“Come on!” I shouted through gritted teeth.

 

It inched towards me. Its vibrant green fur seemingly shimmered with each step it took toward me.

 

“Well, well what do we have here,” said a voice.

 

Me and the creature both turned our heads. I scanned the trees and bushes.

 

“Yoho I’m right here,” My eyes moved to a tree branch. There was someone standing on the branch. The figure did a backflip and landed in between us in one smooth motion. It must have been at least six meters. His clothes were loosely stitched together out of animal hides and thick dreads hung to his shoulders. He could have been sixty or thirty years old.

 

“It’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance the name’s Olivere” said the man in a loose accent.

 

The green-furred creature growled and took steps toward the man.

 

“Watch out!” I shouted. The creature lunged forward its entire mouth an array of deadly knives, swords, daggers and spears.

The man sidestepped it and chopped the side of his hand against its thickly muscled neck. It might be more accurate to say that he slapped it. Wait a second, did he just slap it?

 

“My apologies for ignoring you,” said the man to the creature hooting joyfully. “I will introduce myself to you,”

 

“The names - “ the man paused mocking confusion. He held his foot to his ear.

 

“Well, it seems that my foot wants to introduce itself first, he’s just so delighted to meet you. While he spoke he wiggled his toes, each one moved independently with incredible mobility. It seemed almost more like a hand than a foot.

 

The creature charged at him roaring. The man raised his leg as it leapt onto him. His foot sunk into its jaw. The man’s leg was raised above his head and parallel to the ground. His kick sent it careering backward head over heels, and long lines of drool flew from its mouth.

 

“Thank you,” I mumbled before my fatigue overwhelmed me. My world flipped and consequently stopped. The rest is a blur, I remember being carried by strong arms, inhumanly strong arms up trees past vines and foliage. Who was this man? What was he doing here? More importantly, How was he so strong?

 

The sound of birds and insects was deafening. I opened my eyes. I had been passing out for to many times than I would like recently. I really have to work on my fatigue. I appeared to be in some sort of hut. I was leaning against a bench of sorts made from a single piece of barked would that connected to the wall. Vines hung form the ceiling and pinpricks of light showed through the leafed roof. I peered behind me. The ground peered back several meters below me. I instinctively recoiled controlling the urge to gag. I had never been particularly fond of heights.

 

“Don’t worry, you won’t fall unless you really try to,” said a voice laughing.

I turned to face him. His face was split with a grin from ear to ear and a hairsbreadth from mine.

 

“You’re a peculiar one aren’t you,” he said softly.

 

I jerked back putting my arms in front of my face.

 

“Personal space will you,” I said.

 

The guy cackled.

 

“Who are you?” I asked.

 

He raised his arms. “Someone enjoying life living in the present,”

 

“Only you could say that living in such a dangerous environment, with strength like your I can’t imagine these forests giving you any trouble,”

 

“you‘d be surprised,” said the man. “Besides the struggles are a part of life, you can’t just get the good without the bad and you have to enjoy both,”

 

I gulped I had to ask him no matter what.

 

“I really admire your strength can you teach me how you became so strong, can I become your student?”

 

“Absolutely not,” he said.

 

“Please, please, please!” I responded. “I’’ll do anything, I won’t complain and listen to everything you say,”

 

He sighed putting his head in against one of his massive hands. “You’re lucky I’m so generous,”

 

He held up one finger.

 

“I’ll give you one week, after that I will decide wether or not to teach you,”

“Thank you , thank you! sir” I exclaimed. Finally! Maybe with his help I could become strong, strong enough to make a difference!

 

“Call me Olivere,” he said. Olivere straightened.

 

“You will begine now, if you are expecting to stay here for the meantime then you must be prepared to work.

 

“I’m feeling really sore, shouldn’t I be resting,”

 

“Tsk, tsk,” went Olivere. “He who does not work shall not eat.”

 

“But !” I protested.

 

“You will be fine,” He affirmed. “I will also prepare some medicines for you, the food here will also give you some strength,”

 

“Now listen well, for I will only say this once, when navigating this forest know this, it is not a normal forest, it is one fueled by mana. The plants and animals have developed in special ways feeding off of the natural mana wells beneath the soil, Now what does that mean?”

 

“Uh, that having mana is important?” I guessed.

 

“That’s right,”

 

“But I don’t have any mana, how am i supposed to - “

“That’s ridiculous,” he said interrupting me. “Everyone has mana. I will be heading out now, I have prepared some chores for you.” He handed me a faded green paper slip.

 

“Oh and, never go far from this tree unless you want to be mauled and die in the most gruesome way possible.On second thought just never go beyond this tree,“

With those final words he disappeared leaping out into another tree.

 

I looked at the paper.

 

• Clean hut

• Get firewood

• Don’t die

 

The list didn’t seem to bad although the fact that he mentioned don’t die is slightly unsettling. I tidied up the hut. Gathering various sticks and shells into piles. I tied vines together high above the floor while standing on a log. That way one wouldn’t have to move them aside or duck down when moving about. Now as for firewood. I looked over the edge of the tree again before immediately leaning back towards the tree. I blinked for a few seconds to stop the swooning.

 

I walked around the edge, there was no sort of ladder or device to help someone get down. I sighed. I untied a vine and wrapped it around me finishing it with a knote. I pulled tightly on the rope. It held my weight.

 

I climbed down somehow, if the vine hadn’t been there I would have fallen to the ground and dashed myself against the hard tree bark at least a dozen times. I hopped down the last section as the vine didn’t reach all the way down. The impact shook my body to the core. I shoudn’t have locked my legs.

 

I leaned against the sde of the tree and got up by walking in towards it and inching my arms up. I scanned the flor to find no branches there. For being in a forest you’d think there would be plenty of branches on the floor.

 

I walked over to the nearest tree. It was significantly slimmer than the one that belonged to Olivere. The tree had numerous branches sprouting out from all over its trunk. I grabbed a flexible thin branch and pulled. It didn’t budge, crack or crack. No matter how hard I pulled it wouldn’t break off. All that my efforts earned me were cramping hands and me gasping with my hands on my knees. Why was it so tough? It wasn’t even a big branch. I walked to another tree being careful to stay within the canopy of Olivere’s tree. All the trees were the same, unbreakable un-rippable. I spotted a sapling knee-high in the soil. I pulled on it and at last it gave out from the roots. It came free from the ground with clumps of dirt still hanging to its roots. I might have felt strong if hadn’t been the length of my arm.

 

I searched a while longer for more saplings but there weren’t any.

After flinging up the ground and shifting around leaves that littered the floor I was able to find twigs. I couldn’t fail this early on. The list hadn’t even been anything that difficult. If i couldn’t do this i was helpless no better than a baby. I didn’t want to be a burden to him, he’d never teach me then. I continued my search more vigorously. I kicked up leaves and searched all around till I had made several full revolutions around the tree’s perimeter. I worked until my back ached and my toes were sore from kicking up soil and moving leaves. In the end along with the sapling I managed to gather about an arms worth of small twigs. I tied the bundle together using long intertwined leaves I scavenged from the forest floor.I used another leaf-rope to tie the bundle around my back. I trudged back to the base of the tree and stared up at the rope. It was just out of arms reach. I jumped up but my fatigue and the weight of the twigs allowed only my fingers to graze the rope.

I felt the weight ease of from my back.

“I can take that up,” said a familiar voice.

 

I was surprised to see Olivere behind me, hanging from a vine like something out of a children’s book. He grabbed the bundle with one hand and scampered to the top climbing up the bark using his other limbs. He did it as easily as one would walking up the front porch into their house.

 

His head peaked down from the top.

 

“Bring some mites on your way up, they should be on the other side of the tree. You’re not to tired are you?”

 

“I will bring the mites,” I said wiping the sweat from my forehead. My fatigue threatened to keal me over.

 

I walk over to the back of the tree. The circumference of it must have been at least 30 meters. There mixed in with some vines are large shelled bugs clinging to the mossy side of the tree. They look motionless but on closer inspection tiny legs underneath them are moving synchronically every now and then. I grasped the back of one of them. It didn’t budge. What a surprise. It seemd that everything in this forest was at least a thousand times stronger than I was. When pulling on a mite it shifted slightly not because of my pulling force but because it moved itself. Maybe … I waited again for it to move. When its many tiny legs moved I pulled it and managed to peel it off of the bark. It curled up, rolling its pale grey plates over itself into a donut shape. I did the same thing again waitiign for them to move themselves before plucking them. This one curled up as well into the same donut shape., I repeated the action until I had collected 5 of them. I tied together a simple rope using leaves and put it through the center of the bugs I made a sling with it and slung them over my back. They were surprisingly light. I was able to reach the vine as well with the reduced weight. I climbed up using my hands and feet equally. By the time I reached the top my shoulders and forearms burned from having to maintain the tension, my calves were cramping as well from having to tip toe up the side.

 

“Put them over here,” said Olivere gesturing beside him. He was sitting at a crude worktable.. large leaves were placed on it. . “You took a while,”

 

I put them beside him.

 

What do you need these for,”

 

“You’ll see,” he said.

 

He took one and caressed it. It opened up. Its mouth opened up and its mandibles moved soundlessly. He aimed the abdomen of it the leaf. Slowly a lime green liquid oozed out of it onto the leaf. When he was done with it a large dollop of the viscous liquid was on the leaf. He did the same with the rest of the bugs until the leaf had a large amount of the liquid he mixed in a couple of other herbs and powders into it. He mixed it with his finger.

 

I watched him wordlessly.

 

“What’s that for?” I asked after when he was done.

“This is for you,”

 

“What!” I exclaimed, “Don’t tell me I’m going to eat that?”

 

“Of course not, not that it would be that weird, its not any stranger than drinking milk from a cow.”

 

He got up from his chair. “Sit here,” He said gesturing to it.

 

. He took some sort of balloon-shaped object with a tube attached to it. He placed the tube in the liquid and inflated the balloon with the liquid. He got behind me.

 

I felt the tube slide between my armour. Then the cold liquid coat my back.

 

He gave me the balloon thing.

 

“You can do your front, make sure to get as much of it on you as possible, it’ll help you get better,”

 

I nodded. I did as he said making sure to cover every part of my body. The cold wet slime was uncomfortable but it quickly absorbed into my skin and the uncomfortable feeling went away with it.

 

By the time I was done I could barely keep my eyes open.

 

“Where do I sleep?” I asked him when I was done.

 

“Over there,” He pointed to the wall bench I had woken up to . A hammock had been set up above there. I nodded. I was asleep before my head touched the cloth.

 

Over the next few days, I did simple chores. Getting firewood, cleaning up, throwing away leaves and old tools. I had to make multiple trips up and down the tree to do these things. After the first three days my muscles stopped signaling me to stop, they mus thave simply given up. The next few days left me exhausted way more so than when I had been training in the resistance doing my exercises or being in the forest. slept every spare second I had. I was worked to the bone and then some. He would routinely give me ointments and treat my wounds and sores. Olivere was very knowledgable about the herbs and creatures in the jungle. Who knows how many years he had spent here.

 

On a day like any other when he was treating me as he usually did he said he said those magical words.

 

“I have decided to teach you,”

 

“What,” I said. Did I hear that right?

 

“I’m expecting you to work hard,” he said.

 

“Ye- yes,” I responded flabbergasted. I expected there to be some sort of test or training. It felt kind of anticlimactic, to be honest.

 

“That’s the spirit, I’ll promise to work you even harder, what you’ve experienced now will seem like heaven when compared to what I’ll put you through,” he said

 

Finally, finally it was happening the training was beginning.

 

“ I promise to work hard!”