Balmar strode the field with four hundred Prime Soldiers standing in lines beside him.

"Men! You have given the honor to don this divine armor. It gives you strength, it gives you speed, but it doesn't give you courage because courage comes from within! Today we are here to pull that courage and show it to the world! Our sir told me to train you all even if it takes your life, so if you're scared then get out of the power suit and don't show me your face!"

Balmar observed them with sharp eyes. "Anyone?"

"No, Sir!"

"Good! Then don't cry if you return without a soul. Today we are going to the Endless Moors with a limited supply. Our goal is to hold on for four days in the moors without food. The only thing that will enter your stomach is water and smoke. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

Balmar saw some men trembled inside their power suit. He knew. He could feel it. It was just like his first hunt. Excitement. Fear. Intermingle with each other creating a complicated feeling within a man.

"This is your last chance! If you have doubts, step out and don't let anyone judge your decision. Your life is at stake! Think of anyone back home who will be waiting for you."

Some hesitated. They moved their feet slightly, doubtful if they should step out. They clenched their hand and pulled their feet back. They decided to fight.

Balmar smiled. "Get your ass inside the carriage then! We have no time to waste!"

The carriage had been modified to accommodate the Prime Soldiers. They were slightly taller and wider. Yet, only four Prime Soldier could fit in a single carriage. Making it bigger was impossible unless they want to reduce their mobility. Climbing hills or harsh terrain would be difficult.

Maybe Hax will surprise them with something in the future.

Balmar had expectation for the man. And many were already achieved.

He tapped the sword in his waist and clenched his armored fist. "It's all possible because of that man."

He entered his wagon. Only Goras was here with him.

"So," He started. "Starving ourselves in the Endless Moors while fighting a bunch of deadly magical monsters. Sounds fun. And is there really monsters in the Endless Moors? People have gone there back and forth but no one mentioned anything about monsters.

"Of course there are monsters there. I told you about it before. The Prime Soldiers need to train. And we can't train them like an ordinary soldier.

"Prime Soldier. I like Hax and I really think he's a smart guy, but his naming sense need some work."

"What's wrong with Prime Soldier? I think it sounds great," Balmar said.

"You old people are so out of date."

…

"Hey." Nesterin held on Elwin's shoulder as he piggyback him. "When are we going to arrive."

"In a few days. Or maybe more than that."

"Stop playing! Just tell me when."

"Who knows. Why would you think I know?"

"Well, you're a stage-5 cultivator who is also the sect leader of the Nefarious Sword. You think I should ask the bushes instead?"

"Good idea."

"I'm serious!"

"Don't be."

"I really want to hit your head right now."

"Don't do."

"I would if you keep this up."

"Can you show a little respect to a sect leader?"

"I have no respect for you!"

"Said the guy sitting on my back."

Nesterin groaned. "I felt like I've heard of that before."

"Probably from your mom."

Nesterin frowned. "That irritates me somehow."

Elwin chuckled.

Nesterin sighed and turned his sight to the landscape. Then he realized something. "That's the same bush that I saw a earlier. I know because I plucked its leaf. We're running in a circle! Stop!"

"What's wrong?"

"We're running in a circle! Don't you hear what I just said?"

"You mean 'I'm running in a circle'."

Nesterin grabbed the BC-75 from his back and shoved it to Elwin's face. "Get me to Barmwich, now!" He knew Elwin was strong, but he was too angry to care.

"Relax. It's just the Illusion Forest. It makes you think we're running in a circle but in reality we're going in a straight line."

"Really?"

"Truly, my friend. It does so to protect itself. Anyone thinking they walk in a circle would return to the way they come from."

Such thing exist? He had never heard of the Illusion Forest before. The world was vast and there were still many things to see.

"If that is so, let us continue."

Elwin sprinted. He was quick that the sight almost turned into a blur. The wind didn't hit his face. Nesterin didn't know why.

Some sort of magic probably.

Nesterin shook his head. He hoped Hax haven't attack yet. That creature was strong. If the army had to fight something like that, then who knew what would happen. The fight shook the land and cracked the ground. Even the wind from their battle was enough to threw them away.

Yet Elwin defeated it.

The sect master lost his sword, but Nesterin considered it's worth the cost. No one could stop such monstrosity. If it set loose in a village, a town, or a city, all would die.

Could the norm defeat something like that? A monster that seemed to came straight out of hell.

"Hey," Elwin called. "Sorry about your family. I'm the one who's responsible for not teaching them properly."

"Don't be. You know if you're not strong I would already put a bullet in your head."

Elwin chortled. "Weakness is a sin. Have you heard of that?"

"Yes, from the wandering philosophers. I disagree with that phrase. If someone born with the inability to cultivate, does that mean he sinned?"

"A good argument. But that's not what they meant. You will sin if you don't use your strength to cover for your weakness."

"Use strength to cover weakness? That doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't have to."

Nesterin clicked his tongue. "Don't speak too much. Focus on the road. I want to arrive in Barmwich as fast as possible."

"We all want to be somewhere as fast as possible. But haven't you heard that traveling is about the journey not the destination?"

"I have zero concern of that."

"Life before death, journey before destination."

"Where did you heard that?"

"I read it from somewhere."

"It sounds stupid. Of course we live before we die, and we travel before we arrive. Why say something that is very obvious."

"That's not the point. Sometimes we have so much in our head that we forgot that we're all going to die. It doesn't matter what happen, in the end we're all going to be buried under the mountain."

Nesterin scoffed. "You're strong but dumb. If what happen doesn't matter then nothing is matter. Why wake up from bed if nothing matters. Why do we eat good food or drink nice coffee if nothing matters."

"I didn't expect that answer."

"Many people don't expect anything from me. But the one that does, I cherished them greatly."

"Your wife and daughter was one of them?"

"Yes."

"How does it feel?"

"What?"

"To have something that matters?"

"It feels warm and whole. It feels like nothing else matters anymore."

"Must be great."

"It was."

Both of them turned silent for a moment.

"Stop," Nesterin said. He got off his back and approached a nearby plant. A thick, green vines dangled from the tree. Nesterin snapped it. Clear water came out of the vine and he let it pour into his water sac.

"I didn't know you can do that."

"And you said you have lived long enough." Nesterin grabbed a water beetle on the ground and squeezed it. Water came out of its butt hole, pouring into the sac.

"You want to drink that?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't."

"Your choice."

The wind whistled through the leaves. Dark clouds moved ahead. Lightning flashed. Storm was brewing.

"We should find a shelter," Elwin said.

"No, I want to be at Barmwich quick."

Elwin shook his head. "That's not an ordinary storm. It won't kill me. But you will die."

"Stop lying! I never see a storm could kill a man."

"You haven't seen enough storm in your lifetime."

"If you run quick enough, we can pass the storm."

"Impossible. The Wrathful has begin. The only thing we can do is hide."

Suddenly, the trees moved. They bend their trunk to the direction of the wind. The shrubs pulled themselves into a hole like they was hiding from something.

"If you don't believe me," Elwin said. "Then believe in nature."

"Fine."

Nesterin climbed on his back. The act embarrassed him. How could a grown man did something like this.

"Don't be embarrassed. With my age, you're more like a grandchild to me."

Elwin sprinted. The wind burst into them. It swayed his footing a bit, but the sect master got it under control. He leaped through the trees, using their trunk to pass another.

Ahead of them was a cave. It wasn't big, but enough for them to get inside. The wind was chilling. He didn't feel it when he was outside, but now he did.

Nesterin shivered from the cold. The weather was usually hot in the Avatar Kingdom. He had never felt cold before. It was such a strange feeling. The cave should warm him, but it didn't. The cold felt like it started to seeped into his bone. Like a blade piercing through his skin, he felt a numbing pain.

"Don't you die on me." Elwin grabbed his shoulder, and he felt a warming energy surged from it. It spread all over his body, removing the cold and he felt alive again.

"What did you do?"

"Saving you."

"Try to do it again."

The warm energy came in again. He felt it from his shoulder the most. He felt so comfortable and it seemed to strengthen his body. The energy massaged his body from the inside. His stomach and heart felt better. It was like he was a teenager again.

"I… I'm reborn."

"No you are not. Unless you are a phoenix."

"What did you do to me exactly."

"I simply channel my energy to you, my friend. This energy will fix you and protect you as long as it stays there. But you are not a cultivator so it simply dissipated the moment I stop."

"Can you make a norm stronger permanently with this energy?"

"I can. But the effect isn't that good. Your body has limit and the most it can do is to make you feel better."

"I heard there is a magical pill that can turn someone into a cultivator."

"Yes, there is. In fact, there's a lot of pills like this. But we won't give them to the norm since they couldn't cultivate pass the stage-1 cultivation."

"Cultivators have uses for these pills?"

"Of course, we can increase our cultivation with these pills. It's not recommended to rely on pills though."

"Is it possible to buy them from you?"