The group deviated their way towards the mountain. It looked close, but anything that big would look close from afar. Heading towards it would prevent their group from dying of dehydration. Yet this didn't seem to affect children of fate much. Maybe the so-called fate energy was helping their body to become so abnormally stronger.
In fact, Aidan didn't feel thirsty. He recalled that he had passed out from dehydration in the cave, so that meant he wasn't immune to this. Everything had a limit.
"Why should we deviate our way just for the Unchosen?" a man said. He stared at the non-children of fate with his bright green eyes. But his dissatisfaction expression betrayed that.
"Unchosen?" Aidan asked.
"Non-children of fate," The man replied. "The term is too long and outdated. So we youngster made a better term."
Aidan nodded. It was common for new nouns and slang to appear in each generation. "So you don't like the Unchosen?"
"It's not that. What I don't like is we have to risk our lives so they can drink. We can just split up and go on our way."
That explained why only three of the Chosen were tasked to get the water back and forth. It was not to protect the Unchosen, but because they thought too highly of themselves. He had never heard of teachers talking bad about the common people so this culture didn't seem to be widespread.
"So their lives are not of your concern?" Aidan said.
"Of course not. I'm the Chosen. My birth is special and my potential is not shackled by mere flesh."
"Is your mother a Chosen?" Aidan said.
"No."
"Then what if one of them is your mother?"
The man looked at him up and down. "I will protect her. But the others are not my concern."
"What about the other Chosen?"
"I believe we among the Chosen should help and protect each other. Everyone had the skills and capabilities to help, while the common person could only be a burden to us."
Aidan understood his thought pattern. This man basically said: things that don't relate to me are not important.
"Is your mother a burden to you?" Aidan said.
"No. I love her with all my heart. But we're not talking about my mother."
"Yes, we are not talking about your mother. But we are talking about the common people which your mother also falls into that category."
"So what if she is ordinary?"
"Then so what if the others are ordinary? Why can't you treat them all the same?"
The man snorted. "They are a burden. Look at how much risk we take. The longer we reach the school the higher our chance of dying."
"And yet you will take that risk for your mother. Imagine if she is the one who is captured, would the other Chosen regard her as important?"
The man turned silent for a moment. "I still think we should split up."
Aidan sighed and shook his head. The man only cared about his own hide. And he might not be the only one who had this line of thought.
He looked around and noticed that most of the Chosen made a group among themselves.
Gomon told him that the Eye of Fate would choose a child randomly when they came out of a womb. Thankfully, this happened with a small chance and at random. If fate chose their children from a specific family then they would surely make a dynasty of their own. But then what about the kings and emperors of this world? This title was usually hereditary which mean their child would take the throne someday, but if their child wasn't one of the Chosen, could they still keep the throne?
Unless they nurture a bunch of loyal children of fate in their ranks, keeping the throne from the strong would be impossible. Only with might could you enforce your rule. This applied to any era and every civilization. Even the aliens played by this rule.
Aidan approached Feval and told him about the situation.
"They're just young men. As long as they follow the order, you don't have to worry about anything."
Feval did not seem to worry about any rebellious act. Well, he was right that these people are young and they wouldn't dare to do anything as long as Feval was here.
Making their way to the foot of the mountain, Aidan moved his head upward to marvel at the size of the mountain. He still couldn't believe that this was just the back garden of a campus. How much money did it need to buy an entire forest? It must be a lot, no doubt.
A detailed look at the mountain made Aidan realize why the three men earlier were sweating so hard. The mountain was tall with sharp peaks. It was steep up the way too. Coupled with the mossy trees and thick roots that slowed them down, it would take a while before they arrive on top.
They climbed up. And after a long while, some of the men started to take a deep breaths and forced their legs to move. The wind whistled along the slops, rustling the trees. It hit their faces, giving them the ever-needed breeze.
Yet despite that, three men fell to the ground. Their lips were dry and cracked.
"We need water!" Aidan said. He had to do something! With quick steps, Aidan approached and tried to heal them with [Internal Healing]
The crack on their lips disappeared, but it returned once again. His power was useless in this situation. Only water could save them.
Feval clicked his tongue. "Hurry! Some of you run towards that lake and bring back some water."
The Chosen stayed silent. They even put their gaze to the side or to the ground to avoid being picked. Damn! He knew this would happen.
"Feval, take care of them and let the others take a rest. I will go to the lake and bring some water."
Feval shook his head. "It's too dangerous for you. Don't let the silence of the forest fool you. This place is teeming with predators."
"It's not enough. I will bring my friend with me." Aidan looked at Kalukaga and the rest. "You stay here, Gomon. I will return in no time."
Gomon was about to say something but nodded instead.
"Kalukaga, Siraye, Sofiel, Let's go."
The three of them followed without any word. Good. At least his friend didn't have anything against the Unchosen.
"Wait," Ledrind called. "Let me remove your shackle first."
"I forgot about that," Aidan said. That was dangerous. if he brought them while they couldn't use their energy, the consequences of facing a strong beast would be terrible.
Ledrind shot a small flame towards the shackles and removed them.
"I can control my energy again!" Sofiel said.
"Me too. I can feel my energy," Siraye said.
Kalukaga nodded.
"Thank you, Ledrind. Come on guys, time is not on our side."
They sprinted upward, carefully avoiding any rocks and roots on their way. Aidan, Kalukaga, and Siraye fared better in this environment, but not Sofiel. She was an external user that mainly manipulate energy to influence phenomena outside her body. By the sound of that description, she should be able to change her environment, but her power was only limited to creating wind and breeze.
Aidan turned to the back to see Sofiel struggling to climb the steep ground. "Sofiel, can't you use your wind to fly? I don't think you are heavier than a kalabear."
Sofiel shook her head. "I can't use my power to fly yet. But I can use it to throw me to the sky."
"Then why don't you use it?" Aidan asked.
"I would like to save my energy. Maybe we will need it."
Energy. Indeed, that was the biggest limitation for the children of fate. At first glance, it seemed like they could do anything beyond the laws of physic, but it all came with the expenditure of energy. Technology also had the same weakness. If not for all the Dyson Sphere mankind built, space exploration would be hard.
"Kalukaga, put Sofiel on your back. We don't want to be too slow."
After Sofiel rode on Kalukaga's back, they continued their journey at a faster pace. Their feet moved uphill, followed by their hand as they grabbed the ground for balance. Aidan pushed his legs, not just with his muscle but also with his will. He gritted his teeth throughout the climb.
Then, Aidan thought the mountain was merciful to him when he saw a flat surface.
He lay on the ground. "My leg is killing me!"
"Stop whining," Siraye said. "Look over there. The lake is under that cliff. If we want to be quick, we need to climb it."
The cliff that Siraye meant was tall and standing vertically like a wall. Only professional mountain climbers with specialized equipment could ascend on that thing. But who knew, maybe the chosen ones could also do the same.
"Why don't we take a break first?"
"No. You just said we cannot be slow. There is no time to rest," Siraye said.
Aidan sighed. "Alright."
He pushed himself off the ground with all the stamina he had left.
[Endurance increased by 1]
Oh. So he can increase his endurance by climbing mountains? Did this mean that he could increase the other attributes if he did other things? What about studying and lifting weights? The thought of increasing his strength without using precious attribute points was very attractive to him. If his speculation was correct, then he could use the attribute points to increase the attribute that was harder to improve.
To confirm the increased point, Aidan opened his status.
Title: Children of Fate
Level: 5
Health: 150
Stamina: 15
Energy: 94
Stat points: 20
Attributes: Strength 12, Dexterity 12, Endurance 6. Intelligence 5.
Skill (Click to expand):
It did! His endurance increased by a point. Though his stamina was currently at fifteen points, he was sure its maximum capacity was at one hundred fifty just like his health points.
"Haha. This is good."
"What good?" Kalukaga asked.
"Nothing. Come on, let's climb that cliff."
"Why are you so excited?" Sofiel said.
"Of course I'm excited," Aidan said. "I have the intention and the power to help those in need. When I brought back some water for our poor friends, they would be so happy. Don't you think that's exciting?" He lied. He couldn't tell them about his power.
"That is exciting!" Sofiel replied. "Maybe we should take some food too. They might be hungry."
They are hungry, Aidan thought. Really hungry. "Of course, if it doesn't take too long we can bring some food for them. Our first priority is water, food came in second. Besides, Feval and others might be fighting some beast right now."