Chapter 73: Father's Commission

"Master, we have received a challenge request. Would you like to accept it?"

"Hm?" Muria, who was munching on elemental crystals, looked up at Cassio. "A challenge request for me? Who wants to challenge me?"

"Heloice."

"Huh?" Muria looked at his pure-faced, lolita-like spirit in confusion. "She's a soul-level Titan. Challenging me, a mere gold-level weakling? Are you sure there's no mistake?"

"No mistake."

"Accept the request!" Muria quickly stuffed the remaining elemental crystals into his mouth and chewed them up. "Start constructing the teleportation array to the arena now."

Muria was puzzled about why Heloice wanted to challenge him. Titan Cleist's attitude yesterday had made it clear; Titans only wanted to fight beings of equal or greater strength. They detested overpowering, one-sided battles.

Heloice was much stronger than Muria; the outcome of this fight was apparent even before it began, but he would never refuse, even though he knew he would be thoroughly beaten. Fighting with stronger opponents was the fastest way to improve.

Blinding teleportation light shone on Muria, and after a slight dizzy sensation, he found himself once again in an arena surrounded by endless darkness, facing the lightly armored Heloice.

"Display your Dragon armor." A cold voice echoed in Muria's ears. Without hesitation, he donned his Dragon armor, leaving only his golden pupils and shoulder-length black hair visible.

"Boom!" Once the Dragon armor was on, Heloice charged at Muria without a word. In Muria's resigned gaze, her fist shattered the thick armor on his chest.

"Crack!" The sound of breaking bones filled the air. This time, Heloice did not hold back her strength; immense force impacted Muria, breaking countless ribs.

"Thud!" With that punch, Muria's thirty-two-meter-tall body was sent flying, drawing a low arc before smashing into the ground, creating a shallow crater.

"Drip, drip!" Pale golden blood dripped from under Muria's facial armor. "Cough!" A severe cough followed the intense pain in his chest.

"Get up!" Heloice looked emotionlessly at the bleeding, prone Muria.

At Heloice's command, Muria's blood boiled with golden dragon fire. His shattered armor, broken bones, and torn muscles began to rapidly heal thanks to his robust constitution.

"Muria, do you know why we Titans are known as the strongest near-god race?" Heloice's emotionless, icy voice filled the vast arena. "Is it because of our Titan bloodline?"

"No, it's not. In Erathia, there are at least ten species whose bloodlines can compare with ours, yet we Titans are still regarded as the strongest." Without waiting for Muria's response, Heloice continued emotionlessly.

"While those legendary creatures sleep, we refine our martial skills. While they play, we still fight our peers and battle monsters.

"From the moment we Titans are born, from the time we can hold a sword, we engage in endless battles. We fight our way to legend; we kill our way to legend. That's why we are hailed as the strongest race."

"Muria, your bloodline is strong, stronger than most Titans in our homeland, but that's not enough." Heloice looked at the now-standing Muria. "Our strength as Titans doesn't come from our bloodlines, but from the martial skills in our inherited memories."

"Now, attack me with the martial skills you've learned." Heloice's voice was flat.

"Crackle!" As soon as Heloice finished speaking, a massive pillar of thunder struck towards him. Muria didn't hesitate to launch his attack, unafraid of overdoing it against a soul-level Titan.

"Too weak, Muria." Heloice raised her hand, effortlessly crushing the large thunder pillar. "Your power is too scattered. That's not how to use Thunderstrike."

"Boom!" A thunder pillar identical in size to Muria's initial attack roared towards him. Muria swung his fist, easily smashing and blocking it.

"Golden third-tier attack." Muria instantly recognized the level of power in the thunder pillar.

"I've suppressed my strength to golden third-tier. Feel the power contained in my Thunder Pillar."

As thunder pillars continued to roar towards him, Muria didn't dodge. Instead, he waved his fists, ignited with dragon fire, shattering each one and keenly sensing the power structure within, noting how it differed from his own.

"Crack!" Completely scorched, Muria fell backwards, utterly defeated. His body's energy was depleted, and he could no longer fight.

"That's enough for today. We'll continue tomorrow." Seeing Muria's lifeless form, Heloice checked his breath to ensure he was exhausted, nodded, and prepared to teleport away.

"There's a tomorrow?" Hearing Heloice's words, Muria didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Although he'd been brutally trained by the fierce Titan girl all day, he could feel a significant improvement in himself.

"Is there a problem?"

"Of course." Hearing this, Muria couldn't suppress his confusion any longer. Today's session with Heloice felt less like a battle and more like forcefully guided training that lasted all day.

"Why are you instructing me?" Muria looked puzzled at the valiant Titan girl, suspecting maybe she was his half-sister, which might explain why she'd taken the time to train him.

"Yesterday, after I returned, I received a commission from Lord Ansol to train and guide you in martial skills. I couldn't refuse the reward Lord Ansol offered, so I agreed."

"That's it?" Muria tilted his head, looking disappointedly at Heloice; he had almost called her "sister."

"What else did you expect?"

"Wait, what reward did my father give you?"

"Enough to forge a unique weapon from legendary metal." Heloice said calmly to Muria.

"What? A piece of legendary metal!" Muria sat up abruptly.

Damn, that's legendary metal! His father had given it away as tuition? And enough for a Titan to forge a weapon?

"Muria, I will train you well until Lord Ansol is satisfied." Leaving these final words, Heloice disappeared in the teleportation light.

"..." Lying weakly on the ground, Muria was at a loss for words about his father's actions. After a long while, he began calling for his spirit.

"Master, should I directly teleport you to the infirmary?"

"The infirmary? What's that?" Muria asked in surprise; he was just tired now, and all his physical injuries had healed.

"It helps eliminate any hidden injuries from the fight," Cassio explained.

"Then why ask? Just teleport me."

"Sploosh!" Muria fell from the air into a wide pool, immersed in a refreshing, naturally aromatic atmosphere, feeling a warm sensation spread throughout his body.

Looking around, Muria saw his ethereal spirit floating in the air, realizing he was back at his residence, surrounded by undecorated stone walls—clearly, this was one of the rooms in his home.

"What is this?" Muria swished his arm, feeling the slightly sticky substance, and looked down at the pale green liquid submerging most of his body.

"Master

, this is for healing your internal injuries. The main ingredient is the sap of the Tree of Life."

"The Elves' Tree of Life." Muria looked at the pool large enough for him to swim in, his mouth twitching slightly. "I've heard that there are elves on the Titan Isles, so there must be a Tree of Life. But isn't that critical to the elves? This pool of water, it's not from chopping down a Tree of Life, is it? How did the elves agree to that?"

"Every once in a while, they provide a batch of sap from the Tree of Life. This is one of the conditions for the elves to reside and thrive on the Titan Isles," Cassio explained calmly. "Moreover, master, the sap you're using comes from one hundred twenty-six Trees of Life, not from chopping down a single tree."

"A hundred Trees of Life." Muria smacked his lips; such a world-class precious rarity grew by the hundreds on the Titan Isles, and, "Cassio, with such numbers, the elves living on our Titan Isles must have even higher-grade eternal Trees of Life, maybe even a World Tree..."

"There is one, master," Cassio looked at Muria. "However, master, don't even dream of using the sap of the World Tree. You're not qualified to use such a treasure at this level."

"No need to tell me, Cassio." Muria, stung by his spirit's brutally honest words, tugged at the corner of his mouth, "I know, the sap of the Tree of Life is enough for me now."

"Oh, right, Cassio, you just mentioned the elves provide batches of Tree of Life sap periodically. That's just one of the conditions for their residence on the Titan Isles. What other conditions did our Titan race impose?"

"Master, what are the elves famous for in Erathia?"

"Hmm, I know this one—every elf is exceptionally handsome or beautiful, very attractive," Muria answered without hesitation upon hearing Cassio's question.

Then, Muria looked up to see his spirit's pure face watching him indifferently.

"Heh, looks like I was wrong." Muria rubbed his chin awkwardly, then seriously thought for a moment before speaking uncertainly, "Is it their trees, and their archery?"

"Correct, the archery of the elves is the strongest in Erathia. In this respect, even Titans cannot compare, so the second condition for the elves' residence on the Titan Isles.

"Whenever a Titan wishes to learn archery, they must send one of their royal family, the best in archery, to teach."

Muria's eyes sparkled at this information, then he looked seriously at his spirit, "I want to learn archery!"

"No!"