Ahmed had long since lost track of time while within the room, he had at some point in time passed the requirement and made it to the next trial, this one was something he actually liked.
The trial was for him to choose a weapon path, he confidently discarded the singular paths and chose the more abstruse ones.
"I choose the path of the blade." He grinned thinking he had finally lucked out on finding a way to reach the small success in the Blade Monarchs Weapon Art.
[Learn upto the small success any one of the following Arts, depending on the grade of the art, the requirements may change.] The voice whispered, ever since Calypso he hadn't bothered to ask for the names of the others after all would he be able to remember them all?
Ahmed walked up to the altar and skimmed through the list until he found something that made his eyes sparkle.
[War God's Blade Arts: Kratos.
A weapon Art said to have been developed by a spartan that slaid a god while still being mortal and slayed a pantheon while being a God.
Has three defensive techniques, three movement techniques and five offensive techniques.]
'A mortal killing a God? A God killing a Pantheon? As if, gods are immortal, couldn't the maker just tone down his exaggeration.
Well that's besides the point, this weapon art is truly fascinating, it can be used by a mortal so long as thei body is strong enough to handle the strain.
Hm, is that why I'm yet to reach small success in Blade Monarch? Because my body is too weak to handle it? I never thought of it that way, but if it's truly the issue then I'll fix it in due time.' He analyzed before nodding to himself.
He then begun to read the weapon art as he emulated what was shown and written on it.
It took him quite sometime to adjust his body and weapons to that of the spartan but after trial and error he could barely perform the first offensive form, he continued for nearly half a day until he mastered two techniques, one movement and the other defensive.
The moment he stopped practicing, the voice whispered his accomplishment and sent him off to the next trial.
[Welcome to your ladder trial.
For the next 99 trials, you shall face off against combatants of various disciplines, every victory is rewarded and every loss is punished.
Do you wish to start? Do note that once you start the trails you can't stop unless you've defeated the combatants your assigned fo fight.]
"No, let me rest for awhile." Ahmed notified as he took out his nutritious solution and chugged it down.
He then took out a heap of combat suits and arranged them into a bed of sorts before dozing off.
How could he fight when his eyes were barely half open!
***
Mazel had miraculously not been spotted by the beasts, they had dispersed after not finding anything, some of them had even clashed against each other bringing smiles to the youth.
He scampered towards the fallen beasts corpses and dug out their cores which he greedily gobbled down, who cares about decency when your life is on the line?
He could feel his body strengthen and his wounds heal ever so slightly, he was still fatigued yes but his overall condition had changed from zero to some positive number up there.
He then carefully cut of one of the smaller beasts thigh and skinned it, he then let it bleed of as he begun looking for dry sticks to start a fire.
'I Mazel Azazel have been forced to make my own food! Hozier I'll make sure you regret crossing me!' He vowed as he finally set up the fire nd begun roasting the now blood free beast thigh.
He left the met to cook as he made way towards the forest his reason being the search of water. He calmly walked through the lush green undergrowth and went straight onwards his path only ever diverted when he met an obstacle he couldn't pass.
After nearly an hour he finally found a stream of water he hungrily begun to gulp down the water as if he were deprived of water for months.
He followed the small stream until it became a meadow, he stripped himself bare and entered the meadow scrubbing himself off the blood and grime.
Unlike Ahmed who had lucked upon having an Imprint Mazel didn't have any imprint of sorts, he did however hail from a well off family that made sure he wouldn't lack the basic necessities.
After finishing his bath he changed his clothes and wore a fresh clean set, he then took out an empty bottle of water and filled it to the brim usinh the incoming water from the stream.
He then made his way back to his camp where he was flabbergasted by what he found, his prospective supper hand been burnt to crisp, the fire had also spread burning his makeshift home.
The rising smoke was like a becon to all beasts who if not already on their way were heading towards his location.
He held back his watery eyes as he ran of into the distance, thinking back to one of the conversation he had with his father.
"Mazel my boy, why don't you learn how to cook, it might help you out somewhere?"
"I'm the heir of house Azazel, any demon-kin that hears our houses name will naturally offer me services why then should I learn something others will naturally do for me?" He argued to which his father sighed.
"They say if a parent fails to teach their their kids, then the havens shall teach the kids for them, I hope for your sake it doesn't come to that.
You've refused any to all sorts of teaching that doesn't revolve around Mana, the elements, weapon arts, combat and hunting, yes those subjects are important but what about mathematics? What about cooking? What about carpentry maybe even building?
As your father, I'll be doting and understanding but the world wouldn't be the same, I hope you change your mind before it's too late after all I cant force you to do it, you'll be doing it foe me and not for yourself, that isn't learning it's mediocrity and I despise that." His father had advised, the hin at the time shrugged it off, now how ever...
Tears spilled out of his eyes as he so desperately wanted to beat the living daylights out of his younger self.