Chapter 32: Camping in the Mountains

Currently in Atlas's mind.

A ginormous ball of energy floated in the middle of a sea, emitting a cozy yet dangerous presence. At the same time, it was sucking and spitting, purple liquid cycling within the ball.

That is Spiritual Energy. Calm like a tamed kitten. Also vicious like a berserk tiger.

All of a sudden, the environment changed in indignation. The waves intensified, swirling furiously in a spiral pattern with the ball in the centre.

First the tip. Then the body. A snow white flower bud surfaced from the sea, combining to grow larger as more 'seawater' enveloped it.

The lotus flower blossomed slightly, opening up its petals wide enough to witness the inside details of the crystal-like stigma and anthers.

As the lotus bloomed atop the sea, it finally cushioned the ball, as if an egg nestled in an beautiful nest.

All this occurred without Atlas's realization.

He was now on his bed, putting the mysterious girl, Eira, aside, as he pondered about ways to spend the last three precious days with Kristine.

Snow landed on the windows on the third floor, sliding down the glass to the second, where his Third Eye saw Kristine curling up on her bed, sleeping quietly but with her face grimacing. Tears dyed the pillow a darker hue.

Her painful expression slowly reduced into a more comforting pucker as he studied her features with care and affection for a lengthy period of time. The world was silent, only audible sound was her gentle breathing. Alas, Atlas's vision hazed as fog and snow replace the scenery outside. Mid-March snowing marked an unusual year.

"Why are we cramped in this car again?" Nova complained. Atlas was driving, while Kristine was at the front row passenger, happy looking yet eyes red and swollen for some reason. And here he was, squashed from Hugh's huge build. Iris is a female and was snoring in the right back seat, so that's a valid reason for taking the bigger seat.

But Hugh is just unreasonable. For such a large size, it would be logical to sit on he left back seat. But noooo, he demanded to sit in the middle, jerking left constantly to give more space to the sleeping beauty.

Now he was squashed by the door, staring out the window helplessly.

The Ferrari was pumped with music, Atlas and Kristine bobbing their heads with the music. Nova wanted to bob too, but it would only result in his head banging the window. Hugh was taking stealthy glances at Iris, who was unstirred by the jumpy song.

Despite the harsh conditions, Nova managed to free one unoccupied hand and videoed Hugh's sneaky actions for potential blackmail material. [A little compensation for a suffocating suffering. Worth it!]

The car passed by a sign, on it wrote, "Leaving Daxrim City. We hope to see you again!"

"Atlas, where are we going? It's really abrupt to decide on a short camp outside in the early morning," asked Nova as he pushed Hugh away, fanning the strong deodorant smell away from his nostrils.

"He's got his reasons I guess. At least he prepared everything in advance, so we won't have to worry about anything, other than our luggages." Kristine helped Atlas reply. "Actually, I'm curious too. Where are we going?"

"To the mountains! The environment there is perfect for camping!"

"Uh, can I just go back and sleep? I kinda regret admitting to this trip." Nova was in love with the flute melody that allowed him to nap well.

"Yeah me too. I wanna tinker with my new axe." Hugh also boomed. Atlas handed the Kent Axe to Hugh last night before he left home. Surprisingly, Hugh lifted it up with ease, unaffected by the weight that could pin Atlas down. It must have been some complicated family Warrior thing, so Atlas did not bother to dig into the topic.

"Think of it as a beneficial field trip guys! Ok. I'll convince you. Nova can rank up in the forest, because he made a fair point of not wanting to blow holes in the house. Hugh on the other hand, can chop down some trees with his new axe, and can learn the ways of a lumberjack. Iris is out of this conversation and Van... I mean Kristine, is in my league. Anyway, nothing is changing my mind."

"Fair enough." Both of them declared in unison.

"Hugh, wake Iris up. We have to go on foot from now on." The car screeched to a stop by the road. Before them, was a pathway that led into the forest, giant mountains toppling over one another far away.

They hastily crossed the forest, coming across one or two independent adventurers.

"Even if this place is remote, isn't it surprisingly shocking that we've seen no one for a really long time?" Iris questioned, her face blushed from not the heat of the sun, but from something else. She was sitting on Hugh's broad shoulders due to exhaustion from the long journey. "I mean the view is excellent from my perspective, so shouldn't there be more people around here? All we came across today was two people and a few abandoned campfires. It's like no one knows the existence of this place."

"Maybe people are lazy to travel so far and prefers to sleep like you Iris!" Kristine joked. Her cheeks were rosy too. Atlas was carrying her on his back because she was worn-out as well. Previously, Nova also offered himself to be carried, but he was harshly rejected with both Atlas and Hugh puking out gas.

"We're almost there guys! Just 5 more minutes." Atlas could already feel the cooling air of the forest, where his first destination was.

With puffy, majestic golden hair, a handsome man concentrated on his arm, tensing till it vibrated violently, as his opponent, a bald, buff man with honest looks and big ears, also wrestled in dynamic force, veins bulging intensely.

The freshly chopped tree trunk sunk a bit into the soil due to the pressure of the two men arm wrestling.

"Argh!" With a final growl, the bald man claimed he victory, crowned a winner!

"That was so close! You'll be beating this old man in no time." The bald man spoke humbly, no expression of pride from winning the arm wrestle.

"It's always like that! I..." The handsome man's voice trailed off. "Yo Don! The kiddo is back! And he's got companions this time, and a girlfriend I think!"

"Good swords you're right. Shed this appearance. Let's go meet em."

An enormous elephant trampled through the forest to keep up the pace with a majestic, speeding lion.