Just as the Braveheart Lioness was about to sing for the young medjai a ballad of death, a figure appeared out of nowhere and tackled the beast. Jody recognized the figure as the Frozen Nightguard named Hopper. Hopper easily fought the lioness, his movements as swift as the wind.
"Come here, dummy," Sek suddenly emerged from Jody's shadow and dragged him in.
Jody withdrew his high state as his familiar zoomed through the shadows to deliver them to a relatively safe forest region. A wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over Jody. He rested in Sek's shadow as she traveled swiftly on her feet through the forest. Having a moment of reprieve from that harrowing near-death experience, Jody took this opportunity to operate his energy guide to recover before entering the host space.
----
Opening his eyes on his host throne, Jody immediately noticed the silence. He hadn't summoned his grimoire because he was here to train himself as a warrior, not a summoner. Have the boys gotten upset and thus returned to the ancient tome?
"Sly, I need to ask you something," Jody said via their mental link.
The [Cosmos Revolving Grimoire] flipped open to its second and third page, as the princes emerged in their respective infant forms.
"Have you remembered?" Sylvester asked as soon as he emerged.
Jody pondered for a moment before replying, "A bit."
"How much do you remember?" asked Xavier.
"I remember that girl that I heard talking to the ruler of the underworld gave me a present from him," Jody said slowly. "That present was forcefully assimilated into a celestial class labor. When I summoned it, I was able to remember it. But I don't remember her name or what she looks like. I only vaguely remember what we spoke about."
"What exactly do your labors do?" Sylvester asked indifferently, making Jody feel like labors were little spinning tops in the pup's eyes.
"Those daggers I used earlier are called Fallen God's Last Stand," Jody explained. "Labors have chapters, and the more they have, the more they can do. I only have the first chapter, which is called Two and a Possible. It's a weapon-type ability that releases a spade of death force every time I land two successful blows."
"We know that one, dummy. Talk about the ones you haven't used," Xavier pouted.
"Well, this one on my wrist is called Melancholic Demon Dance," Jody said after thinking a bit. A twilight prompt appeared before his throne as he read it, "It's a defensive type, with five chapters total, nice. The last one only had three. Anyway, this thing can create illusions and simultaneously dispels mental attacks..."
"Wait," Sylvester's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean dispel mental attacks? Can it eradicate any mental defects corrupting your mind?"
"You're asking me, but who do I ask?" Jody mumbled.
[Imp: Vixen's Struggle can dispel any mental corruption below the expert level.]
Jody was speechless, having forgotten he had this little thing to consult on this matter.
"So then, why don't you just summon this labor immediately and activate Vixen's Dance or whatever its called," Sylvester suggested.
"It's Vixen's Struggle!" berated Jody. "And why would I waste more death stars on trying to remember a girl who clearly doesn't want me to?"
"It's best you remember," Sylvester shook his little puppy muzzle.
Jody didn't think he needed to do so, but he still took heed to the sky pup's words.
"Sky Status."
.
.
.
.
[Sky Status]
[Imp: Reporting celestial law status report.]
'Origin - Truth 0 - 25/1000 stars, 85 crystals.'
'Astral - Truth 0 - 0/1000 stars, 11 crystals.'
'Twilight - Truth 0 - 525/1000 stars, 1,128 crystals.'
'Death - Truth 0 - 99/1000 stars, 13 crystals.'
'Fate - Truth 0 - 1,500/1,000 stars.'
'Rage - Truth 0 - 20/1000 stars, 17 crystals.'
'Poison- Truth 0 - 5/1000 stars, 55 crystals.'
Jody frowned, realizing his battle with the Braveheart Lioness really impacted his twilight crystal reserve, as well as his death crystals. Luckily, the expenditure was still within the tolerable range. But this was the cost of his labor's first chapter. The further chapters would only be more expensive. Luckily, he could slowly produce crystals of multiple forces with his twilight sage body. He suspected that his crystal production would improve as his sage realm improved.
He also noticed a new line in this time's status window. 'Rage Stars' and 'Astral Stars' could now be collected, which meant his body was already producing astral rage force passively. Jody didn't know if he never had astral stars or just constantly consumed them. The rage force must be the rage stars he was given during his last celestial showing. Either way, it would smooth out his path forward.
🐉🐉🐉
For the next several days, Jody diligently trained his body and recovered in Sek's shadow, coming out only for the meals she hunted and prepared. Jody had recovered his spirit and even produced a few crystals. He had made further progress on transforming his body, ensuring that he would never be killed by a braveheart lioness in the future. He stood up to stretch and casually exited Sek's shadow once again. The latter was currently resting on the branch of a high tree.
Unaware of his location, Jody immediately plummeted after casually strolling off the side.
"Wha...AHH!"
Jody instinctively flipped a few times and landed solidly on his feet a moment later. Shaking the pain of the impact from his legs, he cast out his perception but limited its range to exactly twenty meters. He definitely wouldn't have fallen if he had already been using his spiritual sense. His precaution stemmed from the fact that others could perceive his perception. He didn't want to show off his true capabilities lest his mother get super overprotective again. Jody glanced up at Sek, who had opened her eyes when he fell, but closed them again upon detecting that he didn't use any force.
Jody then glanced at the divine tattoo wriggling on his wrist. He shook his head and picked a direction to head in next. For some reason, he didn't want to remember Topaz at this time.
As Jody walked, he felt a strange pull towards the dark forest, a force that he couldn't resist. He knew he had to investigate it, to find out what it was and how it was connected to him. He had been sent to train in this forest and intended to do just that! His father had even taught him some arcana. Though Jody hadn't formed the elemental forces required to use them properly, he had his labors.
He was discovering more and more how they were like cheat codes.
His Fallen Hero's Infinity Sword divinity constantly absorbed the ambient natural energies. By channeling it, he could temporarily trade twilight for elemental force. If the mental burden of using the labor weren't so immense, they would be perfect. And so, with a sense of both excitement and trepidation, Jody plunged deeper into the forest, ready to face whatever lay ahead.
As he turned to leave, he caught sight of a figure in the distance. Hopper, the Frozen Nightguard, had saved him from the Braveheart Lioness. Jody felt grateful toward the Nightguard and decided to approach him.
"Hey, Hopper. Thanks for saving my life back there," Jody said, retrieving a batch of herbs from his spatial ring as a peace offering.
Hopper took the bag, inspecting the contents before nodding in approval. "These are rare herbs. You have a good eye, kid. What were you planning to do with them?"
Jody hesitated for a moment before deciding to trust the Nightguard.
"My mother gave me a list of 21 special medicines and spiritual herbs that will assist with fast-tracking my training," Jody said candidly. "She's going to teach me alchemy!"
Actually, Jody already knew the basics of alchemy, as he had watched his mother from infancy.
"The Mistress told you that? How enviable..." Hopper said in wonder.
He was genuinely envious. All members of the Frozen Night division of House Trillwolf idolized or outright worshiped Isis. Therefore, in Jody's opinion, Hopper's behavior couldn't be considered strange. Jody smiled at Hopper's reaction, glad that he could share his excitement with someone. He had to admit, it felt good to have a friend out here in this dangerous forest.
"I'm really looking forward to it. Miss Mary said my mother is the best alchemist in all six realms, and I can't wait to learn from her," Jody said with a note of pride in his voice.
Hopper nodded, knowing this comment of the maid was a bit off the mark. But not by much. A small smile played on his lips as he said, "Well, I wish you luck with your training. And if you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask."
Jody smiled, happy to have made a good impression on Hopper. He had heard stories about the Frozen Night division and their devotion to Isis, but he never truly understood it until now.
"You know, Hopper," Jody began, "I feel like there's something strange going on in this forest. Do you feel it too?"
Hopper's expression grew serious. "Yes, I do. The dark forest region has been restless lately, and there have been reports of strange occurrences."
Jody nodded, the pull he felt towards the dark forest now making more sense. "I think I need to investigate it to find out what's causing it."
Hopper looked at Jody with surprise but also admiration. Even Humble Scholars were rarely as active as this kid, who had never had any saint training. "You're brave, kid. But be careful. The forest can be dangerous for even the most skilled fighters."
Jody nodded in understanding, knowing that he couldn't rely solely on his labors for this. He would need to use his wits and his training to navigate whatever lay ahead. Jody thanked Hopper and continued on his way, the pull towards the dark forest growing stronger with each step. He couldn't shake the feeling that something important awaited him there.
As he entered deeper into the forest, Jody purposely primed his Fallen Hero's Infinity Sword divinity, channeling the ambient nature energies around him and trading them for twilight force. He needed to increase his supply of twilight crystals. He would need all the power he could get if he wanted to face whatever lay ahead.
The forest was dark, with twisted trees and eerie shadows that seemed to dance around him. Dark forces were drawn to his body as three labors greedily absorbed them. Jody's senses were on high alert as he moved deeper into the gloom. He heard strange whispers in the wind and felt a chill run down his spine. Why did it have to be so creepy?
"Hmm...creepy voices....could it be?" Jody suddenly had an epiphany.
Eureka!
Sudden enlightenment!
The Bluesoul Star grass was a rare herb that was in the top three of the twenty-one herbs his mother had listed. A mature bluesoul star grass releases a subtle frequency that sounds like eerily airy whining. Is that what he currently hears?
"Top three..." Jody couldn't resist such temptation.
His mother had told him that the top five herbs were probably beyond his reach due to the beasts guarding them, but he would be heavily rewarded if he managed to secure them. Of course, he would be heavily punished if he got injured. Many of the beasts in this region of the Wilds were second-level vicious beasts, easily able to take his little life. He had been lucky to encounter beasts on the desolate path of death. As a medjay of death, the atmosphere of these beasts couldn't easily restrain him.
But Jody would likely be obliterated before he could get close if he encountered such a vicious beast of the god's path of magical life. Blood limits were life force spells beasts of the god path could cast naturally. They were terrifying abilities. The Braveheart Lioness seemingly had a blood limit as well.
Too bad she waited to late to use it.