Zorim had a reminiscing look on his face as he stated his name. He didn't expect the young trial taker to have heard of him.
"It's my honor master Escolun. If you agree with it, I would swear my oath now."
"Yes. Go ahead."
Tepo deliberately cleared his throat as he spoke in a solemn voice:
"I, Tepmodus te Avatio, herby swear on my core to do my best within the next fifty years to bring back five Starlight World Orbs to the Shooting Star Tribe in exchange for receiving the Ahiluscendum."
Making this vow, the young man already knew what to expect. Out of nowhere a dangerous, red rune suddenly appeared within the Core of Time.
The marvelous entity was displeased that its host put it on the line once more. It moved abruptly. A mysterious pressure suddenly appeared. This time the red rune didn't even have time to form completely before an attack hit it. It shattered directly.
Tepo was glad on one hand, but he still didn't intend to break his promise. He was a man of his word. No matter how mysterious these orbs were, if he learned of the Shooting Star Tribe, Tepo would hand them over.
Opposite him the trial creator apparently didn't notice anything off. Zarim's expression relaxed a tiny bit as he nodded at Tepo.
"Thank you, young man. I only wish for the continuous persistence of my tribe. I hope you can understand."
"Of course. You are admirable.", praised Tepo genuinely.
The young warrior could resonate with Zarim's wish. Wasn't his own purpose similar?
For the first time a faint smile formed on the man's lips. He waved his hand. The five fascinating orbs circling behind his head glided towards Tepo.
The young man was intrigued. He observed the orbs floating before his chest. But with his vision he couldn't gleam anything. The orbs appeared like gorgeous, oversized glass marbles. Beautiful but without use. Their smooth surface was cold to the touch.
As even his [Scan] didn't reveal any information, Tepo put the orbs in his storage bag, which barely had enough space left.
Having dealt with the Starlight World Orbs, Tepo directed his focus back towards Zarim. But only dense fog was left where the man was supposed to stand
Tepo didn't have much time to be confused, though. A strange, grating rumble reached his ears. The fog steered.
Suddenly the fog above Tepo's head was pressed to the side. A shadow fell over the young warrior. An enormous palm made from stone covered his entire vision.
Tepo's stomach fell as the hand came to a stop above him. He imagined how this mountain just needed to press down and he would be swatted to death like an ant. There was no room for resistance.
Luckily this didn't happen. Instead, the massive hand tilted slightly. Something rolled from its edge. The object fell through the air, directly towards Tepo.
Instinctively the young man reached out his hands to catch it. The moment Tepo caught the object, his surroundings changed.
The fog vanished. So did the giant hand. A cloud appeared beneath his feet.
Tepo's mind went into overdrive. Already somewhat prepared, he reacted the fastest out of everyone. Even before someone could lay their eyes on him, the object in his hand already vanished.
Preparing his best acting skills Tepo suddenly jumped in the air. Joy was written all over his face.
"Haha I'm out! I'm alive!"
Not giving anyone time to question him, the young warrior abruptly took out his ship. He jumped in and shot into the storms.
Everyone felt it hard to adapt. But Lao Ru and Lao De reacted fast as well. After being separated in the fog they knew that the dungeon might be solved any second.
Thus, they had it easier to react to the changing circumstances. Their eyes fell on the strange, transparent liquid floating in the air. The artificial core!
Being an experienced duo they acted at the same time. Lao De took out a luxurious ship from his space bag. Meanwhile his brother conjured a small bottle and instantly stored the artificial core.
The soldiers were still in confusion. The blinked their eyes, not understanding what happened. One moment they were still holed up in caves, fearing for their lives. Next, they were on a cloud surrounded by fierce storms.
It took a few seconds for both armies to process the change. But suddenly Muran and Phirr were the first to wake up from the commotion around them.
With shock in their eyes the two captains noticed Lao Ru as he bottled the artificial core.
"Stop it!"
"Don't you dare!"
Naturally Lao Ru didn't listen to the shouts. He only acted even faster. He jumped in Lao De's ship, which hastily sped off.
But the captains weren't resigned to take so many risks without any reward. They quickly took out their own ships. While angrily reprimanding their soldiers they chased after the two brothers.
Tepo quickly fled. He only had a few seconds of a head start, but it was enough.
Out of sight, out of mind. Until the captains remember the Ahiluscendum I will already be far away.
The young warrior was confident that he was out of danger. Especially after no one chased him for a few minutes.
A wind channel appeared before the young man. He entered it, following the other ships leisurely as he contemplated his next actions.
Although it's a bit embarrassing, I should probably return to the tower. Who knows if the two kingdoms begin searching for everyone they saw in the dungeon.
I will lay low for a while, learn some new spells, and then visit my mother.
It's somewhat ironic that I didn't even make it to the Hurricane Kingdom before crawling back to the tower.
Tepo chuckled self-mockingly as he followed the wind channel. From time-to-time fleets from the two armies forced everyone to stay close to the channel's edges.
Are they searching for Lao De and Lao Ru? I hope the two brothers will be alright. They should've gotten their hands on the artificial core.
Luckily the armies were preoccupied. This allowed Tepo to easily blend in among the crowd as he got closer to the tower. Soon he turned towards a lonely wind channel and entered the storms.
After a bumpy ride a dreamy floating ocean appeared before him.
A few curious fish stuck their heads out of the surface. As their eyes fell on the incoming ship, they let out strange sounds before diving into the turquoise waters.
Great. Even the fish are laughing at me.
Subconsciously Tepo's mood improved as he neared the tower. A lot of tension left his body. The symbol on his neck flashed and the ocean parted before him.
Anvil was sitting cross legged on top of the tower. She was immersed in the quiet and peaceful world, silently absorbing force. Suddenly a movement startled her.
Wave's head rose slightly. Her beautiful azure eyes looked at the ocean as she let out a low hum.
"Line is back."
Suddenly Anvil's eyes opened wide. A smile played around the lips of her ordinary face. She jumped up.
Meanwhile Quill was buried in books. Bathed in turquoise light the white-robed man was a picture of tranquility. His mind was focused as it fed on knowledge.
Suddenly the library's door was pushed open abruptly. A gust of wind ruffled the books on a table before Quill. One of them toppled over.
With practiced ease Quill caught the book in midair. His eyes didn't move the tiniest bit.
"How often do I need to tell you to respect the silence of a library, Anvil?", sounded Quill's leisurely voice.
"Ok sorry. Then I will stay quiet and not tell you that Line is back."
Quill stopped for a moment before a small smile formed on his lips. He put his book down.
"Let's go welcome him."
Anvil only clicked her tongue.
Soon, a ship burst through the dome of water. Tepo let out a sigh. He had a feeling of returning home, which even surprised him a little.
A small smile formed on his face as he spotted the familiar figures waiting on the jade-green rock. Even Senior Wave coiled around the tower was looking at him benevolently.
Tepo landed and jumped out of his ship.
"Welcome back!", greeted Anvil with a smile on her face.
Quill on the other hand rose his brow. He studied Tepo's appearance.
"It seems your journey wasn't without obstacles."
"Welcome, Line.", sounded even Wave's voice before she diverted her attention elsewhere.
"Thanks guys.", spoke Tepo as a bit weariness mixed into his voice. "Feels good to be back again."
"Wow. You look terrible. You know what, why don't you take a bath first before we talk?"
"Hmm. I've seen worse."
"Quill! Why do you always feel the need to contradict me?"
"I'm just honest. When I met Line, he just left a dungeon. He was close to death at that time."
Tepo blinked as Quill and Anvil quarreled immediately. Suddenly he couldn't help but laugh loudly.