Extreok

A celebration was necessary.

Aunt Venny made a feast of baked goods. The group feasted all day, only to become sick the next.

Slowly the group regained their strength, occasionally they met at Aunt Venny's bakery to hang out.

Today was such an occasion, however they weren't expecting such terrible news. This made their mood worsen. Leaving the Bakery with saddened faces someone spoke, "What can we do?"

A girl with blond hair and blue eyes responded, "Not much, obtaining a lot of money in a short time isn't possible."

Someone snapped their fingers, "Wait! There is! That game we've recently started. It's money can be sold for real world cash."

"Aren't the rates really low though?"

"Yeah, but every little bit helps!"

Someone else chimed in, "That competition they host. Wasn't the first place prize a hundred grand? Why don't we aim for first place?"

"It won't be easy, plus we haven't started since launch. We are extremely far behind."

"Then we make money as we progress! If we are confident enough, we try for the competition!"

The group shrugged. It was their best option. So they quickly headed home to log back on...

~ ~ ~

Two weeks later...

A gust of wind blew through the mountains, making eerie shrieks as it passed through the cracks in various rock.

Whitelash slowed to a stop, "We are here."

Jarvis hopped off, "So this is the Mountains of Farthinal. . ."

It was bland to say the least. Consisting of various shades of gray rock the mountain reached quite high. However in Jarvis' eyes it wasn't as tall as the mountain Rygeth was sealed on.

"So where is Extreok?"

Whitelash looked in a direction, "One of the mountains have a large part of it cut out. Extreok rests there."

Jarvis kicked a rock, "Alright let's go."

"Wait."

Jarvis looked back at Whitelash, "What?"

"Be careful around her, she is quite proud. I am unsure if she remembers what happened long ago, but she might be dissatisfied with the fact that I am under your control."

"I'll keep it in mind then. I am excited to see how a Sage of the Elements looks!"

The two walked through the uneven stone. After nearly rolling his ankle a few times Jarvis finally caught sight of the home of Extreok.

Whitelash flicked his tail, "Hop on, I am going to jump up there."

Jarvis murmured, "Why did I get off then?"

After getting back on Whitelash's back the tiger leapt from rock to rock. After four jumps he landed into the cave in the mountain.

A large wolf sat there unmoving. Occasionally a crackle of lightning formed around them, only to disappear the next moment.

A voice filled Jarvis' mind, "Why have you come here?"

Whitelash stepped forward, "I am here to ask for help."

"Ho? The mighty tiger is asking for help?"

"I am unable to repay the debt I owe at this rate."

"Intriguing, on behalf of the favor I owe you form long ago I shall hear your request."

"This one is faced with an ancient Trial of an Immortal. However they hold very little strength on their own. I am unable to take on an Immortal by myself."

"So you wish for me to assist against an Immortal? I refuse."

"Please, I cannot do this myself."

"You have willingly entered underneath that human's command. You are the reason your strength is insufficient. I will not suffer the same fate."

Whitelash turned hostile, "Do not insult him! I owe him my life many times over!"

Extreok seemed to looked at Whitelash with pity, "Then you shall pay with your life. Do not bring me into your troubles."

"Have you forgo-"

Jarvis patted Whitelash, "Don't worry, I'll take it from here."

Whitelash calmed, although somewhat reluctantly. Jarvis slid off and returned Whitelash into the book.

Jarvis then moved to a wall and sat against it. Facing Extreok but not doing anything. Extreok watched him for a bit before continuing to face forward. The two remained unmoving for hours.

Jarvis' patience was incredible. He had once spent a full week nearly unmoving just to gain a bit of a creature's trust. He had no issue doing so again.

So man and beast sat in silence, only the sounds of the wind was heard.

Why would Jarvis go through all this trouble? It's is because his intuition told him so. Extreok would be wary of him, someone who has one of the Sages under control. So he first needed to show he wasn't forceful or threatening. By being in Extreok's presence the wolf would soon grow accustomed. Though Jarvis assumed this would be a short time due to Extreok being sentient.

So this carried on. . . for three days.

Jarvis' real body was in a bad condition, but he remained still. After another hour the wolf turned her head, "You remain still after three days. Why?"

"You are wary of me, correct?"

"Laughable, I am a Sage of the Elements. Why must I be afraid of a First Stage human?"

"Because Whitelash is also a Sage, yet he seems to be under my control. This has made you even a little wary right?"

"Hmph, do not assume my thoughts."

"I come with no harmful intentions. Yet I cannot just state this and expect to be believed. So I shall stay here, at least until you aren't wary anymore."

"Then stay."

The two remained silent for another eight hours before Jarvis stood up. Extreok looked over to Jarvis, "So you decided to give up?"

Jarvis replied, "Forgive me, but this body has its limits. Even if I do not wish to be hindered by them. I shall return."

Jarvis logged out and quickly took care of himself. After an hour he immediately logged back on and sat back in the same position.

Two days passed. Extreok yawned, "So, how did you manage to tame the mighty Whitelash?"

Jarvis answered, "It's a long story, but I can make it short."

Extreok snorted, "You have remained unmoving for five days. Surely a story would not take that long."

"Upon entering a forest I stumbled upon a small group of creatures. I was fascinated by them so I watched from a distance. Yet they seemed to be communicating something. I wondered to myself, what could such creatures be talking about? It was then I was spotted. They immediately tried to chase me out, but I managed to convince them I was of no harm. I believe I only managed to convince them due to my poor strength at the time."

"Your strength is still quite poor.", Extreok commented.

Jarvis nodded, "Indeed. After weeks of becoming friendly with these creatures they showed me that leader of the forest was severely injured. I was worried and offered to help if possible. At the time Whitelash was in critical condition. His breaths were limited."

"Whitelash was injured?"

"Poisoned, I am unsure what poison it was or where it came from. So I immediately took off to find a cure. After several times of failure I began to worry that I would fail. As I frantically searched for anything I came across the Five Colored Clover."

"Ho? That's quite something."

"I was awed by it, however a Golden Fate Spider guarded it. I nearly was killed! It took a whole day of constant conversation, negotiation, and convincing to obtain the clover. Upon picking the clover, I noticed it grew off of a book and instrument."

"I assume it's that book?"

"Mhm, I took these back to Whitelash. The clover worked wonders for him. The poison subsided but he still was very weak. Yet at that time Whitelash had asked to become my companion. Which I accepted. At this time the book became mine and Whitelash became a picture among its pages. Still, I remained in the forest and helped out various creatures."

Extreok was silent. Turning her head to look straight she continued to remain silent.

Jarvis followed, silence occasionally being interrupted by blowing winds.

As he waited he began wondering what his party was doing to grow stronger. Akiol was probably finding a way to unleash some powerful technique. Wrock was most likely doing something similar. Jarvis was unsure on Yielya's healing capabilities, but he was positive she was strengthening them. Tilia may be increasing her buff capabilities. Or maybe something else. Kan'na was most likely crafting a spell to assure their victory.

Yet he was sitting still, unmoving. He wasn't gaining any strength, nor was he losing any. He remained stagnate. Yet he didn't give up.

The process of conversing every few days and remaining silent continued for three weeks. Jarvis was quite shocked at how long this took. Yet he remained.

On one morning Extreok asked, "What adventures did Whitelash go on?"

Jarvis shook his head sadly, "Not many. Around a week or two after healing him my friends were being attacked. During the battle Whitelash was killed."

"Yet he is still alive"

"Four weeks ago he was revived by an Origin Phoenix."

"Origin Phoenix? I find it hard to believe that. Those are rarely spotted once a millennium, yet one simply revived Whitelash?"

"I think it was against the Immortals. It sounded angry at them. However apparently I called it over with a Sound of Origin."

"I am unaware of what a Sound of Origin is. Yet I still don't believe you."

Jarvis pulled out the feather from his inventory, "This was remained when it left."

Extreok physically reacted to the feather, "It's true?! So much power radiates off a feather alone."

Jarvis looked at it confused, "Really? I just think it looks nice."

". . ."