He was tired, hungry, and above all, sore. Every muscle in his body was screaming for rest, but he couldn’t stop. He was closing the gap, he was sure of that, and he couldn’t allow his quarry to escape him. He’d been away from home for too long, and he wanted to go back.
If he returned with the core, not only would he be forgiven, he might also be granted a boon by the clan head. Perhaps a core or maybe a pill. Something with enough power to push him past Base Yellow, or, if he was really lucky, all the way to the end of Yellow.
“But we don’t want to go there,” Kozu said, sounding fearful. “Why don’t we just find another village and stay there? I’m sure they could use Martial Artists without a clan.”
Koya felt his blood boil at that.
“If that’s what you want to do, then fine. Leave like a bunch of cowards! I’ll find the thief myself, and when I get back to the clan, the glory will be all mine!”
With that said, he began descending the steep hillside down to the bottom of The Crater. He had to be careful with his descent, as it looked like there had been a landslide here, and recently, too, judging by the density of Earth Essence in the area. He’d barely taken a few steps when he heard the reluctant footsteps of his two companions. Hiding a smile, he continued picking his way down.
He’d known that they would follow him as soon as he’d called them cowards. Some people were just too easy to manipulate. It didn’t matter to him either way. He would be taking all the credit once they found this thief, and Izu and Kozu would get nothing. There was no personal grudge between them, but that was just the way of things. In the world of Martial Arts, you either stepped on others or were trod underfoot. Koya had no intention of being stepped on.
Well, not being stepped on any more than he already had. Since he wasn’t particularly strong, he’d spent most of his life being scorned. His only outlet was the crippled freak. But things had gone horribly wrong ever since he’d finished the cripple off. He’d been exiled, nearly starved to death, and now had to venture into The Crater.
His foot slipped as a loose bit of stone shifted suddenly underfoot, sending him to the ground, where he began an uncontrollable slide down the face of the hillside. Koya could feel his heart pounding as he desperately dug in his heels, trying to gain some sort of purchase. He wasn’t actually in any pain. The body became considerably tougher after advancing to Yellow, but he knew that he wouldn’t survive if he started a landslide.
Someone seized the lapel on his robe, bringing him to a sudden and jarring halt. Turning his head, he saw Kozu, one hand wrapped around a protruding tree root, and the other entwined in his collar. Koya watched as a few more rocks tumbled down the hill before he used Kozu to leverage himself back to his feet.
“Thank you,” he said as Kozu released him.
The bigger boy merely nodded and motioned him forward.
Koya continued down the steep decline, this time being much more careful of his footing. If he was ever unsure, he would use one of his Water Blades to cut a furrow in the ground for him to place his foot.
The descent took them most of the day, and by the time they reached the bottom, it was already nearly pitch black. The only light was caused by the frequent flashes of lightning. That didn’t bother Koya. At the Yellow stage, one’s senses increased drastically. Hearing, vision, smell, and even touch were all heightened. Although his night vision was limited, there was still enough light for him to see by, thanks to the frequent lightning.
Izu and Kozu trudged up next to him. Both their shoulders were sagging, their eyes drooping and their bodies swaying on their feet. They, like him, were exhausted. Although endurance was greatly increased at the Yellow stage, they still had their limits. The body could only take so much, which rankled him even more.
If he were an Orange-Belt, that climb down would have been a breeze. Not to mention that they tired at a far slower rate. Their bodies were also tougher and hardier, their senses better, and their techniques more varied. If he was an Orange, he wouldn’t still be chasing this nobody. He would have been able to catch him weeks ago. But instead, he was stuck at Base Yellow, all because he couldn’t gather the Essence needed to break into the 1st Dan.
He’d almost not made it to Yellow-Belt at all, having failed his advancement test twice. But once he’d made it, he’d found himself unable to advance any further. Even Izu and Kozu, the two dumbest people he’d ever met, were stronger than he was. Perhaps that was why he was so angry and bitter all the time. He was young now, so no one had noticed it yet, but given a few more years, it would become abundantly clear that he was weak.
“Are we going to stop for some rest?” Izu’s voice snapped him from his bitter thoughts, bringing him back to reality.
He was tempted to snap at him and make them continue marching on, but the truth was that he didn’t think he could, even if he’d wanted to. Finally, he nodded his head, noting the looks of relief as they both slumped to the ground, placing their backs to a tall spire of stone.
Koya was tempted to join them but decided that as the leader, he had an image to uphold. After all, if they believed themselves to be more suited to the role of leader, he would find himself quickly dethroned. Martial Artists respected strength, and if he couldn’t make them believe that the was the strongest one here, he would lose that respect.
He folded his arms over his chest, leaning his back against another spire. Though he desperately wished to fall to the ground and go to sleep, he couldn’t do so until both Izu and Kozu had done so.
“I see you made it to The Crater. I was wondering if you would.”
Koya was too tired to be surprised, and therefore, didn’t react when the stranger from the Waterwood emerged out of the darkness on the back of his massive bear.
“What do you mean, made it? You were the one who sent us here,” he replied.
“Most don’t survive that form of travel,” the man replied. “It seems that you are inordinately lucky.”
Koya felt a chill run down his spine at the casual way the man mentioned that he could have died and had sent them without even giving them the option to decline. Taking a deep breath, he quickly forced himself off the spire to stand straight. Who knew if the man would be insulted and decide to kill them for his lack of respect?
He suppressed a groan as his muscles shrieked in protest, and instead, put on a neutral expression. He still wasn’t sure who this man was, but he was clearly a powerful Martial Artist. His eyes wandered to the man’s waist once again, and this time, he saw a Belt tied there. He blinked a few times to clear the fog from his tired eyes.
No. He wasn’t imagining it. The man’s Belt was a solid Red. At first, he’d thought it had been Orange, but the color had been too dark. He’d never seen that color before and wondered if Martial Artist’s Belts were different in The Crater. Could Red here be like Orange back in the Waterwood? If so, then he would have to show this man deference or risk facing his ire.
“I can see that,” the man replied, his voice as dead as ever. “Your group was nearly killed today by a pack of roaming Hill-deer. It seems you owe me yet again.”
Koya inwardly bristled at the man’s bold claim to have saved them but tried to keep it from his face.
“I see that you do not believe me. That is alright. I have brought proof.”
The man made a gesture, and with a series of loud, crunching splats, a pile of monstrous deer corpses landed in a neat pile before him. This time he did jump, letting out a very undignified sounding yelp. He couldn’t help it. The deer, if anyone could call them that, were absolutely terrifying.
Even now he could sense that their cores were still in place, giving off the energy of Yellow 1st to 3rd Dan. He could even sense a couple of Orange level cores in there. It was a shame they were all Earth Essence, as this was a veritable treasure trove. If these Beasts were really around here and this man had killed them all, then he really did owe him his life once again. It also meant that his Belt had to be higher than he’d thought.