The weeks passed quickly within Winter Rain Mountain. The scent of leaves and the serene sounds of rain took hold of the Village once more, drowning the noise of the people who lived there in a tranquil ambience.
The excitement and fervour created by the Fae Master Tournament had died down over the past few weeks, and a new emphasis on teaching had taken root within the Lecture Hall.
Arthur, who was in charge of the martial arts and combat practices within the Lecture Hall, now had the quantity of his classes per week increased from one or two, to half a dozen. There was at least one martial arts lesson a week for the new Fae Masters, with the vast majority of them still partaking in strengthening exercises, so at to improve their foundations.
Even mortal martial artists would've been able to defeat most of the Fae Masters during the Clan Tournament. Such a thing would only bring shame to the Kovacs Clan if one of their Fae Masters lost because their techniques were insufficient.
It didn't matter whether there was rain or shine, Arthur made sure to never once let up during his.... "teaching" lessons.
"The first person who gives up has to go a round with me in the practice field. If you think I'll go lightly on you, I will break your legs".
Arthur stood underneath his bamboo umbrella, gazing out to the practice field, where over ninety young Fae Masters laid face down on the floor, using nothing but their feet and forearms to keep themselves planked.
All of them could exert the strength of a powerful mortal martial artist, but mentally their willpower and the ability to endure was at the bottom of the barrel. The feeling of the rain drenching their clothes and battering down on their heads was only the cherry on top in this situation.
If they couldn't endure physical stress, or even physical pain, then forget about fighting, the only thing you would be good for is cannon fodder. Handling mental stress cam afterwards, which occurred as time passed.
"Ah! My clothes! They're-!".
"Shut up!", Arthur roared at the young woman speaking. Her face turned a bright crimson, and she felt the gazes of everyone around her on her body.
The girl was.... quite developed for her age, and the rain caused her clothes to cling tightly to her body. Given that Arthur had told them to take off their jackets, shoes and socks, so as to avoid them interfering with their exercises, it was more than just a little cold and uncomfortable.
Many of the young men around her went wide eyed and then lifted their heads, trying to find the other girls in their class.
The feeling of a warm liquid trailing down the face could be felt on the young man planking directly behind Nyssa. From the position he was currently planking in, he could see the soft curve of her backside so long as he lifted his lead just a little bit.
The girl was wearing pants, but it was quite obvious that she had started to fill out a little bit more recently, causing them to appear slightly tighter under the influence of the rain and wind.
The young man's eyes widened and he felt a shadow being cast over him as the feeling of rain stopped. He lifted his head slightly and saw Arthur smiling sinisterly over him.
He kneeled down beside him and muttered something into his ear.
"If you can outlast her, I won't tell her".
The random fifteen year old's mouth dropped slightly and the heated expression on his face only strengthened as he continued to plank.
Nyssa glanced at Arthur standing behind her, who only gave her a once over before giving the girl a wink. She blushed heavily before shaking her head and dismissing any inappropriate thoughts.
Arthur glanced at Henrik, Dagen, Eric and Helga before nodding slightly, letting the rain gently pitter-patter against the roof of his umbrella.
"All of you are Fae Masters! Physical pain is the first thing you should all be learning! You will all fight again in a years time, and I don't want to see such a pitiful performance like I did a few weeks ago".
One of those who gave a "pitiful performance" lifted his head, a slightly angered expression on his face.
"I tried my bes-".
"You were shit", Arthur interrupted, "You all were! Talent and heritage doesn't matter. It only allows one to lay the foundations upon which greatness can be built! If you don't put in the work, you'll all remain nothing but weaklings. Is that what you want?".
Arthur glared at the young man, who just avoided his eyes and bit his bottom lip. Staring into Arthur's eyes was like staring into the deepest, darkest body of water any of them had ever seen.
They didn't know where his eyes started, and where the darkness ended.
Arthur rolled his eyes, sitting down on the only seat free of any rain or water.
He gazed silently at the almost hundred "students" in front of him, lifting his head back slightly and noticing the dark coloured clouds hanging in the skies above. It reminded him somewhat of the clouds just before the second beast tide, but without any of the lightning or thunderous roars.
By this time roughly.... in his previous life at least.... Arthur was a Rank 2 Fae Master, his future completely destroyed due to his dangerous methods of cultivation.
He had a rivalry with Randolf, which forced him to use origin essence stones in order to perpetuate his cultivation. His talent was lower, due to the lack of strengthening received from reincarnation, and his origin Fae was the Winter Fae, which was the opposite to Randolf's Crimson Fae.
He walked the path of Ice Attributed specializations, and eventually left the Village on his own volition.
The first night he left, it rained just like this....
It was so long ago, that Arthur had almost forgotten about it. But whenever he tried to recall it, it always seemed to be so vivid.
Rain came pelting down, like a storm of bullets. The wind was so cold and sharp, that it seemed to dig into the very depths of Arthur's Soul. There was no heat in the air, no fire, no light, nothing but the cold, unforgiving rain, and the harsh, punishing winds.
He used some of his Fae to create shields around him, but he used Ice Attributed Fae, which only seemed to make the air colder as time passed.
Eventually he found the remains of an ancient deceased tree. It was hollow on the inside, and Arthur fully expected their to be some sort of spirit beast sleeping inside.
He entered the tree, thinking that if he was going to die, he would rather be killed than frozen to death by the cold winds and rain.
The moment he entered the tree, he sparked a fire and passed out. Arthur didn't expect he would ever wake up again....
The thousand year old demon let out a small sigh, smiling slightly underneath his umbrella. After so many trials and so much misfortune.... he had come out on top.
Call it fate, luck, destiny, karma or whatever other metaphysical idea you want, Arthur was a winner.
He had a Fae which could turn back time. Reset the clock if you would.
He couldn't make use of its functions right now, but so long as he continued walking his path, he would inevitably come to the boundary between mortality and immortality. And once that happened....
He smiled, noticing the figure of a young woman shaking and falling to the ground. She quickly covered herself up and prevented the young men around her from seeing her undergarments.
Arthur activated a Fae, and through a sword towards the young girl. It landed just short of her, and her eyes lifted from it towards Arthur who was closely approaching.
"Pick up the sword. If you can't resist the winds and rain, then you'll have to try your best at resisting me".