Days seven and eight followed much the same patterns as days four and five, with the rainstorm holding Axel and Aria inside their cave, training as they could. Aria, much to Axel’s pride, was picking up skill in her control at a rapid rate. Axel also used his new training methods and sparring with Aria to hone his skills, branching them out from the more monster-hunting skill set that he was trained into a more balanced skill set that allowed him to defend himself better against fast and agile opponents human opponents.
During their training sessions, Axel began to notice something unexpected. With meditation and using his journal’s health data, he found that while his body could hold a novice core now that he had reached his age of maturity, it was not as saturated as he had assumed it would be. Growing up, Axel always heard others say and believed that the body needed a novice core after reaching the age of maturity to keep strengthening, as the body could only hold and refine so much with its unenhanced state. However, Axel was finding this assumption to be incorrect, at least in his case. He estimated that his body was only about 80% saturated, even counting what the healers had estimated his proto-core would give him.
This realization puzzled him at first, but as he reflected on his experiences, the pieces began to fall into place. With the constant damage his body took, breaking it down and having to rebuild, had not weakened his muscles and bones. Instead, it seemed to have made them more resilient. He also had the help of Lyra, whose Goddess-blessed healing cleared up any lingering damages and eliminated useless material that built up in his body growing up. Her healing was not perfect like a regeneration power would be, but it was enough to keep his body in optimal condition for growth.
There were reasons people didn’t just feed their children a bunch of expensive high-level beasts to speed up their growth. A youth’s body can only process what is brought in so fast and if fed too much all that would happen would be many long restroom brakes for the poor child. Also, before the age of maturity, the blessing in the body was in a very protected status following some plans set by the goddess to make sure that the body grew as well and healthy as it could. So even eating a beast’s core would do little as the body's blessing would just flush them out.
Axel felt like his meditation practice played a crucial role as well. By focusing on his body’s repair and strengthening processes, he helped the blessing mold his body’s system to be more efficient and durable with muscles and bones. This constant cycle of damage and repair, combined with Lyra’s healing, created a unique environment for his body’s growth. His muscles and bones had become more efficient and durable, allowing for further enhancement even without a novice core to power what the about of body expansion would call for.
Sparring with Aria had contributed to this realization. While he had sparred with people like Cade, Lyra, other children, and even his instructors before, the intensity and frequency of his sessions with Aria pushed his body and mind to new limits. Her agility and unique fighting style forced him to adapt and improve in ways he hadn’t anticipated. This continuous challenge helped him understand the true extent of his body’s capacity for growth.
As Axel sat by the fire on the evening of the eighth day, reflecting on these new insights, he felt a sense of excitement and determination wash over him. His body still had room to expand its foundation, and he was eager to see how far he could push his limits. It also gave him an idea of an opportunity to give his planned novice core a leg up over others. He would need to do more research once he reached Greenhaven, along with all the other information he needed to look up on his future path of power.
As the rains outside died to sputters and sprinkles Axel finished the last of the gamey Duradon meat they had. “Aria I always wanted to ask, why did you pick Aerokinesis as your first cycle power? Most would choose something more easily combat effective like Elemental Wind and not a utility power like what you picked?”
“Freedom,” Aria replied, her eyes sparkling with a mix of determination and joy. “Aerokinesis was the best choice for that. Now, Aria can fly higher, faster, and longer than ever before. It’s not just about combat for me—it’s about the freedom to soar.” Aria said followed by a voice on the edge of Axel hearing with the crackle of the fire “It can get Aria away from bad people that would like to take what Aria was unwilling to give”
Hearing this the Rage flooded Axel's system out of nowhere and the reinforced bone in his hand cracked, letting the meat on it fall into the fire. It took long moments of the rhythmic breathing that he trained with his meditation to calm the Rage. For a time, Axel tried to figure out what triggered it, only to find the thought of anyone hurting Aria in any way, especially that way had become so unacceptable it triggered his crimson backlash. If he heard that happening to a stranger, he would be angry but never the Rage before.
If Aria noticed his moment of rage, she did not say anything going on with how the power she picked was amazing and that anything she picked was superior to such a limited power like Elemental Winds. Her power also helped her learn more control than picking up a crutch like Elemental Winds would do for her. Look at how much she has grown in the last week with her hero’s help and guidance.
After the talk ran down and the meal was cleaned up Axel updated his Journal with his new insights and plans. When they changed shifts, Aria didn’t seem to want to hold him this time and instead of feeling glad that the clingy woman was not wrapped around him again, Axel just fell asleep feeling like he lost something. His troubling dreams returned with a vengeance that night giving him a very poor sleep.
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After a terrible night's sleep, Axel was not on his best game in the hunt that morning. Aria did not seem to have slept well based on the dark circles under her eyes. They worked through the morning well into the afternoon, their efforts yielding only the ever-present Snars. These small, quick creatures darted through the underbrush, their fur blending seamlessly with the forest floor. Despite their abundance, Snars provided little sustenance, and Axel and Aria’s frustration grew with each passing hour.
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As the sun climbed higher in the sky, casting dappled shadows through the dense canopy, they pressed on, determined to find more substantial prey. Well past midday, their persistence paid off when they stumbled upon the tracks of a Gin. The large, herbivorous creature’s hoofprints were unmistakable, pressed deep into the soft earth. Excitement sparked between them as they began to follow the trail, which led them away from the dense jungle and into the rolling hills.
The terrain grew steeper as they ascended, the air cooler and fresher. The thick jungle gave way to sparser vegetation, and the ground underfoot became rocky and uneven. They kept a vigilant eye out for any signs of Duradons, the predatory lizards that often roamed these parts. Despite their caution, they found no traces of the dangerous creatures, but Axel couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that gnawed at the back of his mind.
As they climbed higher, the landscape opened, revealing a plateau that held a serene lake. The sight was breathtaking—a shimmering expanse of water, surrounded by a small forest of trees. The lake’s surface mirrored the overcast sky, creating a tranquil and almost surreal atmosphere. The trees around the lake were shorter but had denser foliage, casting deep shadows across the area.
Despite the beauty of the scene, Axel’s unease grew. They hadn’t seen a single Snar in hours, a stark contrast to the usual abundance of the small creatures. It was as if the beasts were avoiding this area entirely. The tracks of the Gin led right to the edge of the water and stopped.
He looked over at Aria, who was already surveying the area with her keen eyes. “What do you think?” he asked, his voice low.
Aria nodded thoughtfully, her expression mirroring his concern. “Aria thinks it’s beautiful and peaceful, but Aria also feels something is off. Aria can’t see any signs of other animals here, which is strange for such a perfect water source.”
“Aria will do some air scouting quick.” With that said, she launched herself into the air with a strong flap of her wings. Axel moved to what looked like a better, less exposed position to wait for Aria to return. The twin suns were moving past the zenith in the sky, and the heat haze was in full effect. As Axel wiped away some sweat, he noticed a shadow move ever so slightly in the wrong way as the leaves in the trees were shifted by Aria’s return.
“Aria sees no … Ack!” As the tired Aria was explaining what she saw, Axel grabbed her arm, yanking her away hard and moving the spear tip in the way of the shadow. Knowing he was likely to have hurt her, Axel was just glad he reacted in time. Seeming to melt out of the shadows of the trees was a serpent a good 60 feet long with black scales that melded into any shadow they touched. Seeing the beast, Axel’s heart palpitated so hard that he got a small warning from the basic health data for irregular heartbeats.
“Aria, run!!” That was all Axel got out as he was forced to block what felt like a super-powered muscle, sending him tumbling deeper onto the plateau away from the trail. Using his recent training with Aria to good effect, he worked with the momentum to reduce the damage, rolling with the force of the impact.
The issue was the serpent was on him almost as fast, moving at what seemed like supernatural speeds to Axel’s perceptions. The beast’s black scales shimmered, blending seamlessly with the shadows, making it difficult to track its movements. As Axel finished the tumbling with a tucked roll to his feet, he only had a moment to see the damned beast almost in his face again. Its eyes glinted with predatory intelligence, and its fangs dripped with venom ready to end his life.
Axel was saved in this moment by a compressed ball of air slamming into the beast’s head, changing the trajectory of the attack to just miss Axel. The force of the impact caused the serpent to hiss in anger, its body writhing in pain as it attacked a rock instead of Axel. This save came with the downside of the what felt like hundreds of pounds of weight and super dense muscle as the serpents body slamming into Axel, sending him rolling away with more health warnings flashing in his vision.
Axel stopped this uncontrolled roll this time near the ledge of the plateau and could see the several hundred-foot drop behind him. The ground of the ledge crumbled slightly under his weight, sending small rocks tumbling down the cliffside. Now trapped, the serpent was gathering for a more restrained strike, its eyes locked onto Axel as it sensed its prey was cornered. Axel braced his halberd for the attack, trying to steady his breathing and focus. He knew he had to try to skewer or deflect the attack, but he was not very confident in this as he finally had a moment to see the beast index’s readout.
Index basic mode
Shadowfang Serpent
Known Dangers:
* Camouflage
* Venomous Bite: Paralyzing toxin
* Resistant to slashing and bludgeoning attacks
* Constricting Coils
* Enhanced Senses
Estimated Age: Adult
Beast core Potency: Novice End
Current Danger to the user: Extreme
This was one of the most dangerous beasts that a novice could fight, and it was known to have killed many Adepts from ambush. One was successfully hunted once every couple of years, and that was normally by an adept or expert tier hunter. Hell, one of Finn’s claims to fame was that he hunted one as a Novice after it killed the rest of his hunting party. Axel worked through any option that he could think of as the serpent coiled for a strike when from above Axel heard, “Jump off, Aria has you!”
With only the barest of hesitation, which almost cost him his life, Axel leaped backward. He saw Aria flapping her wings desperately, gathering the air with her aerokinesis and slamming a very condensed ball of air into the serpent to delay it for the time needed for Axel’s jump. The serpent’s head snapped back from the impact, its body recoiling in surprise.
Then there was just air and gravity for Axel. Screaming out of reflex, Axel prayed to Hope that he did not just accelerate his death. The wind rushed past him, the ground below a blur of green and brown. Then a pair of strong, thin arms hooked under his armpits, tilting both of them forward into more of a controlled dive.
To say this freaked out Axel a bit was an understatement, but all he had left was to trust his partner. The tree canopies closed quickly as the pair, with a sharp turn and the sound of snapping out wings, Axel felt they were going up again, bleeding the momentum and traveling a large distance from the plateau. He could also feel the air around them shifting and moving in unnatural ways to help their flight of escape, Aria’s aerokinesis working overtime to keep them aloft.
Despite being airborne for only a short time, the pair traveled in moments what had taken all morning to cover on foot. The landscape below blurred as they sped away from the danger. The landing was rough as they fell the last few feet rather than making a smooth descent, but Axel would take it. He hit the ground hard, the impact jarring his bones, but he was built to take it. He then shifted to see a semi-conscious Aria on his back with a carefree smile on her face.
“Aria is the Heroine now.” With that, she passed out. Axel moved so that he could carry the woman who he knew went well beyond her limits to save him. This touched him deeply as she could have just saved herself or tried to provide support from above if she wanted to help. Picking up what he had perceived as a small, fragile frame, he carried her to lay her on her bedroll to make sure that she was comfortable.