Cesar, standing at the door of the Octagonal Room, suddenly shuddered. He looked around with an expression that Helial could not decipher, but apparently filled with fear. There had to be something inside that place that could frighten even the great King of Orma.

What could be so terrifying to terrorize that Goblin, whose exploits had been known for millennia?

Sighing slightly and narrowing his eyes, Cesar got his thoughts under control and calmed down, before slowly explaining to Helial: "The Karma that binds you to this place belongs to your race. But what lives here ... is evil beyond comprehension and could exterminate entire Nations. The training you will be conducting here has a price, which could very well be your life."

Hearing these words, Helial's eyes widened. The boy sent a thread of conscience to Iblis for further explanation, but surprisingly he received no answer. With a sly grin on his face, Helial realized that this time he would have to go all alone.

Inside the Octagonal Room, there were great opportunities and great dangers. If he wanted to have any chance to face Medusa in two weeks, he certainly couldn't hold back.

"I will train here before the fight. Please come and call me when the time comes; I fear I could lose the sense of time. "

In fact, that room had no openings that could let light in, and it was impossible to guess the time. Perhaps for the first two days Helial would have been able to keep count of the hours, but then he would gradually lose the notion of time. As much as he wanted to stay in that room as long as possible, he didn't want to miss the fight either.

Cesar nodded silently. He was thinking something.

"Well," he burst out after a few seconds, "there would be a way to avoid the match. You and your companions could leave Orma and never show up in the city again. If you regretted your recklessness, now would be the time to admit it."

Helial shook his head. "It's too late for regrets, and besides Orma is the safest place for me. Both outside and inside the city there are several people who just need an excuse to take my life, but at least here your influence helps me survive. You have bet on me and I am trying to return all the favours you have given me. I will kill Medusa, I give you my word. I need two weeks of intense training and nothing more. I cannot stop right now."

Helial's words hit Cesar's heart, awakening old memories of his youth and invigorating him. The King felt a tremendous pride for his disciple who, even in the face of ominous premises, was not afraid to risk everything.

This was the heart of a warrior, of a true hero.

A gust of air, coming from nowhere, made their clothes flutter, and them both shudder. Cesar felt a strange presence behind him and all the hair that remained on his head stood up.

"Boy, I think I spent more time here than I had to. My presence is not welcome. I'll come and call you in two weeks, good luck. "

Without another word, the Goblin left the room quickly. The less time he spend in this place, the better it would be.

"It seems that have to take care of myself at this point," said Helial, looking around curiously and resting his eyes for a moment on the door in the middle of the Octagonal Room.

Cesar had told him that that place was beyond his current abilities. He could not yet cross that threshold. However, for Helial it was not a problem: he already had a lot to do and time enough to explore places that would put him in danger.

His priorities were other now.

Runes.

Metamorphosis.

Flame of the Qilin.

Mana Energies of Life and Destruction.

Moreover, Helial still had other Skills that needed training, but those four were certainly his biggest tricks up his sleeve. Metamorphosis and Life and Destruction were closely connected and, if he really wanted to find out how much that Skills could evolve, he would have to find a way to continue on his Mana Path as quickly as possible.

Helial had chosen to cultivate together Life and Destruction, a very difficult feat to complete. Iblis had warned him that others, before him, had tried to follow that same Mana Path, but they all had failed.

To continue on that Path Helial should have been bold and in control, cautious and reckless. He had to seize every opportunity, transform every danger in a forge for his spirit. The more he risked, the more he could gain. But if one day he did something foolish, he would have risked death.

It was a big problem. On the one hand, he had to literally seize every opportunity, but on the other he had to be careful not to get killed.

The boy felt a sudden tingling in his skin, as if something had suddenly caressed him, and he immediately turned in the direction where he thought to perceive something. Afraid, he tried to figure out what was happening. Inside the Octagonal Room, there was an evil presence. Perhaps this was what had scared Cesar.

Anyway, somehow that evil spirit had to be connected with the Humans, so Helial thought it wouldn't be a problem for his cultivation.

All he was interested in was gaining experience to enhance the Skills and techniques he would use in future battles. However, since he could not go directly into the battlefield, all he had left was meditation. He would have to give five times his best in order to defeat Medusa.

Helial knew very well that the difference between their stages was too vast to be easily filled.

Even if the Tristia Team had been able to kill Medea and her men, he had to consider however that all their opponents were in the First Phase. Despite drinking the Fury Elixir, their potential was to the Second Phase only in appearance. If they had been real warriors in the Second Phase Helial and his companions would have found the fight much more difficult.

Skreeee!

A squeal struck violently his ears, and he turned to see where the sound came from and who had produced it. An invisible claw was scraping the floor, where signs began to form. Looking quickly to the right and left, Helial realized that the spirit inside that room wanted to bother him.

"Mph, let's see how much you feel like joking," Helial snorted coldly, not wanting to waste any time.

Skill Activated:

Perception

Skill Activated:

Flame of the Qilin

Flame of the Qilin contained the principles of Life and was the nemesis of every evil spirit. As soon as it was exposed to the flame, any low-level one would have been vaporized in no time at all.

Helial surrounded himself with a sea of flames and heard the screams as a sneer spread on his face. And yet, for some strange reason, he had the impression that things weren't going the right way. Helial increased the flames temperature and range, enveloping the whole room.

Walls and floor did not seem disturbed by the terrifying heat. The Flame of the Qilin could have melted any kind of common stone, but that room seemed to have been built with high quality materials.

Suddenly, Helial felt a force counteracting the flames and hitting his soul. Helial's expression changed, and several drops of sweat began to flow down his forehead. Was that being really able to resist Flame of the Qilin? He felt a shudder down his spine and poured all his Mental Energy into the Flame, in order to destroy that presence at all costs.

Fwooosh!

The flames suddenly extinguished, as if something had swallowed them up, and Helial felt his strength drain away. Since he had arrived at Orma, he had seldom felt so helpless facing an enemy.

He looked around, but found nothing.

He turned around.

An eyeless face, whose vacant, unnatural smile went from cheekbone to cheekbone, was a few inches from his nose.

The pearl-coloured teeth were too many for a normal mouth, its skin was milky white and long black hair fell straight on its face like spaghetti.