My village seems a bit... overpowered? Oh no!

-Day 13-

Working in the fields while lecturing like usual, Axilya's face subtly shifted a hint of surprise shining through. 'I'm getting that same feeling I got from Eilhauver from Kaylessa and Beldroth. Are they going to break through soon too?' The thought was a bit horrifying. Was everyone in her village just as, if not more talented than all of the supreme talents in her Kingdom? Surely not! Maybe it was just that the supreme talents were all in some kind of hidden realm or sent to a far-off place, and she had never heard about them, even in fairytales and legends told by merchants.

'Oh, what am I kidding! Even the realm beyond Houtian is whispered as if a fairytale and even Houtian is whispered about as if it might not even exist, at least in these parts. The merchants would always say something like, but surely it did exist because a friend of a friend of a friend once saw one.' Shaking her head, Axilya focused back in on her work and lecture, trying her best not to wonder about the absolute head-scratcher that was the first four people she had decided to teach where apparently supreme talents, at least for her Kingdom. 'You know what, let's just assume it's the cultivation technique!' 

With that, she went about her day, finishing off work, lecturing Haryk, and finally getting to her training grounds. 'Alright. Thirty minutes of footwork. Thirty minutes of training my punching, and then try to do only thirty minutes of saber practice. It'll leave two hours for me to try to hunt again.' 

As usual, her footwork practice was all about jumping through the branches and doing various increasingly stupid acrobatic stunts, all while trying not to disturb even a single snowflake. It was perhaps not the best method, but Axilya was trying! 'I really wish I had a manual for this, it's the one thing I don't really have a frame of reference for.' 

Snowflakes fell from the branches and leaves with every step she took, yet still! She tried, and tried, and tried. Just like she groped around trying to spot the errors when she practiced her punches. 'If only everything was as easy as practicing with the Saber...' 

Time passed, and eventually, Axilya's training for the day was finished. "My saber and thus my hand-to-hand combat skills are rapidly increasing. But my footwork. How long will it be until it reaches the basic level?" The words echoed slightly in the empty forest as she walked deeper into it. "Now, let's see if we can find a beast today. Who knows! Maybe I'll be lucky."

A few hours later, Axilya was trudging back to her house soaking wet, and a blank look on her face. 'I didn't find any animals, but I certainly found a lake that only *barely* froze over. Again, why does it feel like I'm not the protagonist? At this point, I feel like I should just point a random villager in a direction and see if they find an entire ranch full of cattle.' 

-Day 14-

Working the fields once more, Axilya all of a sudden froze, staring at Kaylessa and Beldroth. The two of them had all of a sudden closed their eyes, and began to breathe deeply, a small amount of snow melting around them. 'I don't even know anymore. What is this, 12 days this time? 7, 10, and 12! Not only that, but technically speaking Eilhauver only came in halfway through my lecture, so everyone I'm teaching is actually getting faster, technically. I shouldn't be complaining, but it's just mind-boggling!' 

Her eyes tracked their breaths, and her senses tingled very slightly from the Ki flowing through the air to them. As her instinctive thoughts of awe and shock faded, a small happy smile eventually made its way across Axilya's face. 'They broke through! There was no problem as well. Great! I'm still confused though. Why exactly is everyone so talented?' "Congratulations you two! You've made your first step onto a long journey." 

As the two's eyes opened, the married couple would smile at each other. They shared a few whispered congratulations with each other before turning and thanking her. 'Cute, they knew they were breaking through together. Aah, Elven society is quite behind the doors for couples, yet not friends and family. Truly interesting. In my human society, I'd suspect at least a hug or a kiss. Truly curious!' Shaking her head to get away from those absurd thoughts, the smile maintained on Axilya's face. "Now what you two have to do... is relax for the rest of the day! Eilhauver and I have the fields. You should get used to your breakthrough and have some fun! It's not every day you step onto the long journey of cultivation."

The day passed, and the cycle continued. Axilya lectured, trained, and failed to hunt. Yet, as the cycle continued, the looming threat of a lack of food slowly began to creep up. How many more weeks could they continue without support? How long could they continue? Even if this snow eventually faded, where would they be with all these dead crops? It was a question and sentiment that was slowly spreading throughout the village...

-18th day-

Her feet touched the branch, and as they did so only a few snowflakes fell off. With each step or leap, the difference between just a few days ago was noticeable. Axilya leapt off the branch backflipping through the air, only to perfectly and silently land on another! As she landed only two snowflakes gently drifted off before touching the ground. 'Perfect! I'm getting better, and better! I wonder how far away from the Basic level I a-' 

[DING! 

Congratulations to the host for reaching the 'Basic' level of Footwork!

Congratulations to the host, you have completed the mission named "Practice"! Your reward is the ability to save your village!

DING!

Emergency Mission: "Murderous Bandits" has been activated. (Save your village, let no more than 8 villagers die, kill the Bandit Leader, do not die. Timer: 5 days until activation.)

]

For a brief moment, a mixture of fear and rage overtook Axilya's mind, before it was washed away with ice-cold determination. Why would bandits attack her village? Didn't matter! Perhaps they were starving. Perhaps they thought robbing them when they couldn't flee because of the snow and ice was a good choice. Perhaps they were doing it just for fun!

It didn't matter. Leaping off the branches and landing in front of her saber box, she flipped open the lid and gripped the wooden blade. 'This village is my responsibility! Their troubles are my fault! Perhaps in your next life, you'll be able to go onto the righteous path, but in this life... Your only fate is to die!'

It was with this thought that Axilya dashed deeper into the forest, unblooded Saber in hand. On this night she WOULD catch an animal! Her saber and she would finally see blood on this night, no matter how deep into the forest Axilya had to go! 'Have to be stronger. Faster. Better. In the face of blood, I can't flinch! Not if bandits are coming, who knows how high their cultivation is, or how many of them there are!'