The room went silent for a moment, all eyes were on Vetra as he looked like he was lost in thought, then after some moment he was ready to give Jericho his answer…
"I still can't believe captain Sirius is no more, he was the last person I could ever picture falling in any kind of battle… (sigh)… you are right lord Jericho, it's a truly devastating lose, also with me in this condition, I am practically useless to my nation in this sorry state… but, the battle we faced was on a whole other level to what we are use to, and we have to quickly adapt to the changes, if we hope to survive and protect the ones we love… (as he said that, Clover turned to look at Jericho, but quickly turned away when she saw he was about to look at her direction)… so, on that note, lord Jericho, I would like to decline your offer".... "VETRA" Clover exclaimed in shock as she interrupted Vetra, he raised his one good arm and asked her to let him finish…
"don't misunderstand, I was truly surprised but relieved you said you can restore my arm, and am very grateful by just knowing that, but, I want to keep this injury as a reminded of the levels I should be striving for if I really want to protect my nation and it's people, I do not see this injury as a setback for me, I see it as my new motivation to be the strongest in Warmark and the entire world, I will grow with this injury and next time, no matter who am up against, I will make sure I always come out on top… no matter what" Vetra concluded with a fire of determination in his eyes, as he rolled his hand into a fist, Jericho looked completely stunned, Vetra had just earned his respect after only just officially meeting him, his stunned face was quickly replaced with a smile as he prepared to respond to Vetra…
"well said captain, it will truly be an honor to not only fight beside you, but to also call you my friend" he said with a smile as he placed his hand on the shoulder of Vetra, seeing this Vetra didn't notice when a smile appeared on his face, when he realized what Jericho said made him smile he was so confused, and the sour mood he was feeling when he saw Jericho just vanished, he didn't even notice when he stopped feeling the dislike he had towards Jericho, Clover also noticed Vetra attitude towards Jericho had completely done a one eighty (180) turn, right before her eyes, she didn't know why Vetra wasn't a big fan of Jericho at first especially as they have never met until today, but she still didn't think much of it, as what she was currently seeing was much better…
"I will not press on the issue anymore, since you are sure of this your decision, but, please allow me to get you out of this place so you can get a head start on your new ambition" Jericho stated with a smile, Vetra still looking confused on why he isn't feeling detestation towards Jericho anymore nods yes and accepted Jericho's offer.
Jericho then stretched his hand towards Vetra, to begin… "Soul Casting… Sliver Regeneration" his hands glow brightly and a sliver liquid was seen leaving his hand and rapping around Vetra, engulfing him in it's brightness, Clover stared with her mouth opened as that was the first time she was seeing Jericho use his ability, she looked really impressed.
After a moment the light died down and a rejuvenated Vetra was seen, all the bandages that were soaked in his blood were completely clean now as the blood returned to his body and sealed the wounds, all the heavy cuts he suffered were no more, he was healed except his arm which was still missing as Jericho didn't use one of the divine avatars of nature.
"all the pain… it's completely gone… all my scars too… wow… so this is soul energy… (went down to one knee)… I am forever in your debt Lord Jericho, thank you so much, I will be happy to assist you with anything, on my honor" Vetra exploded with gratitude and instead of fighting it, he completely came to terms with it.. he now has complete respect for Jericho.
"i-it's fine, you will be very important to our cause captain Vetra, I will really be counting on you" Jericho responded giving his hand to Verta for a handshake, Vetra took his hand almost immediately… "of course, Lord Jericho" he replied with a smile.
Clover, Erica and Jericho all left the infirmary, Vetra was getting checked by the doctors, to make sure he is a hundred percent, so he had to wait a while before leaving, while the others were now making their way to the training dome to finally test out Erica's ancient weapon.
On their way there, they ran into Alice, Rose and Sir. William, they were having a little tour of the castle, lead by Rose, and were currently on their way to the famous garden…
"ohh… I see the meeting is over… how did it go?" sir. William asked as he approached…
"oh hello sir. William, yeah it went great, it's all cleared up… where are you and Alice off too, oh and, um.. Rose right?" Jericho asked, with a light bow Rose nods a yes to Jericho to confirm that was her name…
"oh we got a little bored sitting around doing nothing, and ms. Rose here offered to give us a tour of the castle… we are currently on our way to the famous maze garden of Warmark... where are you all off too… (his eyes locked in on the weapon Erica was holding)… and what is that the commander is holding?" sir. William curiously asked, as the weapon look very strange…
"oh yeah, after the meeting Clover took use to her lab, which was a beauty by the way, (Clover turned red after hearing that compliment)… and this weapon was one of the many relics she has in there, and get this, this weapon was crafted with the material we are making preparations to go retrieve soon at the mist mountains, the Luxton star… we were on our way to the training dome to go test it out with Erica's full power" Jericho responds, Alice and sir. William interest was peaked instantly…
"oh my, seeing a weapon that can withstand the commander's full power?… please I have to see that" Alice excitedly adds, with sir. William nodding in agreement…
"looks like we are tagging along then" he said, as they all made their way to the training field together.
On getting there, the place was completely empty as the king issued days off for everyone so they can focus on recovering from the recent attack the nation suffered, it was only Jericho, Clover, Erica, Alice, Rose and Sir. William present at the training dome.
It was a large stadium, and a roof that can enclose the training dome if needed, which gave it the name dome… it has seats above, where the audience can watch the mock battles from a safe distance, or any other competition, it can contain about seventy five thousand (75,000) people, it also has a very large field, and a huge open space, with reinforced steels surrounding the walls for extra protection.
Alice, Erica and sir. William stood very impressed as they laid eyes on it, as it was definitely larger than the training hall at Righteous, mostly because this was located outdoors, while the one at Righteous was indoors, but still they could feel how way advanced it was compared to the one they had.
Erica stepped forward as she prepared to activate her ability, Jericho and the others kept a very good distance from her, then signaled for her to begin.
She took a deep strong breathe, and without holding anything back, using all hundred percent of her attack power, for the very first time, she begin…
"Sword Technique… Lava god Strike" she called, and as soon as those words left her lips, a very heavy wind manifested, a wind so strong Jericho had to use his ability to keep himself and the others from getting pushed back by it and getting hurt…
"{did she just activate the third and highest class of the flame element?!}" Jericho thought in totally disbelieve…
"w-w-what is this?!" sir William asked in total shock, as he lost his composure for the first time in a very long time…
"since when did the commander learn how to do that… I always thought she only had the three casting techniques… what is this?" Alice adds, also in complete shock…
"{what tremendous power… is this really normal?}" Clover thought while holding on to Jericho…
"she really did it… (laughs)… she is amazing, truly a prodigy" Jericho stated with a loud laugh, as the others stared in confusion.
As the wind broke out around her, her body started glowing a crimson red color, then slowly her sword had that same color, as she swing, a light of deep red lava flowed off her sword like a waterfall, with the front of the attack looking like a dragon's head ready to pounce on it's prey… it covered the entire training dome, Jericho had to pick up both Clover and Alice and leaped out of the arena, while sir. William carried Rose and used his unique soul energy enhancing technique to boost is physical ability and followed behind Jericho, as they barely missed the attack of Erica, the fact they kept such a large distance away from her was what saved them in the end.
The damage cost to the training dome was astronomical, and the noise traveled so far it reached the residential parts of the castle and into the city.
Exhaling, Erica and the sword stopped glowing and immediately her head was feeling so light but before she passed out, she saw the total damage her attack caused, and the shock she felt made her fall unconscious faster…
"what in tha--" she fell unconscious on her back.
As the smoke died down, the others were now really able to assess the severity of the damage and it was catastrophic, the reinforced steel surrounding the walls instantly melted and the wall were gone, now just melted liquids of it remained, there was no place to step on anymore, as the ground was filled with carters, she had just brought down the entire training dome of Warmark…
"holy native melons… what was that?!… did the princess of Righteous really did all this?… with just one attack?… such terrifying power" Rose lamented as a cold sweat ran down her face, thinking of how much of a beast Erica truly is…
"Jericho, look down there… (he turned to were Clover was pointing)… she is down, is she alright, we have to go check on her" Clover called out, worried about Erica, Jericho dropped her at the audience section that was still standing where sir. William was and hurried to go pick up Erica.
He picked her and the sword up, then quickly left, telling the others to meet him at the infirmary.
Erica lied on a bed still unconscious, Jericho sat beside her with surprise look on his face but also a smile, after a moment the door opened and the others made their way inside…
"is she alright, why isn't she waking up yet?" Clover asked with concern…
"yes she is fine, she just used too much soul energy all at once, when her body replenishes it, she will wake up" Jericho responded…
"Jericho, you looked really impressed by what the commander just did, can you elaborate on why that was?… I never thought she had something like that up her sleeve" sir. William acquired for an explanation…
"it was way more powerful than her usual technique, it scared me a little" Alice adds with a little panicked expression…
"do not worry, Erica is fine, I can assure you, her ability just evolved, that was it" Jericho responds with a smile, the others exchanged confused looks as Rose asked…
"what do you mean by evolved lord Jericho?"…..
Jericho then went on to explain how the power system of soul energy works, how there are four core elements that will be the norm and most common in the world (water, fire, wind and earth), and how each of them have three (3) classes higher than the last, and also some very rare ability that won't be as common to get, but still possible called the Chaos Class, with an example being his ability…
"in Erica's case, it looks like she has gotten to the highest stage of the flame element… which is Lava… (laughs)… I swear she keeps on surprising me" Jericho concluded with a laugh…
"you have got to be kidding me" sir. William lamented with a heavy sigh…
"oh my… the commander is amazing" Alice adds with a blissful smile…
"Jericho, am guessing as you sound surprised you weren't expecting it… is it that rare to step up to the next level of a given element?" Clover made a very going observation and followed up with a very compelling question the others seem to be very interested in knowing…
"well, the thing with soul energy is your capacity stops increasing when you get to a particular age, and it's your capacity that determines the stage you can acquire in your given element… but in Erica's case, she only started using soul energy as a nineteen year old, she is still super young but she has already passed the age cap, plus she didn't have that much training, just three months, which is an amazing feat, imagine she had the chance to grow with soul energy from a young age (laughs)… it's such a scary thought… I was thinking I won't be surprised by her anymore, and I've seen it all from her, but she just keeps on proving me wrong" Jericho concluded with a laugh…
"what exactly is this age cap" Clover asked…
"at age eight to ten, you start sensing your soul energy, you would have from then until age seventeen to improve on it… seventeen is the age cap, but it might be earlier for some or later, but age seventeen (17) is ninety eight percent (98%) of the time the age cap"
Jericho responded, the others nods in understanding but still very much surprised by the feat of Erica, that day Clover respected her completely, and saw her as an equal and a rival.
After a moment, Erica started to regain consciousness, she slowly opened her eyes and saw everyone surrounded her, she looked confused as she picked herself up to a sitting position…
"oh my head… wh-what happened?" Erica asked looking a little bit confused….
"are you feeling good now Erica, you used a lot of soul energy there, were you really holding back that much" Jericho asked, trying to ease her back with a conversation and at the same time jug her memory, which seemed to have worked…
"oh my, I did it again!!!… am so sorry Princess Clover, I will pay for all damages, forgive me, I wasn't expecting it to be that huge of an attack… ah geez" Erica exclaimed feeling very bad and apologetic, as smiles and laugh slowly broke out with the others…
"it's fine, with the raise of soul energy I would have still had to bring it down and rebuild it to withstand what's to come, and besides, with the ancient technology involved I doubt you can afford everything" Clover responded, teasing Erica a little…
"that's so mean and blunt" Erica stated with a sigh, Clover then turned to leave…
"am glad you are alright… and also, call me Clover, no need for titles, bye… let's go Rose, we have work to do (Rose bowed with respect and hurried to the side of Clover)… oh and Erica… I won't lose to you" Clover concluded her thought and exited the room, leaving Jericho, sir. William, Alice and Erica stunned …
"what was that about?" sir. William asked confused, Jericho laughed…
"well Erica looks like Clover now sees you as a rival (chuckles)… good luck" Jericho laughs, Erica looked surprised, but quickly came to terms with it…
"(sigh)… I can't be a rival to someone as amazing as her, what a huge pain this is" Erica complained but she was relishing it on the inside.
"Commander (Erica jumped, startled by sir. William)… do you mind explaining what you just did to us now… what was that, since when did you know how to command the highest level of your element… you just found out about soul energy for crying out loud" sir. William ranted, having conflicted emotions, on one hand he was so impressed by Erica and the other he was worried about her, cause he didn't understand what was happening, and he thought she was in real trouble…
"calm down Willy… you get old quickly if you leave your face like that" Erica responded with a nervous smile…
"this is the face I was born with… and don't call me Willy" he replied feeling exasperated, Erica laughed a little before she replied…
"w-well… it was after our fight against the Lost on our way to Warmark four days ago, after I exhausted my soul energy for the first time then, I felt strangely more rejuvenated than normal, I just thought it was the norm for anyone that use all their soul energy up and is replenishing it, so I didn't bother telling Jericho, after my fight against that general of Jace, I discovered I had stopped being tired as I use to anytime I use my strongest inferno attack, the Grand Burst Inferno, it was the opposite, I felt I can unleash nine to ten more of that attack, it was truly strange, but I still didn't think much of it as we had a situation on our hand I needed to focus on… then when I finally got the chance to meditate and resume my daily training, I discovered I had unlocked the next and highest phase of the flame ability, but I know a normal sword won't make me really enjoy testing it out, so I kept it to myself and just continued improving on my control… then I got an extremely lucky break today, as prin… I mean… Clover had the exact weapon we are planning on making, (she turned to the sword and stroked it with her fingers, dawning a blissful smile on her face as she continued her explanation)… so we can properly use soul energy, I jumped at the chance to finally test out my new level, with a much more worthy weapon, and the result was what you all saw (nervous laugh)… I was not expecting it to be that destructive, although that was actually my strongest Lava attack, I can use just three technique from the element for now… I feel really bad right now, about the training dome" Erica concluded with an apologetic sigh, as she struggled to make eye contact with the others, Jericho and Alice exchanged looks, then burst out laughing…
"oh my Erica, you were a force of nature for a human before the knowledge of soul energy, but now I think you are just a monster of a human, your potential is truly amazing not to mention frightening" Jericho stated as he continued laughing…
"indeed… commander you can now easily be a villain and rule the world if you wanted too, like a demonoid lord" Alice adds, teasing away at Erica, hearing that Jericho laughed harder until tears started forming in his eyes…
"is that suppose to be a compliment.. (sigh).. I don't think you are one to talk Jericho" Erica argued with a huge sigh….
"Come on Alice, not you too, you were the only normal one in this our little group, don't get influence by those two" sir. William stated with another exasperated sigh…
"hey what's that suppose to mean Willy" Jericho and Erica asked simultaneously…
"for the love of the gods stop calling me Willy" sir. William lamented.