by Ryan Johnson
Valverno decided to leave his robe behind and exit out of the tent, knowing he wasn’t to be bothered if he went outside naked in his hybrid form. Then he looked at the neckless wrapped around his wrist.
Valverno untangled the neckless and placed it over the torn robe. “This will be here until I return. Until then, Marina, keep looking over my back.” He kicked the ground with his legs and he exited out the tent. Just as he was outside the tent, he saw Freyya and Alfhild. They were carrying baskets of dried herbs and dead plants, and they were surprised to see him alive.
“Where are you going?” asked Freyya.
“Ever since I battled the Nemean Lion, I have a small amount of my former strength back. If I am ever going to recuperate my muscle strength, I need some battle experience in order for my muscles to get strong again.
“And I need some sort of physical training,” answered Valverno. “And the only one I can think is this training Okinawan mentioned yesterday. So, I need to join in and see if I can try to regain my muscle strength. If I could take down a lion with my bare hands, then it means I am regaining my muscle strength.”
“Good luck to you,” said Freyya. “Only the people with the strongest muscles would only join. The Tokagehebi and the Amazons would only do those insane training of violence. I wouldn’t let my children join.”
“I’ve endured worst experiences,” said Valverno. “I fought a large beast with five heads and got out of there alive.”
“I remember you telling me that story the day you woke in this tent,” said Freyya. “Believe me; you would want to take on a beast with five heads than go through the training Okinawan will put you through. He will try to kill you.”
“In my life experience, every monster tried to kill me, and they all failed miserable,” stated Valverno. “Lusìvar tried and failed to kill me. If he was smarter, he would have aimed for my neck instead. If Lusìvar (a magic user) failed to kill me, then Okinawan (a non-magic user) will be doomed to kill me. I want to see him try.”
“You’re funeral then,” said Alfhild, moving aside from Valverno and entering into the tent. “And don’t expect me to heal you. I don’t treat reckless people who want to get themselves killed.”
“And I thought the Elves were a kindhearted people,” said Valverno.
“That was ten thousand years ago, and this is now,” said Alfhild. “Elves haven’t been that kindhearted ever since what happened ten thousand years ago.”
“Very well,” said Valverno. “I’ll be on my way.” Valverno left the two women and went toward the sandstone mountain range to get the training he needs to embody his muscles with the strength he needs to keep on fight, even if he no longer has magic power.
It took Valverno a good long hour walk to get to his destination. Over a long steep ridge, he saw there were many Tokagehebi crowded in many areas. A small lake was nearby from the spot the Tokagehebi have settled. And among the Tokagehebi a few Amazons, the female race known to be a great race of warriors and each a one-person army.
The Tokagehebi seemed to be smaller than Okinawan’s size and much younger. There were many physical features that made them look younger than Okinawan. And the few Amazons looked like they were around sixteen years of age, but it was hard to tell how old the Amazons. Yet hard to tell how old the Tokagehebi were, knowing full well they would live up to hundreds or thousands of years, and it would always depend on the species.
Valverno sighed as he saw the crowded people walking around and seemed to be talking soft as the wind chilling in his face. He slid down the ridge and landed roughly on his feet. He walked toward the large crowd was gathered, and he did feel the slightest bit of anxiety; he was going to a crowd he’d never seen before and two species that’s way to be stronger than a hundred human soldiers. Valverno was always in a crowd of humans but not Tokagehebi or Amazons, and he had the slightest feeling he was the one going to be picked like a lonely kid who gets bullied a lot.
As he got closer, two large Tokagehebi and one Amazon talking took notice of him. And then two more Amazons looked at the hybrid walking into the crowd, and the few looked with big smug looks on their faces; Valverno had a gutty feeling the Amazons looking at him would try to seduce him. And if Marina was there, she wouldn’t hesitate to move in and kill the Amazons.
“Well, look who’s decided to join us,” called out a Tokagehebi.
Valverno halted as a crowd of Tokagehebi circled around him. One Tokagehebi with dark yellow scales walked up to Valverno. He had a horde of spikes over his head like in a mohawk style. “The one specimen thinking to be a demigod is coming to join us small people.”
Valverno blinked. “Small people? You’re bigger in comparison to me.”
“Oh, thinks he is a wise-brain, or he is just too smart to be with us,” said the Tokagehebi.
“Or maybe too good for your kind,” said Valverno. “I’ve taken down many monsters that tried to kill me. And so while I was out killing and slaying monsters, you have been training for some time to be good as a fighter a Tokagehebi can be.”
“That sounds like a challenge. You here that, Tokagehebi? And Amazons? This one hybrid thinks he can kill monsters? And he is sounding he wants to pick a fight with me, who is larger than he is.” The yellow-scaled Tokagehebi loudly and other Tokagehebi laughed with him.
“You want to have a round with me, Tokagehebi,” warned Valverno. “You should choose your words more carefully. I have indeed taken a large lizard a thousand times larger than you and with five heads.”
“You hear that as well?” asked the Tokagehebi. “He says he’s picked a fight with a lizard a thousand times bigger than me and that lizard had five heads. When was the last time we ever saw such a creature with five heads? Oh, that’s right. There is no such thing of a five-headed creature; there is only one head. Apparently, this hybrid has no head.”
Many of the Tokagehebi laughed in response; the Amazons seen in view only gave small smugly faces in response.
“Oh, I’ll show you what we Tokagehebi can do to those who exaggerate about wild stories,” said the Tokagehebi. The Tokagehebi walked closer and leaned his head back and snapped his jaw forward.
Valverno blocked with his wing from the Tokagehebi snipping bite, spun his body around whipped his tail at the Tokagehebi feet that toppled large lizard, and used both fists to heave a strong punch at the Tokagehebi and sent him flying at a long range.
The Tokagehebi went flying and other Tokagehebi moved away as the yellow-scaled Tokagehebi rolled across the ground and finally stopping many feet away from the hybrid.
Valverno flipped his hair with the claws of his hands and shook his head to wave his red hair. “Any other Tokagehebi want to have a go at me? Any Tokagehebi? About any Amazon? Surely, they would want to fight me and no doubt at all one Amazon can take me down in two seconds or less.” Valverno strolled around and saw there were only silent faces.
It was occurring to Valverno these peoples had only started their training and never seen any action or violent events like he did. By far, he may be the only recruit to have seen such action.
“Everyone, assemble.” The voice of Okinawan cried from a distance.
Suddenly, without warning, the Tokagehebi suddenly lined up single-file in a straight, perfect line. The Tokagehebi aligned themselves in a fashion order, and Valverno moved out of the way and toward the end where the last Tokagehebi stood straight up like a soldier standing at attention of the drill sergeant.
The few Amazons stood at the furthest end of the line and stood aligned with the Tokagehebi. The Amazons showed such fierceness in their eyes ready for a big fight, if they were ready to fight a hundred thousand human warriors.
Valverno just stood at the end of the line and looked at Okinawan marching with three Amazon warriors with braided white hair behind him, carrying long naginata spears and oval-shaped shields.
“A
late recruit, eh?” said Okinawan, halting in front of the line’s center. “I thought we had all the warriors I thought I had assembled. It seems I have missed one, and it looks like we are missing Ívarr from the line.”
“Right here, sworn trainer,” cried the yellow-scaled Tokagehebi. The Tokagehebi trotted around the line’s end where Valverno stood and dashed to Okinawan.
“Not in front of the line, Ívarr? That is highly unusual for you. Every time I call everyone to assemble, you’re always the first to lead and be in front of the line.”
“You see, that creature,” said Ívarr, pointing at Valverno, “hit me and casted me aside so he can take my number one position.”
“Is that so?” asked Okinawan. Then he turned to see Valverno and marched right up to the hybrid. “And what about you? What’s your side of the story?”
“As I recall, he then tried to bite me first and I reflected that biting attack with my wing and I gave him a hard shove,” answered Valverno.
“Really? That’s entirely sounds the same from Ívarr’s story, but he said no mention of his bite? What did you think, Halvdan?”
From behind Okinawan, Halvdan walked to reveal himself. “I saw and heard everything,” said Halvdan. “Both are to blame. This hybrid blabber-mouthed about fighting a five-headed beast I find vague and unconvincing, and Ívarr tried to have a little snack from the hybrid. The hybrid ended up having a faster reaction and casted Ívarr aside.
“And unlike us all, he is only specimen who fought against a legendary Nemean Lion with his bare hands and snapped the creature to death and saving Freyya’s kids from danger.”
“So, got yourself beaten by a smaller specimen with no training experience, Ívarr?” Okinawan walked back to Ívarr to see him eye-to-eye. “How shameful. If it weren’t for your experience into provoking people into fighting, you still would be on top of the class. You always provoked a fight, and you always managed to come out on top, but this time you now lost to a hybrid. How humiliating that must be for you, and now demoted to number two. And right now, there is no number one in this unit.”
I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get any special treatment just for killing a lion, thought Valverno.
“Get in line, Ívarr,” said Okinawan. “I heard everything you said and saw what you tried to do, and you needed up paying the price for it.”
“Y-yes, Okinawan. At once I will.” Ívarr immediately trailed to the end of the line where Valverno stood.
Valverno expected the Tokagehebi to bump into him, but surprisingly Ívarr didn’t; he waltzed passed Valverno and didn’t slang a hard shoulder against the hybrid. Ívarr just stood tall and lean, looking forward without looking at Valverno.
“And that would include you, demigod hybrid, if you are planning on joining us this late in the process, which is by five years straight,” called out Okinawan. “You’re better try to keep up; this is going to be a hellhole for you.
Valverno suddenly stood to the left by Ívarr, who had an agitated look in his eyes. Valverno wasn’t bothered by Ívarr’s agitated face, but he may have provoked Ívarr into getting revenge against Valverno for being humiliated in front of a large crowd. The number one and best fighter was demoted to a stranger who just joined their ranks.
“Now, just because we have a highly experienced fighter doesn’t mean you will get special treatment,” said Okinawan. “Believe me; what I will put you through you would wish you want to be fighting with a lion over a big chunk of meat. You would want to fight against a hundred inexperienced Tokagehebi than you would want to fight me. I have far more experience in fighting than your young years of fighting, and I’ll show it to you. Step forward, demigod.”
Valverno’s ears flinched at the word demigod. He still thought himself as a hybrid. But, without hesitation, Valverno stood forward and walked over to see Okinawan.
In sudden moment, Valverno found himself on the crushed to the ground, and Okinawan was right on top of him. It happened less than a second; Valverno was standing then he was pinned to the ground.
His tail tied around his legs and pinned by a leg of Okinawan, both his wrists pinned by a hand of Okinawan. His wing was folded and pinned by Okinawan’s other hand, and Okinawan’s other foot was at the base of Valverno’s chin.
“Not being fast to react will be the death of you, which is why you were so easily beaten by a Shadow King,” said Okinawan. “You do have experience into getting into trouble.”
“And I have some proper experience in getting out of trouble,” said Valverno. Valverno’s wing folded under Okinawan’s fist snapped wide open and made his wing wave between his head and Okinawan, but Okinawan was quick to pin the free wing with his foot he held against Valverno’s chin.
“You have to do much better than that, hybrid,” said Okinawan.
Valverno opened his mouth and made a guzzling sound, which Okinawan raised his eyebrows in confusion. Valverno could risk trying to blow out fire, but he felt his body hasn’t fully healed and his draconic abilities may not be healed themselves. So, he gathered slimy saliva from his teeth and spat at Okinawan’s eyes.
“HAH!” Okinawan’s eyes touched by Valverno’s sticky salvia.
Then Valverno used the strength at the base his pinned wing attached to his shoulder to push his human torso from the ground and head-butted against Okinawan’s chin; both had hurt in different spots.
Valverno grunted from the pain his head felt, but he pulled his hands and gave a hard push at Okinawan’s chest and shoved him off, a similar shove he did to Ívarr when Ívarr tried to bite Valverno. However, Valverno didn’t display the same strength he did to Ívarr, so Valverno ended up shoving Okinawan to the side and rolled away.
The hybrid got back to his feet and looked at Okinawan rubbing his eyes with his hands and suddenly blinked and looked at the hybrid. “You may have experience in holding a two-legged, two-armed creature down,” said Valverno, “but no experience in holding down a two-legged, two-armed creature hybrid with one wing.”
“Indeed,” said Okinawan. “And I do have experience of handling people trying to stand back up.” In a flash, Okinawan was from a distance and stood in front of Valverno and then toward another point and back in front of Valverno.
Valverno wasn’t able to pinpoint where Okinawan had landed, and Okinawan was moving faster than the hybrid thought. In the confusion, Valverno whipped his tail and Okinawan grabbed Valverno’s tail and kicked against Valverno’s belly with a leg.
Okinawan’s was hard and fast. He made Valverno now feel weaker and sent the hybrid flying back to the end of the assembled line of Tokagehebi. Valverno landed on the spot where he first stood, and he was coughing up a storm. The kick’s impact on him took a toll of his entire body and prevented him from standing up.
“Taking down a recruit doesn’t make you a fighter yet, hybrid,” said Okinawan. “So just sit down. Pay attention. Learn before you take action. And there’s something else new coming around the corner.”
From the ridge Valverno appeared from, a dozen Tokagehebi appeared and they were carrying a long wooden pillar. They marched over the ridge with a heavy object, and they effortlessly threw it into the air and launched it like a spear into the air.
The wooden pillar soared across the air and landed right next to Okinawan was standing aside from the landing spot, barely inches away from Okinawan. The landing left an impact of a small earthquake that rattled the ground and shook the legs of the many recruits, and ended in many seconds.
After a short while after the quake, Okinawan motioned one of the Amazon warriors to walk closer to him and handed him a naginata spear. “Ívarr and Valverno,” said Ívarr. “You two can start first.” Okinawan threw the naginata spear into the air. The naginata spear soared into the air and landed on the pillar’s top. The blade of the spear sank deep into the wood and there it stood on the top. “You two can start first and see ho
w easily one of you could get that. And if someone does get it, then that person will be the number one person”
Ívarr stepped forward and walked over to the pillar. “I’ll get that alright, and I’ll do it with my eyes closed.”
“Do what you want,” said Okinawan.
Ívarr had a big smug and jumped on the pillar. He climbed about halfway to the top but suddenly began to slip. His arms struggled to keep himself from falling, but he slipped back to the bottom. He tried a second time, and he slipped from the pillar again and again. He kept doing it up to five times.
“I don’t get it,” complained Ívarr. “I thought this would be easier than expected.”
“Things can’t be as easy as they could appear to be,” called out Valverno. The hybrid stepped back to his feet, and he tried to contain his bellyache, but the power Okinawan did in one kick seemed to have paralyzed a large portion of Valverno’s nervous system. Valverno was breathing hard, and he walked forward, still having a hurting belly. “If you can’t pass, then maybe I can.”
Valverno jumped and wrapped his arms around the pillar and tied his tail around it as well. Valverno used his body to climb but to a small portion, and he too easily slipped down. He slipped and landed on his feet, and he felt the pillar’s material was wet and greasy; no wonder why it was impossible for Ívarr or Valverno to slip easily.
“Now I feel like I am not ready to climb,” said Valverno. He backed away to see the spear still stuck to the highest point of the pillar.
“If you two aren’t going to get it, get back in line,” said Okinawan.
Both Valverno and Ívarr walked without hesitation back to the end of the line, and both stood faces and eyes forward.
“As you all had say, the two best fighters we seem to have can’t get to the pillar because I had the large stick doused in greasy liquid that makes it easily to slip. It’s going to take more than muscle and brains to get to the top. There is a lot more than just crude matter, and the will to wanting to get something done the easy way. And that discovery is something that someone must discover for themselves.
