Resupply.

The rigorous battles finally took a toll on Veritas' well-being. Adding the depleted rations and minimized water, Veritas look pale and deathly.There was a deep-contemplating look on his face that thought of different scenarios to vanquish a formidable foe.

"It's been a month.."

Uttering to himself, Veritas addressed the time that had already passed since he arrived in the camp. Overall, he has been gone from Elrod for a month and 5 days now..

The past month all he did was battle, plan, battle again, and plan once more. No normal person would stay sane upon repeating those, especially when they were encumbered with deep loneliness.

Veritas merely stared at the blazing flames of his campfire, at least that kept him warm. Amidst the radiance brought upon by the warm fire, Veritas muttered and mumbled..

"If I cut its side, it would parry.. No! It would dodge. I would then respond by counter-attacking with a kick. But wouldn't it anticipate that? Then, I should just aim my blade towards its neck then.."

Formulating different scenarios in his head, Veritas read and predicted every move of the Gargoyle Knight. However, he still couldn't win even in his mind!

Naturally, the training and experience that he received from countless battles was a luxury to behold. If the current Veritas were to be compared to the Veritas a month ago, then the former would loom all over the latter.

If they were to fight, the Veritas from a month ago would lose in mere 5 seconds.

That was how formidable Veritas was now..

But he still couldn't figure out a way to defeat the Gargoyle Knight!

He didn't see any changes in damage towards the Gargoyle Knight either. Its stone armor was still formidable and daunting and it seemed to be as sturdy as before!

This made Veritas lose hope in himself, questioning his capabilities and doubting his acceptance of the trial!

"Ahhhhh... I can't come up with anything!"

Veritas ruined his messy hair and moved his body all around, as if he were throwing a temper tantrum.

In a few hours, the supplies brought by the Duke would arrive and in a month of solitude that was his only way to stay intact with society once more..

He could leave the camp and head back to the Southern City but Veritas thought that he would lose his spark when he did so..

For the past week, all he did was wake and challenge the Gargoyle Knight which ultimately ended up in his loss. Although his first days in the Ruins of Orph were filled with wounds and bruises, as the time passed by, Veritas could see lesser and lesser damages towards his body.

That was some sort of improvement..

He could read the Gargoyle Knight better, he could dodge better, he could out speed it even more, but he was still lacking in many aspects.

To be specific, he needed strength!

Brute force, heavy strikes, and many more.. Veritas lacked all of these elements. He could out-speed the Gargoyle Knight all he wanted but its defense was very formidable! He could land a very swift strike but he would not even scratch it.

One sword had already shattered due to the continuous battles. He tried going on the offensive, defensive, and even tried fighting with his fists. But nothing worked!

He considered using the pear-shaped ball as a means to destroy the Gargoyle Knight's defense but ultimately decided against it.

For one, he would need to have a perfect opening to unleash the blow and two.. who's to say that the Gargoyle Knight wouldn't just slice the thing in half.

"Son of a bitch.."

He laid his head back and sighed deeply, his mind feeling tired due to the constant thinking.

In the past month that he had stayed here, Veritas depleted almost half of all the potions that his mother gave him..

There were only 7 high-leveled, 10 mid-leveled, and 13 common-leveled. It was not going good, for at this rate he would completely run out of potions by next month or so..

Still, using these potions were essential for him. They made him survive the long battles and prevented him from dying. 

Upon realizing this, Veritas stood up and grabbed 1 mid-leveled and 1 common-leveled. He was going to attempt another battle with the Gargoyle Knight.

"This is my 14th attempt.."

Feeling lost and tired, Veritas deeply sighed and headed towards the direction of the ruins. 

Every morning, he would wake up and challenge the abomination by himself. That was how he started his days. Upon losing, he would then strategize on how to beat the Gargoyle Knight, which took up most of his time.

He was still wearing the shining steel armor and he held a different sturdy sword that was made out of pure iron. It was durable, but it was not sharp enough to cut a head clean off.

However, sharpness didn't really matter when cutting stone..

As the morning sun shone on Veritas' body, he approached the Gargoyle Knight slowly, covering distance in a sluggish manner. 

"I'm still sleepy. Let's get this over with."

The statue in the distance suddenly vanished and immediately struck Veritas down with heavy force. 

Veritas easily received this strike and clashed with the formidable Knight!

In this warm and bright morning, Veritas and the Gargoyle Knight clashed for hours!

*

"Ow! Ow! Ouch!"

Veritas tended to his wounds, pouring a low-leveled potion on it. He felt a tinge of pain coming from the scratch but this was not unfamiliar with Veritas.

He lasted 4 hours in battle before finally succumbing to stamina loss which caused him to run away. Veritas suffered minor wounds, including a scrape on his cheek, and several bruises near his ribs.

This was nothing when compared to the large slash that he received last month..

Veritas was shirtless, only wearing the steel leggings while he mended his wounds. His sculpted muscles were showcased by the warm sunlight that shone atop the lonely forest. 

He already used potions but Veritas still needed to patch up the wounds so they don't open again..

The common-leveled and mid-leveled potions weren't really as potent as the high-level one.

"Ah! Shit! I wouldn't need to tend for these wounds if I was a Pathbearer!"

After completing the trial, Veritas was going to be granted a chance to be a Pathbearer. His Father had already told him the process to become one and he had already succeeded in completing the first step which was to gaze upon the Soul. 

Veritas didn't even bother looking at his runes due to the disappointment that it would bring him..

He sighed and continued bandaging his wounds.

After a couple of minutes of bandaging, Veritas finished and wore casual clothing. He wore a white compression shirt that further showed his sculpted muscles. 

"Why are they taking so long?!"

Asking himself of the tardiness of the monthly supplies that he was supposed to receive. 

The Prince looked haggard and tired, deep dark eyebags formed under his deep golden eyes, his pure-white hair was messy and looked as if he hadn't taken care of it in weeks. 

Veritas still cared about his proper hygiene, he even took baths once every 2 days, but he did not have time to maintain the integrity of his hair. Without any proper supplements to make it become silky smooth once more, he was left to wash it properly and leave it messy. 

With that, for what seemed like a long hour to him, a mundane carriage was finally seen on the horizon. 

Hope gleamed in Veritas' eyes, it shone through the lonesome forest and anticipated some time off the solitude.

The carriage strolled through the barren path that led to the camp. A few moments passed by and it soon arrived within Veritas' grasp.

A stern looking man got out inside the carriage and tidied up its dark suit. He looked like a butler, mundane and normal as he'll ever be.

The man was Duke Alfar of the South.

"Lord Alfar! I didn't expect you to come personally!"

The taciturn man looked emotionlessly towards Veritas and responded:

"Indeed, your majesty. Here are the supplies that you've requested.."

"Ohh!"

Veritas' eyes gleamed at the luxurious sight of food. It was not that extravagant but the vision of clean food still amazed him.

"Thank you, Lord Alfar." 

After expressing his gratitude Veritas continued with a calm tone:

"How are things back in the city?"

The Duke of Alfar explained the situations of how everything was still the same and normal. Although he did not have any information regarding the Central City, Veritas still listened as though he was carefully hearing a great story.

After a whole month of isolation, one could find even normal people's lives to be interesting!

"That's all. How about you, your majesty. How is your progress?"

Veritas looked grim, and he somberly responded to the innocent question.

"That.. thing is crazy. I could not even put into words on how much I've tried doing everything. But, I can't seem to win no matter what."

Veritas added:

"However, I don't see giving up as an option. I will spend months and even years trying to take this abomination down!"

Veritas had a different tone than his tone from a month ago. He was all refined and formal with the Duke back then but due to the constant stress and mental strain, Veritas let out his primal thoughts. 

The Duke of Alfar didn't seem to mind the change in the Prince's personality, he much preferred the Prince to be this way. 

Veritas sat down along with the Duke and told his rigorous battles with the Gargoyle Knight.

The Duke looked taciturn and as emotionless as ever but he seemed to appreciate the great efforts that the Prince did in order to fell the being. 

"You've made quite the significant progress, your Majesty.."

"Thank you for those words, but they're still not enough. Only if I beat this abomination will I celebrate my own progress."

His eyes burned with flames of determination.

Duke Alfar noticed this and he smiled dryly.

"I see."

With those words, the two continued speaking amongst each other for hours upon hours until sunset finally hit.