The Scavenger and the children were amazed. The Scavenger, being a war veteran, knew the need for the warriors to be exhaustion-free. The Scavenger knew he had to grasp the opportunity. If he used this energy serum with his army, they would have a definite advantage in the war.
The Scavenger tried to control his excitement but couldn’t. “This is amazing!” he shouted out aloud, but then calmed himself. “And this seems too good to be true. What would you want in return?”
The man just shook his head. “Nothing. We always prefer to be unknown and stay secluded from the others. For several years, we were successful in living that way, but I don’t know how the Skull Warrior came to know about us. He sent dark forces to capture us. He forced us to make herbs and potions for them. We didn’t tell him the secret of the energy serum though, but our mental peace was destroyed and our lives became miserable. We had no choice but to leave the place we have been living in for years. We just want this war to be won by your army, so that we can live peacefully once again.”
The Scavenger nodded. “Don’t worry. If this energy serum works well, we have a pretty fair chance to win the war.” He nodded again. “How many of these bottles do you already have?”
“We have brought with ourselves all our stock – at least fifty large bags full of energy serums, which means at least thousands of such serums. But one tube is finished in just one intake, so we need to have millions more, considering the size of the army. After all, the war may continue for long, and one warrior might need more than one energy serum. So, even if we plan for three tubes or bottles per warrior, we still need to make a lot of these.”
The Scavenger nodded. “With your clan’s guidance, our herb-makers can accomplish the task.”
The man seemed energized by the Scavenger’s assurances. “We are thankful for your help.” His companions bowed to the Scavenger.
The Scavenger stopped them. “Please don’t do that. In fact, I am the one who should bow to you, for your invaluable assistance.” The Scavenger bowed.
The herbologists seemed overwhelmed after seeing such a legendary warrior bowing to them.
The Scavenger requested Lynx and the Gods to take the herbologists to their makeshift laboratory.
Before leaving, Lynx turned to the children, “Don’t think you are lucky.” Lynx handed sheets of paper to the children. “Take your timetable. From tomorrow onwards, you will just practice and practice and practice. For now, you can rest, or do whatever you want. I have urgent tasks at hand.” Lynx ran ahead to catch up with the Gods and herbologists.
The children left the Castle Dome with the Scavenger and sat outside on the green grass, reading the timetables.
Matt groaned. “Will you look at this?! It is torture. I am sure the actual war with the Skull Warrior will be much easier.”
The timetable was hectic. The children had to wake at five and run two miles. After a fifteen-minute break, there was a session of sword practice for two hours. A half-hour break, then two hours practice of their Elemental Powers. Another half-hour break, then three hours of shooting practice. Post lunch, there were hand-to-hand combat practice sessions till late evening. After dinner, they had to sleep at precisely eight o’clock, and the whole cycle repeated each day.
There would also be days in which there would be an obstacle course, combat using only their Elemental magic, shooting competitions, and more.
“How’s that? There will be a lot of excitement,” The Scavenger smiled as he stood up to leave.
“Excitement!” Matt spluttered. “This is torture!”
“Rubbish!” the Scavenger said, waving a hand dismissively. “There’s no option. You should get used to it. From tomorrow, you need to be responsible. No One will be supervising you.”
“No one?” Matt asked.
“I mean No One, the King of the undead!” The Scavenger said as he walked away from the Castle Dome. “I suggest you go and rest. Tomorrow onwards, your exercises begin.”
The next morning, Archer awoke to cold water. He jerked upright, yelling, “What?! What?!”
As his eyes adjusted to the early morning light, he saw an empty bucket hanging above him.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead. It’s time for the training.” No One snapped his fingers while holding a bucket filled with water. “If you don’t want more water on you.”
“All right, all right, I am getting up,” Archer grumbled. “This is not the way you treat prophesied children!” He shivered in the cold water.
No One pretended he did not hear what Archer had said. He woke the rest of his friends, and they all went outside after freshening up.
“Let’s start the training. It’s a hectic day.” No One stretched his body.
“Follow me.” No One turned and started running. The others followed.
The Scavenger and Lynx were already up and training the village people in the art of war. Archers occupied the castle wall, and the moat looked as deadly as ever.
The day passed grindingly slow. The training seemed unending. When they returned to their camp in the evening, the children were so tired that they preferred to sleep rather than have dinner.
The next day was just as hectic. The Scavenger had decided that they would mostly shoot arrows during the day. Archer didn’t understand why they were wasting their time practising shooting. In the war, they wouldn’t need to aim at the enemy and shoot. They would just use their Elemental Powers. He voiced his protest before the Scavenger, but the Scavenger just ignored him.
As the days passed, the children became proficient in various war skills. Their shooting skills were being admired by one and all. Their precision in using the Elemental Powers left their trainers awestruck.
Meanwhile, more creatures trickled in, coming from different parts of the Dark World. There were
