Elder Tok and Mist exited the strange gateway and returned to the Forbidden Forest. Mist didn"t notice earlier, but when he found himself on the hill overlooking Masters Village, he was standing on a platform similar to the one the Red-Eyed Evil Wolf forced him onto.The hunters from the River Village were at a standoff with the Red-Eyed Evil Wolf at the moment. The wolf leisurely stood next to the gateway while the hunters were glaring at it. They wanted to attack but they also knew they were no match for the animal. They hoped to find Mist once they tracked down the wolf. However, Mist was nowhere to be seen. In their minds, the wolf already ate him. The boy"s father, River Snake, had red eyes and started to look a little crazy.
A flash of bright white light shone through the gateway the Red-Eyed Evil Wolf was standing next to. The light was so bright everyone was forced to shut their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, they saw Mist standing next to an impressive-looking hunter who was taking in his surroundings.
Mist was also looking around and when he saw his father he couldn"t help but shout out to him joyfully. River Snake was so relieved a couple of tears escaped his eyes. He wanted to run to his son, but his son was standing next to the Red-Eyed Evil Wolf.
Elder Tok turned his attention back to the wolf and took out the beast pill and bag given to him by Elder Yemay.
"You found us a good seedling little wolf, here are your rewards. You are free to leave this forest. Thank you!" Elder Tok said.
Handing the things over to the wolf, it first ate the beast pill and then s.n.a.t.c.hed the bag in Elder Tok"s hand. Once it had the bag it ran into the deeper part of the forest. All of the hunters were shocked by what they just witnessed.
Running to his father, Mist lept up for his father to catch him. His father caught the leaping Mist and held him in his ma.s.sive arm. Mist had one arm wrapped around his father"s neck after giving him a hug.
"Mist, who is this man?" River Snake asked. "Father, this is Elder Tok, he is my teacher," he responded. Elder Tok walked to River Snake nodding in greeting.
"The boy told us his father was the strongest hunter in the village. I see the boy does not exaggerate," Elder Tok said. River Snake nodded back respectfully, "Sir, we teach our children to speak correctly. We are neither overly humble nor arrogant."
Elder Tok liked this young man. It was no wonder Mist was such a good boy when he had a good father. "My son called you his teacher, may I know your name, sir?" River Snake asked. "I am Tok, a Master Hunter, I have come here to talk with Mist"s family and elders to receive permission to teach your son,"
"We should return to the village where we can talk with the Village Chief," River Snake said. "Good, but before we return I would like to prove my worth and bring a gift to your village," Elder Tok said. "Sir?" River Snake was confused.
Elder Tok sniffed the air, listened, and examined his surroundings. After doing this for a couple of minutes, he ran towards the deepest part of the Forbidden Forest. River Snake and the other hunters were shocked at his speed. They even doubted if the man had been there at all. Perhaps they were infected by miasma and now seeing things.
Before they could discuss the strange hunter, they heard a mighty roar and the sound of a mountain crashing into the earth. The ground beneath their feet shook intensely. All of the hunters were sure they were about to die.
If the ground quaking and shaking wasn"t scary enough they next heard what sounded like trees being uprooted and broken. Eventually, a shadow emerged from within the trees. Two gigantic legs broke through the trees and foliage.
"It"s the Kyloxe Mountain King!" the hunters gasped and shouted. Everything else which happened previously was nothing, seeing the legs of the Kyloxe Mountain King breaking through the trees, all the hunters had the biscuits scared out of them!
"Wait, why are its legs pointing toward the sky," a hunter asked. The other hunters also realized the Kyloxe wasn"t moving normally. "Was it crawling on its back," they wondered. The giant lizard creature"s hindquarters approached the group and suddenly elevated. It was Elder Tok who was using one of his arms to push up the rump of the hill sized lizard.
"This is the evidence of my ability to teach the son of the River Village. This food will increase the strength of everyone in the village. Its skin can be used to create st.u.r.dy armor and roofs for houses. Weapons can be forged from its bones, the powerful meat will increase the power of the hunters, and the demon core can be absorbed by the men of the village. It will strengthen their bodies and any babies born after absorbing the energies in the beast core will be born with peerless strength in this mountain. "
The hunters were speechless. Even Mist"s father was so stunned he couldn"t talk. Seeing the stunned hunters, Elder Tok smiled, bemused. "Mist, which way to your village," Elder Tok asked. Mist jumped out of his father"s arms and indicated Elder Tok should follow him. Following Mist, Elder Tok dragged the Kyloxe after reminding the hunters to get out of the way.
River Snake was the first to snap out of his stunned state. He immediately ran up to Elder Tok. His att.i.tude was no longer wary but curious and excited. "Such a hunter wishes to teach my son!" "Master Hunter Tok, how did you meet my son?" River Snake asked curiously.
"The wolf pup back there sent your son to us," he replied. "The Red-Eyed Evil Wolf sent him to you? Why would he do this?" he asked. "That"s its job, we placed the wolf in this forest years ago to act as a talent scout. Your son was the first one to catch its attention, but I have to admit it really has an eye for talent," Elder Tok said.
"Really?" River Snake was taken back. The Red-Eyed Evil Wolf their village feared for generations was just there to look for gifted students? "Master Hunter Tok, the Red-Eyed Evil Wolf is your pet?" River Snake asked.
"Who would make a level three demon beast their pet? He"s an employee. Didn"t you see me pay him just now?" Elder Tok asked. Thinking back to it, he remembered Elder Tok speaking to the beast and giving it some things. At the time River Snake was so relieved to see his son he totally ignored the strange interaction between Elder Tok and the Red-Eyed Evil Wolf.
"Who would think, this Red-Eyed Evil Wolf would turn out to be working for someone and even did our village a kindness." River Snake muttered to himself. "You keep calling it the Red-Eyed Evil Wolf, has this wolf attacked your people or something in the past," Elder Tok asked. If the wolf were running amok and hurting the villagers he would need to take action against the wolf. It was told all those years ago not to hurt any villagers. If it did, they would kill it.
"No, it really never did anything to us," River Snake admitted. Elder Tok was stumped, "Then why do you call it the Red-Eyed Evil Wolf?" "I guess because it looks so d.a.m.n scary," River Snake admitted blankly. Hearing this answer, Elder Tok couldn"t help but roar with laughter.