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| - Kentaro Hiroshi whipped the sweat from his forehead and upper body, chest rising and falling with the continual inhale and exhale of fresh mountain air. He had grown physically since his training began, with an increase in muscle mass and general height as well. Maybe there was some truth to Garian’s words about him needing to eat his vegetables to get taller. “What now?” Kentaro asked the seven-foot giant not six feet from him, across the still glistening snow. The heat of the sun gave a nice contrast to the cool exposure of ice and snow on the skin. “We’re for lightning the fire.” Garian replied as though the answer were obvious. Once inside Garian’s quaint little shack with the logs required, Kentaro deposited them beside the hearth and walked into the kitchen and dished out two bowls of stew simmering on the stove; careful not to roast his outstretched hand. Garian was leaning against the wall that led to the kitchen, sniffing the air like a hound when Kentaro walked past him and set one of the bowls into his massive hand. “You know, for an old man you move and talk a lot without actually helping.” Kentaro complained, giving his teacher a death glare. “You’re right. I'll sit down and talk, while you can light the fire.” Garian replied as casually as you’d like, accompanying the comment with one of his Garian-Shinjo-classics; the smile quickly disrupted by his eating of the stew. “Now I know how Shintai must’ve felt. You’re a bloody infuriating man, and I grew up with Kusaka!” Throwing the logs into the fire without any care for an orderly approach, Kentaro took his chair – he still didn’t fill it – and looked his mentor up and down. For him, his training was done for today. But now, with the fire blazing and the lights dimmed, signalled the start of his history lesson. Sitting forward intently, Kentaro was silent. “… We looked for three weeks before we first heard the Kidō masters had re-located themselves. You see, they were scared about us uncovering their plans. You see, lad, they intended to create the things you fought climbing the mountain.” “Those corpse walkers are that old!?” Kentaro exclaimed. “How’s that possible-“ “I’m that old.” Garian reminded, chuckling slightly. “And I’m older still than those… corpse walkers, did you say? Dear god boy, you plan on rescuing your friend and you don’t even know what it is you’re going up against?” Sighing deeply, Garian continued. “Their correct name is the Soulless. A group of corpses animated by Kidō spells. Anyway, back to my story. We eventually found them cowering in the Human World and when we did I was about as angry as I’d ever been. Three weeks chasing rumours and all that? I wouldn’t recommend it, lad.” The elder’s voice took a tone of contemplation as he shared the rest of his tale…
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