Cain awoke from his sleep, as a new day folded upon him. The light was still vacant, as he had to be at the training ground extremely early.
Cain had spent the rest of yesterday studying the beast that lived in the Aldarien Forest, with the book he got from Tess.
It talked about the various types of beasts and insects that wandered in it, highlighting certain beasts to avoid, and some that were weak enough that a normal human could take care of them.
It also had different pictures of types of plants that were said to hold certain properties when it came to healing, while some were to avoid as they were poisonous.
As Cain rolled out of bed, he noticed the half-open book lying on his desk, the one he was reading about. It seemed he still had more to learn about what the forest held.
Getting dressed, he headed downstairs, before quickly eating his breakfast and asking Tess about the location of the training ground.
Giving Tess a slight nod, he headed out. He passed through the town and headed to the inner gates. Luckily, it was early enough, as most people were still inside getting ready for the day, and Cain was able to easily stroll through without any remarks.
After passing through the gates, he headed to the right-lower end of the mountain. As he walked through the mountain, he noticed he didn't spot any people or buildings. It seemed this place was slightly isolated, seemingly as if it was designed that way to avoid distractions while training.
After taking a few more turns and eventually getting slightly lost as he had to backtrack his steps to find the right path, he arrived at the training ground.
Cain had thought it would be a simple building, but it was a giant coliseum, as if all types of fighting events had taken place here. Its ancient stone layered the outer walls, as small cracks appeared between them. It held many different passages, as different types of flags were held on top of the stadium.
Walking through one of the passages, Cain found himself seeing the inside of it, as a massive track was layered around the center, and a medium-sized platform sat in the middle, as if indicating the area where the fights were to take place.
Sonia was located on the middle platform as she watched Cain enter.
Taking out a pocket watch from her coat, she looked at the time before yelling at Cain.
"5:59 AM, you are late, Cain."
"Huh? You said 6!"
"Failure to arrive 5 minutes before the deadline," snapping her pocket watch closed, "You will be running extra. Now you see the track around you."
Cain slowly looked into the details of the track that surrounded the middle coliseum. Small beads of sweat started to drip from his forehead, and he hadn't even started yet.
"Before we can train you, you need to develop some more strength, so…"
"Get running."
With a slight grunt, Cain leapt into a jog as he started to head around the track.
"If I wanted to see a jog, I would have asked. If you wish to remain weak for the rest of your life, you're doing a great job of achieving that. I said to run."
With a disgusted face, Cain picked up his speed as he started to run at full force.
"How long do I have to run for?!"
With a slight smirk, Sonia responded. "Until I say."
'I think this woman is actually trying to kill me.' Cain thought as he continued to run around the track.
The sun started to rise as the bird chattered. The winds swaying the trees as a cool breathe washed over the area.
Cain was still running, enjoying the cold air as he painfully breathed in and out.
He had run daily growing up to make sure he stayed healthy, but this type of running was something he had never done before.
The sun rose as time continued to pass until it reached its highest peak.
Cain was covered in sweat as, instead of running, he was fighting with everything he had to take another step. He weakly put one foot after the next, as he continued to gain ground.
With every other step he took, he was carefully glancing at Sonia, hoping she would end this hell, but she just stood there, unmoving and silent.
Another hour continued to pass, as Cain was on the verge of his mind giving up. His body had long stopped running on strength, as it was just a battle of willpower that kept him running.
As Cain took another step forward, he wasn't able to bring his foot far enough, which led him to fall face-first into the ground.
He had nothing left in the tank as he just laid there, heavily breathing in and out.
"It seems like you finally gave out. A pitiful performance, but a performance nevertheless. I'll give you 5 minutes to rest before we continue.
Cain only gave dead eyes when he heard Sonia.
"5 minutes to rest? We still weren't done!?"
After the rest, Cain slowly pulled himself up as he headed over to Sonia.
In drenched sweat clothes, as dirt stuck to his body from the prior landing, he sat on the ground as Sonia gave her next instructions.
"Now, before we continue any further, we need to build up another type of strength, Information."
"You currently don't know much besides what you were told, or the potential books you read, so we need to develop your knowledge.
Sonia crossed her arms as she asked Cain the first question.
"What do you know of the ranks?"
Without hesitation, Cain responded. "I know it starts at novice rank, then Expert, and then Master rank."
"Wow, you really know nothing."
"First off, Cain. While you are correct, that's half of it, let alone knowing the difference between them. At novice rank, one starts to learn how to see and absorb mana. When the core has absorbed enough mana to reach max capacity, you can evolve that core into the next stage. Each rank has a lower, middle, and upper rank to differentiate how saturated their cores are. While at this stage, it may seem everyone is equal, it also depends on how purified the mana you absorb is. This can lead to people absorbing unpurified mana to gain strength faster, but will eventually reach a wall they can never pass, while some spend longer to absorb more purified mana to reach a higher stage later."
Cain nodded at the information he was learning, as, based on his quest, it would be good to know what each stage was capable of.
"Depending on the potential of the cultivation manual they use, they can absorb mana and purify at a faster rate, which is why having a good manual is a strength."
"After the Novice rank is Expert. Upon reaching this rank, you can start to use the mana you have absorbed from your core, mana that is suited to you and very controllable.
Learning about Expert rank, Cain took extreme note that the beasts he needed to kill were able to use mana. It seemed he would not be able to defeat them in a frontal assault.
"After Expert rank is the Master rank. At this rank, you will start to create your own realm and learn to control higher-level spells and techniques."
Cain stumbled on a word she spoke before asking, "What's a realm?"
"A realm is a type of projection from your mind. It's a power you create based on the type of techniques you learned and the way you've lived up till now, and bringing forth all that experience into a single technique. This is where the type of talent you gain in the Trials of Fate will help decide the type of realm you create, as it allows you to connect to mana with your will through the extension of your talent. While at the Master rank, you will only be able to bring out a power that affects yourself, until you reach the Grandmaster Rank."
"At this rank, you develop more of your realm, until you are able to not only increase your own strength, but also change the area around you to further increase your power. But you will learn more about what that is later, if you ever reach that realm. It is also a reason why foundation is very important, as developing your realm to its max is what brings you to the next realm."
"The Saint realm."
Cain's ears were fully open as he devoured all the new information.
"The Saint realm is a bit different in progression. It involves ascending the body itself. You have to destroy the core you built up, and control the raging mana throughout your body, so that instead of your core holding all the mana, you have it so your body is the conduit. By using your realm, you can control that mana to transform your body. This is extremely dangerous, as many have lost their lives trying to progress to this realm. Most decided to stay at the grandmaster realm, fearing the potential death they could incur."
"After the Saint realm is the Ruler realm. This stage is the last rank of the mortal stages, so we will continue with that realm at a later time. Now, seeing how you have rested long enough, we will continue into the next session of the training."
Cain grunted at the sound of more training, as his body was already on the verge of breaking.
But before he started the next episode of his hell, he quickly asked.
"What Realm is my father at?"
The side of Sonia's lip rose a bit as she answered.
"The Divine Realm."