The chamber was quite big, so Edgar had many places to hide, be it behind the boulders or pillars or in the smelly foliage and whatnot. Currently, Edgar was hiding behind a boulder, his back resting against it. He was eating a banana, and his eyes were closing at the same time. He hadn’t slept in a long time.
The hairy silhouettes were inspecting potential hiding spots, one by one, so Edgar didn’t get much of a time to hide at one spot. He kept changing places and sometimes he got caught, leaving him with the only option, which was to fight. And every time his location was found out, the old man would laugh mockingly and send all the silhouettes to that location. Then an all-out brawl would break out. Everytime, it ended up with Edgar getting utterly lashed and trounced.
The hairy soldiers were anything but weak. Each strand of hair was exceptionally tough and resilient, and each of these soldiers were like boulders themselves. Neither could he cut, nor could he push them around. And they adjusted their speed and strength accordingly, always making it a little bit hard for him to face their attacks. So, he was forced to improve in every single aspect, especially the speed and fleeing skills.
The old man, on the other hand, kept personally teaching him at times, but he taunted the boy most of the time, testing his mental fortitude during the fight with the hairy soldiers.
This went on for weeks. Soon, all the boulders were broken, and all the foliage was spread out, leaving only the pillars and the trees in the chamber the suitables places for Edgar to hide.
It had been two months since the harsh training started, Edgar was currently hiding in a mango tree.
The old man purposely didn’t look in that direction. (Mm, he’s finally gotten good at regulating his breathing. Nice. This shows that he’s now adept in controlling his body and senses, especially the sense of smell, which will be crucial when it comes to escaping this valley alive for the likes of him. He’s getting closer and closer to unlocking Drive. All that is needed is a big push in the right direction.) He pondered for a moment. (Alright, I’ll give him ‘that’ as a goal.) He then briefly glanced in the direction of the mango tree. (Still, it’s a weird way of hiding. Why’s he hugging the branch like it’s his lover? Does he think I can’t find him that way? Or… don’t tell me, he’s sleeping?) The old man was startled. (This kid… I can’t let you sleep so easily!) He mobilized the hairy soldiers, and they all climbed up the trees. Yes, they climbed the trees and attacked him, for their movements were much more agile and complex than regular humans. Edgar was forced to jump directly into the pool. However, the soldiers followed him into the pool. A fierce battle took place.
In the end, the soldiers moved too swiftly inside the water, unlike Edgar. Eventually, they overwhelmed him. After defeating him, the soldiers brought him to the giant crystal rock that the old man was sealed in.
“Not bad,” the old man teasingly said. “While fighting against twelve, you were able to last one and half a minute inside the pool. Your awareness is up to snuff.”
“That’s not long at all. But, how can these hairies be so strong?” Edgar was panting heavily. He had long started calling the hairy soldiers as hairies. “How can they carry so much weight? Shouldn’t hair be soft? Because of their absurd power, I’ve never defeated a single one of them yet.” He sounded dull, to say the least. (I can’t even tell if I’m improving or not.)
“My hair is strong because I learned the ‘Flowing Wind Folding Hair Arts,’” the old man casually replied. “Even though my power was sealed away, and I can’t use Drive right now, my hair still can do some handy things.”
“Eh? So that’s how it is,” Edgar looked at the crystal rock that had many scratches on them. “Those marks… you tried to destroy the rock with your hair didn’t you?”
The old man didn’t say anything. (He’s not smart, but he’s naturally attentive, so he’ll get smarter sooner or later with experience.) He then glanced at the marks that he could see. (If only I had learned Flowing Hair Folding Wind Arts instead, I would have long escaped this God-forsaken place. But luck just wasn’t on my side.)
“Anyway,” Edgar stood and picked up his wooden sword. “I’m not counting days, but I’m sure, it’s been a few months since I’ve come to this place. How much longer will it take for me to unlock this Drive?”
The old man glanced toward the banana tree. “By the time you are able to cut that banana tree with your wooden sword, you’ll have found your Drive.”
“Banana tree?” Edgar shook his head. “Isn’t that just a simple task? I used to cut a lot of trees, so it feels like you’re underestimating me.”
“You’ve climbed that thing, but you don’t know its sturdiness. Go check it yourself.”
Edgar paused a moment before moving.
“Oh, by the way,” the old man said, “I don’t trust in talent; however, hard work isn’t enough to get you through all troubles. If you fail to cut the tree in one week, then I’d say that it’s better that you forget about ever seeing your sister again.”
Edgar gripped the sword tightly and ran ahead with a resolute look.
The old man faintly smiled. (Good. Everything’s set now. Desire is what drives a man. Though he wants to see his sister badly, he doesn’t know how to manifest it into something physical. Now that I’ve given him a physical enemy he must overcome, he’ll give it everything he got. It is time for me to witness your true potential, kid.)
As the old man was looking, Edgar ran straight toward his new-found target; however, he suddenly stepped on a banana peel and fell on his face.
The old man’s expectations went down the drain. Never mind.
The hairy soldiers also lowered their shoulders in conjunction.
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
WHIT 07 - CUTTING THINGS
After striking the banana tree’s trunk for more than a thousand times, Edgar fell back. “This isn't easy.” His palms turned blood-red, and he couldn’t even clench the sword tightly. Though he was tired, he was also afraid that if he let go of the sword, he might not be able to hold it again, so he held onto it. “How can a banana tree be so sturdy?” “Brute force isn’t everything. Cognizance plays a role in success, too,” the old man said, “and so is hunger. It requires the combination of all ingredients to make a curry. For Drive, you need more than just brute strength. And depending on how you use the ingredients, your Drive’s character and range of control will change. And there will be times when you’ll run out of drive, so you’ve gotta rely on other things such as enhancing your base bodily strength and senses or absorbing an elemental ability and what not. The deeper and diverse your pool of power is,
WHIT 08 - BUD OF HOPE
Many months later. His hair fully grown, Edgar was standing calmly, wearing an underwear made from stitching tree roots and leaves, for his clothes long perished in the heat of the battles. In groups, fifty stones came flying at Edgar from different directions. He blocked more than two dozen stones in a streak, but when the stones began to strike his body, his body leaked out a red energy, and his speed increased at once. With a single sweep of his arm, he stopped numerous stones at once coming from many directions, while gyrating on his feet like a dancer. In three simple steps, he destroyed all the remaining rocks before they got to him. However, the dozen hairy soldiers that were in stand by now made their move. A ferocious fight broke out as each part showed no mercy. Unlike in the past, Edgar’s sword was now
WHIT 09 - WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY
Two days later. There was a tiny light deep in the valley, in one of the dark rifts. “I haven’t come across any weapons or dead bodies with rings, or creatures other than worms. What’s going on? Where are the vipers?” As Edgar traveled through a narrow rift between two rocky structures, a python slithered its way through desperately, seemingly looking to eat him. Thanks to that glowing stone he wore as a necklace, he was able to see it coming pretty comfortably. He was no longer holding any food items, and the bronze plate was half stuck in his underwear on the back. “Mm? That doesn’t look like a viper? Is it a python? Looking at its speed, it's taking me for an easy kill…” he readied the sword, but to his surprise, a bigger snake came from behind and swallowed the python bit by bit until it was fully gone. This
WHIT 10 - ONE AFTER ANOTHER
The worms that had been touring from one wall to another got alerted when a human entered their zone, but his speed only confused the worms on both sides. Before they could accurately locate him, he entered the cave, and to his surprise, the entire path was filled with them ugly worms of all sizes and colors.“Flying Flash Arts…” The red aura burst out of his whole body, especially at the soles of his feet like a spinning flower that lifted his feet off the ground without much noise. “Red Rush!” He forced his way through the sheer number of worms with pure strength, throwing the worms on either side or destroying them with his momentum alone.After going for about two hundred meters and slicing dozens of worms in the process, he stopped. Though there were no worms behind him at the moment, there were still plenty of those hideous
WHIT 11 - BATTLE TO DEATH
The snake’s crystal was huge.“It’s big as a lamb. Am I supposed to carry that big thing? Forget about convenience, fighting while carrying that will sure-fire get me killed. Wait, how am I supposed to eat that? Bit by bit?” He looked at the bird, whose crystal was smaller. “I should take that one.”As he was about to act, both crystalline horns leaked out vapors, and they shattered into pieces. “What?” Edgar’s jaw slackened. “The cores…” For a moment, he thought that the cores were gone; however, two round-shaped glowing stones shot slightly high in the air above the beasts’ heads, tiny bits of fire and electric surges still connecting it to the respective beasts. “That’s…” Edgar’s eyes lit up. “Are they the beast cores?” He had only heard
WHIT 12 - A CORE THAT CRIPPLED HIM
Edgar sat at the edge of a tunnel, hiding behind a protruding stone. He had been observing the rainbow-colored beast core. It was glowing and had deep colors, but it wasn’t giving off lightning anymore.“Master did tell me a lot about the cores, but I don’t quite remember the details. It’s hard to keep them in mind as he didn’t repeat those lessons.” He couldn’t help but blame his master for his own shortcomings.He looked at the worm’s core, which looked relatively bland, but he still found it a bit hard to decide between the two.“Which one should I take?“I was told it’s important as our first core will greatly impact our future, and both cores are not bad. One gives an earth ability, and the other&hell
WHIT 13 - THE BLUES
Forty hours after Edgar got crippled and experienced a near-death situation after consuming the thunderbird’s core.Edgar had just dodged the stinger and claws of a giant gray scorpion and struck its head with his heel. The drive that leaked out through his leg crushed its head and separated its pincers from the rest of its body. It wobbled for a while before crashing helplessly, as gray blood painted the ground.The blood stank pretty bad. Edgar had to quickly move away from there.He didn’t have a stone necklace to lead his path, but he wasn’t in as bad of a situation as he thought. Though he couldn’t see much in that darkness, he could still smell things a lot better than before. It was as if he could feel every scent flowing through his blood, helping him discover everything around him.
WHIT 14 - LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
As darkness, devoid of love and warmth, incessantly endeavored to sink into the furthest depths of his mind, Edgar was learning things, bit by bit.In a place where light rarely ever shone, the creatures living there moved and hunted in a lot of intriguing ways. Worms used the sense of touch to not only detect the vibrations to spot the prey, but also figured out which rocks were easy to pass through. As Edgar used the holes made by these worms, he began to unravel more and more about their proceedings.He had seen shrimps feed on snails and worms at sea shore, but it was the opposite in these underground tunnels. The worms ganged up on the cave shrimps. The predator would become the prey itself more often than not.Back in shushui mountains, great-backed sloths also used to swing on healthy tree branches and avoide