Eve and Azanor were up around the time the trio were departing.

“Buahaha! You’re finally up! We were just about to leave though, but I left you some breakfast covered.” Damon assured.

“Boo, you’re leaving already? Okay… Have fun!” Eve chirped contently with a very exaggerated wave with both her hands.

“Good morning… We will be here then… I will start teaching Eve outback. Doubt anything too entertaining will happen while you’re away.” Azanor admitted with a shrug.

Azanor’s wording did worry Kazius a little. He was honest, but something did concern him that Azanor could run into Luna or one of the ruder Tribe members… After all, when they first arrived he was eager to mess with those that had been whispering nastily to each other… Still, Kazius decided he would trust him on his own.

“You guys have fun too… But not too much fun. Try to look the other way if anyone is rude.” Kazius stated.

“I promise I will try.” Azanor stated begrudgingly with a sigh.

“Thank you.” Kazius stated. That was all he could really ask of him… He just hoped that he wouldn’t run into Luna… Or if he did, that Luna would not say or do anything to Eve… Since Kazius was pretty sure that if she did that, Azanor would not behave at all.

“Okay, we will see you two later then.” Alice stated, eager to go training.

With that, they would head off to Mount Cyklon.

As they walked, Kazius wondered about what sort of abilities Eve had. Azanor seemed so certain that he knew how to teach her properly. Kazius was of course curious about it. Still, he had to get stronger himself, so he did not have the luxury to just wonder about others.

His own training would not be easy.

Taking on the trainings of Damon, was a daunting task. Every mountain they saw along their way was almost like a visual list of future challenges yet to come.

Now that the mountains meant more than just passing scenery, Kazius ended up wondering how many there were.

He already knew which was Mount Eld and which was Mount Ulf due to one being on fire and the other being absolutely massive even from a distance… As for Mount Cyklon, Kazius figured it was the one they were headed right towards…

“Hey Damon, how many mountains are there?” Kazius decided to ask.

“Oh! There are five in total. I probably should have told you sooner.” Damon admitted.

Kazius looked around to see if he could spot all five. Only Mount Ulf, Mount Eld, and Mount Cyklon were visible from where they were.

It seemed like Mount Klippa was one of the mountains that was farthest away since Kazius could not see anything like a Rock Giant nearby… Whatever such a creature even looked like. Were the Giants made of stone or did they just throw them? How big is a Giant? Kazius was definitely curious about all the mountains.

As for the last mountain, Damon had yet to mention it in any conversation, but it was probably also far away to the point it wasn’t visible either.

Kazius’ focus soon shifted to the mountain that they were heading towards.

To be honest, there seemed to almost not be anything special about it compared to the others, at least from a distance… There was vegetation growing on that ranged from trees to even flowers. It was almost like it was more garden than mountain… Is that what Damon had meant? No… It could not be it… There had to be more to it than that. Sure, a garden of a mountain was unique and Mount Cyklon alone was bigger than any mountain he knew of in Ratier, but compared to a mountain that was on fire all the time? It wasn’t special at all… Yet Damon claimed a Goddess lived there.

Not to mention, a garden mountain did not sound like the sort of challenge that Damon promised… But then why did it look so ordinary? Then again, he supposed he would learn the truth soon enough.

Despite how underwhelming Mount Cyklon looked on the surface, Kazius felt intimidated by their training goal. That would not mean he would give up though.

With that in his mind, they would finally reach the track at the base of the mountain. The entrance was adorned with rocks with Vind’s symbol stacked upon each other, seeming to almost balance perfectly despite the ones higher up being the biggest.

Alice and him would stare at the path while Damon had this giddy look about him… But also this knowing mischievous glint to his expression.

“Buahaha! Well, here we are. Come on, try and go up.” Damon motioned eagerly, waving them in.

Alice and him both exchanged looks, curious as to why he seemed so eager.

They would approach, Damon watching from behind, supervising, waiting… It confused Kazius… Would something happen once they began to walk the mountain path?

“I suppose up we go…” Alice stated, indeed as confused as he was.

“No point in stalling.” Kazius agreed.

Tired of hesitating, Kazius would step up first. The moment he set foot in the mountain path though, it was like a smack to the face.

A strong wind unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life could be felt the moment he crossed the threshold of the stones.

Kazius had no idea wind could be so overwhelming or even sting that much. It was not an intense pain, but a dull ache. That combined with the sheer force it put on him, he felt like he could be blown away sky high at any moment.

The wind was incredibly violent, yet the trees and flowers on the mountain were still unaffected. As if frozen in time or like there was no wind at all.

Now he understood why Damon left it as a surprise. Even if warned, there really was no understanding how intense such a wind was until he was feeling it for himself. Kazius would shield his face with his arms, his clothes swaying rapidly along with his hair.

He felt disoriented, it was taking all his concentration just to stand. He did not dare take even a step.

‘Shit…. Is the whole mountain like this? Do this in an hour? HOW?!’

Despite her words, Alice had hesitated a little… Long enough to see what the mountain was doing to him.

“Kazius! Are you alright!?” Alice exclaimed. She attempted to rush over only to squeak, being immediately blown back the moment she crossed the threshold. She was thrown back like a ragdoll.

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Before she could land on her face, as Damon had promised them both, he caught her. Similar to how someone would catch a ball with both hands before plopping her down.

“BuaHaHaHa! There you go! I told you both I would make sure you would not get hurt.” Damon stated with a wide grin and a thumbs up.

“Go on, give it another shot.” Damon assured Alice before looking at Kazius.

“I am not sure if you can hear me! But you are doing a lot better than I thought! Good job not being blown away immediately! The only other person that I know that was able to stand as soon as entering Mount Cyklon is me!” Damon exclaimed happily, genuinely proud of him. He was a Werewolf, but the man genuinely had the personality closer to a house dog than a wolf. Then again, that could be attributed to his intense sense of loneliness.

“I…. Can… Hear you…” Kazius admitted, shocked that he even could with the howling wind right in his ear.

Then again, he wasn’t Human…

This realization made him wonder about his kind… To what extent did Shadow Fiends’ abilities go?

“Okay! Good! The second name for this mountain could be translated to Mount Wind. You two now probably understand how we know Vind lives here!” Damon exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

“Now come on, what are you two waiting for?” Damon would follow up with a question, crossing his muscled arms in a prideful manner.

“Get going. This is just like swimming. Go in first and just start walking! Don’t worry about falling, I got the two of you! Don’t worry! Oh! And before I forget! I gotta warn you! The higher up you go, the worse the wind gets. So don’t lower your guard!” Damon warned.

‘In what way is this even similar to swimming?!’ Kazius thought to himself in exasperation. Still, if they could even manage to climb this mountain, they would surely be stronger for it.

Kazius would grow concerned… He wished he could help Alice. He could not turn back to look at her, not if he didn’t want to be blown away. Still, he knew just how determined she could be. Human or not, he believed in her.

As if to prove him right, Alice would take another attempt and step forward, joining him.

Her hair would sway rapidly, as well as her clothing. Her new cloak was particularly going crazy. She was shielding her face with her forearm, but there was no missing her determined expression on her face. It was like her violet eyes had an intense fire that never yielded.

A part of him could not help but think about how he hoped to keep that fire burning forever. They needed to get stronger… Especially him… He did not want to see her face in anguish again… Next time he saw Leo and Alex, he would make sure it would be the last.

“Good job! Come on, keep going!” Damon would exclaim.

Kazius would bite his lip, attempting to snap himself out of any hesitation and focus. His own red eyes narrowed in his own determination. Alice was here with him; he would not dare back down. He needed to grasp the moment.

‘I can do this’

Kazius would take another step, struggling, but managing to go forward.

Slowly, but surely, he would keep going. With each step, the wind felt only stronger… Still, he wasn’t giving up… And surprisingly enough, Alice was not far behind. She was the descendant of Ratier himself, she wasn’t weak… But she was also much more than that.

They continued on as they would slowly move up. The path was rocky, but Kazius was thankful to even have a path at all. The two would keep shielding their faces as they walked.

Damon walked not far behind them, watching them as they moved. The wind made his own hair and clothes sway, but it was to an entirely different rhythm. It was almost like the wind was being a bit gentler with him. It was so subtle it was barely noticeable though…But it was far from shocking considering the symbol on the spear he carried with him. One way or another, it seemed Vind favored him.

Still, that did not make the fact Damon was standing on the mountain without flinching or swaying even a little any less impressive. Kazius did not expect to gain any sort of favors from Vind… In fact, due to the Oracle, he was still had some distrust towards Gods… Still, he hoped to one day be able to stand on Mount Cyklon without flinching as well.

With that in mind he would keep going, as would Alice.

The climb felt like forever, but that was just because it was so difficult. They would keep going though. With each step, Kazius felt surer and surer. He could do this. THEY could do this.

Of course, there were moments where he or Alice would almost lose their footing, but as promised…. Damon would catch them both.

It seemed Damon was really a supportive teacher as well as friend. He was walking slowly, yet patiently behind them. The farther they went, the prouder he looked. He even seemed to be having fun.

As they kept going, at one point Alice actually passed Kazius in their steps, but it seems she had gotten a bit overzealous.

She would lose her footing, flying back.

“AHHHHHHH!” Alice screeched in alarm, flying almost like she was as arrow.

She was heading straight for Kazius. Just walking was hard, so he could not even hope to dodge or catch her. She slammed right into him, making him also lose his footing.

Thankfully, Damon would end up picking both up, catching them. He held them as if they were each a sack of potatoes.

Damon laughed, seeming to be enjoying himself. Then again, considering how lonely he was, even if just standing around and walking, he probably was happy to spend time with his new friends.

“You two did well for your first day! But I think it is about time we call it a night.” Damon admitted.

“What? But we can keep going!” Alice whined, surprising Kazius. It seems she was just as determined as him.

“I have energy too.” Kazius assured.

“Yes, but it is already dark… I would be a bad teacher if I let you both keep going! And a bad friend! Which is way worse!” Damon exclaimed with another laugh.

With that, without any warning, he simply hopped off the edge of the mountain. Normally such a thing was dangerous, but considering how he hopped down to save them when they first met…

Kazius did not react much, but he did smile a little. He genuinely found the drop a bit fun.

They had made decent progress, so the fall was quite something… Though they had not even been a quarter of the way there.

Alice though, would scream as they fell… Her eyes wide the whole time, looking like she expected to die. After all, she had not been there to see how Damon showed up to save them.

The ground kept getting closer and closer.

Right before they landed though, it was almost like the wind blew from the ground for a second, cushioning Damon’s fall a bit. When he hit the floor though, the impact made a crack, like before.

Once they landed, poor Alice looked disheveled, her hair a mess. She panted, hyperventilating a little. She then managed to calm down, sighing almost in defeat. Being the only Human in a group of Monsters was stressful it seemed.

“Warn us first! I thought we were going to die!” Alice whined out, looking like her soul had left her body for a second there.

“Oh! My bad! I thought you knew it would be fine, sorry.” Damon apologized sheepishly as he carefully put the two down.

“I am surprised you weren’t shocked too, Kazius…” Alice admitted with a sigh.

“But it’s okay.” She assured Damon, feeling a bit bad for snapping it seemed. Damon looked a bit like a kicked puppy. It was strange how someone could show so much power yet still be such a gentle giant.

“Well, when he saved us… He jumped about 5 times that… To be honest, I am a bit disappointed we didn’t get farther up. We were practically still at the base… To climb the whole thing in a day… Much less in an hour… It will take a while to get there.” Kazius admitted with a sigh of his own.

“Oh …” Alice stated, working on getting herself a bit fixed up. She would let out a big sigh before smiling a bit at the two. She did not seem to hold a grudge. It was almost like she was reminding herself her friends were not Human and to not be mad.

It was probably disorienting for her. Not only was she used to a restrained life as a Princess, but now she was mountain climbing with Kazius and Damon. Damon was basically a wild mountain man that, from the sound of it, practically raised himself… And then there was Kazius, who grew up in The Church, but was also not human. He had an entire difference in tolerance for different things, including danger.

“I will live… I will try to get used to it… Hopefully tomorrow we will get farther… But that also means the drop will be worse… I will try harder tomorrow… And mentally prepare myself for the fall… It is faster a faster way down... And safer in some ways… It was just difficult, and I am exhausted… But… It was a little fun.” Alice added with a smile and a bit of a laugh. She seemed to find a sort of humor in the situation. There was also a hint of determination in her voice. She had told them about how she did not want to be weak anymore. It seemed she took her own words and determination very seriously.

“Wasn’t it!? I wish I could be going up the mountain for my first time too. It is just a normal walk for me at this point!” Damon exclaimed eagerly with a laugh.

“Speaking of… Thank you for taking the time to do this.” Kazius spoke up.

Damon shook his head.

“You are doing me a favor too… I am not alone because of you… You… You both stood up for me. This is the least I would do for friends…” Damon admitted a bit bashfully.

“Anyway, how about we hunt? Don’t worry, I will do most of the work! I know you two are drained.” Damon followed up, changing subjects a bit. He was likely not used to being thanked. Still, today they had made progress thanks to him.

That was something to be grateful for.

Still, though it had gotten late, the day was far from over.