He knew Green came after Orange, but he didn’t know what came after that. Perhaps it was Red, though he really couldn’t be sure. A Belt was a Martial Artist’s way of showing others their strength. It was a manifestation of their cores made solid and was impossible to fake.
“It seems that you are correct,” Koya said, bowing to the man, this time squashing his anger before it could even begin to form.
This man could wipe them out with a thought. Best not to antagonize him. Also, he seemed interested in him for some reason, and him alone. The man hadn’t bothered to wake either Izu or Kozu, so he had no doubt about that.
“Of course, I am,” the man said, his eyes moving up to stare at the sky above.
Lightning flashed across the cloudy night, showing the man’s body in stark detail. It was only because of that flash that Koya was able to make out the man completely, if he could even be called a man at all. Before he had been wholly unremarkable, and now, he was anything but.
What he’d at first taken as a Martial Artist’s robe trimmed with fur, was now revealed to be his actual body. The dark brown fur didn’t extend all the way across his body though, leaving his chest and abdomen free of hair. His muscles looked to be carved from stone.
He had a shaggy mane of black hair, and a line of fur extended down, tracing his jaw in an approximation of a beard. His face was sharp and angled, and his ears extended into sharp points, each tipped with a small tuft of hair. His eyes were slanted, and slitted pupils sat inside burning red irises. A pair of fangs extended from both his bottom and top lips, giving him a fierce appearance.
His only article of clothing was a pair of loose-fitting black pants that were held in place by his Red-Belt. And when his eyes traveled to the man’s feet, he saw they were bare, and tipped with four wicked looking claws.
Koya could feel his blood run cold as the man’s red eyes fixed on him. His expression hadn’t changed, and neither had his posture, but now Koya knew what he was staring at. A monster.
“What…” Koya licked his lips. His mouth suddenly felt very dry. “What are you?”
“Not what,” the man said, turning his Beast away from him. “Who. Remember, young Shah, you now owe me two favors, and I will collect,” he said as his Beast began disappearing into the darkness.
Koya stood there for a long moment, stunned into silence, before finally having the presence of mind to ask, “who are you?”
The giant bear stopped, the man’s back straightening in his seat. He didn’t turn around, however.
“I am known as the Beast King of The Crater. Remember that name, Shah. It is one you would be foolish to forget.”
With that said, man and Beast vanished into the night.
Koya collapsed onto his hands and knees, feeling his heart pounding so hard that it felt as though it would come out of his chest. The Beast King of The Crater was supposed to be a myth. A bedtime story told to children to frighten them into behaving. He’d never once even dreamed that he would one day find out he was real, let alone meet him in person.
And he was interested in him. He’d saved his life twice, and he was now in debt to a living nightmare!
Koya didn’t move from his spot for the entire night. Instead, he curled up in a ball, and staring into space, his mind went completely blank. That was how Izu and Kozu found him when they awoke the next morning, lying on the ground, near a pile of monstrous deer corpses.
29
“Is that it, Irusaru Sensei?” Roy asked, pointing up ahead to where the narrow canyon they were traveling through opened up.
“Yes, disciple, that is where we will begin your training in the Martial Arts. Look upon it well, as it marks the beginning of a new chapter in your life.”
Aika snorted out a laugh, ruining what would otherwise have been a serious moment.
“Can’t you show some respect, girl?” Irusaru snapped.
“Not when you’re trying to act like a wise old mentor,” she replied.
“I’ll have you know that I’m well over three centuries old!” he snapped in reply. “I believe that qualifies me as a wise old mentor.”
“At over three hundred years old, I’d use a different term to describe you,” Aika shot back, rubbing her chin as though trying to remember the word. She snapped her fingers, giving the old man a devilish grin. “Senile! That’s the word I was looking for.”
“Respect!” Irusaru shot back.
“Over my dead body!”
Roy sighed, patting Ferry’s head lightly as she carried him out of the canyon and into the massive valley beyond.
His eyes widened as he got his first good look at the valley. He’d been expecting it to look much like the rest of The Crater, blasted stone and tall spires, and cloudy skies filled with lightning storms. What he saw instead was a tropical oasis.
The entire valley was ringed in by mountains, blocking it off from the rest of the world. The ground was carpeted by lush grass so green that it hardly looked real. The sky was cloudless and blue, with the sun shining brightly above their heads. A waterfall ran down the side of one of the cliff faces, collecting in a deep pool on the far side of the valley, and a small stream ran off, winding its way through.
A small copse of trees stood off to one side, providing shade, and Roy could see small creatures roaming throughout the area. What caught his attention was the area in the very center of the valley. A tall stone archway with a swirling, multicolored portal stood at its center. A Dungeon, and a powerful one as well. Or so, his Dungeon sense – as he’d begun thinking of it – told him.
“This place is amazing!” Roy exclaimed as Ferry carried him further in.
The air smelled so fresh, and the Essence in the area was purer than any he’d ever felt. There was Essence of every type. This place was a Martial Artist’s dream!
“Yes. This place is indeed amazing. It is called Tonde Basin and is our clan’s most carefully guarded secret. We expend a massive amount of resources to keeping it hidden from the other clans, and I’m sure you can guess as to why. This area is a haven for Martial Artists of all Paths. The area is rich with Essence and is well secluded, but the real treasure is the Dungeon. Unlike almost every other Dungeon, which will only have a single affinity, this one has every single one.
“Inside, you will find Beasts of every Path, containing cores with the Essence to match. This area was discovered by our own clan leader, Tonde Kaeru, nearly three centuries ago. Whenever we need to train up one of our younger generation, or one of the elders needs an area to break through, we come here.”
“How is this even possible?” Roy asked as Irusaru turned down the narrow dirt path they were on, heading for the small cluster of trees.
Roy could now see that a few small single-person houses stood just inside the shade and guessed that was where they would be staying.
“The entire Crater is covered by constant storms,” Aika said, cutting off her grandfather. “Every storm has an eye, an area clear of any bad weather, and this is it.”
“Have you ever come here for training before?” Roy asked as they approached the houses.
Aika nodded enthusiastically.
“Twice. Once to break through to Yellow, and the next time to Orange.”
“If this is such an amazing place, why isn’t anyone else here, and why bring me? I’m not a member of your clan.”
Roy wasn’t complaining about his good fortune. In a place such as this, he could fill his core fairly quickly and start pushing for advancement. He knew that the test would only be administered when he was deemed ready, but he had a feeling that this place would greatly help move that process along.