*Cough* *Cough*
Lodged into the wall in a crater, I coughed up blood and slowly got out of the crater.
"Ugh. What happened to holding back?" I asked in a strained voice.
The smoke from the impact cleared and I saw the white-haired beast standing in the middle of the room with an indifferent expression.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," She said. "At least that's what my father used to say when he trained me."
I took a deep breath and steeled my resolve.
'If I'm going down, I'm going down fighting!'
This time, I used one of Rex's greatest techniques. He used it to move faster between gyms but it's still a great movement technique!
I used all of my energy in an instant to accelerate faster than ever before!
"Too slow, why aren't you using your mana, you dimwit?"
I didn't even see anything this time and was flung into another wall, coughing up blood again.
I climbed out of the second crater, wiping the blood off my lips with a smile. "I just wanted to see how strong I was without it, but I guess you're not giving me a chance."
I expunged the mana from my hands and spread it across my whole body. Golden tendrils of light traveled through every vein, artery, and neuron. The mana then began to condense as it was arranged in rings and layered on top of each other over my skin.
"Is this what you're looking for?" I asked.
'Emy, replace my stamina bar with my mana reserves.'
[Yes, sir.]
The light blue bar was replaced by an iridescent golden one.
"That's better. But let's see if you can keep up."
Before I could react, Grandmother accelerated toward me. But this time, I could see her, albeit barely.
A left hook came straight at my liver but I quickly jumped to the side and returned it with an overhand toward her chin.
"Better, but not good enough."
She vanished before my punch landed and a kick to the back of my head rocked my brain and sent me flying.
I tumbled and rolled on the ground, back in the center of the training room. Planting my feet in a hurry, I jumped upwards, narrowly avoiding another kick.
In the air, I concentrated my mana on my legs and pushed off the ceiling to gain momentum.
Grandmother's golden eyes tracked my every movement. She responded by sidestepping my attack, and before I could land, elbowed my side.
"Aghh," I groaned in pain.
My body was sent flying again and due to not having the area of attack being covered with mana, a couple of ribs were broken. I hit the familiar wall, this time face-first.
I fell backward and landed on the ground with a thud, wheezing, as my chest nearly collapsed from her assault.
"By concentrating all of the mana on your legs, the rest of your body is wide open. If you're going to concentrate your mana in a specific part of your body, make sure your enemy can't counter you."
*Cough* *Cough*
"Yes ma'am," I squeezed out. My mana and my system were helping mend my injuries so I just laid there until it was completely healed.
Grandmother walked to me and her shadow covered my face as she loomed over me.
"You're terrible at fighting, but your reflexes and power aren't bad. You just need experience."
I chuckled, which caused another round of coughing. "I assume fighting you will give me the experience I need?"
"Who else are you going to get it from around here, the maids?" She asked, incredulously.
"Levena is pretty strong, right? I thought she and I could spar."
"While she can defend herself, she isn't a fighter. The only person in this estate you're going to fight from this point onwards is going to be me."
"I guess I'll be in your care from now on," I said sarcastically.
An evil grin spread on her face. "Don't be sad, grandson. I'll make sure to take good care of you."
The smile on my face faded and fear spread through my body even with my Acquity.
'She's not going to kill me, is she?'
…
*BOOM*
"Haah, haah… Hup!"
…
*BOOM*
"He he he… Oh shi–"
*CRASH*
…
"Wait, I'm not ready ye–"
*BOOM*
…
3 days later…
I was lying on what used to be the training room. The ceiling had collapsed and now the place was covered in rubble everywhere.
The moon was shining bright tonight and the wind carried a gentle, cool breeze.
"These last seven days have gone by in a flash. I wonder what Mr. Davis and Martha are up to? They must be pretty bored without me around, heh heh."
My smile faded and I stared into the cloudless sky. Thousands of stars shone through the atmosphere, creating a beautiful night sky.
"Haaaa, I miss them. The only kind of love I've got recently was a knuckle sandwich. Grandmother sure knows how to serve 'em up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
I sighed. These past few days were nonstop fighting. I was kicked out of the tower and forced to stay in the training room for the rest of the week. The cold, hard, bumpy, gritty, itchy, and rough concrete floor was nice, but I missed my feather bed. I missed the meat! And the fruit!
Grandmother made me starve the last few days. She said it was for 'endurance' training like it's some humane and easy thing. It's not!
I held up my hand to my face. "I wonder what this would taste like?"
As I was about to put my fingers in my mouth and have a taste, I heard soft footsteps from behind me.
"Brother? Where are you?"
The voice of an angel flowed into my ears. After listening to the raspy voice of that monster for the past few days, I forgot what a normal girl sounded like.
"I'm over here!" I just raised my hand and waved.
"Brother! Why are you still over h–AHHH!!"
Phonia screamed once she caught sight of me.
"Oh my god!" She ran over to me and kneeled over my body. "What happened to you?!!"
After today's 'lesson' with Grandmother, she said I was 'somewhat passable' now and that the training was over. During training today, I had broken my left leg and had a large wound on my chest that was dried up now.
With my acuity and my endurance, it didn't feel that bad and my mana would eventually heal it. But to someone else, it might look like I'd been run over by a car.
'I guess that did happen to me already, gotta love continuity.'
Phiona was freaking out. My beat-up state must've not looked too good.
"What happened?! When Grandmother said you were training, I didn't know she was abusing you!" She clenched her fist in fury. "I swear, that woman is a brute! How could she do this to someone who just ascended?"
I put my hand on her fist to calm her down. "It's fine, Sister. I can take it. Just give me a night's rest and I'll be good as new in the morning."
Her fury was replaced with worry. "Are you sure? But your leg…"
"Oh, that? That's nothing. Yesterday, when I managed to finally hit her, she got pissed! You should have seen the look on her face! The broken spine was so worth it!"
Phiona's mouth hung agape. "Wh– What did you just say? A br– broken spine?"
I laughed, oblivious to her shock. "Yeah! I couldn't move my whole body after that! It was really scary at the time, but it healed up overnight, so no biggie."
"No biggie? HOW IS A BROKEN SPINE NO BIGGIE?!!!"
My smile instantly vanished as I realized why she was so shocked.
'I must be seriously desensitized to injury, now. With my mana and my system both healing me every time, I grew used to it. This isn't normal! Why did Grandmother not even mention it? She must have realized my healing abilities by now. Why would she just ignore something like that?'
"I'm sorry, Phiona. I take back what I said. It was definitely a biggie. I've just grown used to getting injured so I didn't really think of it before."
Phiona's fury returned with a vengeance. "GRANDMOTHER!" She screamed. She got off her knees and stood up. Her eyes lit up in a golden light as she scanned the surroundings. She must have found what she was looking for because a giant gust of wind from her hands propelled her off the ground and she flew off and out of sight.
"Grandmother's going to get an earful. Serves her right."
Silence then descended on the training… grounds now, I guess. I sat there and gazed into the sky with a soft smile.
'I'm glad Phiona cares about me so much. With how Grandmother treated me, I thought I wasn't worth that much to the family.'
A loud explosion rocked the Raijin estate and a bright flash of light bathed the entire place in purple.
'Yup, she's definitely getting an earful.'
…
In my room, my actual room, the next morning…
"Apologize."
"Phiona, the training was necessary. He can take it. Look, he's fin–"
"I don't care if he can take it or not! You don't do that to someone who just got here! Especially when that someone is your own grandson! So, apologize!"
"..."
This is the second time I've seen Grandmother speechless. Go Phiona!
"I… I'm sorry, Kaiser. My training was too harsh for someone who had just awakened their mana. I'm sorry for you being so weak."
My lips twitched at the last remark. "It's okay, Grandmother. I'm actually thankful that you invested so much effort into my training. But, Phiona is right. It shouldn't matter if I've got good healing or if I have potential, you shouldn't just beat up someone like that and call it training."
Grandmother pouted. "But that's how I was raised. And look how good I turned out!"
Phiona put her hand on Grandmother's shoulder and put on a sinister smile. "Grandmother… He's not you. You were born with mana and he wasn't. HE GOT HERE A WEEK AGO!!!"
Grandmother looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry," She said and turned to me. "I shouldn't have treated you that way, I apologize."
I smiled and remained calm on the outside, but on the inside, I was going crazy.
'Is Phiona a beast tamer! Grandmother's like a docile cat now!'
"I accept your apology," I said. "Phiona, it's okay. I'm fine now and there are no lasting damages, aside from the training room. So let's just leave it at that, okay?"
Phiona's fury subsided and she let go of Grandmother's shoulder. "Okay. If you say so, Brother."
I clapped my hands together, signaling the end of the depressed atmosphere. "Okay! Now that that's over with, how about we get some breakfast? I haven't eaten since 4 days ago, so I'm quite hungry."
…
After Phiona almost blew up my room in anger caused by my statement, the three of us walked to the dining hall and sat down.
We were sitting in the same positions as the first night I got here. Phiona and I on one side and Grandmother on the other.
Phiona was staring daggers at the white-haired woman, who was avoiding any eye contact with her.
As we were waiting for the food to arrive, the big doors of the hall opened. Behind them, a tall man with black hair and golden eyes in an extravagant suit walked in next to a beautiful woman with light brown hair that was adorned with many golden accessories. Her golden eyes were practically glowing as they were surrounded by golden eye shadow and black eyeliner.
"We're back!" The man exclaimed. "Did you miss us?"
The couple walked over to our end of the table and greeted us.
"Kaiser! How is everything? Did your studies go well?" My mother asked.
I raised from my seat and hugged her. "Yes, my studies were very productive, to say the least." I glanced at Phiona and Grandmother and we made a non-verbal agreement.
"That's wonderful! It's good that you're finished because we heard some important news from the capital!" She exclaimed and I left her embrace, curious as to what could cause this kind of reaction from her.
"Wait, Eileen," Father said, interrupting her. "Don't ruin the surprise!"
"Oops!" Mother covered her mouth. "I forgot that you wanted to announce it."
"It's alright, honey. Come, sit. Let's have breakfast and then we can talk. I'm starved.
The pair sat at the head of the table and I took my seat as well.
Everyone exchanged proper greetings and the food arrived. I had to hold myself back from drooling as I saw the assortment of meats.
After we ate, which was quite a while because I nearly ate the entire stock of the kitchen, Father cleared his throat and spoke.
"When we arrived at the capital for the quarterly convening of the nobility and the royal family, the royal family had us attend a large gathering in the central square for an announcement. The king, himself, was to give the announcement, so everyone was very curious as to what it could be. So, when the king finally arrived, everyone turned their attention to him as he spoke."
Father cleared his throat again and imitated the king's voice. "He said, 'Once every one hundred years, there is a chance. A chance to change your fate and those around you. A chance to become someone who means something! This chance is rare and most of us will only see it once in a lifetime. But, now that chance is upon us! In one and a half years' time, we will get that chance. The coveted Pantheon Tournament! The tournament where the gods can witness your strength and bravery! The time has come Silvercrest! In one year's time, the preliminaries for the Pantheon Tournament will take place! I am here to announce to train! To get stronger! Because your strength is the country's strength, and its strength is yours as well. So, in one year, Silvercrest will choose its representatives in the preliminaries! Good luck to you! I'll see you in one year!"
'I don't know if the impression was accurate, but Father can sure sound like someone important.'
"The Pantheon Tournament?" I asked. "So the announcement was to prepare to compete to be chosen for the preliminaries."
My mother nodded. "Yes, the king is very excited. This will be his first Pantheon Tournament, so he wants to make it grand."
"To get into the preliminaries," Father said as he took a sip of water, "the kingdom will be holding a tournament next summer to determine the 100 strongest individuals in the country. Of course, other countries are doing this as well, albeit in their own ways." The man pointed at himself. "Of course, your father already has a spot for the prelims."
'Perks of being a duke.'
"So? What do you kids think?" Mother asked Phiona and me.
"What do I think?" Phiona asked. "I don't really see a reason not to participate. I'm not going to go all the way but I can earn some experience fighting other people."
"Good, I like your attitude," Father said, nodding in approval. "What about you Kaiser? Want to give it a shot?"
"I don't know. Will I be strong enough?" I asked.
Grandmother scoffed. "Of course, you're strong enough. You're a Raijin. If my blood runs through you, you're strong enough."
"Hmm… I don't know. It's a long time from now and I'm still figuring stuff out…" I wanted to feign some apprehension. "I guess a better question would be: Why not?"