176 Training Begins
After defeating the rest of the Devil Banishers/Believers, Grim returned an unconscious Marie back to the church and quietly disappeared before anyone had realized that he was there.
Grabbing the rest of his supplies and a few trinkets from the artifact store that belonged to his ex wife/slave, he left the kingdom with a single thought in mind.
UNRIVALED STRENGTH
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[Month One]
Breathing heavily and training his physical strength alongside his [Hyper Focus]. Both Grim's body and mental strength increased by leaps and bounds quickly adapting to the tyrannical mana in the Grand Magic Zone.
Focusing mostly on increasing his use of [Hyper Focus] so that he could improve his other magical abilities faster, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that his body was slowly becoming accustomed to withstanding the immense magical pressure within the Grand Magic Zone all by itself.
'Is this due to fusing [Breath of the Beast] into my base?'
'Have I gained the adaptability of a beast?'
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[Month Two]
[Breath of Thunder - First Form: Thunderclap and Flash Raikiri]
*SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!*
Releasing a large amount of his magic power outwards and attracting the floating rocks in the air, a bare chested Grim dodged the large boulders hurling towards him with ease as he fired off several attacks of his own.
[RAIKIRI]
[RAIKIRI]
[RAIKIRI]
Slashing his way through several rocks faster than the eye could see, he slowly sheathed his sword back in and opened his eyes up.
Breathing out lightly and looking over at the slashed rocks in the distance. He nodded his head in satisfaction after seeing that they had all been perfectly split down the middle. Taking note of the increased range of his attack, he looked down at his clenched fist and smiled.
'I'm finally able to use my mana freely in this place.'
Having finally gotten used to enhanced mana abilities as well as being able to use his [Hyper Focus] in such a mana sensitive region without any interference or overdrawing on his mental strength. He concluded that he had reached the first goal in his training regime.
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[Month Three]
Having completed his first milestone and exhausted his use of the area, he quickly left the Grand Magic Zone behind in order advance to the next stage of his training.
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Journeying through a thicket of wild trees and vegetation, Grim crossed a large amount of land in record breaking time.
"Almost there." He whispered as he closed in on his destination.
Now that he had solidified his foundations and strengthened his control on his own mana, it was time for him to reawaken the powers he had lost.
Ascending through the trees and hovering high above the canopies. The fresh scent of pines filled his nostrils as he stood facing a large wooden gate that just so happened to be the entrance to the Witches Forest.
'I'm finally back.'
Pulling his arm back and igniting it with [Breath of Flames]. The thought of burning down the gate brought a huge smile to his face.
But just as he was about to do his version of a knock, the gate suddenly began to rumble and open up by itself.
Not to long later, he appeared before the Witch Queen and gave her a single phrase to explain why he had sought her out.
"I've come to bargain."
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In exchange for her using her knowledge on [Blood Magic] to guide him on how to activate the mana in his blood and trigger his elf form, every night Grim would provide her his seed through the process of natural insemination.
Unfortunately for the queen, she underestimated how much he didn't want her to have his child. Making use of [Hyper Focus] everytime he blew, he'd use [Breath of the Beast] to destroy the tails and nucleus of his swimmers the moment they left his body.
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Sitting cross legged and using his [Hyper Focus] to find the traces of mana hidden in his bloodstream, day after day and night after night, the colour in Grim's hair slowly began to change from black to white.
It was only during the last week of the month that it had fully changed and he had truly regained his elf form once again.
[Wind X Thunder]
[Breath of the Strom]
-Outside-
"Huh? Why did it get cloudy all of a sudden?"
"Ugh, the wind! Its getting stronger!"
"What's with the weather?!"
-Throne Room-
!!!
"Natural mana reaction!"
Having her eyes snap open and standing up from her seat, the Witch Queen felt her entire body tremble as she realized that he had succeeded.
"The true son of mana has awoken."
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Following his second awakening, Grim spent the rest of the week practicing turning his elf form on and off until he had gotten fully comfortable with it. During that time, he learnt that the elf form itself was completely different to what he thought.
Unlike the first time he activated the power by devouring the soul of another elf, by activating it himself he learnt that he wasn't actually triggering his elven power. He was suppressing the human blood in his body which allowed him to go "Full Elf."
'So that's how this works.' He grinned.
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[Month Four]
Having regained his power from his fight with Zagred on top of everything else he had achieved since then, Grim realized that he could no longer gain anything by staying here any longer.
Packing his bag and giving the Queen a final quickie in order to exhaust her. He flashed through the sky and headed towards the next training area.
Closing his eyes and recalling the signal he felt right after Licht ascended, he triggered his elf form and let nature's mana guide him towards his destination.
Having gotten a grasp on his enhanced mana, [Hyper Focus] and the reawakening of his elven form. The next logical step in his training was to learn how to maximize the elven power to its fullest potential. And who better to teach him than the Elves themselves?
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Heading towards a specific direction at high speeds, it was only once he sensed three familiar mana signatures approaching him that he began to slow down and eventually stop.
Moments later, Rhya, Fana and Patri appeared before him.
"Grim." They all said in a neutral tone.
Noticing the mana around him, a look of surprise crept onto the elves faces as they felt aura was somewhat different to what it was before. His increase in strength was quite evident and caused them all to recall their traumatic experiences with him.
For Fana it was the fight against him in the Witches Forest. The humiliation, brutally and fear she felt had left her with lingering mental scars that she had only recently began to recover from.
For Rhya, it was his and Lira's (elf Rill) battle against Grim when he first achieved his elf form. His savagery and the sadistic nature he possessed in that fight left him feeling deeply disturbed and distraught.
As for Patri, it was the elation he had for his fight with the word devil. The glee he showed in tormenting Zagred was otherworldly. Not to mention the recklessness in his actions. While everyone was sweating and treating the situation with the utmost severity, Grim acted like a kid in a candy store.
If anything, the entire experience left him feeling confused and quite concerned.
Signalling each other with their eyes, the three elves came to a silent agreement.
Get him out of here as quickly as possible!
