“AM I SO UNATTRACTIVE THAT YOU HAD A CHANGE OF HEART BY MORNING?” Fiona’s voice echoed through the barren wastelands as she confronted the various two-star Vylkr vines. Without hesitation, she lunged forward, her battle axe gripped tightly in her hands. The momentum of her swing sliced through the air, creating a resounding “whoosh,” as she took a moment to catch her breath.
“Haaaah! Haaaaa!”
“HAAAAAIIIII!!!” Her battle cry resonated through the desolate landscape as she charged forward, meeting the next Vylkr vines head-on with her axe hacking into its roots.
Even if she was…. Even if she was not as beautiful as several others, with her curvaceous figure and bulking muscles from intense training, making her look almost like a man, why didn’t he at least give her the benefit of the doubt?
Why didn’t he show up and tell her directly that he had changed his mind about the proposal and wanted nothing to do with it?
If he had done that, she could have understood and processed everything before returning to her well-duties. So, why did he leave her in the dark?
All she had wanted was to see his face, to have some closure before burying everything deep within her mind. But why was that too much to ask for?
Why?
“…W… hy?” Fiona couldn’t help but mutter as tears streamed down from both her eyes. The tear stains dripped downwards, flinging off her face as she spun around with her axe to slice through another two-star Vylkr vine in front of her. After a few more swings, she came to a sudden halt, tears rushing out like a waterfall. Using her right arm to wipe them away, she tried to bury those thoughts.
She stamped her foot on a one-star Vylkr vine that had encroached towards her leg, resulting in a resounding “BAMM!” that echoed in the atmosphere, forming a small crater with shards of broken rocks and sand beneath her feet. Swinging her battle axe downwards, she severed the already dead Vylkr vine from its countless tendrils. With intense wrath in her eyes and a desperate need to find something she could test her strength on without them breaking apart, she charged forward once more.
“BOOOM!!” “BOOOM!!!” The moment Fiona stepped into the wide-open plain, her eyes caught sight of a Three-star Vylkr vine currently heading towards the border.
The air around her was blown away as several blackish strands of Vylkr energy erupted out of her body, shooting upwards. Her eyes gained a blackish tint around the irises, while her hair also floated upwards, intertwined with the blackish strings of Vylkr energy. “That’s the one,” Fiona said to herself, as if trying to convince herself to stay focused on the inhumane sight in front of her. After all, she had been searching for something she could attack without it breaking, hadn’t she?
Fiona bent down and picked up a long, dead Vylkr vine that lay beside her foot. She then proceeded to consume it, piece by piece, to replenish the Vylkr energy in her container, which had been mostly depleted during her previous battles.
After satisfyingly replenishing her Vylkr energy by taking several bites of the nearby Vylkr vines, Fiona felt a wave of strength rush through her being. Suddenly, she added a little spring to her steps and rushed towards the direction of the three-star Vylkr vine. In what seemed like a blur, she arrived in front of it, her legs sinking into the hard, web-like soil as she fought to slow down her momentum. Just in time, she stretched her left hand forward and activated her gift.
“WHOOOSHH!!” A large tidal wave of water erupted from the ground below the three-star Vylkr vine, holding it in place.
Fiona then made a few movements with her palm, widening all her fingers as the giant tidal wave of water followed suit, mimicking her movements and forming into five different tendrils of water with one huge puddle underneath it. Of course, Fiona herself couldn’t take on a three-star Vylkr vine, as only a warrior with a four-star potential would be capable of going toe to toe with one. However, with her current form and her gift activated, she could deal a whole lot of nasty damage. ｂ𝚍𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｎｔ
As such, Fiona immediately clenched her fingers into a fist, watching as the huge tidal wave of water followed suit and crushed the three-star Vylkr vine in place.
“Something that won’t break easily,” Fiona muttered to herself, her eyes fixed on the remaining half of the Vylkr vine struggling to stay upright.
“SWOSSSHHH!!” With a burst of speed, Fiona charged forward, her axe poised for action. With precise strikes, she targeted the swarming one and two-star Vylkr vines that were desperately attempting to fill in the destroyed limbs of the fallen three-star Vylkr vine.
But, how could she allow that?
“BOOOOMM!!!”
She attacked with everything she had. Her strikes were heavy and deadly.
However…..
“SWWOOOOSSSHHH!!!”
“BBBOOOMMMM!!!!”
She still prayed that, at least, it wouldn’t break easily.
………..
I waved goodbye at the retreating vines, wondering if Anara could sense my actions, given her remarkable control over the vines, stretching all the way from the corner of the farm to here. Nonetheless, I had specifically asked her to bring me here instead of taking me back to the village. After all, it was still evening, nowhere close to sunset, and I saw this as a perfect opportunity to try and find Sura.
So, after making my way out of the dense forest, and into the vast fields of open crops, some of which were fenced, divided for a huge hole dug around it, or some of which being attended, or left unattended, with a huge group of villagers all pack in some, I decided to approach and ask some questions -like if they knew where the newly awakened students were. Since we were still in training before we fully became warriors and joined the strongholds, then I figured that they were also going through the same.