Chapter 20 : Dragon God Temple

It had been a year and a quarter since Ray began his rigorous training under Zen's watchful eye. In that time, Zen had imparted all the essential knowledge about the influential families, kingdoms, and current affairs across the continents that Ray would need for his future, when he would travel to the central continent for Adencia Van Academy. 

Ray soaked in lessons on geopolitics, alliances, and the intricate balance of power that kept Helios and the world in check.

Zen also laid the groundwork for understanding magic theory, a foundation Ray would build upon through his own practice and exploration. Which was the only topic he truly wanted to learn.

Zen detailed about the elements, the Fundamental Elements of fire, water, earth, and wind formed the basis of most magical systems. Their deviant elements, such as lightning, ice, metal, mist, magma...and more were rarer and required unique affinities. Beyond these lay the Special Elements of light and darkness, rare to the point of someone having them is one in tens of thousands, with space being the most unique, known to only a handful of beings. The element of time was said to belong exclusively to dragons, a secret of their lineage.

Completing the theoretical aspects of magic took over a month, aided by Luna's comprehensive system support. While Ray's mind absorbed information rapidly, Luna organized and cataloged it for future reference, allowing Ray to focus on mastering his learning rather than being overwhelmed by details.

However, Ray's desire to awaken his elemental affinity grew by the day. He knew that achieving this milestone would mark the beginning of advanced training in both magic and swordsmanship. But Zen, ever the stern guide, insisted that Ray first solidify his foundations. No magic or aura training would begin until Zen deemed him ready.

The second phase of training included rigorous physical drills designed to push Ray's body beyond human limits. It also focused on mana refinement, expanding his mana veins and enhancing their capacity. His mana core, once a light green hue, had taken on a deep green hue with traces of deep blue as it matured. This growth indicated immense progress, a testament to the painstaking months of relentless effort.

Ray also deepened his understanding of dragon energy, honing techniques that went beyond raw strength. Zen explained the unique nature of dragons' connection to time. While most dragons wielded time element as their magic, only a select few in history had ever infused their sword energy with temporal properties. The concept fascinated Ray, even if the complete mastery of such power remained beyond his grasp...well he also had a trait related to time.

Currently, Ray sat in meditation, shirtless, with his hair tied back into a long tail that reached the middle of his back. His muscles, compact and hardened, spoke of raw power; their strength so honed that even the air displaced behind his palms could shatter a boulder. As he maintained his meditative state, a subtle shift in the atmosphere alerted him to Zen's presence.

Ray's eyes opened, their crystal blue iris reflecting a sharp awareness. His Death Sense, now developed to a formidable level, allowed him to detect even those who bore him no ill will. Zen's silhouette, calm yet commanding, emerged from the shadows, signaling the arrival of the next phase of Ray's journey.

Hardly three to four months remained until Ray would start his journey, Zen had set all the bases for Ray and it's up to him how he develops and grows on it. The final phase of training was nothing but spending time with Ray and sparring from time to time, it had been centuries till anyone that was relatable to Zen had encountered, so in all honesty he didn't want Ray to leave him, but deep inside he knew he had to. he was destined for something big, which even he who lived for ages couldn't fathom, surely whatever storm Ray came across in the future, Zen would protect him and he wouldn't make the same mistakes of abandoning his only friend.

Zen spoke, "We are leaving for the temple"

" How will I train inside the temple? " questioned Ray confused.

From all the training, it seems he had become a training freak, always thinking about gaining strength, sighed Zen thinking to himself.

He replied, " We are going to check your attribute Idiot, well.. if you insist we'll continue with more training and forget about what is said just now.." splashing water into Ray's dreams.

Ray abruptly stood up and started stuttering," no..no..no..that's now what I meant, o'great priest...ofcourse I'll go wherever you take me my grace." said with a bit sarcasm at the end.

Both have become close in the past few months, referring to and talking to each other in a friendly manner. Both of them started walking towards the falls and on the apex of the majestic falls, a small opening can be seen, they went through it and entered the temple.

Inside the temple was a statue of a dragon and in the center was a giant carving of a man, who looked graceful, carved out of a peculiar stone and a certain golden glow could be seen around it, That seemed to be the Dragon God, in front of the statue was a sword which had a golden tilt carved around it was a golden dragon and it's blade silver, not the usual steel but something that, even novice swordsman can say had this feeling to it that screamed it could slice anything and everything in the existence, its scabbard made of similar object silver and with black, red engraving certain letters could be seen written on it...When he was observing the sword he heard something from Luna,

[Trait Chronos is reacting to Chronos Blade] 

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