The Desolate Mountains (The Divine Elements Book 2)

by Daman

  “Hey! That’s a low blow! At least I am not an ugly, old fart like you!”

  Calron retorted as he quickly swept away the dark smoke from his face.

  “You arrogant little brat! Here, take this!”

  The Voice shouted, as it suddenly flew into Calron’s nostrils.

  *cough* *cough*

  “Hahaha, alright, alright, I give up!”

  Calron surrendered immediately as his Teacher began tickling his insides.

  After quieting down, the Voice slowly turned towards the young boy.

  “Just focus on your training, Calron. The future is still unknown, and the only thing that matters is whether or not you are strong enough to seek what you desire. Take some rest for today, and we will continue again tomorrow.”

  The Voice said softly, while it prepared to return back into Calron’s body.

  “Teacher, why did you say before that you were only planning to tell me my beast heritage when I was ready to break into the Vajra stage?”

  Calron curiously inquired just as his Teacher was about to leave.

  “Dammit, I thought we were done with this! Sigh… Calron, have you ever seen a lightning beast in your life?”

  The Voice asked in a overly calm tone.

  “Well, the golden jaguar cub is the only beast I’ve ever met with a lightning attribute.”

  Calron replied after thinking about it for a few seconds.

  “Unlike human cultivators, some lightning beasts are able to absorb bolts of lightning from nature and use it to advance to the higher stages. Do you know how this is possible? It is because the majority of the essence within a beast is concentrated within its muscles and bones, rather than the core itself!”

  The Voice explained while glancing at Calron to see whether its student understood what it was implying. Seeing the puzzled look on the boy’s face, the Voice continued.

  “Calron, if you were able to store your essence within your muscles and bones, don’t you think that you would also be able to endure a bolt of lighting?”

  The Voice finished, as it bent forwards to look into Calron’s eyes to gauge its student’s reaction.

  “But that’s simply impossible. For humans, their entire essence is solely focused in their cores, and to-”

  “That would be true, except that you are not entirely human, kid. What if I told you that there is a technique that would let you channel your essence and store it within your muscles and bones?”

  The Voice quickly interjected, as it interrupted Calron.

  “Don’t tell me… that is what the last stage of the Thunder-Bird technique is?”

  Suddenly, a shocked expression flashed through Calron’s face.

  “Hahaha, that’s right, kid, the third stage of the Thunder-Bird technique grants you the body of a beast and lets you store your essence within your own body.”

  The Voice stated with a smug look on its ghostly face.

  “I personally like to call it the Mighty Bird’s Blessing! … Eh? You don’t like it? How about the Heavenly Beast Transformation? … Screw you, kid, you try coming up with a better name!”

  The Voice conveyed in an annoyed tone when it saw the disgusted look on its student’s face.

  “Leaving aside the horrible names; with your current physical strength, I doubt that you will be able to maintain the third stage of the technique for even a few seconds, so we need to rapidly increase the toughness of your body. The stronger your body, the longer you will be able to use the technique. This was why I had you stop cultivating your essence, as the essence in your core will not help you advance to the Vajra stage.”

  “Why would I need to use the technique longer than a few seconds? With the Azure Lighting, I can refine the lightning essence in an instant, so in the end I would only need several seconds to absorb the bolt of lightning.”

  Calron curiously asked his Teacher.

  “I sometimes forget how dumb you can be… ”

  The Voice replied while shaking its smoky head.

  “Oi… “

  “Kid, when you are under a lightning storm, the thunder clouds could spread for miles and it is simply impossible to know where the next lightning bolt would strike. If a bolt of lightning suddenly strikes you, then even I would not be able to save your life.”

  The Voice quickly stated, before the boy could quip about the earlier ‘dumb’ comment.

  “Things just seem to be getting more and more complicated by the day, Teacher…”

  Calron quietly responded, as he slowly stood up from the ground, and gingerly touched the various bruises and bite-marks spread across his body.

  “Haha, get used to it, kid. Nothing will be easy from here on out. The other reason why I did not want you to enter the inner range of the Desolate Mountains was to prevent the higher ranked beasts from discovering you. Once they realize that you have the same blood as them, but still remain in human form, they will stop at nothing to force you to reveal your secrets. You just need to get stronger before we decide to go deeper into the mountains.”

  The Voice said somberly, while it turned its head to gaze into the far distance.

  “Let’s do it!”

  Calron suddenly stated with a resolved look on his face.

  “Huh, do what?”

  The Voice asked in confusion.

  “Train. I want to train more!”

  Calron replied back, as a ferocious tenacity gradually seeped into his eyes.

  “Well, there goes the nap I was about to take… ”

  The Voice whispered softly, and began to prepare another round of training for its student.

  Chapter 9 – A Decision Made

  *chirp* *chirp*

  A pair of young sparrows smoothly glided across the sky as they joyfully flew around each other.

  The early morning sun had barely risen up over the horizon, but its warm light enshrouded the small mountain and gradually began to wake the inhabitants of the forest.

  Numerous predators stealthily prowled the forest in their search for easy prey, while they kept clear of the predators even larger than them.

  The hunt never ended.

  Meanwhile, deep within a small mountain surrounded by large trees, there were several tiny figures sleeping peacefully next to a tranquil lake.

  It was perplexing how none of the nearby predators chose to hunt these tiny figures, as clearly, they were the easiest targets nearby. Without stopping to hesitate, the hungry predators all left the sleeping figures alone.

  *snore*

  A small baby yellow monkey was sleeping on the ground with its arms and legs spread wide, as it let out a series of loud snores into the air. Next to this small yellow lump of fur was a similarly sized tiny jaguar. This baby feline was also slumbering blissfully, and it would subconsciously let out frequent purrs of contentment while miniature bolts of lightning would flicker across its golden fur.

  *thwak*

  Suddenly, the baby monkey’s foot accidently smacked against the jaguar cub’s face, and the little feline instantly let out an abrupt yelp as bolts of golden lightning surged around it.

  Realizing that it was just its beast friend twitching in its sleep, the jaguar cub soon calmed down and moved to a new location several feet away from the little monkey.

  However, just as the small jaguar was about to close its eyes, it felt the ground beneath it quivering ever so slightly.

  *thud*

  *thud*

  “Meow?”

  Slowly lifting its tiny head from its paws, the jaguar cub curiously gazed into the distance, trying to figure out the source of the mini quakes.

  “MEW!”

  When it saw a humanoid figure with a massive protrusion on its back steadily approaching their area, the jaguar cub swiftly turned around and cried out in alarm to wake its sleeping friends.

  “grr…”

  The large bear cub groaned in annoyance as it lazily lifted up its head to see what the commotion was about, while the sleeping ba
by chicks on its back immediately crashed onto the ground.

  “Chirp!”

  One of the little birds angrily complained and furiously pecked the thick fur of the bear cub in retaliation.

  Within seconds, the clutter of drowsy and half-awake baby beasts gathered around the edge of the giant tree, as they nervously observed the mysterious figure sluggishly approaching them.

  As the mysterious figure slowly neared them, the baby beasts realized that the figure was actually just a human with an enormous rock tied to his back. Drops of sweat poured off the human’s skin and soaked into the ground, while numerous veins bulged all across his muscular body.

  “HAAAH!”

  *thud*

  “HAAH!”

  *thud*

  With his entire body trembling under the tremendous weight of the mountain rock, Calron continued to take one step at a time as he loudly bellowed out into the air.

  “Only… a few more… steps… ”

  Calron painfully gritted his teeth when he saw that the cluster of the baby beasts were only a few more feet away from him.

  Realizing that the stranger was actually the human boy they all knew, the little beasts all let out an exasperated sigh, while some trudged back to the lake to resume their sleep.

  For the past few weeks, the human boy had been constantly coming to their home early in the mornings and making them train with him.

  Initially, the little beasts were all excited about playing with the human, but the boy only seemed to train early in the morning, which forced them to wake up early as well.

  Around this time every morning, all the excluded poisonous beasts would shoot smug glances at the others, as they made exaggerated snoring sounds and gloated over their extra sleep.

  “Gaga?”

  The little monkey groggily questioned the jaguar cub, as it gently rubbed its eyes.

  “Mew mew!”

  The baby lightning beast rapidly nodded its head in confirmation, as it excitedly hopped around.

  Unlike the others, even if it was early in the morning, the little jaguar loved playing with the human. The baby monkey also liked playing with the human due to fact that the human boy would later hunt breakfast for those who had trained with him.

  “Gagaga!”

  The little monkey eagerly cried out, as a thin line of drool seeped out from the corner of its mouth.

  Yesterday, the human boy had caught a gigantic fish and refused to share it with the monkey, as the little beast had ignored the human boy and did not wake up to train.

  This morning, the gluttonous monkey was determined to train with the human so it would get to eat a tasty meal. Recently, the human had gotten a lot faster and even without using that flashy technique, he could now catch up to the agile baby monkey.

  “ARRGGHH!”

  Once Calron arrived in front of the baby beasts, his arms slightly quivered as he slowly raised the enormous rock from his back and unceremoniously dumped it to the side.

  *crack*

  A part of the ground instantly cracked open under the heavy weight of the giant rock, while the nearby baby beasts all stared in astonishment towards the boy.

  “Pheww, that was heavier than I expected… now, who is ready for some training?”

  Calron cheerfully inquired, as he swept his eyes around him. Calron let out a dissatisfied grunt when he saw that only five of the creatures were standing awake before him, including the jaguar cub and the annoying monkey.

  “Well, then I guess the others will not get to eat the delicious meat that I prepared for them today… ”

  Calron stated while shaking his head in mock disappointment.

  “Caw?”

  A white-feathered eagle perched on a nearby tree sounded out a greeting, as it hopped down to the ground. Soon, several little beasts slowly arrived in front of Calron with their eyes shining in anticipation of the delicious reward.

  “Works every time.”

  Calron victoriously muttered under breath as he prepared to face off against his tiny beast friends.

  “Charge!”

  ……………….

  *splash*

  “Teacher, their teeth and their attacks no longer hurt me or pierce my skin. I think I’m ready for the third stage of the Thunder-Bird technique.”

  Calron quietly said, as he rinsed off the sweat from his face using the water from the lake.

  “That technique does not require you to do any special training, kid. Once your physical body is strong enough, you will be able to activate it.”

  The Voice stated as it materialized next to its student.

  “Hmm, Teacher, can you tell me more about it? I’m still confused as to how I will be able to activate it when I don’t even know a thing about it.”

  Calron asked, while turning around and gazing at the little beasts devouring the roasted carcass of the elk that he had hunted earlier.

  “Patience, boy, patience. Now, onto more important matters! Did I suddenly get fatter or is it just the lake distorting my handsome image?”

  The Voice inquired as it struck several exaggerated poses in front of the lake.

  “Teacher, I think it’s finally time that we leave this small forest.”

  Calron sighed, and began walking back towards the baby beasts. He knew he would not get anything out of his Teacher, so it was best to simply wait until the Voice was ready to disclose the information.

  “Yes, we should prepare to leave here soon… I know you’re going to miss them.”

  The Voice gently whispered as it caught up to Calron.

  “Yeah, I’ll probably miss these little brats… even that annoying one.”

  Calron laughed, as he saw the baby monkey snatch away a roasted piece of meat from the bear cub’s mouth and run off with it.

  He did not know why, but he felt a sense of longing whenever he looked at the tiny beasts playing together.

  “It’s because they are a family…”

  The Voice softly said as it read through Calron’s mind.

  Being alone in the wild, and separated from everyone he knew, Calron longed to find a place where he belonged.

  He longed for a family.

  “I guess I was just never meant for that kind of stuff.”

  Calron let out a sad smile as he walked further ahead.

  “You never know what the future has in store for you, kid. But, as long as my soul exists in this mortal realm, I will never let you be alone… ”

  The Voice silently promised as it disintegrated into a cloud of dark smoke.

  Chapter 10 – Departure

  “You ready?”

  “I am, but I think we might have a little bit of trouble.”

  Calron sent his thoughts to his Teacher within his mind.

  “Muuu muuuu…”

  A furry baby jaguar let out gut-wrenching sobs as it tightly clutched onto Calron’s bare leg with its tiny paws and refused to let go.

  Various small beasts all surrounded Calron and glued themselves to him while making pitiful crying noises. Calron was unable to escape as the baby beasts had also completely blocked off the mouth of the cave he was currently in.

  A few hours ago, the baby beasts had all suddenly swarmed into his cave and swiftly latched onto Calron just as he was about to leave.

  “Dammit, how did you guys find out?”

  Calron asked the group as he tilted his head to look at the little jaguar in irritation. He did not know how they had found out, as he made sure not to let slip any hints of his departure.

  “Meww mew!”

  The furry jaguar cub responded morosely and gazed up at Calron with its large teary eyes.

  “I knew it was that little punk!”

  Calron yelled as he turned towards the baby monkey hanging onto his right shoulder.

  “Gaga… ”

  The baby monkey sorrowfully cried as it grasped Calron’s arm in a steely grip and rubbed its tiny head against his shoulder.

  It became app
arent to Calron that the little monkey had probably followed him once again and must have seen him remove the barrier around the cave.

  Calron had been planning to sneak away without telling the beasts that he was leaving, as he knew that they would insist on coming with him. How could he knowingly endanger the little beasts by taking them with him, when even he himself did not what he would encounter in the inner range of the Desolate Mountains?

  “Cuu cuuu”

  A tiny red bird landed on top of Calron’s head and softly rubbed its feathers against his hair.

  “I can’t take you guys. Your parents all left you here for a reason, and besides, I don’t think I’m strong enough to even protect myself, let alone you brats.”

  Calron sighed, as he bent down and gingerly picked up the baby jaguar.

  “I have to leave right now, but I promise that I will come back in the future.”

  Calron calmly spoke to the sniffling jaguar cub as he gently gazed into its eyes and gently petted its soft fur.