"We beat you old ma-"
A loud howl from the mountains alarmed the bunch from the gate.
"Get inside," Bulawan ordered. "We'll be dead by morning if we stay out here."
Due to their weariness, the two walked slowly inside the temple as Bulawan closed the gates.
"What a day," Bagani exclaimed. "Can't wait for the next exhaustion run."
Bulawan hopped to the two's backs and whispered. "Starting tomorrow you will be training separately. Based on the statistics of the two trials Ezekiel will be handling Sorcerer stones and Bagani will be handling the Runic weapons."
"What about the Guard symbols?" Ezekiel asked.
"You're looking for the Buhayostine right?" Bulawan replied. "Don't worry I'll teach you both the basics." Bulawan then jumped out of sight.
Ezekiel was petrified to the ground after Bulawan's speech. "How does he know that?" The two then went to bed and rested for their next day. The sun once again rises as the morning appears, birds chirps were heard from every direction and the soothing cold air was once again felt. Ezekiel and Bagani woke up and prepared for their training. Everything was, as usual, they got off the bed, they ate their meal for the day which is their breakfast, and they suited up to their clean clothes for training. Today felt different though, there was no tension between the two and Bulawan. It was a day where the Giant wasn't smug, he was calm and gloomy. He gave Ezekiel and Bagani a piece of paper.
"To use magic you need to have the Runic tattoos drawn somewhere on your body." He stated. "The paper I gave you is the tattoo meant for you, don't mix it up. Draw on the others back."
He gave Ezekiel and Bagani a needle and a small pot of ink. Bulawan then jumped outside the temple to sit and relax on a tree.
"Hey, Bagani, doesn't it feel a little odd today?" Ezekiel asked. "Seems like Bulawan is too... Chill."
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Bagani replied as he pricked Ezekiel's back with a needle dipped in ink. "Maybe today is a special day for him."
After some time and a lot of pain due to the needle stabs, they somehow managed to finish and recreate the drawing on the respective owner's back. Ezekiel and Bagani went to Bulawan to move on to the next objective.
"Were done. What's next?" Ezekiel asked.
Bulawan jumped off the tree he was resting on and went inside the temple. He walked to a room unexplored by the two and James. A shelf full of magical accessories was presented before their very eyes. Bulawan gave Ezekiel a stone filled with yellow energy, it had a symbol of unknown language in front, it had small cracks where pure arcane energy spill out a bit, it was also extremely bright.
"So this is a sorcerer stone..." Ezekiel froze in awe.
"This is the only sorcerer stone left here Ezekiel," Bulawan stated. "Guard it immensely."
Bagani, on the other hand, was handed two chunks of steel. One was exceptionally heavier than the other. The metal pieces glowed a bit in their distinct color.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Bagani asked.
"You possess an enormous amount of stamina and rage within you. These are the hardest Runic metals I have. Learn to smith them, there's a library if you want concepts." Bulawan replied.
"Li-bra-what?" Bagani asked, unfamiliar of the word.
"It is a room filled with books." Ezekiel affirmed.
"I'm going to have an exceptionally hard time."Bagani chuckled.
"From now on both of you will be training on your own with minimal guidance. Bagani your daily routine will be the mountain trial without Ezekiel, you will also have to craft the sword. As for you Ezekiel, your only goal is to master the stone." Bulawan set their goals and schedules. "You are free to do as you wish."
Ezekiel then smirked at Bagani. "Guess I'm doing an easy job." He teased. "Goodluck on your everyday mountain trip.
"Oh, it's not easy to master the stone," Bulawan added. "I'd be surprised if your not dead by electrocution by the time Bagani finishes the blade." Bulawan then smirked. The tension between and the two reappeared. The sense of challenge was once again present.
Bulawan then went out and jumped back to the tree he was laying on. Ezekiel started to train in the lobby.
"Okay. Bulawan said I would get electrocuted so that probably means its lightning stuff." He intuited.
Ezekiel raised his right hand to the air, with sheer confidence he aimed at one of the fruit trees in the lobby. Electrical particles surged throughout his upper body making its way to his arm. The stone's glow started to fade as the electrical energy went to his palm.
"Yes, I got it!" Ezekiel celebrated. He focused all his energy on firing the electrical charge on his hand. "One, two..." He counted down.
"Three!"
To his disappointment, a very tiny spark went out of his hand and popped. Ezekiel sighed. "Guess this is what Bulawan meant." The unused electrical charge from his palm ricocheted back to Ezekiel's body. With an abundant amount of unused electrical energy coming back to Ezekiel, his muscles froze and the excruciating pain of all the electricity was felt. Ezekiel fell to the ground, he screamed in agony as the volts clenched to his muscles, he then vomited and breathed heavily as the electricity wear out. "He's right. I'll be dead before Bagani finishes his sword."
As he struggled to get back up, he noticed the stone regaining its brightness once again. "Bulawan also mentioned a time limit. How long is yours bud?" He muttered.
Trial and error was the key to his success. With every electrocution, his body slowly learned how to resist the electricity and how to control the amount of energy he would release. Ezekiel charged up the energy to his fist, this time the was only a spot of electrical particle appeared. "One, two..." He counted once again.
"Three!"
A small spark once again popped out of his hand. He waited for the aftershock of the charge. "Come on just do it!" Ezekiel grunted. He opened then opened his eyes, a lingering aura of joy was fuming out of Ezekiel. "I did it! There's no shock!" He cheered. Ezekiel decided to rest for the day and train once again tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in the library, Bagani banged his head on the table due to confusion. "What the hell is sm-i-thing?! How the hell am I going to make these things into swords?!" He shouted.
"Hey." A voice suddenly spoke from behind.
Bagani turned his head around to see James carrying a stack of books. "Mind if I sit there?" He asked.
"Sure go ahead." Bagani swiftly answered. "You know there is a library here?"
"I am the one who cleans this place after all. Because of that stupid Ezekiel, I got to work here for the rest of my life." James grunted. "How about you? You don't look like the type of perso- creature who reads."
"Is it because of my blue skin again?" Bagani asked, uninterested. "I'm tired of being judged for that. Ever since I went to Village Magbato it's been like that."
"Village what?" James curiously questioned.
Bagani then explained to him about the village and the human-like creatures that live on it. "Wow, I thought our village was the only source of civilization... How unintellectual of me."
"Un-what?" Bagani once again asked.
James chuckled at Bagani, and that is where the two starts to become good friends. "Hey, you helped on saving me right?" James asked.
"Yeah, but I think Bulawan was responsible for most of the healing." Bagani replied.
"It doesn't matter," James said.
"Starting today I am your tutor in understanding the things in civilization! Also vocabulary, you lack that as well."