I continued to grit my teeth for only just a few seconds, and just like that, the pain was gone, and I was left lying there, huffing and puffing, trying to regain my breath.
"You could've given me more of a warning," I snarled, slowly standing up and feeling a new sense of movement from my back.
After all of the runes had been placed on top of my spine and engraved into my skin, it felt like my back was constantly restricted by a metal pipe.
Bending it didn't hurt, but it just felt stiff.
No matter how much stretching I did, it never disappeared… until now.
"Alright, get up, boy. It's time to do some actual training… I'm gonna turn you into the ultimate weapon whether you like it or not,"
Ares unleashed a sadistic smile as he walked up to me, grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me onto my feet, planting me firmly on the smooth marble floor.
"How long will it take?" I asked, feeling my loosened back since it almost seemed like a dream.
"The passage of time doesn't affect my world… this is a level you should be able to reach within a few centuries… well, that's if you don't die,"
Suddenly, a spear similar to mine was crafted in the center of his palm, but just as he swung it toward me, he stopped just before it sliced me in half.
Even though I saw the blade moving at a near-turtle pace, I couldn't move my body as the impending feeling of dreaded doom loomed over me.
It wasn't just a mountain that had been swung towards me… but an entire fucking planet was about to slice me in half.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
I turned towards the god, who turned around like a wise old man, and finally started acting like a teacher instead of harassing me with overwhelming strength.
"First, this weapon of ours is the Lance of Sangria. The time will come when you discover that place and an un-rightful ruler sits on that throne… disgusting," The god's face crumpled with disgust before returning to normal.
"Where could I find… Sangria? Is that it?"
"Destiny will lead you… But besides that, there is one property you must know about the equipment section of your system. Nobody else has that slot…. It is an exclusive part of the Ares System which allows you to store equipment in your blood."
"Hm? Really? Do I just cut open my forearm with my nail or something?"
"There is no need to go that far. Just sink your nail into the center of your palm for now, but eventually, you'll be able to take them out of your blood like they were storage rings,"
I nodded silently and then looked down at the palm of my hand, but seeing my cut nails made the god beside me deadpan.
"I can see you had some fun," He lightly chuckled before swinging his index finger, opening a large gash in the center of my palm.
Blood spewed out, but the thing that I expected to form in the middle of my hands was stubborn and wouldn't come out.
It was like a cork blocking the exit to a heated flask… it was about to implode.
My veins throbbed and visibly expanded from under my skin, but when I looked to the god for guidance, he just coldly stared at me, obviously unwilling to assist me in this process.
"Okay… it should be like a storage ring if I'm correct," I muttered as a drop of sweat nearly slid into my left eye.
Closing my eyes, I imagined the spear forming in the center of my palms… but that didn't work in the slightest.
So, I expanded the process and imagined the blood spewing out of my hand, forming into a spear sharp enough to cut even the bones of a god in half.
And just like that… the thing formed in the center of my palms, leaving me smiling as progress was miniscule but impressive.
Just as the spear formed in my hand, the wound on my palm instantly closed up, with the skin weaving into itself.
No mark was left but the scars that had already littered my palms.
"Well done. You can do the same for the rest of your items, including the magic ring given by your mother. Everything will soon connect once you figure out the true nature of your throne world," Ares announced before walking up to me and grabbing my arm.
"Hey, what the hell," I jerked my arm away from him since in that moment, and even though I didn't show it on my face, the depths of my body shook.
For a split second, his bloodlust pierced my heart, brain, and soul in an instant, killing me before I could even grasp the situation.
"Your body is so damn weak… no wonder you're getting your ass beat by these demon lords,"
He slapped my arm with the back of his hand, making me smirk just a bit since the way he did it was almost hilarious.
"Follow me. First, we must start with the basics. Also, no matter how tired you get, never let go of that spear while it's taken out of your bloodstream. It still lives,"
Those eerie last words stuck in the back of my mind as we walked through the massive halls, reaching our destination after what seemed to be an entire day of walking.
But, the walk there was quite awkward as I tried to make conversation.
"So uh… do you still talk to mother?"
"I make sure to see her every day. She loves her new position, and if it wasn't for the long distance between us, I would've taken you to see her,"
My ears perked up upon hearing those words as a few things connected in my mind.
"But there is no passage of time, so couldn't we just see her now?"
"Once we leave my domain, the existence of the outside world will pass by in just a second. One thousand centuries shall pass in the blink of an eye, and your friends down there will be left confused, dying without even knowing where you went,"
"Ah… I see,"