The Path of Suffering

Trying to ignore the pain that clouded his mind, Vallynor attempted to control the raging energy within himself. It flowed through him like a wild river, entering through one bony palm and exiting through the other, creating an endless cycle of training and torment.

Time passed slowly for Vallynor. The pain he felt did not harm his soul significantly but felt like a tearing apart. What separated him from complete rupture was only one thing – eternal pain. Unlike the pain associated with soul rupture, which came and went like hysterical fits of women, this pain did not disappear but only intensified.

The old man stopped and stepped back from Vallynor, even though it was unknown how much time had passed. The pain disappeared instantly, and Vallynor collapsed. The old man looked at the almost unconscious figure lying before him for a long moment and sympathetically said:

"You don't have enough accumulated talent to sense magical energy. That's why you're not very adept at perceiving it. It might seem like you've experienced a lot, but that's not the case. You're not even capable of sensing the tiniest living organisms that are everywhere. To reach such a level, you need not only to rely on your senses but also to attain enlightenment. Let's leave that for later and continue talking about your magical sensations. Fortunately, this can be remedied with brute force and time. I'll be straightforward: if you want to become powerful, you need good sensations to control magic and spells... Time is up. Go back and rest. If you're not scared, come back tomorrow at midnight."

The old man touched Vallynor's head, causing him to vanish, and he continued to gaze in the direction where Vallynor had just been. He waved his hand, making the undead summoned by the necromancer, who had restored the tombstones, disappear. Then he sat down next to one of the tombstones and stared at the dark sky.

***

Waking up in bed, Vallynor struggled to open his eyes. He began to recall the words of the little skeleton, but it was hard for him to concentrate. He wanted to get up, but he couldn't. Weakness had taken hold of him – a long-forgotten weakness, not physical, but spiritual. He had strived for so long to feel emptiness, and even partial lifelessness couldn't serve as a way to maintain endless productivity and training.

In a sense, he had to get something from nothing. Perhaps, as an undead praetor, moving slowly and inaction was often necessary to conserve energy and strength for crucial moments, hunting the living and attacking aggressors.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Vallynor pondered the Old Man's words. He had learned much new and had confronted the unpleasant truth about his lack of talent. Fortunately or not, Vallynor could address this issue, of course, with the Old Man's help.

Thoughts of his mission flashed through his mind. After all, it was because of the mission that he had started all of this. Unfortunately, Vallynor felt so weakened that he began to lose consciousness, as if falling asleep. He drifted off, not realizing that his vigilance had saved him from falling to the floor. Even when he contemplated what would happen after leaving his body and entering the world of the dead, he did not mean the Kingdom of the God of Death, but rather its copy, that is to say, the world within the Necronomicon grimoire. That's where the necromancers resided. Fortunately, everything had ended well...

Cesare left Vallynor and went into another room where Annino was located. Since the city had disappeared, she had not been seen. It was not surprising; she had to fulfill her final task for Baba Yaga. Until she completed it, she wouldn't return. And if she did return, Cesare didn't know what she had been taught. She was already strong enough, but only because of Vallynor, she became weaker. When he became stronger, the restrictions on her would be lifted, and she would become even more powerful.

Annino, since she arrived in this city, had been in a coma until her body underwent changes and became more vicious. If before she looked like a big angry dog, now she resembled a demonic wolf. These traits in her became more pronounced, but the most significant change was inside.

The night quickly receded, allowing the rays of light to illuminate Vallynor's room. The beams even penetrated his eyelids, awakening long-forgotten and unpleasant sensations within him.

At that moment, someone entered the room, and from the sound of footsteps, Vallynor realized that the person was heading towards the window. Then the light grew stronger, even piercing through Vallynor's closed eyelids. In the next second, he jumped up and shouted:

"Damn it, close the window with curtains!" Vallynor opened his eyes and was momentarily blinded by the bright light. Then he opened and closed his eyes several times to start seeing again.

Before him stood Alexander, arms crossed, attentively watching Vallynor. Snorting, he said:

"Get up. Change into this training suit. I'll be waiting outside the door," he said, pulling a black suit from his pocket, resembling sportswear with stripes and a logo on the chest.

As Vallynor watched Alexander leave, he massaged his head and was about to return to the bed to continue sleeping. However, he realized that he was expected and got up.

He still felt the weakness from the torture with the old man. Examining the training suit more closely, he noticed faint magical traces on it. Enchanted clothing? Most likely.

After dressing, Vallynor headed for the door but paused, remembering the unfinished task. He opened the mission panel and quickly confirmed its completion, receiving 1500 necro-coins. Then he checked his balance, finding 2300 necro-coins.

"Hmm, I should have had around 270 souls there somewhere. Okay, let's make it 269 souls. Where are they now... Forgotten? Darn it, this book is starting to worry me. But it's better not to jump to conclusions until I gather enough evidence," Vallynor thought, leaving that idea in his head.

After that, he closed the mission panel and noticed a new task:

[

The first day in hell... I mean, training.

You've ended up in the last refuge of the rational beings who haven't succumbed to eternal darkness. You've been taken for training to help you survive in this cursed world. You must train and learn to understand how this world works.

Objective: Complete one day of training.

Reward: 5000 necro-coins.

]

"Hmm, intriguing hints. What kind of training awaits me? And the reward is quite substantial," thought Vallynor, sighing. He then closed the mission panel and headed for the door. When he left the room, he saw Alexander leaning against the wall with closed eyes. Opening them, Alexander looked at Vallynor, turned, and headed towards the exit.

Seeing that Alexander had silently started walking, Vallynor quickly understood he should do the same and caught up with him.

"Today, I will assess your current physical condition. As for now, you can't take the first step on the Path of the Body... Cesare mentioned that you want to train in all three paths. Is that true?" Alexander asked.

"Yes," Vallynor replied immediately, recalling how he acquired Vias Deus, which he seemed unable to use anymore.

"It's going to be very challenging for you, and I would have tried to dissuade you from such a reckless decision. But it's too late. As Cesare said, you've already embarked on this difficult path. However, due to your altered soul, you can no longer follow the original path. So right now, he's preparing the first stage of training for your situation, and I'll create the foundation for the training, starting from the next day."

"What are we going to do?" Vallynor asked with apprehension and reluctance, already knowing the answer to that question.

"Hellish training," Alexander replied.

Exiting the castle, Vallynor found himself in a garden. The garden was vast and filled with various flowers. Some of them had eyes and moved, while others were small and simple. However, as Vallynor passed through the garden with Alexander, he felt a sense of danger, as these plants seemed threatening to him. He noticed several beautiful girls with pale green skin, quietly strolling through the garden, carrying fertilizers and pitchers of water.

"This garden belongs to Cesare. Once, the God of Souls returned from one of his walks with the soul of a flower. He cared for it for several centuries, but the flower not only did not thrive but grew weaker. And one fine day, preparing to get rid of it and no longer suffer, the God decided to throw the flower's soul into the River Styx. But Cesare stopped him and asked him to give him that flower," Alexander recounted, looking around with a happy smile, reminiscing about the past. Even Vallynor felt that Alexander's smile was genuine.

"Having obtained the Soul of the Flower, he immediately created this garden. While the God of Souls himself disappeared, the flower was placed right in the center of the garden, and the rest of the area was filled with other plants that various creatures brought from their missions. The flower began to bloom, and it turned out to be an ancient dryad's flower. Unfortunately, the God of Souls, even knowing what kind of flower it was, didn't know how to care for it, and his consciousness perished. But even so, it instinctively cares for other plants. All these marionette-girls were created from that flower... I remember the God's astonished face and how he hit Cesare on the head when he destroyed his museum. There used to be a museum here with the great feats of the God, and now it's a garden. Back then, haha, he spent a year in a wheelchair, and the God was bloated for ten years," Alexander continued, gazing at the garden. It seemed to him that past events were happening right now.

"It might seem that gods are all-powerful beings and know everything. Fortunately, that's not the case, as the gods themselves are living beings, and all living beings can make mistakes. I've seen it myself, worlds were destroyed because of the vanity of the gods just because they didn't want the eras to change and their throne to disappear from under their behinds. Even our God wasn't perfect, often disappearing, leaving us to our own devices. He often lost patience and left unfinished tasks, and Cesare would finish them for him, sometimes getting a stick on his back for it because the God of Souls would shout, 'I planned to finish it someday.' But he almost never returned to what he abandoned," Alexander continued.

As they passed through the garden, Vallynor listened to the stories about the God of Souls and the past. Mixed feelings stirred in his heart. On one hand, how could a god be so human, and on the other hand, such a god might better understand his followers and be closer to them.

Leaving the garden, Vallynor saw a vast training field filled with various conditions. Some areas were filled with lava, snow, or sand. Heavy metal piles were arranged in rows, and various types of training equipment, both familiar and unfamiliar, were present. In the distance, he could see a coliseum.

Looking at the future place of his impending suffering, Vallynor didn't see a single soul on the training field. This struck him as strange. Were there no longer any trainees?

Alexander, understanding what Vallynor was thinking, said:

"No one else wants to waste their time on useless training. And those who still wanted to have already left with their sons, unwilling to accept their fate. It's mostly the youth, where the fire still burns."

Reaching the training field, Alexander looked at it and, filling his lungs with air, roared like a true lion. The training field quickly transformed into a large circle, consisting of lava, sand, water, bolts, and other materials. Various obstacles in the form of walls and other objects were also present.

"Complete 10 rounds without using magic. You can only enhance your body with mana, but I don't think you're capable of that. So let's go, you have... um, 30 minutes, and that's even considering you're a novice."

"What?" Vallynor exclaimed.

***

Caesar watched as Vallynor left with Alexander and returned to his work desk. Sitting down, he waved his hand, and several books floated out of the library and flew towards him, stopping half a meter away.

Suddenly, a tendril emerged from a crack with a book whose cover was black and gold, and it was inscribed with "Vias Deus."

"Here's the book," Tify's voice came from the crack, filled with disgust.

Tify handed over the book and then closed the crack. Caesar waved a finger, inviting the book, and took it in his hands, stroking the cover and reminiscing about the past.

At some point, he finally opened the book, revealing the first stage of development, and left it hovering in the air. Then he turned his head to the other books. He handled the second book with a green cover similarly, leaving it at the first stage of development. The third book had a black-violet cover, and Caesar opened it at the first stage of development as well, leaving it suspended in the air.

He did the same with ten books, which hung before Caesar, surrounding him. He carefully examined each book, took out paper and a pen, and began writing, occasionally making corrections or underlining. Very rarely did he erase something.

"Each book is a treasure trove of knowledge, describing how to develop or, to put it simply, how to enlighten oneself. The first book was already mentioned by me. The second, the green book, describes the initial paths of development for primary dragons, the paths that the Dragon God himself walked. The third book is about the development of necromancers. The rest are notes and several variants of development paths that can help refine this new path... And now, why are you here?" Leaving the pen, Caesar raised his head and looked at Gabriel's back.

Gabriel, sitting by the window and observing Vallynor and his sufferings, which evoked memories of Alexander's past, smiled. Without taking his eyes off the view, he replied, "I came for the schedule. I want to prepare a few people to teach it. For that, I need to prepare everything properly."

"I've already sent you the schedule," Caesar said, frowning briefly. He then returned to creating the new path of development and simultaneously said, "In the morning, Alexander and anyone else who wishes will be learning close combat. Then a few hours with Horkim, where they'll learn blacksmithing. From 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, lessons with me. Then a few hours for those who want to teach Vallynor. From 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, your lessons. And from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, he'll be learning from Riku."

"So, Alexander will get the most time. Not bad. If we can use various tricks to accelerate the entire learning process. Alexander doesn't have such an opportunity. Of course, you can pass on knowledge about various types of battles and so on, but the combat experience is not that simple... All right, I understand... But I can't figure out where the schedule you sent me is. Any ideas?"

For a split second, Caesar stopped the pen, then continued writing. He now had 17 sheets of paper.

"Those are just guesses. But no matter what happened, the schedule remains unchanged. And now you can return to your tower and start preparing."

"Now, give me a little more time to look... Sigh..."

***

On the roof of a massive building, a man in a black suit with golden glasses sat. He crossed his legs and held a schedule in one hand. In his other hand, he held a small fairy, surrounded by blood and with detached wings.

***

"Aaaaah, what a headache I have," Neffan complained as he slowly got up from a pile of trash, clutching his head. He rose from the ground, completely naked. He retrieved a bottle of alcohol and a robe from his spatial bag. After putting on the robe, he intended to bring the bottle to his lips to drink, but at the last moment, he stopped and looked up at the sky.

"Oh no, oh no," he repeated while taking out his pocket watch and seeing that it was 9:37 in the morning. At that moment, a girl with short silver hair, reaching her shoulders, emerged from the trash. She had red, teary eyes as she looked at Neffan.

With a cat-like smile, she approached him and hugged him, starting to purr. But Neffan quickly pushed her away and said, "Not now, Felicia. I need to go to the castle and teach the guy how to create his own pocket space. But I have a terrible headache from that alcohol. Cursed Minker and his enchantment! Because of that, I can't cure this hangover with magic."

"Then go and buy a pill from him. After all, you should present yourself in the best possible way," she said, kissing him on the cheek. Then she began to dress in her dress, examining the place where they had slept and woken up.

"But they're so expensive, I don't want to buy them," Neffan complained, taking out a kimono and starting to change clothes.

"If you don't want to buy from Minker, you can go to the black market and get them for half the price," she giggled, caressing Neffan.

"Do you want me to get on Minker's blacklist? The entire black market belongs to him, and he blacklists anyone who buys those damn pills on the black market."

Felicia sighed and took a small white pill out of her ring, handing it to Neffan and saying, "I kept it for myself, but you need it now. I know you're stingy, dear, but you have to do everything right. If we succeed, we'll have a few middle-class souls. So, do it right. And tonight, I'll get twice as much blood." Saying this, she leaned down enough for Neffan to see her cleavage through her neckline and touched her cheek with her index finger.

Swallowing the hangover pill, Neffan immediately felt relief. He turned his head to Felicia, hugged her, and kissed her lips. She embraced him, gently stroking his head. This beautiful scene was ruined by Felicia's burp and the realization that they were standing by a trash bin between blocks.

"I'm going," leaving Felicia, he turned towards the castle to take off.

"Wait," Felicia stopped him. She approached him and cast a cleansing spell on Neffan, removing all the dirt. "You should be clean, after all, this time we fell asleep among the trash."

"Yes, yes, thanks," Neffan agreed.

"Go already, time waits for no one. We don't want to anger Caesar. I'm leaving," Felicia turned and left, leaving Neffan alone. Neffan rose into the sky and flew towards the castle...

Alexander watched as Vallynor tried to cross a lava lake. Fortunately, there were islands and small pieces of solidified lava floating on the lake. At the moment, Vallynor was attempting to pass through the cursed lava lake for the fourth time. The first three times, he found several pieces of lava and created paths, but all of them were destroyed by Alexander.

Vallynor, jumping from one island to another, tried to find a way to cross this accursed lava lake. But even if he managed to pass it another six times, jungles, swamps, and numerous other obstacles awaited him.

Alexander expressed his dissatisfaction as he watched Vallynor. Nearly three hours had passed, and Vallynor had not yet completed the fourth lap. Inside, he was not only dissatisfied with Neffan but also proud of Vallynor. After all, for an ordinary person incapable of using magic, completing ten laps through all these obstacles in 30 minutes was truly impossible. But it was still too slow.