"Yo! If you're all ready... come on! Let's start the climb!" Marito shouted, signaling the beginning of their journey.
Gyau looked up at the towering peak from the base and asked in shock, "Wait, we're actually walking up?"
"Of course we are," Marito replied simply.
"Ugh... my legs are going to be toast," Gyau groaned. But when Marito followed up with, "I'm going to teach you special ways to utilize AIR while we climb," Gyau's eyes instantly lit up. "Wow! 😲😳 In that case, let's go!"
However, reality soon set in. "Huff... puff... I'm exhausted," Gyau panted, clutching his chest, while Kawsoki struggled for breath beside him. Rio looked ahead and tried to encourage them. "We're only halfway there, guys. Don't give up yet."
Marito signaled them to stop for a moment. "Look at this!" he said. He channeled a burst of energy into his legs and leaped effortlessly, landing perfectly on a high tree branch in a single bound. He descended back to the ground and explained, "This is what you're going to practice. Focus your body just like I taught you, and feel the energy circulation within. It won't work instantly, but for the entire duration of this climb, you must maintain that internal flow."
"We're still only halfway! Let's keep moving!"
Every time Gyau whined, "How much further, man?" Marito simply gave his usual answer: "We're almost there." Along the trail, Kawsoki asked, "Gyau, how are you feeling?" Gyau replied, "Man... I can actually see it pretty clearly now." Kawsoki added, "I'm starting to feel a bit of the energy sensation too," and both felt a surge of motivation.
Inside Rio's mind, however, a battle was raging. The monster, Neroli, mocked him. 'You little brat... you think you can master AIR? I'll make sure you can't focus for a single second.'
Rio immediately pulled a vial of Holy Water from his pocket and drank it. "Hahaha! You think this little trick will work, kid?" Neroli screamed in annoyance. But as Rio chose to ignore the voice and focus entirely on his training, the mental shouting began to fade into silence.
Finally, the group reached the summit and stood before the majestic Kengamine Temple.
"The mountain feels so desolate," Gyau noted, looking at the silent stone structure. Kawsoki, however, sighed in awe at the view. "Maybe so... but man, this view is legendary." Rio was starstruck. "Wow... it's beautiful."
Standing just ahead of them was Anne, who was already waiting at the peak.
Anne turned around and said coolly, "I'd give this mountain a rating of 2/5. Next time, I'm sticking to Mount Fuji."
Marito looked at the boys. "What do you feel?" Gyau replied simply, "Nothing." Marito nodded. "Good."
Then, Marito turned back to Anne. "Anne, you have no idea. There are still many beautiful spots here. What you're seeing now is only 1% of this mountain's beauty. If you head toward the south side, there are stunning lakes and scenery."
Anne shrugged. "Fine. I'll check it out when I have time. For now, we're heading back down."
"Wait, just a minute!" Gyau pleaded, wanting to enjoy the view longer, but the group was already preparing for the descent.Upon returning from the mountain, everyone was completely exhausted. Gyau collapsed onto the sofa, groaning.
"Man... I'm so tired."
Rio looked out at the massive hot spring outside the window. "Hey, we've got a whole hot spring here. Might as well use it, right?"
"Yeah, I'm done. I'm way too exhausted," Gyau agreed. Soon after, they were all soaking in the hot spring, letting the warmth melt their fatigue away.
Once they felt refreshed, Marito gathered them. "Alright, I think you guys have grasped the basics of AIR."
To demonstrate, Kawsoki raised his hand. From his thumb, white-colored flames of energy flickered into life. He had successfully stabilized the AIR energy.
"Well done!" Marito praised.
Rio also showcased the energy he had refined, despite the constant mental interference from his internal demon (Neroli). Gyau followed suit, though his energy was noticeably more restless and unstable than the others.
"We're heading out in two days," Marito announced. "In the meantime, I'll teach you some useful techniques."
Two days later...
The group returned to Lake Shizen. The atmosphere around the lake felt even more mysterious and unsettling than before.
Marito looked out at the water and asked, "Rio, what do you sense?"
Rio narrowed his eyes as he scanned the surface. "There's demonic energy here."
Marito smirked. "Of course, I know that. Now look... here's the energy of Lord Shizen."
"Yeah," Rio replied softly, staring at the unique ripples of energy emanating from the lake.