Morning came slowly.
Ryuzen opened his eyes to the sound of metal clashing somewhere outside.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
He stared at the ceiling for a moment.
His entire body still hurt.
The Thunder Scorpion’s attack had left every muscle aching, and whenever he tried to move his arms, a strange tingling sensation traveled through them.
Ryuzen slowly sat up.
“Ugh…”
His body immediately complained.
He grabbed the side of the bed.
“I’m definitely not doing that again.”
A voice came from the doorway.
“You will.”
Ryuzen looked over.
Eldran stood there with his usual tired expression.
Ryuzen frowned.
“That’s not very encouraging.”
“Training isn’t supposed to be encouraging.”
Eldran walked into the room carrying a bowl of food.
“Eat.”
Ryuzen stared at it.
“How heavy is the bowl?”
Eldran smiled.
Ryuzen’s eyes narrowed.
“Seriously?”
“Eat.”
Ryuzen carefully lifted the bowl.
His arms shook.
“This is heavy!”
“Of course.”
“You weighted the bowl?”
“Yes.”
Ryuzen sighed.
“Of course you did.”
Eldran sat down.
“You absorbed an enormous amount of thunder yesterday. Your body survived, but that doesn’t mean it can handle the same thing repeatedly.”
Ryuzen became serious.
“So what happens if I do?”
“You’ll suffer Beast Overload.”
Ryuzen already knew the name.
“But yesterday…”
“You were close to the first stage.”
“Strain?”
Eldran nodded.
“Your muscles were damaged. Your nervous system was overwhelmed. Your soul was struggling to contain the energy.”
Ryuzen looked at his hands.
“What comes after Strain?”
“Fracture.”
Ryuzen’s expression changed.
“What’s that?”
“Your Inner Beast’s energy begins damaging you from within.”
Eldran’s voice became colder.
“After that comes Collapse.”
“And then?”
Eldran looked directly at him.
“Death.”
The room became silent.
Ryuzen swallowed.
“So I really could have died.”
“Yes.”
Ryuzen looked down.
Then he smiled slightly.
“But I didn’t.”
Eldran sighed.
“You’re impossible.”
Later that morning, Ryuzen stepped outside.
The Valtaran border settlement was much busier than he had expected.
Warriors walked through the streets wearing armor.
Some carried swords.
Others carried spears.
Some trained their Inner Beasts openly.
A man with a massive Stone Rhino charged through a wooden training post.
BOOM!
The post shattered.
A crowd cheered.
Ryuzen stared.
“So this is Valtara.”
Eldran nodded.
“Valtara respects strength.”
Ryuzen looked around.
Unlike Kryptoria, nobody here knew his history.
Nobody looked at him as the useless prince.
Nobody cared that his Inner Beast was an Electric Eel.
At least, not yet.
A group of young warriors noticed him.
One of them whispered.
“Isn’t that the boy from yesterday?”
“The one who fought the Thunder Scorpion?”
“He absorbed its lightning.”
“No way.”
“He did.”
Ryuzen scratched the back of his head.
“They’re staring.”
Eldran continued walking.
“Get used to it.”
“Why?”
“Because your actions yesterday made you interesting.”
Ryuzen groaned.
“I didn’t do it to become famous.”
“I know.”
“That was the point.”
Eldran glanced at him.
“And that’s why people will remember you.”
They reached a large training ground.
Hundreds of warriors were practicing.
Some were fighting.
Some were meditating.
Others were testing their Inner Beasts.
Ryuzen’s eyes widened.
“This place is incredible.”
A loud voice suddenly came from behind him.
“You’re the thunder boy.”
Ryuzen turned.
A tall young warrior stood there.
He had short brown hair and a muscular build.
His Inner Beast aura appeared around him.
A massive wolf-shaped energy surrounded his body.
“I’m Kellan.”
Ryuzen looked at him.
“Ryuzen.”
Kellan smiled.
Ryuzen frowned.
“How?”
“Everyone knows your name after yesterday.”
Ryuzen sighed.
“That’s fast.”
Kellan laughed.
“That’s Valtara.”
He pointed toward the training arena.
“Here, warriors become famous by fighting.”
Ryuzen looked at the arena.
“What are you suggesting?”
Kellan’s smile widened.
“A spar.”
Eldran immediately turned around.
“No.”
Kellan blinked.
Ryuzen looked at Eldran.
“Why not?”
“Because you were injured yesterday.”
“I feel fine.”
“You are lying.”
Ryuzen opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Eldran was right.
Every part of him still hurt.
Kellan laughed.
“Maybe another time.”
Ryuzen nodded.
“I’ll remember that.”
Kellan turned to leave.
Then he stopped.
“Oh, one more thing.”
Ryuzen looked at him.
“Valtara is holding the Young Warriors’ Trial soon.”
Ryuzen’s eyes brightened.
“A tournament?”
“More than a tournament.”
Kellan pointed toward the massive arena beyond the training ground.
“Warriors from different regions come here to prove themselves.”
Ryuzen stared at the arena.
“When?”
“Two weeks from now.”
Ryuzen’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Two weeks?”
Kellan nodded.
“Plenty of time.”
Then he walked away.
Ryuzen looked at Eldran.
“I want to enter.”
Eldran didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said,
“Not yet.”
Ryuzen frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you just nearly destroyed your body.”
And you have something important to do
“But I can train.”
“You can barely move your arms.”
Ryuzen looked down at them.
He flexed his fingers.
His face tightened.
“I’m getting better.”
“I know.”
Eldran turned toward the road leading away from the settlement.
“But there is something you must do before the trial.”
Ryuzen followed his gaze.
“What?”
“Master the whip.”
Ryuzen looked at the twenty-pound weighted training whip hanging from his shoulder.
“I thought I was already learning.”
“You are.”
Eldran started walking.
“But learning isn’t mastery.”
Ryuzen followed.
“So how long?”
“Three days.”
Ryuzen blinked.
“Three days?”
“If you can master the whip in three days, we move to the next test.”
“And after that?”
Eldran looked toward the distant mountains.
“Thunder Mountain.”
Ryuzen stopped.
“The mountain?”
“Yes.”
“What is there?”
Eldran’s expression became unreadable.
“Something that has been waiting for someone worthy.”
Ryuzen stared at him.
“What kind of thing?”
Eldran continued walking.
“You’ll find out.”
Ryuzen smiled.
“Then let’s start.”
The first day was brutal.
Ryuzen trained from sunrise until sunset.
The twenty-pound whip felt heavier than ever.
He swung it.
Missed.
Again.
Missed.
Again.
The whip struck the ground.
THUD!
Ryuzen clenched his teeth.
“Again.”
Eldran stood several meters away.
“Don’t force it.”
Ryuzen breathed slowly.
He remembered the movement.
The whip was not a sword.
It did not move in a straight line.
It curved.
It flowed.
It required balance.
Ryuzen swung again.
CRACK!
The whip struck a tree.
Eldran nodded.
“Better.”
Ryuzen smiled.
Then Eldran pointed toward another target.
“Twenty more.”
Ryuzen’s smile disappeared.
The second day was worse. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Ryuzen had begun understanding the weapon.
But understanding it did not mean controlling it.
The whip wrapped around his arm.
Then his leg.
Then his waist.
At one point, Ryuzen fell face-first into the dirt.
Eldran stared at him.
“You’re improving.”
Ryuzen lifted his head.
“That doesn’t sound like improvement.”
“It is.”
“Your definition of improvement is strange.”
Eldran turned away.
“Again.”
Ryuzen sighed.
He stood.
Then he swung.
This time, the whip moved exactly as he intended.
It curved around the tree.
Ryuzen pulled.
The weighted end changed direction.
CRACK!
It struck another target behind him.
Ryuzen froze.
Eldran’s eyes narrowed.
“Again.”
Ryuzen did it again.
And again.
The movement became smoother.
His body was beginning to understand the weapon.
Then Ryuzen added thunder.
Blue lightning traveled along the whip.
CRACK!
The target exploded.
Ryuzen stared.
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
“I did it.”
Eldran nodded.
“Now do it while moving.”
On the third day, Ryuzen finally understood.
The whip wasn’t something he controlled through strength.
He controlled it through rhythm.
His feet moved.
His body turned.
His arms guided the weapon.
The whip curved through the air like a living creature.
Blue thunder traveled along its length.
CRACK!
One target fell.
Ryuzen spun.
CRACK!
Another.
He ducked.
The whip passed above his head.
He stepped forward.
CRACK!
The final target shattered.
Ryuzen stood in silence.
The whip rested in his hand.
His breathing was heavy.
But there was no hesitation.
Eldran walked toward him.
“You’ve mastered the basic movements.”
Ryuzen smiled.
“So I passed?”
Eldran nodded.
“For now.”
Ryuzen laughed.
“I’ll take it.”
Eldran looked toward the mountains.
“Then tomorrow, we leave.”
“Thunder Mountain?”
“Yes.”
Ryuzen looked at the distant peak.
A strange feeling appeared in his chest.
Something was waiting there.
He didn’t know what.
But he was ready to find out.
The following morning, Ryuzen and Eldran left the settlement.
They traveled deeper into the wilderness.
The road became narrower.
The trees became taller.
The mountains grew closer.
Ryuzen carried the weighted whip across his back.
His body still wasn’t fully healed.
But it was stronger.
His movements were sharper.
His thunder was more controlled.
Then—
Eldran stopped.
Ryuzen looked ahead.
“What is it?”
Eldran didn’t answer.
A strange sound came from the forest.
HSSSSSSSS…
Ryuzen slowly reached for his whip.
Something moved between the trees.
Then another movement appeared.
And another.
Ryuzen’s eyes widened.
Three enormous heads slowly emerged from the darkness.
A gigantic serpent crawled out of the forest.
Its body was covered in thick black scales.
Each head had glowing yellow eyes.
Three tongues flickered through the air.
Ryuzen tightened his grip.
“A three-headed serpent…”
Eldran looked at him.
“This one is yours.”
Ryuzen stared.
“Mine?”
Eldran stepped aside.
“Show me what three days of mastery really means.”
The three heads opened their mouths.
HSSSSSSSS!
Ryuzen lowered his stance.
Blue thunder began crawling across his arms.
His whip slowly uncoiled.
He smiled.
“Then let’s find out.”
The serpent lunged.
BOOOOOOM!
And the battle began.