Time passed by without a hurry, and it was currently day two, with Jax still not having slept. He didn't need to sleep anymore, so he spent all of this time training.
Jax stood at the center of the endless obsidian expanse. He had used his Magic to create some basic clothes, a pair of pants, but he was still shirtless as he practiced, lifting his hand and watching as the mana around him answered obediently.
Rivers of magic flowed toward his palm, compressing in countless formulas simultaneously. The Book of Sona hovered nearby, pages turning on their own, responding to his thoughts faster than his eyes could track as he absorbed as much information as he could.
~WHOOSH!~
Suddenly, a sphere formed above his hand, no larger than a marble at first, blacker than shadow, its surface warping space around it, and light itself began to distort around it.
"A theoretical singularity stabilized by rotational mana bands," Jax muttered, eyes gleaming with interest, "So it is possible."
Then, the sphere grew in size, and the various mountains in the distance groaned as their mass began to slide towards it due to the massive shift in Gravitational Pull, entire chunks of these mountains tearing free and flying towards Jax.
However, they were all crushed to absolute dust before ever coming close to the sphere, annihilated by the gravitational force.
Jax adjusted the spell mid-creation, adding a secondary containment procedure, preventing total collapse.
"Too destructive," he said calmly, then snapped his fingers. The miniature black hole vanished instantly, space snapping back into place as if nothing had just happened.
"That would wipe a city by accident," he decided, "Not useful unless I'm pissed."
He shifted focus, opening his perception outward and he immediately felt mana currents running all across the domain.
Picking one, he vanished, teleporting to it, before walking through a floating mountain nearby with his intangibility, his body phasing through effortlessly before he re-solidified on the other side.
"Hmm, I still feel a bit funny when I do that, " Jax muttered, coughing slightly as he tried to get comfortable to the feeling of going intangible and walking through things.
"Now onto the next one," He said, raising both hands, his palms outward and closed his eyes, his telekinesis surging as most of the floating mountains froze mid-drift, before moving once again.
Slowly at first, then faster, until entire landmasses began orbiting him in controlled arcs, grinding against one another, colliding, shattering, reforming as Jax sculpted them with idle precision.
He wasn't even focused when he did this. His mind felt vast, multitasking effortlessly, running calculations, spell structures, and contingencies simultaneously. Universal Max Talent pushed every concept to perfection the instant he grasped it, turning practice into mastery in seconds.
Jax flicked a finger.
The mountains exploded outward, reforming into a massive skeletal army mid-air, thousands of bone constructs snapping into existence as necromantic sigils burned into being across their frames.
"Arise," Jax said casually.
They obeyed.
The undead legion knelt in unison, weapons forming from condensed death mana in their hands. Jax waved them away a second later and they dissolved back into dust, souls released peacefully, his Soul Manipulation ensuring no suffering lingered.
He inhaled, then exhaled slowly.
"Efficient," he murmured, "When they said I'd basically be a God, they weren't joking," He muttered.
Crimson Maw appeared in his hand without a thought, the blade humming eagerly, and Jax begun to swing, practicing his movements as the sword became an extension of his will, arcs of crimson-black energy tearing through the air as he blended weapon combat with magic seamlessly.
~BANG!~
Hundreds of explosions rang out as Jax split himself into ten clones mid-motion, then a hundred, then a thousand, each one wielding Crimson Maw with identical skill, filling the domain with overlapping storms of destruction.
Illusions layered atop reality, false Jax's weaving between real ones, attacks phasing through phantoms only to be countered from impossible angles. Over time, the illusions began to gain weight as if they were real.
"You're grown quite a-lot in a short time. I'll already take you hand over fist to crush that band of idiot heroes," Suddenly, the voice of Sona echoed in his ear as the airflow of the practice environment changed.
Three presences entered the domain simultaneously, reality parting for them like a curtain being drawn aside.
Skadi appeared in front of him first, boots hitting the ground with a grin sharp enough to cut steel, eyes immediately scanning the destruction with open delight, "That's right, with you leading our people, those pewny idiots won't know what hit them,"
Sona followed, calm and composed, eyes glowing faintly as she assessed the mana density. Her expression was controlled, but there was unmistakable awe beneath it.
Lilith emerged last, leaning against nothing at all, crimson eyes dragging lazily over Jax from head to toe, a slow, appreciative smile curling her lips, "Mmm… I can feel you from across realms now," she purred. "Day two and you already feel dangerous, that's my glorious sweet King for you,"
She finished her sentence with an alluring wink, and Jax just chuckled, "I've just been working hard,"
Skadi was the Goddess who took the first step forward, a massive battle-axe appearing in her hand, "Well let's put this hard work to the test,"
***
~BANG~BANG~BANG!~
Jax slammed into the wall with a resounding crash. The wall barely held his force as he crashed through multiple other walls before finally coming to a stop, dust and debris falling around him as he groaned, sliding down to sit on the floor.
Across the training room, Skadi lowered her battle axe, panting slightly, her silver hair clinging to her face from the exertion.
"That's eighteen to zero, Savior," Skadi said with a sly smirk, resting the axe against her shoulder, "You're improving, but you're ahead of yourself. I've been a Goddess for a long time, 50 hours ain't enough for you beat me just yet,"
Jax wiped the sweat from his brow, a grin spreading across his face despite the brutal beating, "I wouldn't say that. I landed a hit on you three times in this round. That's three more than last time."
Skadi chuckled, shaking her head, "Fair enough, but those hits were minor. You're still a bit far from beating me, but at the rate of improvement, it won't be long till I'm even being cut down by your sword, this summoning magic is truly incredible,"
"Really?" Jax asked. For how much he just got destroyed, he still didn't truly comprehend the outrageous rate he was improving, probably because he didn't have a full understanding of this world's combat standards.
Skadi straightened fully, resting the axe against her shoulder as she looked at Jax with great pride reminiscent of a warrior looking at their fellow soldier.
"Really, 100%!" She said, "Let's put it this way, you'd pack up all of those Heroes, and pretty much go even with most Lower Tier Gods already, though you might lose in an extended skirmish. Summoning Magic really shouldn't be this strong, you're just special,"
Jax pushed himself to his feet, rolling his shoulders as his regeneration erased the worst of the damage, his breath already steady again, "Yeah, still getting tossed around though, you really tried to snap me in half there,"
"That's because I know you'll be fine," Skadi shot back, grinning wider. "And the fact you're smiling about it means you're exactly the kind of bastard I respect."
Sona stepped closer and but in to the conversation, "The other Heroes have been here for far longer than you, and are at most, slightly reaching your level combined. Truly, it's incredible what you are, incredible,"
Her lips curved into a small, genuine smile, "Terra will not break you. If anything… you may be too much for it."
Lilith had drifted closer without anyone noticing, arms sliding around Jax's waist from behind as if she belonged there by default. Her cheek rested against his back, her voice warm and utterly certain.
"Told you," she purred, crimson eyes gleaming as she looked at Skadi and Sona, "From the moment I felt his soul, I knew. He was born for it. Look at him. He's growing just by existing."
She tightened her hold slightly, possessive but affectionate, "My King doesn't need time. Time needs to catch up to him."
Jax laughed softly, shaking his head, "You three are really selling me hard."
Skadi stepped forward again, towering over him, eyes blazing with something fierce and unmistakably sincere. "Listen carefully then," she said, voice dropping into something solemn beneath the bravado.
"The day you defeat me in fair combat, no tricks, no holding back… that day, I'm yours. As a warrior. As a woman. Completely." Her grin returned, sharp and eager. "And I don't say things I don't intend to keep."
"Really?" Jax asked, a bit surprised at how quickly Skadi switched up from when they first met.
" I am the Goddess of Demi-Humans, we respect the strong. I've never met a partner stronger than me, that's always been my desire, so train hard Jax, because I won't stop training either, you'll have to earn me!"