Capítulo 35: First training
Three days passed without anything interesting happening. Ezequiel spent most of his time cultivating, while his Angels finished off the goblins and moved on to the wild beasts. There wasn't much action during this time, leaving Ezequiel feeling a bit restless.
But today, that was about to change.
Today marked three days since Ezequiel and Marie had visited the market. This meant it was finally time for their first combat lesson at the Devil Exterminating Bureau. The two of them set off again, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement about the training ahead.
"Are you excited to see Anna again?" Ezequiel asked Marie as they walked. They hadn't seen Anna over the past few days because she'd been busy, but they would be meeting her again today for training.
"Of course I am! You've been so boring, just cultivating all day," Marie replied with a playful pout. "At least Anna plays with me."
Ezequiel felt a little guilty. He had been neglecting Marie lately, but the idea of playing her games just didn't interest him anymore. At sixteen, he felt too old for that kind of fun, even if Marie still enjoyed it.
"You won't have much time to play today either," he said gently. "You need to focus on your training."
Marie looked disappointed but nodded. She knew training was important, especially after learning about the Devils. She couldn't afford to stay weak. "I know. I'm going to be better at training than you, anyway."
When they arrived at the floating island where the training would take place, an employee greeted them and led them to the training grounds. At the back of the island, they saw Anna, her father Johann, and another elf who looked about forty years old, though it was hard to tell with elves.
"Sorry we're late," Ezequiel said politely, even though they were on time. Marie, on the other hand, didn't bother with formalities and ran straight to Anna.
Ezequiel turned to the unfamiliar elf, noticing the scars that marked his skin and the serious look in his eyes. "Hi, I'm Ezequiel, and this is Marie. Are you going to be our instructor?"
The elf nodded. "My name is Marcus, and yes, I'll be your instructor until the girls reach the Minor God Realm."
He spoke in a calm, emotionless voice, as if he were simply stating facts. "You can trust me. I've been fighting Devils for tens of thousands of years and lived to tell the tale. Unfortunately, I've recently been injured, and it will take a long time and a lot of Faith Liquid to heal. So, I'm teaching in the meantime to speed up my recovery."
'This guy is the real deal,' Ezequiel thought, feeling a growing respect for Marcus. 'A true warrior. Even injured, he just wants to heal quickly so he can get back to the battlefield.'
Ezequiel admired people like Marcus, who thrived in battle. One day, he hoped to be a bit like him, though with a little more emotion.
Marcus continued, "We're waiting for one more person to join your training. He's also awakened a High-level species, so he won't hold you back."
"Sure, that's fine," Ezequiel said, unaware that he'd soon regret those words. They ended up waiting nearly two hours before the last person arrived—a tall, arrogant-looking human with short blonde hair. At 190 cm, he was much taller than most people, and he seemed to carry himself with an air of superiority.
He didn't even acknowledge anyone else as he walked up to Johann. "You didn't tell me I'd be training with such untalented individuals," he sneered, his voice high-pitched and full of disdain.
"Don't be so arrogant," Johann snapped, clearly irritated. "These individuals are more talented than you think. We've already waited two hours for you. If you had been any later, you would've missed today's session."
The man scoffed and shrugged off Johann's words. "Hmph, these low-lives have nothing better to do anyway. Can we start now?"
Both Marie and Anna looked furious at his attitude, their small fists clenched in anger. Ezequiel, however, remained calm. He'd dealt with people like this before during his time in the orphanage and was used to it. He had tried to shield Marie from such experiences, so she still had a somewhat innocent view of the world. Marcus, with his thousands of years of experience, wasn't bothered either.
Before things could get worse, Marcus stepped in to break the tension. "Alright, let's get started. By the way, what's your name again?" he asked, turning to the newcomer.
The man straightened up and replied with arrogance, "My name is Eric. Eric Rothschild. But you may address me as Lord Rothschild."
Marcus didn't seem impressed. "Okay, Eric, now that everyone's here, we can begin. But before we start, there's something I need to tell you all since you've awakened High-level species."
Ezequiel perked up at the mention of High-level species. He hadn't shared this information with anyone, so this was important.
"When normal Gods like me or Johann cultivate in the Demi-God Realm, we just absorb Divine Energy from the air and guide it to our body and soul. You might've been doing the same, but for you, there's a better way."
Marcus paused, making sure everyone was listening. "Inside the bloodline of each High- or Peak-level species, there's a special cultivation manual that only their gods can use. The believers themselves aren't even aware of it. The only way to access this manual is to focus your consciousness on a drop of blood essence from one of your believers. The technique will then appear in your mind."
He looked around at them, gauging their reactions. "Only the gods who have contracted these species can use the technique, so I want you all to use it. It will give you a stronger foundation and more power in the future. It might even boost your divinity. So, don't break through to the next realm without using this technique."
'This is incredible,' Ezequiel thought, excitement bubbling up inside him. 'The Angels have never let me down. I bet their technique will be amazing.'
Even Eric couldn't hide a flicker of joy at this news. 'This will make me even stronger than those with low-level species. I'll finally be able to compete with Peak-level species,' he thought, not realizing how foolish that sounded. If High-level species had powerful techniques, surely Peak-level ones would have even better ones.
"Now that we've covered that," Marcus said, bringing their attention back to the present, "let's begin the actual training."
Regalos
-- Regalo
recibido Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder