The Alchemist Path - Chapter 10 Keep Going

So it was settled that Lazuli would give it a last push, one more try before going back to that home, in all honestly a life of servitude wouldn’t sit well with her being a woman of our world, her country and time, not being allowed to express an opinion was something she didn’t want to experience for a life time, as long or short this new life would be.

Could you imagine how dreadful it would be? The closest it could be related to would be to become an slave overnight, your life wouldn’t be your own but someone else’s to dispose as they “raised her” and “where entitled to a remuneration for it from her” it’s needless to say she’s scared, and a lot.

She doesn’t know how to fight

She doesn’t know how to hunt

She lacks the skills to survive in the wild.

There’s some common sense engraved on her mind as to don’t travel at night, but she doesn’t know how to use a compass and gets confused as if it was east or west where the sun rises and sets.

But none of that matters as there’s no loving family nor even a kind one here, no brothers to shelter her from life nor parents to guide her by the hand, everyone one is gone.

Well not really, she’s the one that left, they are still there, living their old life, a life she can’t return to because an untimely dead. It’s not fair, not one bit.

In the middle of the plaza her thoughts start to wander, and her eyes get all watery, breathing gets harder by the minute.

Why her? Why here? Of all the places she could had ended in, why one that’s so il suited to her? Why did she had to die? It’s not fair.

A few days ago she was happy.

She had everything she could had wished for.

A loving family.

A new love.

Perhaps her job wasn’t as fulfilling but it was easy enough and it wasn’t supposed to be like that forever, she was about to transfer.

Realization dawns on her like a bucket of cold water, such is life, life isn’t fair, it just is. There’s no point to dwell in it, at least not for know. It could even be said that she’s a lucky one as she has a new lease on life, a new, different and difficult life but a life nonetheless.

She won’t know the answers to all her questions just pondering about it. She has to keep moving, stop overthinking. She has to live and becoming a slave its no living in her book, so to the woods it is.

Some confidence grows in her, her gift, the ability to analyze, would at lest help her to prevent dying of poison in there.

She had enough food in her ring for at least a week, so it should be fine.

As her mind began to settle more people gathered at the plaza, all of the young ones had the same type of face, that look that seemed to scream “I’m not done yet, I have something more to give, you shall repent for not believing in me”

Sometime around midday, when the sun was at it highest, a young man appeared bearing the asura school crest on his clothes.

“Gather up lads, it’s time to start, only those taking the test follow me”

After saying this in loud and clear way the young man started to walk, neither fast nor slow but without pause, after nearly a five hour walk they arrived to a clearing in the nearby woods.

“This year test is simple, you only have to reach that summit before two weeks and you’ll be allowed to enter the school of your choosing, how you’ll be treated on there depends on yourself, so even if you pass this test don’t hope to become a phoenix if your roots are trash.

Keep in mind that there are some wild beast, magical beast and low level monsters in the woods, nobody will come to your aid if you are in trouble, those that want to safely return the time is now”

Silence, nobody took the offer to return, why would they? They wanted to change their fate and this was the only way.

It was then that Lazuli realized that the ones gathered there were almost half of the ones that departed from the plaza, a five hour march without rest seemed to be more than some of them could take, the not so fast pace wasn’t as easy to keep as she believed at the start.

“Good choice, now everyone, if you want to continue I need every single one of you to bind this life tablets, they will tell us if you die to let your families know, it’s mandatory”

That being said everyone bleed a drop of blood in the tablet to bind it, the young asura gathered every single tablet and without even a word of good bye took his exit.

The woods had a path to follow, even if it was ill advised to go through it as it was the slowest way; Lazuli believed that it would at least get her to the meeting place on time, if she hurries that is.

After ponder it for a little while she decided to rest there for the day, night would come soon and the clearance had sings of it being used as a camping spot, she wasn’t the only one to settle there but realized that no one of those staying interacted between themselves, they all had theirs guard up and viewed the others as competition.

She took some grass and jerky, meditated for a while and rested an light sleep. Thankfully the first one was an uneventful tranquil night as the clear in the woods had an array to safeguard stopping caravans, not that any of them knew. The path had a lot of these “safe areas” to travel by, but sadly not for the mountain summit route, that was why this was a test.