A couple of weeks were already gone. Marduk's training under Fortis had started. During those days, Marduk worked hard, without a moment of rest.
"This 'chamber' is really efficient, we don't need rest or food or water to keep going…" Marduk's interest in this strange place grew with each day.
"Well, since only souls can enter 'God's chamber' you don't need any kind of sustenance. At least the inside 'you', the one outside would need nourishment if you stayed inside more than a couple of days. My physical body instead doesn't need any rest or food or water in any case."
Fortis answered.
They spent their time between developing Marduk's magic and clairvoyance and just chatting. Although most of those chats were about Gods and divine power.
"As expected from a Goddess' body, overpowered." Marduk mumbled.
'Shall I develop a way to kill them? It will take time, maybe divine power? But how can I grasp it?' Marduk's thought, 'Well, let's leave that for another time.'
"How strong is an Immortal Rank?" Marduk asked out of curiosity.
"Well, it's not certain, 'They' killed the only specimen in history when it was still adapting to it, but I believe Zarke would have been able to stand between us Gods with his new abilities. Anyway you will just have to find out."
Said Fortis with her usual smile.
"Now, you should sleep a little. It will help you to absorb the notions that I'm teaching you better."
"Ok." Marduk said, laying down on the triclinium that Fortis made him using her divine power.
Marduk woke up three hours later, his head resting on Fortis' lap, again.
'Does it feel like this to have a mother?'
Fortis was so focused on singing her beautiful song that she didn't notice her young audience.
"Is this going to be an 'everytime thing'?" Marduk's question made Fortis flinch from the surprise.
"You frightened me!" Fortis took a deep breath, to recompose herself.
"Anyway, don't you like it?" Fortis' expression changed to one of concern.
"It's ok, I guess, but what song are you singing? Is it an ancient language?" Marduk asked, trying to hide his embarrassment. Honestly, he liked the relationship they were developing those days.
"It's a lullaby I used to sing for my younger sister when she was a child… " A sudden veil of sadness covered Fortis' expression.
'It seems that their relationship isn't one of the best…' Marduk empathised with the now sad looking Goddess.
"Well, for what it matters, I really like waking up on your lap listening your beautiful voice." Marduk said quickly, averting his gaze to hide his now red face.
"And if one day you want to talk about 'her' with someone I will be glad to hear you out." His face was now the same colour as a ripe apple.
A sweet smile appeared on Fortis' face, that heart-melting smile was, slowly but steadily, breaking through any emotional defence Marduk had.
"Oh, I have a question… You said that my eyes aren't able YET to see and perceive divine power?" Marduk quickly tried to change the topic.
"Right, I believe you first need to reach the deity rank. Do you know why the deity rank is called that?" Fortis questioned.
"Because it is believed to be the apex of the world and just a step below Godhood?"
"Yes and no… Yes because they are indeed a step below Godhood and no because actually Deity rank entities can use divine power!"
"!!!" Fortis' words shocked Marduk whose mouth was now wide open by astonishment.
"Well, they use it unconsciously and that's the difference between the deity rank and the immortal rank. An immortal rank has grasped and learned how to use divine power properly."
"In other words you are saying that the Gods' race is only a bunch of selfish immortal rank entities?"
"Well, leaving out our race's distinctive features… Yes, we are just a bunch of selfish bastards, eheheheh." Fortis' giggle was so harmonious that it could just be the music produced by a musical instrument.
"Fortis, you know? You have a beautiful voice." Marduk's monotonic voice broke Fortis's speech.
An awkward silence filled the chamber.
"What was that? What happened? It's not like you to make compliments like that…" said Fortis slightly blushing.
"Well, surely this is not the first time someone told you that." Marduk said, quickly turning around to avoid the Goddess' curious gaze.
"Let's start with today's lesson. Today we will talk about the Proficiency level." At the sound of those words Marduk instantly recomposed himself.
"Yeah, I was curious about that. It doesn't feel right."
"That's because you see it from the wrong standpoint. The Proficiency level actually refers more to the level of the skill than to that of your mastery of such skill. Therefore, the more you use a skill the stronger it becomes. That's why to really master a skill you have to study it, and find your own way of using it. To make it more clear for you to understand, to have a skill with the max Proficiency level but not use it properly is like giving a magic sword to an infant…"
"Even if the sword is the strongest in the whole world, in the hands of an infant it is no more than a piece of garbage." Marduk ended Fortis's phrase.
"To make a practical example, your grandfather hasn't reached the deity realm yet, but his mastery of his martial technique, which is only a high level rank, is really astonishing. In essence he can fight on par with a deity rank in the initial stage staying just a very high final stage rank human."
Months went by while Marduk grew slowly but steadily stronger. Following Fortis' guidance he found various new ways to use his fusion magic and martial techniques.
"How do you feel?" The sweet voice of Fortis broke the silence.
"How many months left?" Marduk asked, panting.
He had just finished his training routine. Even if all his martial techniques' mastery levels were maxed out already before he start training under Fortis, he could now say that he had really made them his own. He found new applications and ways to use them.
"A year, give or take a month or two… You should take a break and rest. It's nearly three weeks you keep going." Fortis was concerned about the well being of Marduk's.
"Alright, I will take a break for a week… It will help me to settle what I learned in the past year. I'm going to meditate and sleep, I really need it." Even Marduk felt the fatigue and the burden his soul was sustaining.
In the meantime, Mint, Jane's house.
"What's going on, boy?!" Jane said, nearly shouting.
"I have never seen something like this… His body is still in top condition, he suddenly fell unconscious." Having ascertained Marduk's state, Jane's interest and curiosity was now winning over her concern.
"Weird… For now, I will keep an eye on you. Let's see, how was it! Hmm, damn wind magic never was my forte! Oh, right! Ventus Elevatio!" As she pronounced those words a whirlwind appeared under Marduk's body making it levitate midair.
"I should bring him to bed."
Jane moved her hand while turning around, the wind started moving to follow her.
THUMP!
"What was that?" Jane turned once again.
"DAMN WIND MAGIC!" She shouted.
Jane had great affinity with all the basic elements, except wind magic. She had bad control and even had to chant to start a spell. Her control was so bad that when she turned around and started climbing the stairs, she lost a little control over the whirlwind, making Marduk's Head bump in the wall.
"What the hell is this? It's a wall of bricks you know? How sturdy is his body?" Jane couldn't contain her surprise as she saw that to take damage wasn't the head of the small child but the wall of stone bricks. The bump had left a dent in it surrounded by a crack wide at least a couple of feet.
"You have a lot to explain, Marduk. But for now you should rest." Said Jane, tucking the child up in her bed.
One of those days of break, Marduk was meditating when he suddenly remembered the one question he came up with lots of times before.
"Fotis, can I ask you something?" Fortis was there keeping an eye on him like usual.
"Of course, child. You don't need to ask for permission…"
Marduk was always very polite when he interacted with the Goddess. In this year their relationship grew so much that he started seeing her as a real mother.
"How do ranks actually work? They are used for everything but I don't really understand them…"
"Well that's not as easy of a topic as it seems. Ranks are misunderstood by mortals, they see them as a way to define the ability of an entity to use magic or martial techniques, to forge or to use alchemy. Actually Ranks are a way to categorise the level which the organism and mind of an entity has reached. It doesn't matter how they reached it, if it's with magic, martial arts or anything else. Ranks in essence are a way to understand the general ability of everything, to make a practical example you, Marduk, were born with an insight and intelligence at least at the very high rank but since your body isn't able to keep up with your mind rank you still remain a middle rank final stage entity. You humans use ranks to establish your ability to use bend magic, while magic is indeed one of the easiest ways to reach higher ranks it isn't enough, you need to develop your body and mind to reach the deity rank and more so for the immortal rank."
"Oh, I understand but is there really a Rank for everything?" Marduk was intrigued by the topic.
"Of course, martial technique, skills, titles, spells, entities, crafting material, food and drinks, every little thing has a Rank. Well for crafting material, food, drink and plants there is a different way of ranking."
Marduk was still engulfed in his mind elaborating on those pieces of information, when Fortis' beautiful voice broke the silence once again.
"Now you should really rest, tomorrow your training will start again… We are going out of time." Her face was now clouded in worry once again.