Tales of the Supremes 24 IN A HURRY

"Good? How can it be good?" Kalipsi was utterly shocked. He was going to drag Tala, but suddenly the surrounding energy felt heavier. Kalipsi turned around and saw a gigantic beast. He shivered in fear.

A 10-meter-high gorilllike beast was roaring whilst dragging its heavy body towards them. Its overpowering pressure permeated the surrounding like a boulder crushing Kalipsi and Lipad. They fell on to the ground and spouted a mouthful of blood.

'No way! We need to get away from here!' Chilling perspiration ran down to his spine.

Kalipsi tremblingly searched for Tala. The next thing he saw made him shut his mouth.

Tala was standing still like a towering mountain that couldn't be shaken. His robe flew as the winds passed through them.

A second later, Tala vanished without a trace. Then, the pressure from the beast dropped slowly till there's nothing.

He then looked at the location of the beast. His jaw dropped as his eyes opened wide.

The beast was now lying onto the ground. He did not know if it was dead, but he knew it couldn't harm them anymore.

Kalipsi wiped out the blood on the corner of his mouth. He approached Tala with incredulity.

Kalipsi opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the dazzling light emitted from the beast. The light gathered above it and a sphere as big as a human eye emerged.

"Energy Stone?" Kalipsi looked at Tala with puzzlement. The stone was bigger than the energy stone he knew. The energy contains was more concentrated.

Tala nodded.

The energy stone slowly descended from above.

Tala caught it.

"Wait a minute!" Tala said. She sat cross legs, closing her eyes and began to meditate.

"Seriously?" Kalipsi doesn't know what to do to Tala. 'He always did what he wanted to do.' No other things to do, he just watched Tala.

Tala was sitting quietly on to the ground. Her black hair swayed to and fro from her back as the wind passed by. Her face glimmered as the sun touches her fair fat skin.

Kalipsi looked intently at the boy. 'Why there's a little disturbance of the energy around him?' Kalipsi's brows creased as the stone in Tala's hand was reduced to dust.

Tala opened her eyes and saw Kalipsi with furrowed brows. She didn't heed him as she quickly glanced to her right wrist.

Her eyes twinkled seeing the familiar asterisk marked on her. She caressed her wrist and the asterisk vanished.

"Let's go!" Without asking what's up with Kalipsi, Tala stood up, waved her hand and headed towards Lipad.

"A...are you done?"

"Guess so!"

"But, it's only two minutes that had passed."

"Oh. Then that's a new record of mine," the delighted feeling of Tala was visible all over her face for she finally breakthrough level one again.

'Every time I find one, they can only last a minute.'

"_" Kalipsi

…

The duo found a mountain to rest.

Kalipsi tried to make a camp but it just collapsed over and over again.

"Tala, would you help me instead of just standing idly," Kalipsi knitted brows shows how deeply irritated he was.

"I told you, just don't make one." Tala approached him. Handing over a pouch, she said, "Here's, used this and starts meditating instead."

Kalipsi opened the pouch. "Ten..lodestones? Where did you get this?"

Lodestones were treasures used mostly by masters. It attracts energy more than they can, helping them purified their energy easily. The more lodestones ones used, the heavy and stronger the energy was.

What he doesn't know was that it wasn't just normal lodestones. It the heavenly lodestones that Tala had managed to get through the vault of Head Araw.

The 10 grade-1 pearls she has used also came from the vaults of Head Araw.

She emptied the vaults of the Head which contains 100 pieces of grade-1 pearls, 20 pieces of grade-2 pearls, 10 pieces of grade-3 pearls, 5 pieces of grade-4 pearls, 30 lodestones, 10 portal scriptures, barrier formation stones, 20 illuminate stones, heavenly water, and 10 weapon trinkets.

"Use it. With your current strength, it will be hard to compete with students there. Strengthening you was our utmost priority." Tala stated.

Kalipsi knew that too. But hearing that strengthening him was the utmost priority, his heart was moved.

"I can't accept it." Seeing the emotionless Tala, Kalipsi remembered the gigantic beast that he was powerless to do a thing. He does not want to be a burden. He suddenly changed his words, "Let's divide this, instead of just me using it."

Tala didn't argue with him for she knew that Kalipsi will be stubborn. She accepted the five lodestones.

The duo placed their stones around them and starts to meditate. A moment later, a gust of energy circled. The stones shone bright and the gust of energy became heavier and heavier as it was attracted by the stones. The duo gluttonously absorbed the energy as it sipped through their every pore.

The duo did not notice the time.

Sweats dripped to Kalipsi's forehead. Sensing the weakened energy in his surrounding, he stopped meditating and hurriedly observed his body.

He dived into his consciousness and a pearl-like ball with a pure luster of energy illuminated the whole surrounding of his consciousness. He drove his energy and might of warrior emitting him. Kalipsi's eyes widened in disbelief, 'I finally touch the door of a warrior!' He gleefully thought.

"The lodestones were really a treasure!" Kalipsi looked at the pale lodestones, a sign of its no use anymore. Sighing, he looked at Tala's location but baffled seeing no one's there. He noticed the lodestones that were reduced to dust in Tala's location.

"Was this should be done? My lodestones weren't in this state." Kalipsi pondered for a moment. Nothing to know, he ignored the matter.

"Lipad, did you know where Tala went." Lipad was awoken to his master's words.

"She went south," Lipad replied.

"When did she leave?"

"Two days ago."

"Two...two days?" Kalipsi was shocked. "H..how long did I meditate?"

"It's been three days," Lipad replied as he lazily stretched his body.

"Three days?" Kalipsi tilted his head. 'Why didn't he interrupt me? He said were only residing here for two days.'

"Tala left two days ago, didn't he return yet?"

Lipad shook his head.

"Where did he go this time?" Kalipsi felt unease. 'I don't know this place, but I'm too sure that dangers are lurking everywhere. I need to find him.'

"Lipad, let's find him." But before they can set off, Tala's figure approached them.

"Where are you going?" Tala asked.

"_" Kalipsi

"We're going to find you. Where have you been?" Kalipsi's face tells Tala how worried he was.

"Oh! I've just looked around collecting these energy stones," Tala threw a pouch and ten stones as big as his thumb rolled.

Kalipsi's jaw dropped. Snapping out, he stutteringly said, "Energy stones?"

"Indeed! Take it all."

"Really?"

Tala nodded in response.

Kalipsi didn't dilly-dallying as he grabbed the energy stones and stored it in his pouch.

"Wait up. Tala, energy stones can only be produced by C beasts. Did you beat up that many beasts?"

Beasts were graded from E, the lowest grade to A, the highest grade.

Warriors can only kill E beasts, Elite warriors can kill D beasts while the masters can kill C beasts. B beasts and A beasts were unknown to Kalipsi. But as far as he knew, A beasts were legendary beasts.

Lipad was a D beast, but his speed was comparable to B beast.

"Sort off. It's kinda headache finding them though."

"_" Kalipsi. What the ****! 'His having headache finding them not fighting them?' Remembering how Tala kill the gigantic Gorilllike beast, he dropped the thought of Tala's having a hard time killing them.

Hopping to the back of Lipad, the duo set off.

…

It's been a month since the first breakthrough of Kalipsi. He does not understand why, but the expected hard travel became smooth as if nothing can block their way to advance.

All they did was to rest for a day or two before setting off again for a week. Kalipsi had already adjusted to the ferocious winds and high pressure.

Tala had been missing every time they landed. Kalipsi knew what he was doing.

Killing higher beasts for energy stone.

…

The duo landed beside a river. The energy was more concentrated than their previous stop.

In every stop they made, Kalipsi deduced that Tala had not been just randomly pointing out place. He was looking for the best place he could find for purification.

"I will look around. Start your purification now," Tala instructed.

Kalipsi excitedly starts to meditate. He was near a breakthrough, just need a little push. Holding an energy stone, he didn't need the impure energy around. A gust of energy burst from the stone circled him and sipped through his pores.

He gluttonously absorbed it, disseminating it all over his body. Another pearl-like ball with the pure luster of energy emerged to Kalipsi's consciousness. The two sphere circling in harmony.

Kalipsi opened his eyes with a joyous expression.

"Elite warrior!" Kalipsi shouted in disbelief. Regaining his composure, Kalipsi noticed the energy stone that was reduced to ashes. 'My purification level high up by leaps and bounds.' He stretched his body lazily.

Kalipsi was startled seeing Tala's looking at him with heavy eyelids.

"Didn't you sleep well?" Kalipsi asked worriedly. But Tala just turned away as he laid his body to take a nap.

Oblivious to everything happening around him, Kalipsi asked Lipad.

"Master, you've been in a state of tranquility this past whole week. Tala and I guarded you."

"A week?" Kalipsi was dumbfounded. Regaining his composure, he continued, "Didn't you take a shift to guard me?"

"We do, but Tala keeps leaving when it's my turn to guard you," Lipad replied.

"He sure in a hurry," Kalipsi muttered. It was his first time seeing Tala falling asleep.

Chapter end