The wind calmly swooshes by a lone lad who kept his mysterious presence hidden from alerting the object of his undivided attention that was present in the centre of the miraculous pond below him.

Adjusting his dark hoodie with cautious finger movements, Chirako, expanded his environmental awareness to find out if any other crows were in the vicinity who could potentially ruin the plan he had cooking in the cauldron of his scheming mind. He discovered that he was in a safe zone for now. There wasn’t anyone nearby who could disturb the imminent execution of his master plan.

“I wasn’t expecting to find my prey this early, but this is good. It means that I can get a head start ahead of the rest of the competition.”

What brought Chirako to rest his sneaky talons on the branch close by the pond was a peculiar whistling he overheard as he was flying through the spooky forest. Looking down at the radiant pond he discovered a naked vulture brazenly soaking himself. Glancing a few inches ahead of him, he located the objectives of the Guild Test. 5 ribbons were sitting entangled in the vulture’s dismounted feathers while floating on the water surface in front of him.

“There they are. He has all 5 ribbons floating on top of his bare feathers. What a cocky vulture. I’ll be taking all of them in one go.” With his mind set on burglary, Chirako began arousing blue lightning around his skinny feet; waiting for his chance to strike. The vulture was still whistling as he enjoyed his ongoing relaxation.

“Now!” Chirako dashed downwards with an outstretched arm. “Got it!” As soon as his fingers caressed the ribbons, one of the vulture’s eyes opened with an intensive glare. “Huh?” He felt a heavy pressure like no other suddenly drop onto his back, forcing him to fall into the pond as well as let go of the ribbons.

“How bothersome.” The vulture stood up inside the deep pond. He was so tall and disproportionate that a part of his shaved buttocks was visible above the water surface.

Feeling veritably annoyed, he uttered, “Oi, oi, can’t a bird soak his feathers in peace and quiet anymore without being spied on, furthermore, interrupted?”

Gracing the water surface, the vulture picked up his feathery clothing that had the ribbons attached. He swiftly donned his feathery raiment while looking very pissed off by Chirako’s unexpected intrusion.

“Tsk, fledglings these days are so damn arrogant!” Just by glancing at Chirako, he was immediately hit into the air by a large stream of water that suddenly rose upwards from the pond.

“Uh, ah!” While twirling in the air, Chirako quickly stabilized himself and subsequently activated a water-based attack that he used to slice through the uprising stream, splitting it in half along with a few unlucky fishes.

“Krowqui, Water Lightning Blade!” Chirako slashed right through the moist obstacle. The severed stream fell flat onto the leaf heaps below.

Witnessing this swift exhibition of skills caused the vulture to be impressed. “Crow, you’re not half bad. You’ve earned the right to know my name. I am called Eratool. However, you’re no match to be accepted as my opponent.”

Not being hasty, the vulture further analysed the peculiar weapon sitting in Chirako’s grasp. ‘That blade has double coats. First, he formed a base structure using lightning elements and then covered it with condensed water format. It’s sharp enough to sever the Nuquo essences of water. I shouldn’t underestimate this fledgling. Wait a moment…’

Enhancing his keen sensing abilities Eratool realized that there wasn’t any other crow in his immediate vicinity, thus he stared at Chirako strangely, moreover, asked, “Where are your friends? I don’t sense them around here. Don’t tell me that you came all the way here to challenge me all by yourself?”

“That’s right, I came alone.” While Eratool was processing his reply, Chirako thought to himself, ‘Now is my chance to attack while he’s distracted. I’ll get him from behind.’ He secretly placed his palm faced down onto the ground, furthermore, sent out a streaming burst of electricity underneath.

“So you’re going to defeat me all by yourself, eh?” Eratool couldn’t accommodate Chirako’s arrogance any longer. “I will do something about that overconfidence of yours. Huh?” As he took a step forward, he sensed a formidable surge of energy approaching him from below and hurriedly looked down.

Eratool was swift enough to evade the burst of lightning before it shocked him.

“Dammit, I missed,” Chirako complained upon identifying his failed attempt.

Eratool looked at him seriously. “A surprise attack…? I have one too.” He instantly appeared behind Chirako bearing hostile intentions.

“What? When did he get behind me? I didn’t even see when he moved…?” Chirako was astounded by Eratool’s ghost movements.

“ORAAH!” Eratool slammed Chirako’s head into the muddy ground. If it weren’t for his robust skull, his head would have burst open like a frail melon.

“AHH!” Chirako gave a hurting gasp but Eratool wouldn’t let him up. He continued to sink Chirako’s head into the ground.

“Eat dirt you, damn brat! There are some good worms in there too. Nutritious aren’t they?”

As Eratool asked this question, Chirako spat out a few worms from his mouth but he couldn’t get them all out. Eventually, he had to gulp down a few of them so he could breathe.

Swallowing his pride, he admitted, “Yes, they are very nutritious.” In an instant, Chirako’s entire body transformed into pure lightning that escaped Eratool’s grasp.

Reappearing only a few feet away, Chirako wiped his mouth clean of mud and suggested to the vulture, “You should try some too!”

Chirako dashed forwards. As he motioned closely around Eratool, he dipped his hands into the earth, picking up a handful of juicy worms. Directing a swift upsurge of lightning to capture Eratool briefly in his bind, Chirako commenced the fast execution of his grotesque payback.

“See how you like it!” He knocked Eratool’s jaw loose then stuffed the handful of disgusting worms down his throat.

“Cough! Cough!” Eratool couldn’t digest so many worms simultaneously; thus he was forced to spit them out after Chirako disentangled him from the lightning bind. The funny thing was, after being so utterly humiliated by a fledgling, he reacted not with an uncontrollable air of anger but with a resounding outburst of laughter.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Finished laughing, Eratool took the remaining worms from his mouth, tossed them into the pile below then squashed them beneath his foot. Afterwards, he glared at Chirako, saying, “Your attack was cheap. Have a taste of this expensive payback!”

Eratool’s presence became unseen to the naked eyes for a split second. He reappeared before Chirako tossing out a unique fist. “Triple Threat Punch!”

From the one punch Eratool gave him, Chirako got hit directly in the gut approximately 3 added times. Eratool’s attack was so fast that he didn’t see it coming. Its power was strong enough to send Chirako crashing through several thick tree trunks.

“Cough! Cough!” Halting his impetus, moreover, spitting out a mouthful of blood, Chirako struggled to stand properly. He recalled the events that took place seconds ago. “That attack of his was insanely powerful. If I hadn’t cloaked myself in Protective Krowqui then I would have been killed.”

“Eh-eh-eh.” Smiling broadly, Eratool started walking toward Chirako with menacing strides to his dangerous swagger. “Give up kid. You alone can’t possibly defeat me. Go rally your friends and then come back to challenge me. I’ll be waiting right here for you.”

Eratool turned around and started walking away without listening to Chirako’s reply first. He acted as if he had already dominated their little bout.

“I hate that condescending tone of yours.” Whispered Chirako.

“What was that fledgling?” Eratool turned back around to hear properly what Chirako had to say.

“I said there is no need for any reinforcement. I’ll take you down by myself.” Chirako responded confidently for he naturally believed he could win.

“Don’t let your pride get you killed off early, little runt. Though you couldn’t best me in battle you still have some strength tucked up your skinny sleeve. I suggest you take my advice and retreat for now.”

“No, never.” Chirako acted quite stubborn. He and Eratool had similar hubris about their unbending personas.

“Now you are really pissing me off fledgling.” Eratool became livid. “Do I need to break every last bone in your body for you to understand the chasm between our skills?”

Chirako didn’t feel threatened one bit by Eratool’s harsh words that were meant to be intimidating. Instead of retreating as Eratool suggested, Chirako firmly stood his ground, moreover, responded boldly, “Do as you wish. However, I’ve already seen your defeat.”

A peculiar pattern started to manifest inside Chirako’s left eye. It gradually transcended into a visual prowess of formidable dominance and power. 3 rotating orbitals became visible, each with various size strokes that determine important variables of time/space. At the central pupil was an analogue clock only with the Second Hand present which was slowly rotating clockwise. The tip of the Second Hand was made out of a 2-leaf clover that pointed at the shifting outer strokes. At the outer region of his left eye, around the eyebrow was a glowing golden arc that supported the repeating orbits of a 3-leaf clover.

“Hmm, that glowing eye…?” Looking on, Eratool could sense the terrifying energies associated with Chirako’s pernicious left eye. It was quite renowned in the vast continents of Waivrumnagar. It was revered for being one of the most incomprehensible and most powerful visual prowess. They call this ultimate eye talent the legendary Crownus!