Khaos watched as Zara played with her hair thoughtfully. He had just finished telling her all about the details of the quest he had taken out and the two of them were sitting in Zara's room. She sat on the bed while Khaos sat on the chair.
"I want ten marks, it's only fair that we split the reward equally", Zara shrugged.
Khaos shook his head, "No it is not fair because i already used all five of the marks i had. And what i want to buy costs 10 marks already, meaning that i will be left without any money for more missions afterwards".
"What is it you want to buy?" Zara asked.
"I do not want to tell you". Khaos crossed his arms as Zara clicked her tongue. The shops in the Academy did not have a list of items they sold. If one wanted to buy something, they had to explain to the clerk what they wanted and the clerk would suggest the closest possible items to the student's requirements.
In the unlikely scenario that the shop did not have anything similar, a request to the Lawgiver would be made and he would make the item. It was unknown how he does it, and no one questioned him. Who would have the courage to question a god?.
"Are you sure you can fight a stage above yourself?" Zara asked and Khaos nodded with certainty. "So can you defeat me?" Zara added.
"I do not know, i remember seeing your attack back then. It is too fast for me to react as long as the arrow has left the bow. So if i can stop you from shooting then probably". Khaos answered.
"I will help you on one condition". Zara said and Khaos nodded for her to continue. "You will owe me one favour".
Khaos narrowed his eyes, "As long as it is something i can do without endangering my path to power", he answered.
Zara nodded with a smile, "Fine, i need a few minutes to wash though", she stood up and began removing her shirt "You can stay and watch if you want", she said.
"I will wait outside". Khaos said and stood up to leave.
"Coward", he heard Zara mumble before he closed the door. Khaos leaned on the wall and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, Zara came out of her room wearing the new uniform. Unlike the Instructors and students above the Magic realm, who had freedom of choice when it came to clothing.
The uniform for the Magic realm cultivators consisted of black slim fit canvax (Plant based leather-like material) trousers, a black long sleeved T-shirt under a canvax sleeveless jacket and black boots ending just above the ankle.
The Academy emblem was present on the back of the jacket, the thigh area of the trousers and the sole of the shoes. Both men and women wore the same uniform.
Zara though also had a meter long green bow on her back, with the string crossing diagonally on her chest. A quiver full of arrows hung from her right hip while a black canvax glove covered her right hand. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail identical to Khaos'.
"Oh so now you want to watch?" Zara smirked.
"No, the only thing which interests me on your body is that bow". Khaos said, walking to the exit before flying off.
"That hurts you know". Zara said, flying beside him.
"Your bow, its made of Obsidium right?" Khaos ignored her comment. Obsiduim was a very versatile metal and the only metal which could bend instead of cracking and or breaking.
That was the reason why most weapons were coated with it. It was easier to repair dented Obsidium than cracked iron.
"Yes, 100% pure Obsidium with no other alloy whatsoever. The string is made from the inner bark of a titanous tree". Zara said with pride.
"Can i see it?, i am somewhat of a forger", Khaos said.
"Sure". Zara handed over the bow, which Khaos began to inspect as they flew towards the horizon at high speed.
Two hours of flight later, they arrived at a mountain. Unlike the area around it, the mountain was barren with red soil and rock covering it's surface. It was called the Dead mountain, and the large crack which ran through it was the Dead Gorge.
The two Black Academy Cultivators flew into the gorge and found a small cave in it's walls, into which they entered. They waited by the cave, cultivating quietly since the quest brief said their target would pass by the next day.
Although almost everyone could fly on Zylon, some journeys made it impractical to do so. Merchants for example could theoretically hire cultivators to fly with their goods to and from their destinations.
The problem with that was no cultivator would agree to do such a job. Flying did not cost any physical energy from a cultivator, but it still cost Flux. Flying empty handed for long distances was hard, carrying something only multiplied that difficulty.
It was like trying to sprint full speed for a large distance with a large boulder on your shoulders. Due to this no cultivator accepted such tasks and if they did, they would charge so much money that no merchant would hire them.
Early morning the next day, Khaos and Zara began watching the trail below them as they planned their assault.
"I will go down there alone so that they underestimate me, you stay here and support from above. Also make sure that the target does not fly away". Khaos said.
Zara nodded, "Sure, but what if all five of the guards are in the sixth stage?" she asked. Zara herself was in the sixth stage as well while Khaos, the fifth.
"It does not change anything, as long as your surprise attack kills at least two. After that, three will be left, then either one comes for you or two of them come for you".
"If two come for you, it will not take me long to kill the one i will be left with and i know you can also hold two stage six Cultivators on your own".
"What makes you think that?" Zara asked with a smile.
"Because i believe in you" Khaos rolled his eyes.
"Really?, that's so sweet" Zara said with words coated in a thick layer of sarcasm.
"Anyway, after that we kill all the guards, then the target and we go claim our reward. Just make sure to kill at least two with your first attack". Khaos said, and Zara nodded.