After a couple of hours, Verd began to slowly come to his senses from the steady swaying. Fully opening his eyes, he saw Arktia's face before him.
-You're finally awake, - she said, not even glancing at him.
As he realized what was happening, Verd looked around and understood: he was in the girl's arms, and she, although carefully, was moving forward quite quickly.
-And you said it was uncomfortable, - he smirked, trying to sound triumphant.
In response, Arktia shot him an icy glare, and Verd immediately bit his tongue.
-So, you can walk on your own now?
Snapping out of it, Verd twisted his face into a pained grimace and groaned loudly:
-My leg! I can't feel it!
Arktia didn't react at all. She just silently looked at him and looked away, barely noticeably shaking her head.
'If you're going to try to play with me, at least don't be so obvious...' - she thought.
After that, Verd no longer risked pretending. At first, he even liked this position. He was being carried in her arms like a small child, and he did nothing except occasionally snack on the two fruits he found on himself when he woke up and sparingly sip water.
'How nice!'
However... after a couple of minutes, the delight faded. The fruits quickly ran out, and the endless stretch of rocks and dry earth was depressing. Out of boredom, he started squirming, trying to find a comfortable position.
Thinking about what to do with himself, Verd decided to ask Arktia about something truly useful. How to become stronger without those exhausting stances? How to learn to wield a sword without swinging it until losing consciousness? Or maybe master some powerful technique?
-Stop squirming, you're annoying, - an irritated voice came near his ear.
Thoughts about techniques naturally flowed in the right direction. All the wonders the girl had demonstrated recently surfaced in his mind.
-Listen, Arktia, - Verd finally said, no longer able to bear it. - Back in the forest... you used some kind of magic? And that ball of water you splashed me with in the morning...
After his words, Arktia slowed her pace until she completely stopped. She didn't drop him, just looked down and said one word:
-Mistress.
-What? - Verd asked in confusion.
-If you want me to explain, from now on you will address me as 'Mistress.'
Verd froze. First, a hot wave of indignation rose in his chest, then his face twisted into a contemptuous smirk. He jerked sharply, trying to break free from her arms, but Arktia didn't let go.
-Let go, - he hissed through his teeth.
-Do you want to fall? - she calmly clarified, but a steely note slipped into her voice.
-Let go, I said!
Arktia released her hands. Verd landed on the stones with a dull thud, painfully hitting his tailbone. He instantly jumped up, brushing the dust off his clothes.
-So that's how it is, - he spat angrily, his eyes flashing. - I'm not going to call you mistress, got it? And besides... if training starts with me becoming your dog, then I don't need it. I'll figure everything out on my own!
He turned and resolutely strode in the opposite direction, back the way they came. His back was straight, his steps firm, although inside he was trembling with anger and resentment.
'To hell with this!' - his irritation wouldn't subside. - 'No matter how strong she is, I won't be her dog. Even if it means learning from a weaker person.'
Arktia didn't move from her spot. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched him with mild curiosity, like a cat that knows the mouse isn't going anywhere.
-And where do you think you're going? - her voice came after him.
-Anywhere! - Verd shouted without turning around. - Just not with you!
He walked another few dozen steps when the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled. Verd stopped, looking around. The silence, broken only by the sound of the wind, became ominously dense.
And then the earth in front of him exploded.
A massive body covered in thick gray armor burst out from under the rocks. The creature resembled a cross between a lizard and a bear. A long tail with a bony knob, powerful paws with scythe-like claws, and a mouth studded with uneven, rock-like teeth. The monster's eyes burned with a dull, hungry yellow light.
Verd froze. His heart missed a beat and then began pounding wildly. He tried to take a step back, but his feet seemed rooted to the ground.
'Are you kidding me?!' - everything inside him burned. - 'This monster is the size of that troll! Just by looking at it, I can tell it's many times stronger!'
The monster growled, low, drawn-out, with a whistling sound. A cloud of stinking steam burst from its mouth.
-A-Arktia... - Verd forced out, turning around.
The girl stood in the same place, still with her arms crossed. The same calm, cold half-smile played on her lips.
-Did you say something? - she asked lazily. - I didn't catch it.
-There's... a monster! - Verd screamed, pointing with a trembling hand at the approaching creature. - Do something!
Arktia slowly, with visible pleasure, came closer, but not to Verd, slightly to the side, watching the scene like a spectator in a theater.
-Ah, that? - she nodded at the monster as if it were a harmless dog. - Just an armored scorpion-lizard. Are you scared? Well, that's to be expected.
The monster took another step forward, and Verd felt the air around him thicken. The creature's claws dug deep into the ground, leaving furrows.
-A Devourer-level monster. Ordinary people, when they see such monsters, start trembling with fear.
-Help me! - Verd yelled, backing away until his back hit a boulder.
-Help you? - Arktia tilted her head, pretending to think. - Why? You seriously insulted me not long ago. And just now you said you don't need training. That you'll figure it out yourself. So go ahead and figure it out.
She spoke with absolute calm, but dangerous sparks danced in her eyes. Verd understood: she wasn't joking. She was truly ready to watch him get torn apart.
-I changed my mind! - he blurted out, feeling sweat streaming down his face. - Please, teach... train... just save me!
Arktia took another step, and the monster froze, as if sensing her presence. The beast shifted its paws uncertainly but didn't retreat. Hunger overcame fear.
-Listen to me carefully, you freak, - finding herself in front of Verd, she knocked him down with one kick, and at the same moment, a huge axe made of pure light split the monster's skull. - I'm not wasting my time on you for nothing. Do you think the world revolves around your whims and grievances? - at that moment, she roughly stepped on his face and began rubbing her boot across it. - I'm giving you a chance that no one else in the world has ever received. But this chance is not for equals. You will do what I say. You will call me what I command. And you will forget about your pride, because it will kill you faster than any monster.
'Damn it! I already hate her!' - his fists clenched and trembled.
She paused for a moment, letting his fear-clouded mind process her words.
-I will save you, - she said quietly and clearly, - if you truly become my dog. You will obey orders without question. You will endure pain and humiliation. And you will prove that you're at least good for something. If you don't agree, you can leave. But then I won't lift a finger. I'll watch as the first monster that comes along tears you apart.
Verd swallowed the heavy lump in his throat and slowly realized the situation.
-I... - his voice broke. His throat was parched with fear. - I agree. Just help... help me, please...
Arktia took a step back, and her hand grabbed his neck. She was so strong that without any problem, with one hand, she lifted his body so he could look at the monster's corpse
-Remember this moment, - she said calmly. - This is the price of your life. You agreed to be my dog. And you will behave accordingly.
'What the... One moment she was normal and even kind... And the next she's a real devil!'
Arktia smiled slightly and, as promised, began to explain everything slowly and in detail.
-Now, if you're still interested in that question, address me properly.
Verd froze in one position, still kneeling and staring at the sand. The only thing he could do was bite his lip until he tasted blood and look at her.
-Mis... mistress... - barely escaped him. - Answer this absurd dog's question...
Arktia crouched down in front of him. In her hands was already a flask of water, which she handed to him. She smiled slightly and, as promised, began to explain everything slowly and in detail.
-This isn't exactly magic, in the sense that it's portrayed in fairy tales. What we call magic is only the visible part. The foundation of everything is spiritual energy. It exists in everything: in the earth, water, air, in living beings, and even in stones. Though the concentration varies everywhere.
Verd listened, holding his breath. So far, everything was exactly as he had imagined. The warriors he had seen used some kind of energy to apply different techniques. Now his assumption was supplemented with information about this energy. Of course, he didn't think it could be found anywhere, but now it seemed to him that if he learned to use spiritual energy, he would have a chance to survive in this world.
-The very first step is to form a core. It's at this stage that about eighty percent of people fail, - Arktia continued, her steps becoming almost leisurely.
'I, of course, expected that it wouldn't be easy. But eighty percent... isn't that too many who are doomed to fail?' - his face became somewhat grim, but then a small smile appeared on it. - 'But if I end up among those twenty percent, the path to true power will open. Let it be cruel, but it's the best filter. If I can't form this core, then my life never had any meaning from the start.'
-If you're lucky, you start from the very bottom. You'll also receive small privileges and be officially granted the status of Awakened. Don't expect much from this stage. It's the first stage where you simply learn to control spiritual energy, strengthen your body, and create simple effects like light or a shield.
-What other stages are there? - Verd couldn't help asking.
-Next are: Knight, Lord, Guardian, Saint, Transcendent, Emperor, Absolute.
'I didn't expect there to be so many...'
-How difficult is it to advance?
Having heard that about eighty percent of people don't even reach the white core, Verd thought this was the most difficult stage. But that wasn't entirely true.
-The first three cores are comparable in difficulty to formation. However, starting from Guardian, everything becomes tens of times more difficult. Those who reach this level usually become commanders of city guards or armies. I'm not sure exactly, but there are about a thousand of them. Then Saints. There are only about a hundred across all three continents.
She paused, as if remembering something. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she continued with difficulty:
-People who reach the Transcendent level become legends. Not counting me, there are only four across all three continents.
'Such a small number. I wonder if I can reach at least the Guardian level? But something else worries me more. Is she really at such a high level?'
-If these stages are so difficult to reach, then they must definitely be powerful, - Verd began slowly. - But I just can't understand... why don't you kill monsters in the outer world? I saw with my own eyes how you dealt with those giants in a few seconds. And without even looking, you killed that scorpion.
Arktia sighed, and there was a weary bitterness in that sigh.
-Because there's one catch.
-Catch?
-After killing monsters, part of their accumulated energy leaves the body and turns into essences. Absorbing them can help in cultivation. However... if humans can absorb essences, then for balance, monsters can also absorb things.
Verd was surprised. Shock showed on his face, and he closed his eyes.
'Monsters can absorb the power of humans? Aren't they mindless creatures?'
-When a monster kills a human, especially one with an already formed core... it can absorb that core, since if it's not destroyed, it will continue to exist for a couple more minutes. That's why people have come up with a way to classify monsters by two principles. Their rank, and the rank of the absorbed core. Ordinary monsters without absorbed cores are classified as: Awakened, Ravager, Devourer, Colossus, Cataclysm, Devil, Abyss, Primordial. If they have absorbed cores, they are assigned the rank of that core.
-Take those trolls from the forest as an example. Even though that pair was large, in reality they were just Awakened monsters. If they somehow managed to find a Guardian's core, then after absorbing it, the troll would be stronger than the owner of that core.
'How unfair. On the surface, monster absorption is much more advantageous than for humans.'
The thought was so monstrous that Verd's breath caught. He had imagined monsters as wild beasts, dangerous but primitive. But it turned out they could be even more terrifying.
'So every powerful fallen warrior is a potential boost for the enemy. Not just a loss, but a direct detriment. How do you fight then? Every death on the human side makes the enemy stronger. It's an endless pyramid, where we build from scratch, and they steal and add on top with our own ready-made blocks.'
Verd turned away and thought.
'What a cruel world,' - he thought, and this logic was like a sip of ice water.
With every word she spoke, he realized how dangerous and unfair the world was. His simple dream, to live as he wanted, would simply be destroyed by those who turned out to be stronger. Realizing this, Verd felt anger boiling inside him: to survive, he would have to step into a world where everything is decided by strength. And where he, who had just agreed to be a dog, was at the very bottom of this pyramid.
Then suddenly a bold thought appeared in his head.
-What if it's the other way around? - he suddenly asked, getting to his feet. - If a human kills a monster with a core... and absorbs it? Or even a living human. Would he become stronger? Faster than through years of training?
Arktia spun around sharply and punched him in the face. Her gaze became so sharp and cold that Verd involuntarily recoiled. Then she lowered her hands, and Verd fell onto his back again.
-Never. Never even think about it, or I'll break your neck myself, - her voice sounded like a blade raised for a strike. - It's the fastest way to become what we fight against. Monster cores are saturated with darkness, madness, animal rage, and the sorrow of absorbed souls. The human consciousness simply cannot handle that.
Verd was silent, crushed. The picture was drawn too clearly. The temptation was obvious, instant power in exchange for training, but the price was the loss of oneself.
'So everything rests on a fragile balance. The strong protect but can't risk thoughtlessly, otherwise they'll create an even stronger enemy. The weak are simply a resource that needs to be protected and used.'
Verd got to his feet, feeling heavy thoughts churning in his head. He was no longer the same naive guy who dreamed of an easy life. He had seen a monster, he had seen death, and he had seen the price of his pride.
-Alright, I understand, - Verd said and took a step toward Arktia, but she stepped back.
-What are you doing? - she asked quickly.
-Well... coming over so you can carry me. Don't we need to keep going?
Arktia didn't answer. Instead, she simply threw an iron sword into the guy's hands. He barely managed to catch the hilt.
'A sword?' - flashed through his mind.
-You're too cheeky for a dog, - her voice held a hint of amusement. - Now you're going to swing this sword until your arm falls off.