Zilon awoke as faint rays of sunlight slipped through his window, brushing against his face.
He blinked several times, trying to make clear the blur.
Soon, the familiar white ceiling of his room came into view.
He sat up rubbed his eyes again and scratched his head with his palm.
"I can't believe how fast the two days came " Zilon thought, recalling what had happened.
"It's already the day that I show Rivor my results "
Yawning,he got up, left his room, and stepped out of the house.
It was still early in the morning and the sun was barely up.
Feeling the need to confirm the time, he walked over to the sundial.
"The wind blew the numbers off again, but judging by the shadow's position... it's around 6:30 a.m."
He took some few steps away from the sun clock and started his morning exercises.
Stretching his limbs, he began with some push ups.
Then with some sit ups and some squats.
He started running laps around the field, sweat slowly gathering on his face.
Time went by and before he realized, it was already 9:00am.
The sun now shone brightly, its rays heating his skin and soaking his clothes in sweat. The fabric clung uncomfortably to his body, but he pressed on, pausing only briefly to rest.
*KRUUUU*
Zilon immediately hult his actions when he heard the familiar growl of his stomach.
"Yeah I guess I am hungry " Zilon sighed.
By now he was sure Lyla was done cooking.
"Actually she finished an hour ago, but I told her to start without me " he chuckled, remembering the reluctant look she tried to mask with a frown.
Zilon had a keen sense for reading people's moods — he could often tell just by looking into their eyes. Still, the ability wasn't foolproof. He usually chalked it up to a 50% chance of being right.
She didn't raise any questions, maybe she understood why he told her that?,or she just doesn't care?.
Besides, she loved food and couldn't bear to let a full plate sit untouched. Eating without waiting likely worked in her favor.
Still Zilon was very puzzled, Why did she seem reluctant?.
"Well,maybe I misread her" He scratched his right side of his head.
Shaking his head, he decided to keep those thought at the back of his mind and focus on the current matter:
Which was his hunger.
Without wasting anymore time ,he began to walk towards the house.
He had barely taken four steps toward the house when he stopped.
Turning around, his eyes fell on a figure approaching from a distance.
The man walked slowly, but there was confidence and authority in his stride. Dressed in fitted leather clothing that showed off his physique, he carried two swords at his sides. His brown eyes glimmered with experience, and his short beard gave him the aura of a seasoned warrior.
Zilon noticed the smile on his face.
"Two swords ?" Zilon blinked as he remembered him having only one sword.
"Hey Zilon, how's it going" Rivor said when he was close enough to Zilon.
"I am good Rivor, it's been....well it's been great this past few days" Zilon said with a bright smile.
But as he remembered what he had too endure, his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Rivor studied him in silence. Even without saying anything, he could tell things weren't as simple as Zilon made them seem.
While Rivor was aware of other methods to raise your stats,he had expected him find a way to level up since that was one of the 'easiest' methods to become stronger.
It's not like he hadn't have an idea of what Zilon might have done,it's just he find it hard to believe that he used that method to actually raise his stats.
He had given him hints in their conversation that day ,so he had a feeling that he may have picked up one.
"Besides..."
He couldn't fully point out what had changed about him,but he managed to notice some details.
For example Zilon was slightly taller. His body had begun developing muscle — visible through the sweat-soaked clothes.
Also, he could sense the magic power around him, which had increased significantly,it simply means he could use Mana.
He looked more refined. More focused.
Zilon eyes flashed with a cold light, but a bright light shone within the black depths.
"I know those eyes.....It's the eyes of someone who is determined " Rivor thought, inwardly surprised of the transformation in just 5 days.
A memory of a young boy, about Zilon's age staring at him with those eyes flashed in his mind briefly.
Which caused him to stare at Zilon with softer eyes.
Suppressing those memories, he found Zilon staring at him with a slightly worried expression.
"Is something wrong? " Zilon asked a little concerned.
He had started talking for a while but it seems Rivor had spaced out a little.
"Oh, sorry hahaha, I just thought maybe I forgot something before coming here, turns out I was worried for nothing " He laughed it off.
Zilon squinted at Rivor, a bit suspicious, but chose not to press further."
"Hey will you care to join me for breakfast?" Zilon suddenly asked.
"Huh?, well if you want I could try out your cooking " He said a little confused.
"Oh it's not my cooking, it's Lyla's " Zilon said casually as he led the way toward the house.
Rivor followed a few steps behind. Once inside, Zilon gestured toward the couch.
"Make yourself comfortable, I will go and change my clothes and take a small bath "
Rivor nodded towards him and Zilon scrambled away to the bathroom.
While waiting, Rivor let his thoughts wander — drifting to his past.
He remembered his younger days, how he joined the military, how much he had fought and how much he had bleed....and still bleed till today.
He sighed filling a heavy weight on his chest.
"I wish I had the strength.... I really wish I was the strongest" He said with a tired smile.
He knew his thoughts were childish,but he really wished that he had been strong enough, a lot of things might not have happened.
Then he remembered the boy,which turned out to be his son and then Zilon's image replaced it.
The two kids weren't really identical,but somehow Rivor could see his child on Zilon.
"Maybe it's their eyes "
He thought for a moment and his smile suddenly became a bitter one.
"Well I guess that settles it, even if he doesn't succeed in completing my challenge I will still train him " Rivor thought as his eyes which were clouded, now shone with there lethal sharpness.
He heard some footsteps and noticed a figure pass.
"I guess he is out "
It didn't take long, but Zilon walked back to the living room where Rivor was patiently waiting for him.
He wore a simple blue color Shirt with short sleeves, a long trouser with a small black rope on his waist.
"That was quick " Rivor commented, noticing his damp hair.
"Was it?, Well I don't usually take that much time in the bath " Zilon revealed a slightly surprised expression as he scratched his wet hair.
They chatted for some more, occasional jokes flying between them.
Though it wasn't long before his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten yet.
Rivor have just closed his mouth when...
*KRUUUUUUUU*
"You see even your stomach agrees with me" Rivor said with short burst of laughter.
"No it doesn't" Zilon mumbled, a little embarrassed.
Rivor and Zilon both stood up, with the latter leading the way they entered the kitchen.
Sitting down on the chair, Rivor allowed his eyes to wonder a bit.
Zilon on the other hand was preparing the plates.
"i guess she somehow knew that he would come"
Zilon sighed inwardly, eyeing the wooden flask that was placed on the dining table.
It resembled the insulated flasks used on Earth to keep food warm. But this one was made of wood.
Which was weird since he wasn't sure wood did more than metal in regards of storing temperature.
"Maybe it's a special type of wood that stores heat" Zilon wondered.
Soon the food was served.
They ate in silence, both sharing approving glances.
"This is good, way better than the ones from the restaurant" Rivor said with a smile, almost done with his food.
"You said it " Zilon agreed as he drank up the cup of water next to his plate.
Soon they were both done and Zilon cleared the dishes.
He sat back down and faced Rivor as they chit chatted.
At some point there discussion lead Zilon to ask about the artificial spirit..
"An artificial spirit you say?"
"Yeah...." Zilon was still on a dilemma if whether or not he should tell Rivor of how he got it, Incase he asked.
"Well there are as their names suggest, artificial, a very weak and incomplete version of spirits"Rivor began.
"Spirits are manifestion of energy. Some even consider them a race of there own. Usually are very rare to find, and dwell in places with high concentration of mana."
"They can completely shift the tide of a battle."
"Now the artificial ones are man made, I have heard of some people in the capital of our kingdom that can create some,but of course anyone coming directly from the system is way better and stronger " Rivor then paused for a while , as if assembling his thoughts.
"The artificial ones are– once again are weaker versions of the true spirits,hence they might not perform well if compared, some may only serve one function, But in the right hands, even that can turn the tables in a life-or-death scenario." Rivor stated
"Intresting...."
Zilon remembered his own having more than one function,and couldn't help but smirk inwardly.
"Hey why the sudden interest?" Rivor asked.
"No reason in particular, I was just curious that's all " Zilon shrugged with a calm expression.
Rivor raised an eyebrow, alittle curious but didn't question things further.
The room fell silent.
A few moments pass, both men were quiet, one staring at the floor the other closed eyes and leaning back on his chair.
"So, were you able to complete the task?" Rivor raised his head and asked.
Zilon still had his eyes closed, he thought about that evening that Rivor gave him the challenge.
Back then that was his only reason to train and get stronger, apart from him wanting to get stronger and protect himself, the only drive that kept him pushing forward was this challenge.
"But now things have changed" Zilon opened his eyes still staring at the ceiling.
His memory drifted to the 3rd day, were he decided to break all the Noxoliths that blocked his body and hindered him from using Mana.
He remembered the pain he felt,
The frustration,
And despair.
While he didn't allow it to hinder him, he felt desperate in multiple occasions in those 5 days.
After fighting a demon's puppet that was way above his scale,using luck, and advantages he was able to force a tie.
Yes he didn't defeat it, although it looked like it, if Zilon hadn't used that dome to drain out its energy he would have been killed, for some unknown reason Zilon felt like it was holding back, so the energy it outputted was manually charged before each attack.
Then he miraculously survived another ambush ,which was the sudden explosion before he woke up.
He received a title,two titles to be exact and a curse.
"I had gone through some things, Now finally the moment have come...."
They day has come were he can finally give his answer with a smile.
Dropping down his head slowly his black eyes locked onto Rivor's brown eyes.
With a small smile he replied with total confidence.
"Yes I did "
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[End of volume one - The story of the past and the awakening of a warlock.
Read author's note]