The darkness of the night has come to pass. The wild birds started chirping, signaling the start of a new day. Noah and Kane were sitting near the edge of the cliff. Kane created a fire to keep them warm. This place was a bit distant from their house where Lucy was sleeping like a log. So there was no one to disturb them or eavesdrop. Noah told his whole story to Kane, from his parents’ death to the orphanage to the academy to the fights and his miserable life. He mentioned the assassins tailing him. He only omitted the future transmission part.

“So that is basically the story of my life ...” sighed Noah.

Kane handed the Holo device to Noah, disassembled. “The tracking device is how they were following you. The one who gave you this must be from the academy. So they must be in cahoots.”

“Then they can come here anytime. Lucy. She is at the house alone. We should hurry,” said a concerned Noah.

“Well, that would have been the case. But we are in my area. It has a signal dampener. No communication can come in or go out of this area. Once you leave this area, they will certainly be on your tail,” said a calm and composed Kane.

“Ohh.. that's good then...”

Kane was about to leave when Noah asked him a question. “So the banish part was true?”

Kane was surprised by this sudden question but he smiled and replied, “Not banish rather hiding. What gave away?”

“Your skills don’t match the vagabond type.”

“Even with the ponytail and beard?” joked Kane scratching his beard.

The name’s Kane Calderon. I was once associated with a top Corp. Things didn’t pan out as I had hoped. I took something from them, for which they are still hunting me. To keep Lucy safe I have hidden certain facts about it. It’s best she doesn’t know.”

Noah was in awe as he heard the name, Kane Calderon. “The Kane Calderon” was one of the pieces of information ORCO had processed from the Time Journal. The great hero who was falsely accused of mass murder. It came to light later that he stopped a war long before the actual Corps war. He had many great achievements even in hiding. But it was an ambush that killed him shortly after the arrival of FreNations. “If he had been alive, humanity would still have hope.” This was the exact quote mentioned.

Seeing Noah being blank for quite a while Kane started saying, “Don’t worry the Corps won’t find us here. Even if they do, my proximity sensors will notify me and we will be long gone.”

Noah composed himself as he finally got a short time goal. Save Humanity is not something that can be achieved casually. Lots and lots of events will contribute to the process. He thought a lot about how and where to start. Finally, he got his answer and it was Kane. “I have to keep him alive and hidden until the proper time comes. But a man of such stature, why will he listen to me?” Noah kept thinking until he figured something out.

“You are a swordsman.”

“How do you...ohh the katana…” smiled Kane.

“But as far as I know, you don’t need to charge a katana.”

“Ahh, that...well the thing that I kept for myself from the Corps. I infused it with my katana. It gives me a special power to deal with any high-level EVO.”

“You mean the thing you stole.”

“Not stole, but...well whatever it needs to charge with a special energy crystal.”

“Energy Crystal? The red thing?”

“Yes, but that is the last piece I have. It is called the Rautt Crystal, a name from where it was first discovered. It is from a meteorite that fell sometime back.”

“Did you say Rautt crystal?” asked Noah.

“Yes, why? Have you heard about it?”

Noah recalled information regarding Rautt Crystal from the Time Journal. Around 2088, it was discovered that a meteorite was found near Zone B of the wilderness. On calculation, it was found that it fell more than a decade ago. So at the present time, it should be there somewhere near this place.

“If I can find you a Rautt Crystal, can you teach me sword fighting?”

It was a sudden ask but it was about the Crystal. Kane still had his doubts.

“Are you sure you can get me one?”

“Trust me”, said Noah. If not I will give the medicinal flower I have with me. At least you will get some tokens by selling it. It is still a bargain for you.”

Kane agreed to Noah’s proposal. “I will teach you the basics. If you can grasp it well enough we will proceed further, else we will stop there. But remember, it won’t be easy.”

“Deal. Easy won’t get me where I want to go!”

Both of them returned before Lucy woke up and behaved as nothing happened. It was 5 days since he left the academy and he was to return within the next 5 days. However, once he steps outside the barrier put by Kane, he will die at the hands of those assassins. He will have to get stronger as soon as possible. Everything depends on it. The ribs are not fully healed but he will have to endure. Noah strengthened his resolve, upcoming days are going to be tough for him.

As decided, they would start with the basic training and venture out for the Rautt Crystal. Eventually, this would be kind of a test for Noah to measure his progression. If he can show progress, advance training would follow. But as Noah was short on time, they had to speed things up.

The basic training was harsh enough for Noah who never had any proper training in his entire life. Basically, he would not entertain such thoughts and rather indulge in his devices. But as things turned out, he needed to work it out and fast.

“I can do it...no...I have to do it…”, Noah kept on saying as sweat kept dripping from his head.

The training started from early morning with lunges, squats and planks, 20 each for 3 sets. This was just a warmup as he had to run to the river and fetch water which was almost a 5 mile hike.

Then after a short break of a quarter of an hour, 50 push-ups of 3 sets. This was followed by cutting the logs and doing 50 squats while carrying them for 3 sets. Noah groaned every time as the ribs hurt. In the afternoon, he had to go to the nearby wilderness to hunt wild beasts. This area was within Kane’s field of communication disruption, so the assassins should not find it. Yet, Kane was keeping an eye on the whole thing from a treetop with his bottle of wine.

The hunt was dangerous for Noah as the beasts were still higher level than him. He had to run, jump over logs, climb trees, hang from branches at times to evade the beasts charging towards him. After a whole day of effortlessly trying, he would find a hare or a wild bird as his prize. This would be deliciously cooked as dinner by Lucy. Thus a rigorously trained day would end for Noah.

...and all this training would be done wearing a G-Tek device. Wondering about the name right. It is a newly invented gravity device worn on each wrist. The device will regulate the gravity around the person as per setting. Kane had Noah wear the G-Tek device and set gravity to 2x, so that he would need to put up twice the effort.

But he was quickly learning as if his muscles were adapting very fast to the new training regime. Sometimes he thought his hands and legs moved before he could think. But he did not delve into it much longer, he had training to complete. Kane was also quite impressed witnessing this high level of adaptability in Noah.

Meanwhile, Lucy would take good care of a beaten and battered Noah. She would prepare all the medicine needed and warm food to cheer up Noah.

Seeing the level of progress Noah was making for a newbie, Kane thought of imparting some of his knowledge to Noah while resting. Noah eagerly waited for such breaks to get more out of the brilliant tactician Kane. He would tell past stories or his experiences in dire situations. Noah would quickly assess and memorize them.

Four days went by in a flash for Kane and Lucy. But for Noah, who could count every single second of a minute of an hour of a day doing the harsh training, it was a Hellish four days.

If you only see the number of days, then it cannot count to any progress for a newbie like Noah. What can anyone learn in 4 days?

But the goal in itself was different. Kane had planned this thoroughly and created this daily routine for Noah. Though short, these training sessions will improve Noah’s reflexes and defensive capabilities. It was never meant for heavy bodybuilding or specialized attacks. It was to make Noah swift and agile.

But Noah achieved more than just the goal.

Finally, it was the 5th day. They would venture out for the Rautt crystal. Noah had lost his drone during the waterfall incident else it would have been easier to pinpoint the location. But he still made a rough guess about the area with the assistance of the knowledge of Kane. It was deep into the forest of Zone B.

Kane and Noah started for the crystal as Lucy stayed back. The deeper they went into the forest an eerie feeling crept into their souls. Kane was unmoved, while Noah would look around whenever he would hear a strange sound.

“Here.. Now you don’t have to worry”, said Kane tying a rope to both their waists. As the fog grew thicker, they could not even see each other at times. But the rope will ensure they stick together. “How much further?” enquired Kane.

“We are almost there. But the fog…” sighed Noah.

“Are we just going here and there aimlessly?”

“Mmm…Got it..” uttered an excited Noah as his proximity device picked up something.

“A huge object is being picked up. Let’s move there”

“Carefully, we don’t know if it is the crystal for sure”, warned Kane.

As they approached the object, the fog seemed to clear. Coming out of the fog, they found a huge crater. It was created by the impact of some meteor for sure they thought. As they moved closer towards the edge of the crater, they were shocked to see the sight.

A meteor the size of an Ostrich egg carved with Rautt crystals. The red light sparkling from it gave an other-worldly feeling. But, at the center of the crater, the crashed meteor should have been on the ground, not an elevated mound.

“What is that?” whispered Noah.

...