Capítulo 57: Traversing The River

After quite a huge hassle, Argus has arrived at the supposed destination for the continuation of the trial. It was indeed a scary experience, followed by such a good harvest.

What greeted Argus was a long and deep river that divides the two hills along with a flock of warriors busily preparing their own tools for the trial.

Always having those quarreling quail and dancing cranes, they all collectively called this place Boryaan River. According to some Elders, the name Boryaan came from the previous owner named Borya.

Borya fed these quails and cranes every time he finished his father's errands. And after quite some time he had developed a liking towards them. Because of him, the whole place became peaceful, no birds fought over their prey, you can even sit down, build a tent, and enjoy the scenery as you watch the sunset.

Yet, on the day he died, nobody resumed his activity of feeding these birds. And from that day it became a river of quarreling quail and dancing cranes. And as a tribute to Borya, tribesmen have begun calling the river Boryaan.

...

Argus is the only one having a peculiar fishing tool. Most of the tribesmen present that have built their camps near the shore was preparing a spear.

The previous man who has knocked him down, Bagno, the most favored Warrior to ascend the title was also seen standing near the shore. When they made eye contact, Bagno cockily smirked and looked away.

He did not even put any meaning on Argus's piercing gaze which made Argus insulted.

Well, he had lost on their fight, its only natural to feel humiliated by the loss.

Argus retracted his gaze towards the river instead.

The surface of the river was quite calm and quiet. The wind blew light waves that washed against the shore. However, Argus was not able to calm himself.

Recalling that Tikbalang, such a chaotic rank creature was tamed by him! Its truly a feat worth sharing, sadly he can only keep it to himself.

The surging crash from the violent river waves at the shore was fine, Argus found it bearable but a meter away from the shore is deep, no one could see the situation down there.

Not even through Argus's keen eyes,

In such a dangerous world where everything is a mystery, even the slightest detailed risk could not be ignored or underestimated. Ignorance can lead to death. For what's worse, just like the Tikbalang, it never occurred to that creature that someone like a measly mortal like Argus who clearly lacked a lot was able to subdue him.

The river was originally regarded as a dangerous zone by people in the tribe. Even with all the fishes currently swarming did not mean that it was safe.

Who knows what kind of creatures lies beneath its surface? Well, some famous supernatural creatures do exist from what he has heard as a kid from his former tribe.

Magindra—a famous vicious mermaid known to many tribesmen, this creature lives under the sea or can be found at rivers and lakes. They are known to have a beautiful and enchanting voice that can attract and hypnotize males, especially the fishermen.

Singing songs with spellbinding curses, distracting them from their work and causing them to walk off ship decks or cause shipwrecks. In their case, it is a river, and tribesmen believed that the deeper the river is, the higher the chance that there's a Magindra.

They hide among the rocks by the shore. When the men hear these songs they are hypnotized and are abducted by the Magindra. Some tribesmen claim that the Magindras carry their victims under the surface of the water, sacrificing them to the water deities.

Other stories claim that Magindras pretends to need rescuing from drowning, luring men into the water, but proceeds to squeeze the life out of any man who falls prey to their hoax.

If you manage to see one, according to tales they had an upper body of a woman with long, flowing hair that is often curly or wavy and the lower body of a fish or has a tail of a fish.

...

Then after quite some time has passed, everyone seemed to have already finished their preparations. The Elder responsible for organizing the event knitted his brows as he inspected the rivers. He gently dipped his fingers unto the turbulent river flows.

Seeing the elder is acting like that, all the participating warriors got puzzled but still, they stopped their bickering and other things they were doing and stepped backward, even though one minute earlier they were very excited and eager to compete.

Yes, they all look like boors and no one would describe them as smart warriors at first glance. But they were not stupid and every one of them cherished their lives.

So they all stared at the Elder for his further command after they stepped back while the Elder stood at the bank, thinking as he looked at the violent waters.

Then suddenly it became calm, it stopped from violently surging as it flowed in a calmer wave.

The surface became calm, and aside from that, it was just like the previous surge had faded. The water did not change its color and nothing suspicious could be observed.

"Was he just being paranoid?" Argus thought to himself.

Seeing that the river probably had no problem, the elder cleared his throat as he stood firmly surrounded by the remaining warriors who have made it here.

"Everyone! You shall all listen!" The Elder shouted, raising his voice for everyone to hear. "This is the continuation of the First Trial and the last one before proceeding to the Second Trial." Beaming a smile from ear to ear, the Elder seemed pleased as he added.

Argus while the Elder paused his speech, busily observed his surroundings.—He thought that since he had encountered a Tikbalang, then he might also encounter a Magindra.

"Better take extra precautionary measures while I can still have the chance." As he said so, he wore the bone tooth necklace that his newly named slave, Hyaradth have given him.

According to Hyaradth, this bone tooth necklace came from another Chaotic ranked creature he had slain due to a small scuffle. This shall give him added protection against supernatural beings who might want to harm him. This shall hide that enticing aura he emits.

"You are to catch some fishes and proceed at the next shore. Traversing the Boryaan River" Pointing his fingers towards the other end side of the river. "The more fishes you catch the better." The elder added.

And with that, the elder signaled the other Alipins and his Sulgos to distribute a woven basket made out from bamboo strips.

Each of the warriors carefully placed them at their backs including Argus, completing their preparations.

"If everyone is set, then I shall announce the start of the second part of the First Trial!" The Elder enthusiastically shouted.

Followed by that is the screams of the Warriors. "AWOOO!" Then the Alipins lighted up the torches. The drum rolls and Gong were sounded, signaling the commencement of the trial.

Argus gnashed his teeth as he looked over the distance.

"I shall pass this test." he inwardly murmured.