Chapter 6 - 6: Progress

6 months later.............

Inside the gigantic hall of Argos's library, Aron was seated on the marble floor while leaning against one of the shelves with a book in hand.

"You've finished another row of books I see...." Argos's voice resounded in the hall as he slowly walked towards Aron.

"Yes, I'm on the row that deals with the concept of politics and nobility..." Aron answered in an uncaring tone without lifting his head from the books.

'I thought as time went on the anger he held would dwindle but it's very much apparent...good. Even from the way he's been interacting with me, he doesn't care for me nor my ideals. From his perspective I'm simply a means to greater power I assume. It's so sad to see and even encourage this but... it's necessary for anyone seeking greater heights in this lawless and unfair world' Argos thought to himself while maintaining a smile.

"For someone who could barely read not too long ago I'm impressed. Anyway, I came to inform you I've prepared a training area for you to practice spells, mana manipulation or to spar against some summonings of mine." As Argos declared this, Aron put the book he was reading down and raised his head before standing up.

"I knew you'd be interested. Come along" Argos added without waiting for Aron to give a response.

As they walked away from the spot Aron was seated, large metallic golems walked over and picked up the books before returning them to their original spots.

A short walk later, Argos and Aron stopped at a junction between shelves and stood on a strangely carved circle on the floor.

"Rovas..." Argos muttered and the floor immediately lit up before a bright light engulfed them.

When the light faded, both of them were standing on a differently colored floor with an even more different surrounding area. Everything around them was flat ground except from a large white dome at the center.

"This way..." Argos instructed as he began leading the way towards the dome.

Upon reaching close to it, a door appeared on its surface that allowed the two entry inside. Once inside, Aron found they were in a large valley with mountains, rivers and even a sky.

"An illusion?" Aron asked as he looked around amazed by what he saw.

"Yes but to be precise it's a very complex and ancient formation but let's ignore the minor details, you'll learn about them soon enough. The main goal of this place is to have you face beasts I summon in their natural habitat for maximum difficulty. For now...why not face a golem at the peak of Tier 12?" Argos explained before looking to see Aron's reaction.

"...." Aron gave no answer but instead began walking over to the only golem present in the field. He took off his shirt and prepared to face the golem barehanded which caused Argos to smile.

The past six months Aron spent in Argos's library were largely dedicated to learning to read and write properly. He was yet to show Argos his ability in battle.

"You're certainly eager. Alright begin" Argos instructed with a small smile.

The metallic golem's eyes flashed brightly as its limbs began to move. It's movements were slow which was enough to tell Aron that it's strength was what to worry about.

'If you cannot gauge an opponent's strength, go all out....' Aron thought before calming his breathing. As he did so, the mana within him began to strengthen his muscles, while his usually cold grey eyes became a fierce shade of blue.

[Rule #34: If you cannot gauge an opponent's strength, go all out]

Aron stood completely still and waited for the golem to take a step forward before he burst from his position and reached it in the blink of an eye.

The golem was completely unresponsive to this action and continued in taking a step forward. Aron ignored this and forcefully placed his hand on its head before smashing it to the ground.

The ground below it broke apart and trembled furiously from that single strike. Having landed the hit, Aron jumped back and waited for the dust to clear so he could observe how much damage he inflicted.

However when the dust cleared, the golem didn't have a single scratch on it and stood right back up. Aron furrowed his brows at this but attacked once again.

This time he launched a kick right at the golem's chest and sent it flying back many meters, destroying whatever tree or boulder it collided against. But even with that, the golem stood once again.

'...is this thing really only Tier 12' Aron thought before getting ready to attack once more.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours as time flew by without a victor being decided. The battle had been completely one sided with Aron being the only one landing hits. However the golem never once stayed down for long.

'I could easily defeat a Tier 12 rank C creature.... is the gap really so big?' Aron thought to himself but never once voiced any complaints or dissatisfaction out loud. His expression remained strong and unwavering despite obviously being tired.

"That's enough."

Argos suddenly commented and caused the golem to stop moving. Aron lowered his battle stance but didn't look happy with the battle being ended.

"I must say I'm incredibly surprised by how well you handled that battle" Argos complimented with a bright smile on his face.

"..." Aron made no comment but instead walked over to pick up his shirt.

"You don't need to be dissatisfied with your performance. The golem's strength may fall under Tier 12 but the material its body is made from is something only a Tier 6 or below can handle. I was curious to see how long you would last but I didn't think your strength was above peak Tier 12. For your age that's not so bad" Argos commented before leading the way out of the dome.

That day Aron learned something that hadn't even crossed his mind. Even if someone was weaker, if they had a weapon or defense that was of a higher tier then they'd prove to be dangerous.

"Although physical strength is very important, it's not the only kind of strength. To truly stand at the peak, you must excel in the many forms of strength Aron." Argos expressed with his usual smile while Aron simply nodded.

"Then teach me every kind of strength you excel in" Aron boldly stated and caused the walking Argos to come to a stop.

"Your spirit never ceases to amaze me.... Well then, I'll be sure to guide you on your path to becoming a frightening existence...."

...........

That day marked the true start to Aron's training inside Argos's library.

Since then each day was split into reading, physical training, mental training and sparring.

The reading aspect was the least taxing as it only required Aron to read and study many of the numerous books present in Argos's library.

Herbs, Medicine, Flora, Beasts and other indexes were among the first things Aron read. His ability to retain knowledge naturally was something even Argos praised.

After finishing numerous indexes, Aron shifted to guide and skill books. Smithing, Charming, Strategy, Politics, Trading,....and the list went on.

"Argos's guide to pleasing women of all races volume 1, humans, demi-humans, demons and beasts...beasts??" Aron read aloud before giving Argos a strange look.

Aside from being strange and disgusting, the reading aspect gave Aron no trouble. The physical training however was a completely different story.

"That's...." Aron trailed off as he saw a very familiar object being held by Argos.

"That's right, this crystal is identical to the one you found when in the mountain range with your father. It's called a mana crystal. They also have their own Tiers as I'm sure you could guess...."

"Some places even consider these things a great currency but I'm sure you've already read about that so I won't bore you with those details. Their main use however is for absorption. Mana crystals also contain pure mana but it's impossible to tell which alignment the mana they hold belongs to. Making absorbing one a gamble very few take heh" Argos stated with a smirk before tossing the crystal to Aron.

"Mana crystals..." Aron muttered before shattering the crystal in his hand.

*Badump* Immediately Aron crushed it and absorbed just a little, his heart started throb violently.

"Grr...!!" What followed was a purplish mist flowing into his body. This caused Aron to fall to his knees and release a growl like noise. His eyes became bloodshot as his veins became more and more visible on the surface of his skin.

"Well I suppose that was the Luna mana crystal..." Argos stated before walking over to Aron and placing a hand on his back.

Once Argos did this, the changes Aron was undergoing began to revert back until he finally returned to normal.

"I felt like I was dying...." Aron stated as he struggled to breath properly while laying on the ground.

"The Sol mana crystal doesn't feel much different. Sometimes they are more painful but that's only if the crystal originated from a beast and not naturally. This training is filled with trial and error but the results for your physical body will be immense. Shall we continue?" Argos asked with a smile as numerous golems walked over carrying many mana crystals.

'The greater the pain the greater the gain...' Aron thought as he wiped the blood running down his mouth.

[Rule #244: The greater the pain, the greater the gain]

"Let's continue...."