Chapter 5

Rey stared at the corpse of the worm. "I need to learn how to fight?" Rey was never a fighter, he would always rather use his brain than his fists. The man grabbed his sword from the deceased worm and shook the green blood off. "Yes, I have no idea how long it'll take for us to find your hometown and I can't always be here to protect you. I let you go off on your own here whilst I stayed hidden just to see what you'd do. When you came here and didn't stop I knew you had no experience." Rey looked down, the man was right. He did have no experience with anything. "Please teach me how to fight!"

The man smiled and motioned for Rey to follow him. He knelt down to where the worm emerged. "You see this right here?" He pointed at a area that looked to have been sunken in and dug out. "This is what I wanted you to see. There's many manner of beasts out here that use the environment to their advantage. The first thing you'll be learning is how to notice these small changes." The man stabbed his sword into the sunken area and pierced a worm that shot its way through the dirt. "Let's go shall we?"

Rey nodded and followed the man once more. This time, instead of just walking around aimlessly, he was dialed in. He paid attention to every detail whether it be as big as a dragon or as small as an ant. Rey was looking at the ground for more possible worms when suddenly the man stopped. "What do you see?" He asked. Rey looked around on the ground and in the air but saw nothing. "There's nothing there sir." The man closed his eyes and let out his breath. "Close your eyes and concentrate on the environment. Feel everything, sense everything!"

Rey did as the man said and closed his eyes and concentrated hard. "I'm trusting you completely here, it's up to you whether we survive or not!" The man said to which Rey replied "understood." Rey listened intensely, every vibration he felt he would focus on. His heartbeat soon was as loud as an engine in his own ears. The blood rushing through his body like an ocean covered evrything outside...and time seemed to slow down. Rey had full control over his senses. He focused on the vibrations of the planet and looked for anything out of the ordinary.

"There is a large creature heading our way to the left. It's moving quickly and seems to be running on 4 legs." Rey told the man. Rey focused on everything that the creature was doing. Putting all of his senses together, Rey was able to picture and see the creature clearly. "It's half man, half horse. I believe that's called a Centaur?" Rey said as he opened his eyes. The man smiled and praised Rey. "Good, you're a quick learner. Quite advanced too! It takes most people a few months some even a few years before they can see that well with their senses."

The man pointed his palm in the direction of the Centaur and started to chant. "I am The one who controls the flame. The great destroyer of life. Hear my call...Devils Imprint!" A flame unlike Rey has ever seen in his life burst from the man's hand. It was the deepest shade of red and it burned the man's cuff of his sleeve off. The flame shot from his hand at a speed unlike anything else, hitting the Centaur over the horizon. Rey thought that the Centaur would burn to death until an explosion burst from nothing. It rose many meters before the blast hit the two, knocking Rey off his feet.

Reys eyes shone with wonder. "What was that?!" He asked excitedly. "That was a cultivation skill called 'Devils Imprint'. Only a few people on this planet can cast it and most of them are no longer here." There was a hint of sadness in the man's voice. The people he mentioned must've been colleagues of his. "Seeing your progress, I believe you'll be stronger than I am. You have great potential, don't waste it!"

Rey smiled and the two of them continued their walk. Rey didn't know where he was going so he just followed the mans lead. Hopefully soon, they would make it to a town of some sort, even if it wasn't Reys home. Just seeing civilization after being kidnapped would give Rey some hope.

The man pulled out a small dagger from his side. He handed it over to Rey, "Use this if we get into another encounter. You'll take on any small creatures and aid me if I need it." The man was serious. He spoke in a tone that Rey hadn't heard since his mother warned him bit to go out at night. When Rey thought of his mother, he got sad. He had disobeyed her and went out after dark, and now he's no longer there. His mother was right and he felt bad knowing that she was worrying about him. 'I must get home as soon as possible' Rey thought to himself.

"Alright we'll set up camp here. If I'm correct, the next town should be half a days walk from here, but we don't want to walk at night. It's a lot less safe than traveling during the day." The man used a fire skill on the ground and would use the fire for warmth. Rey sat down by the fire as the man walked off for a brief moment. He would soon come back with some rabbits in his hands. "We'll eat this tonight. It's a lot better than the griffin from last night." The man set the dead rabbits next to the flame and sat down. He let the rabbits cook until sundown when the only light was from the fire. Rey took his rabbit and thanked the man, eating it quickly before falling asleep for the night.

Rey woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of swords clashing. He looked around to see almost invisible blurs zipping across the fire. The man was fighting off some bandits that had ambushed them. The man had a clear advantage in power but was outnumbered. Rey focused as hard as he could and took out the dagger the man gave him. He closed his eyes and threw the blade, striking the attacker in the neck. This killed the bandit while the man finished off the other bandit. As the body hit the ground, the man looked over at Rey through the fire and even though it was dimly lit...Rey could see a slight smile.