Once Kigen's conversation with mother was done, he drifted off to sleep. Usually, he would have a dreamless sleep, ending with him awakening in his body.
However, that night was different. Instead of the usual dreamless state he'd be in, he found himself dreaming. It wasn't a dream per se, but an acquisition of knowledge. It was as if he was learning something new, and then he saw himself doing what he had learned.
All this was happening in his head, and Kigen couldn't find the right words to explain. It felt as though he was pulling this information from some unfathomable place. Even after he was thoroughly exhausted, he still felt there was more information to pull.
This went on until morning, when Kigen found himself awakening. Unlike usual, he was quite exhausted, but also eager to test what he had learned.
Most of this information seemed to describe new abilities and techniques, and new ways of applying one's elemental control. In a nutshell, they were new spells and skills. One thing about these new abilities was that they were very suited for his body and his form.
Kigen was quite eager to test out the first ability. In this ability, he had seen himself generating a rod from his palms. More accurately, the tendrils on his palms had risen to form a sturdy rod.
He could tell the rod was quite powerful since, in the dream that wasn't a dream, he saw himself being able to blast apart a tree trunk using the rod he had generated. Given his small size, a tree trunk had the width of a building. To him, a tree trunk was no different from a skyscraper.
All this had happened in the dream, which showed him the limit of this ability. He wondered if he could be able to replicate this in real life.
Focusing, he felt the tendrils in his palms growing rapidly. In mere moments, he had already formed a rod. Looking at the rod, he could tell, this one was not as sturdy as the one he had seen in the dream.
Eager to try it, he went to a nearby tree trunk, one that was not mother's, and swung the rod. As expected, the rod bent and was nearly broken. Moreover, his palms were aching.
Not easily dispirited, Kigen focused and tried to remember the information he had learned. He did not just 'see' the skill being cast, he also learned how to cast the skill, or spell.
As he focused, another rod was generated. This time, he could feel a slight difference with the other one. The concentration of the wood element in the rod, which was coming from his own body, had grown by leaps and bounds.
Unfortunately, the more concentrated the rod was, the heavier it became, making it very hard to use. When it got too heavy for him to comfortably lift, Kigen decided to try it out once more.
Brandishing the rod, Kigen struck at a branch, this time. The impact was heavier than expected, but still, the branch did not give way. Just a scraped bark to show for all that effort. The rod even lost control and ended up pulling him down.
As he fell, he managed to pull the wood elements back to his body. Obviously, this was not how the skill should work. Kigen knew he had a lot of practice to do if he was going to have any success at mastering the skill.
After the unsuccessful trial, he moved on to the next skill. This one was bound to be much easier for him since it entailed something he was quite familiar with as a human, the bow and arrow.
Essentially, the skill involved using wood element to form a bow with one hand. The other hand would then form an arrow. Once these were formed, he could release arrow after arrow, depending on how much wood element he could control, until he was utterly exhausted.
Just like the rod, the bow had to be sufficiently strong, and the arrow was also supposed to be sturdy. With the combination, Kigen saw that a single arrow could even penetrate a tree trunk, causing enough damage on a tree to bring it down.
Kigen found that there was so much more that went into forming a bow just to make it functional. Be it the sturdy bow side, or the flexible cable, the bow was more complex compared to the simple rod.
The same went with the arrow. It needed to be flexible to facilitate good movement, while also being sturdy enough to penetrate the target. In his first attempt, none of the two functioned as expected, and the arrow wouldn't go the direction it was pointed.
Sadly, it was true that even a skilled archer like Kigen found that he needed proper equipment to make a proper shot, and this was before worrying whether the shot was accurate or not.
After an entire morning of practice, Kigen found that he had not made any headway in either skill. Alas, it was time to go hunting, so he joined his kin, and they set off.
When their number had begun to grow, Kigen had observed that the prey around the mother tree was quickly getting used up. Therefore, he made a rule that they should travel longer distances to hunt, unless they had a newborn in their midst. Thus, these hunting expeditions had begun.
Speaking of, the fairies were quite organized. As their society grew in number, they began to have a more conscious outlook of the environment. They had already labeled various regions in the forest so as to make it easier for planning and hunting purposes.
As usual, the smaller, younger fairies did most of the hunting, while Kigen stood back as the shepherd. His role was to step in when something went wrong, and to give out pointers to the hunters.
During such times, he started focusing more on training the abilities passed down by his mom.
After several days, he had already mustered how to create a sturdy bow, with a sturdy and powerful cord. It would take him another several weeks to eventually create an arrow.
By then, the rod he could generate could muster enough force to break down a small branch. It was a far cry to what he was shooting for, but still, progress.
One day, the fairies were out and about as they usually did. This time, they were headed towards the bamboo tree section of the forest. Up high in the mountains, the region was terribly cold. However, there were quite a few animals to be found.
This was an area they had frequented several times, and Kigen knew there were quite a lot of insects, amphibians and rodents. These were his target. Since he still couldn't go after the bulky animals with his meagre weaponry, he could only hope to target the small animals.
With his left hand, he expertly formed a bow. He had done it several times, but each time was still a strain. He hoped to form a sturdier bow every time. With his right, an arrow was formed, and he nocked it on the bow.
Taking aim, Kigen fired off his first arrow. This would be the first time using the bow and arrow while hunting.
Puchi!
A grasshopper. A cricket here, a praying mantis. Nothing was spared. Kigen didn't even bother to collect their carcasses, since his kin would definitely swoop in.
Just as Kigen was caught up in the euphoria of finally using weapons, he heard a loud scream. This time, it was Nina, the second born.
Worriedly, Kigen rushed to where the scream had come from, only to spot it. Green, long, and scaly, the snake was the thickness of a small branch. Curled up in the branches, it looked quite impressive. It must have been some sort of viper, given its size.
Clutched in its mouth was the young Nina, barely alive. He could see some color spreading in her green body, indicating some poison at work.
Kigen was livid. Never had he come so close to losing one of his kin as he had that day. Caught up in his rage, he dismissed the bow, and, in its place, he formed the rod.
Brandishing it wildly, he roared as he shot towards the snake. He wouldn't give it any more time to continue torturing his brethren.
Whack!
Kigen's training had paid off. His strike bore such weight that it stunned the snake. In its confusion, Nina was able to break free of its bite. However, just a glance and you could tell, she was heavily wounded.
Seeing this, Kigen was further infuriated. The rod had not disappeared. All this time, he'd been building into it, sending more and more wood element into the rod. It was getting harder to handle the rod.
With a loud roar, Kigen mustered every aspect of his willpower, commanding the wood element. All of a sudden, the rod was no longer heavy. It seemed to move at his will, like an extension of his hand.
All this time, the snake had been writhing, twisting and coiling as it tried to distance itself from the fairies. It could sense a lot of danger for what would have been a quick snack. However, Kigen was not letting it go.
Swinging the rod wildly, the massive object came crushing upon the head of the snake. Puchi! Just like that, the massive serpent's head was smashed through. The snake was dead on impact.
The fairies, who had been watching all this while, could not bring themselves to turn away. The snake, massive and scary, a thing of nightmare to their eyes, was easily destroyed. This was the power of their big brother!
Moreover, another thought was running through their mind. If big bro could do it, then so could they.
Kigen flew proudly as he stared down at the offending snake. Its body was lying like a belt in the forest. With a sneer, he turned around. This time, the look in his eyes softened as he approached the wounded Nina.
"How are you feeling?" He asked with concern. He took it upon himself to protect each and every one of the fairies, and he felt responsible for Nina's plight.
"Surprisingly, very well," Nina replied, both shocked and bright at the same time. "The venom, I think I am absorbing it," she said after some thought.