7 Training (2)

(General POV)

"So, why exactly are we here?" asked Lyzof.

He and Nekros had hiked out of the castle and into the deep wilderness that surrounded the Transcendental's home. And it was in the thickness of the undergrowth that they came to the small opening of a cave.

"This is where your training will be put into real practice." Nekros gestured with his head to the cave opening.

"Why? What's in there?"

"This is more than just a cave. It's a cavern that descends into the ground. And from its walls will spawn monsters for you to fight."

"So basically just a rip off Dungeon. That about it?" Lyzof asked in an unimpressed tone. All he got in reply was a smirk.

"That's one way of looking at it I guess. Although you'll find that the true depths of this cavern is far worse than anything the Dungeon can throw at you. But you won't be going that far anyway."

Lyzof cocked his head sideways, confused on what to say.

"Uhhh, thanks I guess? But what purpose does restricting me to lesser levels serve?"

Nekros folded his arms and leaned on the cave entrance.

"Well, it's to provide you some first hand experience on how a dungeon encounter goes, and how an adventurer must go about a dungeon run. You also have to learn how to collect cores and drop items, as well as test the true limits of your power. Work experience, if that is the way you want to see it, in where your training will be put to the test."

Lyzof nodded and squared his shoulders before marching in.

"Good luck." Nekros called after him.

Lyzof just nodded before walking down a descending slope of earth. Within a few minutes of walking, the earth slowly pulled back to reveal tunnels and caverns of stone.

He walked further in until the light from the cave entrance seemingly disappeared. Coming to a stop in the middle of it all, he drew Libur from it's holder and brandished it in the air, as if he were issuing a challenge.

And the counterfeit dungeon seemed to respond as it spat out a few war shadows.

'Newbie killers! This isn't the kind of thing you just throw at someone on their first dungeon run!' Lyzof screamed in his mind.

His blood began boiling though when he heard Nekros's chuckling echoing throughout the tunnels.

"BASTARD!"

---

A couple of hours later, Lyzof stumbled out of the cave with most of his armour dented and his clothes shredded. Cuts and wounds littered his arms, shoulders and thigh areas.

Nekros just hummed in amusement at his apprentice's condition.

"You think this is funny?!" Lyze muttered irritably.

"Yep."

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SPAWN SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON TOP OF ME FOR MY FIRST TIME?"

Nekros shrugged.

"Goblins and kobolds would have not really been anything of a threat to you. Your current skill set and abilities make you strong enough to head down to the sixth floor of Orario's dungeon at this point.

But don't think you'll be able to just skip to the lower floors so easily. Just a few war shadows were enough to put you at risk of death. And this only the start of of your beginner's guide to dungeon diving."

"Don't see the book anywhere."

"That's because it's not necessary. By the way, did you bring the monster cores with you?"

Lyze's eyes widened in realization, remembering that in his haste to be out of there, he'd forgotten to pick the cores. Nekros just pointed with his thumb back into the cave.

"Hurry up and go back. Oh, and I'd advise you heal yourself first before going back in, on the chance that more monsters spawn on top of you."

Silently cursing under his breath, Lyze re-entered the cave while channelling the light side of his chaos powers onto his wounds, slowly closing them up again. He could not yet heal fatal wounds as he was still training with his magic, but his current level would suffice for a job like this.

And a good thing as well, because the moment he bent down to pick a core up, a war shadow thrust its hand from the wall beside him. He only just managed to dodge out of the way before drawing Libur to fend off the follow up attack. Sparks flew as the holy sword clashed with the monster's claws.

The words that came out of Lyze's mouth would have made a pastor faint.

---

"There we go. You've finally managed to get a hang of it." Nekros congratulated as he watched Lyze summon the black flames of the Demon Clan and cover his sword in them.

"It's really hot." Lyze commented.

"Well of course it is. It's the hottest kind of flame you'll ever be able to get. And now that you are able to summon them at will, it will be easier for you to take down stronger monsters."

"I thought Escanor's flames were hotter."

"Those were an exception because they were the result of a Grace."

Lyze pondered for a moment while tapping his chin.

"If I am the host of Chaos, that means I have more light in me than the Supreme Deity, right?"

"Correct."

"Could I not give myself the Grace of Sunshine?"

Nekros gave him an empty stare before sighing.

"At this moment, you can't make graces. You do not possess the necessary control or power to accomplish such a thing. And even if you did, Sunshine would be more of a detriment to you than a benefit."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? The Grace would make you invincible by day at the cost of leaving you incredibly weakened at night. It would draw all sorts of attention to you and it wouldn't be long before somebody figures out that weakness. Plus if you draw too much attention to yourself, Chaos's existence may be revealed which will put you in jeopardy.

You can then kiss goodbye to any chance of finding the way home because then you'll be taken advantage of or you will be cast out. Just the way Chaos protected you in your infant days, it will continue to do so even now in the worst situations. Not to mention it's capable of doing a lot more damage now that it has been full awakened within you."

"I get it. So no Sunshine?"

"Absolutely not."

"Fine."

---

A shockwave made from a single swing of Libur cleaved an entire hill in two. Lyze slid it back into it's holder as he smiled at his handiwork. Instead of the white bandages, he now had black ones wrapped around his head.

"That is the best I can do at this point." he said to Nekros.

His mentor nodded his head in approval.

"Impressive. You'd make a good holy knight in Britannia by this point. Perhaps nowhere near the higher ranks, but you'd still fare well."

"Even with this? [Sword of the Thunder God]!"

A bolt of lightning stuck down from the sky upon the remains of the hill, obliterating even further.

"Even if you've managed to learn Gilthunder's inherent magical power by yourself, you still wouldn't be near the top. For starters, that had nowhere near as much power as his strikes do."

"So how does it become stronger then?"

"By practice and every time you level up I guess. Tell me, are there any other powers you've managed to learn by yourself."

"Yeah, look. [Snatch]!" A piece of debris hovered for a moment before flying into Lyze's open hand. Nekros nodded in approval again.

"Interesting. You do know that Snatch also has other uses besides taking something correct?"

"Like what?"

"Like offensive purposes. Ban used the ability to mangle Hendrickson's arm in the first season, remember?"

Lyze's mouth dropped open in realization.

"So it also has telekinetic uses as well!" He exclaimed.

"Indeed."

"So things like this can be done too?" A telekinetic grip clasped around Nekros's throat. The Transcendental smiled before flexing some of his fingers. A strange noise sounded in the air, before the hold on his throat ceased and Lyze floated in the air while clawing at his neck, unable to breathe.

"Yes." Nekros said coolly. "But unlike your poor imitation, I can perform the real thing. So don't ever do that again, okay?"

Lyze nodded before Nekros let him go. He fell to the ground rubbing his neck as the air came rushing back into his lungs.

"On a side note, I'll give you some points before being innovative." Nekros smiled.

---

"Can I learn any skill or inherent magical power I'd like to with my Chaos powers?" Lyze asked as he sat across the table, picking at his food.

"No." His mentor promptly replied. "You can learn quite a few, but I've reserved some for the Falna to grant. OP ones like 'Infinity' can only be granted upon a level up at the hands of whomever your patron god will be."

"That's not fair."

"I want your growth to be organic. I want you to hone your skills and accumulate enough physical and magical power before you can perform those techniques. Using them while at such a weak level is just going to be empty."

"Does 'Hunter Fist' count as one of them?"

"The ability to rob your opponent of their physical and magical strength as well as their stamina? If that is not the definition of overpowered, then you need to get your head checked out again."

"I wouldn't have had to go to Matilda if you didn't kick me through the walls of the training grounds."

"Your fault for not keeping your guard up."

---

"The time has come it seems." Nekros said a little sadly.

His apprentice scoffed at him.

"Suit yourself. You might be feeling down at the fact I don't serve as your training dummy anymore, but you can bet your eternal life that I'm happy to be out of here!"

"To think three years have already gone by though. You've changed quite a bit since I brought you to my realm."

Lyzof had indeed undergone a dramatic physical change. Gone was the scrawny, stinking, helpless little boy that was brought to the Realm outside the Walls. In his place was an eight year old, 4'5 in height, with a bit of lean muscle on him for his age, and the power of a seasoned level one adventurer.

He'd grown his hair so that it did not stick out sideways like Arthur's. Instead he grown it backwards where it curled up a little at the ends. And due to incessant begging on his part, Nekros had made it so that the iconic lock of hair that fell down Arthur Pendragon's face was removed entirely.

The boy now carried an aura of seriousness. While some may still find him laughable due to his age and his size, they would still find themselves wary and cautious around him.

Dressed warmly in full adventurer's clothing, a cloak around his shoulders to protect him from the rain, a black blindfold around his eyes and his 'walking stick' in his hand, Nekros was ready to let him go back to Orario.

"How do you feel? About what lies ahead of you now?" Nekros asked him.

"I will not lie. I am kind of excited to begin an adventurer's life. My goals have not changed but I would definitely say I have more ambition."

"That is good to hear. Now tell me, how do you feel about me?" Nekros stared at him questioningly.

Lyze pursed his lips and thought deeply on how to answer. He sighed heavily as he looked up to meet his master's face.

"I still heavily resent you for bringing me here against my will just so you could be entertained. But...I have come to respect you for the things you've taught me, and how you've helped me gain some control over the amount of Chaos I can release now."

"If that is all, then I believe I have done my work here. Oh that reminds me! Take your shirt off and come here." Nekros said as a vial materialized in his hand.

In the beginning, Lyze would have asked why, but by now he'd learnt better than to question his master's intentions or his orders. Instead he directed his curiosity to the vial as he complied.

"What is that?"

"This contains a drop of my own blood." Nekros said. "It will grant you three random abilities of mine at master level. One offensive, one defensive and one being a trait. Not even I know which ones will come to you."

"From you, those things would be ridiculously overpowered. Come on, what's the catch?"

Nekros smiled brilliantly.

"My, my. You've certainly become much smarter as well. Indeed, there is a catch to it. The offensive ability will not gain you any Excelia no matter how many monsters you kill."

"Called it." Lyze said disappointingly.

'The same can't be said for adventurers though. I wonder how long it will be before you figure it out.' Nekros thought to himself.

Lyze bared his back, and Nekros opened the vial. A deep red drop of blood, redder than anything that could be imagined, fell onto the scarred skin. A blue glow erupted from his back as letters and hieroglyphs appeared.

"So is this like a Falna or something?" asked Lyze. Nekros shook his head.

"Nuh-uh. This something more 'intrinsic'. Something the Danmachi gods would never be able to do, nor could they even detect."

"Are you going to tell me what the abilities are?"

"Sure, sure. Now let's see here. Oh... well, for your offensive ability, it seems you've obtained 'Force Lightning'."

"Star wars crap again?"

"Don't mock it! And you'll find that MY particular Force lightning has quite the effect of magical beings, or any being with some sort of supernatural energy source. Not to mention all the colours you can use."

"Yeah, yeah. I've seen the the CW series. What about the defensive ability?"

"You've been given the ability called 'Thread'. It basically helps you come into tune with the flow of the universe. And using it, you can sense other people around you, as well as predict what their next move will be."

"That...is cool. And the Trait?"

"Yes. And for the trait...Oh...well damn."

"What?" Lyze looked suspiciously at his mentor. Nekros sat in shock at what he was reading. "Tell me what it is."

Nekros's gaze flickered between him and the letters before he suddenly closed the Falna like thing.

"I'm afraid I will not tell you what it is."

"Why? I thought you said you were going to tell me all of them."

"I did. But let's just say that what you got was more overpowered than the other two combined. You got extremely lucky kid."

"But I want to know! You can't just leave me in the dark like that!"

Nekros shook his head.

"If you're smart enough, you'll figure it out someday. But for now, I believe it will actually be more beneficial for you if you don't know."

"But-"

"No buts. I've made up my mind. Trust me, you'll be thanking me for it one day."

Lyze just gave him an annoyed stare before slipping his upper clothing on again.

"Whatever. Just send me away already."

"Will do. But before you go, what Familia are you going to join?"

"I believe it will be more beneficial if you didn't know for now."

"Turning my words back on me. How brazen of you. I could just take the information out of your head you know?"

"But then that would be spoiler wouldn't it? After all, you brought me here so that I provided entertainment for you."

They had a little stare contest before Nekros smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"I suppose you have a point. Well, good luck kid. Hope you achieve your best while you're down there."

Nekros snapped his fingers. Instantly Lyze found himself in the Main Street of Orario. He took a deep breath of the familiar air.

"Home sweet home I guess."

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