Jerome sat down in Ajax’s tent to meditate for the night. He was quite curious about how much his core must have grown. And he was pleasantly surprised by the level of transformation. He quickly brought out the Sunfire stone and placed it inside a storage bag. It wouldn’t be right to place it in the center of the room as it would take up the little space in the tent.
As he started to absorb the Sunfire stone, Selene called out to him from outside the tent.
“Jerome, are you decent?”
“Yes. You can come in,” he said as he put the pouch away.
Selene smiled at him as she came into the tent, followed by Ajax and Trudhorn. She handed him a storage ring as she sat down opposite him on the ground, flanked by both teammates.
“What are they?” he asked as he scanned its contents.
“They’re called essence crystals. They’re used to store essence so we can absorb from them whenever we’re running low,” she said. “I noticed your displeasure when you absorbed your fire stone — and quite quickly if I might add. I figured they weren’t as free of impurities or not very rich in fire essence. These on the other hand, were crafted specifically to make up for the lapses in natural essence stones. They are richly packed with pure essence that is free from impurities.”
“Would have been useful a while back,” Jerome said with a smile. He remembered discussing with the Sovereign about something like this. And unlike his Sunfire stone, these ones were smaller and could fit in the palm of one’s hand.
“I actually have my own resources,” he said and handed the storage ring back to her.
“You did a lot for us back there, Jerome. Please accept it,” Ajax said, his playful demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
“Thanks a lot. But trust me, you’ll need it more than I do,” Jerome said. “I’m not refusing because I don’t want to be indebted to you. I’m refusing because it’s going to be more useful to you than me. I have resources that…” he trailed off, not wanting to reveal the Sunfire stone.
The look on his face, though, surely told the other three that he did have resources that rivaled theirs.
“If you say so, Jerome. If there’s anything you need, just let me know,” Selene said.
“Hedon’s armor is an artifact,” Ajax blurted out. “All our armors are artifacts.”
“True,” Trudhorn said, nodding.
“Interesting,” Jerome said with curiosity in his eyes. “I never thought about it.” But it made sense. The Great Clans wouldn’t send their kids into a strange world without some type of magical protection.
“We’ve been fighting to survive ever since entering Terra Praeta, there wasn’t time to even think of such,” Selene added with a chuckle.
“The armors we wear, especially those of us from Great families, were specially crafted from Hroth’s Tannery,” Ajax said. “Our armors are powered by the ambient essence in the air, but the essence crystals can be used, as well as our own essence.”
“House Hroth, the House of Textile,” Jerome muttered as he remembered. House Hroth were known for their skill in clothing. They also excelled in making some of the best leather armors in the kingdom. Now that he thought about it, he noticed he had seen very few injuries on the Itakars.
Nia and Ajax had the worst of it. Which showed that their armor wasn’t one hundred percent secure.
“Don’t let your guard down, Jerome,” Trudhorn said.
“Hedon is an attention-seeker. He’d love to have an audience when we face each other,” Jerome said. “People like him have very deep psychological issues. He needs validation. I, on the other hand, don’t care…and that’s why I’m going to beat him.”
“Noir’s Blackflame take him,” Ajax cursed, his face twisted in anger as if he had suffered from Hedon’s hand in front of an audience.
Selene placed a hand on her brother’s clenched fist to calm him down. Jerome watched all this as he wondered how many people Hedon had offended. But he was also curious about something.
“I heard you curse like that when we first met,” he said. “What does it mean?” In fact, he had heard it long before he met Ajax. He’d heard it from Kilian.
“Huh?” Ajax was a bit stunned. The look he gave Jerome suggested he was surprised Jerome was hearing a curse for the first time. “It’s…” he paused, not knowing where to start.
“Jerome is from the slums of Farryn, Ajax,” Selene said and Ajax looked at Jerome, even more stunned than he was before.
“Huh! Aren’t you full of surprises?”
“Yes, you don’t strike us as a Sprout who was raised in the slums,” Trudhorn said.
“I grew up in an orphanage. We were only taught the legend of the Sovereign in the slums,” Jerome said with a shrug, not feeling offended.
“Noir is a legend of old,” Trudhorn said. “They say he followed the Path of Blackflame: a Path of Fire, darkness, and destruction. He perpetrated genocide in his time, influenced by his uncontrollable power.”
“Influenced?” Jerome asked uncomfortably. That sounded a lot like the darkness he held within him.
“We know little of him,” Selene said. “He was lured to the frozen earth and assaulted by a host of powerful foes. He killed a lot of them before going down himself.”
“Interesting. So, that’s how the cursing came about,” Jerome said. “And probably why Pathuma is a war-torn country.” He muttered that last part but even though they heard him, nobody said anything, like they were giving him time to process the information.
“Hedon has two very powerful Sprouts with him — Murray and Arkesha,” Selene finally warned.
“Are they as powerful as Fei Lin’s…protector, Lang?” Jerome asked. He didn’t know what to call the older Sprout.
“Yes, Lang is his name,” Selene said. “They’re not as powerful as Lang. It is rumored that Lang will advance to the Spirit Realm anytime soon. They’re nowhere close to advancing. But they are still quite dangerous.”
Jerome nodded absently. Power was what mattered in this world. He was quite pleased to know that even the Scions of the Great Clans, with all their pride, still deferred to Lang’s opinion.
“Thank you for the warning,” he said.
“It was the least we could do,” Selene said. “I’d take it you didn’t come with a tent to Terra Praeta?”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Jerome shook his head smiling. He had never thought he’d need a tent, if not he’d have asked for one.
“You can stay here for the night,” Ajax said. “I’ll bunk with Trudhorn.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Ajax nodded.
“Thanks,” Jerome said. He really needed privacy for his meditation.
Selene left with her teammates to go rest and prepare for their assault on the blockade the next day, leaving Jerome to meditate. After they left, Jerome took his time to nurture his core with the Sunfire stone, absorbing it at a faster rate than he normally would. This continued for a long time before he decided to practice.
Leaving the tent, Jerome walked toward the back of their camp. The night was cold and the air was fresh with the scent of earth and of the forest. He made sure not to walk too far away from camp. Jerome came to a stop a few hundred paces away from their camp and decided to practice here for the night.
He brought out his spear and began practicing, multitasking with five three-foot-long blades made out of Suzie. His goal was to practice how to hold off multiple offenders at once. With his mental energy having gone through a significant improvement, it was quite easy to control the blades. In fact, there was no stress at all in trying to command them. He worked on his form, his footing, and balance. Rihal had taken his time to teach him these. He remembered his training and all the pain he had to endure, calling up that sense of endurance and patience as he practiced. He flowed through the different forms as he wielded his spear deftly, controlling the five blades hovering midair to defend and attack invisible foes.
Jerome practiced for the better part of the night. But soon, he stopped and looked at a certain spot a few paces away.
“Are you just gonna sit there and stare all night?”
The grasses at the spot where he was staring moved in the opposite direction of the wind as though something was there.
“How did you notice me?” Jerome heard the voice before the speaker materialized at the spot. She was also quite a sight for sore eyes. Her long auburn hair swayed in the wind as she walked toward him. He could see the shape of her hips through the loose black robes she wore.
“What do you want?” Jerome asked, and she paused a few feet away from him. His voice was curt and unfriendly, making her hesitate to come nearer. She was a slip of a lady. He felt like he could break her with one hand.
The girl searched his eyes as though trying to look inside him. Jerome could tell from scanning her core that she was a lot stronger than she looked. He could tell she was one of Hedon’s teammates just by the color of her hair but she was putting on long black loose robes without any crest.
“I’m here to give you a chance to save your life,” she said. “Hedon won’t stop until you’re dead. You can leave after we break through the blockade and never face him.”
“Are you done?” Jerome said.
The girl was taken aback by his lack of fear. The surprise in her eyes vanished as she regained her composure. Jerome understood the level of reverence the heir of a Great Clan received. The fact that he was responding too lightly to a threat from such a powerful person did not pass his notice. He just didn’t feel threatened by Hedon.
“Your bravery will not save you, Jerome. Only prudence will,” she said.
“You can take those words back to Hedon, Arkesha,” Jerome said. “Tell him to get ready for the afterlife.”
Jerome started to walk away after saying his piece, leaving the Alvric Sprout in the cold wind alone.
“How about a spar?” she said, causing him to stop.
“I could use a training partner,” Jerome said, turning around. “Though, I might end up killing you…if you’re up for it, no problem.”
“Or I might end up killing you,” Arkesha said with a raised eyebrow. Jerome shrugged at that.
They both knew what the other was trying to do, even though Arkesha had initiated it. This was a very good place to test the strength of the other party.
Arkesha produced her sword from her storage ring. The blade sang with signs of essence flowing through it as she spread her legs to take an offensive stance.
Jerome still had his spear in hand and he could tell from one look at her sword that his spear would crumble from their fight. He quickly stored it away and used Suzie instead to form a spear. Arkesha almost grimaced from seeing that and Jerome smiled.
They rushed each other the next moment, the sounds of their weapons breaking the silence of the atmosphere. They moved around the field of grass as they battled, neither gaining the upper hand. Arkesha was lithe and able to maneuver around with her smaller frame. Jerome on the other hand, was bigger and not as flexible as she was. But his thrusts and swing came with speed and explosive strength.
Jerome’s spear had better reach and could knock away Arkesha’s blade, yet still reach her at the least expected moments. Her saving grace was her flexibility and speed. They parried blow after blow, neither using too much strength, they only wanted to test the waters.
Jerome aimed for her left thigh, wanting to test the limits of her agility and strength. Arkesha knocked the spear away with her sword and spun it in her hand deftly as she took two steps back, her footing sure. She switched hands even as Jerome spun his spear around moving to assault her again. He aimed at her head, his spear piercing through the air and almost stabbing her between the eyes.
Arkesha tilted her head sideways and moved forward — an action any spear-wielder would dread. She closed the gap between them with her sword aimed at Jerome’s heart, expecting him to back away. Jerome spun his spear with one hand, bringing the butt racing toward her head from above and at the same time, he caught the blade of her sword with his left hand coated in living steel. This stunned the female Sprout for a moment too long.
Arkesha noticed too late. The butt of the spear hit her on the head so fast, she wasn’t able to react. The impact left her seeing stars for a moment and Jerome spat a tiny ball of blue flame at her. At such a close range, it was impossible to dodge.
Flames engulfed her the next moment and she rolled around on the ground screaming and trying to put out the flames. Jerome held her sword and backed away from her, observing the result of his flames. He knew that wasn’t enough to kill her. Her armor had been revealed underneath the loose robe she wore when they started fighting. And it was armor that was designed to protect her.
After a while, the flames died down and she stood up glaring at him with hate-filled eyes. Her loose robe had been burnt away fully revealing her armor and her hair had been reduced to a frizzy, tangled mess with a distinct smell of burnt hair that permeated the air around her. Smoke drifted upwards from her head making for a comical scene.
Jerome shrugged, “At least you’re not dead.”
Someone stifled their laughter the next moment and they both turned their heads to look in the direction of the sound. A small crowd had gathered a ways away from them, watching the fight.
Arkesha seethed.
“This must be embarrassing for you,” Jerome said, looking sideways at her.
“Hand it over!” she said through gritted teeth.
“This?” he held up the sword, “Sorry…battle trophy.” He stored the sword away in his storage ring.
Arkesha screamed. She rushed Jerome and launched a series of compressed air at him. Jerome’s only warning was the sudden change of the aura in the air. Wind aura spiked and he quickly dropped to the floor before rolling out of the way. The air balls hit the ground where he was in succession, blasting the soil apart and scattering dirt everywhere. There was no color to the wind aura that spiked, and neither did the air balls have any. He had only seen her punch the air in his direction thrice.
“Calm down, Arkesha!” someone said, causing Jerome to look up.
Another female Sprout was holding back the angry Sprout, trying to prevent her from embarrassing herself more. She was doing a rather poor job of it though and only Arkesha’s self-control was keeping her from injuring her junior.
Jerome watched from a few feet away. He intentionally kept himself open to attacks. He assumed a relaxed posture as he smiled lightly. But he was waiting for the slightest mistake, the littlest slip up and Arkesha would become a corpse this night.
Arkesha turned away from him and let her teammate guide her away from the battle, defeated and shamed.
“Ye just couldn’t hold yerself back, could ye?” Bram spoke as he walked toward Jerome. His voice was filled with mirth, showing that he had had a good time watching the fight.
“She’ll be sure to reassess trying to mess with you some other time,” Selene said. “Hedon would become more vengeful with this, Jerome. We should go.”
“That’s part of the plan,” Jerome said. “I need him emotional and raging. More emotions mean less thinking. Less thinking means he’s prone to make mistakes.”
Selene and Truhdorn turned to look at him.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Selene said and the rest of the team broke into laughter.