DAY 30

Thadius was silently eating his so-called breakfast of plain, white rice. Again.

On this particular morning, however, his master had come to join him. Now was a perfect opportunity as any to file a complaint.

Thadius put down his spoon and look up with a determined look. "Master."

"What is it?" Corban asked cautiously after seeing the look on Thadius' face.

"I'm going to ask you a question, and it's imperative that you answer truthfully..."

Corban was truly curious now. Most of their mornings were spent in silence since they started the training schedule. What could prompt such an expression from Thadius? He gestured for his student to continue.

Thadius looked like he would break out into a cold sweat soon. It was the expression of a man who feared for his future livelihood. "Master, are you only able to cook white rice?"

Now it was Corban's turn to feel a cold sweat trickling down. He had had this conversation many times before. No matter how long they stayed, every pupil he had taken eventually complained about the food.

'So the time has come.' It pained him to admit his inadequacies, but his star student had asked him for the truth. He wouldn't run from it.

"Unfortunately, I didn't study the culinary arts as much as the sword." Corban admitted, shaking his head.

Thadius let a sigh of relief. "Well that's fine. If the lack of variety is a matter of skill, I'll be happy to take over from here."

"You can cook!?"

"Indeed," Thadius replied with his signature devilish grin. "Do you remember the woman I told you about? I used to cook for her quite frequently."

Corban knew about the woman he spoke of, but he hadn't expected such a turn of events. His favorite student continued to amaze. There was only one problem. "I don't have many ingredients..."

"If you manage to catch some fish in the pool, I'm sure I could whip up something. But I'd prefer to have a full range of ingredients and spices at my disposal."

"I'll go down to town immediately!" Just the thought of a proper meal had Corban rushing to secure sacks for a trip.

'He's not even worried about me running anymore.' Thadius shook his head, smiling as he rose from the table.

The first few weeks had been gruelling, but he finally managed to keep his Fighting Aura active for a full day. His days of repeatedly freezing and meditating all day had come to an end. Today he would increase his stair time and prepare for the next step with Corban.

Thadius went back to his room with his stone armor grinding as it matched his movements. Not only had he gotten used to the sound, the weight wasn't nearly as bad as before due to the numerous strength increases everyday.

His progress had him excited for the end result. The daily schedule had fallen into a simple pattern; eat, pray, train, eat, sleep, and repeat. It reminded him of what his life was like after his thirteenth birthday. If the results from his current training had similar results, he'd be quite happy.

When he had reached his bed, he dropped to his knees. He had been praying daily since he started. Today would be no different.

+1 Faith

---

The sun shines eternally in the Heavens. Today was yet another beautiful day. Thena, Goddess of Wealth and Beauty, sighed as her golden hair simmered in the sunlight.

She was bored. There was peace in the Heavens and the world below, but that was it. Even with the arrival of the travelers, nothing eventful happened.

"Too peaceful..." she muttered to herself, bringing her delicate finger to her full lips in thought.

Boredom was something she could handle with a trip to the mortal world, so she didn't worry about it. It was more like something was happening beneath the surface, like something was being hidden from her.

No. This boredom she felt now was more foreboding. It was as if her days of lounging around would come to an end. Thena's intuition guided her thoughts to a certain Goddess that she hadn't checked on in a while. Today she would pay her a visit.

She descended to the lower floors of the Tower of the Gods. Godsteel glittered all around, marveling all with its beauty that matched the Gods themselves.

When she had found her target, Thena felt something she hadn't felt in many years. Dread.

The Goddess before her was her only rival in beauty. A golden luster had returned to her hair and the Godly light had added a subtle glow to her eyes. Her once tattered dress and apron had mended, shimmering softly in the light like fine silk. Though what alarmed Thena the most was the rippling of her supple muscles as she swept, and the dangerous smile that greeted her.

Right under her nose, her enemy was returning to power. Tegaia, Goddess of Love, War, and Humility. The Mother of All Creation was regaining her strength.

Thena resisted a shudder as the voice filled with with overflowing divinity reached her ears.

"Thena? What brings you here on such a fine day?" Tegaia greeted her confidently. She had been expecting a visit, though she had hoped it wouldn't be this soon.

"I've merely come to check on you, dear. You've been ever so quiet lately..." The words may have sounded sincere but her eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"No need to worry. I won't be quiet for much longer..." Tegaia made no effort to mask her threat from the Goddess who had taken everything from her.

'Let her see my power return before her eyes. And let her see that there is nothing she can do about it!'

A ripple of apprehension flashed on Thena's face, but it was quickly masked with a smile. "In any case, make sure you get the corners. The filth likes to gather there in secret."

"I'm well aware of the specks of dust that have gathered in the Tower of the Gods, Thena. I'll deal with them soon enough..." Tegaia returned a smile that was three parts elegant, one part savage.

At that point, the fear was firmly seeded in Thena's heart. Her only thought now was to flee and prepare. "Well...I'll leave you to it."

"Always a pleasure, Thena." Tegaia nodded before going back to her chores.

It had been a short exchange, but intentions had been made clear. Thena had been absolutely furious by the time she returned to the top of the tower. Her children were waiting for her beside the Hallowed Throne.

They both shared her blonde hair and fair features. Two pairs of silver eyes watched her walk furiously into the room. Anyone who saw them all together would immediately recognize them as relatives.

"Mother what's wrong?" Braumas, the God of Strength and Order, called out to her first.

"Nothing is wrong now, but soon, everything will be." Thena sneered.

"Tegaia..." Arkas, Goddess of Reason and Intellect, lived up to the source of her name. Quickly pinpointing the source of her mother's sudden distress.

Thena nodded. "Her power is returning."

Her son was clearly incited by that declaration. "But we watched her followers like you asked! No one has prayed to her! If so, we'd have dealt with them like the others!"

"Peace Braumas," she whispered soothingly to her devoted child,"We still have time before she returns to full power. All we need to do is find the mortals that pray to her. However, there may be a larger problem..." Thena looked to her daughter that usually echoed her thoughts.

"There could be Travelers that pray to her as well." Arkas answered promptly.

"Precisely." Thena had always been proud of her daughter, though her beloved girl showed little emotion."Travelers are not of this world. Even if we orchestrated their deaths, they would return. Persuasion would be a better means."

"Why don't we just go to Tegaia now and end this!?" Braumas roared. Any threats to his mother obviously needed to eliminated sooner rather than later.

"You would face the Goddess of War in combat Braumas? Remember your place! Even in her weakened state, she would destroy you!" Thena scolded ruthlessly.

Braumas flinched from his mother's fury while she walked up the steps to the Hallowed Throne.

"First, we find those that worship her. Once we find them, we'll decide on how we proceed. Now go summon the Gods. This is not a task that we can do alone."

As her children set off to do her bidding, Thena smiled wryly. She had gotten more trouble than she bargained for, but her boredom was long gone.

---

Controlled Breathing has leveled up. Controlled Breathing LV.16 Intermediate

Thadius just finished his last climb up the stairs, and was headed back to the compound at a brisk pace. He was surprised to find Corban waiting for him when he walked through the front entrance.

"Finished?" Corban smiled.

"Yes sir."

"Good, I wish to test your cooking skills immediately." Corban was seated on the ground, surrounded by five large bags filled to the brim with ingredients and spices. Thadius looked through a few of them and took one to the kitchen.

There was a small kitchen in the back of the residential side. There was a wood burning stove that Thadius had initial hoped was magical, and could somehow provide the whole building with heat. He had been mistaken that day.

He lit a fire and began to prepare his ingredients while he waited for it to heat up. He tasted every spice to determine how he would use them.

There were staple spices like salt and sugar, but there were also spices he'd never even heard of. After the seventh taste test, he received a message.

Your attempt to verify various herbs and spices has unlocked a new skill. Herb Identification LV 1 Novice

Used to verify herbs and there properties. More information will be available for identified items as proficiency increases. Success rate will increase with proficiency.

"Identify."

Failed. Failed. Sugar

A substance that adds sweetness to a dish. Pous

A herb with restorative properties. Has a bitter taste.

He identified the rest of the ingredients that he could and began to cook after the stove had heated to an acceptable temperature.

"It's Cookin' Time! Today's dish is homemade mashed potatoes, asparagus, and breaded baked chicken."

Thadius enjoyed cooking for his imaginary audience. When he entered the kitchen, he became the host of his favorite show, 'Cookin' Time'.

He started by peeling the potatoes, ignoring the prompts and guiding systems that popped up. After he peeled the potatoes, he started on the chicken.

He washed it, seasoned it, and coated it with a layer of his own breading and popped it into the oven.

He mashed the potatoes while he boiled the asparagus to kill any germs. It may be a game, but Thadius wasn't taking any chances.

He purposefully kept chunks of potatoes mixed into the mash and heated them up after throwing in some butter. He kept time with an hourglass while he tried as best as he could to keep a constant temperature in the oven.

After an hour of preparation and an hour of cooking, the meal was ready. Thadius arranged the plates with some culinary artistry and was ready to present the meal when...

Your wonderful meal has unlocked the cooking skill. You're prior knowledge of the skill has awarded you a boost in the skill's level and rank. Cooking LV.15 Intermediate

Enhances the taste of meals.

+Beneficial effects are increased by 22.5%

"It's always nice to have my skills recognized."Thadius smiled to himself as he walked into the dining room.

Corban almost jumped out of his seat as the smell reached his nose.

Thadius set the plate down with a smile. "Enjoy."

Corban wasted no time to begin onslaught. Thadius dug in too, and they ate in silence as they devoured the food.

After they were done, Corban was in high spirits. "Now that was a meal. Superb Thadius!"

"Thank you."

"Now we can begin to prepare you for combat training." Corban rose from the table, gesturing Thadius to leave the plates as he headed for the business side.

Outside the supply room was more pieces of the stone armor. Corban picked them up and handed the pile to him. "That's the lower portion of the armor."

Thadius put it on and it was promptly locked in place. The stone reshaped to fit his legs just as the upper portion had done.

"Now in preparation for combat training, you'll be mastering your presence. I could teach you the 'Dragon's Path' sword style, but I'm afraid it would hinder your progress unless you learned this first."

"What do I need to do?" Thadius asked eagerly.

"Put this on." Corban smiled slyly and handed him another piece of stone.

Unlike the previous slabs, it was a helmet. The only alarming feature was that there were no spaces for the eyes to see.

"I think I can understand how this will help me sense the presence of others, but what about walls or other objects?" Thadius frown at the helmet.

"You'll be using your Fighting Aura to hone your spatial awareness."

"That sounds fine too, but I'm still concerned about the stairs..." Thadius hated stairs, the bane of his existence. He could tolerate it for his training, but this was on another level.

"There are weeds growing all over the stairs. They'll help you along, you'll see." Corban's smile widened until his eyes practically wrinkled over.

Thadius sighed and put on the helmet. It immediately molded to his head and sealed his vision.

"Now instead of just using your Fighting Aura, let it flow from you. Imagine it spreading out of you to envelop the surroundings." Corban instructed.

Thadius did as he was told. His control of his Fighting Aura had improved, allowing him to move it freely. Though it was a little more difficult spreading it outside his body.

He let it stretch out to the limit, which was a few feet at best. Then he focused on giving it shape, letting his Aura form a dome around him.

After a few seconds, he felt something close to him. It was similar to knowing where your hands and feet were with your eyes closed. He just felt it. He knew where the wall was and the general area where Corban was standing. The wall cut into his dome while there was a space where Corban was standing. It was impossible to make out minor details, but he was successful.

"Do you feel it?"

"Yes." Thadius smiled. The feeling the skill gave him a truly mystical feeling.

"Good. I want you to sense my presence now. Fill in the gap of your Aura. Fill it with the sound of my heart, the heat of my blood, and the energy of my life. Use all your available senses to create another."

'Easier said than done!' Thadius thought desperately, trying with all his might to find something within the gap of his Aura.

After a minute of struggling, Corban's voice could be heard grumbling in the darkness. "Hmm, I am partially hiding my presence. So it might prove a tad bit difficult. Hold a moment."

As soon as the sentence was finished, Thadius sensed a huge difference. Corban's presence was suddenly too hard to ignore. All his senses were drawn towards him, as if he had his own gravitational pull.

Thadius thought he was successful, and was patiently waiting for the signature sound. Just then, goosebumps appeared on his arms, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. An intense heat was coming from behind him. It was strange to think of it in terms of temperature, but that was exactly what it felt like.

He turned around in an irrational panic, only to hear his master chuckling.

"You've adapted to my pressure, but when you feel my presence you panic? Ha!"

"When did you get there!?" Thadius called out, trying to calm down.

"It's no fun having everything explained to you. You'll learn how it's done in due time."

You've learned how to feel the energy of life around you. A new skill has been unlocked. Sense Presence LV.1 Novice

Sense the life energy of living things. Range and clarity increase with level. Mana use decreases with level. Sense all life within a 10ft(3m) radius for 1 mana per second.

"This skill uses mana. Is it possible to have it use my Fighting Aura instead?" Thadius stared at the windows that suddenly popped up in his vision.

"So eager this pupil of mine!" Corban laughed,"Of course it's possible Thadius. Use it the way I just taught you. Sense the presences within the gaps of your Aura. Once you've done that for a while, it'll happen on its own. For this phase of your training you'll be spending most of your time at the pool, sensing the presence of the fish and leveling your skills. That's after you do your stairs of course."

Thadius nodded. He wasn't going to neglect his physical training.

At some point, Corban can come closer to pat him on the shoulder. "Now it still noon, so go to the pool now. I'll fetch you later."

"Yes sir."

"Oh, one more thing Thadius," Thadius had started to walk off, testing the new weight of his armor, when Corban stopped him."You be using the entire staircase from now on. No more pleasant walks to the pool."

Having just been told that he would have to climb up and down the mountain with his eyes closed, Thadius exclaimed, "Master!? Have mercy!"

"Mercy is for the weak." Corban's cold retort sounded out from deeper in the compound.

Thadius sighed as best as he could manage with his rock armor. His schedule had tripled in difficulty in a single day, and he had only been here for a month.