Days passed by, my daily routine included training in the morning, coming from it in the noon with blackened bottoms, health check up from Marion, I get the feeling she is trying to come up with a theory of how this curse effects me & then chit chatting with the rest of the team. I’ve noticed Aby was trying to keep a distance from me. I understood...I know she only wants what is best for me; her indifference attitude is just a cover up. But that is why I’m enduring all beatings I take on my bottoms. Others in my group have already started sparring sessions but I am stuck at working the wooden palace on my forms & I think...no I’m sure they punish me more than anyone else. But if it helps me improve my foundation then I am up for it. There is another matter which is weighing heavy on me & that is whenever I have a medical check up with Marion; at the end of it I feel anger, each time more anger than the last time, it’s getting very tough to control it. It has also effected in my training. I can feel my anger transfer to my arms & shoulders whenever I thrust my sword, I feel my strikes have become more powerful than before. I have talked about it to Marion but she tells me that I’ve backed up down there...whatever that means... but its different type of anger, not quite describable. Yesterday good news came to us. Apparently the secrets of the tablet has been unlocked, it only contained the coordinates of our next & hopefully final destination. It states that we will find our answer in the Dentia forest which lies over the Sameria Sea. So we will begin our journey in two days. It’s a good news & today my training class ends, I would have at least one day of pure rest.

I was finishing my training on the wooden palace when the head instructor approached me.

Head Instructor: “You...you are Le’On right?”

Me: “Yes, Sir.”

Head Instructor: “From which clan do you belong?”

Me: “I’m from Zuma, Sir.”

Head Instructor (raising an eye brow): “Hmm...Well it was bound to happen, someday...Son I have had my eyes on you for a while.”

Me: “Am I that bad, Sir.” Seriously, after all the bottom blackening I have endured still no improvements then what I’ve felt about my improvement was nothing...

Head Instructor: “Why do you say that, Son?”

Me: “Sir, I’m the only one stuck here while others are sparring.”

Head Instructor: “Well, Son it’s true that you are yet to achieve a significant improvement on your form & style but there is a different reason why you are still training here.”

Me (a little amazed): “What is the reason, Sir?”

Head Instructor: “Son, the way your form is shaping is much more devastating than the others who are training here. We have been able to ascertain your level during your training. We have pushed you far beyond what we promised here for your training. You, Son are from a different brand of warriors. If I let you spar with other beast man, even with these wooden swords, they will suffer heavily at your hands. It seems you thrive under high pressure, in a fight it is a very good trait to have but in the long run if you don't learn to control yourself properly, it will hurt you. I will not select you for the tournament as you still lack the level which we were looking for here...make no mistake, none of these beast men would...but find your own way in this world, Son.”

Me: “Ah...thank you ...Sir...” At least I have learned a lot here, it’s the only thing that matters.

I finished my time there with a sense of achievement.

While returning, I saw Wei standing in front of a shop. I went a little closer & saw the shop was a dress store. She was looking at it as if she couldn’t decide whether to go in or not. It was pretty out of place actually. I knew she was capable of showing emotions other than her normal emotion but to see her having thoughts about a dress shop is a little out of place. I know every girl have an extreme fondness towards new & beautiful dresses but she was not your average beast woman. But I decided to ask her what she was doing knowing the answer obviously.

Me: “Wei...What are you doing?”

She flinched, her hands already on the swords hilt ready to strike me down.

Me (scared): “It’s me...Le’On...”

Wei (calming a little bit): “Oh, it’s you...What are you doing here?”

Me: “I was just returning to the Inn...actually what were you looking at before?”

Wei: “Your mistaken...I wasn’t looking at anything...I...I was thinking something...”

Me: “Don’t lie to me...I saw you looking towards this shop...Do...you...want to go inside?”

Wei: “Don’t be ridiculous...No...Why would I want to go inside this shop...which contains dresses...that is made exclusively for women.”

I get it...you want to look inside...so what’s stopping you?

Me: “Ah...now that you mention it, I can see quite a few beautiful dresses in there...hey!! You know what?? Maybe they have something that will look good on you...Come on...let’s go...”

I grabbed her hand & led her inside...though her mouth was saying something, her actions were quite different...she didn’t even try to stop me...

The door bell rang when we went inside the shop; a young woman came towards us.

Clerk: “Welcome, welcome to Yanka’s Clothing Store, how may I help you?”

Me: “Hello, do you have any clothes that can create an interest within my friend here? She’s a bit shy & unsure what to buy...can you help her?”

Clerk (her smile widens): “We do have many things that will look gorgeous on the miss...if you could follow me miss & Sir, you can take a seat there...”

She grabs hold of Wei’s arm & pulls her away, Wei looking a bit flustered but did not put any resistance.

I will not go into specifics as I don’t have any idea about clothes & after about many ...many dresses that she showed me...time flew by & finally she picked something that suited her taste. She showed it to me...honestly, everything that she was wearing looked beautiful on her but this time I could see her blush while showing me this dress. I figured she might like this one more than the others so I encouraged her to buy it. She came back & handed the dress to the clerk, gave me a small bag of coins & told me to pay for the dress from the coins in the bag but if the dress were expensive & the coins in the bag did not cover the cost then to leave the dress & left to check the other sections in the stores.

The store clerk packed the dress properly & presented me a bill. The dress apparently cost 250 gold. I opened her bag & started to count the coins but there was a problem. She didn’t have enough or rather 200 gold short. I turned around to the clerk to tell her that we didn’t have enough money. I told the clerk & she was upset but understanding. She started to unpack the dress. Wei would be sad that she didn’t get to buy the dress. It’s a shame; she was happy from wearing it & even showed real emotions. I still remember the slight red face of Wei’s when she showed me the dress...

Me: “Excuse me...on the other hand I will take the dress.”

Clerk was about to say something but stopped when I put 250 gold coins on the counter after taking them out from my purse.

Me: “Can you do me a favor?”

Clerk: “Yes Sir!! What favor?”

Me: “When my friend comes back here, she will definitely ask about the price of the dress... can you please lie to her & say that it cost only 50 gold?”

She thought for a while, looking at me, trying to make a decision & finally she nodded with a smile just in time as Wei came back.

Wei: “Is it paid?”

Me: “Yes...all done & now let’s go....”

Wei: “How much did it cost?”

Me: “Ahh...It costs about 70 gold but after pleading to this beautiful store clerk I was able to get it at 50 gold.”

She looked at the clerk, the clerk with a small blush & a sweet smile nodded. I think Wei was convinced as she didn’t ask me or the clerk anything afterwards. We left the store & I felt Wei’s happiness through her movement though she tried to conceal it on her face with the same stone look. We returned to the inn just in time for diner. Everybody was waiting for us. We had our diner & retired for the night. Tomorrow I will take a much awaited rest & the day after tomorrow our second leg of the adventure will begin...Bring on the adventure.

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