"Where am-" Ezra muttered as he tried to move his hand, but…
*CRACK*
Immense pain hit him and he groaned loudly.
"AHHH!"
Then, a soothing voice was heard.
"Ezra, are you awake? Please speak to me!"
But it was filled with panic and urgency.
A voice Ezra couldn't forget even if he wanted to, it was…
"Mom? Is that you?" Ezra muttered, his voice hoarse as he opened his eyes to a blurry sight.
"Yes dear, it's me. But nevermind that, what about you? How are you feeling?" she hastily asked.
"I'm…mostly sore all over. And itchy too" Ezra said with a wry smile.
"Hmm, thankfully"
"What about the Knight responsible for this?"
"He's been sanctioned at this moment"
"Hmm, good to know. What about my body? What did the healer say about it?"
"Well, you've been administered with the highest quality healing potions available. Though, it was an enormous headache. Your blood was causing the bodies of some others to melt. It also created holes in the fabric you were wrapped in. So they had to isolate you with a sealing scroll and mana tendrils before doing the healing. He also said that your blood has adapted and become immune to some powerful poisons. Somehow, you have acquired the poison blood ability"
"Hmm, did he find out about the elixir?" Ezra muttered.
"What was that, son?"
"Oh, nothing"
"Your body will be back in tip top shape in a little over a week. He advised that you stop practicing any sort of physical training for the next fifteen days to one month. Or at least, that's what I was told"
"This…so I need to slow down my training immensely. Is that what he's saying?"
"Yes, that's most of it. He also said that you might experience another growth spurt very soon " his mom said.
"Hmm" Ezra muttered as it got him thinking…
'Let's see, the healer doesn't seem to know that I used an elixir, which makes things easier. To stop training…hmm, honestly, I was thinking of doing it anyway'
'This five years old body can't bring out any more of my prowess. Rather, this is already remarkable. I've obtained about 10% from my former strength. Which means that, until I grow a little more, my body is too small to contain the large amount of magical ingredients in it, and needs to digest them slowly'
'This means that my foundation is as solid as it can be for now. But it also means that I'll have to train and mold my body slowly, or else I'll damage it…which won't be good'
'Hmm, but if I can't train my body for the next month, then…I guess I'll start learning Alchemy. This'll go along smoothly with the plan'
'Wait…I can't train my body, but I can increase my sword and mana masteries…right? Hmm, I will do this while learning Alchemy for the next one month'
Plans were being made in seconds as Ezra thought of his next move, when a voice pulled him out of his reverie.
"Ezra" his mom called out in a whispering tone.
"Yes mom?"
"What about the plan?"
The plan of building a faction for concubines and commoner wives.
"Oh, that? It's already in motion"
His mother was taken aback, before smiling and then sighing as she thought…
'He's been working hard and growing since then'
And that meant…
'I have to work even harder'
She clenched her fist without a change in expression.
Ezra, who noticed, was elated, because it meant…
'She's been practicing'
Yes, she's been learning Noble etiquette, and so far, her demeanor was already changing.
"Wait, where am I anyway?" Ezra suddenly said, as he hadn't tilted his neck since he woke up.
"Oh, you're in an isolated healing room"
"Ok, I'll go back to sleep now" Ezra said as he closed eyes, thinking…
'I've been breaking too many bones too often. Gotta stop doing that'
Meanwhile…
—----------------
*Bugguum*Bugguum*Bugguum*
A team of horses were running on the road with a white horse at the forefront.
This was naturally Cabrera and the boys.
At this moment, a voice rang out loudly amongst the lot.
"Boss! We're going the wrong way, the Semanis forest is in the opposite direction!"
The moment it was said…
"Huh? Are you sure?"
"How do you know?"
"Stop talking shit, boss knows where we're going, right?"
The boys began murmuring, when…
"QUIET!"
Cabrera shouted, and then replied…
"Of course I know where we're going, and it isn't the Semanis forest"
"Huuuuh? Then where is it?" one asked.
"The Windless Peaks"
The moment they heard the name, all of them simultaneously came to a halt.
Their faces were filled with quizzical expressions as they wondered if they had heard it right.
To understand why though, one had to understand the concept of kill zones.
A kill zone was, as its name implied, a place, no, a monster region, where those below a certain power rank were sure to die.
Most kill zones were nests, areas infested with large amounts of monsters of a single kind.
Often, they became permanent nests and adapted to the ecosystem, bringing about a never ending cycle of man vs beast.
It almost always housed unique beasts that had their characteristics empowered in that environment, which was exactly why it became a kill zone.
And Windless Peaks was a particularly popular place amongst low-level adventures.
It was so popular that even these men that had almost never stepped out of Kingsmere were aware of its danger.
There was almost no C-rank hunter who hadn't visited the place at least once.
So yes, its notoriety was well known, very well known.
It was an E-rank kill zone, meaning that anyone lower than E-rank was sure to die.
It was guaranteed.
Heck, even E-ranks died in droves, but it was true that you could clear it at E-rank, you only need to be immensely cautious.
"Huuh? boss, did I hear you right?!" one exclaimed and the others took it up.
"B-Boss, are you trying to kill us all?"
"I heard that you need to be a D-rank hunter to even think of going there!"
"Boss, why are we heading there?"
"Boss, you're joking, aren't you?"
They all started making different comments, until…
"SHUT UP!!! SHUT THE F*CK UP!"
A loud voice brought them back to their senses and made their stupid murmurs stop.
It was Carl from before.
He breathed out loudly, seeing that he had gotten their attention, and began speaking softly.
"Guys, let's all take a deep breath and calm down for a minute. Boss said that we're going to Windless Peaks, so naturally he has a plan. Let's give him some breathing space"
"Haa, thank you very much Carl. It seems like I still need to discipline you boys a little more. Of course I have a plan, you morons. Did you think I would arrange this whole expedition without a plan?" he said as the boys calmed down.
Cabrera paused as he looked at their faces.
"I found a way to kill beasts stronger than us fairly easily. And now, we're going to Windless Peaks to farm rare beast parts and magical herbs"
The meaning of what he had said dawned on them.
While the place was teeming with deadly beasts, it was regularly visited by D-rank hunters because of the beast parts they could get from there.
And while the sum was something that any good enough C-rank could take out, for them, a relatively new guild, they were worth quite the sum.
There was also the fact that the herbs and treasures found there could propel people into C-rank.
It was simply a high risk, high reward situation.
"We've all worked hard for the past one and a half months to prepare ourselves for this expedition. Are we gonna let fear stop us?!"
"NO" they shouted.
"Boys, if things go according to plan, we're going to be rich after this expedition! And then we'll grow stronger! Who's with me?!"
"WE ARE!" they simultaneously chanted as they raised their fists.
"Good! We march onwards. We must get there by the end of the week. And that means no sightseeing and no long breaks. It's a bummer, but you'll have to deal with it until we get back…rich!!"
"YES!"
"Now, onwards to the Windless Peaks!"
Cabrera raised the boys morale and picked up the pace while the others followed behind him.
i
