"Move, you stupid beast! Move!" Thrax lightly kicked the side of the animal he was sitting on, but strangely, the creature didn't react one bit. It just kept walking at the same pace as before.
He rubbed his forehead to calm himself down and turned to look at Klea. "Dammit, Klea, this beast is moving too slowly! Why can't we just use horses here?" He grumbled. The uncomfortable seat, coupled with the sandy roads, did not do wonders for his still burning temper.
"Yeah, sure," Klea rolled her eyes. "Try it, let's see how long horses can last in the desert."
The group took the camels from Egypt to pass through the Sinai Desert. During the long, slow ride, the yellow sea of sands and the golden rays of sunlight provided them with an unique, beautiful sight.
"Alright, alright, I get it." Thrax sighed. "It's just that, this beast is moving too slowly. How long will it be until we reach the next stop?"
"Four days, give or take." Klea answered.
"Wow, you're saying we will spend 40 days in the desert? That's far too long…"
"You can say that again to the Israelites, who needed 40 years to pass through this very same desert."
"Seriously?!" Thrax exclaimed. "What took them so long?"
Klea only shrugged to the impatient Thracian, while Julian and Emery took the journey in stride and watched the two talk to each other. It didn't take them long to see that the desert was helpful in cultivating the understanding of the Earth element, and they proceeded to spend most of the journey in deep concentration.
A week passed, they stopped for a while in a city called Jerusalem.
If they just walked in without preparation, they would bring a lot of trouble, as the arrival of the Egyptian queen was bound to attract unwanted attention. Luckily, Julian recommended a place to stay.
They left their camels in a secure place and walked into a narrow alley, stopping in front of a simple but clean and well-maintained inn on the other side of the road.
Julian walked in first, the four of them were greeted by a high-ranked Judean named Antipater, whom Julian had known for quite a while. He had two young sons that peeked from behind the table as they entered.
One was merely looking in mild curiosity, but the other showed much more interest in the group.
"Herod, don't be rude to our guests," Antipater reminded, the boy quickly ran into the back of the room.
They stayed there for the night and, as soon as the sun shone through their windows, they woke up, prepared themselves and took extra camels, before resuming their trek through the desert.
With more camels, they could change rides during their journey, reducing the need to stop and rest.
One week, two weeks passed.
During the journey, other than cultivating, sometimes the group would do some training together and share things about their progress.
As they talked, they realized Emery, who had the least aptitude for cultivation among them, had maxed out his rank 8 spirit force requirement.
Even Klea, with her S-rank aptitude, still needed another 100 points and her spirit force was currently at 400. Meanwhile, Thrax and Julian just reached 250 points, the maximum spirit force for a rank 7. Weeks had passed, but they were unable to make a breakthrough.
The two of them admitted they had given up reaching rank 9 before the next recall in one and a half years, but when they heard of Emery's progress, all three stared at him with jealousy.
"Hey, tell us how you did it?!"
The three of them had known about Emery's half-blood status and the Forbidden Forest, but they were no fools. Even if those two things played a factor, his crazy affinity for the Darkness element did not add up.
"Look, guys, as much as I want to tell you." Emery rubbed the back of his head. "I honestly still have so many unanswered questions, too. Trust me, I will tell you guys when I know more."
He knew telling them about Killgragah would only lead to more questions. Perhaps, he would tell them when he discovered what was hidden behind the door Killgragah mentioned. Unbeknownst to the other two, Klea gave Emery a glance and smiled, knowing Emery told her more than the others.
A few more days passed and they started to see some greenery in the distance. The heat was no longer as oppressive, a sure sign they have reached a more tropical area. From the map, it seemed they were already at the outskirts of Yanava Kingdom's territory.
The Eastern Dynasty spread across lands much bigger than even the 7 Briton kingdoms combined. Hence, it would still take a while before Emery could start looking for his objective.
But he believed he would find it sooner or later, as his [Nature Grasp] spell had detected they were getting closer.
As they leisurely rode their camels across the city roads, it was clear this city still held some remnants of the ancient Greeks, including their culture. It was to be expected, as the city was conquered by the macedonian king Alexander The Great 500 years ago.
They went and stayed in the local inn for a while, taking turns to walk around and gather information. Emery was surprised to see several new herbs he had not seen before and started to collect them.
From the locals, they heard about a certain monk temple built on a holy ground and protected by sacred trees. They referred to the temple as "The Great Awakening Temple" and the land it stood on as Gaya. They just needed to go farther to the west.
They traded their camels for horses and went on another week's worth of journey. Thrax did not grumble as much now for they have reached a less hostile land.
Finally, they reached Gaya City.
The city was much bigger than they thought and people with various styles of clothing filled the place. From the heaps of fruits and various offerings all around, it was safe to assume they were in the middle of a festival.
However, that was not their main concern. The four looked at each other in shock, for they felt a disturbance in the spirit force.
Emery could tell a few dozen, perhaps even a hundred people with high spirit force were gathered here.
"How is this possible? What kind of place is this?"
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,