"Whoa, guys, I've hit 100 views on Worldpage!" Zack exclaimed, shoving his phone in Oliver and Robert's faces. "Soon, everyone's gonna see the epic slow-motion video of my wind bomb blowing you two away. I've added your photos for proper identification, so don't worry, they're gonna know who they're watching. You're both lucky I'm not sharing this directly with your friends - yet... haha!" He cackled maniacally.
Oliver and Robert shot each other a look - a mix of unease and what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-him?!
They were both thinking the same thing; Zack was officially insane! They were completely baffled by his disturbing enthusiasm, having no idea he was serious about uploading the video he made of them being blown away, and extra photos of them for 'proper identification'! They had just been messing around, exchanging playful threats to pass the time while journeying through the forest, but who would have thought Zack had a whole different level of crazy!
Oliver's hand shot out, grasping Zack's collar so fiercely and suddenly that Zack was caught off guard, his laughter abruptly cut short. "What's wrong with you? I thought we were just bluffing, why the hell did you post it?!" Oliver queried furiously.
Robert immediately stepped in, prying them apart. "Oliver, that's enough. We started it anyway, let's just drop it and focus on our quest, okay?"
But Oliver's ire only grew. "Delete it, now!" he ordered.
"Delete what?" Zack met his gaze, feigned innocence in his expression.
Oliver took a step closer to Zack, their faces only inches apart. His voice dropped to a threatening whisper as he said, "Do not make me repeat myself, Zack."
Zack could feel the chill radiating from Oliver's body, and his glare was just as frosty. But Zack was too accustomed to Oliver's gruff demeanor - which literally matched his temperature - that he didn't even bat an eye. To him, Oliver's scowl was basically his default setting, nothing to be flustered about.
They stared into each other's eyes for a tense moment, before Zack cracked a smirk. "Well, I might delete it... if you ask nicely."
Oliver's eyes froze, his patience exhausted. He had reached his limit with Zack's provocations - messing up his basement, uploading a humiliating video with photos for 'proper identification', and now the nerve to demand politeness!
A ball of ice materialized in mid-air and shot towards Zack, striking his face with a loud crack and sending him crashing to the ground.
"Oliver, stop!" Robert barked, panick-stricken, but Oliver completely ignored him.
"Delete it, now!" Oliver's menacing voice and expression were horrifying, and Robert clearly sensed that if Oliver's anger escalated even a fraction, Zack's life would be hanging by a thread. More Ice balls materialized around Oliver.
Zack struggled to his feet with a grunt, wiping his bleeding nose. He swayed slightly before fixing Oliver with a defiant grin. "Ask politely."
Robert intervened once more, positioning himself between the two. "That's enough, both of you! Stop this!"
But Oliver's fury intensified even more. "You've made me repeat myself," he growled, unleashing a flurry of nine Ice balls at Zack. Robert swiftly gathered his magic energy and conjured an Earth wall to shield Zack from the assault.
"Enough!" He bellowed and waved his hands to disperse the Earth wall into magic particles, but just as the wall vanished, three red bombs came hurtling towards Oliver.
"You're still trying to fight back?!" Oliver's anger surged. He elemental morphed, transforming into a gust of wind and effortlessly swept past the oncoming bombs. Then, he re-materialized behind Zack and rapidly gathered his magic energy, conjuring a huge Ice ball, bucket-sized, which struck Zack's back with tremendous force, sending him flying towards Robert. Robert swiftly gathered his magic energy once more and caught Zack with a perfectly timed Hand of God spell. He gestured with his hand and the large earthen fist carried Zack close.
"Have you lost your mind? Who am I kidding; it's painfully obvious that you have!" Robert hissed earnestly to Zack, his voice barely above a whisper. "Don't you realize that Oliver could rip you in two with zero effort - I mean, absolute zero? He's holding back, using only a simple Ice ball, and yet look at the state of you. If he had used one of those pointy spells like Ice spear or Icicle - we'd be digging your grave right now! Just take down the video, Zack, and let's move on. We're in a yellow-marked area, remember? Now's really not the ideal time for petty conflict, you get that?" He released Zack, who collapsed to the ground, clutching his aching back. Then, he dissipating the Hand of God spell, before turning to Oliver.
"Oliver, you've got some serious anger issues, man! You're using your magic to intimidate Zack just because he's not a wizard and can't gather magic energy to defend himself. I doubt you'd dare try that with me, would you? You need to get a grip on yourself! Believe me, I share your distaste for him, but what I detest even more is seeing someone get bullied."
Oliver retorted. "This isn't bully, this is knocking some sense into..."
Robert cut him off. "We don't need to sink to his level. And let's not forget, Zack's an ordinary person. Hurting him with your magic is a serious offense, and the Magic Council probably wouldn't go easy on you, regardless of your age or your status as the 'kid with the Ice Ancestor soul' for using magic on an ordinary person. You wanna knock some sense into him, do it the old-fashioned way - use your damn fists!"
Oliver chuckled wryly, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Robert pressed on, "Look, you're not thinking things through, Oliver, and it's unacceptable. Right now, Zack is our responsibility and it's our duty to protect him, not hurt him. I'm very disappointed in your behavior, and I question what kind of guidance Xolomon has been providing you." Robert finished, his expression an undisguised display of annoyance and disappointment.
"He's got no clue when to joke around and when to get real. It's like he's got a mental block or..." Oliver cut himself off, sighing heavily. "Forget it, I'll drop it." Shoving his hands brusquely into his pockets, he walked over to Zack, who was sitting on the ground, tending to his bloody nose with a blue handkerchief.
"My apologies, this whole mess could've been avoided if you'd just done what I asked and deleted the video," Oliver said, though his tone was more irritated than apologetic. His anger still lingered.
Zack responded with what was clearly a mock-angry tone, "Yeah, and I'm sorry too, but this wouldn't have happened if you'd just done what I said and asked nicely."
Oliver's scowl deepened, but Robert cleared his throat, signaling him to let it go.
"Light recovery," Oliver murmured, his hands proceeding to weave a gentle motion. A shimmering golden dust emanated from his fingers, enveloping Zack in a warm, radiant glow. The golden light dust shower persisted for two minutes, gradually erasing Zack's bruises and restoring his vitality.
Before long, the trio resumed their trek eastward into Horkii rainforest. Their earlier disagreement seemed forgotten as they strode along, chatting and laughing together. After about a mile of walking, fatigue caught up with them, and they settled beside a babbling stream to rest and replenish their water supplies. Though unspoken, doubts lingered within the trio's mind about whether they could complete their quest within the intended two-day window.
"Can't we just fly over the forest and get there already? It's faster, right?" Robert asked, rising from the stream's edge after a quick splash of water on his face. His suggestion was met with a three-second stare of disbelief from Zack and Oliver, followed by an explosive burst of laughter from both of them.
"What?" Robert was clearly confused.
"Go ahead, try it." Zack said, grinning.
"What's the worst that could happen?" Robert's body abruptly disintegrated into a cluster of fine sand, which then swirled upward, rising above the treetops.
"See?" He thought to Oliver, "now tell Zack to get out his jetpack, let's get out of here..." But his thoughts took a sharp turn into panic before he could even finish. "No, no, wait. Eyes, wings, I'm surrounded by eyes and wings! Ahh!" He shrieked mentally, realizing a flock of purple birds, each about the size of a human baby, had closed in around him. Their wings flapped gently but cautiously, as they circled around, their piercing slit pulpils fixed on him, making his peculiar appearance the focus of their unblinking gaze.
"Robert, hold your sand form! Zack says you need to stay shifted," Oliver's voice rang out in Robert's mind. "You just flew into the airspace of a flock of Purple Missile-beak Birds... and they don't seem happy about your presence."
The cluster of fine sand remained stationary in mid-air, swirling anxiously, surrounded by the circling birds. "You knew this would happen and you let me fly up anyway?!"
"I just wanted to confirm..." Oliver started to explain, but Robert cut him off.
"Just tell me what's happening! What's my situation right now?!"
"Winged magic beasts are highly sensitive to unfamiliar auras and their territories typically cover not just zones, but specific altitude ranges. The information from Zack's laptop says that the birds swarming around you are actually one of the most inferior flying magic creatures in this forest, usually monitoring heights between 10 to 25 meters above ground within their territory - which happens to be where we are now. Luckily, you didn't ascend any higher, or you might have attracted something far more... Problematic. As it stands, you've only drawn the attention of these Purple Missile-beak Birds. Good news is, they rarely exceed level seven in strength," Oliver clarified.
"What do I do now? I can't sustain this form forever. The continuous use of magic energy stresses me mentally, you know that whoozy sensation, right?" Robert's panic grew. If he transformed back and returned to the ground, the birds would most certainly launch an attack, putting not just himself, but Oliver and Zack as well in harm's way. He cursed his ignorant mistake.
"I guess we've got no choice but to engage them," Oliver thought to Robert, gathering his magic energy. "These birds won't relent until you're dead or until they've confirmed you're not a threat to their eggs or territory, something like that. They'll attack once they've completely assessed you."
"So, I should return to the ground? But you and Zack..?"
"Don't worry, we've got this..."
"Just kidding! I'm coming down anyway!" And with that, the cluster of fine sand shot towards the ground. The Purple Missile-beak birds responded in perfect synchrony, performing a smooth summersault and dive-bombing the falling sand.
Oliver's gaze locked onto the sand and the swarm of purple Birds hurtling downwards, towards him and Zack. With a calculated movement, he lifted his hands, and the Ice bullets spell he had been preparing rose around him. Over a hundred gleaming ice shards materialized, suspended in the air, awaiting his command.
"Ice bullets!" He exclaimed, pointing his right hand towards the oncoming birds. The ice shards rocketed forward with incredible speed, streaking dangerously towards their feathered targets.