Chapter 68 68 Testing

Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Testing

Nexus swallowed; where the fuck did this monster appear from?

The red bearded giant said nothing. In fact he hardly even glanced at Nexus for more than two second. He simply turned around, and bounded off in slow heavy thuds, ignoring Nexus as if he genuinely did not care if he followed or not.

Damn, Nexus thought; that is one big motherfucker.

Keeping a healthy distance of six to eight feet, he drew a deep breath and struck his feet out- taking his first step towards his future. The man led Nexus through the open hall. Strapped to his back was a huge ax whose length that was as tall as a ten year old human.

The nasty weapon swayed with his every step, as he effortlessly navigated his way through the jungle of tables and through the fog of smoke.

A theme of quietness seemed to be prevailing mood. Faceless men huddled together in the dimly lit space like shadows with flesh and bone. Their baritone voices growled in low tones in the background. It was ineresting- considering the known fact that hunters were a wild bunch.

But they hushed in low volumes, as if in reverence to some overbearing ruling principality.

As the duo approached the last row of circular tables, Nexus' eyes began to drift searchingly, looking for any sign of any person of interest that might be interviewing him. But the silent giant ignored everyone around.

He kept walking straight forward, towards the stone wall, not stopping at all, until he came up before a massive door.

Nexus tensed at the sight.

Standing well over twelve feet, it totally dwarfed the gaint. It was lodged firmly between two stone pillars. And overhead, a stone arched curved over it. The door was made of wood, but it was studded with cone shaped iron spikes.

The more he looked at it, the more it seemed like a gateway to another dimension- rather than a door.

The giant grunted something and effortlessly pulled open the door with his massive hands. The heavy door creaked open with a long dreary sound. It swung open lazily, taking its time, like a majestic dragon stirred out of its slumber.

Before Nexus could think, the giant disappeared behind it.

Nexus said a quick prayer and surged ahead before he could lose his guide. He poked his head in first, and gasped. Behind the door was a flight of stairs about six feet wide that ran down- deep into the ground. On both sides of the wall were burning torches.

'No fuckin' way.' he thought wildly; 'A basement? fuckin' basement? This is exactly how horror movies start.'

Lingering at the door, with his heart beating loudly, Nexus watched with a look of horror as his guide plunge deeper and deeper into the basement, leaving him behind without a word.

'Fuck it. This can't be worse than anything else I been through already.'

In a split second decision, he cursed under his breath and surged right ahead.

His steps touched down carefully on the first few steps-like a rooster in a new territory. He looked up and saw that the giant was a lot further than he had anticipated. So, he quickened his steps, and entered a slow comfortable gallop down the steps- to the basement.

The flight of stairs seemed to go on forever. They were headed deep underground and he knew it.

Eventually, he came upon baldie just as he was opening another huge door. Nexus slowed his role;

'Honestly, what is with these people and mad fuckin' doors?'

At this point, Nexus was more curious than alarmed. The big man stepped right in, and Nexus, who was only a few feet behind, followed suit.

Nexus' eyes widened in shock as they stepped into a cave.

He was taken aback by the sheer size. The room was gigantic- in an intimidating kind of way. On all sides, hard white stone lined up the borders of the cave. Overhead, the ceiling ran up to fifty feet high.

Stalactites and stalagmites hung upside down on the ceiling in jagged formations- like inverted pillars, bearing down on him threateningly. A soft blue light filtered in from an inexplicable source that filled the vast open with an ethereal presence.

"Are you done gawking? Or do we need to give you more time to star gaze?"

His jerked in the direction of the voice.

East of his location, seated upright on a small rock, was the most regal looking old man. His majestic white hair crowned his head and flowed down to his neck. His beard was also white. And both hands were clasped together, leaning on a long brown cane- watching Nexus with a bored expression;

"Don't you have a tongue?"

Nexus hurriedly regained his composure. His voice came out- less excited and more confident;

"Sir, I'm called Ni Yang, and I was sent here to complete my application to be a hunter."

The old man was too far away for his face to be read. But his voice showed he wasn't impressed;

"Very well mister Ni Yang. Show me what you can do."

A look of confusion settled on his face; "I beg your pardon?"

Old man stretched his arm outwards, and pointed northwards;

"Do you see that slab of rock right there?"

Nexus' eyes spun to follow his guiding hands. Sure enough, there was a huge slab of stone about ten feet ahead. In fact, there were multiple stone slabs positioned all around the vast cave. The least of them was about three feet tall- and the largest was as tall as a tree.

Like dummies for target practice, they lined up a cross section of the cave- perfectly equidistant to each other.

"I want you to hit it with everything you got. Don't hold back at all."

Nexus turned his back the man, and squarely faced the target.

"In case you were wondering, yes- this is actually a training area. So, you don't need to worry about collateral damage. Give it all you've got. . ."

The old man had barely finished when Nexus' palms, wrists and arms burst into flames.

There was no spark. There was no enchanment. He did not even have to point to the heavens. A rich gust of orange flames erupted in his palms. Like a raging wildfire, it spread to his wrists, burning away in the form of a budding blooded lotus.

By the time the refined flames got to his arms, the heliocentric flames were no longer orange- they had bloomed into the fiery destroying color of red, dancing in the wild revelry of raw power.

As if in reverence to the Heavenly Flame, every other flame within a twenty feet radius instantly dimmed. Nexus stood there feeling like an alchemist. His face bore no malice, and yet the destruction in his flames screamed louder than the rage of many waters. Under his feet, the blueish white stony ground glowed bright red- in reflection to his flames.

Suddenly, Nexus raised his fiery arms like wings made purely of flames. His movements were like poetry in 3D. His black hat and dark trench coat casted him in an even deathly light.