The next three weeks were hell for me. My speed was increasing and so was the training. The treadmill was seemingly getting faster and faster. At one point I thought I was getting slower. When in fact Sam had been slowly moving the lever higher to match my growth. ( This woman is Nuts!!!) I mentally screamed. My legs were seemingly a blur amidst the moving piles of sand. Surprisingly the treadmill got slightly bigger as the settings were pushed higher. It seemingly adapted and changed to meet the needs of its user.
The tower was no joke either. In the three weeks of training I didn't make it to the top once. NOT ONCE! This injured my pride some. But that will recover with time. jumping between the platforms was more than I bargained for. Turns out those platforms have a magic that makes you heavier as you go higher. So you could imagine that jumping from one platform to the next is a task in and of itself let alone trying to go higher. The highest I got was a third the way up. My Physical Reinforcement ability has leveled up nicely thanks to that. And I get the feeling that Sam knows I'm getting ready to evolve because she started feeding me lizard based meets. Some salamander, drake, even snake meats. I'm not close to the 300kg's I need for evolution but I'll get there.
The dummies have been upgraded to ones covered in armor plating. In all reality. Armor is useless against fire. It's like walking into a fight against a teakettle where the water in the teakettle is your opponent. You just get the armor hot enough and boom. Fried Food! I wouldn't have to lift a finger.
On another note. Gerald and his gryphon are starting to purposely train at the same time as us in the grounds. The gryphon ( Who apparently is called Morgan) doesn't pounce on me as much but it still likes to pin me to the ground every once in a while. I honestly have no idea why something that big can move so quietly. It was almost eerie. But the point is that it just picks on me every once in a while.
After a month of constant training my skills had grown to the point that I was a force to be reckoned with. Everything was level 7 with exception to my poison fang which was level 2. I need to consume more poisons to make it stronger. And since no sane trainer does that... I'm stuck with that for now.
My muscles were tight, taught, and strong. I could make it half way up the tower before I took a break. But I couldn't seem to break through that last hurdle. Every time I slept I wasn't able to make it. It was so frustrating! Having it a claws length away. But unable to reach it. By then the wind magic is levitating me down to the ground with me twirling like a damn ballerina at a show. ( This is always embarrasing) I thought disdainfully.
I finally reached the ground and my stomache growled. (Time for chow) I thought gleefully. As I walked toward the door I noticed a large shadow. It looked just like a particular gryphon I know. I looked up and noticed a hole by the wall. I climbed up and through it to find the very gryphon I thought. I came out right behind it's head.
( Hehehehehe! Paybacks a B!+€#) I leapt onto the back of its head and suddenly the thing started bucking and squawking like its ass was on fire. ( Yeeehaw!) I thought, as I held on for dear life. I pictured the old bull riders from the rodeos and couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of a lizard wearing a small cowboy hat.
Morgan suddenly whipped her head forward and sent me flying. I landed on my back and rolled to my feet. Morgan stood there with her hind quarters in the air in a slight crouch like a dog. I thought she was going to attack, instead she pounced sideways in a playful manner. " Oh! I heard her squawking and thought there might be trouble. But it turns out she just got a new friend." I looked to the side a bit and saw Gerald and Sam standing in the door.
I turned back and saw Morgan staring at me. I stated back and started to feel giddy. ( What does it feel like to try playing tag with a gryphon?) I jumped at her head and she dodged backward a little. From there the game was on. She would dive for me and I would jump out of the way. I would jump for her and she would shift slightly to just barely let me by. Despite the fact it sounds stupid... It was alot of fun.
Sam's view: I saw Morgan and Ignis move. It was like watching two blurs in constant motion. The Grey and Red intermingled a little twirling around each other. " How fast are they going you think?" I said to Gerald. "Faster than we will ever be." He responded. "It's funny. Because that's the speed they're going when they're playing. Morgan has never had someone capable of matching her speed."
He looked at Sam and walked away with a pat on her shoulder. "You found a good one sister. Just don't ruin him with your training. He might not be able to maintain it for long."
IGNIS POV: After an hour of playing Morgan flew off satisfied it seems. Meanwhile, I was famished. I walked toward the food bowl and saw it was filled to the brim with meat. I looked at Sam in shock. She waved at the bowl. " I ordered it for you. You worked hard for it. Eat." I shoved my head in and chowed down. After finishing the bowl of meat (which I swear must have been 10 pounds) I heard a ding. / Host has reached the 300kg marker. Does host wish to proceed with evolution?/ I looked at Sam. She was putting things away from the training. ( Yes. I want to proceed.)
/ Recommending host find a hearth or place filled with fire for evolution process to begin/