied just before Calla could finish her announcement.

Triggs was amazed, “Oh, you know already?”

“With all your noise out there, how couldn’t I!?” Monty’s response.

“Aren’t you happy, Monty?” Calla asked.

After hearing the question, a mischievous smirk suddenly formed on Monty’s face,

“Ohoho! You don’t know how happy I am! In fact…. I’m so excited! When will we be conducting the initiation rites? My paddle is ready!”

“Wa-wait!? There’s an initiation?”

“Didn’t Lae tell you about it?”

Worried, Triggs faced Lae as if he was asking if what he heard was true.

Lae sighed.

“Come on, Monty. Don’t scare him.”

Monty burst into laughter.

“GAHAHAHA! Come on! Didn’t you see the look on his face!? He was about to cry!”

“Tch! Damn you, Monty!” Triggs uttered.

Monty stopped laughing and faced the empty space beside him,

“What!? Come on! That’s funny!!!!”

“Uhm… Who is he talking to?” Triggs whispered to Lae.

“Kuya Naash,” Lae answered.

“Kuya Naash? You mean the Giya-Naash?”

“Wait. Haven’t we told you yet? Monty can also see and talk with the Giyas.”

“Oh, really?” Triggs said.

Meanwhile,

“What a boomer! Don’t you Giyas have any sense of humor!?

............ Huh!? Who are you calling a childish loser!?

…….. Shut up, you fucking excuse of a Giya! You’re useless, you know!?”

Triggs was surprised by what he was witnessing,

“Is that how he really talks with Naash?” Triggs asked.

Otto answered this time, “Yup. They’re always like that - always quarreling.”

“....... Tch! Excuses-excuses, you’re just lazy! What’s the use of giving me Words if you won’t do anything after I say it!?

….. ~~Reaaaasons. Reasons that we hear~~

…. ANYWAY!!!”

Monty turned his attention to Triggs again,

“Just enjoy your stay here, Boi! Imma go back to what I’m doing.”

“Uhm… Okay?...”

Monty continued teasing Triggs as walked away from the place,

“Ooh! ‘Is there an initiation? I’m too scared!’ GAHAHAHA!! See ya, Boi!’”

Monty went upstairs, straight to his room.

“Uhmmm… Sorry about that,” Lae apologized.

“Nah, it’s okay! I’m kinda used to that kind of teasing.”

“That’s a relief,” Lae replied with a sigh.

“Uhm…. Sorry if I have lots of questions. But I’m still curious about the Giyas,” Triggs said.

“It’s okay, Man! You can always ask us.”

“Don’t be shy, Triggs! You’re already one of us!”

“So, what is it? Your questions?”

Triggs started,

“First of all; you said that each Giya has a unique personality. Does that mean there are numerous Giyas out there? How many are they?”

Lae answered,

“We don’t know their exact number. But as Lola Vega said, there are myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands - they may be more numerous than us, humans.”

“Do all of these Giyas give blessings to humans?”

“No. Not all of them are interested in us - some even don’t like humans at all.”

Calla added to the discussion,

“Lola Vega once told us: when a human is born, the Giyas - the ones who love humans - will have their special meeting in the Heavens. They will decide which Giya will look after the born human for the rest of its life on Earth.”

“So, in theory, each of us has our own Giya that supervises us?” Triggs asked.

“Mmm-hmm! But not all humans are Favored by their Giyas,” Calla said.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Let me explain it better,” Otto butted in. “And what’s the best way to explain things other than a good ‘ol analogy?”

He started,

“Imagine a Giya is a person who volunteered to be your Ninong* during baptism. Just because he's your Ninong doesn't mean he's obligated to give you gifts during Christmas.”

“Interesting analogy…”

“The same way with a Giya - not because a Giya was assigned to you, it means He will give you a Word. It still depends on the Giya Himself.”

“I think I get it now,” Triggs murmured.

“To be honest, these things are still not clear to us,” Otto said. “The Giyas still haven’t given us straight answers about this topic.”

“This is just how we understand it,” Lae stated.

“It’s okay. At least I learned something new again today,” Triggs replied.

“Is there something else you want to know, Triggs?” Calla asked. “We’ll be happy to help you!”

Triggs tried to think of more questions,

“Hmm… Let’s see……

…

…

…

How did you know about your own Giyas?”