Lightning Is the Only Way

The remaining participants looked at the scene in terror. The Elemental Guilds really did not care about their image. They had attacked 4,750 of the most talented youngsters in the surrounding thousands of kilometers. Were they not afraid that their families and organizations would take revenge?

The Guild Master of Wind just nodded in satisfaction like she had finally cleared a mountain of trash, and walked back to the other Guild Masters. The other Guild Masters had, by now, put away the tower bench and stood beside each other. They no longer needed to look from above to judge the participants.

"Did you kill them?" asked the Guild Master of Earth, unsure.

"I don't know," said the Guild Master of Wind back. "I didn't really pay that much attention to them. I just threw them away," she spoke in a giggly voice. "I have no idea if they are alive or not."

The other Guild Masters could only smile bitterly, but there was nothing they could do. The Guild Master of Wind was, by far, the strongest of them.

The participants looked on in awe. Earlier, they had known about the Guild Masters' illustrious status, but only after the Guild Master of Wind acted, did they properly see the Guild Masters' power. Their will to join the Elemental Guilds was higher than ever before.

"I am amazed that you were able to keep up your Heavenly Pressure for this long," said the Guild Master of Lightning as he walked over to Gravis, who had just stood up. "Keeping the Heavenly Pressure up for this long must be very exhausting to you. Do you require a break?"

Gravis narrowed his eyes. 'Another difference between a Heavenborn and me,' he thought to himself. Apparently, using Heavenly Pressure required the use of stamina or energy. Keeping up a Will-Aura, on the other hand, came as natural as breathing.

The Will-Aura is only releasing the inner self to the outside world. One might think Gravis's state without his Will-Aura activated is his normal state, but that was wrong. Suppressing his Will-Aura took more energy than letting it flow out. When Gravis tested the participants, he wasn't even concentrating. He was just resting.

"No, I don't need a break. I need my reward!" Gravis said evenly.

The Guild Master of Lightning laughed. "No worries! You'll get all the Bone-Pills you need after we're finished with the tests," he said with a smile.

"Why not now?" asked Gravis again. He was walking on dangerous territory with that question, and he knew that, but he had to be sure that they would keep their words.

The Guild Master of Lightning narrowed his eyes and looked into Gravis' eyes. Sparks seemed to appear between their eyes, and they didn't stop. Gravis couldn't feel the Guild Master of Lightning's will, but he could feel his strength. The Guild Master was definitely stronger than him, yet Gravis did not trust him, yet.

The stare continued, and slowly, the Guild Master of Lightning realized that he couldn't suppress Gravis. After a while, he sighed, moved closer, and whispered in Gravis' ear. "Because we don't have any with us," he said in embarrassment. "They're all back in our guilds."

Gravis didn't want to stop now. He needed more power, and he was not ready to trust the Guild Masters, yet. "Then go buy some," he whispered back in annoyance.

"What?" said the Guild Master of Lightning loudly, and everyone turned to him. Quickly, he went back to whispering. "Why would we buy the pills from Body City? The prices there are ridiculous!"

Gravis couldn't let up. He had seen through some of the Guild Master of Lightning's personality. He obviously was rather righteous and honest. If he weren't, he wouldn't have told him openly that he didn't have the pills with him. That was an embarrassment for someone of his status.

"Because you promised!" Gravis said.

Suddenly, the Guild Master of Lightning grew angry and slight amounts of lightning came out of his body. He gnashed his teeth in frustration and clenched his fists. The participants looked at him in fear, while the other Guild Masters gloated. It seemed like the old "calm" man had kicked a steel plate.

The Guild Master of Lightning was wrestling with himself, and he hadn't answered yet.

"If it is any consolation, I wanted to join the Lightning Guild in the first place," Gravis whispered. "I don't care about the other elements. So, why not give a good example, and show that my decision was correct?" Gravis' whisper was like the voice of a devil.

The Guild Master of Lightning released a sigh and calmed down. "You win," he whispered. "Do you know how many pills you need?" he asked.

"I only need seven more," Gravis said, also relieved.

When the Guild Master of Lightning heard the number, his face whitened. "What do you mean, only seven? That's a ridiculous number!" he whispered angrily.

Gravis looked unhappily at him. "I've already bought 13, so don't complain!" he whispered back in annoyance.

The Guild Master of Lightning's jaw dropped. "Are you actually trying to tell me that you need 20 whole pills to temper a part of your body? Where would you even get so much money?" he asked in shock.

"Lots and lots of hunting," Gravis explained.

The Guild Master of Lightning looked at Gravis with renewed fervor. If Gravis managed to get so much money from hunting at such an early age, he had to have hunted more than just ferocious beasts. The Guild Master of Lightning got another idea.

"Have you ever hunted a medium-grade demonic beast?" he asked with hope in his eyes.

Gravis nodded. "I killed one before, but that was mostly thanks to a Formation Array that I had bought. The Formation Array kept it inside of a cage for two hours," Gravis explained in a whisper.

The Guild Master of Lightning noticed the word 'mostly'. He realized that Gravis had a lot of fighting experience. The Guild Master of Lightning knew which kind of Formation Array Gravis was talking about, and he knew that it only helped, nothing more. The Formation Array alone couldn't kill a middle-grade demonic beast.

'Wait,' the Guild Master of Lightning suddenly had a thought. 'He has been fighting lots and lots of strong enemies for a long while, enough to earn over 200 gold. Now, there is only one question left…'

"Do you mostly hunt alone or in a team?" he asked Gravis in a whisper again.

"I don't hunt with others," Gravis said clearly.

The Guild Master of Lightning looked excited and also sly. "So," he whispered. "You don't have Heavenly Pressure, but actually a Will-Aura, right?"

Gravis narrowed his eyes. This could be dangerous. Gravis was not sure how the Guild Master of Lightning would react if Gravis confirmed.

"Now that I think about it," the Guild Master of Lightning whispered. "That would also explain how you could keep up the 'Heavenly Pressure' for so long."

As he thought more about it, more and more puzzle pieces were falling into place. "That also explains your angry reaction about what Ferns had said. Wow," he looked at Gravis with fiery greed. "A Will-Aura in the Body Tempering Stage. No one would believe me if I told them."

"Are you two done, yet?" came the shout of the Guild Master of Fire. They were all waiting for those two to finish. They had first seen the Guild Master of Lightning getting angry, and then being happy. This was suspicious.

"Shut up, Kord! I'm busy!" shouted the Guild Master of Lightning, and turned back to Gravis. "You don't have to worry. I will keep your secret. If I told the others, they would fight for you even more, and if they realized you wanted to join me, from the start, who knows what they would do?" he continued whispering.

Gravis felt relieved. "So, what now?" he asked.

The Guild Master of Lightning grinned. "I'll get you your pills. When the next test begins, you should find a secluded place and temper your bones. When you're done, search for a middle-grade demonic beast. We have placed some nice treasures in their territories. If you manage to kill it, you might become rich!"

Gravis first felt astounded and then grinned. "That sounds good," he whispered back.

"Yeah, just try not to die. If you succeed, the others will look on in envy towards me, when you inevitably join the Lightning Guild," The Guild Master of Lightning started laughing.

"I think I will have a good time in the Lightning Guild," said Gravis, and they both started shaking hands, laughing quietly and slyly.

An agreement was formed.