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The present location was an island, but on this island, a constant fierce gusty wind was ever-present, as every time the man was founding himself in this spot, the wind would oppose him. Yet, this place was in itself, a treacherous and terror-inducing location, as in truth this was, a small, very small island, a truly remarkable small rocky island.
However, what the man felt terror towards, was not the island, but the dark red silent ocean, which had made this island, to begin with
As the man looked downwards, for a dozen or so meters away, a dark red noiseless, bottomless and never-ending sea, or it was better to say an ocean, for that was all that he could see, as even the horizon itself was merging with this dark red silent sea, as though, there was no true end to this expanse of dark red water.
But the man knew, this was not how this place was supposed to be.
Everything had changed, some time ago, when the cataclysm had befallen this world and brought the red monstrosity, which he could see all around himself, intimidating his life in a very odd manner.
In the very beginning, this isle had been the peak of a very tall, and lofty mountain, oversing a verdant land, with clouds at the horizon, making rain and creating many rivers which all converged in a very large and deep blue lake at the foot of this mountain. Which from his intuition was supposed to grow into becoming a sea, then an ocean, but that was what was supposed to happen, were it not for what had occurred some dozen days ago.
Nonetheless, all had changed course when the cataclysm had taken shape and form, and then began to manifest itself in this world.
It was roughly a dozen or so days ago when a part of the blue lake exploded would without any warning, sending enormous waves over the lands, uprooting many trees, and flooding the grassland.
But all of that had been just the premiss, as the true horror had truly started when the deep blue colour of the lake, was tainted by a speck of red, a glowing red that was akin to a star, that was shining strongly. From there on, the lake’s once deep blue colour began to change, as the once blue colour transformed into a bright darkish red, as though renewed blood was mixed with the clear blue water of the lake. Even more, the lake that had once been calm and serene, started to produce waves, waves which grew and grew, and then began to swallow the land and reverse the flow of the many rivers which were flowing into the lake itself.
The beginning was slow, but with each breath that the man was taking, he could visibly perceive the momentum of the red lake grow ever more strong, and through its waves, which were going in all directions, the land and rivers, were swathed, wave by wave with its bloody red water, as though wanting to conquer this world by force or submission.
However, rather than conquering the world, the red lake which was becoming a sea, seemed staunch on covering and submerging everything in sight, as though that was its only desire, and purpose. Yet, as the waves, were becoming bigger and bigger, the rate at which the world was becoming red, was growing faster and faster. For as the man could see and feel, that for with every breath he was taking, a greater part of the land was lost to the red expansion.
And as the lake was becoming a true sea, the waves which had grown from a mere meter, then to dozen of meters, ended up to be one hundred meters and continuing, becoming colossus walls of darkish red bloody water, and commenced to crash against the lofty mountain on which the man stood on. But even as the waves crashed against the mountain, not much could be felt as the mountain was far sturdier than even the man could imagine.
Even so, after a while, the lake which had become a sea, continued to grow until was fully transformed into a world-encompassing ocean. The rain clouds on the horizon which stood above the red ocean came to an end as well, for as the waves were constantly growing taller and taller, it came to the point when the waves were sufficiently tall that even the clouds could be touched, or better say washed away, as that was the scene that the man could see, the clouds being scrubbed away from the sky, ending the last of the clear blue water in the world.
However, once the clouds at the horizon were dealt with, the monstrous red ocean entered into a frenzy, as the enormous waves which could reach the clouds, came by the thousands, from all directions, crashing against the mountain and shaking it to no end, while the man grasped the rocks at the very peak of the mountain as fiercely as he could, while looking at the event which was seemed intended on ending his small life.
But alongside the mountain-shaking walls of bloody red water, came the red clouds, which, unlike the original clouds, these ones proceeded to cover the whole world. And alongside the clouds, strong whirlwinds began to assault the mountain, while red rain poured over the man and the mountain, which made the man clench his hands so tight on the rocks of the mountain, that his fingers were bleeding, even so, it was not possible to know precisely, as due to the rain being as red as the blood, one could not know if the man was truly bleeding, as everything was red at the moment.
Nonetheless, even after the world was conquered by the calamity, and it began to assault the man, it was not at the end of its moves, as the eeriest of all the happening till now, was just about to begin.
At the beginning of the storm, it was barely audible, but with time, even amidst the noise of red raindrops hitting the rocky island, and the hurling wind akin to a high pitch scream, a weak but incessant voice of someone reached up, to be heard by his ears. From the red ocean below him, from the red clouds, from every drop of red rain, one voice, but spoken by an unquantifiable number of mouths, as it was coming from innumerable directions, all conveying one sole idea or concept, to submerge himself in the red water.
The torment was constant, and every time the man was on the island, he stood on the verge of breaking mentally, under the constant voice which was becoming a pressure, which was slowly affecting him, as piece by piece, his mind was about to give in.
And yet, as he was slowly moving towards his own limit, while knowing that he would last no more than a few more days, something happened. Something which had honestly horrified him to the deeper part of his soul and beyond.
As while the previous calamity had emerged from within his world, and grown to a point where there was nothing more than the red expanse, alongside the mountain size waves, which were trying to reach for the peak of the mountain on which he stood, the rain and wind that were bashing him non-stop, and the voice which was wilting his will near to breaking point.
The following calamity, happened from the outside of this world, with the momentum and power, of an unstoppable moving and stationary force.
However, it was just like the first time, as the man was gripping the rocks on the peak of the mountain, while the waves of the ocean, the clouds, the wind, and the rain droplets were attempting with everything they had, just so as to take him, when all of a sudden, without any prior sign just as the first calamity, the clouds, the whirlwinds, and the rain ceased all of a sudden. The thousands of waves all crashed and were pushed down, as the blood ocean instantly calmed, while the voices were all but gone in the eeriest of manners.
The silence was everything at the moment.
However, the silence was short-lived, as the rumbling and thrumming of the world commenced. The mountain shook wildly, as cracks and huge parts fell of it fall into the red ocean which was beginning to wobble even more wildly than his mountain. The water dropped immediately near the mountain, and rose on the horizon in all directions, higher than every wave till now, higher than even his lofty mountain, making the man pale in the face of the scene, yet the water return down, and the ocean settle down once more, as silence return to the red water world and one small mountain or island to be accurate.
But, even as everything had calmed down, the man all of a sudden was forced to look up, to what was supposed to be a sky full of a large sun, a moon, or of the stars, which had once shone strongly, before the clouds of the cataclysm. But now, it was all dark, darker than any night he could remember as the world became shrouded in this deep darkness.
Nevertheless, the dark sky did not signify the absence of the stars, as the man knew by instinct or otherwise, that this darkness was only possible because something was obstructing the light of the sun, moon or stars. Which in turn, made the world fall in this deep night.
And yet, what the man was fearing, was exactly the "thing" which had covered the sky, as he could almost perceive the almost unthinkable, gigantic "thing", or "something" above him. While he could also sense that "someone" was looking down on him, while he was slowly losing the power to keep himself glancing at this dark sky, as he himself fell into his own.
But shortly after he fell into the darkness, the man woke up, and he promptly began to look at his world. However, he was too shocked to rise up to his feet, as fear was stopping him from moving at the sight of the red ocean, being no more than a dozen of meters away, which had never been able to reach him so close, even as the monstrous waves were trying so hard to reach him or destroy the mountain.
Yet, to move his mind and sight from the red ocean, the man looked up to the sky, only to stagger again from shock, as the sun, moon, and the stars were glowing all at once, however, the man was not shocked from the combine showing of the heavenly objects, but of the dimness of such objects, as the sun was extremely bleak, a white dim colour to itself as though a sick man, which was why the stars and moon did not lose to it, in brightness. At the same time though, the same could be said about the moon, which appeared more illusory than real, while the stars were mere small specks of white that were blinking, as though ready to die off, at any moment now.
And so, we return to the present, as the man stood alone on his rocky island, looking at the dark red ocean, while the wind, the very strong wind, which was not a normal wind, as it was more of a prison, was locking him on this rocky island. For as every time the man was full of courage to approach the silent dark red ocean, the wind would always blow on him, blocking his path from all directions, as though in spite and meanness to the man, leaving him no other option than to sit on to the rock at the top of this former mountain, which was now an island, silently observing the dark red expanse of water.
Ultimately, as he was continuing to observe the dark red ocean, a strange sense would occasionally rise in him, as he knew that when the first cataclysm had transpired, the frenzied red ocean had a bottom to it. Yet, as he was looking at this dark red quiet ocean, something about it was making him nervous, as though he was looking at a bottomless expanse of water. It was as though, whatever had been the power which had made the frenzied ocean calm, had also broken the land of the world, and made this world, be nothing more than just a place, where a mountain stood just so above the dark red water, which seemed to have no end beyond the horizon.
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“Haa-huu--haaa---huuu!”
Gasps of intake, and quick exhale of air were taken, as Adrian woke all of the sudden, with several droplets of sweat on his forehead, while woking up from his sleep in a pondering mood, about something which he could not put his mind towards, no matter how he tried.
“Haa–huu-haa-huu!” - [Again—, again this. And I can still not remember. This is becoming a real probl—.]
It was early in the morning, and Adrian woke from his usual dream which he would not be able to remember, as only small details or emotions would remain imprinted on his mind after he would woke up.
“It is almost time.” - [I might wake him as well—. How does he even sleep like that?!]
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But as he woke up from his sleep, and looked at the day-night stone, he earned a general idea of the timing in the day, as it was nearing the time he would have to wake up anyways, for the early meeting and the second day of the practicum for the entrance would ensue. Regardless, as he looked across the room he was in, Hubert stood sleeping on the bed on the opposite side of the room, while having his legs on the wall and his head hung in down on the side of the bed, which made Adrain look weirdly at him, as he had no idea how he had ended up in such a manner.
As for the fact as to why he was in the same room as Hubert, would all stem from the reality, that he and Hubert had been put under the command of the second division, and as such, he had changed rooms with him, coming to live with the only other person who he knew that was selected.
"---."
“Hubert!”
“Eh! What-? What is it—? Snakes, bandits or fire monsters—!?!”
“Wake up! It is time we dress up, and move to the training room, Rowen and the rest are probably there already, and I do not want to be late.”
“Eh!!! There is still time till we need to be there.”
“Now!”
“---.”
“Sigh—! Two good shoe boy! It is not like someone is going to die, if we are on time and not an hour earlier.”
But to Adrian's insinuation, Hubert had no choice but to rise and prepare, as the two men put on the armours which the guard branch had offered them once they had become fresh recruits, as even now they were still so.
“Happy?!”
“Yes, come on, move.”
Once fully equipped, and with the beds in order, the two young men proceed to move out of the building, and in the dark night, illuminated by the numerous weak illuminations stones all over the buildings, for it was too early, and the sun needed one or two hours to break the day, the two of them stepped forward.
Preceding in between the many buildings of the guard compounds, they moved towards one of the most external buildings to the northern part, closest to the massive wall of the city, as the guard complex itself was located north of the inner part of Green city.
The building was almost as tall as the wall, and the words "Practice Ground" were written above the large entrance. But as they entered inside of it, they did not go upwards, but moved downwards, as they descended a few hundred steps and followed the stair till they arrived at the first subterranean floor, as even though they arrived at an underground floor, the stairs were nonetheless continuing their descent even deeper.
On the said floor, they walked but a few meters before arriving at two doors of the long hallway of the floor. Proceeding to push open the door on their right, they were greeted by a greater large expansive underground area, fifty or more meters in length and just so less in width, twenty in height, while eight enormous round pillars were going from the ground and into the ceiling.
“What have I told you.”
“Sigh—, does no one here know that they needed to sleep properly, after the hellish round yesterday, or are they already gone crazy like you?!”
Upon entering the large space, four men were present, as they had arrived here even earlier than the two of them, despite of the fact that they had come at an earlier hour than previsted, which in turn caused Hubert to sight at the bunch of idiots who seemed to look for death out of lack of sleep.
“Finally, you two came as well.”
Inside the large enclosure, Rowen was one of the four men who was already waiting at the side of one of the large columns, while three other men were situated at other pillars, similarly waiting for someone to arrive.
“Cap—, Rowen. It is not like we finally came, it is you who are too damn early.”
“I am—. Well, I am early, but even if I am early, then all I can do is to cultivate. So---, you see--, there is nothing to lose here, since this training ground is supported by the grand supply formation, so cultivating here is beneficial for you two, now come and take the full opportunity here.”
“Exactly my thoughts.”
“Sighhhh—! You two clearly do not have anything else on your mind but cultivation and training.”
“---.”
It was without saying that the three began to cultivate, as even Hubert had no other choice but to do the same, as the three other men in the room, were doing the exact thing, taking advantage of the plain opportunity put before them.
“---------.”
"------."
"---."
“Here they come!”
It was after quite some time, that one of the three other men, the one who appeared to be the oldest of them, spoke out of nowhere. While also immediately after, without no warning, the door of the larger training ground opened, and two men entered inside to face the six of them.
The first man was a sturdy and composed middle age man, who radiated confidence and a trusty-natured, though his moustache gave him a more refined manner. Although, in contrast, the second man, was a plum middle-aged man with a small belly, which he was trying to hide while puffing his chest upwards.
“Greetings Captain!”
“Greetings Capta—!”
“---.”
At their arrival, one after another rose to their feet and greeted the moustache man verbally, while nodding to the other man.”
“Mmm—, good, good! I am happy to see that you have all returned from the first day of training. Now, only six more to go, and you can become part of my second division, keep it up, as I believe you can all do it, and I hope to see you tomorrow as well, so stride forward with a just and rightful conviction.”
And yet, after his short response and motivating words to the six men facing him, the moustache man exited the room, after not being inside even one hundred breaths of time, while he gave a deep look at the face of all of them, before turning around and leaving.
“---.”
“Sighhhhh—, now that the second captain has left, you can all begin. The same routine as yesterday, commence!!!”
With the moustache man having left the room, the belly man let his inflate chest plunge, allowing his belly to become even so more evident, as he moved near the door and pulled out from nowhere a chair to sit down, and then he took some food, as he began eating while watching over them.
Without being said anything more, the six of them began to run, as they knew already what to do, for this was exactly what they had done the day prior to this one. But for as to what their routing consisted of, it was no more than a hundred light runs of the place, which was nothing for any one of them, even for Hubert while being the weakest of the six, yet this was but the first part, out of five.
However, in the second part, they were forced to care their battle equipment for two hundred runs. Yet, said battle equipment, was not ordinary at all, as it was all made out of heavy stone, and weigh a considerable amount on any one of them. But the most unfortunate one was Hubert, as from the first day, he had been the first to ask for two shields and two short blades, but because he had not known that this was going to be fixed for the duration of the seven days of initiation, and of the fact that they were made out of heavy stone, he was cursing mentally every time he was thinking back at the idea of him going first.
Though, it was the third part which was truly tasking, as each one of them had to demonstrate five hundred moves with their own equipment, which was letting Hubert in a most devastated state, as he was perspiring profusely from all the repeated heavy actions.
Nevertheless, the four-part was rather easy, as they only had to recover and cultivate, which was a blessing for Hubert. Were it not for the killing intent exhausted by the potbelly-feasting middle age man, who despite his posture and mellow countenance, was giving a very intense pressure on all of their minds, as they were resting.
Although Hubert could not be even bothered by his killing intent, as he was far too tired, while the oldest among them who had spoken before the two men's arrival, seemed to have no problems as well, as he was cultivating unbothered by anything. The other two men seemed younger, just so older than Adrian and Hubert, in their case they were having some problems while under the middle age man’s gaze. In Rowen’s case however, a single drop of sweat was now falling down his temple, but it was hard to say if it was from the pressure of the middle age pot belly man or out of the previous training. Yet, out of all of them, the one who seemed less affected was Adrian, as he was currently cultivating as though the gaze and intent of the potbelly man did not even exist. Although, even he himself was quite surprised with his mental resilience, as for some reason he could not put the man as a true danger in his eyes.
With their recovery accomplished while under mental intimidation on the man, it was time for the final part, the fifth challenge. As Adrian, Rowen, Hubert, and the two other young men took their weapons and confronted the other middle-aged man, in a live battle. Although, in this battle, they were prohibited to target vital spots, with killing force, as the only prerequisite was to subdue the other party.
The formation of the young men was simple, as all five of them had the middle age man surrounded, at an equal distance between themselves and the man, so as to not give him room to move while they could react in the shortest of timing.
But contrary to the five of them, the middle age man had nothing more than a staff which was equal in length to that of his height, evidently of the fact that he was a spear expert.
As for the five others' battle weapons, Rowe, Adrian, and one of the young men had a sword in their right hand and a shield in their left, the remaining man, held a very long sword in both of his hands, while Hubert, had his two shields strapped to his arms, while also holding fast the his other two short swords.
Yet, as the fight began and moved along for quite some time, the situation for the five young men did not bode well, as the middle age man, had the advantage in almost all aspects, be it speed, strength, or technique.
As every time the five of them, had the man surrounded, he would always break through one or two of them with ease, if not all of them at once. As each and every strike of the man carried enough power to crush them entirely.
[Fools---, if you continue like this you will never get even one hit over this guy.]
But during the fight, the pot-belly middle age man continued to eat slowly, as he observed the exchanges of the two parties, the numerous attempts to overwhelm the man, or the reckless leaps made by Hubert, as the five of them failed with each and one of their attempts, due to the power of the man, as it was truly standing above them akin to an eagle looking at some five little rats.
[Sigh—, if you cannot change to a full frontal formation, you little fools will never touch this guy—. Still, to re-cultivate a rank 9 peak again---, this guy is but anything more than a pushover. What am I even saying---, the two ranks 6 peaks, the famous son, and the two weirdos of rank 5 and 4 can not hope to touch this guy.]
Nonetheless, even though the belly man, looked uninterested in the fight while eating, the truth was that he was always prepared to intervene, in case they would not gauge their strength accordingly, as even as the weapons were dull and blunt, the heaviness of the stone would make them sufficiently dangerous when attacking with enough swiftness and power, behind the move.
As the middle age man with the staff was fighting, a frontal thrust, a back thrust, a horizontal slam, or a vertical slam was everything that the man needed so that any of the five men be forced to take precautions, evading or blocking with all they got in the face of the man.
Yet, what the staff-wielding middle age man was most stunned about, was that the fool who had two shields and two short swords was the only one to enter his vulnerable area, where one could strike him. But all it was needed, was a kick, a punch, or a hand to toss, throw, or change his direction, as the fool would always come charging like an idiot at him. And yet, it was the idiot who was causing him the biggest of headaches, as he was creating openings which he was forced to close and mend immediately so that the other four would not take advantage of the openings and attack him. However, the true reason for his headache was the fact that he could not thrash the fool, as with his power, he could win over the five of them immediately, were it not for the restrictions of the fight. Even so, all of these did not prove to be a big problem, were it not for the other weakling, the shield and sword, who was always looking for an opening to strike, while the long-sword young man, and the other two swords and shield brats were constantly on the offensive over him.
"---------."
"------."
"---."
“This is it! For the day you can stop!”
“Thud! Haaa—, huuu—, finely over!”
After an unknown duration of time, the pot belly man was forced to end the exchange of the six, as all of them were starting to reach their physical limits. Though, Hubert was the first one to fall on the ground once the man had announced the end, for he was truly exhausted.
“Now go and rest. Be here tomorrow, at the same time, you are dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, s–.”
After dismissing them, without any more fuss, the pot belly man took his seat, and left the place in an instant, as the middle age staff man followed shortly, and then the two other young men, with Rowen, Adrian, and Hubert being the last to leave.
“Sighhhh—, I will need the whole night to recover from this fight. I really took the short stick when I asked for the two shields.”
“Ha-aha-ha, well, thanks to that, you are the only one to come closer to mister Gill.”
“What close, did you not see me down on the ground? I have eaten more dirt from this guy than when we had taken the three hundred bandits.”
“A win is a win, see you two tomorrow then.”
“Hu-hu—, tomorrow then, although I can already feel the beating we are going to receive already.”
“Tomorrow then.”
With a small goodbye, Rowen departed for Adrian and Hubert, as they took on their own paths to return back to their own place.
Though, as they were returning, from the corner of his eye, Adrian saw the figure of a young woman in guard clothing attire jump on Rowen, as he was about to enter the building where he was staying.
“Tsk! Tsk!! Tsk!!! What the hell, that is definitely not allowed to happen.”
“Not our problem, so let us move.”
“If they are to be allowed, then I would have also brought a woman or two a long time ago into my room, as the fools from management had forgotten that I was staying alone in my room.”
“What woman? If all you can do is throw the coin at them, then, can you call your woman a good woman, if she comes only for your coin? There will most definitely be no good intentions.”
“What the hell do you know? The ladies treat me well, very well and extremely well. Come here, and tell that after you got yourself a harem—!”
“Sigh—.” - [It is late, I am tired again and my wound hurts a bit still. I see to visit them somehow tomorrow.]
While sighing from being tired, and as it was quite late in the day, Adrian, had no other choice but to give in for the day, as after cleaning himself, he then turned to sleep, and yet still, he was a moment later than Hubert, who had fallen as a log on the bed, while spuing some curses at mister Gill for pummeling him so hard.
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Once again, the man found himself on the rocky island, surrounded by the bottomless dark red silent ocean, with the dim and dismal sky.
Though, as once again the man tried to approach the dark red sea, the assertive wind was impeding him from approaching it, as though in spite of the man’s helplessness to rebel against it.
Yet, as the wind continued so, the man tried even harder to get close to the dark red ocean, which had once terrified him.
But unknowingly to him, the wind which was blocking him was caring some small traces of the bloody ocean to his very being, while he was constantly pushing against it.
Although after some time, the man gave in and rested at the top of the aisle, as glanced at the sky, while not knowing why he was so frustrated by not reaching the ominous dark red water.
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A new day commenced once more, as Adrian woke up from the dream of which he could not recall all that much, as he proceeded to wake Hubert, for the two of them walked to the underground training area, to meet with Rowen, while they were greeted by the moustache man who left shortly after, and then being left to be supervised by the pot belly man, and then initiated the regiment of the day.
However, on this day, Adrian had to halt the routine, far earlier than intended. As he requested to leave from the pot belly man, who gave him the permission immediately. But not after having done some rounds against mister Gill.
Nevertheless, as Adrian left and he was outside of the guard complex in his normal clothes, for a moment ahead of him, he could almost swear, that he had a short glimpse of Levis and Square moving away from the guard complex premises, and into the city, though he was dismissive of it, as he could not be sure, while the road was trafficked by too many people.