Day 02, Month 01, Year 1501
Forest of the Silent Void
It was daytime, quite pleasant. The sun was at its peak in the middle of a completely clear sky; no clouds were in sight. It was one of those days when you simply have no desire to do anything other than lie down and take a relaxing nap. On top of that, you find yourself beside a beautiful lake. Its waters were crystal clear, shining with the sun's glow, and you could see what kinds of fish lived in its depths. At first glance, they seemed normal and ordinary, but if you look closely, you can see that their scales sparkle like diamonds. Moreover, they were quite large; the biggest one I have seen could grow up to 3 meters. There were a great variety of them. It was a spectacle to simply stand still and watch.
But that's not all! Add to that two beautiful women sitting in the calm waters, chatting and enjoying the lovely scenery... one of them had a beautiful golden color that shone in the sun, and the other had blue hair that matched the lake... something mystical that didn't happen all the time. But that's not all! She was wearing almost no clothes! The necessary ones, but it wasn't overly revealing. You could say it was the kind of attire for such occasions. That's right! Swimwear!
Somewhere in the dark forest, this beautiful lake was found, completely hidden and, literally speaking!
"It's quite beautiful. Who would have thought it was hidden between two huge rocks?" Angela spoke calmly. The heat hit her pale skin, and she wore a satisfied smile as she let her body sink slowly into the crystal-clear waters...
"Very pleasant," young Cristina nodded as well. "I don't know how Nox managed to find this." She paused for a moment...
Angela, who was swimming like a mermaid in the waters, without any worry about running out of air in her lungs, soon emerged with a smile: "I have no idea, but there are some curious fish here." She looked down at the depths. "I feel a very special mana in this place, but I can't quite locate it yet." She pursed her lips. "I think it's an elemental water magic stone. These waters aren't normal! Just like the fish in them, hehe, exciting! Cristina, let's go search for the stone! I have a feeling it will help my sister a lot!" Angela's eyes sparkled like little stars; she seemed like a child excited for an adventure.
Cristina gave a small smile when she saw her friend so excited: "Alright, I'll help you. We have all day after all, and I'm curious too."
Cristina let gravity do its work, and her body began to descend slowly...
"Alright! It's a bit deep, around 50 meters! The elemental stone is definitely at the very bottom! This trip is becoming much more exciting than I expected!" After saying those words, her body swam elegantly toward the depths...
****
"They're having fun..." Nox thought to himself as he watched the two young women play in the waters. After last night's events, their relationship had improved a bit. Nox was no longer as shy around them, and they were more open with him as well. It felt pretty comfortable now; he didn't feel awkward with them by his side... looking around, he muttered: "It's quite spacious..."
Not long ago, they were walking. Nox, sensing the shadows around him, noticed something odd when his eyes landed on two large rocks. For some reason, the shadows on those rocks disappeared without a trace, as if they had shifted to another place. Curious, he informed Abadon, who went to inspect and found a large passage that led to another place. Sparking the curiosity of the four people, they didn't hesitate to enter. What they found behind it was a beautiful lake surrounded by large chunks of stone, making it undetectable to the eye. They decided to spend one or two days here. The main reason was for Nox's training, and the other was because Angela's eyes quickly fixed on the lake, as she sensed something strange about it...
He and Abadon were in a slightly more distant location...
"You're unlucky, you started later than the others, so we have to level up a lot, and it will be much harder for you. But believe me when I say it will be very effective. In 12 days, it's impossible to improve your physique to its best potential under normal circumstances. You know, running, doing sit-ups, jogging, physical exercises. Right now, your only option is to use mana and eat well. Hehe. Luckily, I never abandon my 'babies,'" Abadon smiled strangely...
Within seconds, some strange artifacts appeared on the ground. Abadon picked one up with a smile. It was a bracelet made of what seemed to be metal: "It's beautiful. What it does is increase the gravity around your body considerably." He fell silent, thinking for a moment: "The idea is for you to always wear it. We'll start with number 2, and with this bracelet, we'll begin training. Here!" Abadon threw the bracelet into the air, catching it with his hand. My eyes widened...
"It's too heavy!" Nox exclaimed as he held the bracelet in his hands...
"Put it on your wrist so it affects your whole body," Abadon said indifferently...
Following his instructions...
"Surprising, right?" Abadon laughed when he saw Nox's body stiffen as he clenched his fists with all his strength... "Right now, there are 50 kilograms on your body. It's quite light. In a few minutes, you'll get used to it, and we'll move up to number 4, which would be 100 kilograms. Each number increases by 25 kilograms on your body. To speed things up, we'll increase by two numbers at a time. I plan for you to be able to handle number 10, which would be 250 kilograms, by the end of the day. But of course, it doesn't stop there! We also have the whole night ahead of us! I'm looking forward to seeing what number you reach tomorrow!"
Abadon smiled: "The best advantage we have is that you're a mana user, but of course, we won't use it to enhance your body. We'll only use the mana during the small breaks, which will be 15 minutes long. I'll teach you how to breathe correctly. As I said, mana is very important, but let's leave that for later. Now, do 100 push-ups in a row! If I see you're capable of doing that, we'll increase the pace!"
"..." Nox smiled, and without saying a word, he silently tried to do the 100 push-ups..