Bab 8: Training Grounds

Massive engraved pillars sprung up from the ground and supported the angeled roof, which all led to the highest point just above the statue.

The statue was amazing. Plain and simple. It was pure and utterly amazing to not only look at it but just be in the presence of it.

When we finally managed to push through the crowd of students, we eventually arrived at the very base of the towering statue.

It was carved from high-quality marble, and the sculpting would put even the greatest sculptors in existence to shame… it was as if it had been sculpted by the goddess herself.

"Now, how much do you both know about the gods of this world? Because if you don't, you may fall victim to one of their traps," The woman smiled, and just like that, my expressionless face flickered into a light frown.

Wherever you go, the conflict between gods will be invetiable since their proof is undeniable, yet some people believe one is more powerful than the other.

How true are they? Well, only the gods could know, as a clash between gods would litearlly just destroy galaxies.

And trust me… they can do much more than just destroy galaxies.

The woman proceeded to go on a ten-minute rant, explaining the glory and amazingness of this goddess who apparently blesses anybody that supports her with great luck and fortune.

"Is it possible to learn about the other gods and goddesses?" I asked, and the woman's smile lightly faltered before returning to normal.

"You can learn more about them in the library," She quickly cut me off, and it seemed the tour was over, so I slowly maneuvered my way closer and closer to Iris, who continuously hung her head.

And, just as the woman was a few meters away from us, I took Iris' hand and ran with her through the halls, weaving through each and every person rushing around the school.

"Wanna check out that beast colosseum?" I asked.

Iris gave me no reply, but the way her dull eyes shone slightly with a hint of glory was more than enough for me to drag her into the amazing fighting facility.

"Let's go on a small stealth mission…." I chuckled lightly, and seeing how I was smiling, Iris couldn't help but give me a weak smile as well.

Her fake chuckle was apparent, but I knew she wanted to take her mind off of everything.

As we snuck into the training facility where you could watch the colosseum-like fights between students and literal monsters found in dungeons, we walked towards the very bottom, where a railing prevented you from falling into the dirt pit.

There was currently a clash between some kind of minotaur and a student who looked to be in the high school section of this massive academy.

He had long brown hair tied into a ponytail and dual-wielded nature magic while strangely in tandem with fire magic.

The nature magic was strong enough to just barely resist the fire magic, but if left to touch too long, the wood, of course, would begin to turn into ash.

The way he used nature magic, though, was pretty interesting as it was normally used as an offensive blunt-force type magic which could occasionally serve as defense, but this was used as more of an area control.

In the beginning, he limited the minotaur's movements by occasionally slipping roots under the dirt and then sprouting them from beneath the minotaur's location.

The minotaur, of course, adapted to this kind of attack, but what made the magic super interesting was that he actually began to move away from an attack-type of style and eventually started using the roots as movement limiters.

He would force the roots around the minotaurs ankles, thighs, whatever it could grab on, forcing the minotaurs attention away for just a split second as it tried to rip the wood off of it.

It was strong, but the nature magic was stronger.

Finally, the fire magic was used in the most basic way possible, which wasn't bad, but it could be better.

He formed a weapon out of it while occasionally creating pillars of fire that limited the minotaur's movement once again.

This was also where the wood and fire would clash.

Tup

Suddenly, I was taken out of my focused trance by Iris, who punched me in the arm in order to get my attention.

"Damn… what do you want?" I asked.

"I kept trying to get your attention, but you kept staring at the fight. Answer my question," She demanded, and the way she carried herself was quite serious, but in reality, her expression was that of pure adorableness.

Damn… I really miss my family.

…

"I'm so bored," Iris complained after an hour of watching fight after fight, but just as she spoke those words, some interesting monster finally came climbing out of that damn gate.

"Ah… that's actually kind of decent," I lightly smiled to myself as a chilling aura spread from the monster, but the fighter immediately activated his fiery skills, which consumed the newly formed frigid atmosphere.

What a pussy…

The monster was a simple ice spirit… a D-rank monster that had more of a deadly presence than what it could actually represent.

In other words, this spirit may feel and look scary, but in reality, all it can do is hop around with those stubby little legs and carry its large and round snowy body.

Occasionally, the ice that spread from its stubby little feet shot out and formed massive spikes sharp enough to penetrate human flesh.

But, if you weren't as slow as a fucking tortoise, then this monster was a breeze.

Now, you might be wondering as to why I want this monster in my arsenal… well, it's simple, really.

FWOOSH

All of a sudden, a massive spike of ice erupted toward the mage of fire, and as soon as he dodged to the side and rolled inward, he crushed the spirit's body with a single ball of fire.

"So weak," Iris muttered.

It's the potential to grow into something strong. That is exactly as to why I wanted it.