Norris narrowed his eyes as he stared at his son. Then he gestured for Hector to come closer.
''Are you ready?''
Hector nodded confidently.
In the next moment, seedlings crawled out from the ground, growing at a ridiculous speed. Pretty soon, they became gigantic trees with bizarre shapes, surrounding the training yard and blocking the light from the sky.
Hector gulped as he glanced at the towering trees.
He knew it…the blessing his father possessed. The blessing of the Forest God. However, he had never had the chance to witness Norris use that blessing in the novel, because very few opponents were capable of making him use it.
And he didn't think he could replicate it from his father, at least not until he reached his level.
Suddenly, a wave of rich oxygen stirred his nose and filled his lungs.
He felt energy coursing through him…but then he frowned as he saw flower buds emerging from the gigantic trees. Soon, the ghostly flowers formed, sending an unfamiliar aroma to his nose.
In the next seconds, his vision blurred, and a slight wave of pain stabbed at his head.
''W-What happened?''
…
''Control your mana so it circulates evenly through your veins.''
''Yes, father.'' Without hesitation, Hector sat and meditated. He did exactly as his father instructed.
Pretty soon, he opened his eyes again, and the entire space had shifted to another place. A vast expanse with no visible end.
In shock, he turned to his father, who quickly explained.
''This place is an illusion I created using my blessing.''
''If you die here, your true body won't be affected at all. But the pain is real and will harm your spirit.''
''In short, the strength of will is the core.''
Hector was startled when he heard that. If his father said it, he would have to endure pain through the entire training.
The pain was truly brutal and terrifying to anyone.
He stammered.
''W-Why don't we train normally?''
Norris tilted his head, asking.
''Are you sure? If you train in this illusion, you'll learn everything much faster. Each time you die, you'll engrave the mistake in your mind…you'll never repeat it.''
''Moreover, time here passes slowly compared to the real world. A week here is one day in the real world''
Silence.
Hector just dropped his jaw when he heard that.
''A week here is one day in the real world?…which means I'll have 49 days to train with father.''
Hector forced a smile. But thinking about what he might have to endure in this place sent chills down his spine.
The truth was, if he survived, he would certainly become stronger than most.
''Alright. I want to train here.''
Well, it would be a chain of the harshest days he would ever face in his life.
Obviously, each passing day was hell for him. His head felt like it would shatter into pieces after finishing a day of training with his father.
Just imagining what he had to go through made him want to vomit right then. His father killed him again and again, time after time.
Each mistake cost him one of his limbs. He couldn't even remember how many lives he had lost during training.
But it was worth the price.
His swordsmanship grew at a ridiculous speed that even surprised his father. Tch, Norris wondered if his son was blessed by a God related to improving swordsmanship or not.
''You jerk… Stand up!'' Luna struggled to drag Hector's exhausted body from the training room to the castle.
Well, Hector had commanded her to do such things. If so, at least she didn't need to plant trees or dig up soil anymore.
But now she began to regret it.
She should have planted trees and dug up soil instead of dragging this stinky bastard. Hector's sweat after training made her feel creeped out.
But she couldn't deny that it was a strange experience for her—something she had never done before.
''What have you been doing in that room?'' she grumbled, throwing Hector into the room before collapsing.
She glanced up at the ceiling and sighed in tiredness.
A few days passed. She began to get used to these things, and she also realized that it had more or less helped her health.
She began to have muscle lines. Even her white skin had a hint of tan.
''I must take care of my skin… I don't want to be a barbarian.''
She slowly stood up and narrowed her eyes as she looked at Hector's worn-out body. She had no idea what he was doing, but for sure, he was training insanely hard as if his life depended on it.
She really admired Hector's willpower. Not like anyone she had ever seen, not even her big brother.
''But you shouldn't have treated so hard to me.'' Luna scowled in sulk and kicked Hector before leaving.
…
A few minutes later, Hector slowly stood up, showing no sign of exhaustion at all. Well, he had pretended to be in a bad state. Basically, he just wanted to observe Luna.
He glanced outside and muttered,
''She's childish for sure. Different from the novel. I guess something will happen in few years to make her shift to vicious and brutal.''
''Unlucky that I don't have any information about it, but I have to take the chance to copy her blessing over the next few days.''
Well, he had a plan for that. He would push her into danger to force her to use her blessing.
A green dungeon would be a good choice. Moreover, he had many things to do in the dungeon before returning to the academy.
He needed to increase his mana cores. Still, he had to look for the ingredients to prepare for boosting his potential mana core.
But those ingredients only grew under harsh conditions in the dungeon.
Bloodstone—stones that only demon cult were able to exploit in dungeons.
Just like that, Hector had completed his training with his father. Well, actually, he had finished it in five days, not seven as he had expected.
To put it into words, his blessing still couldn't fully adapt to his father's swordsmanship… Damn, just thinking about how terrifying his father's power was made him feel uneasy.
Four stars weren't enough for him anymore. He had to upgrade his blessing to five stars if he wanted to adapt his father's swordsmanship – in the end, evolve to the final step.
''Which means my father's swordsmanship has reached God level?''