"Ursa, let's go down," I instructed her, and I watched as she immediately nodded and guided us down to where Gorg was writhing in agony. We approached him with curious frowns, unsure of what to do. That's when Warrior Jean spoke up, "Typically, one's gift awakens naturally over time. However, we can't delay your training because of it, so instead, we'll use the Vylkr energy that he had ingested to hasten the process. Although it may be painful, don't worry. The Vylkr energy that's currently causing him pain will cease when his gift awakens. And with his potential, he'll be able to control it."
He turned to us with a reassuring smile and said, "So, there's no need to worry. We just need to wait and see which gift he awakens."
I was just about to ask him how long the process would take when I noticed a faint orange glow emanating from his hands, becoming more intense. The glow grew brighter and brighter until I was forced to abandon my questions because of what happened next.
Warrior Jean's tulga began to unravel, thread by thread, until he was standing butt-naked in front of us. I didn't need anyone to tell me that this was Gorg's doing, as his own tulga started to unravel too, until he too stood before us, completely naked. The others seemed to sense it was Gorg's gift and immediately jumped backwards, trying not to lose their own tulga. But Grim, without hesitation, transformed into his larger-than-life cockatiel form and took off into the sky.
As for me, I screamed at Ursa, "Take us up!" I ordered, as I watched my own tulga begin to unravel, with threads falling apart from its helm.
Thankfully, Ursa activated her gift just in time and lifted both of us into the air, just as my tulga had unravelled to my upper thighs, leaving half of my penis and foreskin exposed for all to see. However, there was still one unfortunate soul down there on the ground.
I bent my head to look at Thak's daughter, whose name I still couldn't recall. She had given up running as soon as she realized that her clothing was coming undone, thread by thread, until it all fell away from her body and onto the ground, leaving her completely naked in front of us.
Gradually, the orange glow emanating from Gorg's hands subsided, indicating that his gift had finally settled down. We let out a collective sigh of relief as we descended back to the ground, and Grim transformed back into his human form, landing on the ashen black soil with a soft thud.
Grim let out a sigh of relief as he sat down on the ground. "That was too close," he said, wiping the sweat off his forehead. And I couldn't agree more, given what I had learned from my conversations with Grandma Celia and Vivian.
Tulgas, as it turned out, were incredibly expensive. A single tulga could cost up to ten kalna fruits or more, which was a significant amount of wealth. The financial loss of losing one would be something I couldn't currently afford.
Meanwhile, warrior Jean, who had remained motionless until now, spoke up, "You're lucky this happened during your gift awakening, or you would have paid dearly for my tulga." He turned to face us, causing me to crane my neck in the other direction. "That's enough training for today," he continued, as he began to walk ahead of us. "We'll meet at the village chief's compound every day for a month to ensure you're fully capable of taking care of a Vylkr vine before assigning you to a post." He added, "You're all free to go home now."
We listened closely to his words as we trailed behind him. Gorg lingered at the back of the group, clearly embarrassed by his actions. Grim, on the other hand, was just relieved that his tulga wasn't destroyed. Thak's daughter walked beside me and Ursa, still naked, but it didn't bother me. I decided to approach her, as this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Plus, I couldn't bear the thought of staring at a man's buttocks for the entire trek back to the village.
"Seems like you weren't able to make it out of his range on time," I said, gently wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her into my chest, shielding her from the cold afternoon winds that made her shiver and tremble. Thankfully, due to the cultural norms of this world, she balanced the rest of her weight on me and whispered, "Thank you," as we walked forward.
Well, since girls like her were considered more beautiful than girls like Ursa, added to the fact that she had snubbed I and my mother's presence the first day we met, including the way she kept to herself with a mild arrogant expression on her face, seeing her like this was kind of refreshing. And at that moment, I saw an opportunity to introduce myself properly and make sure I left a lasting impression on her.
"This is Ursa," I introduced Ursa, who looked a bit surprised by the sudden introduction. Before I introduced myself, "I am O…"
"Orion," she interrupted me with an indifferent expression, her eyes scanning my face. "you are already very popular in the village, in case you didn't know. Plus, I've already met you once, and even if I forgot your name that time, I can't forget it again."
Although I was well aware of my popularity, I mostly kept to myself, so people only knew my name and not my face. "By the way, what's your name? I'm afraid I've forgotten it since the last time we met," I said, looking at her with genuine interest.
Her expression froze for a moment as she blinked at me, before bursting out into laughter. It was a brief outburst before she responded with a sigh, "Apart from being one of the most beautiful girls within our generation, I am also the daughter of the village chief messenger. So, it's hard for people to forget my name, even if they hear it only once." She looked at me with more interest than before, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
