Training Begins

"Faster, faster, put your all into it, boy!" Lokus bellowed, his voice echoing through the training grounds. Now back in his usual form, his stern gaze bore into Kintu as he struggled to keep up.

"I'm trying, but this is impossible!" Kintu grunted, his muscles straining as he pushed himself to the limit.

"It's not impossible. Watch," Lokus said calmly. He picked up a simple stick off the ground, and within moments, his body began to glow with a white energy that surrounded him like a protective aura. "I'm sure you've fought relic users before. Did you notice their weapons seemed to be encased in their element? Or that they wore their element like armor? That's called a Relic Boost."

"You draw out your relic's power and use it like a second layer of skin or channel it into an object," Lokus explained, his eyes sharp with focus. "Over time, I learned that anyone could do this, even without a relic."

Lokus then channeled the energy into the stick he held, a simple piece of wood now glowing with a potent aura. With one swift swing, he brought the stick down, and the boulder before him split cleanly in two, as if it were nothing more than clay.

"You, see? It takes time to master," Lokus explained, his tone softer now.

For the past three months, Kintu and Lokus had been training relentlessly. In that time, Kintu had managed to contact both Elara and Nyota, even brokering a peace treaty between their gods and countries. It turned out that the Goddess of the Emotional Spectrum and the Goddess of Water viewed each other as sisters. Kintu hoped that before he left, he could speak with the Dwarven Queen and include him in the alliance, but Lokus had warned him that the Queen was stubborn and resistant to change.

"Okay, let's take a break," Lokus finally said, though Kintu knew better than to expect any actual rest.

Sure enough, Lokus had other plans. He handed Kintu a cloak, its fabric shimmering with a magical resilience. "This will be your cloak. It's resistant to all elements and durable enough to withstand even the harshest of attacks."

Kintu admired the cloak for a moment before Lokus continued. "Today, we hunt our lunch for the break, and after lunch, we'll hunt our dinner. I am hungry," Lokus added with a mischievous grin.

Kintu could not help but recall his first day of training. Lokus had handed him a simple wooden staff with grip wraps and nails hammered into one end. "This will be your weapon," Lokus had told him. "You are not allowed to use relics during training. You rely on them too much. This will be good for you, me boy."

Back in the present, Kintu grasped the wooden staff with newfound determination. He knew what was coming next. Lokus had a particular fondness for challenges involving the number five.

"Today, we hunt boar bulls. Their meat is the best, and we will be needing five," Lokus announced.

Kintu nodded, ready for whatever the day would bring. Gripping the wooden staff tightly, he said, "Okay, let's go."

Lokus led Kintu to a cliff overlooking a vast expanse of snowy wilderness, where a large herd of boar bulls grazed below. These creatures were an intimidating sight, with the muscular bodies of bulls but the pig-like snouts of wild boars. Their chestnut brown fur bristled in the freezing wind, and their large, curved horns gleamed ominously under the weak winter sunlight. Lokus pointed down at the herd. "There they are me boy. For this challenge, you cannot use any of your abilities. Your goal is to use Akan Boost. Once you grasp Akan Boost, Relic Boost will be easier to unlock."

Kintu nodded, pulling the hood of his cloak over his head. The cloak, resistant to all elements, was a gift from Lokus, and it made him feel like a predator as he moved silently through the snow. His movements were deliberate, almost serpentine, as he approached the nearest boar bull, which was completely unaware of the danger it faced. The beast's large snout dug into the snow as it rooted for food, oblivious to Kintu's presence. He gripped the end of the staff Lokus had given him with both hands, feeling the rough wood beneath his fingers. He could see the muscles rippling under the boar bull's thick fur, and he knew he had to strike hard and fast.

Taking a deep breath, Kintu attempted once more to channel his soul into the weapon, drawing on the inner power Lokus had been teaching him to harness. He felt a surge of energy flow through him, and the staff began to glow faintly with his soul's essence. This was Akan Boost, a technique Lokus had said was key to mastering the power of relics. Kintu was shocked that he had managed to pull it off, so shocked that he could not help but shout, "Yeah!" His triumphant yell echoed through the frigid air, and the nearest boar bull's head snapped up, its small, beady eyes locking onto him. With a furious snort, it charged, its hooves thundering across the snow.

Kintu had mere seconds before the beast would reach him. He tightened his grip on the staff and swung in a powerful, cross-body motion. The energy from the Akan Boost flowed through the weapon, making it as sharp as any blade. The staff sliced clean through the boar bull's thick neck, and the massive creature collapsed in a spray of blood, split in half by the force of Kintu's attack.

Before Kintu could fully comprehend what, he had done, the rest of the herd began to charge. The ground trembled as the boar bulls thundered towards him, their horns lowered and ready to gore him. But Kintu, still enveloped in the energy of the Akan Boost, felt a strange calm. He moved with precision; each swing of the staff perfectly timed as he cut down one boar bull after another. His movements were smooth and fluid, as though he were moving through water, and each strike was lethal.

It was not until Thorne grabbed him by the shoulder, yelling, "Stop, me boy!" that Kintu finally halted. He looked around, breathing heavily, and realized the carnage he had wrought. Twenty boar bulls lay dead at his feet, their bodies sprawled across the snow. Lokus stood a few feet away, his face a mixture of surprise and concern. "That's enough!" he screamed. "You keep allowing the system to fill in the gaps. Instruct your system to turn off protection mode."

The system's voice, usually calm and measured, spoke in his mind: "Action not advised."

But Kintu was determined. "System, deactivate protection mode."

"Protection mode deactivated," the system confirmed.

Lokus sighed heavily, surveying the scene. "We only needed one, Kintu. I planned to sell the other four to Glenda, but now we have nineteen." He shook his head, but there was a hint of pride in his voice as he continued, "You're a prodigy, me boy, but you've got to learn control."

Later, Glenda arrived, her eyes widening at the sight of the slaughtered herd. She took a deep breath before finally saying, "I'll give you 19,000 gold coins for the bulls."

Thorne, who had been standing silently beside Kintu, scowled. "That's robbery!"

Glenda, however, remained unfazed. "You're welcome to walk to the capital city and sell them there," she retorted.

Thorne grumbled under his breath but eventually agreed. "No, I'll take the 19,000."

As they finalized the deal, Glenda turned to Kintu with an appraising look. "You are bulking up, I see. What is it been since this old fool took you on?"

"Six months," Kintu replied, feeling a deep exhaustion settle into his bones. The Akan Boost had taken more out of him than he had realized.

"Six months, huh?" Glenda mused. "Well, your room is ready, along with your lunch."

As Kintu lay on the bed, his body aching from the rigorous training, he found that he could not bring himself to eat. The Akan Boost had made him stronger, but it had also drained him in ways he had not expected, leaving him utterly exhausted. Every muscle in his body throbbed, and his mind felt like it was drifting into a haze. Just as he was about to slip into a restless sleep, the familiar chime of the system's voice broke through the quiet.

"Incoming communications. Would you like to accept?"

Kintu barely managed a whisper. "Yes," he mumbled, turning his head slightly to look at the ring on his finger. The room was suddenly illuminated by a soft, ethereal glow as the ring projected two small holographic images into the air. Nyota and Elara appeared before him, their forms shimmering with a lifelike vibrancy despite the vast distance that separated them.

Nyota's hologram was warm and radiant, her bright smile full of affection and teasing concern. "How's training going?" she asked, her voice playful but laced with genuine worry.

Kintu managed a weak smile, feeling a bit of the tension in his body ease at the sight of them. "It's going," he replied, trying to muster some energy for the conversation.

Elara's image flickered slightly, but her eyes were sharp and full of mischief as she chimed in. "You look like you are bulking up, Kintu. One day, we will have to evaluate those muscles of yours," she teased, her voice light but carrying an edge of challenge.

Their banter was a welcome distraction from the exhaustion and the grueling training he had been enduring under Lokus' watchful eye. For a moment, Kintu felt a flicker of normalcy, a connection to something beyond the relentless push to master his abilities.

But then, the conversation shifted, and Nyota's expression grew serious. Her holographic image seemed to dim slightly as she explained the real reason for their call. "Kintu, we need to talk about something important. The gods have decided to hold the Impi Zulu in two years, an ancient competition that even we had not heard of until now."

Kintu's interest piqued, and he forced himself to focus. "What is it?" he asked, his voice steadier now.

Nyota glanced at Elara before continuing. "The Impi Zulu is a competition among the gods, one so old that its origins are shrouded in mystery. Each god's avatar must fight… well, the winner receives a sixth relic in their series."

"A sixth relic?" Kintu repeated, feeling a weight settle in his chest. He knew how powerful relics were, how they could change the course of battles and even destinies. The idea of a sixth relic was both thrilling and terrifying.

Elara's image flickered as she spoke, her voice calm but firm. "Yes, Kintu. It is a prize so powerful that it could unbalance the entire system. That is why this competition is so significant."

"I will destroy you," Elara joked, making Kintu chuckle, the weight of their words sinking in. The Impi Zulu, the sixth relic it was all too much. But he knew he had to stay strong. As the holograms of Nyota and Elara faded, Kintu closed his eyes, trying to summon the strength to face whatever came next.

As Kintu drifted off to sleep, he suddenly found himself jolted awake, his senses thrown into disarray. The room around him was shrouded in impenetrable darkness, a void that swallowed everything, including sound and light. Panic began to creep in as he instinctively reached for his necklace and the Ring of Life—both were gone. He tried to conjure a light, but nothing happened; his magic seemed completely ineffective. A cold realization set in as he began to move forward, his feet splashing softly in what felt like shallow water. The silence was suffocating until, suddenly, a beam of light pierced the darkness, illuminating a small hill in the distance.

Atop that hill stood a giant golden X, its metal gleaming eerily in the light. Bound to the X was a stunning African woman, her skin dark as the deepest night, her eyes a warm, captivating brown. Her hair was a golden-black afro that defied the gravity of the world around her. She was dressed in a tattered silk black dress, the fabric hanging in shreds, barely clinging to her form. The sight was both tragic and mesmerizing, a haunting beauty trapped in the throes of despair.

Kintu's heart pounded as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. "What is this? Who is this, system?" he called out, his voice echoing in the void. But the system did not respond. He quickly checked his inventory, only to find it completely empty. Frustrated, he attempted to access his skills, but an ominous red error notification flashed before his eyes, confirming that something was terribly wrong.

Determined not to let fear paralyze him, Kintu began to walk toward the woman. As he drew closer, an unseen force—a powerful aura—pushed against him, growing stronger with each step. It was like trying to wade through an invisible storm, and despite his best efforts, it knocked him down repeatedly. The air seemed to pulse with malevolent energy, pushing him back as if he were unworthy of approaching.

But Kintu was not one to give up easily. Drawing on every lesson he had learned, he summoned his Akan Boost, the power surging through him like a second wind. The moment he did, the water beneath his feet began to part, the force that had been resisting him suddenly relenting. With newfound strength, he pushed forward, step by agonizing step, until he finally reached the woman. The aura recognized his determination, its pressure fading away as he stood before her.

With careful hands, Kintu began to tear at the bindings that held her to the X. The material resisted at first, but he persisted, ripping the restraints until they gave way. As the last of the bindings fell, the woman collapsed into his arms, her body trembling with a mix of relief and exhaustion. Gently, Kintu removed the covering over her mouth, allowing her to speak.

"Kintu… it's you," she whispered, her voice weak but filled with a profound sense of recognition. "I've waited so long…"