Book Two – Chapter Nine – Part Three – Final Exam

It was strange, Servi thought, that the single choice she made upon waking up decided everything. If she didn’t go the way she did, then Servi never would’ve met Momo, and there was a chance she wouldn’t have met Itarr. If that was the case, it was highly likely the slaves wouldn’t have been freed during her adventure with  Llamare and Liealia, and Albert and Parrel would still be alive. She wouldn’t have met Claire and probably wouldn’t have joined Warden, either.

I just can't believe that one choice I made decided the fate of hundreds. She thought to herself as her eyes scanned beyond the emerald oceans of grass. Two rolling plains flanked them from both sides as they walked down the road, and both were nearly devoid of anything other than green.

Servi mostly stayed silent during the long walk, choosing to add her comments and thoughts to the various conversations a few times, but soon it was time to take a break. Looking around, Fisher commented that in situations like this, they needed to find something tall to get under to cool off. "You see that tree there? It's not unusual to find one growing by itself in an area like this, but they rarely ever get that big.  If you see one, then be sure to take advantage of it."

They all walked over to the lone tree and took refuge underneath it.  The cool shade it provided was very much enjoyed by the two Dwarves and Koena, who had been showing signs that they were getting a little exhausted.

From the time they left Canary to now, they’d passed by seventeen wagons and nineteen walking travelers, most of whom recognized Fisher from his black armor. Those who did gave him a swift salute or a nod.

How dare people love a man like him?! He’s not deserving of any love.  Thought Servi.

She took a seat against the tree and reached into her pouch. Taking out a 1 dupla coin, she began to flip it just to have something to do. As she did, she glanced over to the left and saw Silverado and Desperado sit down.  A thin layer of almost translucent liquid dripped down their scales, and Servi was confused.

Is that sweat? It kinda looks like a clear coat of paint, but maybe that's how a Koena sweats?  Like how a dog pants and a pig has to roll in the mud to cool off.

Servi couldn’t relate to their exhaustion, but she felt the relief their faces showed when they finally sat down. A moment later, Fisher Jin stood up and used Create Water.

Might as well not make it awkward… Servi was third in line behind Riki and opened her mouth wide when she was underneath the stream.

It was lukewarm, not as pure as the water she could create, and it had a slight metallic aftertaste, but it wasn’t like she needed to drink. She only did so to keep up appearances.

And so the second break was over without a single incident. As Fisher waited for his students to get ready, he continued to lead the motley crew towards what would be their sleeping spot.

Five hours later, Fisher and his six mentees were sitting around a fire he had made using Fire Wall. They sat on a green plain next to a flowing river of azure, and the night air was filled with the smell of still-cooking meat.

“This is a good place to sleep. It’s wide open, so it's easy to know if someone is coming. If you’re next to a river, even better,” Fisher had told them as they made their way over 37 minutes ago. He had found a deer sleeping in the middle of the plain, which he said was a bit unusual, and retrieved his bow and a single arrow from his Dimension Storage skill.

“When you reach Rank 4, this is the first skill you should learn. Once you acquire it, you don't have to be worried about carrying numerous bags of supplies with you as you travel. You can just retrieve them from anywhere,” he had told them.

It’s just like my Absorption, but worse. There’s no need to waste time on chanting. Commented Itarr.

Fisher took aim at the deer and let loose a single arrow that duplicated itself as it flew. The two projectiles, one conjured by Skill Energy, punctured both the brain and the heart of the sleeping animal.

“That was the skill called Two Shot.  Archery is a good thing to fall back on. If you have an enemy running towards you, it’s possible to let off a few arrows before you need to switch to your shield. But don’t press your luck. A tank is a tank when they use a shield to take the damage. Don’t use a bow if you aren’t confident in your skills, or if you can’t switch back to a shield fast enough,” Fisher ended his short lesson on bows.

Fisher and his mentees walked out to the dead deer. He took a skinning knife from his Dimensional Storage and began to dress the carcass.

Servi decided to turn away and focused on gathering sticks and rocks for the fire pit they would soon need.

Thirty-seven minutes later, she stared down at the half-eaten meat pierced by a brown stick and bit into it. It was tenacious and hard to tear, but as Fisher would say, “It was food.”

Using her peripheral vision, the lone girl glanced at the sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, and the pretty stars were visible for all to see. The moon, big and bright and whole, stared down on the world.

I wonder if Momo is looking up at the night sky as well? I really wanna go to the moon.  It's so pretty and--

“We’re going to have to break into three teams of two to watch the fire and be on the lookout for any potential danger. It’s an important task, so do your best to not fall asleep when it’s your turn. Riki, Silverado, you take first watch. Rakkire, Feral, you got the second, and Desperado, Servi, you’ll finish us out. If any of you feel like you can’t stay awake, then wake me up,” Fisher's voice interrupted Servi's pleasant thoughts.

“Right,” Servi only slightly hiding her irritation. She took out her coin and proceeded to flip it after she finished her dinner.

The next twenty minutes went by without any incident. Feral finished up his meal, growled in thanks for the food, and laid down. Fisher used Create Water for the last time for those who were thirsty and also laid down.

“Another thing,” he said, “When camping in the open, sleep with your armor on if you can. If it’s too uncomfortable, then wear as much as you can. As for your weapon, learn to fall asleep while gripping it. If you’re in a group like this, it’s not as important because you’ll have someone on lookout. But if you’re solo, then do all you can to make sure you’ll have the advantage if you’re attacked. So be sure to take that knowledge to heart. The Create Water I used will shut off in five minutes.”

Closing his eyes, Fisher turned to his side with his sword gripped tightly and drifted off to sleep in front of the campfire.  Its red flames were illuminating the vicious scratch marks on his black armor.

I'm surprised none of them made a fuss of me being the only one to sleep uninterrupted.  I'll stay awake for about an hour or so for each shift, just to make sure my students can handle it.

“Should we call it for the night?” Desperado whispered to his five fellow mentees.

Servi shrugged her shoulders after putting her coin in her pouch. “Might as well. Just wake me up when it’s my turn to watch.”

Don’t worry. I’ll always be watching. If something happens, I’ll wake you. Good night, Servi.  I love you.

The girl with red eyes and black hair rolled over on her side, facing away from her friends. Then, she spoke in a quiet voice. “Good night, Itarr. I love you too,” her left arm was positioned underneath her head, and she laid on her shield, using it as a pillow. It was a very uncomfortable pillow, nonetheless. Her sword laid in its sheath, ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice.

Servi closed her eyes, and she soon drifted off to sleep. Even though she didn't need to sleep, it wasn’t like she could subtly stay awake the entire time.

From behind her, Desperado and Rakkire laid down and placed their shields beside them. Like Fisher, they had their weapons in their hands.  They never tried to sleep outside on the bare grass while under the moon before, but it was something they needed to learn how to do.

Riki and Silverado, meanwhile, scooted closer to the heat source while Riki used his axe's head to move some of the sticks around in the fire pit.

“Aye, gotta keep the air flowing if you want it to burn as long as it can,” he said in a low voice just barely above a whisper.

“I see. I must admit, when compared to a Dwarf, my knowledge of fire is nothing,” Silverado whispered.

Gradually, the white moon above shifted and soared across the night sky as the two friends, Dwarf and Koena, whispered to each other about one of the core elements of the world. Sure, it was a weird conversation, but a Dwarf always liked it when they had a chance to spread the knowledge about fire. If someone was born a Dwarf, they were statistically more likely to be blessed by a Fire God than any other race.

Riki and Rakkire were both blessed by Minor Gods of Fire. They were both able to use a few Fire Skills up to Rank 8 but no more.  If they wanted anything else, it would have to be learned from Warden.

And that was the main weakness of being blessed by a Minor God. They could use skills up to Rank 6 or 7 just by learning the mechanics behind the technique. But other than that, they were no different than an unblessed person who was Rank 6 or 7.

On the other hand, Major Gods allowed a person to use skills up to Rank 1. In addition, they often had another ability, passive or active, that only they could give, like Dineria’s String Bender. Only Kirchta had that skill, and only those he blessed could use it. But not every Major God had an exclusive technique they could give. In fact, some Gods never gave skills at all but instead granted knowledge.

For example, a Major God of Combat could impose an advanced understanding of combat on someone who has never picked up a sword in their life, and they would be an equal to someone who has studied for years.  Meanwhile, a Major God of Medicine would give an advanced understanding of medicine and the know-how to make them. In both cases, the one blessed would have little to no skills, but that could be fixed by joining Warden.

Eventually, the time had come for Rakkire and Feral to take over. Silverado lightly tapped on the hulking beast, and his eyes stirred awake.

“Is it time?” he growled as his large body stood up and stretched.

“It is. Good luck,” Silverado whispered as he laid down. The exhaustion from a day's worth of travel washed over him like a typhoon, and he was out in a matter of seconds, but not before he tightly gripped his club.

Riki, meanwhile, kicked his cousin in the back. Feral yawned and wondered why he would do such a thing. He expected Rakkire to start yelling, but he didn’t. Instead, the kicked Dwarf got up, equipped his buckler and axe, and walked over to the fire to join Feral. Riki grunted and laid down, quickly succumbing to the wonders of sleep.

“Why did he kick you?” Feral wanted to know. He reached behind him to grab some sticks, which he half-haphazardly tossed into the fire.

Rakkire answered him as he used his axe to break up the thicker sticks. “I’m a heavy sleeper. Even if someone yelled at me, I wouldn't wake up.”

“Kicking is the only way?”

Rakkire looked up at the night sky and nodded his head. “Kicking or pushing. It’s like I can’t hear a single thing when I sleep,” his mind raced back to a precious time many years ago when he and Riki were young.  They grew up in a small village that was literally carved into the side of a giant mountain range hundreds of kilometers wide.

Feral may not have been the smartest Kobold, but he felt a deeper meaning behind his friend's words. Like Riki, Rakkire, Silverado, Desperado, Momo, Srassa, Fisher, and literally everyone else in the world, they had a past that dictated their future. The events, emotions, and feelings of what happened in the past would carve out the path a person traveled.

But Servi had none of that. Or did she? She, herself, knew absolutely nothing a month and a half ago. But now? She had friends, not to mention a Goddess inside her. Those two elements fused together, forming the path that she, and only she, could follow.

The moon continued to soar across the sky. A few hours passed by, and Servi was jolted awake after she felt the touch of a massive hand. She instantly rolled to her left and went into a stance. Her sword was drawn, and her shield was at the ready. Red eyes took notice of the area as her mind analyzed what she saw. It wasn’t until she heard Itarr’s voice that she lowered her weapon and finally took a breath.

Calm down! It’s just Feral. I tried to wake you up, but I couldn’t get through. Itarr hurriedly said.

Servi sighed and sheathed her sword. “Sorry about that. I almost forgot where I was at.”

During the swift encounter, Feral stayed perfectly still. He grinned and spoke. “It is fine. I must admit, you rolled right away and pulled your weapon. Even if I am an ally, it is never wrong to practice how you would respond if I was an opponent.”

Servi just nodded and took her place by the fire as Feral laid back down. The red beast of nature was hot and crackled every few moments. Desperado, who finally woke up, sleepily rubbed his eyes as he took a seat. In the background, Servi heard snoring that only could’ve come from Riki.

Taking her sword from her shield sheath, Servi poked at the fire for a bit. Feral was probably the one who placed the large stick on top of the fire. It was actually smothering the flames, depriving them of the oxygen they needed to flourish. To remedy that, Servi used her sword to cut the stick with Telekinesis providing some additional help.

The fire crackled even more as smoke made its way up to the sky. Servi just stared at the rising column before sighing.

Desperado, meanwhile, got up and walked over to his bag. He had his shield on his hand and his club on his back, so Servi didn’t know what he was grabbing.

“What’s up?” Servi asked Desperado.

“Apple. Here.” He pulled out two red objects from his bag. He tossed it to Servi, who caught it out of the air, then she bit into it. It was juicy and sweet.

“Thanks," she said with a mouth half-full.

“You’re welcome. I know Fisher said not to bring any food, but I love apples. I try to eat one a day,” Desperado replied. The flames didn’t reflect off his black scales that well as he bit into his food. Servi didn’t mean to stare, but she couldn't give up the chance to analyze a Koena.  Her memory started when she woke up in the forest a month or so ago.  General knowledge like Humans, trees, grass, oxygen, math, science, and overall common sense stayed.  But Elves? Dwarves? The first time she saw them was when she arrived at Canary.  She honestly had know why she didn't have a more extreme reaction upon seeing Singi or Koena.  Somehow, she rolled with the floor as best she could, but she yearned for the chance to fill in the missing gaps of information.

Desperado has teeth like me, but they’re black like his scales.  Even with that in mind, they don't look diseased or rotten, and he does have a pink tongue.  They look relatively healthy. What exactly is a Koena? If they have a heart like me, then it should’ve been crushed. She turned her head and bit into her apple. Her teeth pierced the peel like it was nothing, and the juicy sweetness invaded her mouth.

Do they even have organs? What about a brain? They need to, right? I know they have bones because I healed that one Koena with the hurt arm.  Rie? I think that was her name.

Servi forced herself to stop thinking about the different parts of a Koena and instead focused on enjoying the delectable fruit in her hands.

Desperado absentmindedly stared up at the night sky.  He didn’t try to force himself to make conversation, and neither did Servi.  There was no reason to. And both of them knew that.

They just ate their fruity snack underneath a sky filled with stars, while the campfire provided some warmth and light. A few hours later, the sun and the blue sky began to show themselves to the citizens of the world.  Just a few minutes after that, Fisher woke up.

He said his good mornings to the members of the last lookout. They said it back, and Fisher walked off, away from the group. Using Earth Wall, he gave himself some privacy as he did his morning business.

As he did that, the other mentees slowly stirred awake. Some were yawning, like Riki and Rakkire, others were stretching, like Silverado, and one Kobold, in particular, began to lift his shield.

When asked why by Servi, he answered in a low growl. “It’s a way to wake my muscles up and get them ready for the day. It’s no different than stretching.”

“That’s not a bad thing to do,” Fisher said as he walked back over to the camp. The Earth Wall he had made was still standing. “If you need to do your business, there’s the wall for privacy. If you’re thirsty, then use this. It’ll be up for ten minutes,” One chant later, lukewarm water fell from the sky a few meters away.

“Fisher, what about food?” Riki asked.

“There’s another small clearing about 45 minutes down that road. It’s right inside the forest. We’ll eat there,” Fisher answered the Dwarf.

“When will we encounter the enemies?” Feral wobbled over to the flowing water and opened his giant mouth.

Fisher answered the Kobold. “Later on, probably about four or five hours from now. Once we get to the clearing to grab some food, there’s another one some distance away. We’ll set up camp there. From there, it’s about 30 minutes or so to the nest.” He then took out a green watch from his Dimension Storage. “It’s a little bit past 7 now, so with luck, we should have breakfast by 8, then get to the second clearing at 10 or 11. I gotta say, we’re actually ahead of schedule. With luck, we might actually get back tomorrow morning instead of tomorrow evening. But it all depends on how long you all take. Regardless, we leave in ten.”