Chapter 414 The Elemental Training Chronicles
As I opened my eyes back up, I stood on an open plain with a sea of grass around me, but Libra's ring had shifted from its balance of black and white. Now the place looked almost Technicolored as if she was trying to balance all colors that ever existed at once!
"So, I assume that you have not come to spend your time with me?" Libra asked from behind me, and I turned around with a smile.
She was smiling at me as I turned, but I couldn't help my eyes from being drawn to her basketball-sized breasts. They just floated like they were being held up by some imaginary force, but that was not what I was here for. Still, I would not be leaving this place without spending a little bit of time with her after the training was done.
"Oh, don't worry, my love. I will be making time before I go back to spend some time with you, and a few others. I just get so caught up in the main world that I forget that time doesn't move when I am here," I laughed, and Libra smiled warmly.
"That is mostly true, but time does still move while you are in here, but just at an extremely slow pace. Almost four times as slow as before. I am not sure what the translation is between them, but I think you should be able to spend about a year here for each hour out there. Mind you, if you were standing before, you might want to move your main body so you don't look so suspicious. Harold did say that you were caught, right?"
"She did correct. I really hope they're not watching us right now because that would be awkward,” I responded, trying to shake off the thought.
"Well, in that case, it's time to kick-start your training. Who will be up first?" Libra asked, her eyes glittering with curiosity.
"Shall we start with Chana?" I suggested, remembering the recent bond we had formed and the need to strengthen it further.
"Sounds like a plan," Libra responded, summoning Chana who emerged in a wave of mud, her enchanting eyes meeting mine.
The plain I had just landed in transformed into a muddy terrain, a thick, gloopy swamp replacing the sea of grass. It dripped and oozed, studded with undulating pits of quicksand and sudden mudslides. The unpredictability of the land created the perfect setting for training my reaction time.
"Literally stuck between a rock and a squishy place," I muttered, as Chana smirked, her form quaking with laughter.
"What can I say, Zack? When it comes to mud, it's always sink or swim," she stated, her voice filled with mischief.
"Well, let's hope we don't get sucked in too deep, yeah?" I replied, squinting at the lurking threat of quicksand at my feet. As I carefully navigated through the mud-slick plains, we talked about the love potion. It was an awkward conversation, but once I assured her that I held no ill will, she seemed relieved, her form less dense and pulsating with a newfound optimism.
After sinking, slipping, sliding, and sometimes just falling face-first into the mud, which sent Chana into a fit of chuckles, I finally felt a bit of progress. My reflexes were sharpening, my footsteps more adaptable to the fluid, ever-changing earth beneath me.
"Oh, you think that you are getting the hang of this?" Chana called out, and before I could react, everything around me changed.
Suddenly, the terrain began sinking beneath me, swallowed up by the widening pits of quicksand which were forming randomly. I struggled, thrashing my arms as I tried to maintain balance. Each step I took threatened to plunge me deeper into the waiting maw of the earth. The quicksand sucked at my feet with a force that made me give a shout of surprise. Chana was laughing through it all, her form vibrating with mirth.
"Dodge this!" she taunted, causing another mudslide to ripple through the terrain, directed straight at me. It was a deluge of mud, viscous and relentless. I made a split-second decision, channeling magic to conjure a force push. It barely saved me, the pressure throwing me clear as the mudslide washed over the spot I'd been standing on.
I landed a short distance away, panting, a fresh wave of exhilaration shooting through me. Giving Chana a smirk, I got up. The session turned out to be more intense than I anticipated, but I took it in stride. Finally, after multiple attempts to tackle the varying challenges thrown my way, it was time to take a break.
"Alright, Chana. I get the gist. Never let your guard down on the battlefield. Let's call it a day. I don't think I can take another face full of mud."
Chuckling, she graciously gave in. I sighed with relief as I felt the terrain solidify under me. Stepping out of the muddy surroundings, I managed to catch my breath. Well, one elemental down. Several more to go.
"What was it like? You know, before I came to the island? I still don't really know how you got there, but I can't imagine it was a happy story, considering how everyone treated you, even there, right?" I questioned as I washed off with my Water Pact.
Chana fell silent, staring down at her, well, body I supposed. The way she hesitated made me realize I had perhaps asked a loaded question.
"It's...complicated," she began, her voice sounding distant. "I was not 'sent' to the island per se but rather happened to land there after a violent storm. It was unexpected and frightening, but at least I was away from that war-ridden world I had previously dwelled in, a world that neither respected nor understood my element. It was...harsh. The townsfolk treated me as an abomination. Some did not hesitate to take advantage, seeing my condition as an opportunity."
Her words carried a sadness that made me rethink my opinions of the townsfolk. She was a rare gem that deserved better. Understanding her backstory made our bond feel stronger, confirming that she was more than a mere elemental to me. As the silence between us grew, I turned to Libra, the time had come to shift my focus to the next training.
Suddenly, a critical realization hit me. "I don't suppose you've had time to analyze the fighting style of King James?"
Chana blinked, taken aback by the sudden change in topic. "I...No, Zack. I have not had the opportunity. But I can tell you he is immensely powerful, much more than you'd anticipate. His offense is unnerving. So, prepare for the worst."
Despite the ominous warning, I couldn't dampen my resolve. Fixing my gaze at Libra, I prepped up for the next grind. "Alright then, Libra. Let's summon Fireden and get this training underway."
As the fire elemental appeared, I could feel the heat wave rolling in, the flames promising harsher training ahead. The endurance round had begun.
"So, we are back to train, are we? I was hoping Harold would be able to convince you! You have a hard head my boy, but this is good. You need more power, or you are going to end up losing what you treasure most!" Fireden laughed, but I knew he was serious.
"Yeah, I know, I am being a bullhead, but lest skip past the rhetoric and get to the heat and story I know that you are dying to tell me," I sighed with a smile that Firedon returned fiercely.
"Yes!" Fireden laughed, and suddenly the muddy plains erupted all around us, causing the ground to crack and break apart. Lava filled the cracks, but now the terrain was a patchwork of rocks in molten magma.
"Don't you think this is a bit much for a story?!" I demanded, but Fireden only smirked at me.
"This? Oh, there is more!" Fireden laughed as burning dragon heads appeared from the lava. "No, this time will not be like last time! This time you will have to run and dodge, while also listening to my story of a man that took his power for granted, and paid the ultimate price! You had better be listening! There will be a test at the end with an even more intense obstacle, me!"
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