When the rooster pecked on his head, he was sure he wasn't
dreaming. The rooster looked straight into Toma's green
eyes and pecked him again.
"Why are you pecking me, you stupid bird?" Confused Toma
asked him.
"Mr. Red doesn't like weak people. He only pecks those who
he thinks are weaker than him." Eldiea answered Toma's
question.
"You mean I'M WEAKER THAN A ROOSTER."
"Yeah! To be precise, he is not a rooster; he is a picacrow.
They don't usually bond with anyone. Looks like you
managed to survive."
"What do you mean I MANAGED TO SURVIVE?"
"Whenever Mr. Red sees someone new or suspicious to him,
he just pecks them until that part of their body gets
completely destroyed. But nothing to worry about; it looks "What? Is this a joke or something? You are congratulating
me? Well, thanks then. How come you named this monster
Mr. Red?"
"Oh, you want to change his name? Then try."
Mr. Red looks at Toma with a deadly stare.
"I guess Mr. Red is a great name. Nothing to change about
that." Toma swallows his words.
"Well then, get ready. We are going to head for training after
that. Have your breakfast and change your clothes." Then
she looks at his grey hoodie and black trousers. "They are
not suitable for the training we are going to do today. The
clothes are placed near the bath. I am waiting for you in the
living room."
Saying so, Eldiea left the room with Mr. Red, and Toma
started getting ready for the training. He ate some breakfast
and then got ready in the clothes Eldiea placed for him. He
was wearing a white shirt with a black turtle-neck sweater
underneath it and brown trousers with a black chained belt
and black boots.
When he got ready, he reached the living room where Eldiea
was playing with Mr. Red. On Toma's arrival, Mr. Red got
suspicious and was ready to attack Toma when Eldiea
stopped him.
36 "Well, ready to go?" Eldiea asked him.
"Always been ready."
Both headed to the grounds where the training was
supposed to take place. The route was long, so they decided
to go there on a wagon, which was being pulled by a yak-like
creature, instead of being black in colour and dull in
structure, it was quite just the opposite. It was teal in colour
and was lively in nature and looked quite friendly.
Toma stepped closer, hand half-raised, curiosity getting the
better of him.
"Hey-"
"What are you doing?"
Eldiea's voice snapped through the air, sharp enough to
freeze him mid-step.
"Get away from that Felsinc."
He blinked, confused. "It looks–"
"I don't care what it looks like."
Her eyes didn't leave him.
37 "It's dangerous to be this close to a wild creature."
Toma, still confused, moved away from the Felsinc. Obeying
Eldiea's command, he quietly seated himself in the wagon.
The weather was cold and the air was getting heavier every
moment they moved towards their destination.
Eldiea kept on scolding him throughout the journey. "Why
are you so childish? You always get me into trouble." She put
her hand to her forehead.
"Firstly, you got me into trouble when the troll appeared."
"But, I–"
"It was all a coincidence that you were able to use your IKO
and save us. Otherwise we would have been dead. And then
you did what? You provoked Mr. Red. It was fortunate for
you that I was there."
"I didn't do it on purpose." Toma tried to prove himself
innocent with a childish gesture.
"IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT SOMETHING, JUST STAY
AWAY FROM THAT THING. THIS WORLD IS
DANGEROUS."
38 Listening to this, Toma moved away from her. Seeing this,
Eldiea punched him in the face. Not too hard yet hard
enough for him to come to his senses.
Rest of the ride, Toma stayed silent and listened to Eldiea's
speech. He also made a pinky promise with her that he won't
do anything until and unless he was told to. Toma was
educated by Eldiea like a child who liked to create chaos for
absolutely no reason.
When they reached the destination, the Felsinc gave them a
slight bow and moved on. When Toma turned, he saw green
lush meadows stretched before him, butterflies drifting
lazily through the air and, at the center stood a vast open
ground.
"These are the grounds of Rulphend, where today we are
going to do our training and find out what is the best you
can do."
"But there is just one ground. Why did you say "grounds"
not ground"?
"You'll soon find out."
Both headed towards the ground, swaying through tall green
grasses and colourful flowers. Toma made a small bouquet
of flowers and gave it to Eldiea.
39 "You fool! I would have accepted it, but half of the flowers in
this bouquet, are poisonous."
Toma looked at the flowers and ran through his mind as fast
as he could and came to his conclusion. "Oh! So all the
pretty things in this world are poisonous." And he looked at
her.
"Well, you can say so. The pretty things can be poisonous,
and the poisonous things can be harmless. And also, the
pretty things can be harmless and the poisonous things can
be harmful too."
Toma looked at her confusedly and said, "I totally
understand everything. Next time, before even walking, I'll
take your consent."
They reached the ground and saw a big circle drawn in the
middle of the ground. The circle seemed to be made of rock
but not as hard as rock.
"I want you to step inside the circle." Eldiea calmly
commanded Toma to do so.
"If you say so." Saying so, Toma stepped in the circle. As
soon as he placed both his legs in the circle, the circle started
to glow with a faint white light.
40 "Now, let me explain what is happening right now. If the
circle in the next four minutes glows with a yellow light, it
means you can use any weapon as your medium to fight, but
if it glows with an orange light, you can manipulate any
natural element like water, air, or even fire, to fight. The tool
you are capable of using will also start glowing with a green
light."
"And if it doesn't glow with any colour?"
"Well then, you are useless. Just kidding. It won't happen."
After a few minutes, the circle started glowing in an orange
colour, and to Toma's surprise, his bracelet started glowing
in a greenish light.
"Why is my bracelet glowing? It is not a... natural element,
right?" Toma confusedly asked her.
"Well, you are right. Come out of the circle. Let me see what
is going on."
As soon as Toma stepped out of the circle, the circle stopped
glowing, and he felt a sudden jerk in his body as if someone
pushed him out of the circle. When he looked back, he saw
nobody behind him.