Day 03, Month 01, Year 1501
Forest of the Silent Void
"It's a deer." Angela peeked her head out, the rest of her body completely hidden within a bush. Her blue eyes shone intensely as she watched the creature, which was very tall...
"It's the first time I see one." Cristina, in the same way, stayed silent while watching the animal.
Nox was also hidden in the bush. His face was spotless, as if nothing had happened. He stared attentively at the deer with a furrowed brow: "Doesn't it seem unusual?" In reality, he couldn't see anything special about the deer; what stood out was that it had a light green color, in addition to emanating an energy of vitality.
"Don't you know them?" Abadon, beside him, looked at him with a smile.
"Not at all." Nox shook his head. He had never seen animals other than the usual ones, which didn't contain mana in their bodies.
"That deer is a magical animal. You could say it's a sacred animal for the elves, you know, the followers of the Goddess of Life. According to their legends, the deer was the animal closest to the Goddess, and that one over there..." he simply stays in the same spot observing us, just like it's doing now. You could even approach and pet it if it wishes. That deer over there is a baby, very small. The biggest one I've seen was almost 17 meters tall. They are very powerful animals, but there are different types of deer. That one over there belongs to these forests, hence the light green color. If we were in the region where there is snow, we would find a snow deer. They are very rare to see!"
"Hunting this animal is forbidden by the elves. If you kill one, they will know, and they will see you as an enemy for the rest of your life. But if you still wish to kill it, the vital energy contained in the meat will transform into an extremely unpleasant energy for the elves. There's only one way you can eat its meat: if the animal itself offers itself as your food. As far as I know, this only happens to elves when they are on the verge of death. The animal itself will approach them, and its head will gently bump theirs while the deer looks at you intently. It's a ritual!"
After a few moments, we all came out of the large bush where we had been hiding. Nox had some difficulties while walking, his body felt stiff, as if his muscles were refusing to respond. With a rigid expression, he walked mechanically...
"I'm definitely doing a great job!" Abadon smiled as he continued walking without any concern.
Angela got a little closer and whispered, "How much weight are you carrying?" she asked with curiosity.
"400 kilograms." Nox replied with a smile.
"Not bad, aspirant!" Angela shook her head. "But it's still very light! Good luck!" With words of encouragement, she began walking as if nothing had happened.
"..." Well...
*****
Abadon's training was simple, so to speak. He forced me to always keep the bracelet on my hand. My body felt extremely heavy; with every step I tried to take, I felt my bones creaking in pain. It was pure agony! The worst part was that they never stopped to rest, not even for a few minutes! In fact, I was the one who had to keep up with his pace because if I didn't, I might get lost. Forcing myself to keep taking steps... It happened once: I got lost because I couldn't keep up with him. After an hour, Abadon found me. With a smile, he hit me like a ragdoll: "You're slowing us down, Nox. You know that, right? But we don't care. We have all the time in the world, but not you. You're on a time crunch. If you want to even be at the level of those arrogant brats, you'll have to work twice or three times as hard, whatever it takes. Believe me when I say, if they find out that you haven't even awakened your bloodline, they will make your life a living hell."
There was no time for absurd complaints. I don't know the academy, I don't know how the noble kids are, I don't know what awaits me. The only thing I can know for sure is what the young Cristina, Angela, and Abadon said. They described the academy as a place full of arrogant kids with egos through the roof. It doesn't take much imagination to get an idea of what it would be like...
Nodding my head, I stand up. Even if my bones break, even if my body tries to give up, my mind won't allow it. The only way is to keep moving forward.
Abadon gave a serious look, and his smile disappeared from his lips as he saw the young aspirant who was now standing again and beginning to walk with some difficulty, without even looking at him with resentful or hateful eyes...
"That was tough, but... he doesn't give up, hehe." A bubble popped, and from it came Angela. She had a small smile on her lips as she watched Nox's back. "I don't know where he gets all this willpower to keep going..." Angela tilted her head. "Same with his mentality, it's from another world!"
"No thought of giving up crossed his mind." Cristina appeared next to Angela in a soft glow. She tilted her head toward Nox. "I suppose the director's words are true... I need to inform her, it will make her happy."
They, besides guiding Nox to the empire, had another mission given to them by the director of the academy: simply observe Nox. Of course, she also asked Abadon to train him, but he would only agree if Nox's mentality was exceptionally strong and different...
"What do you think the director wants to achieve with this?" he asked Cristina.
She thought for a few moments: "I think her intention is to revive the legacy of the god of shadows. This could be a unique opportunity. After 500 years, a legacy that was believed to be lost has appeared again, and with it, a new power could rise in the empire and shake it to its foundations." Cristina fell silent.
"Some people won't like at all that another divine lineage has appeared." Abadon smiled. "But in the academy, he'll be protected by the director."
"She wants him to be strong so he can protect himself... and with strength, the empire rewards..." Angela opened her eyes slightly. "A new grand duke house?"
"Maybe... but for that, he'll have to prove that he has the power to defend it... in the eyes of the entire empire." Abadon smiled and began walking.