"I am a little surprised." Valor said as they were walking toward the exit of the huge mansion he had teleported to.
Adrian humd, turning to look at the man he asked, "What do you an?"
Valor shrugged, his steps unhurried. "The gravitational pull of this world doesn’t bother you much. When I visited your world, I was barely preventing myself from flying to the moon."
Adrian faintly smiled. "Maybe because I have been to Forgelet’s world before, my body can handle this change pretty well."
That wasn’t confidence speaking, just experience. The first ti he had stepped into a world with altered laws, his knees had buckled almost imdiately. His bones had felt hollow, his balance unreliable, as if the ground itself refused to acknowledge him. This ti, though the pressure was present, it didn’t overwhelm him.
Compared to the gravitational pull of that world, this world was a little less burdenso.
Still, Adrian could feel it. A constant downward pressure that never relented, not even for a mont. Every step carried weight. Every breath required just a fraction more effort than usual. It wasn’t painful, but it was persistent, like walking with soaked clothes that never dried.
Adrian knew if he moved vigorously or exerted himself, he would be spent in no ti. His body wasn’t adapted yet, only tolerating it. Muscles that usually moved effortlessly were already working harder, stabilizing him without his conscious command. But then a thought surfaced, sharp and unavoidable.
"But doesn’t this make this place the best to train?"
Valor nodded. "That is true. You are like being inside a gravity chamber with no switch. And when you walk out of the chamber, you will realize how strong you have beco."
Valor’s words didn’t completely reach him as Adrian’s mind was pulled elsewhere, seized by the scenery that greeted him the mont they stepped out.
"Whoa..." he muttered.
He stopped without realizing it.
Above him, the sky stretched vast and unfamiliar. Three moons hung close to one another, aligned in a clean diagonal line. They were different in size, each casting a slightly different hue of silver, their combined glow bathing the land in pale, overlapping light. The shadows they created felt layered, as if the world itself had depth beyond sight.
The moons weren’t static either. They moved slowly, perceptibly, enough for Adrian to notice their silent drift across the sky.
The air was chilly and the atmosphere serene... a little too serene.
It wasn’t the peaceful kind of calm that ca with safety. It was the stillness of sothing holding its breath. Even the wind felt restrained, brushing past his skin softly, as if afraid to disturb whatever balance existed here.
Adrian’s gaze lowered to the vast garden before him. Stone paths carved into precise curves, patches of hardened earth bearing scars of repeated impact, faint grooves etched deep into the ground. So areas were uneven, as if repaired countless tis, only to be broken again.
"This is where you train," he said, surety tinged in his voice.
Valor glanced at him, curious. "How do you know that?"
Adrian didn’t answer imdiately. His eyes followed the marks, the spacing, the subtle pattern in destruction.
"Whenever I used that relic of yours, I was shown a mory," Adrian said slowly. "An image of you performing the technique right here... in this garden, bathed in the silvery glow. I just followed your steps, and my body perford beyond what it’s usually capable of."
Back then, he hadn’t questioned it. His muscles had moved before thought, stance shifting instinctively, balance correcting itself as if guided by invisible hands. Only now did he understand why it felt so natural and so wrong at the sa ti.
Valor nodded. "Yes, that relic was made that way. It contains my soul, Avirin. And when you hold that, for a few monts, our soul rges."
Adrian’s brows elevated slightly. "Is that... a good thing?"
Valor shook his head. "Souls are like mana signatures, Avirin. You can resonate with it for a few monts, but you can’t mould your soul to rge with soone else’s."
Adrian slowly nodded. That explained the strange aftereffects. The lingering fatigue that no amount of rest could fix. The faint sense of displacent he felt after using the relic too often.
"So... that’s why you asked not to use that relic often, huh?"
"Yes," Valor said. "Damage taken to one’s soul is irreparable. That’s why I wanted you to be very cautious while using that."
Adrian pulled out the broken sword handle Valor had gifted him not so long before. He looked at it for a mont longer than necessary before speaking. "I believe I won’t need it anymore now that you are teaching how to do it myself."
Valor took the blade from Adrian and nodded. "You can count on ."
Adrian nodded back, then turned his gaze toward the two towering gates at the front of the mansion.
"So? What exactly is beyond this point that your father has built such a fortified defense?"
With a single glance, Adrian counted more than fifty guards stationed along the periter. They were spread evenly, patrol routes overlapping without collision. Every movent was deliberate, disciplined.
They were cautious, not disturbed by Valor’s presence. Not a single halt. They kept marching as if the next movent beyond the walls could be an ambush.
Valor humd. "Co with ."
The brown-haired man followed as Valor led him closer to the gates. The guards didn’t salute. They didn’t relax either. Their grips tightened imperceptibly on their spears as the two passed.
Valor pushed open the small window embedded in the massive gate.
And the world beyond revealed itself.
A single glance was enough to make Adrian choke on his breath.
"W-What...?"
Death stretched endlessly beyond the walls.
Hundreds upon hundreds of monsters road the barren land. So crawled low to the ground, others stood upright, their forms twisted and malford. They wandered without pattern, colliding, separating, thrashing as if driven by constant unrest.
They were not normal beasts but corrupted ones. Their skins were charred, cracked like burnt earth. Red veins slithered across their bodies, pulsing faintly. The vile energy they radiated pressed against Adrian’s chest, flooding his senses and making it nearly impossible to breathe.
It wasn’t just their numbers. It was the density of malice. The sheer concentration of corruption made the air feel thick, almost tangible.
Clack.
Valor closed the window.
Adrian sucked in a sharp breath, his heart pounding.
"Our world was nearly split in two during the war," Valor said. "Once Darkness was subdued, the land didn’t heal. The two sides found themselves divided. A war to claim the world beca inevitable. That’s when the five major clans stepped forward to protect the human side."
"So... this mansion is built on the border?" Adrian asked.
That explained the defenses. The positioning. The constant vigilance.
But Valor’s smile told a different story.
Adrian’s shoulders dropped. "This place is in the middle of the barren lands, isn’t it?"
Valor smiled sheepishly. "Sorry... not the best place to have guests over."
Adrian exhaled slowly. "You really live surrounded by those monsters every single minute of your day?"
"Yes," Valor replied. "We are the guardians. The first line of defense. And this is sothing only we could do. That’s why we are here. In the middle of this hell."
Adrian massaged his brows. "And I thought I was living in the eye of hell."
Valor chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Co on, let’s relax for a mont before we begin our training."
"No," Adrian said firmly. "We start now. I have only six hours to stay here, and that’s pushing the system. We can’t waste ti."
Valor studied him for a mont, then nodded. "All right. How about we start right here?"
Before Adrian could react, Valor hopped onto his back.
"Let us get you used to the gravitational pull of this place," Valor said, laughing. "Go on, run around the mansion while carrying ."
Adrian wryly smiled but didn’t question it.
He stored most of his belongings in his Inventory, keeping only his revolver tucked at his belt. Then he started moving.
The weight hit him imdiately.
Valor weighed far more than he appeared to, and combined with the gravity, the pressure settled deep into Adrian’s chest. His legs protested with each step, joints compressing under the strain.
But he ran.
This wasn’t even training yet. This was preparation.
He followed the gravel path circling the mansion, breath growing heavier with every turn. The ground felt harder, less forgiving. Even the smallest incline forced his muscles to burn faster than usual.
"I used to run three hundred tis around the mansion when I was a kid," Valor said casually.
"Oh... haah... yeah?" Adrian replied between rough breaths. "And how much did you carry?"
"Not much," Valor said.
Adrian knew better.
Sweat poured down his face. His shirt clung to his body. Calf muscles scread with each push. His vision wavered slightly, but he didn’t stop.
The mansion was nearly twice the size of the academy. It took Adrian almost ten minutes to complete a single round.
"Haah... haah... haaa..."
His legs gave out near the entrance. He fell to his knees, chest heaving.
Valor stepped off his back and smiled. "Now you understand the difference between worlds."
Adrian nodded weakly. "It... huff... felt like you were gaining weight as we ran."
"And that," Valor said, "is exactly what will help you."
Adrian tilted his head, finally collapsing onto the ground.
"But why are we building my strength when I should be focusing on swords?"
He was here to learn techniques. Real ones.
Valor grinned as he said, "Because the sword I have in mind weighs ten tis what you just experienced."
"...."
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