It was nervous. The little hooded creature next to the desk trembled while presenting a report to its master. Morpheal was reviewing the final calculations for his biggest project ever, and those little lowlifes knew they should not bother him while he studied. This report had better be important.
The little creature kept its eyes on the ground and backed away as soon as he took the report.
"Stay," he commanded.
His cold but strong voice filled the room, followed by a squeak from the little creature. It stood where it was, shaking in fear.
The report was about the sudden increase in deaths in his army. Deaths were normal; they needed to fight to pick out the weak and form a hierarchy. An average of thirty percent of his products died as waste in this process.
But unexplained disappearances had occurred, according to the report. A few had deserted before, but this was nothing like that. Some of the stronger products had vanished from the middle of their ranks, and their kin had sensed their deaths shortly after.
He burned the report in his hand. Was someone messing with his army? This was not a serious matter; his army was too massive for it to do any harm. But he was so close to concluding his plans, and Morpheal was not someone who allowed unexpected variables into his calculations.
"Send word to the captains. Tell them to gather their squads and search the land around our mining grounds. They may kill if they encounter anyone. Don't come back until there are results. You may go now."
The little lowlife left his presence. He could have informed them through their connection of Energy, but the thought disgusted him. He was way above them; they were not worthy of his direct attention.
He turned back to his research notes and calculations. Everything was drawing to a close; his life's work would bear fruit soon. Then none of these little things would matter. Even the Gods themselves would think twice before messing with him.
***
Exercise, drink, slash, eat, change location, sleep. Exercise, drink, slash, eat, change location, sleep. And repeat, again and again. It was harsh training, but Elise had no complaints. Being able to use her sword once again made her feel alive more than anything else. She did her best to utilize everything she learned in her fights, but the Traveler was always raising the bar.
First, he picked the agile ones. Every creature he brought was faster than the previous one and used its speed differently. Some kept dodging and evading her attacks, while others charged right at her with their muscular lower bodies, forcing her to dodge. Elise had to focus and distribute her Energy to different muscle groups using various strategies.
Once she got the hang of it, the Traveler started increasing their numbers. Elise knew he was intentionally picking the worst combinations to keep her using not only her muscles but also her brain. He was not teaching her how to use her sword or Energy; he was teaching her how to stay alive by letting her get beaten up. She figured out the rest by herself through experiments. She couldn't remember ever having this much fun.
Next were the heavily armored ones. Everything she had learned and developed proved useless against them. They were not fast, so dodging was pointless, but they were powerful and sturdy with their thick skins and shells. The strength of her attacks was not enough to damage them, and if she tried to gather enough power for a strong attack, she would be exposed to theirs, which could lead to an early end of her traveling life.
She learned how to add force to her quick attacks. The Traveler kept his word and did not get involved, except for a few tips when she got stuck. His tips were always accurate and no more than necessary. He insisted she figure things out herself without depending on him.
Somewhere in the middle, her exercises reached their final state. A hundred reps for each. She kept doing them until they no longer wore her out. The next step was doing them without Energy, which was surprisingly easier than she thought. It took a while, but it was worth it. Her raw power significantly increased, making her attacks even more effective.
"How? They were just basic exercises. How could they be this effective?" She held her sword in her right hand and looked at her calloused left hand. A hard-shelled purple creature lay in front of her with a broken skull, oozing smoking blood.
"They make you use most of your major muscles, but that's not the reason." He sat on a big rock as usual. Elise suspected he specifically picked spots with the most comfortable rocks. "The real reason is we force your muscles to their limits with continuous Energy use. In short, we break them to forge them again with Energy to make them stronger. Working them without Energy after such a long time forces them out of their comfort zone for the exact same purpose."
She distanced herself from the dead creature before it exploded. Its shell scattered around like tiny blades, but she was used to it and dodged them effortlessly. She could see and feel herself improving with every fight. Her body was stronger than ever, and her grasp of Energy was on another level. She knew following the Traveler was the right move. What would her father think of her improvement? The expression on her mother's face would be priceless; that was a given.
Her opponents' numbers kept increasing, and their combinations kept getting harder to deal with. But they always left an opening for her to notice and use to her advantage. The Traveler kept bringing them, and she kept killing them, until they decided to come for her themselves.
They appeared on a hill close to where they were training and charged right at them. There were five of them, and Elise sliced them all with ease. One was quite challenging, but it was nothing she couldn't handle after all that training.
The Traveler dropped down from his rock after she finished. "It is time then."
"Time for what?" Elise asked, cleaning the blood from her sword.
"They finally noticed us and decided to look for us. This was probably one of the search teams sent to find and kill us."
"What are we going to do now?"
"If I'm not mistaken, some of them should be able to sense each other through their Energy connection. They can feel where their kin died. That's how they found us, and I'm sure their numbers will increase every time." He walked toward the hill that had an open view of the volcano.
"Let me guess. Are we going to act before them?" Elise had no idea what they could do against such an army, but she was curious. Maybe this was a chance to see how strong the Traveler really was.
He answered with a mischievous smile, turning back toward the volcano. From where they stood, they could clearly see the dark castle in the distance. Elise had been inside castles before, but this one was smaller and had a different layout. It consisted of three different sections stacked on top of each other like a wedding cake. Well, half a cake, actually. The other half seemed buried inside the volcano. She grimaced at the simile she'd just made. Unwanted memories rushed through her mind, but she quickly pushed them aside.
While she inspected the castle, the Traveler walked next to a house-sized rock. He kicked it sideways while still staring at the castle, as if trying to figure something out. The rock cracked horizontally from the bottom and slid slightly.
"Do you know what happens if you poke a beehive with a stick?" He buried his right hand inside the crack he made and lifted the giant stone with ease. After quickly testing its weight, he spun around, hurling the rock with a single hand. "A rock, in this case."
Elise could only watch with wide eyes as the giant rock flew toward the castle. No siege weapon she knew could launch a stone that far, especially one that size. Furthermore, she didn't even notice any Energy from him. Had he really pulled that stunt with just his raw strength?
They watched the rock hit the middle section of the castle with a devastating impact. The struck section slowly collapsed in on itself, and some of the upper sections soon followed. That dark and ominous castle now had a hole in its center.
Inside that hole, a purple light began to shine in reaction. Something glowing with the same color shot out, flying straight toward them like a comet.
"You anger every resident inside, making them come right at you," the Traveler answered his own question as the comet landed in front of them with a heavy impact.