~January 13th, afternoon~

Snow had always blanketed Cherith. But the snow in January, with the constant snowstorm, is much worse.

In the Tigerfang Forest surrounding Ember Hill, bordering between Cherith and the Northern Sea beach, the beautiful greenery is hidden under a thick coat of snow. Hence the name, tiger fang.

Amidst the whitened greenery, a thirteen year old boy was sitting cross legged. A kukri lay silently on his lap. He must have been sitting there for a long time, since his entire body was dusted with snow.

Jet closed his eyes.

THUMP! THUMP!

Jet activated his Deathwish core. Thanks to constant practice, he could launch his core much smoother now.

The Deathwish core began to rotate. Causing his heart to beat faster. His core converted the physical energy into core energy, coursing through his veins.

Usual core practitioners have separate veins. The heart that created the physical energy would channel to the core, which would then be converted to energy. The Energy Veins of the core would then use the core energy for magic or aura.

Jet, and similar to other Magic Beasts, utilized the blood vessels as Energy Veins. Making it more efficient, and he would be able to exert more strength than normal core practitioners.

Soon, a drop of energy formed in the Deathwish core. Then another. Soon it became a puddle. More and more until it turned into a stream. Freely flowing into his blood vessels.

The energy felt refreshing. Like drinking hot cocoa in front of the fireplace. His solemn expression transformed into a smile instinctively. Jet was indeed happy.

Although his core did not possess any elements, he was wielding pure energy. Perhaps in the future, he could create aura or magic skills of his own.

Right now though, he readied himself for a fight.

Suddenly, the Earth began to rumble.

“Jet, be ready. They're coming!” A voice from a nearby tree yelled out.

Jet opened his eyes, looked to his right, where the voice originated. He smiled as he gave a thumbs up, a sign that he was ready.

Fisher, one of the Helldoor troops, nodded. The rest of them have already assumed their stance. Each was standing by in their own tree. They, together with Jet, made a half circle formation. Waiting for the target to enter.

GEDUKK! GEDUKK!

At a distance of about seven houses away, dust began to rise up. Forming into what looked like a dust tsunami. Some trees also fell to the ground. The dust, and the frequency of trees falling, seemed to be approaching their formation.

When the commotion was only about two to three houses away, Fisher and the rest of them waiting were startled. It was a Lava Bear. A huge one. Bigger than the size of a luxurious horse drawn carriage.

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Even more startling was the fact that the huge creature was being chased by a bunch of powerless soldiers on their horsebacks.

“You stupid bitch! You were supposed to chase a herd of Steam Boar. What the fuck is this?” Fisher yelled.

Ida was helplessly annoyed. “Well, what am I supposed to do?! The bear at the damn pigs! Just get ready to kill it.”

“Urghh, fine! But if anything happens to the kid, you'll offer your head to the Duke General first!”

“Fine! It's just my head. What use is it to me anyway?”

That response from Ida eased the tension a bit. Fisher even joined the roar of laughter from the troops.

Jet could not help but chuckle. As if the Duke General would care if something happened to me, he thought.

“Everybody, be ready! This is our toughest opponent yet!” Fisher yelled. Then, with a gleam of anticipation in his eyes, he added. “But don't worry, it will be worth it. Lava Bear stew is perfect for January snow.”

The Helldoor troops, and Jet, cheered. Everybody grabbed their kukri. Ready to take down the bear.

***

Soon, everybody was lounging in the pool they dug up by themselves. Soaking in the hot water, courtesy of the toxins from the Lava Bear.

There is only one way to remove the lava toxins from the flesh and bones of a Lava Bear. Ice. And Cherith had plenty of it. Sure, it was technically snow, but it was also technically ice.

They dug up the hole, filled it with the Lava Bear's carcass, and buried it with snow.

Half an hour later, the bear is spit roasting on a fire. And they are enjoying the onsen from the toxins. And don't worry, the toxins have lost their lethality. Only the warmth and refreshing soak effect.

“We should hunt more Lava Bears.” Ida exclaimed.

Everybody shuddered. “Hell no! We got lucky this time. One Lava Bear used up a whole lot of the Earth crystals. And you want to go and find more?” one of them spat out.

The Earth crystals are very useful to hunt the bear. It could not hurt the bear, but it could carpet bomb the ground. Confusing and scaring the Lava Bear.

Jet had to agree with the soldier. Even though soaking in hot water in the snow was lovely, but to actually go and mess with a Lava Bear is suicidal.

Ida was unrelenting. “Oh, come on. We can make more. How else are we gonna use up the energy in our cores anyway? Let's at least get something good out of it.”

“No! The crystals should be stored for emergency use only. Or if we get orders. Not for personal use.” Fisher reminded Ida.

“Ceh, fine.” Ida grumbled.

They said nothing anymore. Everybody was enjoying the hot pool. But soon, a delicious smell pauses that experience. Or perhaps enhances it even more.

For it was the delicious smell of cooked meat.

Everybody looked at each other, thinking of one thing. Food! All scrambled to get out and charge at the fire. But, as they all circled around the bear meat, Ida stopped them.

“What's the meaning of this?” One of them shouted.

Ida held out her hands. “Everyone. Since our young Jet is the one that gave the killing blow to the Lava Bear, don't you think we should let him have the first bite?”

Everyone present then remembered. They have been bombarding the white fur of the Lava Bear with crystals, arrows, swords and spears. But the bear's hide was too tough.

It was indeed the precise stab of Jet, one clean hit to the base of the head, that instantly killed the bear.

But Jet was too embarrassed to do so. He felt like he did not do much. “Hey, what are you talking about, Ida. Everybody worked hard bringing the bear down. I just did one thing.”

But everybody else had already agreed. “No, no. You earn it kid. You did great. Ida was only reminding us.”

Jet was about to say something more, but another soldier cut him short. “Just take the damn first bite so we could eat. We're all starving here!”

Her words made everyone burst into laughter. Even Jet was less awkward about it.

He took out his kukri, and sliced a large chunk of the bear. Jet sank his teeth into the fatty meat. To his amazement, the bear's meat just melted on his tongue.

“Oh my god. This is amazing!” Jet exclaimed, and took another bite.

Everybody had a look of delight on their faces. “Well, what are you guys waiting for? Charge!”

The meat was so tender, they didn't even need their blades. They just tear on it with their hands. Even Jet cannot help it but to grab another chunk. It was just that good.

With how addictive the meat is, it was not surprising that it only took a few minutes for the bear to turn into a pile of bones. Right now, everybody went back into the pool to digest the content of their stomach. This time, accompanied by a waterskin full of rice wine hanging on their neck.

Jet looked at the Helldoor troops, and he could not help but to smile. They are great guys, he thought. He felt belonged. He felt at home. Something he never thought he could feel again.

Just then, the sound of running horses approached their makeshift hot pool.

“You lazy bums! And here I was worried for you when I heard about the Lava Bear!” Captain Brenda yelled at them as she dismounted.

They just cheered on her. Such was the casualty of Helldoor. Besides, this is free time. No one could force them to do anything. Unless it's an emergency.

“Hey, it's the vice commander. Come join us, Captain. It's quite nice here.” One of the soldiers exclaimed.

Brenda just waved at the soldiers. She looked around, and found the one he was looking for. She hurriedly walked to Jet.

“Excuse me, Young Master Jet. But the Duke General and Duchess Admiral are waiting at the fortress. They have summoned you.”

Everybody was startled. The General and Admiral are in their fortress? And they are absent from welcoming them? Will they get court martialed?

Brenda saw the paleness of their faces and sneered. “Oh now you're worried?” Then she smiled to reassure them. “Don't worry. The General and Admiral said you should continue whatever you are doing. This is just an informal visit.”

Everybody heaved a sigh of relief.

Jet however, spotted a deeper frown. What would father and mother want with me now? He thought. Did they want me to move further perhaps?

Whatever it is, he wouldn't get any answer here. And since the stranger convinced him that his parents loved him, he was sure they wouldn't actively do things to harm him. So he got out of the pool and started getting dressed.

“I shall follow you, Vice Commander.”