Cale finished his sandwich and looked to see that the dragon had finished eating. He stood up from the bench and shoved the last sandwich into his spatial pouch. "Shall we head back?"
Ron interrupted before the dragon could answer. "If I may, Young Master? I believe you may want to check out the Man Eating Tree."
"Why is that?" Cale asked with his eyebrows scrunched in annoyance.
"There have been stories of a tree located in the slums that will eat anything, including the dead. The stories originate back a few generations. It might be a good place to check for an ancient power."
"What's an ancient power?" The dragon asked Cale curiously.
"Ancient powers were powers that some humans had mysteriously developed during the ancient times which was around ten-thousand-years ago."
"They'll make the weak human stronger?"
"Yes," Ron answered with a benign smile.
Ron took the lead this time, leading them through the streets of the slums. There were a few people out, mainly mothers with their children. Those that were out in the streets were casting curious glances toward the two well-dressed people who were moving through the streets with a natural grace to them.
They continued the journey. Before long, they came to the worst part of the slums where mainly the homeless reside. At the edge of the slums was a small hill with a black, dead looking tree on top of it. The three of them trekked up the hill with Ron in the lead on high alert.
-"Does that tree really eat people?" The dragon asked with a tremor in its young voice.
"I am not sure," Ron answered.
"I am not sure either. This is the first time I've heard of this tree." Cale could not recall any of the staff mentioning a man-eating tree in either of his lives.
Once they got closer to the tree, they could see that the fence surrounding it was rotted and broken in some places. The grass all around the tree was dead and bare. The soil even looked blackened and dead.
"Most powers require a test to gain them. I wonder what this one's is, and if it even is an ancient power?" Cale mumbled loud enough for the others to hear.
"Ooh, try feeding it!" The now visible black dragon spoke in an excited voice. "Lemon gramps said it was a man-eating tree! It can't have my human! Maybe it will eat regular food!"
Cale blinked. He then pulled the leftover sandwich out of his spatial pouch. The dragon's idea was a sound one. Now, how to feed a tree?
He walked around the tree, careful to avoid the roots. The sandwich in his hand was carefully wrapped, but was otherwise not being eaten by the tree.
"I don't know about this," he finally said.
The dragon, who had been flying close to Cale, drooped. "I am not a smart dragon." The tail of the dragon swung down as it pouted, hitting Cale's arm. The arm that was holding the sandwich. The sandwich tumbled out of his hand, falling down toward the ground. Only it did not land on the ground. It fell into a pitch black hole that had appeared.
'Mm. Delicious! Never had bread taste like this in the Forest of Darkness! The cheese is smooth and creamy! The chicken was expertly cooked and perfectly flavored!' The cheery, feminine voice practically screamed in his head.
"See, you are a smart dragon," he told the child that was now staring at the hole in wonder. He turned toward the tree and asked it, "Are you an ancient power associated with an element?"
'I am! I am affiliated with wood!'
Cale smirked. "Good. I was looking for a wood power to accompany my other one."
'Bring me back lots of delicious food and I'll give you something good!'
Cale's smirk deepened. "I can do that." He turned and headed out the broken gate. "It looks like I need to buy a lot of delicious food."
"Did it confirm whether it had a wood affinity?" Ron asked as he followed behind him.
"It did." Cale rubbed his hands together in glee and smiled wildly. "Thank you for the tip, Ron."
Ron's benign smile turned soft, though Cale couldn't see it. "It was my pleasure to be of service, Young Master."
-"Yay, human! I'm glad my suggestion helped!" The now invisible black dragon cheered in his mind.
Cale chuckled. He would have to have his father give Ron a bonus this month. He would also need to give the dragon more money. The two of them really have been a big help.
They walked out of the slums and back into the bustling city. If the tree wanted good food, then it will get good food. He made his way to the place where they had bought the sandwiches before and ordered one of every kind. He then went to a bakery and bought one of each kind of bread and sweet.
His spatial pouch had been completely filled after the second stop. He wanted to use the dragon's dimensional space but decided against it. These kinds of tests had to be finished by one person.
After dumping the food into the hole, he went back into the city. The dragon was having a blast as it was making suggestions of what kind of food they should feed the tree.
They went to several different cafes and restaurants to buy the tree the most delicious looking food they could find. Cale was also very insistent on feeding the tree a variety of food simply because one should not consume the same type of food all the time if it could be avoided.
They made a total of five trips and the blackened hole lightened into a lighter gray before turning white each time a spatial pouch of food was spilled into it.
'I like you!' The voice of the tree said once the hole had turned completely white. 'You must be rich to be able to afford such delicious food! There were so many different kinds! They did not have food like that in the Forest of Darkness!'
"One should eat a lot. That place sounds like real trash," Cale commented casually.
'Yes! I like you! That place was trash! Praying to a fake god who turned the land desolate! Ugh! I really hated that place! And I was forced to eat dirt with my dying breath!' The voice was now ranting and sounded extremely pissed off, not that Cale could blame it.
"Fucking bastards. Dying by eating dirt? Hopefully those bastards' souls are being tormented by the gods."
'Yes! Yes!' The voice chanted.
"I would not want to eat dirt." The dragon spoke quietly and sadly, only being able to hear Cale's side of the conversation. "Dirt does not taste good."
'I approve!' The light in the hole started to grow brighter.
It dimmed when Cale cut her off, just realizing something that she had mentioned. "Wait. You said they prayed to a fake bastard who pretended to be a god?" He was a little curious about that bit since it was similar to that White Bastard's goal.
'A greedy, God-crazed human who possessed all five attributes plus the sky attribute powers. White Star.'
"No fucking shit! You faced down a White Star as well? Damn! Do you know how to beat him?"
There was hesitation in the voice and a light breeze whipped through the barren branches. It almost felt like the tree was trying to shake its head. 'I unfortunately died before he was defeated. I died by stopping the spread of dead mana.'
Fuck! "Fuck!" He cursed both internally and externally. "So there probably isn't a way to purify the dead mana without the help of Dark Elves?"
'I had a friend who possessed a fire so pure that it could purify the dead mana and despair of the golems.'
"Do you know where that power is?"
'. . .I do not. . .do you have any more questions or can I give you the shield now?'
A shield? That's what this power was? It sounded like it could be useful. "You may continue." At the end of his words, the light grew in intensity. When it died down, Cale felt a presence above his heart. Unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt, he found a silver shield tattoo with a pair of wings embracing it right above his heart on his breastplate.
He closed his eyes and focused on the newly obtained power. Within seconds, the tattoo above his heart disappeared as he absorbed the power into his soul, making it completely his. Just like he had done with the Annual Rings, the power that had once been his mother's.
A grin plastered itself onto his face. After rebuttoning his shirt, he found Ron staring at him with open curiosity.
"Did it know of a power that can help us in our war against White Star?"
"Yes. Her comrade possessed a fire power that could purify dead mana. And get this Ron," he paused for dramatic effect, "our White Bastard is copying the White Bastard of ancient times. Same name, same goal."
"Hm, interesting," was all the butler said.