The morning sun bathed the training ground as I woke up early, dressed in my training suit. With each step, I could feel the anticipation building. As I approached the training ground, I noticed my sister, Genevieve, diligently stretching. A smile crept across my face at the sight of her, and I couldn't help but admire her energy and determination.
"Good morning, brother! Let's do our best!" she greeted me with infectious enthusiasm, radiating cuteness.
"Good morning to you as well. Let's give it our all," I replied, running my hand through her hair and gently patting her head.
A hearty smile painted her face, and her innocence made me want to protect that smile. But it also reminded me of the dark path she took in the book. No matter what happened, I vowed not to let her become the person she was in that story.
"Oh, you guys are here? Good, let's start early, shall we?" Seraphius greeted us with his iconic smile.
Genevieve let out a tired sigh, her voice tinged with exhaustion. "Please go easy on me, Teach..."
Both Seraphius and I shared a smile at her plea.
"Don't worry, your handsome uncle will go easy on you," Seraphius said, his hand playfully pinching her cheek. It seemed not even a Paragon Knight could resist her level of cuteness.
"But I will go hard on your brother. Is that okay with you?" he added, an evil grin creeping onto his face.
Genevieve, looking confused, turned to me, her eyes filled with concern. She didn't know how to respond.
"Do as you please," I replied coldly, steeling myself for the challenge. This was my opportunity to get stronger, and I was willing to push myself to the limit, no matter how exhausting it might be.
"Ah, such a cold-hearted person. You and your father are really similar," Seraphius commented with a tired chuckle.
As we entered the training ground, we could hear and see many knights practicing their swordsmanship. Their training came to a halt as they noticed us.
"Oh, it's the young miss and the young lord!" exclaimed one of the knights.
"You're right, and the Violet Revenant is here too!"
"Shh, don't call me with such a corny nickname!" Seraphius replied, his tone weary.
"If you guys saw Sir Seraphius's Spectral Knight," one knight began, "you might wet your pants.
I nodded at the thought. Once you reached the 6th level of aura and became a Paragon Knight, you could summon your Spectral Knight for a short period. It was one of the most powerful assets of a Paragon Knight, turning them into reapers on the battlefield, feared by many.
Seraphius scratched his head and scolded them. "Be quiet, will you?" He then turned to us. "We'll head to the field; let's warm up."
We nodded and followed Seraphius to the field.
"Okay, Genevieve, give me 50 laps!" he shouted.
"eeek, okay!" Genevieve trembled but immediately sprinted onto the massive field. Her speed was nothing short of impressive.
"And you, Cedric, give me 200 laps," he grinned evilly.
"Yes," I responded.
I couldn't help but think, "What a hateful guy." But my determination drove me to run at full speed.
"Heh," Seraphius snorted. "What a cheeky brat; he takes after his father so much."
After running at full speed for 30 minutes, I collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. I could also see my sister flat on the ground, looking utterly exhausted.
"Hmmm, not bad. I admire your persistence. You ran at full speed and didn't slow down even a bit, and you didn't use your aura. Bravo!" Seraphius clapped, acknowledging our efforts.
Sometimes, I genuinely wanted to punch this guy's smiling face. You might wonder why I ran at full speed without using my aura. It was because this guy had a sadistic tendency. If I slowed down even a bit or used my aura, he'd make me redo the laps, often doubling the number.
"Let's take a 20-minute break," Seraphius announced, walking heartily toward the knights who were bustling with their training.
Ha, ha, ha... I took slow, deep breaths to stabilize my breathing. If I were in my normal body back on Earth, I might already be paralyzed.
Genevieve sat up, adopting a lotus position to steady her breathing.
"Okay, break time's over!" Seraphius suddenly reappeared.
"What? It's only been a minute!" my sister shouted in protest.
"Ah, really? Then I guess you want to run again?" Seraphius replied, his tone teasing.
This guy was insane. If I didn't know him so well, I might actually think he was crazy.
"Okay, so I'll give you a different task, okay? Since Genevieve is still at the beginning of her journey as an apprentice knight, I want you to infuse your aura into your body and swing your sword at those training dummies. Maintain your aura until you're fully exhausted, all right?" Seraphius instructed.
"Yesss," she replied with a tired voice, summoning her determination.
"And you, cold-hearted boy," he continued, "I want you to show me how long you can last." He turned his penetrating gaze toward me and positioned himself, picking up a wooden sword and drawing a circle on the ground around him.
"I know that you can infuse your aura into your sword, even though you're just on the verge of breaking through to the second level," he said, acknowledging my potential.
"So, attack me with all your might. I will only defend, and if you manage to push me out of this circle I will give you a reward, we will continue training all day. We won't stop until you reach the second level and become an adept knight," he declared.
I shook my head in resignation. Landing even a single hit on this guy, let alone pushing him out of the circle, seemed impossible. Was he actually insane? With a heavy sigh, I picked up a wooden sword.
"Let's start, shall we?" Seraphius said, his smile unwavering.
Next chapter will be uploaded later!
-N