The team members get back on their feet.“Alright, you have had the first round to yourself. I must commend you,” Krystal said, brushing off dust from his shoulders.“I see you guys still want more. I would have stayed down if I were you,” Shambala responded, smiling.“How did he take you out that way?” Justin, scared it could have been him, asked Vladimir.“There is no time for questions. This old man is so going in for humiliating a district commander like myself,” Vladimir said as he created a huge storm with a mix of thunder and strong wind.“Ex-district commander, you mean?” Shambala said with a wink, looking undisturbed at the mayhem Vladimir felt he was about to unleash on him.Upon hearing what Shambala said to him, he gets angrier. His eyes turn white as he begins to let the vengeful spirit of the hammer take charge of his body.“Spirit of Mjolnir!” Vladimir shouted.Shambala notices Vladimir is about to ruin himself, and since he had already used the ancient body-weakening t
Shambala smiled at them, seeing the shock on their faces as they sat there watching him.One would guess the thoughts running through their minds.Thoughts like, What manner of man is he? Where are such skills and strengths from? How can one person without an artifact humiliate us?Or some thoughts could be that he must show me that ancient body-weakening technique; how did he hold Justin's arrows and even control them? Where did his courage come from? He even attacked Vladimir during the Spirit of Mjolnir possession process. Well, it was worth it, as we would have lost Vladimir to an unknown spirit. Looking at the team.“Killing you lads was not my aim, as that would have been an easy thing to do,” Shambala said.“Gosh, you did not have to put it that way, you know. Gives me the creeps,” Grover retorted.“At least you will no longer judge a book by its cover,” Shambala said to Grover."Yeah, yeah, I get the message now,” Grover grunted.“I hope you do for your sake; a lot of crypts
Although they acted cool by what they just witnessed upon Shambala's revelation of his true self, The team was left in shock as they thought among themselves.“If Shambala is this strong and is not a wielder of any artifact, how then the members of the Øré who are stronger than him and wield two artifacts?” Justin said as his tone showed he was damn scared.Others thought Shambala had heard him, but when they looked around, he had walked away.“That has been the same thought I have been having since I sat up here,” Grover retorted as he looked at Krystal.“I am not going to lie, guys; we need to get Shambala to train us urgently if we must embark on this journey,” Krystal said.“That is true; my question now is, How will someone weak teach someone weaker to fight a strong person?” Grover asked.“Very smart analogy you got there, Grover, but I recall Shambala saying he knows a way we could use to defeat a member of not more of the Øré,” Krystal replied.“Yeah, the one he said he discov
“I know it is hard to wield two artifacts, but it is not an impossible task, lads,” Shambala said.“Sensei, have you done this before, and how certain are you about it?” Vladimir was skeptical about using two artifacts after being told what happened with one the last time he used it.“No, I have not tried it before, but I have shown those who cared to learn the art, and they are still normal up to this very day. One person is Stark, Krystal's father,” Shambala replied.This response got the team even more scared, as they were now skeptical about taking such a risk, but Shambala assured them that what they only needed was a strong will to be able to wield two artifacts, and that was it.“Are the rumors about the after-effects true?” Riley asked.“What after-effect is she talking about?” Justin, who almost peed in his pants, asked“Is there no other way we can do this without having to wield two artifacts, Sensei?” Grover asked, expressing how faded up he is about this ‘two artifact thi
Krystal then asked Shambala, “When will the training start, Sensei?” “I will give you a week to prepare and brace yourselves for what is going to come to you,” Shambala replied.“That is so kind of you, Sensei,” Krystal added.“Oh, I will also take you guys to different crypts to find new artifacts to add to the one you guys are already using,” Shambala added.“What kind of Crypts sensei?" Justin asked.“They are ones with good and strong artifacts, so your powers would very much match those of the Øré members,” Shambala replied."Okay, Sensei,” Justin said.“Now I want you lads to choose who would and who would stay back to protect the city while we are gone,” Shambala told them.“I thought we were all going?” Grover questioned."No, lad, we cannot risk the safety of the city over the exploration of crypts, can we now?” Shambala asked.“Of course not, Sensei,” Krystal retorted.“Good, I will take my leave now for a few important things, which will also take a week. Make sure to do a
[A Week Later]The nominated members were all packed and ready to go.“Are you guys sure Mr. Shambala is still coming back?” Riley asked, seeming unsettled because it was getting longer now."Relax, I am sure he is close.” Vladimir, who has been close to her during Shambala, comforts her with those words.“Do you think he got attacked, captured, or eaten by a beast?” Grover asked with a grin."Grover, man, we do not need that negativity right now, okay?” Krystal said.“Come on, lads, have you guys already forgotten who whooped your asses some weeks ago? Do you guys think any of those things I mentioned can befall him?” Grover asked again after making his point."Well, you have a point there, but what about starving and becoming weak when those things happened? Remember, we do not know if he went with food or water. Even money,” Justin replied.“My thoughts are that if he could do all of those for us, he could source food and, if needed, hunt. We do not know if his journey took him thr
Immediately, they walked out of the city, stepping into the morning sun just after the gates of the city.The guild were talking and laughing when Shambala stopped."Stop, lads,” Shambala commanded.Turning to face him, the guild thought he had changed his mind or something.“Take down your bags, lads,” Shambala instructed.The boys did so a bit confused as to why he would ask them to do so, knowing fully well they just stepped out of the city and could not camp there.“Bring them here,” Shambala added.They took it to where he was standing; he brought out a little space storage-type item, but to their amusement, everything just kept going in without getting full.“What is that?” Grover asked curiously. “It is a rare item specially designed to relieve travelers of their burden,” Shambala said as he brought out three long rulers about the length of each of the boys.“Thank you for relieving our burdens, Sensei,” Krystal appreciated.Shambala smiled.“These rare items were a gift from
The meeting on the target stuff sparked up a lot of questions, but Shambala said he would not entertain any more questions about changing the time on the ruler.“I am not taking any more questions, lads. Like I said and will repeat, you lads know it is important for your training. Your bodies are too weak for what is ahead of you; you gas out easily during fights. So I have to get your bodies very strong by whatever means necessary,” Shambala stated.“Here is a dagger for your defense as you go through the forest,” Shambala added.“What for? We do not need it, Sensei. We have our artifacts,” Grover retorted.“About that, give it to me,” Shambala instructed them, pointing to a bag before them and prompting them to drop their artifacts into it.“Is he serious right now?” Vladimir asked, looking at Krystal.“Just do it, guys; I am sure we will be fine,” Krystal replied.“The animals in the forest are not that dangerous; some will even run at just seeing you guys approach them,” Shambala