14 The Lizard and Flies

After being forcefully expelled from the ancient forest, Alex caught himself staring at his reflection in the mirror.

What he saw was an Alex, with a disheveled hair and red eyes that seemingly able to spit fire out. When he saw what state he was in, he took a one deep breath and tried to calm down.

Alex looked at his hand and found the Wood Crystal in his grasp.

'In the end, I wasn't able to obtain anything from it. Though it still looked unused.'

He sighed and threw the Wood Crystal towards his right where his desk was. It produced a soft thud as it crashed on the wooden desk.

'Thud!'

In this darkness the warm glow of the Wood Crystal made him sleepy.

Not long after, he eventually succumbed to his sleepiness. It was a very exhausting day for a 15-year-old kid like him.

As he was wandering inside the land of dreams, he was being constantly harassed by flies.

'Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!'

The flies kept on buzzing … and flying … and buzzing and flying, like whatevery fly does. It often lands on his body to lay its eggs on him, as it continuously rubs its hands, as if a villain comically thought of a scheme against the hero.

Alex's once calmed mind was starting to erupt into a fiery rage again. He flailed his hands to try and drive away those pesky flies. However, the flies still kept on pestering him.

He forcibly woke himself up and sat straight. His face was pale, and his forehead was filled with beads of cold sweat.

"What a weird nightmare that was."

Just as he was about to go back to sleep, he heard a familiar and vexing sound.

'Buzz!'

His eyes turned round and seethed with rage. He turned his head towards the direction of the buzz and found that there was a black lizard, glowing in green light surrounded by a bunch of flies.

"What type of lizard is this?"

That was the question that he asked himself with his fuzzy and hatred filled head.

He carefully inspected this 'new type' of lizard. It was black, its eyes emitted a green light, so was its mouth and it was a chubby, which made it look cute and hideous at the same time.

It was just there, unmoving, like it was dead, like having a belly full of … food. Hmmm... Green belly? WOOD CRYSTAL!

"HOW DARE YOU LITTLE CHAP! YOU DARE GOBBLE UP MY WOOD CRYSTAL!?"

He flew into rage, gritted his teeth and scolded the dead lizard. He raised his hand high and delivered a hand chop aiming for the edge of the crystal inside the lizard.

'Hah!'

'Thud!'

His hand descended and cut the tail of the dead lizard.

Fortunately, the Wood Crystal was hit and was sent flying to a book. It would've been worse if he was able to get the crystal out.

Alex imagined himself, holding such a creature with his own two hands.

He stood up and retrieved the crystal. The once smooth and cold crystal was now slimy and warm. He immediately wiped it clean with the end of his bed sheet.

Now though, it wasn't slimy anymore, yet it was still warm due to being inside the body of the lizard for an unknown amount of time.

He held the wood crystal in his hands and laid down on the bed. He closed his tired eyes and smiled, but soon his smile froze.

'Cock-a-doodle-do!'

He shut his eyes tightly and prayed towards every God that he knew of.

"Dear Lord, please spare my pitiful ears from the roosters! I am very tired. Please let me sleep!"

He sobbed with fake tears as he prayed.

'Knock! Knock! Knock!'

"Alex. Wake up!"

A gentle voice entered his ears. It was his mom. He lamented at his fate and stood up.

"Yes, mom. I'm up." He answered in a lackadaisical manner.

"Okay. Go wake your brother too. The both of you are descending mountain today and scout around for beasts. So let me make breakfast for you two. Lest you be grumpy and less energetic."

"Yes. Ah!? Descending the mountains? When was that decided? How come you only told this to me?"

"Calm down young man. Go ask Arthur about it. He said that it was a little test for you."

Alex rushed to his brother's room. He needed explanation. If he knew about this sooner, then he should've slept earlier.

When he got in, his brother, Arthur, was looking at him with a frowning face.

"Where's your manners?"

"Uh, sorry? Look, mom said we were descending the mountains. Is that right?"

"Indeed. Just a little test to see if you are capable of fighting against beasts."

"You should've told me yesterday!"

"Hehe."

Arthur grinned when saw the look on Alex's face, it was worth it, angering Alex.

Alex rolled his eyes and got out of the room. Arthur soon followed and joined everyone in the table and ate their breakfast.

After eating, Alex only washed his face and stood at the door with his brother.

Their mom saw them out and told them to be extra careful since the sun has yet to rise and beasts are still active.

"Of course mom! We'll be extra careful. I'm already as strong as a professional mage, so there's no need to worry!"

Arthur, as the older brother, will surely protect his little brother. He wasn't complacent at the fact that he was strong. In fact, he was always cautious.

They started walking to the village's entrance. Arthur broke the silence and gave his very first advice to Alex.

"First, when you encounter beasts, it's better to overestimate it and underestimate yourself. Second, do not panic and assess its strengths and weaknesses. Third, always look at the surroundings, as if you are being paranoid. Lastly, control your temper."