As Arthur recited his prayer, Zen saw a magical scene.
He thought that, just like on Earth, the prayers of this world only consist of speaking or reciting words that came from the heart.
However, what he saw was different. As Arthur recited his prayer, Zen seemed to have seen an imaginary dragon, the western kind.
It had red scales and reptilian eyes, it looked powerful and intimidating. The dragon circled around them before dissipating into countless wisps of fire.
Finishing his prayer, Arthur opened his eyes and saw the surprised expression on Zen's
face.
'Heh, me using my full concentration and focus on praying to manifest Salamander is worth it as long as he becomes more amazed at our temple's power!'
After pausing for a moment, he smiled and said, "You must have seen Salamander, right?"
Zen asked in confusion, "Salamander?"
"Yes."
Arthur nodded and said, "Salamander is the guardian spirit of the Fire Temple. Spirits are strange organisms as they come in different forms. Even though Salamander has the form of a dragon, it does not mean that other spirits are in the form of dragons too."
"An illusory form of a spirit would manifest while praying if the one praying has deep enough faith to the one he was worshipping. As our Fire Temple worships fire, Salamander, the guardian spirit in charge of fire, would be the one to manifest as I pray."
"However, it would be different depending on one's faith and religion."
Hearing Arthur's words, Zen had a thought in his heart.
He seemed to have remembered that the term Salamander was also used in some stories and fairy tales in the modern Earth.
'I wonder what the connection between the Earth and the Free World is…'
Not knowing what was in Zen's mind, Arthur continued, "Anyway, there are too many powers in this world that makes it hard to tell you all of them in one sitting. That is why you can only explore them yourselves."
As soon as he heard Arthur's words, Zen got excited and asked, "Are we going to travel!?"
Flick~
Zen could not help but make a pained groan as he held his forehead.
"Why did you hit me!?"
"To knock some sense in that head of yours!"
Arthur scolded Zen and continued, "There are too many powers in this world, both known and unknown. That is precisely the reason why you first need to train before travelling around!"
Hearing the word "training" made Zen remember all the important goals he had in mind. He also remembered that he was not in this world to play around, but to become stronger!
Thus with a determined expression, Zen said, "Then, when do we start, teacher?"
Surprised by Zen's sudden change of mood, Arthur said, "Let's start after we eat."
Zen's eyes shined with eagerness as he ate the delicious bread and milk on his plate.
***
After a few minutes, the teacher and student finished eating their meal.
Burp~
A loud burp came out of Zen's mouth, which made him blush slightly in embarrassment.
Seeing this, Arthur chucked and said, "Oh you don't need to be embarrassed by such a small matter. It's not as if I haven't already seen you crying, laughing, and acting like a crazy maniac at the training grounds in my front yard earlier."
Arthur's words made Zen pause in shock.
"What!?"
"You saw whaaaat!?"
***
After their meal, Zen helped in washing the dishes while pestering Arthur.
Soon, they walked outside the dining room and arrived in a spacious courtyard at the back of the dilapidated building.
Zen was shocked at the size of the courtyard. He could not have imagined that such a huge courtyard would be hidden behind the dilapidated building.
After all, even the training grounds in the front were already very large.
What surprised him even more was the number of training equipment that could be seen throughout the place.
"Come with me."
Arthur's voice snapped Zen out of his daze.
"Alright."
The two walked towards the training mats that were placed on the floor.
"What's this…?"
"Go see for yourself."
Zen followed Arthur and checked the information on the training mat.
[Training Mat
Grade: Uncommon
Tier: Low
Description:
Every 100 push ups in this training mat will provide the player with +1 Constitution Stat.
Description 2:
Every hour of meditation in this training mat will provide the player with +1 Intelligence Stat.
Note: This item is restricted to level 1 players only.
Note: The Attribute Stat that could be gained using this item is capped at 10.]
Arthur observed Zen's dazed expression and felt proud in his heart.
"This will be the first training that you will do."
Arthur circled around the mat as he continued, "Unlike the dummy and the running field in the front yard, this training mat can provide the person with 2 different kinds of stat. However, it is still a failure because it can only be used by level 1 creatures."
Remembering one of the questions he had in his heart, Zen asked. "But teacher, are level 1 creatures scarce? Can't we just let the common people use it?"
Hearing Zen's question, Arthur smiled bitterly and said, "Do you really think that those in power would want the common people to be stronger? Sure, they will use this kind of training equipment for their soldiers. But for the common people? Hah! Those hypocrites would keep all the good things to themselves."
"I–"
Arthur waved his hand and interrupted Zen.
"Don't worry too much about it. Be stronger and then I'll let you ask me questions."
"Yes, teacher!"
After replying to Arthur, Zen hurriedly prepared to do push ups in the training mat.
Inhale~ Exhale~
Down~ Up~
He performed push ups one after another slowly, accompanied with proper breathing.
Seeing Zen's performance, Arthur was satisfied. Although push ups were a basic exercise, there were plenty of people who did not have knowledge on how to properly perform it.
'Hmmm… he did not rush nor did he ignore his breathing. Good kid.'