Chapter 123- Diamonds In The Rough
The trio was about to leave the house when they heard a familiar meowing sound coming from Eva's room. Looking back, a black cat suddenly jumped out of Eva's bag and came running toward them with a happy look on her face.
"Huh? This cat followed us here?" Kaya blinked in confusion. She didn't even feel her presence during the whole trip and yet this little thing still sneaked in.
"I couldn't let her stay alone in the house so I took her with us," Eva said with a small smile as she crouched in front of the cat and called for her.
The little thing quickly ran to Eva and jumped in her embrace as she purred happily. Eva playfully patted her on the head. The two looked like close friends. Kaya watched that interaction with a shocked expression.
'Why are these two close?! Does the Kiddo not realize that the cat is after Kai too?' Facepalming with a sigh, she turned around and followed Kai outside.
"Kai, does this cat still have no name?" Eva asked.
"No."
"Hmm, that's no good. We can't just call her 'Cat'. Can we?" Eva asked.
At that moment, the cat suddenly jumped from her embrace and ran toward Kai before she jumped into his arms excitedly. Her beautiful, blue eyes sparkled like one thousand stars. He didn't even need a second to understand what the cat wanted.
"... Miyu. Your name will be Miyu." He said after a few seconds.
"Miyu, huh… Very lovely! I like it! What about you, old hag?"
"It's good," Kaya replied blandly.
As for the cat, her excitement reached a new level as she started jumping around in Kai's arms and licking his face happily. It seemed she liked the name too.
"Since she followed us here, we can't do much about it. Let's go."
After that, the now four-member group walked out of the cabin and into the forest. The odd quiet atmosphere still ticked the group off since this place was supposed to be filled with animals and wild beasts of all kinds.
However, Kai seemed unconcerned by that fact as he lead them through the forest till they reached an opening.
"Woah…" The two women gasped in admiration at the sight. The open area was actually a very beautiful lake with crystal clear water and a mesmerizing giant waterfall coming down from a small mountain.
"The water is so beautiful. I've never seen a lake this clear in my life." Eva murmured in admiration as she approached the edge of the lake and touched the surface of the water with her hands.
However, the moment she touched it, Eva felt as if a shock ran through her body before she jumped back instinctively.
"What the hell?" Looking at her hand, Eva was shocked to see that her fingertips were frozen.
"I should've told you not to touch it. This lake isn't normal." Kai said as he put down Miyu and approached the lake.
"This lake is precisely in the heart of the forest. Here, the concentration of Origin is extremely high and this lake is the reason for that. It's not actually water. Well, not fully water at least." He explained.
"This… isn't water?" Touching the ice, Eva could feel the sensation of Origin on her fingertips. It was indeed Origin. But, why was it formed into ice rather than the usual orange color?
Well, the reason for that was simple. Because the lake was approximately 60% water and 40% origin, the Origin took the traits of water and amplified it which made this seemingly harmless lake into a terrifying ice trap.
'What a deadly trap for any creature to fall into…' Eva thought as a chill ran down her spine.
As for Kaya, she only scratched her chin thoughtfully. She did come across a similar phenomenon but in a completely different place.
'The moving sand in that dessert I went to a long time ago. It was boiling hot because of Origin too. I guess these are two similar cases.'
"Now, jump inside the water." Kai suddenly said.
"..." (x2)
Looking at him with a confused expression, the girls almost thought they heard him wrong.
"I said jump in." He repeated.
"Wait, wait… This lake is basically a huge ice hell." Kaya said.
"What part of 'It will push you to the limit' wasn't clear? This is basically just the start. If you two can't handle this much, then there is no reason for us to even come here." Kai said sternly as he gave the two girls a cold look.
He had to be serious and strict with them or they won't take the training as seriously as he wanted them to.
"*Gulp*... Understood." Nodding their heads, the two girls jumped into the water and immediately, their bodies froze from the sheer coldness of the lake. It was as if one thousand needles were stabbing their skin every single second.
So, the two of them used Origin to coat their bodies or they will die from coldness. However, even then, the water was still awfully cold.
"For the first part of the training: you will have to survive 24 hours inside the water."
"24 hours?!" Eva asked as her lips quivered. "O-Ok, understood."
Kaya also nodded her head and the two then immediately focused on maintaining Origin around their bodies.
Ice was quickly forming on their skin but their Origin would destroy it and instantly fix the skin that was damaged because of the ice. It was very painful but neither of them complained.
What they weren't aware of was that each time the ice formed on their skin, a little part of that raw, natural Origin would seep into their bodies. Their skin was getting tougher, their muscles were increasing in strength and their bones were getting more and more robust.
The process was very slow but with time, their bodies will go through a very drastic change. However, Kai didn't tell them about that part so that they don't get distracted.
As they were like that, Kai sighed before he took his shirt off, revealing his drool-worthy body before he jumped inside the lake too.
He then simply sat there, keeping an eye on them while also doing the same thing they were doing. Since he had already done this training a million times before, his body won't really get any stronger than this but he didn't treat it as training and more as a form of meditation. The coldness of the water around him made his nerves cool down and his mind clear up.
His eyes never left the two women, not even for a second. He could see their auras dancing quietly as they fought the ice.
With each passing second, Kai noticed their bodies getting stronger. Truthfully, he was curious to see how far these two could go. Talent-wise, they were the creme of the crop. Coupled with his guidance, Kai could see them turn into two freaks of nature that could turn this whole world upside down if they want to.
'Maybe this was worth giving it a try. They're like diamonds that need a little more polishing. I should put some effort into their training.' Nodding his head at his next step, he continued his quiet meditation while watching the two beauties close by.