Aries: Ram Style

Aries: Ram Style is the eighth chapter of the Crusaders of the Constellations Novel. This is the first of the Zodiac arc and involves Ranald learning the first martial art from his friend.

## Story

The first two weeks at Aether World Cosmic University are okay for Ranald. The king not only taught classes on the history and culture of Earth and other dimensions, but he also taught them the subjects that Earth humans learn. At the same time, he learned that every Friday, they would go to the Room of Peril for the dimension warrior exams and that every day after weekday classes, he would be training with Phrixus in a martial art: Ram Style.

"Be ready. You must charge forth with your strength." He instructed. The young shepherd was patient, instructing Ranald to charge at a punching bag. He did, and it didn't hurt his head. "Amazing how you can take a lot of damage," His friend complimented, "Use your bag to charge too. "Okay," Ranald said, as he held Baby Little the stuffed baby griffin under his free hand, while he shielded his other with his school bag and rammed the punching bag. "Well done!" Phrixus said, "At the end of the month, we will be going to a dimension to save people and such. As His Majesty announced, the class will go to mine." "Hellenos?" Ranald asked, bewildered. His friend nodded, and told him, "You will like it there."

At the end of the first month, King Athos met the students at Cosmos University and said, "Those chosen by the leaders of the Hall of Mars and the Hall of the Sun will go to Hellenos for our first assignment: a dimensional rescue. Sheep bandits have been terrorizing the countryside, and you need to subdue them and their leader. Any group member can join." "I wish you a successful endeavor in your first mission. We can't afford to mess up in the subsequent ones." Samson added. Chrysomallos bleated to Phrixus, who thanked him for his wish. Ranald chose Zarafa, Phrixus, Arye, and Toco to accompany him while Nergal chose Geri the werewolf, Zenkuro the crow tengu, Orion the hunter, and Torta the turtle-man. "Good luck, Earthling." Nergal sneered. Ranald balled his fists and wanted to punch the armored man, but Athos looked at him, stilling him. "Don't let him bother you. Go," He said, and that's what they did.

Hellenos is an ancient-Greece and Rome inspired dimension that has simple villages and rolling fields and populated by both mundane humans and super-humans. Mythic beasts like minotaurs and nymphs are found in there. Ranald saw that no one in the area they are in has special powers. "So supers are rare in your dimension?" He asked. "Fairly common," Phrixus said, "This area in Hellenos is where the normal people live. Still, watch out for the bandits." They went to a village. An old man went up to them and said, "The bandits have left this behind from stealing the sheep yesterday." He held up a cloth rag. Ranald examined it and noticed that it was made of wool. "We need to show this to Arye," He said.

Arye smelled and commented on the rag cloth, saying that it smells like sulfur. He told them that Zarafa and Toco scouted the area and found out that there's a sulfur cave far from the village. Ranald and Phrixus decided to go there, but as Ranald put it, he can use his schoolbag. "Thanks," said Ranald to his friend.

Thus, they went to the sulfur cave. Along the way there, they were ambushed by bandits, wearing black robes and wielding knives. Ranald held his stuffed toy and used his bag to run down the bandits. It was thick enough to withstand knives. He charged at the bandits like an angry ram, flinging them high in the air with uppercuts. Phrixus used his hammer to hit some bandits unconscious. "We'll leave the Hall of Mars members to find them and arrest them," He said.

They then reached the sulfur caves. It smells like the mineral in it, and the entrance is vast. "Well, we...need to be careful. It's dark, and...wait? These things glow?" Ranald said as he saw that there are glowing crystals in the cave. Phrixus broke off two, and he led the way. They stumbled for a while in the tunnels and even split up to search. Phrixus found more glowing crystals, and Ranald found the second piece of the heart-gem. They met up and continued their trek into the caves until they heard voices: "What! We must steal more sheep tomorrow. Otherwise, we won't end up in the Devourer of World's Maw." The duo hid behind some rocks while some more bandits ran through the tunnels. Ranald told his friend that he will wrestle the bandit leader into submission, but Phrixus cautioned him that they can't do that. "Besides, they have never been this vicious in their crimes, until now. It seems that the Devourer of Worlds has minions to carry out his wishes. You'll never know how nasty they can be." "You have powers, you dumb sheep, and I don't, and I will prove it to you." Ranald retorted, and went ahead. He entered the main room the bandit leader may have used as a hideout and found...

No one. He looked around for a while, shouting challenges at the currently-away villain. But two strong hands cupped his mouth, and the bandit leader he was looking for struggled with him until he managed to get the upper hand. Ranald then pummeled the bandit leader into submission, only for the villain to respond, "I, Antaeus, can be invincible only when the ground and my feet touch." He then chased Ranald outside from the sulfur cave into the open fields, and both exchanged blows. Ranald even applied what Phrixus taught him about Ram Style, and rammed the boss with his bag while holding the stuffed baby griffin. The more he assailed Antaeus with his fists, the more the bandit leader laughed at him. Phrixus emerged from the cave looking dirty and tired, and called to Ranald, " Uppercut him into the clear blue sky! That villain must go meet his just desserts!" Ranald hesitated at the thought of taking orders from a superpowered person, but as Antaeus charged at him, readying his bare fists, Ranald readied his bag, and...

Swung it, knocking the villain out into the sky. Meanwhile, Nergal and his group mates were beating up some bandits when Geri called out, "Boss, look! The bandit leader's flying!" The armoured man turned his head and saw Antaeus being punched into the sky, screaming, until he became like a blip. "That's...amazing," He mouthed. He turned to the bandits that were subdued and mocked that their master is gone and would not protect them. One bandit pinned to the ground by Torta's shield whined, "I should have listened to my momma and studied hard..." Zenkuro offered to send the bandits he held in his talons to Hellenos's state prison, which he allowed. Ranald and Phrixus arrived, along with Arye, Zarafa and Toco. "It's exhausting really, rounding up the stolen sheep. I come to them, and they run away," Arye complained. "It's okay. I forgot my magic calculator, so Zarafa helped me to count and round up the sheep. But at least she stopped me from sleeping," Toco said as he tried to stifle a yawn. "When we go back to Aether World Cosmic University, you can rest," Phrixus said. Ranald was surprised that Zarafa and Toco can count sheep without magic. "How did you do that?" He asked. Zarafa smiled, and said, "A young lady looking like your shepherd friend taught us how to round up and count sheep. She also said that they respond to gentle commands." Phrixus blushed. "She...she's my mom." Everyone was amazed. Nergal asked if they can get sweaters from her. "Yes, you can. I will talk to her," said the shepherd boy.

After talking with his mom, Phrixus went back with some veggies to feed Chrysomallos. "Now that the job's done, let's go back to school," Ranald said, as a portal opened.

At AWCU, Ranald placed the second piece of the heart-gem into his locket. King Athos saw his and Nergal's team and congratulated them in their success. He awarded them their points and told then that he sent a flying camera drone to record their actions. Ranald then told the king that he called his friend a name and wanted to apologize to him. "Go ahead. You two are friends after all. Besides, he has a gift for you for mastering the Ram Style martial art," He said. Ranald went to the Dining Hall of AWCU, and saw him eating with Bai Tu, Delmare, and Kibahime. Kibahime was on her stone tablet-phone looking at latte art. Delmare has just finished her sushi, and Bai Tu is eating a carrot salad. "Sorry for calling you a dumb sheep back in your native dimension. I...just wanted to prove myself," he said. "It's okay. My dad called me that back when I did something funny. Here," Phrixus took out a hammer and gave it to Ranald. "This is your first zodiac tool. Use it wisely. It may be useful for the final battle." Ranald thanked him, went to get some chicken rice, then joined his new friends and talked with them until King Athos called them to their next lesson.