There, standing far away, avir was watching all of this. Seeing such cruelty towards an old man, his eyes turned red with anger and his fists clenched. Just then, he saw that the man was about to behead the old man. As avir was moving forward, he noticed a masked boy standing a little further away from the old man. His face was hidden, but his eyes were visible, glowing blue.
avir was stunned as he saw the masked boy effortlessly knock away the man from the central power.
Then, the masked boy's eyes gleamed again, and the faces of the central power men began to turn pale as they started choking, unable to breathe. The masked boy then spoke in a cold voice to the central power men, "Give me all your treasures and precious items, or else you will die."
Everyone was stunned and scared by the masked boy's threat, for going against the central power meant going against the Queen. One man asked another, "Who is this person going against the Queen?" The second man replied, "No one knows who this masked boy is, where he comes from, or where he goes. All we know is that he deals ruthlessly with the bad and kindly with the good."
On the other side, all the men from the central power pulled out their magical rings and threw them towards the masked boy, which he caught mid-air.
Magical Rings: These are special rings that can store items, and their value depends on their storage capacity. People use them to store valuable items such as precious stones, coins, medicines, etc.
Then, the eyes of the masked boy stopped glowing, and all the men from the central power fell to the ground. Their condition was pitiable as they lay there half-dead. avir, watching all this, stood there stunned, his face pale. He thought to himself, "Who is this person who dares to loot the central power?" Just then, a red symbol began to glow in the dark recesses of the masked boy's inner mind, and he turned seriously toward avir. In avir's hand was a circular symbol, half black and half white, a sign of both good and evil spiritual power, glowing red.
Then, the masked boy's blue eyes gleamed again, and avir fell to his knees. He struggled to stand but, as the masked boy's eyes shone even brighter, avir fell back to his knees. Just then, avir's eyes began to glow red, and with all his might, he stood up. His face was pale, and the people around him looked at him with pity. However, the masked boy was impressed by avir's courage and strength. He thought to himself, "This boy doesn't even know his own power, and he doesn't realize that his abilities are being suppressed. Even without his spiritual power, he is doing well. But how did I not notice his symbol in the forest?" Just as avir began to feel the diminishing strength within him, he stood straight and began breathing heavily.
The masked boy, seriously, said, "Your physical strength is excellent, but your spiritual power is not much. However, all your questions will be answered in the Black Valley." Just as avir was about to speak, the masked boy disappeared in the blink of an eye. avir wanted to know who he was and how he knew so much about him, but all his questions remained unanswered. He then went to the old man, helped him up, and asked, "Are you alright?" The old man replied, "For now, yes, but after all this, the Queen will not spare us." Saying this, the old man gathered his things and left. avir stood there, watching the old man walk away in sadness.
Just then, a man approached avir and said, "Child, don't worry about him. Tell me, who are you? I haven't seen you here before." avir replied, "I am avir Maurya, from Anantgiri City. I've come here to sell some valuable parts of an animal."
The man then said, "Well, then you've met just the right person! My shop is right across. Come with me, and I'll give you a better price than the rest of the market." Hearing this, avir nodded in agreement and followed the man.
At the shop, the man asked avir to show him the animal parts. avir opened his bag and placed a pair of golden horns and a gem extracted from the head of an animal that looked like a bull. The man examined the items and said, "Look, avir, these parts belong to an ordinary animal with no level, so I can't give you much for them. But I can offer you 500 coins." A smile appeared on the man's face as he spoke.
avir, with a slight smile, replied, "Alright, I agree." He was satisfied with the deal because he already knew that these parts wouldn't fetch a high price. In fact, 500 coins were more than he had expected. The man handed him a pouch full of coins and said, "Look, avir, if you ever want to sell or buy anything again, remember me. Oh, I forgot to mention my name—it's Anuj." avir replied, "Alright, Anuj bhai," and left the shop.
A Few Days Later
avir was sitting beneath a waterfall with his eyes closed, trying to enhance his spiritual power. The symbol on his hand, ☯︎, was glowing red. From a distance, the masked figure stood on a rock, watching avir. Seeing him attempting to strengthen his spiritual power, the masked figure said, "Child, these efforts are futile. Until the curse on the symbol on your hand is broken, no matter how much you try to increase your spiritual power, it will keep being absorbed by the curse."
Meanwhile, a girl was running a short distance away, being chased by four wolves. She tripped and fell, letting out a terrified scream. avir, still sitting under the waterfall, heard her scream. He opened his eyes, stood up, and vanished in the blink of an eye. The masked figure, observing this from afar, muttered, "He's pushed himself so far that, even without spiritual power, he's capable of matching a Level 6 spiritual warrior."
The girl, wearing a white dress that ended just above her knees, lay on the ground. Her long black hair reached down to her back, and she looked terrified as the four wolves surrounded her, growling menacingly. One wolf, drooling, crept closer to her. Suddenly, leaping from one tree to another, avir landed directly on the wolf, slamming it into the ground. He then jumped in front of the girl, positioning himself as a shield, glaring at the remaining wolves.
The other three wolves attacked avir together. He fought them off with punches and kicks, sending them flying, but they kept getting up and charging at him again. Suddenly, avir's eyes and the symbol ☯︎ on his hand began glowing red. Furious, he punched the ground, creating a red shockwave that spread in all directions, throwing the wolves far away. The wolves, realizing the danger, scrambled to their feet and fled.
The masked figure, still watching from afar, remarked, "He can even suppress the curse... This boy is special."
avir then approached the girl, who still had her eyes tightly shut out of fear. As he reached out to touch her, the girl opened her eyes and saw him. Startled, she quickly grabbed a pouch from her waist, took some powder in her hand, and shouted, "You scoundrel!" She threw the powder at avir's face.
avir instinctively raised his hand, and a green light emanated from it. The powder, instead of touching his face, gathered in his hand, leaving the girl astonished.
Avir cheekily said to the girl, "How can someone as handsome as me seem dirty to you?" The girl lowered her gaze and replied, "I thought you were about to harm me." Hearing this, avir burst into laughter.
A little while later, the girl and avir were walking together through the forest. Smiling, avir asked, "My name is avir. What's your name?" The girl, also smiling, replied in a sweet voice, "My name is Shashi." Hearing this, avir said, "A weak girl like you, who doesn't even know how to fight, what are you doing in this dangerous jungle?"
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Shashi replied, "The thing is, I came here with my people to collect herbs, but I got lost, and those wolves started chasing me. By the way, I'm from a village of expert herbalists near Kali Valley."
Hearing this, avir was reminded of what the masked figure had said. Snapping out of his thoughts, he asked Shashi seriously, "Can you take me to your village? I need to meet the best healer there." Shashi nodded and said with a smile, "The best healer in the village is my grandfather. I'll take you to him, but first, you'll have to help me get back to my group."
Meanwhile, in another part of the jungle, a man about 40 years old stood in a camp, looking visibly worried. His face bore signs of deep concern. Just then, a group of six people arrived, their faces heavy with sadness. They said, "Sir, we searched everywhere for Shashi, but we couldn't find her."
Hearing this, the man clenched his fists in anger and shouted at them, "Can't you do a single thing properly? First, you couldn't keep Shashi safe, and now you can't even find her. What will we say to the chief?!"
He had just finished speaking when the cries of some animals echoed through the forest. One of the men pointed behind the angry leader with a trembling finger and stammered, "L-look… there…"
Everyone turned in the direction he was pointing. There stood a creature with the body of a fox and the head of a bear. Its body was covered in sharp, metallic spikes. Seeing the beast, they all grew alert and drew their swords, preparing for a fight.
The creature charged at them with incredible speed, and before long, most of them were wounded. Only their leader remained unscathed, but the beast began advancing toward him.
Who is the masked figure, and why is he keeping an eye on avir? Who is Shashi, and why has she crossed paths with avir? Stay tuned to find out.