Chapter 27: Preparing for the mission

Meanwhile, Adan and Diana did train to prepare for their mission.

Since Adan arrived at the camp, he engaged in various activities, including advanced archery over longer distances, riding Pegasus, crossing the lava wall by climbing and evading, and not to forget, battling monsters.

He still had seven days to adequately prepare for his mission. He trusted Riley to take care of transportation.

Meanwhile, Diana would also train in her own way, mainly focusing on improving her mental abilities such as charmspeak. Therefore, Adan decided not to get too close to her in the next few days since she regularly influenced everyone around her, even triggering a teenage love drama between three 16-year-olds in their vicinity.

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It was a typical Wednesday. Adan had six days left until the journey began.

As usual, he got up at 7 in the morning, left his cabin, and headed towards the training grounds. Most camp members would still be asleep at this hour or just waking up, but Adan wanted to make the most of his time.

However, he wasn't the only demigod already at the training ground at such an early hour; the children of the Ares cabin also had an inner drive to be battle-ready at all times. Some of them even spent days and nights fighting each other or in divided groups.

Tom was also there, sparring with one of his half-sisters. But as Adan approached, they stopped, and Tom greeted him, "Hey Adan, great to see you here already. I was just testing something with Clayrie, but I thought you might make a better sparring partner. Do you have a moment?"

"Of course, what did you want to test?" asked Adan curiously.

"You'll see," claimed Tom before charging towards Adan.

Adan, ready with his homemade bow equipped yesterday with a small sword from Celestial Bronze, prepared to defend himself rather than retaliate. As Tom's sword came close, Adan expertly dodged to the right to avoid it.

Adan realized that since Tom was only testing him, he shouldn't counterattack but focus on defense, which could also be helpful on his journey.

When Tom's sword missed its mark, he moved it in front of him, closed his eyes briefly, and suddenly, Adan saw the sword apparently approaching from all sides. Adan recognized that it must be an illusion and that a real sword was hidden among them, but he couldn't discern it with his naked eye.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Adan remembered his training on the battlefield and recalled seeing an older demigod using this trick on someone else.

Thus, he observed how the technique worked. Tom, unaware of this, had a slight smile on his face, thinking Adan had closed his eyes, leaving himself open to a strike from above.

But just before Tom could strike, Adan's muscles reacted subconsciously, blocking the impact with his sword, causing Tom's sword to lose its grip and slip from his hand.

Stunned and speechless, Tom finally spoke after a while, "What just happened? I was so sure I'd hit you... Why didn't it work? I'm the only one in my cabin who can do that."

Adan opened his eyes, looked Tom in the eye, and explained, "If you focus on a specific point while executing the technique, you can detect a slight difference compared to the other illusions."

Still incredulous, Tom asked dejectedly, "How do you know the difference? It took Clayrie six tries before she could defend against the attack."

But Adan replied calmly, "When facing a child of Apollo, you need to adjust your technique to account for your opponent's abilities. For example, due to my sharp eyes and experience, I could anticipate exactly from where you would attack. I can help you improve your technique if you want. Maybe I can even learn a thing or two."

He also made a mental note that this experience could be useful if he encountered a similar situation on his mission.

"Sure. Then let me try something else. Could you please come at me now and try to attack me?" Tom requested with renewed determination, wanting to get back at him and partially pay him back for what happened two weeks ago in front of other demigods during a demonstration. He still remembered how he was humiliated in front of everyone when Adan cut his pants from behind, exposing his bare butt to everyone.

Tom clenched his fist and recited his mantra internally, vowing to get back at him, but not too strongly, knowing that Adan would soon leave for his mission.

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Throughout his training period, he also didn't neglect his leisure time, often climbing a hill on the edge of the camp in the afternoon until evening, absorbing solar energy into his body and enjoying the view. From up there, he had a beautiful view of the valley:

A wide strip of forest in the northwest, a beautiful beach, the stream, the lake, lush green meadows, the many cabins arranged like a Greek omega (Ω), and of course, the training ground, one of his favorite places where he spent most of his time.

He looked down at the cabins in detail and noticed that one had grass for a roof, another was bright red and had barbed wire-lined trenches. Another was black, and green torches could be seen in front of the entrance.

It all seemed like a completely different world to Adan. In his life before, everything was so monotonous, but since he began his adventure by leaving everything he knew behind, he realized what else he could discover and looked forward to his first mission with his friends.

However, even though most of his feelings were excitement, sometimes a bit of fear of the unknown surfaced, but he ultimately decided that with his friends by his side, everything would turn out fine.