Level 3 (2)
"Where am I?"
Taotie opened his eyes and asked himself but soon after looking around himself he realized that he was in his own room.
He was lying on his bed. On the chair next to his bed his uncle, Surf was sitting and reading a scroll in his hand without looking at him.
"....!!" Suddenly Taotie's nose twitched, he was unable to smell the goo in which his body was covered prior to him falling unconscious.
"How're you feeling son?" Seeing that Taotie had woken up, Uncle Surf asked.
"I…. I am feeling…. good, uncle.
Taotie paused checked his body whole through his consciousness before continuing, "I am feeling that my skin has undergone a huge change."
" Good.... good. Seems like that method worked." While nodding his head Surf said.
"Uncle, can you use your sword and try to make a cut on my skin?" He asked while looking at his now glowing skin. He was feeling like he had got new skin somehow. On touching that skin he felt it as soft as a newborn child's skin.
"Haha… Are you sure? My sword is very sharp you know." Laughingly Surf said.
When Taotie fell unconscious after letting out a painful shrill before. Surf felt like his soul had left his body. He immediately picked him up and ran towards the clan physician. At there when the physician told him that he was just unconscious without slightest harm, then only he was able to take a sigh of relief but still from that time till now he was with Taotie every second.
"Of course. Uncle, I want to see if that smelly paste had some effect or it just made my skin look shiny. If my skin can even endure a sword or not." With an exciting face, Taotie replied.
"Fine then. I also think we should check." After saying that Surf walked and brought his sword with him.
Then standing next to Taotie, carefully with the slightest amount of force, Surf struck his sword on his hand.
Clank…
Like two metal striking against each other, a low metallic reverberated in the air.
"Wonderful! Uncle, you're the best." With an excited tone, Taotie spoke up.
"Haha... seems like that goo has some wonderful effects." While observing at the place where his sword touched Taotie's skin, Surf said in a low voice.
"Thank you so much, uncle." Once again Taotie excitedly said while looking on his hand where the sword and the skin clashed each other. There was no even a single scratch on the skin.
Amazed with the result Surf, nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Now that you have fortified your outer defense, now you need to fortify your inner defense. Do you know the method we use for strengthening your bones and muscles?" After a few moments of celebration, Surf reminded Taotie that they had not reached the end; there was still a lot to do.
"Yes, uncle. I have seen many men in our clan doing 'Body Strengthening Stance'." Taotie replied enthusiastically.
"Good then start practicing that from tomorrow. Just a few hours in the morning will do and in the next five months your bones and muscles will grow much stronger than others outside." Surf told the child in front of him.
"Big brother… big brother!"
Suddenly Taotie's room echoed with a sweet childish voice and a child who looked like five years of age suddenly rushed inside the Taotie's room and jumped towards him.
"Noah stop." Just as Noah jumped towards Taotie, Surf moved and swiftly caught the jumping child before he could even reach Taotie.
"Noah, your big brother needs to rest." While looking towards his son, Surf said.
"But I want to fight big brother, we haven't fought for a few months." With an aggrieved face, Noah complained while looking at his father.
The ancient clan was very strict regarding educational matters. So Taotie's as well as Noah's education started from a very young age. And since both of them were from the royal family of the clan, their education, as well as training, was even stricter than other children of the clan.
So both Noah and Taotie get little to no time each day to talk and play with each other.
Noah then turned to Taotie and continued, "Big brother yesterday I made that dummy fall with one punch."
"Wow. Really?!" With a curious face, Taotie asked. The dummy Noah talking about was a sturdy oscillating doll with which even Taotie had played a few years ago.
"Hehe… Now I am sure I can even defeat you." Putting both of his hands on his waist, with laughing face Noah looked at lying Taotie while standing upon his bed.
"Haha… Noah my son, if you want to defeat your big brother then you need to work more harder. Your big brother is already Level 2 Warrior but you still haven't started training." While looking at his son Surf told him and then asked, "Now tell me how you're going to defeat him."
Hearing that question, suddenly the joyous face of Taotie dimmed as he drifted in his thoughts.
"I know that. I'm also going to train then and reach Level 3 Warrior." Noah hmphed.
"Tao?!" Noticing that Taotie had drifted away in his thoughts, Surf called him.
"And then I'll defeat big brother." Noah interrupted.
"That's enough. Noah, why don't you go outside and play with other kids?" While looking at the lost face of Taotie, Surf asked Noah to give them some silence.
"Tao?" After Noah left with a sad face, Surf once again called Taotie but this time in a more loud voice.
"Hmm?" Coming back from his thought Taotie looked at Surf.
"Uncle, how am I going to defeat Father? He is Level 10 Warrior already whereas I am still Level 2. And I just have five more months, who knows if I can even reach Level 5 at the end?" With his dimmed face Taotie asked.
"Huh? You don't have any plan on how to defeat Brother George?" Surprised with the Taotie's question, Surf almost shouted.
"No." While facing his head down Taotie replied.
"Then why do you even agreed to those conditions?"
On that day when Taotie agreed to his father's conditions, Surf was shocked but then he thought that Taotie must have a plan if he had agreed but to think that he never had a plan.
'This kid! I must say he has some unconventional courage.' Surf thought.
"What other options I had? Father was just being unreasonable there." With an aggrieved face, Taotie complained.
"No Tao, you should not say that about Brother George. Even if those conditions seem like an unreasonable condition, you have to know the intention of those conditions before blaming him." Surf knew his brother since childhood, he knew that his brother's demands sometimes seemed unreasonable but he had proven those demands to be totally reasonable.
And the condition he had put forth before Taotie, Surf can somewhat guess the reason behind it.
"Look son, Imperial Town is a hotspot of many powerhouses and most among them are arrogant people who love bullying. If a person without sufficient backing wander in that town then either he'll have to always keep his head down and obey those powerhouses.
But if you somehow anger them then either you'll be killed or they will make your life worse. Now tell me, Tao, what will you do? Always keep your head down and try to always bootlick them and stain the name of our ancient clan?" With a solemn face, Surf asked.
"I… I'll not bootlick them. I will always stay away from those kinds of people." After thinking a bit, Taotie replied.
"Tao, you have not understood the outside world then. The outside world will not let you live in peace. There either you'll have to obey someone or you'll have to make others obey you. If you want to stay away from those people even for that you'll have to ask their permission." Surf clarified.
"I… I'll fight them then." In a low voice, Taotie replied.
"How? With just your Level 4 or Level 5 strength, how will you fight powerhouses of the outside world who are as strong as your father?" Surf questioned.
"I… I…" Taotie didn't know what to say. He had never thought of that. He just wanted to go outside, see the people there, and make some friends. He couldn't understand what or why those powerhouses will bully him. They can't be this unreasonable, can they? He was thinking.
Sigh…
Helplessly Surf shook his head.
"Tao, how about you take a rest from training tomorrow and come with me to the hunt?" With something cooking in his mind, Surf asked.
"But Uncle I…" Taotie had only five months left to reach Level 5 so for him every moment was necessary so how can he take a rest for a whole day.
"Ah… Don't worry that will not be a waste of your time. In fact you'll be able to learn many things like hunting a high level magical beast." Surf encouraged.