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."
Toma reached out to pet Mr. Red. The bird pecked his
finger. Hard. Blood welled up.
"OW–"
"I told you. 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
like he spared you. Congrats!"
"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. But I'll win you over" Toma swallowed his words.
"No, you can't."
The bird pecked him again.
But, she was laughing now. A real laugh.
"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 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–"
The Felsinc turned its head–too fast. Its eyes locked on him.
A low growl rumbled from its chest.
"Toma–"
Eldiea grabbed his collar and yanked him back. The Felsinc's
jaw snapped shut inches from his face.
"I told you," she hissed. "Dangerous."
Toma's heart was pounding. He could feel every beat of his
heart.
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. And now this–"
"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.
For the rest of the ride, Toma stayed silent and listened to
Eldiea's speech. He also made a pinky promise with her that
he wouldn'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.
She looked at it. Then at him.
"Toma..."
"I know it's not much, but–"
"Half of these are poisonous."
"What?"
"The yellow ones. The white ones. And the pink ones have
thorns that'll make your hand swell."
He dropped the bouquet as if it was on fire.
"Why didn't you stop me sooner?"
"You looked proud of yourself. Even though it was stupid."
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. I trust you."
He stepped into the circle. The ground pulled–not
physically, but something deeper. A faint white glow stared
at his feet. He looked at Eldiea. She was watching, tense.
"Don't move," she said.
The glow shifted. Yellow. Then orange. His bracelet flared in
light greenish light. The circle screamed–a sound without a
sound–and Toma felt something click inside him.
"Step out," Eldiea said. Her voice was strange. He stepped
out. The circle went dark. His bracelet kept glowing.
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's not possible." Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Plasma can't be contained like that. It's not stable. It's
not–"
She looked at Toma. Really looked.
"You should be dead. Right now. That bracelet should have
vaporised you the moment you put it on."
Toma looked at his wrist. The bracelet was warm. Not
burning. Just... warm.
"What do you mean by that? I've had it for years!"
"I mean, you can manipulate plasma to fight your
opponents. It 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 manipulate plasma then was
one of the best moments of 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–"
"Huh?"
"I have a question."
"Yeah, ask, ask." Toma, meanwhile, was still looking at the
butterfly.
"Would you for once listen to me seriously?"
He turned to his side. A mountain of lava. No. It was Eldiea.
"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."
She continued.
"I want you to stay away from every unknown person. Why?
Because you are an extremely rare IKO user in this world,
heroes, governments 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
center 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."
46 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 as 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."
"What is that?"
"It's a meowlink, a communicating device."
"Does the cat live there?"
"No."
"So, why is it there?"
Eldiea sighed.
Toma stepped inside the tree.