The Musafir

Tapa Balian Visits Bringing In Supplies

“Have you heard during the last full moon, Son?”

TAPA Balian smiled widely while patting Mantingan's shoulder; while Pomegranate skillfully tethered the horse to the tree trunks near the mouth of the cave.

“I'm fine, Father. What about your own father?” The mantel smiled back widely. It was a pleasure to see Tapa Balian standing in front of him. Remembering all the kindness that the old man had given him made Mantingan's chest feel warm.

“You look at myself. Getting healthier and fitter, isn't it?” Tapa Balian chuckled softly. “I brought a lot of supplies for you. This time not only food or clothing, but also tools to practice. There are wooden logs to hit, there are target boards to throw with flying knives, there are sticks and spears you can throw, and many others. I hope you like it, Son of Mantingan.”

The smile of the mantis faded away instantly anyway. “Father, it all must have come from Balian Forging. I can't take everything for granted, there's a price I have to pay ...”

“Those things are no longer useful to me nor to Pomegranate, Son. This old and old me no longer had the chance to train. Enough of my science level to get here only.” Tapa Balian shook his head slowly. “Do not think that all the things I give you are so precious. Those tools are old and used by me, which are really worth throwing away rather than giving them to you. But I hope, those items can provide a little more benefits for you.”

Mantingan was silent for a moment to string the word in such a way as to be able to refuse the gift of Tapa Balian which he still considered too valuable in a landslide. But the goods a moment later after the sentences have been almost finished compiled, Mantingan actually undo the intention. However it will cause a heartache that is not a little on the mind of Tapa Balian, because his gift is not appreciated at all by Mantingan.

So smile Mantingan with as wide and as warm as possible on Tapa Balian, before saying, “Pardon me who does not know this self continues to trouble Father ceaselessly, before saying, but let me accept all the gifts of the Father, which, however valuable, are still precious in my eyes. I'm sure this will help me a lot to train myself.”

Tapa Balian just laughed off. “Hahahaha! It is true that the birds say that the Javadvipa people have been too polite in speech. O Son of Mantingan, I who is not used to this immediately flattered because of you, but what I gave it is not how much it means.”

Mantingan and Tapa Balian then shoulder to shoulder lowered the items from the horse's back, even Pomegranate also helped bring the items that if light enough to be able to lift into the mouth of the cave.

“If our encounter today is sufficient,” said Tapa Balian after all the luggage is finished being lowered from the horse's back. “I have a job in forging that I need to finish quickly.”

Mantingan fell silent with a smile gone awry. He did not want to let Tapa Balian go without a banquet that however small was still a form of respect and gratitude to him. But on the other hand, Mantingan did not know where the place that could be used as a banquet table was, because it is impossible if he invites Tapa Balian and Pomegranate into the Thousand Drops of Water that has a pitch-black passageway. So fix it with the wrong gelagat. Don't know what to say.

“I know that the cave is not a friendly place to visit by me as well as by my grandson.” Tapa Balian smiled warmly while patting the shoulder of the Mantingan. “There is no need to bother yourself just for this old man with his little grandson. Just continue your training.”

***

TWO days later. So fast it felt, as if everything only lasted a few eye jolts. Such are the days felt by Mantingan if without adventure. Tasteless and impressed flat only. But right on that day, the Thousand Drops of Water Shake looked a little different than usual.

The training tools given by Tapa Balian are in fact more than what he said. Aside from the wooden spindles that at this point had been set up in the practice field, and some target boards that at this point had been hanging on the stone walls of the hall, were, so there are also large jugs that can be filled with water or sand to train the muscles of the body, rigging for swinging exercises, and a hammer and metal seeds are complete with a book of science forging.

Thus all, the Thousand Drops of Water Reverse seemed a little more crowded than usual, although the crowd was really not caused by the existence of people but goods.

All the gifts of Tapa Balian made Mantingan more eager to practice. More often he trained himself. Sleep just a drink of tea every day, because almost all the time is devoted to self-training.

Such was the absence of time had passed three months of the site since Mantingan first entered the Thousand Drops of Water. Most of the books in that place had been mastered by him. Now Mantingan can be said to be quite proficient in controlling Golek Soulnya, and also in playing the sword with his left hand. Some wind control magic has also been mastered. Only, he was still not able to master the Savrinadeya Book, no matter how he memorized the contents of the book out of his head.

However, all of those developments do not mean that Mantingan will soon complete his training. Indeed, three months of practice is still lacking, because not all the books of the Unnamed Woman in the Thousand Drops of Water have been mastered, and the ones she has mastered have not reached the advanced level. In other words, his training was still quite far from finished.

Practicing the study of more than 500 books makes Mantingan's head seem wide open. His mind wandered everywhere, though his body was clearly confined within the Thousand Drops of Water. Literature can really make a person confined to feel not confined.

The number of books Mantingan studied has also made him succeed in finding new meanings about the nature of human life, which led to the creation of a silat by Mantingan.

The science of silat was obtained after spending two weeks without drinking and eating. The science of silat then poured it in sheets tossed into sentence by sentence, which then arranged into a whole book. Silat science was then given the name “Penjalan Man”.