Chapter 22. Hyena

'The reason you can only use silver lightning is because you are weak,' Sarah started.

"Could you the least try to be lenient with your words?" Alaric voiced out not bothering to transfer his thoughts to her. Sarah giggled and continued.

'You are not powerful enough yet to wield any other type of lightning, if that makes you better,' Sarah continued jesting him.

"Alright, alright, say whatever you want but one day I will make you bow," Alaric spoke.

' I can only look forward to it. No one enjoys the company of a weak master like you,' Sarah continued her attacks.

"Fine! Could we stop going astray already?" Alaric did not like where this was heading.

'As you now know, there are five breeds of lightning; Silver, blue, purple, red and black all arranged according to their power. As weak as you are, you have only been granted ability to use silver lightning. Silver lightning is the most compatible to you according to your power and as you grow stronger you will find it less useful.

'This is not the case for everyone though, since they are only born with the silver lightning. By the time you enter the Master Plane you should be able to use the blue lightning though it will have a heavy toll on you. Blue lightning and silver lightning are similar the only difference being that blue lightning has more attack power and that it is slightly slower compared to silver lightning. You will come to realize the major differences and also why your lightning God manifestations is blue.

'The next in line being the purple lightning. Even in the early stages of the Salvia plane you will still not be able to use it. Purple lightning usually has this unique feature of healing properties. Its also an attack element and its faster than the first two. To use purple lightning will require you to enter the middle stages of the Slavia Plane. Even then, you will still have to pay a heavy toll on your energy consumptions. The other fun part of purple lightning is its permeability nature. With purple lightning you can be able to pass through wall if you covered your body with it and if you were fast enough.

'The red lightning should be called the fastest and most powerful attack element of the four. Red lightning is also the fastest of the five lightning breeds. You will be able to wield this breed once you get to the Supreme Plane, if you will. Red lightning has fire properties. You could actually use it to cook these beasts if your control reaches the required level. If you could wield the red lightning element then the universe would also recognize you.

'Black lightning could be said to be most powerful attack element. This is a breed which is a combination of two elements, silver lightning and darkness. Black lightning is known for its corrosive ability just as darkness element. It is also the slowest of all the five. Though its slow, its still fast compared to other elements. A single attack is enough to cause irreparable damage. To wield the darkness element will also require you to be a supreme. Thats why I keep telling you that you are weak,' Sarah said triumphantly after emphasizing her point of him being weak.

"Oh..." Alaric could only round his mouth as he failed words to refute the evidence given to him. He really was weak. He just lowered his head and decided to give it his all and become stronger.

'There is something else though...' Sarah voiced out unconsciously still wondering if she should tell him or not. This was the same thing the headmaster had noted.

"What is it?" Alaric asked hoping to get more information but he was met by silence but then came a reply.

'Nothing that concerns you yet,' Sarah said and sealed the topic with those word. Only a fool would try to probe out more and Alaric was definitely not one.

" How long will it take till I can fight properly?" He asked.

'Just two days and you will be fit for a fight, though it can't be said that you will be healed,' Sarah replied. Then she went silent again after realizing Alaric was already in his own thoughts now. Alaric sighed when he heard it was only two days. Though it was not going to be easy fighting a Cryptic Plane beast, he was glad that he could fight properly with it. This was the second day and by the time he was fit it would then be four days leaving him only three days. He also knew that he was deep in the forest and it would take almost an entire day to make his way back.

For the hundredth and first time he cursed at the lizards. Had it not been for them, now he would have been still exploring the forest. He just shut his eyes tight as he got his mind back to cultivation. He should at least try to fill a meridian so he would officially be a second stage Cryptic Plane elementalist. He knew that it was usually difficult to fill the meridians and that was why many were always in a hunt for treasure to help in their cultivation. A treasure of your level could help you fill a whole set or two of meridians helping you get to the next stage.

Though these treasure existed, they were usually fought for, for it was like somebody usually put up an advertisement of the treasure because you would find hundreds searching for it. Alaric pinched himself getting his thoughts settled before trying to feel the energy in the atmosphere but it was like something was trying to stop him from doing so as his thoughts ran of again.

' Why is it that people say that age is just a number when it clearly is a word?' These thoughts woke Sarah up. As she listened to him.

' If a beast was chasing you and you were running from it, isn't it fit to say that you are both running for your life?' If Sarah had a physical form she would facepalm or be shaking her head. How was it that he could find it hard to concentrate on a simple factor like feeling the energy. Alaric shuddered as he remembered the hyena and the lizards. Its true that they were all running for his life. Alaric was not sure why he was finding it difficult to concentrate. He discarded the thought of cultivating and started reminiscing about arrays.

Finally something he could concentrate on. He was deep in thoughts when he felt the array outside triggered. He shot his eyes open and as if nature had something against him, from the entrance of the cave came the hyena. Alaric was glad to have created a concealment array on him but that did not help lower his increased heartbeat. If not that it neutralized every action from within, the hyena would have definitely sensed him.

Alaric moved to the wall standing there still as his back attached to the wall.

The hyena seemed to be agitated. Someone was definitely here. It's gut feeling never lied to it. It tried to feel the smell and ever strain its ears to feel the slightest of sounds but there still was nothing. If there was something the hyena had utmost trust in, it was it's gut feeling. And at the moment, it felt that there was something in the cave. It was this same gut feeling that had led it to that human. It was the same feeling that had told it not to leave after killing the lizards. And now it was telling it that someone was definitely inside the cave.

Human meat was tastiest compared to that of any beast. Especially those who had entered the cultivation realm. The hyena knew if it just fed on that human, its cultivation would leap and it would get to the peak of Cryptic plane in an instant. It would then be able to leave these energy deficient zones and head deeper where it would have an easier breakthrough into the Master Plane. With that thought alone, it just licked it's lips revealing its yellow teeth and fangs.

It kept pacing at one area for long acassionally looking at one point of the wall. After almost ten minutes it stopped and just took a nap right there at the spot its gut feeling had settled on.

Alaric swallowed hard. He could feel himself sweating. Was it that they were destined to end each other or maybe the heavens were against him. Of all the caves in the forest, he had chosen the hyena den! He watched the hyena pacing around him and ocassionaly looking at him. At one point, he felt like their eyes met. Just when he thought it had given up, it lay down right infront of him centimeters away from his feet. Sarah was definitely having the time of her life that Alaric did not find funny. If he died so would she.

'Keep laughing knowing well that if I die you will also cease to exist,' he said in despair trying to find comfort in those words but that only made her laugh louder.

'I find it funny that a you are threatened by a beast of shallow bloodline,' She said. Alaric felt his face heat. Using his own words against him. Had he known he would have minded his words. He was sure the hyena had filled at most three meridian. Yet, he who had filled nine was cowering behind.

'Could you at least offer tips?' Alaric said in despair but he was met by deadpan silence.

He should have known that she was not reliable. He only had himself in such life-threatening situations. He then fell into deep calculations of possibilities. The first thought was to walk away under the concealment of the array but that was a fool's errand. Any slight movement in the cave caused its eyes to open. It was even woken by its snore at one point. Alaric laughed at himself as he thought of another possibility. A sneak attack was actually the best idea to fight an unprepared opponent. That was the best course of action but the problem came with that point of attack.

Yes he could sneak but could he attack? A big no resounded in his head. With all his might, he had had a hard time attacking the first lizard. If he could lace his axe with lightning,maybe he would be able to chop off it's neck. Alaric culculated that its skin was twice as tough as that of the lizard. The most he could do was to cause a wound and that would only make the hyena angrier than it already was after being played. There was a third possibility but that was also a fool's errand. Cause a commotion outside by destroying the array and lure the hyena out. Even the hyena would laugh at him. There was also a fourth possibility though...