VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 51

Crystal Cave was a bit out of the way, deep into the Shrouded Forest surrounding the western side of Voxis City. There had been plenty of rumors that Crystal Cave had a hidden cavern full of rare glowing crystals, though nobody had ever discovered it—or perhaps they had and it was just a pain to find. By the time Terrence got there, he found a shop stand set up near the entrance, a plank nailed to the top of the cave named 'Gerson's Goods'. Did . . . did the old man really think that he was going to get any customers? He doubted people came by Crystal Cave often enough for him to make a living—unless, hell, maybe the guy lived in Crystal Cave. He seemed cuckoo enough for it.

Terrence approached the mouth of the cave, eyeing the shop setup, and what was deeper within. Immediately, he was granted the sight of Gerson hunched over a large rock near the cave entrance, and he was beating away at it with a hammer easily twice his size. Terrence watched as Gerson brought the hammer down, and the rock splintered. He brought it down a second time, and the rock shattered, revealing—more rock. "Bèn dàn!" He yelled loudly, smashing the ground with his hammer.

"Having trouble?" Terrence asked, causing Gerson to wind his head back in alarm. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack, youngster?" Gerson asked, before turning back to look at his fruitless excavation attempt. "It doesn't get easier," the turtle man huffed. "You're early."

"Yeah. I, uh . . . actually had a favor I wanted to ask you. You trained the monsters Undyne and Asgore, didn't you?"

"Ahhh, you thought you'd ask for some royal training, eh?" Gerson grinned widely, showing off what little yellow teeth he had. "Well . . . yeah, I-"

"Nope!" Gerson crossed his arms. "I don't just train anyone! You've gotta earn it!"

"But . . . what about Lord Fallian?" Terrence asked, making Gerson cackle. "He may be your past self, but you're not him." This put the boy through a loop, who blinked in surprise. "Past . . . self?"

"Didn't you know? I thought it was common knowledge." Gerson approached him, frowning. "The Great Mages are reincarnated every generation cycle. They die every eighty to a hundred years, and come back to rise again. The Great Mages trained me, and I trained them, used to usually be in the Luxmagi. Very powerful humans, always seven." Terrence blinked; that sounded a bit far fetched to him, but then again, Gerson had been alive for over two thousand years. He'd seen things most people could probably only dream of. "Please- I need you to train me," Terrence pleaded, "I want to protect my friends."

"Eh?" Gerson raised an eyebrow. "My girlfriend, Frisk—she got attacked by the Messiah a few days ago. I was there, but . . ." He looked down, clenching his fists. "I couldn't do anything to help her. I was completely useless. I . . . I never want that to happen again. With everything going on, I want to be able to protect the people I care about. That's why . . . I need you to train me!"

"Hm . . . you're just as brave as I expected," Gerson noted. "I'll give you a chance to earn my special training, youngster, but it won't be easy!"

"Yes!" Terrence pumped his fist into the air. "But you have to come back this evening. I'm a little busy right now." Gerson added, and a bit of the boy's excitement faded, though not much. "Alright, yeah. That's fine." He shrugged. Gerson went back to work on the wall of rock, spouting words in different languages that Terrence could only assume were swears. The boy turned and headed back out to the mouth of the cave, wondering who he should try to befriend first before this afternoon . . .

It was a pretty small building, all things considered, standing two stories tall and decorated in all sorts of graffiti, which was mostly praise about Mettaton. The front of the store was titled in very large, bubbly letters that spelled out 'Catty and Bratty's Beauty Salon'. From what he heard, all they did was make customers look like Mettaton. Terrence felt a little weird about going into a beauty salon like this, but it was a little too late to turn back—he'd already paid for the bus ride here, after all. The moment he entered, he heard a girly squeal from across the room. "Omigosh! Is that Frisk's future hubby?! He came to get a makeover for his girl! That's so sweet!"