It was night when Alex, Riven and George reached the spot where Alex crawled out of in the Gangu Forest, the moon was full so they could see that the hole had closed overtime. Riven stood at alert and watched their surroundings with vigilance, George bent down and felt the earth, his eyes were closed as he concentrated. After a while he stood up and dusted his palms.
''Yep, there's a passage there alright,'' he looked at Alex astonishedly, ''you really stayed underground for weeks?''
''You doubt me?'' Alex smiled.
''No, it's just amazing.'' George spread his arms, gesturing over an area, ''I can open a hole this big, if I go any wider it would just close back up. I don't want to use too much power because that might cause some damages that wouldn't show until we're inside.''
Alex nodded his head, ''It's alright.''
''Why didn't we wait until morning before we did this? The night is dangerous in any place.'' Riven said.
''It won't make a difference since we're going underground, day and night is the same in complete darkness.'' Alex said, ''George, you may start.''
''Okay, stand back.'' George punched downwards and a pit formed, he waved his hands in a circular motion to the broken rocks and create a hole. He tossed the rocks to the side, ''Its open, let's go.'' He jumped in the hole, followed by Alex and Riven.
They landed on huge rocks and large boulders, George brought out three stones with the [Light] rune on them, he injected magic energy into them causing them to glow a bright light, then he made them float. Alex walked in front, he merged with Globby even though he could see, Globby's extra perception gave him a sense a safety. They walked fast as they moved deeper below the earth, Alex led the way since he had been there before, and his map had drawn the route he and the mole person passed.
The last time, it had taken him two days just to reach the surface, but that was mainly because he was following a person that was just three feet tall through an unknown place, this time it took him just one day. He came to the Blind Tunnels and saw his fears had come true, the tunnels were empty, even the pens where they kept moles they reared.
''There should be people here, right?'' George asked.
Riven asked George to lower the lights to the ground, ''There doesn't seem to be signs of struggles, but it's been a while so I may be wrong.''
Alex furrowed his brows, and he surveyed his surrounding, he walked to the direction where the Supreme Elder once lived and walked in the hole. Everything was in the same place; the only difference was the moss that now grew around the entire space. Alex stayed there for a few minutes before walking out, he didn't feel better even thought there were no bodies, the sorcerers could have reanimated them after they were killed. They were probably part of the undead army now.
''Let's go.'' He said to George and Riven as he walked past them.
''Shouldn't we at least try to look for them? Maybe we'll be able to find a clue of their –''
''No need, even if they were alive, it wouldn't be easy to find them. I mean, I found them purely by mistake back then, and staying underground for long isn't proper. Let's just go.''
George reluctantly followed him, Riven just shrugged his shoulders before following. The walk back was quieter, even George knew that the atmosphere was a bit pensive, he trudged behind them while pouting. He still felt like they should have looked for the mole people, he turned on [Sense] when the reached a somewhat open area, he was going to passively search for life around them.
Maybe there were miracles in this world, because immediately he activated [Sense] he felt malicious intent above his head. With a scream, he instinctively shot one of the light stones up and dodged to the side, his timely response allowed him to dodge the giant spider that was about to gobble him.
Alex and Riven immediately went on alert while George created as much space between him and the spider as possible, ''What the hell is that?!'' George screamed.
''Uh, a giant spider?'' Riven said as he unsheathed his katana.
''Yeah, no shit!''
Riven leaped towards the spider and slashed at it, the spider used one of its many limbs to block the strike. Although the sword was sharp it seemed that the spider's body was harder, the strike didn't even leave so much as a mark on its body.
''Shit,'' Riven jumped backwards, ''I can't kill it instantly if I can't cut into it!''
''You rely too much on that Cursed Katana, don't you have skills?!'' Alex yelled at him.
''Yeah, yeah. I'm on it.''
Riven ran forward with great speed, the spider swiped at him but missed, Riven struck but was blocked by another limb, he rolled to the side another one of the spider's legs tried to take his life. He used [Flurry Strikes], he moved so fast it was like he split into four, he cut at the spider in numerous places before stopping but all that did was enrage the spider. Its two front legs shot forward like lightning and grabbed at Riven, Riven blocked the tiny spikes on its legs with his katana but was still pulled in, the spider's mouth opened to receive its food.
A wall of earth appeared in the middle of Riven and the mouth, he kicked the wall and back flipped to safety, ''Thanks kid!'' He said to George. The spider scurried forward but bright beams of light hit its head, it didn't hurt it, but the bright light temporarily blinded its many eyes. Alex had merged with Anticus, he floated up and used [Light Beam] to fire concentrated beams of light on the spider. Riven slashed down and a ray shot out of his sword and slammed into the spider, its legs created crevices on the ground as it skidded backwards.
''I've just about had it with this damn spider!" George channeled his magic to attack.
''No George, you'll cave us in…!'' Alex yelled.
''I know what I'm doing!'' Goerge squeezed his hand and huge spikes stabbed into the spider, the spider squealed and shook its body, rocks dropped from above as the earth around them became unstable. George used [Earth Bind] and the ground softened then wrapped around the spider before hardening again. Most of the spider's body was covered with the hardened earth, but its head was open, Riven didn't let that opportunity pass. With two quick jumps he reached the spider's head and stabbed it in the eyes.
The spider roared in pain, it shook and convulsed, then went completely still.
''I should have done that since the beginning.'' Riven, who had jumped back after he stabbed the spider, said. He flicked the spider's blood off his blade before putting it back in its sheath. ''Let's keep moving, the sooner we reach the surface, the better. At least out there we can fight without restraint.''
They moved even faster on their way to the surface, George even occasionally built bridges that shortened the time they would have used to climb over fallen boulders. When they reached the hole, they found out it was evening, Alex and Riven were talking while George closed the hole.
''We don't have to return immediately.'' Riven said.
''Would you rather we sleep in the forest?'' Alex asked.
''Not the forest, my house.''
Alex tilted his head while George looked at him with excitement, ''You lived in the forest too?''
Riven shook his head, ''I live in a town called Iron Hoof, if we move now, we can reach there before midnight.''
''Oh.''
Alex stared at him, ''You don't live alone do you?''
Riven hesitated a bit before sighing, ''No, I live with my mother. That was the true reason why I wanted to come with you, I wanted to see her.''
''Wait, if you lived with your mother, why didn't you bring her along when you were coming to the Overlord's City? You just left her alone…'' George gave him a weird look.
''I didn't leave her, I left the house to strengthen myself! I didn't know I was going to a big city, and even if I did there was no way I was going to drag my mother all the way to the Forsaken Lands without making sure it was safe first.'' Riven said.
''Oh.''
Alex sighed, ''Alright, we'll follow you. Its not like we're being forced to return, we can leave the Forsaken Lands for as long as we want. But I still want to return soon, no one knows when the undead army would attack. I want to be there and ready when they do, I want to fight and protect the place I now call home.''
George nodded beside him, Riven looked at them and smirked, ''Funny how you children are courageous than most adults I know.'' He walked forward, ''Okay, follow me, let's get going.''
''Is your town near the Black Stallion Duchy?'' George asked.
''Technically every town in this country is near the Black Stallion Duchy if you look at it on a map, but not really. You will still have to take a commercial carriage if you pass the normal route, but the Gangu Forest is like a shortcut to every place in the duchy, just depends on where you pass and if you're brave enough to use it.'' Riven said.
''When I met you, you didn't have a carriage, not even a ramshackle one like Vivian's. Were you seriously thinking about walking to the Forsaken lands?'' Alex asked.
Riven shrugged and asked back, ''Were you?''
Alex looked down, ''I didn't know what I was going to do at that time.''
''I walked to the Forsaken Lands with my family.'' George chimed in.
''Yeah well, you guys had probably never seen a carriage then.''
''Alex, how could you?!''
…
They reached Iron Hoof Town at midnight, George had tried to shorten the distance they traveled by using what he called earthen movement, it wasn't a skill, and he hadn't even tried to use it before, they destroyed a lot of trees in the forest before they reached Riven's home. According to Riven, Iron Hoof Town was one of the biggest towns near the Black Stallion Duchy, holding up to 7,000 people. There were some guards on night watch, so they didn't have to scale over the gate like thieves. They had to walk for a while before they reached Riven's home, they stood in front of a shop called Lockardon's Fabric Shop.
''I thought we were going to your house, why are we standing in front of a fabric shop?'' George asked.
''This is my house,'' Riven said, a bit abashed, ''the building is divided into two, the back is my home.''
Alex and George looked at each other before shaking their heads, George walked up Riven before slapping his shoulder, ''Why do you look embarrassed? Do I need to remind you I was living in the forest before moving to the Overlord's city?''
''And I practically lived in the mines of the Black Stallion Duchy.'' Alex smiled.
Riven scoffed while smiling before rubbing their heads, he walked up to the door and knocked loudly while George complained about how he ruined his hairstyle. A series of footsteps sounded, then the door opened and revealed a woman with the same dark hair as Riven.
''Riven?'' The woman gasped as soon as she saw Riven, she opened her arms to hug him but before she even moved Riven jumped into her arms.
''Mom!''
They hugged each other close for a few seconds, then Riven's mother turned him around and smacked his butt.
''Mom!'' Riven said, appalled.
''So, you still know how to come home. Two months! You spent two months in god knows where, you think you can leave and come home anytime you want? Did you even bother to think about how worried I would be?!'' She smacked him as she spoke.
Alex watched on with his eyes wide, while George directly laughed. Riven's mother finally noticed the two children standing behind Riven, she jutted her chin at them, ''Who…?''
''Oh, mom these are – ''
''Your children?''
Riven almost chocked, ''I was gone for three months not two years mom!''
''You occasionally leave home, who knows whether you've impregnated some girls.'' She ignored Riven's shocked look and looked at Alex and George, ''How do you know my son? I hope he didn't kidnap you from somewhere?''
''Mom, please!''
''No ma'am, we are… His friends.'' Alex said.
''You're friends with children?''
''I may be a child,'' George walked forward and bowed, ''but I'm a man at heart. Nice to meet you, Miss Riven's mom.''
''Oho, what a gentleman, but please, call me Amelia.''
''Okay, Aunty Amelia!''
Amelia laughed before gesturing for them to follow her, ''Since I didn't know I'd be having guests there's no food available, but no matter, I can whip something up. After eating you can sleep in Riven's room, after that,'' she pointed at Riven, ''we are going to have a long talk.''
…
The next day, after helping Amelia open her shop Riven decided to give Alex and George a tour of the town. Iron Hoof Town was one of the most prosperous settlements in the Black Stallion Duchy, whatever new invention made in the main city was first sold there, and vice versa, since the lord Earl Lanky was good friends with Duke Roy. Riven was pointing here and there, telling them stories about his experiences in the places they passed. Although they didn't go to the town square the hustle and bustle was still rampart everywhere they went, the commercial carriages causing traffic jams on the wide roads, young boys with wheelbarrows pulling the huge loads for few copper coins. It was truly a hectic pace of life.
George was sweating under the fierce morning sun, that plus the excessive noise made him feel dizzy. He felt something cool drop on his head, he looked back to see Alex dropping Globby on him.
''Are you okay?'' Alex asked.
''Yeah, there's just too much happening at once, makes it hard for me to think.'' George said tiredly.
''Oh, I remember that you haven't lived in such an environment before,'' Riven said, ''okay, let's go back – wait, stay under the shade for a while.'' He brought them into the shadow of a huge house.
''Wow, this town is big! Someone can easily get lost here.'' Goerge said.
''The Overlord's city is bigger than this town, Riven said, ''I still haven't seen everywhere there. And the Gangu Forest is very extensive, you lived in those places just fine, didn't you?''
''That's because I don't wander, I know exactly where I'm going when I leave the house and I don't deviate from my initial path unless it's necessary, this place is too cramped and noisy.'' He waved his hands over his head.
Riven signaled a hawker and bought three apples for them to eat, they were enjoying the juicy taste when they suddenly heard a jeer.
''Is that Riven, Riven Lockardon? Ha! I see you're no longer heartbroken from being kicked out of Luminous Sword Academy.''
Riven, Alex and George all turned their heads and glared at the person who spoke. Two men who looked like there were about Riven's age were walking towards them, they wore light green clothes and had a white sword emblem on their chest, they also had swords hanging from their waists. The one in front smirked at Riven, he looked at the sword on Riven's back and laughed.
''You actually carry a sword? Do you think you're a Swordsman or something? It's probably a fake…'' He reached out to grab the sword, but George slapped his hand away.
''What the hell? Who are these guys Riven?'' He glared at the two men.
The man snarled as he rubbed his hand, ''How dare you hit me!'' He reached out to grab George but Riven stopped him.
''I'd say don't stoop so low as to hurt children but we both know you're the lowest of the low. Aren't you, Trent?''
Trent raised his head, trying to look down on Riven, but Riven was a head taller than him, ''I don't want to hear anything from a loser who couldn't unlock one Aura, you're nothing but a charlatan for carrying a sword.''
''I carry a sword because I am a Swordsman.''
They both laughed at Riven, ''Isn't it time you stopped dreaming, Riven? You are incapable of using Aura, get it through your thick skull!'' The other man said.
''I see you're still standing behind Trent, Balli. It seems that's where you'll be forever.'' Riven glanced at him.
''Wherever I'll be, I'll still be forever ahead of you!'' Balli snarled.
''Believe whatever you want to.''
''You want to prove him wrong?'' Trent had a glint in his eyes as he spoke, ''why don't you duel him?''
''Yeah,'' Balli immediately caught on to what Trent was doing, ''you call yourself a Swordsman, right? Well I challenge you to a duel! Will you refuse, charlatan?''
Riven tilted his head and stared at them for a few seconds before answering, ''Alright, I'll duel him.''
Trent and Balli smiled like sharks after receiving his answer, ''Alright then, let's go to the Might Dojo, it's the closest from here.'' Trent said before walking away, with Balli following just one step behind. As they walked, they didn't notice Riven's face change, his indifference turning into a chilling rage. George smiled when he saw this, Alex just sighed.
The walk to the dojo was a quiet one, Trent and Balli walked fast so they reached there before them. It didn't bother them though; George was happy that they didn't walk with them because if they spoke more nonsense, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from burying them with rocks. When they walked into the dojo they met a crowd, Riven explained that this was normal in the Might Dojo and most dojos in the town, people loved watching others fight.
Riven and company didn't try to squeeze to the front, they weren't here to watch the show.
''Aren't you going to register or something?'' George asked Riven.
''No, they'll do it for me.'' Riven crossed his arms and waited. After a few minutes there was a loud cheer from the crowd, it seemed the fight had come to an end, they screamed out the name of the victor repeatedly. After that the next fight was supposed to start immediately but someone walked up to the stage and interrupted the succeeding fight, Riven explained that he was a judge.
''Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption, but we have a very special duel that I am sure you would all enjoy. It is a one-against-two duel. Please welcome Trent and Balli, students of the Luminous Sword Academy, to the stage!''
''What?! But it was supposed to be just Riven and Balli!'' George yelled, affronted, but his voice was drowned out by the crowd's cheer. Riven on the other hand was not surprised, he waited patiently for his name to be called.
''And next, the person bold enough to battle two Swordsmen at the same time, lets welcome Riven to the stage.'' Everyone clapped for him too, even if they didn't know who he was. They were all very excited for the two-against-one duel. Riven slowly walked through the crowd, the people around him noticed that he was moving towards the stage and gave him more space, George fumed as he walked behind him while Alex looked nonchalant. They both stopped near the stage and watched Riven walk to his spot.
Trent smirked at him ''I bet you didn't see this coming.''
Riven shrugged his shoulders, ''I did, that's why I let you walk ahead of us. I knew you shameless people wouldn't be able to help yourselves.''
Trent scoffed, ''And yet you still came here, are you an idiot or something?''
Riven chuckled darkly at his words, but he didn't say anything. His mind had returned to the day he tried to join the Luminous Sword Academy, even though he couldn't use Aura, he had trained himself with a sword manual. He had naïvely thought that he would be able to impress the school with his swordsmanship alone, but then he met Trent, who utterly humiliated him on the stage. He was not a crier, but he cried that day. But even still, his willpower wasn't broken, he had walked away under the laughter and had sworn to himself that he would get stronger, and he would return the humiliation he had received.
Who knew that the opportunity would come this soon? He was eager to see how he would fare against the two of them as a Level 13 Katana Warrior.
The judge walked off the stage and imbued magic power into a crystal, they were inscriptions around the stage, and they glowed as he did this. Riven had been using [Sense] since he walked up to the stage, he could detect an invisible energy surrounding the entire stage. The entire stage was surrounded by a Barrier Formation, it wasn't normally used unless the people fighting were Swordspeople or Sorcerers.
''Now you can't run.'' Balli smiled.
''Neither can you.'' Riven brought out his weapon, he didn't use the Cursed Katana but a normal katana. Trent and Balli were stunned for a moment when they saw he had a storage device, then they pulled out their swords. The judge raised his arm, the crowd waited with bated breath, Riven circulated his energy, everyone was waiting for the fight to commence.
The judge dropped his arm in a chop motion, ''Fight!''
Trent and Balli immediately unlocked their First Aura and raced towards him, their smiles filled with mockery and anticipation. They wanted to humiliate him but didn't know that he was different from before. He sidestepped Balli's attack and blocked Trent's, he kicked Balli hard in the chest before he could comprehend that he had dodged, he flew backwards. Trent looked at him in shock, but quickly got over it as he sent a flurry of attacks Riven's way, which he dodged and blocked with ease.
Balli tried to take advantage of their fight by stabbing at him, but that was impossible with [Sense] active, Riven twisted out of the way and slapped him with his blade.
Although they had been recruited into a prestigious sword school, Riven's sword moves wasn't below them. Not only had he practiced a sword manual to an insane extent, he was also given basic katana moves when he got the blessing of the God of Origins, and he never stopped practicing them in the past few months.
He didn't let them rest and used [Flurry Strikes], hitting them in numerous places each second. After he was done, they laid sprawled on the floor, their bodies twitching in pain as they tried to stand back up. Even though his attacks didn't break their Aura, it still wasn't strong enough to nullify the pain of his hits.
Trent glared at Riven as he stood shakenly on his feet, ''You… You!'' Balli on the other hand was still on the ground, he was too shocked to stand and a bit scared.
Trent glared at him, ''Get up you fool!'' He kicked him, Balli quickly jumped to his feet and stood at his side. Trent pointed his sword at Riven, ''I don't know how you are cheating, but don't think that you can defeat me, the Aura isn't what it was before!'' He looked at Balli who nodded in understanding.
They both roared lowly and their Aura's blazed wildly, even the crowd could feel immense pressure from where they stood. From their chests what looked like a red flame bloomed and pulsated like a beating heart, they bent their knees and jumped forward, cracks appeared on the spot they once stood on. Their speed was incredible, and with [Sense] Riven could see a haze in their surroundings, like their Aura's were burning the air around them. They swung their swords when they were close to him and their Aura's actually extended, the change they spoke of made it possible for them to attack from a distance, to an extent.
But Riven didn't let that deter him, he could also use long distance attacks, and unlike theirs, his had a longer range. He slashed his sword and sent a sword ray at them; it broke their attacks and sent them hurtling back. Riven jumped and reached them in a second, from above he used [Flower Burial]. He swung his katana with unprecedented speed and carved flowers out of his sword rays, the flowers descended on them like comets, cracking the stage and shaking the barrier.
The crowd stood with their mouths agape, the judge sat at the edge of his seat, waiting to see the outcome of the attack. When the dust settled, a single person was seen walking towards the edge of the stage, he stared at the judge and knocked the barrier lightly.
''T-the winner is Riven! In an incredible show of power he completely dominated the two-against-one duel!''
The crowd roared in excitement, they hailed Riven as he walked down the stage, but Riven didn't show any emotion on his face, in fact he felt a bit tired like he had just let go of a huge weight. He didn't bother talking to anyone, he just walked till he left the dojo, he would have kept on walking if he didn't feel a soft tug on his clothes.
Only then did he notice Alex and George who were walking behind him, George stood with his arms akimbo as he eyed Riven, ''Did you forget the children you were giving a tour?''
Riven stared at them for a moment before bursting into an uncontrollable laughter, he rested on his knees and laughed until he was out of breath. When he finally raised his head, his face looked a little brighter.
''Why rush? We have a lot a time.'' He said.
''What do you mean a lot of time? Aren't we leaving soon?'' George yelled, ''Didn't you and your mom talk?''
''We did, and we decided not to leave until the matter of the dead has been resolved.''
''What? Why?!''
''Because it's going to be dangerous everywhere,'' Riven said, ''I originally wanted to leave my mom here until the undead were defeated, then I would come pick her up. But after seeing her, I've decided to stay here with her. I will protect my mother.''
George stared at him, speechless. In the letter he wrote he said that he would be back soon, and sure he could still leave but he didn't want to walk back by himself.
Alex stared at Riven with his eyes squinted, he walked back a bit and stood beside George, ''Sorry Riven, but we won't be able to stay here with you. I promised to protect the Overlord's city along with everyone, and Sarah would probably kill George if he doesn't come back early.''
George gasped, ''You knew?!''
''I had my suspicions, but your behavior basically told on you. You looked like you were going to start biting your nails.'' Alex dodged George's jab with a light chuckle.
Riven watched them with a slight smile, ''When are you leaving?''
''Tomorrow, definitely tomorrow!'' George said. He wrestled with Alex a bit before staring a Riven teasingly, ''You sure you wouldn't miss Vivian? Or are you confident that she wouldn't find another man?"
''God, I don't like Vivian, why does everyone keep saying I do?!''
''Well, if you don't like Vivian, who do you like?''
''None of your business!''