Chapter 3: Thunder-Fire Valley

" Please stop. I did as you told me, so why...."

My eyes shot open, ' Damnit, I had a nightmare of those bastards torturing me... ' I couldn't help but grit my teeth thinking about what happened to me in my previous life, I swear to myself, I will have my revenge on them and that bastard Lanry who ordered them.

Just as I tried to get up, A terrible headache greeted me. Along with the headache came....memories. Memories that were not mine.

The headache lasted for 5 minutes before it subsided. Finally, I inherited the memories of the previous owner of this body but, ' Why did it take such a long time. ' And why I feel great? Like this body now feels like it really belongs to me.

Mike was still sleeping with a grin on his face.

I went outside of my room and arrived at the ground of the orphanage only to get a small shock, ' Looks like I slept for a long time. It's early morning now, around 4 AM, I guess, and if I remember correctly, I went to bed around 5 PM. ' Thinking up to here, I started stretching my limbs, and it felt really good.

Time to do Exercise: From the memories, I knew that the previous owner did exercise daily for the last 3 years means from Age13 to 16, he exercised daily without missing a day.

BUT I will do more exercise than him. 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours at night, and I will gradually increase the difficulty. Because Elemental Warriors need to have a Powerful body to practice Elemental Tactics, If their body can't bear the raw Elemental energy coursing through their body, they are either crippled or outright dead.

And so I started.

I did push-ups until I could not move a bit.

Then I did pull-ups by hanging on a branch of the tree until I fell down with a thud. Enduring the pain, I took a rest for a few minutes before drinking some water.

Then came the most painful part of the training. I went to a small storeroom of our orphanage, took out a blunt rod, and started hitting it all over my body. I hit the rod on my hands and legs first, then I took off my T-shirt to hit on the Chest and Abdomen but was surprised.

' Damn, Those are some good abs I got here. Let's see here.....My biceps and triceps also look good. ' i never really noticed my new body until just now. I look skinny but didn't know I had hidden muscles.

Time to continue.

After hitting every part of my body except for one place...I hit them again as the cycle continued.

Just like this, I trained until I was like a log of wood and could not move a single muscle, ' Looks like I overdid it. ' Smiling wryly to myself, I laid there.

After a while, I was able to move, and While enduring the pain, I went to the bathhouse to take a good bath.

Looking at the clock, it was already 15 minutes past 8 AM, ' Looks like I exercised for 4 hours instead of 3. '

Let's first take my things from the room and have some good breakfast at Ryan's inn.

Arriving at my room, I Put on the gown and hood before hiding the two scrolls and both pouches at a hidden place near the bushes, which I dug out behind a tree at the corner of the orphanage's ground.

With a grin on his face, Athan thought,' Anyway, I don't need to spend money to eat at Ryan's Inn. '

...

After entering the Inn, sitting at a corner spot, a waiter arrived to take orders, " What would you like to have, sir?

It was the same waiter as yesterday.

" Just bring me your best dishes and tell your boss that he doesn't need to worry about anything. I've convinced my master. "

...

After eating, I returned to the orphanage.

Inside Mrs Ralph's Office.

Mrs Ralph had a serious expression on her face as she asked, " Alright now, Athan, Would you mind telling me how did you get so many gold taels? "

I also adopted a serious expression and spoke, "Mrs Ralph, you can trust me that I did not get this wealth using backhanded methods like stealing or anything, you can say that it was compensation to me by a wealthy family; they Accidently injured me and gave me gold taels as compensation. "

Mrs. Ralph sighed and said, " I hope you are telling the truth. Anyway, Mike will be coming with you to the Thunder-Fire Valley, Their Examination will start in a week, and it will also probably take around 6-7 days for you two to get there; I've already prepared the carriage with the money you gave me yesterday, " Pausing here for a bit, Mrs. Ralph looked at the clock on the wall and continued, " It's 8:47 AM right now, and the carriage will come here at 11 AM, The sooner you go, the better, because you don't want to miss this Examination, as the next one will be held 6 months later. "

After talking a bit more, I left the office and headed towards my room.

Entering the room, I did not see mike, ' Looks like he went to the bathhouse. ' I then started to prepare my clothes and other things, hmmm I will also need another bag to store my loot.

...

Time passed as both Athan and Mike were ready and waiting for the carriage.

The little kids and Mrs Ralph were also here at the ground of the orphanage.

The kids were excited since Mrs Ralph bought some things for kids like toys and sweets using the gold taels I gave her yesterday.

The carriage arrived just at this moment.

Mrs Ralph spoke at this time, " Athan, Mike. Please be careful out there. The world is cruel, So you both have to tread carefully outside. Take care. "

After saying farewell to everyone, Both Athan and Mike entered the carriage with their bags.

Inside the Carriage.

Mike spoke rather sadly, " Now orphanage have no Big brothers. "

" Don't worry, bro. We will come here to see them. We just have to get strong fast. If we get strong, we can earn wealth easily and also come back here more often. "

And thus, Our journey to the Thunder-Fire Valley began. Let's hope we reach there soon.

...

Today marks the 6th day since we left our town.

Every day in the evening, we would stay in some small town before departing early morning, as the route towards The Thunder-Fire Valley was already planned by Uncle lee, who drives the carriage.

On the way, We saw many unique things.

We even saw people flying at rocket speed, which was truly mind-boggling. That person came and went like Whooosh.

And today, we entered the region where Thunder-Fire Valley was situated.

*Skreeee....*

Hearing the sound, both Athan and Mike looked at the sky from the Carriage and got a shock.

A big, giant bird covered in flames was rapidly flying towards the Thunder-Fire Valley.

I was gobsmacked by the sight that I let out a" HOLY CRAP. "

Mike's eyes had that longing emotion as he spoke, " That's famous Flaming Eagle of the Thunder-Fire valley. Every elder of the Valley has one such Beast as their personal mount. "

" I also want one, and It looks so freaking cool. " Athan couldn't hold back, expressing his desire to get one such beast for himself.

Mike shook his head, " We, Elemental Warriors, still have a long way before we can ride such a beast, Tho it's a different story for Elemental Sorcerers. "

After calming down my excitement, I said to mike, " Strength, As long as we are strong, we can get things to want; let's do our best at Thunder-Fire Valley. "

Suddenly, The carriage stopped.

" Alright, boys, Come out for a minute and take a peek at this part of Thunder-Fire Valley. Because after entering the Town below, you won't be able to see how actually big Thunder-Fire Valley is. "

Hearing Uncle Lee's voice, Me and Mike came out. Uncle Lee also told us about various things and gave us helpful advice on the way, so We were really thankful to him.

Looking at the front after coming out, Our Horizons were broadened.

Looking at the scenery in front of me, I thought, 'This is no Valley, It's a Freaking Grand Canyon, It's so big and long, It's practically a City with Mountain ranges on both sides, I can't even see it ends, and The deeper part of the Valley's sky had black clouds filled with lightning strikes, It looks so dangerous even from so far, I wonder how would it feel to be standing in that place.'

Mike's mouth was wide open, seeing the view, " Damn Bro, This place is so big. Just look at all those people and buildings.

Then came uncle lee's voice.

" Alright, boys, It's time to move on. "

...

After traveling for 1 more hour, we finally arrived at the gate of Thunder-Fire valley.

The Carriage stopped at the gate as We both came out.

Seeing both of them coming out, Uncle lee spoke with a smile, " Our journey ends here boys, and I will not be coming inside because I will have to pay some money if I want to drive the carriage inside. Of course, you two don't need to pay anything, only those who bring things like a carriage or other transport vehicle have to pay. Work hard and become stronger, or you will have to drive a carriage like me, hahaha."

After saying farewell to Uncle Lee, Both Athan and Mike headed towards the gate But were stopped by the guards.

" Purpose? " One of the guards spoke.

Before I could speak, Mike said, " We are here for the Examination that will start tomorrow. "

" 1 silver tael per head."

Mike asked confusedly, " uh, We are going inside with our legs, not on the carriage. Why are you asking for money? "

" If you were to drive carriage inside, we would have to ask for 10 silver taels instead of just 1, Now hurry up and pay if you want to go inside. "

I took out two silver taels from my pocket and threw them at the guard who skillfully caught them.

" Alright, you can enter now. "

Before Mike could speak more, I grabbed his hand and entered. After entering, Mike said, " Bro, Uncle lee said that they only ask for money if we drive the carriage inside. "

After giving a flick on his forehead, I said, " Idiot, those guards clearly know we are just country bumpkins, and that's why he extorted money from us. Do you think we can forcefully pass the gate without paying silver taels? but...." Pausing here, Athan's eyes had a cold look as he spoke, " But after you get strong, you can teach that guard a lesson; remember, Strength is the basis of reasoning. "

Seeing Mike nodding his head, I said, " Now let's go and find an Inn to stay in; it's almost evening now. We have to find a place to take a good rest. We have to stay in our best conditions as the Examination will start tomorrow early in the morning."