The Pokemon System

Chapter 40

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Floriana sat in a meditative posture as she tried to circulate the energy inside her.

It entered her body through her nose, as it travelled along the various points of her body, before it settled down in her navel as it began to condense.

Floriana then continued to inhale the energy inside her, till it became almost impossible for her to progress any further.

She then stopped meditating, as she sat still. Various thoughts ran through her mind.

She was 30 years old now. When she was a 6 year old child, she had started to feel the energy of the universe but didn't know what to do with it.

It wasn't until she became 10 years old, that she could direct the energy inhaled to a certain path. A year later, she could even store the energy somewhere in her belly.

However, tragedy struck when she was just 12 years old.

Ever since then, her body was crippled in many ways & she could no longer sense the energy of the world anymore.

Hence, she had to develop a new technique, with which she could take advantage of her innate physical strength, along with her talent of leading the guild to snare traps and trapping her victims to death.

The long years of hardships however, took a heavy toll on her body as her strength kept on diminishing, right until even a flimsy knight could rival her strength.

The subsequent loss of territories & friends made her hopeless, as she could only place her hopes on her son, Adrian.

Her hopes however, were finally rewarded. Not only was Adrian becoming stronger with time, but he also sent back a medicine so effective, that not only her aged body healed but she could sense the energy of the universe again.

Although she had to restart her training to gather the energy, it was still better than to sit still and watch on helplessly as her own guild collapsed.

She could even take it easy now, since most of her valiant generals had recovered almost perfectly and were already acting in their own capacities.

They were now not being tied down to lead their teams, since they now had trustable successors to take up the mantle.

Floriana remembered the promise she made 19 years ago, as a single tear drop slid down her cheeks.

Her fingers clasped tightly, as she reaffirmed her resolve.

[I will protect him.. no matter what..]

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At the Mercenary Camp, the kitchen staff were being very noisy today. Apparently something mysterious happened last night, which made every staff curious about it's details.

Luisa entered the kitchen as her face sported her unique smile. She was dressed in her usual uniform, with her hair tied up in a ponytail, but her workmates could tell that there was something different about the girl.

It was as if the girl was shining somehow as she brought out an aura of happiness surging from deep within her.

Luisa had woken up today in a very good mood. She had dreamt about her new friend Adrian, as they both happily spent their time inside it.

Although her elder sister looked visibly frustrated, but she had her own duties to attend to & hence, she came to the kitchen as soon as possible.

As Luisa saw her compatriots chatting she approached them, wondering what had gotten them all so riled up.

[Good Morning Miss Barbola! Why is everyone so noisy today? Did something exciting happen?]

The group of ladies surrounding Barbola stopped chattering as they all moved away quickly. After all, the great beauties didn't want to be around such a loser at all.

Although they could not openly be hostile in the Camp, but they themselves chose who to associate with.

Barbola gave Luisa a bitter smile as she approached her. Barbola didn't mind Luisa's face or body structure. She liked to get along with everyone.

[Good Morning to you too. I think you didn't know yet. Yesterday night, the Dining Hall became the place for nightmares.]

Luisa tilted her head puzzled, as she curiously enquired,

[Nightmares? D-Did Prince T-Teodero do something?...]

Barbola quickly clamped Luisa's mouth shut, as she nervously looked around for any one overhearing.

She then whispered in Luisa's ears quietly,

[Don't mention him if you want to stay safe. No, it wasn't him, but something supernatural happened last night.]

[The entire night, cries and howls could be heard inside the Dining hall. There were no one inside when it happened and even the guards stationed outside were terrified.]

[They tried to enter the hall, but found it tightly shut. Any one living nearby the Dining hall could not sleep a wink last night.]

[When morning came, the guards entered inside to inspect, when they found the entire place completely thrashed. The furniture was broken into pieces, while the curtains were all torn up. Even the livestock were found dead inside.]

[The Camp Leader has forbidden entry inside it and a Priest would be soon coming there to visit. Prince has not stepped out of his room ever since last night. It is expected that he would not torment us for a few days.]

Luisa sighed in relief as she nodded in understanding.

[Thank you for informing me, Miss Barbola. By the way, what's in the menu today?]

The two ladies chatted on, putting the grim subject to the back of their minds.

However, someone else was not so lucky to be able to avoid the matter at all.

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Leaf paced around restlessly outside Adrian's room. Rose was not inside, as she had left to train herself early in the morning.

But it wasn't Rose that was the cause of his panic, it was the fox spirit inside the room.

She was still okay yesterday, but after returning late at night, she had kept on sitting beside Adrian.

Mariana was still inside, though Leaf didn't dare peek again.

The last time he looked inside, the murderous aura inside had already scared him shitless.

He had no idea what had happened, but he knew that things couldn't go on like this.

(...even if she kills me in anger... but Rose... I must do something...)

After preparing himself, Leaf courageously strode inside the room, as he tried to confront Marianna.

But as soon as she turned her attention on him, Leaf instantly began to regret his choice.

(...ah.. I will die again soon...)

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Chapter 40 End