《Equilibrium》 Prologue: Escape. The year 2308. Humanity had achieved everything. The Earth, the Solar System, the entire Milky Way even, was ours to command. Technology had reached its peak. After the complete superstring theory model was developed in 2257, we had advanced at a pace that would put our previous endeavours to shame. Hunger? Nil. Poverty? Eliminated. Disease? Deceased. Unhappiness? Nearly zero. Crime? Most prisons were running empty with the precognition system. Invading Aliens? Not possible. Global Warming? Halted and Reversed. Truly, we had reached an impasse. It had been proved that we couldn¡¯t build warp drives, so we couldn¡¯t expand out of the Milky Way in any foreseeable time frame. In our galaxy itself, there were no more planets that could be terraformed economically, and each only had a handful of robotic colonists after the introduction of multi-layer cities greatly reduced the burden our population placed on our home planet. Life expectancy had reached two hundred years at a minimum. It was then that disaster struck. The natural calamity that we now call ¡®The Progression¡¯ shook the planet. For three days and three nights, nearly the entire world was bombarded with lightning. Somehow, in the end, an EMP had been created, so large in scale, that everything electronic on our planet shut down. An hour before that. The entire EOS series of satellites had sent a composite image to the lab at the International Space Federation. The printer automatically printed the image, and what was in it shocked everyone at the ISF. Miraculously, none of the lightning strikes had hit any of the shelters, as if controlled to land away. These strikes, also, had left a message across the earth: ¡®Congratulations, Humanity. You have splendidly reached the end of your Path. And now, I set you on a new one.'' Just before the EMP struck, the ISF made an emergency broadcast. They conveyed the words to the masses using the International Broadcast System. The System, which was only ever used in extreme emergencies, barely sent the message to the world before it broke into a shower of static. Moments later, the world came to a standstill. Then, a bolt of lightning struck that was as large as a small country hit each continent. It charged the entire planet and ravaged the lands. Everything electronic was then completely eliminated, along with most of the planet¡¯s population. To the few thousand survivors on each continent, a voice rang out: ¡®The Chosen will be born in time. Treasure them, nourish them, and advance. You, who have reached the pinnacle of technology, show me that you can do the same with this new power I give you. Show me what I have failed to see in any other race. Show me that you can maintain this new form of life. Show me that you are worthy of the title of The First Equilibrium.'' Prologue to ¡®Renewal''
December 29th, 0093 RE. ¡°Aegis recruitment begins in two hours,¡± a voice said out loud in the marketplace, attracting quite a few youths to its owner. The lady who was suddenly the center of attention spoke once more. ¡°Just past the West Gate. Everyone who wants to attend this trip, be there.¡± Then she flew off. ¡°And here, as most of you know, we have the Anna Orphanage. Founded in 0001 Renewal Era by the woman Alex once referred to as his second mother, and run for a long time by Alex himself, they take in a large number of orphans and the specially abled every year and provide a good life for them. It currently spans more than 200 acres, occupying the entire northeastern side of Eternia. It¡¯s said that it was here that Alex...¡± the tour guide continued speaking as she walked out of range with a huge entourage. The boy felt that it was suddenly quieter inside the orphanage. Although things were as busy as ever, today he felt a neat calm hiding away from his teachers and caretakers, waiting for an opportunity to sneak out. The guards had learned to be vigilant on his birthday after he was caught last year, but they still underestimated him too much. The ring of the bell announced lunch, which also meant the end of all tours. Today, everyone in his Family would throw him a party, like always. He, though, would not be there for the experience. Like always. Catching sight of the returning tour group, he slowly snuck to the back of it and tapped a twenty-something-year-old lady on the back. The lady turned towards him, her face blooming into a smile as she saw his. ¡°What can I do for you, dear?¡± she asked. To her, he was a ten- or eleven-year-old girl with short hair. ¡°My mom is at the front and I can¡¯t get there with all these people. Can I hold your hand until we come out?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Immediately grasping the small hand and bringing the little ¡®girl¡¯ close to herself, the lady walked out with her. When she showed her ID to the guards, they didn¡¯t think to ask for one for the child. If the mother had a pass, why wouldn¡¯t the child? Thus, the two of them walked out of the orphanage premises. The lady then let go of the little girl¡¯s hand to put her ID back in, before turning back. ¡°Now, shall I help you find your mother?¡± she asked the air. A few metres away, the small figure was running through the cobbled streets, looking for an alley from where he could get on to the roofs. Eternia¡¯s layout with it¡¯s high buildings and few alleyways wasn¡¯t helping him one bit. No doubt his caretakers had found out by now. Only a little time was left, he would be caught if he couldn¡¯t get out. A small empty alley came up on his left, across the street. Swerving, he barely dodged hitting a street vendor before getting in and jumping to the rooftops. There, he was free to stretch his legs and run at full speed. Pushing his speed to the limits, he bounded from one roof to the other while heading to the edge of town. The guard post there would be a little troublesome, but he could deal with it. As he sprinted, he looked around him a little. It was rare for the Anna Orphanage to let its wards out. They preferred to teach them all they needed to know while keeping them unaware of the outside world. Most social contact for the young orphans was with their peers, and the occasional tourists and Aegis representatives were their only other company. Getting out more than the others did, he couldn¡¯t really see the reason for them to want this. The town wasn¡¯t what made Eternia fun to live in. Still, the bustling streets did have a beauty of their own, however minuscule it was. Twenty minutes later, the boy found himself at the edge of town, along the metal walls that protected his ancestors from the Storm. There wasn¡¯t a dome anymore over Eternia, having been removed when the citizens demanded natural light, but with the tears on the top of the walls, he could imagine how it must have looked before that. A statue of Emperor Alex stood tall at the gates he was about to pass through, eyes glowing green. As he made to get off the roof, however, there was a sudden loud noise and they turned red. ¡°Dammit they caught on!¡± he said softly, dropping flat so that he wouldn¡¯t be seen easily. He looked around for an escape route, knowing that there were almost no chances of him making it out today. The guards had suddenly become attentive, and he could see that the air in front of the gate was still. They¡¯d obviously casted a barrier. Other than that, the only option was to vault over the walls, but there was a distance of at least fifteen metres, with the walls themselves being a foot or two higher than the roof. Looking back, the caretakers hadn¡¯t caught up yet. Nobody was looking at him either. ¡°Should I?¡± he thought. It was undoubtedly a crazy idea, but it just might have been possible. He crawled back to the edge of the roof he was on before getting up. A ten metre run up, a fifteen metre jump, and he had to land a few feet above his starting height. The boy¡¯s muscles tensed, this was going to be tough. He kicked the roof a few times to test his legs. Then, Push, he ran forward at full speed, covering the distance to the edge in just over a second before jumping up. In mid-air, the boy looked at where he was about to land. It was at eight metres or so from the edge of the roof. He had a split-second to finish the next part. Freeze. His foot landing on solid air, he took another jump, this time covering two thirds of the remaining distance. Then, he brought his legs together, and bent them. Launch! He shot straight out, his feet hitting the edge of the wall and plunging his face to the metal just after he managed to get a hand to protect it. In a world of pain and out of breath, he lay down on the wall to rest and listened to the clamoring sounds from the guard post. ¡°Did anyone come here after I sounded the alarm?¡± ¡°No Sir, nobody. We didn¡¯t let anyone go out after the alarm rang, and there was no kid with short black hair here for a while before that too.¡± ¡°Thank you. He must still be in the city. I¡¯ll go find him and take him back.¡± Having recovered a bit, the boy bounded down the side of the wall and ran off into the forest. Wanting to rest a little before he went to hunt, he found a nice tree near the valley and climbed up into it before falling asleep from the mental exertion of using magic successively in a heated situation. Chapter 1: Escape! 28th January. 0020 RE. I''m a few days late in writing this, but here goes: It was like any other day in Eternia. More news of ReCorporation''s failures came in the morning as I returned from a three-day hunt. I waited at the gates for Kevin, as I knew he would keep to the set time and be there. It was going to be fun showing him the wolf I''d caught. As expected, Kevin got angry that I did better than him and tried to hit me, failing spectacularly by falling after a brief chase. I took him to Tim''s as he was the best doc I knew. There was only a small bruise, so Tim said he only needed to disinfect it with some hot water. There were a few children over at Tim''s place listening to his stories when I came in, so I decided to take them on a tour through the town. Although there was some fear of me at the start, all of them other than a girl named Caris got used to me quickly enough. I took em through a tour of my house, where I realised Caris hates strangers because she''s an orphan. Having been in that situation myself before, I decided to get her to open up to me, and take her in with the rest of us if possible. Evan, a tiny guy who seemed to be the head of their group, was likeable too. I decided then to take them out to play. It was a mistake. As we were playing on the cliffside, Caris wandered off to get my treasured tennis ball when it fell near the cliff''s edge. Forgetting the dangers of the cliff, I let her do so, but that was utter stupidity on my part. As she reached the edge, the cliff began to crumble. Hearing the sound, I realised too late and ran to fetch her. I didn''t want her to die the same way my father did, so I ran as fast as possible. I should''ve realised then that I was abnormal for running so fast, but only in retrospect do I realise that I used magic for the first time. When I reached the edge, the part Caris was on had already crumbled down, and so I dived in to catch her without thinking. Subconsciously using what I now know to be strengthening magic, and kinetic magic, I reached her as she was in mid-air, caught on to her and flew back. If anyone had seen me then, I''m sure they would''ve been stupefied, but no matter. I''ll show everyone kinetic magic soon enough. After getting her back, I fainted immediately, although it was just a shift of my soul to another location. In this world, they said I slept for a week like a corpse. Excerpt from ''The Journal of a Failure''
"Alex," a voice said curtly, causing the middle-aged man to start. He turned to the woman who called him, and his eyes widened. "Minerva? You... here... how?" he asked as he pulled a chair out for the lady before sitting down himself. "Hey, I only told you that you couldn''t come over there again, never the other way around. Also, I have work to do, so I can''t stay long." The man straightened in response. He might have passed his prime a few years ago, but he still had a dignified presence when he wanted one. Minerva merely chuckled. "Stop acting, I''ve seen you before all of this came about, and I know that isn''t you. Knowing you, you probably want to get out of here and spend the rest of your life looking for clues about Caris. Ah, I''m going off on a tangent here. I came to warn you." "Warn me? Of what?" "Not you, your planet as a whole. I''m not allowed to divulge specifics, but you''re in danger. I''d advise you to accelerate the mage training processes and build up an army." "An Army? But the planet''s as peaceful as... invaders?" "Yes, of sorts. You have a little more than five to six years. Now, I have work to do. Goodbye!" Leaving with those words, Minerva vanished, leaving the man slumped into a chair. He waved his hand, and the air around him restructured into an image, filling with colour from specific manipulations of individual particles. "Caris, I know you''re still alive, so where are you?" he mumbled softly to himself before dispersing the image and calling an attendant. The Emperor had a planet to protect.
In a forest near the town of Eternia, a young boy woke up refreshed from what he estimated to be a four hour nap. That left him with about seven hours of hunting before everyone would freak out and come after him. He planned to enjoy those seven hours of freedom to the fullest. Hopping off the tree, he landed gracefully and began to stretch out his cramped muscles. Suppressing a yawn, he then began to sprint through the forest towards its central area while looking for good sharp branches to use as arrows. The December chill permeated through the woods. Although there was no snow, there were quite a few trees whose leaves hadn''t begun to grow back from which he broke off the branches until he had about twenty of them. Once the branches were collected, he fell silent and started to stalk through the forest. On tiptoes, he lightly danced around until he found a rabbit, the city''s main food source, foraging through a berry bush. Deciding on his target, the young hunter slowed his breathing until it had a smooth rhythm, and held one of the branches in his hand like he would a javelin. Focusing on the branch, he slowly let go of his hand and, although it was jerking a little, the branch began to float silently in the air, turning to point towards the rabbit. It was now that things got tricky. He couldn''t just push the branch forward with his magic, there were so many ways to mess that up that it would be a miracle if he hit. Concentrating on the branch''s outline, he experimented with adding and removing velocity until it was slowly oscillating around a point while still aimed at the rabbit. Then, he imagined an outline around the branch that included the air immediately surrounding it. If he launched just the branch, it would most probably break from the air resistance. Exerting his mind, he immediately added a huge forward velocity to the branch and it shot towards the rabbit. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The unsuspecting creature could only groan as it was hit, first by an air bullet and then by the branch it encased. The boy''s shot was accurate, puncturing right through its left lung and emerging on the other side. As he went up to the animal, its ears were still twitching in a surreal manner. Picking the corpse up, the boy took out a small, sharp stone from his pocket and rather amateurishly skinned the thing, blood still dripping from the meat. Having the meat float in the air, the boy suddenly increased the torque on it quickly, leading to the blood spraying out and the meat drying. Returning from the tree he hid behind while he did this, the boy put the meat and skin into small sacks that he took out of his pockets before going over to retrieve the branch. As he''d expected, the tip of the branch had broken, making it mostly useless for his purposes. Discarding it, he went on his way to another part of the forest to look for another unsuspecting rabbit or, if he were lucky, one of the very rare wolves that Vincent had told him about. Wandering through the forest, it wasn''t long before his time was up and the light from Eternia''s light tower extinguished to indicate midnight. He would have to be back in bed by the next morning, and everyone would treat the event like it never happened. His caretakers would frown at him a little when they saw him, but would do nothing more. After all, why would they associate with the best friend of a murderer? Deciding that being thrown out wasn''t really something he wanted yet, the boy swiftly ran in the direction of the valley, from where he could climb a tree and vault back over the walls. His feet were now mechanical, lacking all the grace they had before as he hunted. His mind was no longer focused on controlling his actions, instead allowing his body to run on autopilot while it could think of other things. He was thirteen today. Just two years below Vincent''s age when they first met. The last year wasn''t so bad, considering that he had broken a few bones trying to escape which distracted him, but loneliness was a predominant emotion now. He''d snuck out on his birthday just as they used to, but his hunting partner wasn''t here anymore. This time, he not only had to aim, but also shoot the arrows himself, but he did it. He had succeeded in his first try. Vincent would be proud. Yes, he would be very proud indeed. Proud that he hadn''t bent his knees when they came to him a week ago and tried to beat him up. Proud that he''d straightened his back and pointed them to the door. Proud that when one of them tried to take him by surprise, a fist had rammed into his body and thrown him out. Thinking of such things, the boy did not notice that he descended into the valley instead of climbing a tree at the side. That realisation only came when he tripped over a rock and rolled down the last few metres and into a river that was ice cold. Suddenly feeling cold, the boy snapped out of his reverie. Realising that he was drowning, the boy got up and swam to the top of the slightly deep river. Taking a moment to orient himself, he swam in the direction of the closest shore before throwing himself out. "*Brrr* T-That w-was close!" he exclaimed to himself as he huddled to retain even the smallest amount of warmth that he could. Suddenly woken up like this, he felt cold and there were multiple small bruises on his exposed arms and legs. His skin had paled even more than normal, and he could swear that he was going to have a cold and a headache after this ordeal. A few minutes passed as the boy warmed himself before looking around at where he was. The river valley near Eternia was barren and lifeless save for the abundant rocks from a cliff collapse decades ago. Nobody had paid attention to the area during the rebuilding, and it had been ignored ever since. There were even some rumours that the Emperor did not want this place restored for some reason, and the children were told stories of how monsters emerged there at night, looking for unsuspecting victims to gobble up. This, of course, had greatly interested Vincent, who explored the area thoroughly one night before concluding that there was absolutely nothing there. Being told this, the boy lost all interest in the place as well and had never gone there in spite of passing close to it numerous times. Suddenly, he heard a few rocks tumbling nearby and went still as stone. His face turned pure white with terror and he had no way to turn around and look at the new actor in the scene. Instead, his mind was thinking up all ways of escaping from the situation and not dying. He began to curse Vincent in his mind. Who told him that there were no monsters here? Evidently, there was one slowly walking towards him. The footsteps were heard closer and closer, and his pulse continued to quicken until his heart was about to burst. He lost all ability to think straight, and was about to collapse until the idea of using magic popped into his mind. Slowly opening his closed eyes, he took a look at the sky and the top of the valley. Locking on to a random position, he suddenly uncurled his body and stood up before beginning a run. Exerting his thought once again, he imagined a block that encompassed all of him at once and, Accelerate! He rammed, hard, into the cliff before blacking out.
In another part of the Universe, a young girl was talking to a middle-aged man when suddenly a notification popped into view.
Proximity Alert!
A subject, DNA ID EQAPAG2IL1 has wandered into the valley and been heavily injured. Treat the subject and transfer to Training Server?
YesNo
The young girl smiled, thought a Yes, and bid goodbye to the man before vanishing into thin air. Chapter 2: Escape? I have learned to trust my estimates on nothing.
12th February, 0020 RE. Asking everyone to keep my secret, I told them the truth today. About Minerva and the Office Server, about unlocking magic, and about what the storm actually was. I didn''t tell them everything, though. They needn''t know that their so-called Apocalypse didn''t really take as many lives as they once thought. Then again, I''m not so sure I believe everything Minerva told me myself, so I can''t really expect them to believe that stuff even if I told them. When I told them I unlocked magic, the kids looked at me like I was some sort of superhero, Evan and Caris especially. They even asked me to teach them. That reminded me about the crystal that was bound to me, and I took it out to look at it. ''This crystal is the key to giving your world magic. Use it within ten years, or it will destroy itself. You won''t be able to regain technology either way, though, so decide for yourself whether your world is ready for magic.'' Those were the last words Minerva had said, and I conveyed them to the old doctor, Kevin, and the children before promising to teach them magic once I broke it. Kevin and the doc made wry smiles while most of the children were excited beyond compare. I also noticed Evan making glimpses at Caris quite often. They''re both 15; I guess it would happen sometime or the other considering how often they''re together from what they say. I should really try to match them at some point, it''ll be fun like the time with Kevin and Messa. Those two still get along so well too. Maybe I''m some sort of Cupid in disguise? Excerpt from ''The Journal of a Failure''
The soft morning light shone on a young boy''s face, waking him up from a deep restful sleep. He opened his eyes slowly, mind still groggy and unable to work normally. He had a splitting headache and found it extremely difficult to think straight. "Miss Merl, are there some painkillers?" he asked out of instinct more than anything and was answered by a small hand prying apart his lips and putting a small pill in. Nodding his thanks, he slowly chewed the thing until he felt his head becoming lighter. Blinking until his vision cleared, he looked around to see the familiar handmade drapes and the table that he''d studied at God knows how many times; he was indeed in his caretaker''s room back in the orphanage. They must''ve rescued me before the thing got to me, he thought idly, frowning as another small bout of pain hit him. His foolishness was going to cost him quite a bit, especially if someone had actually seen him use magic. "You ignored the first and biggest rule, you know." A voice came from behind him, only partly familiar to the person he knew. Still, he replied normally, "I''m sorry. I know I shouldn''t go out without permission." If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He heard a chuckle, now completely distinct from the voice he was used to, "Not that, you dummy. Never cast when you''re not calm. It''ll almost certainly backfire on you." That woke him up completely, and he turned his head around to find a young girl, perhaps an year or two younger than him even, looking into his eyes with clear interest. His body, untrained as it was to meeting strangers, froze immediately even as his breaths sped up unintended. Immediately, he pictured a certain scene from a few years ago and began to chant softly under his breath. "Strangers are no danger. Strangers are no danger." This seemingly amused the girl even more, as she chuckled again this time slightly longer and with a deeper voice.¡±I''m not a stranger though, Alex. At least I don''t plan to be.¡± The boy widened his eyes until his eyelids were almost a line. ¡°... Name,¡± he managed to mutter. ¡°I''m Jordan, and you''re Alex. And yes, I do know your name.¡± ¡°Ho-¡± ¡°Don''t ask that question. Your name won''t be so important in this discussion. There are three that I believe are quite important to the current you. Let''s just call them Friend, Mother and Father, shall we?¡± That snapped the shyness right out of the boy. ¡°How is Vincent?¡± he asked. ¡°Truly, parents of his, I pity you. And yes, Vincent is fine. Want to meet him? Too bad, coz ya need ta do what I tell ya.¡± The sudden change of tone disoriented the teen, but he gritted his teeth for a moment before saying ¡°Anything.¡± ¡°Then we have a deal. I have something I need done in a while, but I need to train someone to do it. Learn well and do what I want you to, and the two of you will be reunited.¡± ¡°How long will it take. If it''s more than a week or two, I won''t-¡± He was interrupted again. ¡°Ah that. A few years, maybe? I''m not sure. You know, it''s really sad that you don''t even want to know your parents¡¯ names, so I''ll withhold that information. Don''t worry ¡®bout the orphanage, I''ve taken care of things on that end. Now, training begins. In that hole you go.¡± Before he could register what she said, a hole opened up in the floor of the room, and a nasty smell drifted out. When he looked in, he saw bones of small animals everywhere. Suddenly he began to regret his decision. Just as he was about to back out- ¡°Good luck!¡± was all he heard before he was pushed in.
¡°Miss head tutor it''s your turn!¡± Jordan called before leaving and a shadow flashed sealing the hole. A wry laugh was heard as the girl vanished, leaving behind a countdown on a blue screen that seemed to float in space. Chapter 3: ESC... Never mind. 25th February, 0020 RE. Caris visited me alone today, thanking me for saving her again. I was a bit surprised at this, considering it¡¯s been a while since the incident. I just laughed it off and told her that I got much more out of the deal than she did. She managed a weak laugh at that, which alerted me of something wrong. I looked away from trying to play around with two rocks like they were tops, and saw that her skin was flushed red. She was trembling, trying to hold back tears for some reason. When I asked her what was wrong, she couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore and jumped into my arms, breaking out into a fit of tears. I just held her for a while before she managed to calm herself down. I repeated my question, and she answered me by asking how everyone was so kind to her in the Orphanage. A question she¡¯d asked multiple times already, but this time it seemed to have a special meaning to it. Sighing, I told her how I was picked up by Anna, and what our goal is. Things she¡¯d heard from others, no doubt, but that was all there was to it. Sometimes I wonder why people don¡¯t get that not everything has a deep backstory. Some people are just kind, and Anna is simply the kindest woman alive. Her own past was not something for me to tell, Caris would find out in time anyway if her temperament is anything to go by. It seemed to have effect. We just remained like that for a few minutes, before she¡¯d recovered enough to be embarrassed. She immediately let go of me, and started to run away with widened eyes. It was almost comical. Is that still a word, now? Comical? I mean, no comics were found to have survived the storm, so we only know superheroes from word of mouth. Anyway, just before she reached the exit of my ¡®room,¡¯ really just a small cordoned off space in the shelter for now, she tripped and was about to fall. I don¡¯t know how, but I suddenly managed to stop her even though accurate velocity changes weren¡¯t something I¡¯d learned yet. When I got to her and got her back up, she just thanked me and ran away again. Well, I have known her for less than a month, so I guess it should be expected. She¡¯ll open up soon enough. Ah, that reminds me, I still have see about Evan and Caris! I¡¯ll do that as soon as I¡¯m able to replicate what I just did. Excerpt from ''The Journal of a Failure''
As the boy woke up, he felt like swearing, something he rarely ever did. He''d been asleep way too long for such a short fall, a whole two hours. Habitually, he reached behind his back to stretch a bit, trying to work away the stiffness in his muscles as he thought about what had happened. Many questions popped into his mind. How had he even survived that crash? Where was he? How did that hole open up so fast? Who was Jordan? How did she seem so cunning at that age? Why did her personality seem to shift during the discussion? How this ? Why that? He felt a headache, more due to the number of questions than his injury which was nowhere to be seen. Of all these questions he had, he felt he''d get the answer to only one in the near future. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked the strange person in front of him. They were dressed in a dark blue set of clothing and carried a lantern that shone in a soft yellow light. Their garments were wet at the thighs, sleeves and veil, although now it was only a few darker spots than the rest. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. The weird person hesitated for a few seconds, seemingly wondering whether to answer before a gruff yet somewhat warm voice sounded, ¡°Trainer.¡± ¡°Mine?¡± Alex asked the supposed female, a call he was unveiling to make without further proof. He just eyed the person up and down for a few more seconds before realising he was being rude and turning to look them in the¡­ veil. ¡°Yes. It''s a training uniform, just like yours.¡± The voice was not as gruff when it came this time, and promoted Alex to look at what he was wearing for a moment. Suddenly, a thought came to mind: Who changed me? A blush came over him, and he tried to pay attention to their surroundings to keep it down. The trainer seemed to be distracted, so he managed to keep them from finding out. If course, when he registered his environment, even a lovestruck little girl would lose her blush, let alone someone like him who was scared easily. All around, there were bones of various small animals, from rats to rabbits. There was a stench of blood and raw meat in the air, something that almost caused him to puke. As he was trying to hold it in, he heard the voice of the trainer once more. ¡°Survival training begins now. You''re to last a week in here, and survive off the inhabitants of this cave. Mind you, this is no ordinary place, you might just die here, and we won''t help you. Also, if you want to back out, just tell me. We have no need for cowards, you can be¡­ ¡®replaced¡¯.¡± Near the end, she drew a dagger out of the inner reaches of her belt threateningly before handing it to him and walking away. Alex sat still for a few minutes, trying to come to terms with what he had to do. Eventually, he pushed his trembling body up and tried to calm himself down. ¡°Nothing different here from the forest,¡± he told himself, ¡°it''s just a week, I''ll be fine.¡± *Grr* Just then, he heard a lie growl and picked up the lantern the person had left behind and tried to set the dagger afloat, failing spectacularly with the doing dagger now attracting the interest of the hunting beast. For a few moments he felt like running back, but when his back touched a wall he knew he was at the end of a chamber. With shaking hands, the young boy picked up the dagger and readied it in a defensive stance, the serrated edge facing the outside. Another thing to thank Vincent for, he thought. Slowly, he calmed himself down and steadied his body, prepared for whatever came out of the depths. A small stone from the floor became a ranged weapon, although he still couldn''t manage to make it float like normal. A lion jumped out of the shadows, charging towards the stunned boy. He barely managed to jump away as it pounced onto the lantern he''d placed on the ground, shattering it and plunging the place into darkness. Then, it turned towards him and lunged forward, catching his ankle in its mouth. He was terrified of the situation, but even more confused. He''d expected the unknown beast to have killed him. Just¡­ it was a cub that didn''t even have teeth yet.
This is not a comedy, but this isn''t a training dummy course either. The characters grow into actual fighting, and Alex will probably die if you put am actual lion in front of him at the start.