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Chapter 7 - Traversing the Mist

Titans blessing huh?

A quest, indra knew the word but never thought of actually going on a quest. It was a foreign concept to him. A time limit of one year, what's that all about? Could it really take that long to complete? What happens if he doesn't complete it on time? So many questions and no action, he decided he needed to move. No sense in finding out the hard way why not get started now.

Still, Indra didn't move for some time. First of all there was the problem of climbing down the tree. Soon after attempting the feat he realized there were no branches beyond a certain point and he still couldn't see the bottom. All he could see was a thick blanket of mist, it was ominous and gave him goosebumps along his arms, but why?

Instead of letting the problem stump him completely he sat back down to gather his thoughts and formulate a plan.

How can I use these powers to get down?

Indra considered the problem for some time. Blank, this is the only word to describe his thought process on the matter. He couldn't think of a single way to get down with his current powers. At some point he had decided he would not use any different powers until he absolutely had to or deemed one more important than another since he believed that once he used one he would lose another.

In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.

Another quote? He didn't recognize this one. It seemed that before the quotes only came from the buddha himself but this one he did not recall ever reading or hearing. It could very well be that he just hadn't encountered the saying before but he thought it unlikely. Besides, the quote didn't seem like one that would come from the Buddha anyway. No matter, the others quotes he received from... Well now that he thought about it he didn't know who was giving him these words of wisdom. The who didn't matter though, so far they had all meant something important and he intended to find out what this one meant.

Once again Indra came up with nothing for at least fifteen minutes. He shivered a bit, his clothing was soaked when he awoke and there was a slight breeze chilling them.

Finally, a problem these powers can actually help with.

Indra had been thinking about this use of his powers ever since he woke up cold and miserable.

Slowly, his body began to heat up, apparently the element of fire was more than just creating flames and burning things to the ground, it was heat, it was warmth. His internal temperature seemed to be rising at a steady rate but it was hard to focus this to every part of his body. A piece of his sleeve caught fire.

Indra immediately ripped the piece from his robe, waving it all around. He ended up just throwing it into the eerie mist below. With wide eyes Indra's glare instantly went to the portion of his forearm that the sleeve covered, it wasn't burned at all. A large breath escaped his mouth and he decided that would do for now, he was warmed up a bit and at least some of his robe ended up dry. His eyes returned to normal and his gaze went to the piece of cloth that he caught a slight glimpse of as it disappeared into the fog. He stared into it for a while, contemplating the quote he had received from whatever or whoever kept sending them.

That's it!

In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can. He understood, he needed to take a leap of faith. In truth Indra thought this may be a stretch but he was out of ideas and sick of this tree. Without even taking the time to think and psych himself out he lept from the tree and into the mist.

***

"I can't keep telling him everything like that. Modus would never give his pupil such hints."

Ambevilious came up with the idea while exploring the boy's mind during his trance. For some reason random quotes kept popping up in the Indra's thoughts throughout the year that he had been meditating. This led him to the idea of guiding him through the insertion of quotes in his mind. He searched the database he had on earth for something that would fit his intentions. He wouldn't keep doing this or the boy would never learn to figure things out on his own. He was just so sick of that tree.

"You're right master, how would he ever learn." Said his most faithful servant.

"Hahaha, you seem paler everytime I see you Jaakobah."

The scrawny, rat faced man didn't know how to answer, so he didn't. A simple nod of his head and a downturned glare would suffice for now. He knew his lord inside and out and the worst punishment he would receive for this was a scolding for not answering or nothing at all. Ambevilious might brush it off as fear, which he liked.

The titan gave Jaakobah a glare but nothing more.

***

After hours of awaiting the dismissal of his lord, Jaakobah quickly returned to his personal chambers. He had received them for his discovery of Indra. He hadn't even meant to. While he was using his personal looking glass, nothing so flashy as his lords just a handheld device, he had been observing the forest. The creatures that the system placed upon the world's fascinated him. A routine scan of the forest was being conducted, searching for rare demonic beasts when he discovered a commotion. A giant snake had been attacking a giant bird. That is when he found Indra cowering in the nest, originally Jaakobah had written the young man off as a dead man but he escaped the snake only to burn it alive later on. The boy had killed an E- beast and created a custom skill at level one, this was unheard of. Jaakobah immediately alerted his master after this in fear of someone else doing so first. That is how he gained his own personal chambers and the favor of Ambevilious.

Instead of conducting his scans like he used to he locked his door and shut off all lights in the chamber. There were no cameras here that he was aware of but just in case he moved into the corner of his room where he kept a small mat used for cultivating. Jaakobah sat down in the corner and removed a small object from his white robes. It was an odd device, most wouldn't know what to make of it. Jaakobah only did because he was there when his master had retrieved it. His first time accompanying the titan outside of the fortress. His job was simple, stay out of the masters way and do exactly what he says. All in all he did nothing the entire time. He was new and was just there to observe the longer serving slaves. The outing was invaluable to him, he got to learn about the object he held and see how Ambevilious treated his men. Jaakobah wasn't pleased with the latter, the former however peaked his interest. That day Jaakobah began planning his escape from Ambevilious, The titan lord.

***

The mist that surrounded Indra was debilitating, he couldn't see more than a foot in front of his face and it choked him. Or at least he thought it did. Indra never liked cramped spaces. Although this wasn't one, his claustrophobia still kicked in. The terror of the unknown lasted for a few seconds at most but seemed like an eternity. With a thump, Indra's feet landed safely on the ground and he instinctively bent his knees upon landing. The fog was still just as thick down here though so all of the fear wasn't erased but he would have to get used to it. Indra could see nothing and hear nothing. However the forest still smelled of nature and he could definitely still feel since he couldn't stop bumping into trees. After a few rounds with the trees and no success he decided he would stop. Without figuring something out this was completely useless. It didn't take him long. He remembered how when he waited for the Razorfang he could feel everything around him within a five meter radius. All he had to do to use this ability was to focus on using it and it worked. From then on he didn't bump into a single tree. The fact still remained though, he had no idea where he was or what to do.

Find the Titans blessing. How the hell do I do that?

He walked for what he assumed to be hours and the mist didn't let up, not even a bit. One change did come however. Instead of only sensing trees around him Indra sensed something move, and it was fast. It moved within his radius, stalking just on the edge before it disappeared. The scary part was, Indra didn't hear a thing. A prompt appeared in his vision.

[Lightning wolverine: A fierce creature who will fight any opponent. Its fearless nature makes it a dangerous foe. Unlike some creatures its name doesn't infer that it wields lighting, rather it is referencing the beasts incredible speed and accuracy in which it strikes. The lightning Wolverine is as unyielding as lightning itself.

Rating: G+

Class: Forest dweller]

How can something so much smaller be one rank below the razorfang?

Indra slowed his breathing and focused his eyes on the mist. No, beyond the mist, he blocked it out and searched for the slightest movement beyond his five meter radius. This didn't help at all. One moment he is scanning the dense fog for his enemy and the next he is holding back a ravenous set of jaws. The wolverine struck so fast Indara barely had time to react. He was on his back straining his still weak muscles against the jaws that repeatedly chomped at his face. The drool oozed down his cheek and even into his mouth. Indra was trapped beneath the beast with no plan and no way to escape. The wolverine stopped biting at his face and instead did something else, something much more terrifying.

Indra's eyes widened and he hurled the beast with all his might. This was no longer a stroll through the forest but fight to the death. One Indra did not intend to lose.