"It's already been a week since Elijah picked that assignment. How do you think he is doing right now?"
"Him? Hahahahahaha, that bastard's most likely dead and rotting inside the stomachs of Mysterious Beasts."
"Hmmm.. You think so? Anyway, I've always been curious about this. Why do you hate that Elijah so much? All he does is focus on cultivating and improving his Passing Grade."
"Humph! What do you know?! That bastard while acting all cold is attracting every girl I like!"
Looking towards his friend in a completely new light since he just discovered a new level of petty, the one who spoke first began wondering if he could ever show the same great determination that Elijah showed and put his life on the line just to get a better Passing Grade.
…
Unbeknownst to the fact his fellow class and school mates had started betting on his survival, the one known as Elijah was lying flat on a muddy ground under the continuous assault of rain on his mangled body.
Not even possessing enough strength to wince, the sixteen year old boy lay there lifelessly while the drops of water which struck his flesh made him feel the same way one felt when hot oil spilt on their skin.
'Did I really bite off more than I could chew…?'
Thinking deep down if whether his situation would be any better if he had picked an easier assignment, Elijah simply lacked the energy to shake his head.
The wry smile which was filled with despair and hopeless however managed to make its way onto his lips.
Completing this assignment was the only way Elijah could break out of his current life status and hope to achieve his lifelong ambition and possess the qualifications to compete for one of the Nine God Thrones which would soon appear.
After all, only by doing that would he manage to heal her.
But it seems like his fate was not going to change despite the huge amount of risk he took in coming here. As for surviving the disaster to be blessed by great fortune, Elijah no longer believed that such a thing existed.
Because if it did, Elijah who managed to escape that huge tiger which could use Wind Spiritual Essence must have struck his fortune already.
Since he didn't do so however, this only meant that Elijah had failed to change his fate and was going to die right here.
Knowing this, Elijah wasn't filled with fear regarding his arriving death. No. What troubled Elijah was the sadness of failing to keep his promise to that woman.
'Sorry…. Lucia…. This seems to be my end…. I'm sorry….'
Apologizing to the woman known as Lucia, Elijah was about to close his eyes and get ready to die when something changed.
'NO!!! I can't die!!!'
Eyes shooting wide open right before they could close forever, Elijah started towards the entrance of a cave which wasn't too far from him.
'Even if I lose both my arms and legs…. I CANNOT DIE!!!!'
Screaming on the inside, Elijah was filled with a great deal of determination to survive at all cost. If not for him, then at least for Lucia whom he owed everything to.
He needed to survive at all costs!
Filled with an unbelievable determination, Elijah gritted his teeth and struggled to stretch his hands which had huge holes in them to grip the moist ground and drag his body forward.
Elijah himself didn't know what was inside the cave, but something inside him was screaming and telling him that everything would be fine once he entered it.
Since I'm going to die anyway, what's wrong with bearing some pain for a while longer?!
Thinking in such a way, Elijah began dragging his body towards the cave inch by inch and covered the ground he passed on with the blood which leaked out of his injury riddled bare chest.
Ignoring the pain caused every time stone and soil rubbed against the wounds caused by the tiger's paw, Elijah was soon approaching his last breaths by the time he arrived at the entrance of the cave.
Stretching his hand forward and grabbing onto the cave surface which was made of a smooth jade like material, Elijah was not in a spot to think about the reason behind this and continued dragging his body forward by sheer will and instinct.
No one knows when, but to Elijah whose breathing was turning shorter continuously, his fingers touched something other than solid ground after a long time.
'Cold… fluid… Water?!'
Those three words very well might be Elijah's last thoughts as his consciousness fell asleep. His body however continued moving forward by dragging him inside the pond of milky liquid which was shining despite the lack of light.
If he was awake and could properly think, young Elijah would find out that the pool of liquid he dragged himself inside wasn't filled with water. Instead, it was filed with a special liquid which was overflowing with energy.
On the current earth which had left behind the era of technological advancement, energy wasn't produced by burning fossil fuels or generating it using natural forces like sun, wind, and water. No no no, energy was created by converting Spiritual Essence through the use of various means.
And the pond of milky liquid inside the cave was actually a special naturally formed resource which was overflowing with boundless energy.
Though natural resources were rarely used to produce energy to light up cities these days, items like Crystal Lightning were used by rich people who didn't want to depend on others to obtain energy for managing their homes and building.
The energy inside the milky liquid though was something which no amount of Crystal Lightning could ever compare with.
Letting out huge waves of invisible energy as soon as Elijah's body fell inside it, no one was there to witness it, but soon a beautiful and unforgettable scene took place with the milky liquid dancing around the fainted boy and entering his body as if something was sucking it inside him.
At the same time, a loud roar appeared with Elijah at the centre of it which spread through almost the entire forest outside of it and caused every Mysterious Beast inside it to cover from fear.