15 Act II Part 7

"It's cold." Staring at the clear sky, I let the fog out of my mouth. It was cold and the only thing I wore currently was Yukata. It barely stopped the cold from hurting my fragile body.

As if! With my current physique, all I felt was cold weather. It was not enough to hurt me in any way but more like a comfortable blanket around me. I think I can get used to it.

After a small walk, I reached the front yard. Kaigaku and Zanitsu stood there with the old man, probably waiting for my arrival.

Kaigaku was the same as before, grumpy. He seemed a little surprised to see me while Zanitsu looked nervous. I can see why Kaigaku called him a coward. He gave that type of energy.

Even now he was fidgeting with his fingers as if he didn't want to be there.

"He is Eric. He will be training with you two from now on." And like an inconsiderate person, the old man dropped the bomb as if none of it really mattered to him.

"... Hi." I waved my hand. It was enough. Zanitsu seemed astonished. His expression looked like someone who couldn't believe that there were people willingly wanting to be a part of the training.

As for Kaigaku — "Why?" He looked towards the stoic expression of the old man and asked with a slight edge in his voice. "Are we not enough? Am I not enough?!"

Oh. Is he mad because he wanted to be the successor of the old man alone? Well isn't that conceited of him? If I remember correctly, both of them were also not the real grandson of the old man but adopted orphans.

Apparently, due to demons, orphans were quite normal in this world.

"Keep your voice down, Kaigaku. My decision to teach Eric has nothing to do with you or Zanitsu."

"Is that your way of saying sorry you're not worthy enough?!" He screamed. Even I physically cringed at what he said. The level of paranoia was high here.

"Kaigaku!" The old man shouted, scaring the poor Zanitsu who took a fearful step back. He looked like a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. "Enough of your nonsense. If you think you are worthy to become Thunder Pillar, then prove it with your actions, not words."

'Well said old man.' I internally cheered for him. Words alone won't make you have kids, you need to put in the effort to make something happen… I think my sense of humour isn't the best out there.

Kaigaku gritted his teeth, maybe wanting to say something else, but a glare from the old man shut him up.

He looked towards me and nodded, which I returned before going and standing beside the duo.

"Before teaching you any Breathing Technique, we need to do something about your physique—at least raise it to an acceptable level where you can use Breathing without having your vessels pop."

He was talking about some scary stuff.

"Since Thunder Breathing mainly focuses on how efficiently and effectively can the user use their leg muscles and strength, for the coming year, you three are going to train your leg muscles."

So every day is a leg day? Ugh… I just imagined a really horrendous thing. I don't want to imagine it ever again.

"Starting now, all three of you will wake up at the early dawn and go down the mountain, all the way to the water stream below. Each of you needs to bring ten buckets of water, and one can only bring one bucket at a time. Once done with it, take a small rest before starting to run around the mountain. Ten laps for each. After that…"

The old man kept on explaining my coming year's daily schedule. It made me suck in a deep breath. Like god dammit. Does he want us killed or something?

And he wanted the increment of ten after each week. So by the end of the month, all rounds would be increased by four!

[You should be happy that you are not being trained by Dragons. Old man's training cannot hold a candle against theirs. You particularly have to run for your life. A slight mistake and you are dead]

'Oh yeah. Why not start by showing the difference between a human and a literal dragon!'

[Stop being a pussy. You are also a dragon now]

'In making! I still haven't developed dragon organs yet!'

[Doesn't change the fact that you are also a dragon]

'....'

"Alright then. You can start by bringing water." He finished and clapped.

"I don't wanna do it!" And Zanitsu shouted immediately. A slap on the face and a kick on the butt did it for him. Now he was running down the mountain towards the stream. Poor kid.

"Do you also require some formal invitation?"

I smiled before picking up a bucket and leaving for the stream. If only I knew, I wouldn't be smiling after a day.

My physique was better than humans, not by much but definitely better. So the first ten rounds of water fetching weren't hard on my body. I felt relaxed. The pain started to kick in only after I ran my second first lap around the mountain.

It was painful and I was gasping for breath. Despite the cold weather not doing it for me, it didn't stop me from hindering me. Unlike before, the pathway around the mountain was filled with snow.

When I had first come to this world, that was not the case. It seems that whoever used to clear it was asked to stop by the old man, which in return only made the lap difficult for us.

Due to the snow piling up, the effort to run was doubled which consumed our stamina and energy faster.

By the fifth round, I already was seeing darkness swirling in my vision and my stomach felt as if it was vacuumed, almost making me vomit. What really surprised me was that Zanitsu and Kaigaku, despite being in even shitier conditions than me, were still pushing themselves through it.

It seems that I have taken them too lightly. Not gonna lie, I indeed didn't think much of them, but now seeing them as such, I might change my opinion a little.

Seeing their face, despite simmering with mud and sweat, with their teeth grit, trying their best to complete the course, I felt something burning within my chest. No, it was not the love.

Unknowingly, a smirk formed over my face. 'Damn Ddraig. I never felt like this. I feel like my blood is boiling and I want nothing but to beat the shit out of these two.'

[It means that you are becoming more and more like a dragon! Rivalry within dragons is normal. Even more so when they see a human getting better at them. Your dragon blood is boiling with passion right now partner! Better show them why dragons are a superior race!]

'Now you are just making me more… fired up!' I shouted at Ddraig's racist comment. It can't get better. It was not the scream of despair or pain, but pure excitement as I felt as if my whole body was rejuvenated, filled with energy.

I saw Kaigaku's and Zanitsu's eyes widen, but I didn't give a shit, as my speed increased. Without realizing it, I had already determined myself be better than anyone! My competitive side that even I never knew existed was kicking in with great passion!

This training, I was going to ace it!

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