As Ash was about to start running, Aelion yelled, "Wait!" and ran off to the treehouse, returning with a bracelet-like contraption. Since Aelion didn't have mana, he didn't have the luxury of a fancy space ring to carry his gear.
"Here, put this bracelet on," Aelion said, holding it out.
"What's this supposed to do?" Ash asked, suspicious.
"Just put it on and stop asking questions. I'm training you, not answering a Q&A session," Aelion snapped, all serious-like.
"Fine, old man," Ash grumbled as he slipped it on.
The moment the bracelet clicked into place; Ash felt all his mana vanish like someone unplugged his soul. "What the hell?! It just sucked all my mana!" he shouted, panicking.
"That, my dear student," Aelion grinned wickedly, "is the beginning of your hellish training. Now run! Like your life depends on it, kid!"
Ash glared. Oh, I'm gonna kill this old bastard someday, he thought darkly. But he started running.
Thanks to his passive ability, Harmonic Convergence, Ash could keep his balance despite the rough terrain. But stamina? Yeah, that was another story. After just a few laps, sweat was pouring off him.
10 laps:
'I'm gonna kill this old man in his sleep.'
20 laps:
'I'm DEFINITELY gonna kill him.'
30 laps:
'I'll kill him before dinner.'
40 laps:
'Forget Dinner—he's dead after this lap.'
50 laps:
'Nope. He's killing ME instead.'
Ash collapsed to the ground; his body thoroughly done for. Even his body which had been broken and remade more times than a bad clay pot, had hit its limit. He lay there, gasping for air, when Aelion strolled over with the audacity to smile.
"Well, I gotta say, I'm impressed," Aelion chuckled. "I thought you'd keel over at 20 laps. But 50? That means your stamina is decent! So, starting tomorrow, you'll do 50 laps daily!"
'This bastard... I swear he's dead when this training is over,' Ash cursed silently, glaring as he chugged water from the bottle Aelion handed him.
"Now," Aelion continued, "since stamina training's done, it's time for some strength training. Horse stance. Lower body strength is paramount to building a solid warrior foundation—especially for someone your age."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm six years old and I should focus on my foundation.," Ash said flatly.
"Exactly, you're just six, so it's important to—wait. WHAT?!" Aelion nearly fell over. "You're SIX?! You look like a ten-year-old! What kind of six-year-old runs 50 laps on a MOUNTAIN? And have a perfect control over Elemental manipulation? Are you some kind of devil spawn?!"
"Didn't you call me a 'once-in-a-lifetime genius' just yesterday?" Ash deadpanned, struggling to keep a straight face as Aelion' s jaw dropped.
"HUH?!"
"Are you laughing at me?" Aelion growled.
"Why would I ever laugh at my beloved master?" Ash said innocently, his lips twitching with suppressed laughter.
"You little punk! You're mocking me, aren't you?!"
"Of course not! Now, weren't you saying something about training?"
"Cough!"
"Yeah, so I was saying that lower body strength is of paramount importance to a warrior. Especially for you—you're only six years old. Don't make me repeat myself! Stand in horse stance for two hours and press that red button on your bracelet," said Aelion, looking smug as ever.
Ash complied and pressed the red button. Instantly, all his mana returned, and a wave of relief washed over him.
He finally felt like himself again. But before he could savor the moment, Aelion' s next words shattered his brief happiness.
"Now supply mana to the bracelet," Aelion instructed.
Ash hesitated but did as he was told. The moment his mana flowed into the bracelet, the gravity around him multiplied by ten, slamming him to the ground. His knees nearly buckled, and he quickly cut off the mana supply.
Ash shot a glare at Aelion for not warning him, but the old man just laughed. "Well, that's what happens when you dump too much mana into it, kid! You need to supply just a little at first.
Maintain the horse stance and get used to that amount of gravity. When it feels manageable, increase it. And don't think you'll get away easy—you need to maintain that mana supply all day.
If your mana gets depleted, take a break, but then start again. While running, though, you'll cut off all mana supply. No cheating."
Ash groaned, already regretting everything about this training. What fresh hell is this? Still, curiosity got the better of him. He activated his Inspect skill and examined the bracelet, silently cursing himself for not doing this earlier.
**
Item Name: Bracelet of Gravity
Item Type: Accessory (Bracelet)
Special Effect: Creates a gravitational field around the user based on mana supplied. Can drain the user's mana entirely.
Required Level: None
(Primarily used for training purposes)
**
This thing is insane! No wonder Aelion brought it out—it's basically the ultimate training tool. No level limit? It must be ridiculously expensive. Ash's thoughts turned greedy. I'm keeping this thing when training's over. No way I'm giving it back.
"Stop admiring it and start your horse stance!" Aelion barked, snapping Ash out of his scheming.
Grumbling, Ash got into position and supplied a little mana. The gravity increased fivefold this time, pressing down on him like an invisible weight. As he held the stance, he decided to inspect Aelion, hoping to gauge just how strong this crazy old man was.
**
Name: Aelion Stormblade
Age: 153
Level: ???
Class: Sword master
State: Shocked, surprised, speechless.
**
Can't see his level? That either means he's ridiculously strong, or my Inspect skill is pathetic, Ash thought,' And why is he Shocked? He's definitely impressed by my genius. Yeah, that's gotta be it.'
Two Hours Later
Ash lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for air, his chest rising and falling like a bellows.
"Well done! You lasted two hours in horse stance. Take a break, and then we'll move on to footwork practice. And remember—you're not swinging a sword until you've mastered the basics," Aelion declared with an infuriating grin.
After a short rest, Ash stumbled over to where Aelion was drawing something on the ground with a stick. As he got closer, he noticed three distinct shapes: a triangle, a square, and a circle.
"What's all this?" Ash asked, genuinely curious.
"This," Aelion said with a theatrical flourish, "is your footwork training. Start with the triangle. Once you've mastered that, move on to the square, and then the circle.
Triangle: Precision and speed.
Square: Rigid, military-like discipline.
Circle: Unpredictable, like a phantom.
Each shape builds on the last. Together, they form the foundation of my secret technique: Celestial Step—a near-instantaneous dash that creates the illusion of teleportation!"
Ash raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Got it, old man."
As Ash began practicing, Aelion watched him silently, his thoughts elsewhere,' I hope you master this, kid. Even though I created Celestial Flash, I could never fully master it—I lack the space element. But you…who has all elements , it won't just be an illusion. You'll teleport. Short distances, instantaneously, with barely any mana. If your mana reserves are high enough, you could teleport infinitely…'
Meanwhile, Ash was struggling. Balancing wasn't the issue—his Harmonic Convergence skill made that part easy.
But remembering the positions of the shapes and executing the movements accurately? That was a nightmare. Again and again, he tried, his breathing growing heavier with each attempt.
Despite his exhaustion, Ash refused to quit.
He knew the value of this training. If he could master this footwork, it would lead to Celestial Step—one of the most overpowered movement techniques in existence. After all, the main protagonist of his world had used this very skill to dominate enemies with short-distance teleports.
Well I will just have to compensate him in the future though.
Ash smirked through the sweat dripping down his face. Someday, I'll surpass even you, old man. Just wait.
***
Author Notes : Hello, readers I know this chapter is very small but please bear with it I have decided to post 2 chapters a day from now on, So it increased my work load but after seeing people liking my work I decided to work hard.
Please keep supporting,
Your support is my motivation.
***