Jorish panted, his legs shaking. His spars with Anise were getting more and more intense as they got used to each other’s fighting styles. Jorish never won to his dismay, but he could see his improvement every day.

Jorish turned his head towards Cail, who sat on the ground fiddling with a rectangular device, with a pan which sizzled on top of it, as he added more components inside. They really never skimp out on food. Thought Jorish, watching Cail work. He never understood how they always have a supply of ingredients pop out of nowhere, nor how they were always fresh. When he had asked Cail, he told him that it was some artifact. How convenient. Nodded Jorish in amusement.

A while later, Cail called that food was done. Everyone immediately gathered to sit and eat. Jorish looked at the dish he held, appreciating it. It is no masterpiece, but it is pretty good. Nodded Jorish as he ate his food. Everyone ate in silence as Traves spoke

“Ah, Come on kids, Let's talk about something! We can’t eat food so lifelessly.”

Jorish looked at Anise, who was equally speechless, before turning towards Cail who sighed. Finally, he turned back to Traves who shook his head. “Fine, fine. I will tell you about something instead. Have I told you yet about the next steps for both you and Anise?”

Jorish tilted his head. “Well, I know I have to somehow rebuild my body or something like that. And I remember you saying Anise didn’t have that restriction because of her bloodline?”

“Well, I did say that. But let me be more specific.” nodded Traves as he continued. “Simply speaking, there are 5 main stages to describe body cultivation. Perhaps describing them as stages could be a bit misleading, but let me explain.”

“I will just talk about the first three stages since that’s what will really concern you for now. Everyone is naturally considered at least in the first stage, at least if they are not crippled or have some other issue. That stage simply describes you having a healthy, functioning body. Moving up, The second stage is where you approach the peak of your physical limitations for your human body. That’s where you and Anise are, Somewhat.”

“Somewhat?” asked Jorish.

“See, I would say that you are close to the peak of the second stage. You were in the early stages initially but those last few months did you good, didn't it!” winked Traves as Jorish shuddered, remembering his torturous last few months before Traves continued. “Anise is a bit more specific, she is currently at the border to the third stage as she awakened her bloodline partially.”

“For people with bloodlines like her, they need to awaken their bloodlines. She had begun to do so, but she still needs a push to really reach that stage completely.”

“What about me?”

“Well, for you Jorish, you still need to choose a body.”

“Choose a body?”

“Simply speaking, throughout the years, people had learned many methods to rebuild their bodies, pushing it beyond its limits. There are many different methods that end up with many perks and different improvements.”

Jorish’s eyes sparkled, his mind wandering before Traves continued. “Nowadays we have advanced enough that we are no longer looking for a way to transcend this limit. Instead, we are looking for the way.”

Traves paused for a moment as he shook his head. “It can be a shame for many independent kids trying to carve their own path to not have the guidance and the experience gained through thousands of years to pick the right body for themselves. It would be a mistake they wouldn’t be able to do anything about until they become Monarchs. That is If they could.”

Jorish said, impatiently “Can you… tell me more about some of those bodies?”

“Oh, yes, of course, I can, Jorish. Let me start with some of the more common and useful ones. One good example would be the ‘Iron-enforced body’.”

“Iron-enforced body?”

“To cultivate the Iron-enforced body, first you reach the peak of your natural body's limits, then, you use a special potion with the assistance of someone who specializes in metal or iron-based energies. Then a 6-month long process would begin where energy would be slowly injected into your body until it gains an elemental affliction.”

“That sounds… like a long and expensive process.” Thought Jorish as he thought about it. Not only would it need some materials which he had no idea about. But most importantly, getting the help of a practitioner in specific energy for six months?

“Well, of course, there are methods to speed it up significantly which are not available to most people. Still, the results speak for themselves. As users of this body grow in strength, their bodies can block sharp blades and become as hard as steel. That also includes their physical strength and abilities. A candidate who uses this body could be a force, an army, by himself.”

“Another example that is somewhat different yet equally common is the ‘Origin body’. With the help of either an experienced practitioner or even a candidate, the person’s Energy keeps getting withdrawn just before permanent damage while their bodies’ energy recovery is boosted by various means. Then that would be repeated daily for a few weeks at least. Users of the Origin body could both handle Energy through their bodies much more easily as well as regain Energy surprisingly fast. They make for terrifying mages.”

Jorish sat, deep in thought as he spoke out loud. “Bodies, huh. I wonder what Vathlaus' body is. Maybe he does have a draconic bloodline...”

“No, my young friend. Vathlauss doesn’t have a bloodline and his body cultivation method is actually common knowledge, as far as practitioners and cultivators are concerned anyway. His body is called the ‘Dragon trials body’. To be more exact, it was named that way because of him. It is one of the simplest bodies in concept. ”

Jorish eyes widened as he got excited, asking. “Please tell me!”

“Patience young friend! Just because it is simple doesn’t mean it’s easy. The idea is straightforward. Fight, break and almost die, then recover. Then do it again, and again, and again. Vathlauss had found a blessed lake back in the north that healed any person that swam in it, no matter how close to death they were as he was dying from fighting. They say he had something wrong in his head as the only thing he decided to do with that discovery was just… to fight even more.”

“He fought and fought. As soon as an opponent didn’t provide enough challenge to have the fight to be on a knife’s edge he would move on to bigger opponents. He would not rest, but the time he heals is when he rested. He wouldn’t waste time on food, he would feast on the raw flesh of the beast he bested. He would not tire, for fighting was his joy. After a few hundred years, drying a whole lake, And almost driving most dragon species in the north extinct he now stands as the strongest alive.”

Jorish gulped. He enjoyed fighting and improving, but that was just…

“Insane isn’t it? I agree!” said Traves “Well, even if it was not as complicated there isn’t a 'best' body. Each person has a specific fighting style and plans for the future, which means they have their own choice.”

“Well Traves, if you don’t mind me asking, what about yours?”

“Oh! Mine was actually a new body since it was accidental. I called it the ‘Bloody storm forged body’. It is a funny story see, I was being chased by this peak practitioner who was enjoying toying with me, trying to kill me slowly. At that time I had some knowledge in energy, enough to keep myself alive for a while as I tried to block his hits. Sending out Energy would mean I would doubtlessly run out before he did, long before that since he had an origin body. I used both blood and wind energies, pushing them to the surface of my body to cancel out enough damage to not get significantly harmed. That went on until I ran dry and even then I kept pushing for more energy. The fight went for a few hours until my opponents grew tired of the whole thing and decided to just kill me. By then, his attacks were the forge, my body the steel, and my energy the hammer. My body was reforged, allowing me to escape that day!”

Jorish shuddered, as he apologetically changed the topic. “Well, what do you think would suit me?”

“As I said, patience young friend. You are almost there, but not yet.”

Unexpectedly, it was Anise who interrupted next, dejectedly. “So, with my bloodline, I cannot obtain any of ya bodies and benefits?”

“Girl, I don’t think you understand how much a bloodline means. A person with a bloodline will always have a body that is unique to him, evolved from his bloodline. Such a person will have a body that perfectly suits him in every way. Instead of learning to control your body or facing issues of incompatibility, it is as simple as moving your arm or jumping. After all, it IS your true body. Unchanged and unblemished.”

Anise blushed, dropping her head. Everyone resumed eating as they thought about all the discussion that went on, except for Cail who seemed to be fiddling with the spherical artifact he always held in his hand. Minutes later, lunch was finished as the group proceeded on their journey.

As they walked, Traves sighed as he spoke. “While I found many interesting things around here, good food and intriguing artifacts. I can’t say I am a fan of seeing nothing but white in every single direction.”

Cail replied, almost on cue. “Well, what did you expect? You were the one who went all ‘Oh I need to go to the sun-touched cities right now I feel it in my bones!’. What did you expect to find in the south? Snow?”

Jorish snickered, while Anise covered her head, shaking it. Traves continued innocently. “I mean, no not snow! But something, like see there, I see something in the distance!”

Everyone turned their head as they looked towards where Traves had pointed. They saw a shadow in the distance as they started heading toward it.

Soon enough, they approached enough to identify what it was. Jorish glanced at an overturned caravan surrounded by its occupants, who sat in shock and sorrow.

Wordlessly, the party decided to head and check what had happened.