GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



His voice is calm and soothing. It pulled their attention and made them forget that there was a sworn enemy right in front of them. They calmed down as they listened to him speak.

"The second element is the environment. A race doesn't awaken its divine ability until the mana stage. That means that a race has to live in its environment and survive for a while before it gains its divine ability. Their adaptation to their environment might have influenced the creation or expression of their divine ability."

"There are exceptions to this, as some races are born at the mana stage. But for others, it is speculated that the environment affects the divine ability because it has been observed to be so in many cases. This phenomenon is most clear regarding elementals. Their divine ability is similar to the conditions of their environment, and it helps them to survive better in that environment."

His calm voice suddenly changed. His tone became serious. Those listening to him know subconsciously that he is about to speak of something important.

"The third element is origin and bloodline. Bloodline is self-explanatory, but the origin of the race is not. Not every life within the realm tree was created by the will of the realm. Life also came from outside the realm. Some races have changed immensely from what they once were, either due to the environment or interaction with an external source of life. You know this much, don't you?"

They nodded subconsciously. They know about the changes to a race through external influence. For example, races change if they have demon ancestors. Demons are very fertile and can create offspring through reproduction with other races. Those offspring will eventually eliminate an original race. The divine ability of the race will change in such situations.

"In the case of battle sage, our original race is also about to be eliminated. Survival of the fittest means that obsolete abilities get eliminated. Our original divine ability is becoming rarer to encounter in our people. It used to be a very good divine ability in the past, and it helped us to survive in the environment we found ourselves."

"We could never have survived without our ability to slow the world in our perception when we fought the Vipers. They were too fast, and we were too slow. If we couldn't see them move, then there could never have been any resistance. You cannot resist what you cannot see."

Then the Sage sighed. "But times have changed. Our divine ability has changed. It has become better at other things, just as it has become lacking in some things. The Vipers have gone extinct for many years, so it didn't matter if we had our former divine abilities or not. Now the Vipers are back."

He let that confirmation settle on all of them. Then he continued, "The Vipers are back, and they are stronger. But never fear. We, too, are stronger. We are not as hopeless as we once were. We are no longer ocular monkeys." Then he asked them, "What are we?"

They roared their answer to him, "We are the battle sages." 

He asked again. "What are we?"

"We are the battle sages."

That is their answer to his question. It is an answer that they knew deep down from within their very being. It is an answer that they gave without much thought. It is also an answer that gives them pride. They are battle sage monkeys. They live to battle, and they die to win.

They felt the eye smile at them. "It is good you know that. Your ancestors fought to give you that title. Your ancestors defeated the vipers. They fought tooth and nail. They shed blood and flesh. They were outmatched, but they won. It is your turn now. You have to do your ancestors proud. You have to win. You have to show the worth of your bloodlines." 

He proclaimed to them with a raised voice. "You have to honor your ancestors. You are not prey. You are not weak. You are battle sage monkeys. Do your ancestors proud and fight to defend the title of battle sage."

"For your ancestors!" He roared.

They shouted and yelled in reply, "For our ancestors." 

"For our ancestors."

"For our ancestors." 

They shouted three times. They were shouting full of conviction and accompanied it with jumping.

They jumped up and down. They pumped their fist into the air, and some slammed their fists against their chest. Gone is the fear they had. They feel they can't lose. It is because they have to win. They have to make their ancestors proud. They are soldiers now, and soldiers don't feel fear.

The Vipers are strong, so they were scared. But that only means that the vipers should be taken seriously. The battle sage monkeys must not let fear dictate their emotions. Strong or not, the Vipers were defeated once before. Their entire race was wiped out by their ancestors. Not one of them survived to this day. So what is there to fear?

The battle sage monkeys became of one accord. They are to fight for their ancestors. Every one of them has a bloodline, so they all have ancestors. Their ancestors might not be ancient, and they might not have fought the Vipers, but every single one of them has an ancestor. They might hate the Sage or be afraid of him, but they want to make their ancestors proud. It is a challenge to their very bloodline. 

The Sage wasn't addressing them directly. He was challenging the bloodline within each and every one of them. Those with ancient bloodlines want to make their ancestors proud by replicating the victory over the vipers. While those with new bloodlines have to justify if their bloodline and the changes it caused to the divine ability of their race are worth it.

They have to test their mettle and see where they come out against the old divine ability. They must prove their worth by showing that they can overcome the Vipers just as the old divine ability did.