Ch 3 A Child vs an Adult
As Jock approached the 'store' to talk to Greg about the job, he noticed that the place was much busier than before. There was even a line he had to wait in this time.
'It seems that I'm not the only one applying for this position.' Jock thought. It was to be expected. Jock was confident that he would probably land the job because he's younger.
As Jock finally was able to enter the hut, Greg immediately called him over.
"Glad to see you decided to come, Jock. We could really use some young fresh blood in this group." Greg smiled. Due to his hawk-like facial features though, the smile made him look even more ferocious.
Jock was a little surprised. This guy… he remembered me? We only met once, even if not that long ago, it's pretty crazy to think that he thought about me once.
"I can tell you're a bit surprised, as expected of a rookie. No worries though, we'll train you up a bit and catch you up to speed. Here I was wondering why you didn't just spend your time in a dojo like other kids your age. Now I understand, you really know nothing." Greg commented, while giving his signature fierce smile.
"I'm excited and ready to learn, but what job am I trying out for…. I mean, what job would I be doing?" Jock said, while secretly surprised at how much he seriously underestimated people's knowledge of this worlds form of martial arts. Jock even had a sneaking suspicion of something.
'Maybe I'm not in a random, far off, unsophisticated tribe? I mean, other than the quality of life, the way most things are done is pretty high tech.' Jock pondered slightly while waiting for Greg to respond.
"To put it simply, your job would be to run, run, run even harder, and pick stuff up. Sounds easy, but it's not." Greg gave a smirk.
"To see if your fit to work with the team, I'll test you a bit, follow me." Greg motioned for Jock to follow him, after he gave a vague description of the work he would be doing.
Jock didn't question Greg further and followed Greg towards the back of the store. At the back of the store there was a door that led outside, and Greg took Jock through it, leading him to an open field.
"Try and punch me." Once they were on the open field, Greg gave Jock a gesture.
Jock didn't have a good feeling about this. Sure enough, when he rushed up and threw a punch he was easily sidestepped. However, Greg motioned him not to stop, so Jock continued to throw punches and kicks that seemed pathetic, as they were easily dodged by Greg. It honestly felt like a fight between a child and an adult.
"I won't embarrass you any longer." Soon, Greg stopped and told Jock.
"You are a good recruit, in the sense that you're a blank slate. You haven't developed any of your combat power. Even with strength above that of an adult given to you by your mantra, you still know nothing." Greg gave Jock his evaluation after 'fighting' with him.
"My team can teach you the basics of how to use the power of Mantra, which you should be interested in. I just have to warn you ahead of time that the danger we face isn't something you can handle, and you may die at any time. If you can accept this, we can talk about your task and pay." Greg said with a serious look on his face.
"I'm not worried about danger. I'm just curious about what is outside the village, if I need to get stronger for that sake, I'm ready to learn." Jock replied to Greg.
Greg smiled, twisting his eyes slightly and making him appear more intimidating than he is normally.
"Welcome to the Twisted Forest Collection Crew. We enter the forest located near this town called the Twisted Forest for rare wood and plant resources. It's extremely dangerous as strange beasts run rampant in there. It requires a strong and skilled group to survive in there. That is our job." Greg the searched Jock's face for any sign of fear. Which, since Jock didn't even know about or experience the forest, he didn't see fear, only excitement.
"I'm ready to brave any dangers." Jock replied.
"Good, meet me here early tomorrow morning for basic training on how to use your Mantra, then we'll head out on an easy mission." Greg informed Jock.
With that, Greg sent Jock on his way.
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In the Stone Lord's reception Hall, there were currently two big shots talking. One was the Lord of stone, who was 6 ft tall, chistled, ash grey hair, an aging face and seemed to almost be one with the huge stone throne beneath him. The other was Krust, a middle-aged man with a goatee, flat stomach, and piercing eyes.
The meeting seemed less like a meeting between a subordinate and their superior, but more like a meeting of old comrades.
"Krust, I believe you know that war is approaching us. How are your preparations?" The Stone Lord calmly asked.
"It's proceeding at a steady pace. The Ice Lord's envoy hasn't given a favorable response, but the Bull Lord has agreed to stand with us, and the Lust Lord has started joint preparations with out army." Krust replied on one knee, with a bowed head.
"You're putting too much emphasis on outside help, why not pick some fresh talent locally?" The Stone Lord criticized Krust.
"You must know we have plenty of talent in our current army. They just need some time to grow." Krust responded back.
"Although it's effective to have large amounts of decently strong soldiers, you haven't nurtured a new captain level figure in a while." The Stone Lord fired back.
"With all due respect 'Your Majesty' it's hard to find local talent after the blood thinning in the stone tribe that happened recently." Krust solemly replied.
"That traitor, he has paid enough, no need to bring up old wounds." The Stone Lord backed off.
"However, times have changed." Krust admitted.
"Maybe it's time I brought back my elite unit, under a new captain." Krust conceded.
"For that, I will give you special permission to grab anyone who meets your standards for the special squad. Build it well. I look forward to that moment." The Stone Lord said with anticipation on his face, and a little reminiscence.
"I will report back on my progress soon." Krust said with a passion in his old eyes.
"I am expecting good news." The Stone Lord dismissed him.