บท 521: Mastering Earth

[ A record of Max's journey through years 3 to 16 spent with Dharti ] 

As Max emerged from the mound of earth, he felt a different connection with the world. He was now rooted to the earth, like a colossal tree with its roots running deep. It was time for the second stage - Adaptation.

The following years were a test of Max's physical strength and endurance. Dharti, the Earth Goddess, started adding boulders on him. 

It was not a figure of speech, it was not a cute addition like placing boulder on the edge of a stick, forcing Max to lift the stick over his shoulders for weight training. 

No! 

It was literally placing a boulder over his head, which Max had to balance with his own two hands and raw power. 

On day one, the boulder was replaced several times as although it started with the size of a car, in the end it became as big as a tall fern tree.