Nolamine woke up feeling sore everywhere. He opened his eyes and saw something he did not want to see and quickly closed them.
"God, please gouge out my eyes and take them away, for they have sinned."
He said as he opened them again.
There was a girl right next to him who laughed when he said that.
"What are you on about?"
She asked as she took a cup full of herbs and made him drink it. He had been out for a day after his fight with Nala. After drinking some kind of herbal tea that Second forced him to drink and it being so bitter he thought it was punishment for losing the fight, he went into a deep sleep and woke up that day.
"Who are you?"
He asked the girl who seemed to be nursing him.
"I am Analka, the disciple of the Second. I was told to look after you after coming back from the hunt."
She said.
Analka was wearing the same kind of armor Nala was wearing, only white. At birth, she had killed innocence and stole her nature, as that was her very essence when you saw her. She was as old as Nolamine but had a carrying nature about her, like she was not just satisfied with stealing from innocence, but also from angles too, taking their beauty and carrying nature, making it her own. She had black hair and brown eyes, her face cute and well-defined.
Nolamine closed his eyes again and each time he did, Nala would pop up in his mind, but after the beating he had received from her and an epic one to say the least, they dared to cheat on her and deemed another of God's creation beautiful.
"Nala told me your eyes turned to linger. Are we already cheating on her?"
"What!"
He could only muster that word. He did not know what she was talking about. She laughed, clearly showing that she was joking, making his overreaction even more embarrassing.
"Since you can yell, I am guessing you all better now."
She said after having her fill of laughter.
"You had some fractured bones and ribs, but you are all healed now. You just have to do no physical activity for today and you will be as good as new."
She said as she took a bag full of herbs and medicine then left, not waiting for him to say anything.
'Just a day to heal fractured bones? Well, it's not Pulchra's healing and blood potions, but it is still more than amazing.'
He said, touching his rips.
'But what is up with these disciples? Why do they have to look so....'
He stopped himself. Mi-sun had come in.
"They say your bones and body will feel brand new after this. Going as far as to say that after repairing itself, you will be able to crash rocks with your bare hands."
'Repairing itself?'
"Is that so? I still feel the same as before."
"Just wait until you start training."
She said as she sat next to him.
"So what happened?"
He asked.
"Well, I guess you could not tell. During the last moments of the fight, you stopped using your body to fight and started using your eyes."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Your mother once told me that your eyes are your very essence, your being. That even if they could gouge them out, you would still be able to use their power. Nala is a Seer. She has the ability to, through supernatural insight, see what the future holds."
Nolamine nodded. He already knew that much.
"With that kind of power, and the ability to use it in a fight, don't you think it's overpowered?"
"It is and I could not figure a way to fight against her."
"That is why she is the only candidate to be the Grand Witch's disciple so far, because she is the only one who has ever unlocked that technique while still young. Fourth could only do what she did in that fight when she was forty. This means she can learn all the other's abilities too, as her learning capacity seems limitless. Some say she is just like the Grand Witch when she was young."
"Wait? Forty? How old is she then?"
A pillow crashed into his face.
"You idiot, that's the only thing that intrigued you?"
"I mean, she looks 20."
"Give me a break, I look 20, she looks like a grandma."
Nolamine stopped himself from commenting. Son-join once warned him about this very thing, woman's ages. He did not want to get murdered.
"Anyways, how could you, someone who has not trained for five years and only going to a mediocre dojo that kept closing, suddenly be able to grab her hand and after that manage to trip her during your fight and that is after giving it your all in exorcising your Curse Manifestation."
Nolamine thought for a bit and he did not have to, because he already knew the answer.
"Your eyes hold the key to your power. All we can do is guess what power they hold, but we did come here to see a creature that knows everything about them, the Guardian of the House of Guzzler."
Nolamine nodded.
"I believe you could see through her Seer ability and even got stronger as the fight progressed. If you asked me, that's some scary abilities you have kid. As a child, you were still much stronger than this, but with less control over your anger as you would go on wild bursts, like a berserker. If you manage to control your abilities, you would be scary to go against."
She said, making Nolamine's nose point just a little bit higher.
"Tomorrow morning we are going to see the Guardian, rest and finish your healing for today."
The words made his heart race for some reason.
"Wait, then what was up with that crazy girl and the kneeling?"
"The Grand Witch never smiles, making her smile after seeing you able to see through Nala's ability was a sign. A spirit took over a member of the villagers and thereafter gave out a good omen. They will be harvesting many beasts this year, it seems."
Nolamine was surprised. He thought it meant a crop or something similar. He also thought all this was just something unexpected.
"Do not get too full of yourself though, Nala was using 30% of her power."
Nolamine's stomach turned. The first thing he had thought of was to ask for a rematch, but it seemed that he would have to wait for a very long time. Getting his ass bit again would not be a good look for him.
After spending the day meeting new faces. The rest of the disciples came to meet him.
"Langa, a disciple of the First. His name meaning 'Sun', was a large boy, taking his build straight from his master. He looked scary too and was a straight talker. He boasted about ripping a beast in half with his bare hands the other day.
"King, a disciple of the Fifth, was just like his master in every shape and form. Infect, he was like a younger version of Fifth and after finding out that Fifth was his father, he was amazed by the resemblance.
Talking to them also made him aware of why their masters were called by numbers. He learned that it was because their names contained power. Only themselves were allowed to use them and calling them by something else would make that name take root and replace their existing ones if many started to call them by it and for a number of years. Only numbers seemed to have no effect.
He did not see Nala that day and he was happy not to see her. He could not handle the awkwardness of it all.
They woke up before the sun was up and Mi-sun, Nolamine, and the Grand Witch were the only ones to go to see the Guardian. They traveled for hours through the forest, following the river as it cut through the mountains. No one said a word the whole time.
After branching away from it for some time, they came to a clearing. In the distance was a waterfall so large and so steep. With the water falling down from the edge and hitting the rocks below, one had to talk loudly in order to hear what they were saying. Such was the chaotic nature of the water.
What amazed him though was how the water seemed black as he stepped by the edge of the plunge pool. They were so dark that it was unnatural.