Chapter 25: The guardians of Alcoca Leaves
When Uzman and Fatima returned to their camp, they found Jurdur practicing with the golem while Kenzo was cultivating in a corner of the formation. Fatima went to Kenzo for some amenities and then proceeded to a secluded area downstream to clean herself up.
“This golem is amazing; I have been working with it the whole day. The damn thing can read my attacks easily,” Jurdur exclaimed. “I wish I had been training with it for long. I can feel myself improving gradually even though I am still losing.”
“The losing is essential to improving. I used the injuries to temper my body by working through the pain and only using healing pills when critical. Before long, you will be training using the advanced settings,” Uzman answered.
“What happened out there, I thought you were going to forage for at least three days?” Jurdur asked.
“We were involved in a dangerous fight that forced Fatima to transcend her limits. She has reached Rank 2.”
“What did you fight? You always seem to have so much fun,” Jurdur asked excitedly, his eyes glinting at the prospect of a dangerous fight.
“Just some troublesome goblins,” Uzman answered. “Do you mind if I change the settings and use the golem for some time? We want to stay here tonight, and go back to foraging tomorrow.”
“Have at it. I speak for all of us when I say we will be forever grateful for allowing us this opportunity to train here. This place is amazing.”
Uzman adjusted the settings of the golem and started his training session. He planted his feet and delved into the bear forms to warm up while trying to withstand the onslaught of the golem. The slow bear forms relied on strength, power, and accurate defense. The golem switched through various forms seeking to overwhelm Uzman’s defense forcing him to switch to water forms to have more versatility. These forms were more fluid having a balance between speed and strength. Water forms relied on the redirection of force.
Uzman sank deeper into the forms; he allowed his instincts to take charge and went through all the moves he had learned by heart. He sped up gradually moving to air, then fire. The golem kept pace switching from its offensive approach to defense as Uzman moved faster.
The air and fire forms were not designed for defense; a martial artist had to attack with precision as the power and force were reduced to compensate for the increase in speed. However, fire adds a destructive element that made practitioners very deadly in a fight. Uzman realized that he had been fighting the golem for several minutes without suffering a single hit. His shield had become instinctive; he was judging the strength of the attacks subconsciously and only using a shield when necessary. This brief bit of introspection was broken when he mistimed a parry and received a brutal blow to his temple. He went flying and fell down stunned.
Uzman stood and looked around to find all of his friends watching.
“I wish I could move that well,” Fatima said wistfully.
“It took a lot of practice, and many broken bones to move from beginner to the advanced level,” Uzman answered.
“I have been meaning to ask if you used all of your affinities during the dungeon run. I just haven’t found the right opportunity,” Kenzo asked.
“I am not sure, but I must have used at least three. Why?” Uzman inquired.
“You know that the training dungeon activities were monitored, right? The masters may have guessed that you can use many affinities if not all. All of the masters are affiliated with different Great Houses and would tattle on you. This will increase the risk you face,” Kenzo answered.
“I think I never used water forms. I mainly used earth, fire, air, or their secondary transition forms,” Uzman said. “However, I am not worried about discovery. The Academy is structured to teach students at the Body stage. Once I hit the elemental manipulation stage, I cannot continue hiding my affinities since I will need to use ranged techniques.”
“Let us then hope they just think you are only a portal mage. Super rare; but less dangerous than being a potential wizard,” Jurdur said, butting into the discussion.
“What’s a portal mage? I guess it has something to do with creating portal stones, but my knowledge of magic theory is kind of sparse,” Uzman asked.
“You need to get a book on the foundations of cultivation and harnessing energy. The stronger you get, the more relevant this information becomes. Not cool. Not cool at all,” an annoyed Kenzo answered. “Cultivators who can channel air, earth, and fire are known as portal mages since you need all three elements to create a portal stone or a portal gate. They are also very strong offensively since they can use threading to create lightning bolts. Such mages are very rare.”
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“What other categories are there if you forgive my ignorance?" Uzman queried smiling impishly.
“Hmm, let us see; we have destruction mages for fire and air, life mages for water and earth, weather mages for air and water, and metal mages for fire and earth. You should realize that many of these classes are only used for crafters as warriors who can competently use more than one element are rare,” Kenzo replied.
“Ok, I won’t hide, but I will also not leave myself vulnerable. Since I am planning to continue training in this forest; the danger is somewhat mitigated. I also have you to protect me,” Uzman said, his lips curling up as he said the last bit.
Fatima snorted, “As if. If anybody needs protecting it is us.”
Uzman retrieved his glaive and started his weapons training routine against the golem. Meanwhile, Kenzo and Fatima returned to cultivating while Jurdur sat down to watch him train. Like always, he started with the earth forms as they gave his body time to warm up. The golem could use all types of weapons equally well. This may have been the result of being developed by an arms master who had reached the pinnacle of the martial path in the Tanga realm.
For the next hour, Uzman fought the golem switching between the sword and glaive. He had stopped training other weapons such as the mace, fighting axes, and tridents after the adept level to maximize his time. Additionally, Uzman had noticed that his skill with other weapons also benefited from his general improvement in fighting prowess.
The continuous fighting refined his movement and understanding of the forms, as well as, increased his pain tolerance. Uzman could fight through pain unless he was critically hit. The only downside was his dwindling healing pills reserves. He was now winning more than losing against the golem with both sword and glaive. After his Chi had emptied from the exertion, he settled down to meditate. Uzman needed less sleep as his cultivation strength grew. However, he still needed to rest his body and allow it to adapt to the rigorous training regime.
The next morning, Uzman and Fatima set out once again to forage and if possible harvest some cores. They walked abreast chatting about mundane issues and getting to know each other.
“So, how was it growing up in the clans?” Uzman inquired.
“I would consider my childhood similar to those of other children in the clans. We started learning our numbers and writing at the age of six, started martial training, and learned about cultivation at twelve.
“The most important distinction between the north and the south is freedom. Everybody can choose their own path,” Fatima answered with her characteristic smile.
Uzman had not met anyone who was more optimistic and content about their lot in life.
“My childhood was filled with happiness too. I remember foraging with my grandfather, sitting in the bazaar listening to the histories of Tanga, some soldiers bragging about one fight or another.” Uzman replied, a melancholy tone inflecting his voice as he recalled his childhood and the aftermath.
As they continued chatting companionably, Uzman learned that Fatima did not relish being a combat warrior, her passion was in healing. Her low earth affinity had made it all but impossible to be considered a life mage. In the Clans, all people who could cultivate were expected to learn combat forms to contribute in the fight against demon hordes, and if needed, safeguard the clans from southern aggression.
The duo continued their foraging expedition following the energy flows that Uzman detected in the forest. They encountered a number of Rank 1 beasts that were no challenge to the duo. Uzman let Fatima do much of the fighting to get used to her increased powers.
As the sun began to set giving way to the moon, Uzman decided that they needed to find shelter for the night. Lacking any caves in the area they were foraging, they decided to create nests on the big sequoia trees that were commonplace in the Cursed Forest. Uzman selected a big tree with a large groove between two huge branches. He drew on his experience in the Vinaya Forest to create a layer of soft vines and leafy branches. Uzman then collected supple liana vines that he used to reinforce the makeshift bed. The duo decided to sleep in turns with one person remaining awake and training martial forms beneath the tree.
In the morning, Uzman and Fatima resumed their foraging. The night had been uneventful which had been a surprise to Uzman who had expected at least one beast to attack them. As they followed the energy flows, they came across a shrub that made Uzman stop abruptly.
Standing at around eight feet in height, lively green leaves tapering at their extremities. The identifying feature was an areolated portion that was bound by two longitudinal curved lines. In his research on the herbs that are valuable in the Cursed Forest, he had come across the Alcoca shrub classified as very rare and expensive to obtain
The leaves could be chewed to provide a Chi boost. It was an important ingredient in the creation of healing pills and could also be used to suppress pain. As a result, it was a coveted treasure for cultivators in the tempering stage.
Uzman explained the uses of the Alcoca leaves to Fatima as he showed her how best to harvest them. Just as they started harvesting the leaves and storing them in Uzman’s pendant, a roar of rage cut through the still morning.
Fatima and Uzman clutched their weapons and stepped back from the shrub to create some room to engage whatever beast that was rapidly approaching. The pattering of feet and the enraged roars came closer. They stood back to back facing different directions to have a better chance to respond to the threat.
A large creature standing over seven feet tall burst from the forest cover to Uzman’s left. The beast had a reddish hue, two small horns sprouted on the side of its head. A row of sharp yellowed teeth extruded outside its mouth. They were too big to fit inside the hideous maw. In its right hand, the beast held a big double-bladed axe while long dirty claws adorned the left hand.
Uzman had overlooked one of the primary rules of foraging. This lesson had been hammered into his head when he was young by his grandfather and also emphasized at the academy. In energy-rich environments where rare and precious herbs grew, there was a very high chance that there was a beast nearby using the herbs as cultivation resources. The beast facing Uzman and Fatima was an Oni; one of the many servants of demons. Additionally, where there was a red Oni, a blue Oni would be nearby.