When the rooster pecked on his head, he was sure he wasn't
dreaming. The rooster looked straight into Toma's green
eyes and pecked him again.
"Why are you pecking me, you stupid bird?" Confused Toma
asked him.
"Mr. Red doesn't like weak people. He only pecks those who
he thinks are weaker than him." Eldiea answered Toma's
question.
"You mean I'M WEAKER THAN A ROOSTER."
"Yeah! To be precise, he is not a rooster; he is a picacrow.
They don't usually bond with anyone. Looks like you
managed to survive."
"What do you mean I MANAGED TO SURVIVE?"
"Whenever Mr. Red sees someone new or suspicious to him,
he just pecks them until that part of their body gets
completely destroyed. But nothing to worry about; it looks "What? Is this a joke or something? You are congratulating
me? Well, thanks then. How come you named this monster
Mr. Red?"
"Oh, you want to change his name? Then try."
Mr. Red looks at Toma with a deadly stare.
"I guess Mr. Red is a great name. Nothing to change about
that." Toma swallows his words.
"Well then, get ready. We are going to head for training after
that. Have your breakfast and change your clothes." Then
she looks at his grey hoodie and black trousers. "They are
not suitable for the training we are going to do today. The
clothes are placed near the bath. I am waiting for you in the
living room."
Saying so, Eldiea left the room with Mr. Red, and Toma
started getting ready for the training. He ate some breakfast
and then got ready in the clothes Eldiea placed for him. He
was wearing a white shirt with a black turtle-neck sweater
underneath it and brown trousers with a black chained belt
and black boots.
When he got ready, he reached the living room where Eldiea
was playing with Mr. Red. On Toma's arrival, Mr. Red got
suspicious and was ready to attack Toma when Eldiea
stopped him.
"Well, ready to go?" Eldiea asked him.
"Always been ready."
Both headed to the grounds where the training was
supposed to take place. The route was long, so they decided
to go there on a wagon, which was being pulled by a yak-like
creature, instead of being black in colour and dull in
structure, it was quite just the opposite. It was teal in colour
and was lively in nature and looked quite friendly.
Toma stepped closer, hand half-raised, curiosity getting the
better of him.
"Hey-"
"What are you doing?"
Eldiea's voice snapped through the air, sharp enough to
freeze him mid-step.
"Get away from that Felsinc."
He blinked, confused. "It looks–"
"I don't care what it looks like."
Her eyes didn't leave him.
"It's dangerous to be this close to a wild creature."
Toma, still confused, moved away from the Felsinc. Obeying
Eldiea's command, he quietly seated himself in the wagon.
The weather was cold and the air was getting heavier every
moment they moved towards their destination.
Eldiea kept on scolding him throughout the journey. "Why
are you so childish? You always get me into trouble." She put
her hand to her forehead.
"Firstly, you got me into trouble when the troll appeared."
"But, I–"
"It was all a coincidence that you were able to use your IKO
and save us. Otherwise we would have been dead. And then
you did what? You provoked Mr. Red. It was fortunate for
you that I was there."
"I didn't do it on purpose." Toma tried to prove himself
innocent with a childish gesture.
"IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT SOMETHING, JUST STAY
AWAY FROM THAT THING. THIS WORLD IS
DANGEROUS."
Listening to this, Toma moved away from her. Seeing this,
Eldiea punched him in the face. Not too hard yet hard
enough for him to come to his senses.
Rest of the ride, Toma stayed silent and listened to Eldiea's
speech. He also made a pinky promise with her that he won't
do anything until and unless he was told to. Toma was
educated by Eldiea like a child who liked to create chaos for
absolutely no reason.
When they reached the destination, the Felsinc gave them a
slight bow and moved on. When Toma turned, he saw green
lush meadows stretched before him, butterflies drifting
lazily through the air and, at the center stood a vast open
ground.
"These are the grounds of Rulphend, where today we are
going to do our training and find out what is the best you
can do."
"But there is just one ground. Why did you say "grounds"
not ground"?
"You'll soon find out."
Both headed towards the ground, swaying through tall green
grasses and colourful flowers. Toma made a small bouquet
of flowers and gave it to Eldiea.
"You fool! I would have accepted it, but half of the flowers in
this bouquet, are poisonous."
Toma looked at the flowers and ran through his mind as fast
as he could and came to his conclusion. "Oh! So all the
pretty things in this world are poisonous." And he looked at
her.
"Well, you can say so. The pretty things can be poisonous,
and the poisonous things can be harmless. And also, the
pretty things can be harmless and the poisonous things can
be harmful too."
Toma looked at her confusedly and said, "I totally
understand everything. Next time, before even walking, I'll
take your consent."
They reached the ground and saw a big circle drawn in the
middle of the ground. The circle seemed to be made of rock
but not as hard as rock.
"I want you to step inside the circle." Eldiea calmly
commanded Toma to do so.
"If you say so." Saying so, Toma stepped in the circle. As
soon as he placed both his legs in the circle, the circle started
to glow with a faint white light.
"Now, let me explain what is happening right now. If the
circle in the next four minutes glows with a yellow light, it
means you can use any weapon as your medium to fight, but
if it glows with an orange light, you can manipulate any
natural element like water, air, or even fire, to fight. The tool
you are capable of using will also start glowing with a green
light."
"And if it doesn't glow with any colour?"
"Well then, you are useless. Just kidding. It won't happen."
After a few minutes, the circle started glowing in an orange
colour, and to Toma's surprise, his bracelet started glowing
in a greenish light.
"Why is my bracelet glowing? It is not a... natural element,
right?" Toma confusedly asked her.
"Well, you are right. Come out of the circle. Let me see what
is going on."
As soon as Toma stepped out of the circle, the circle stopped
glowing, and he felt a sudden jerk in his body as if someone
pushed him out of the circle. When he looked back, he saw
nobody behind him.
Toma reached her and showed her his bracelet. On further
investigation, they came to know that inside the emerald
beads was nothing other than plasma itself.
She froze.
"That thing shouldn't be here. It can't be confined in such a
small space. How is it possible?" Eldiea was shocked by the
mystery of the bracelet.
"You mean plasma–the fourth state of matter?" Toma
gasped upon knowing the truth behind the ever-shining
bracelet.
"Yeah, but the question is, why is it not harming you? It has
enough energy to destroy you. But instead of doing so, it has
decided to obey you and be the source of energy in your
IKO."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, you can manipulate plasma to fight your
opponents. But you know plasma is electrically unstable and
highly dynamic in nature. If you can't use it wisely, you can
destroy yourselves as well as the surroundings. And looking
at you, I'm sure it will happen."
Toma realising that he could plasma then was one of the
best moments in his life. He had been interested in chemistry all his life and knowing this made him feel like a
superhero. Toma, thinking of the potential advantages of his
powers, got lost in his own world.
That's when Eldiea yelled at him, and he came back to the
grounds.
"Can't you just seriously listen to me for one time?"
"Okay." Toma looked at her with eyes that shouted that he
was being oppressed by an old grandma.
"So. Just so you know, people who can manipulate natural
elements are very few in this world. And on top of that, you
are able to control plasma, which is like absolutely rare. So.."
That's when she noticed that Toma was taken by the beauty
of a butterfly and was constantly looking at it.
"Toma. I have a question." Eldiea calmly asked him.
"Yeah, ask, ask." Toma, meanwhile, still looking at the
butterfly.
"Can you tell me which type of IKO user is very few in this
world?"
"How will I know that? This world is new to me. Tell me."
After saying that, he turned back to look at Eldiea, only to
see her getting red in anger.
"SO, WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME? From now on, I am
going to tell you everything once. If you listen, then well
done otherwise die. Why? Because you already know that
this world is a lot more dangerous than you think."
Seeing Eldiea's angry face, Toma folded and sat straight like
a kindergartener. Eldiea continued her explanation.
"I want you to stay away from every unknown person. Why?
Because you are an extremely rare IKO user in this world,
heroes, government as well as secret organisations will
pursue you. They want you because you are useful for them."
The words 'EXTREMELY RARE' stayed in his mind and he
was going to his imaginative world but on the way, he
remembered to listen to Eldiea so he came back.
"These are the things you need to keep in mind. Now, we
will begin with basic IKO training. So, step away from the
circle for a bit."
Toma stepped away from the circle, and as soon as Eldiea
entered the circle, it started to glow blue. She reached the
centre of the circle and with her right hand conjured a red
light that went inside the circle and it started to change. Its
structure, its composition, its colours all of them got
changed.
Soon, one could see some weapons placed nearby and a
chair with a wooden finish. The ground's size became larger
and soon filled the green, lush meadows. The meadows
turned into big trees and green grass filled the ground.
Then Eldiea came out of the circle and took out her bow and
arrow. Seeing the strange behaviour of Eldiea, he backed up.
"Now, I'm going to ask you the same question. Are you
trying to kill me?" Toma asked her suspiciously.
"No, you stupid. We, both are going to train on this ground.
I also have to raise my IKO, just like you. I also have to get
stronger to fight the ones who stole the Thaloryn."
Eldiea reached for a blunt, rusted sword and picked it up as
if it were a national treasure and handed it over to Toma.
Toma looked at the sword in disgust.
"At least I want a sharp sword, El." Toma pleaded with
Eldiea.
"So, you want to cut off your arm and then ask me why you
are on fire using your stupid dangerous power. Shut up your
nonsense and do what I say. Firstly, you have to learn how
to use a blunt sword, and then I will give you a better one.
And what's with you calling me El?"
"Well, I gave you a nickname. From now on, I am going to
call you El."
"Yeah, whatever, Mr. Dumbhead. I have called my teacher
here to teach you how to swing a sword. If you are capable of
being a swordsman, my teacher will tell you; otherwise you
are useless as you are. Then I will tell you how to use your
power."
Eldiea went near a suspicious-looking tree, and to Toma's
surprise, the tree's trunk opened like a door. Inside the door
was a cat holding a funnel-like thing.
Eldiea picked up the funnel, and some numbers started to
appear on the green coloured funnel. She pressed some
numbers, and the cat started to vibrate. After a little while,
the cat started speaking in the voice of an old man.
"Hoyola?" The old man spoke.
"Hoyola, Mr. Treak. It's me, Eldiea. Are you coming to the
grounds?"
"Yes. I am on my way."
"Okay, then. The pupil is here waiting for your decision."
The talk ended, but Toma's excitement increased. He rushed
over to the tree to examine the cat. The cat was greyish
brown in colour and looked cute as an angel. Toma looked at
Eldiea and asked, "Can I touch it? Is it safe?"
"Yes, it is safe. Seems like you learned your lesson."