Chapter 18

Before she could recover from the shock of seeing a humongous lion turtle, she was raised out of the water by the lion turtle.

She was now sitting on a palm of the lion turtle while staring at its face.

Soon a voice, same as the one that provided information during the trials, reverberated in her mind. It said " Congratulations for being the fastest to complete the entire trial while finishing the additional challenges. I know you might have several questions but before I answer them let me tell you a few things. First of all as you may already know the 4 trials you just completed were part of a single bigger trial, and 3 more of similar trials exist that test and help you develop various aspects about yourself. As to why these trials exist that you will know only when you finish all 4 trials will the reason for it's existence will be revealed. And all the other trial are similarly located on the back of lion turtles like me. Now you may ask any questions you have."

Robin recovered from her shock and immediately asked " Why me ? Was I selected for the trial or was it random?"

A faint chuckle was heard in Robin's mind before the answer " Although you encountering me was random, you did pass my initial evaluation. I am pretty sure you must remember entering the mist where you had a dream that would have let you face your regrets and help you solve your heart demons. Only those who overcome are allowed to proceed further. Similarly you will never find my brothers if you actively seek out for them , as much as strength charisma intelligence are needed to make a great person, if one doesn't have luck they will never be able to achieve their full potential, it is up to fate if you will encounter them and successfully pass their initial assessment to able to take the trial."

Robin then asked " Do you what happened during the void century? Do you know about the poneglyphs and where can I find them?"

" I do the entire history of the world , but history in perspective of beasts will always be different than that of humans. So regarding this I cant help you. Even the poneglyphs are some thing you will have to find on your own study and understand on your own. I had once seen a man who even though could not read the text could understand more from the poneglyphs than many scholars who had read it."

Robin sighed she knew finding the details about poneglyphs and void century was not going to be easy, so she asked her final question " Do you know where we are? and how can I leave from here ?"

" As to where we are, I do not know how to answer you so that you can understand, as I am always where I am supposed to be. As to how you can leave from here, I have a request, you can choose whether you want to fulfill it." Lion turtle suddenly closed his eyes and the next moment Robin could feel sound energy being produced from the Lion turtle, but this sound was something humans could not hear. Only because she had comprehended energy Qi was she able to feel this. Soon the Lion turtle stopped and suddenly a lion turtle cub surfaced. Then the adult Lion Turtle spoke once again " This my next of kin, we lion turtles are born with unparalleled defense but sadly we do not have next no offense. Yet for us to grow we need to consume other beasts, or sea kings as you call them, but its not until we reach adulthood , although not much , that we gain some offensive power. Yet for us unlike other creatures time is not a factor for reaching adulthood, its only when a young one eats enough beasts does he evolve into adult. So most of us when young mainly end up scavenging, in hopes of finding enough eventually. But unfortunately its never enough, so my request is to take my next of kin with you and help her evolve as I can not help her as none of the sea kings come close to me, due to my aura so the only food she eats are dead beasts on my back.

The only weakness of the lion turtle is their heart which can be attacked only by entering their shells, so if you do decide to take her along with you on your journey you need to protect her heart.

If you reject then you can always build a raft from the wood and use your strength and luck to find the civilization"

Robin took time to digest the information and analyse the request, after while she said " I really dont mind travelling with her, but she need to know that I will be making a lot of enemies in future and its not going to be a passive lifestyle she is used to. Also I will be finding companions to help me achieve the goal so I will be modifying the inside of her shell to suit mine and their needs"

Robin suddenly heard a voice of little girl " I want to go on an adventure too, and as along as you take an oath to not harm my heart or reveal the weakness of my kind to anyone else I can let you modify my shells interior and exterior how you wish, I too want a thick forest with lot of beasts and birds on my back, just like how the ancient one's master provided one for him".

Seeing as both the cub and the girl were on the same page the Lion turtle said "Watching you grow in the past 4 and half years had been fun, I hope you find my brothers eventually. I wish both of you young ones to have a fun and action filled adventure."

Finally a 12 and half year old Robin along with her Lion turtle cub set off an adventure that would be filled with lot of highs and some lows and most importantly it would let the grow both in strength and in character.