Morning came, we were well rested. Aby seems to have woken up before everyone & began her daily routine; still by her standards she is still weak. While we were packing our camp, she walked passed & I am sure I heard ‘Idiot’ & ‘Boy’ but somehow it didn’t affect me too much like before, must have gotten used to it.

We finished our breakfast & were now ready to move on. Javel approached me with a stern face & everybody looking at me...I fell a little scared...don’t know why??

Javel: “Here, take this. From now on you will actively participate in group formations & Wei will take charge of you. You will move as she commands you. You got it?” He takes out a short sword & hands it to me.

I nod in compliance, I feel a hand on my shoulders, I look back to see Wei was standing there with a stone face.

Wei: “You will stay with me the whole time, I will teach you some proper techniques & movement as it seems you’re a double wielder too...but you must first learn to wield the sword in one hand before graduating to two hands. Got it?”

I nod in compliance again happily...yes...finally, active participation. After the talk Javel ordered to move out. Javel at front with Ron, Paleg in middle covering Marion who is supporting Aby as she is still weak, me & Wei in the rear.

Me: “Tell me more about what we are doing here?”

Wei: “Why?”

Me: “Come on...please tell me...I want to know...why are we here searching this place?”

Wei looked at Javel, Javel gave a slight nod. Wei then looked at me.

Wei: “Legend has it that Count Nomer who built this place had a priceless artifact in his treasury. His second wife was a greedy woman. She made plans to steal the artifact with her lover. Her lover hired some mercenaries to attack the castle & in confusion the wife would steal the artifact. They went ahead with their plan, lit up the castle in fire only to find no one in the Counts room. When the wife broke in the treasury she found the Count sitting on a chair. The treasury was completely empty. He smiled at her & her lover. It is said that he told them that he knew of their plans & secretly transferred all his treasures with his first wife to faraway place to bury it forever erasing its existence. Only the worthy ones would find it. He held two keys in his hands. Then the legend gets a bit misty.”

Me: “WOW...never thought this would ever happen...so why now? Why now a mission to seek his treasures? Wont other explorers haven’t found it already?”

Wei: “It took hundreds of years to locate this castle; it was very tough as there were no records of it...only word of mouth. The legend itself was passed down the generations...The Council of Zoit recently found some credibility to this legend. Only then they commissioned us to find it out & retrieve it if possible.”

Me (little shocked): “The Council???What will they do with the illusive artifact?”

Wei: “It is not some illusion seeing the castle do exists...& that artifact is a part of this continent...they want to restore it & put it in the museum for all to see & marvel.”

Me: “Wow...to be a part of this is giving me goose bumps...he he he...”

Wei: “Now don’t get ahead yourself...it only just started...now on to the next part...the important part.”

Me (little confused): “What important part?”

Wei: “Your training.”

Me: “Oh...”

From there on I got many lectures (tips) of how to wield the sword accurately, how to maximize the damage output with minimum strength applied. What stance to take...just the beginners one. I will not lie...it was really helpful...after swinging it with accordance of Wei’s tip; I felt the handling of the sword got better. It the midst I found Aby looking towards me with a face filled with some kind of emotion from time to time. Frankly I didn’t understand what kind of emotion it was. Sometime in the afternoon, we were surrounded by a group of monsters. They were not that strong but in group they pose a great threat. Finally, I got permission to engage side by side to Wei. Using her tips I could slice the monsters with ease keeping a safe distance. But I felt something was missing...I felt as if I didn’t feel at peace. Maybe I was over thinking it. We made short work of the monsters & decided to camp for sometime.

Javel was in need of a scout, Aby was in no position as Marion stated it clearly...incidentally Aby recommended my name. Upon her recommendation I was given the job. I did my job properly; control my emotions, breathing, tried to as one with the nature just like Aby told me to. I reported back that the road ahead has a few pocket of monsters but not anything serious & there was burned building few miles from our spot. We started moving making our way towards the building. When the light star faded we reached our destination. Javel told me & Wei to fan out & scout the area for boss class monsters. I went east of the building while Wei went west. Nothing out of the ordinary was found so I decided to return. I could see Wei waiting for me, suddenly something flashed on my eye. I looked towards it. I saw something flashing within a statue. I went towards it to check it.

Wei: “What are doing?? Come on...”

Me: “There’s something here...let me check it for a bit.”

Wei: “Hurry up.”

I put my hand on it...it was a bracelet made of some substance I don’t know about. As I put my hand over it...it pressed down...suddenly a shock went through me...I tried to look towards Wei, something opened under my feet & I lost my consciousness.

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