The group left town and continued on their journey to the Floria region. Originally, the group consisted of Darian, Rumble, Marilia, Lakshman, Ondine and Tetra. Now they have added Sevedant, the Death titan. He is the member of the strongest group of warriors known as the Nine Pillars of Power.

Everyone except Rumble and Marilia were happy to have him with them. The reason for their dislike was due to him taking some destructive actions in the town they just left.

“I still can’t believe you left all that Dungeon Treasure with those people!” Marilia was complaining with a severe expression on her face.

“If I didn’t, I would feel really bad! After all, it’s because the Death Titan stupidly destroyed an entire Monster Dungeon!” Rumble replied and he looked annoyed.

“If that’s the case, have him fix the Monster Dungeon then!”

“If he would have, wouldn’t he have done that already?! It just shows he lacks the power necessary to fix it!”

“Oh? Then how is he even called the Death Titan from the Nine Pillars of Power?”

“You know... I’m even wondering if he really is a Death Titan or just someone masquerading as one!”

“You two, that’s enough!” Darian said since he had enough of their complaints.

“Hmph!” Marilia said in annoyance and became silent.

Rumble tried to speak to him, but a glare from Darian made him go quiet. Darian looked at them and sighed heavily.

Darian knew they might not believe in the power of the Death Titan, but he knew. Several years ago, he had a run in with him and the resulting battle killed everyone there. He was the only one that survived and he had a vague glimpse of a terrible figure shrouded in darkness before fainting.

That experience left a lasting impression on him of the Nine Pillars of Power. That is why he has such high regard for the Phoenix Emperor, Felix, since he was the closest to becoming the Phoenix Titan of the current generation.

Meanwhile, Lakshman, Ondine, Tetra and Sevedant. The other three were looking at each other with looks of amazement at the stream of complaints Rumble and Marilia released. They constantly threw glances at Sevedant to see if he reacted, but he did not.

“Um... Sevedant, are you um... playing deaf or...?” Lakshman asked tentatively.

“Not deaf. Don’t care,” Sevedant said in a dull voice.

“You don’t care ah...? Then what about the Monster Dungeon? Could you be able to repair it?”

“No control. Extreme force. Insufficient power. No responsibility.”

“Eh? You don’t have responsibility for destroying it?” Ondine asked with her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“People’s fault. No plan. Not careful. No analysis. Very reckless. Very stupid!” Sevedant said and he sounded annoyed.

“It’s their fault for not preparing ahead for trouble and such?” Ondine asked and Sevedant nodded.

“Mmm...! Then why the heck did they attempt it?” Ondine asked with an annoyed look on her face.

“It’s their arrogance of believing their strength is enough that did them in!” Tetra said as she nonchalantly ate a banana.

“Yes, but that monster really was dangerous! If Sevedant hadn’t arrived in time, I think we’d be dead right now! Maybe that’s why he came?” Ondine said hopefully.

“Strong fate. Must save. Real important. Future life. Future goals. Necessary!” Sevedant said in a serious voice and his eyes, from his mask, gleamed.

With that, everyone became quiet as the carriage moved on. They stopped several times to give the roses some rest and to stretch their legs. During this time, Sevedant made Lakshman do a lot of push-ups.

“98...! 99...! 100!” Lakshman said as he completed the number of push-ups he was told to do.

He had been doing push-ups on the ground while sat on his back. Initially, Lakshman did not like the idea until Sevedant proposed arm wrestling. Lakshman assumed he would wince since Sevedant had bones for a hand. He was sorely mistaken when Sevedant beat him and destroyed the tree trunk they were using as the base.

The beat was that if Sevedant won, Lakshman will listen to whatever Sevedant says during his training. If Lakshman had won, Sevedant would reveal himself by removing his mask. So the deal was made and the result brought Lakshman to his present situation.

“Ah...! That was tiring!” he said tiredly as he lay on the ground while breathing quickly.

Sevedant sat down near him and stared at him. Lakshman sighed a few seconds later and said “Sevedant! You’re heavy! I don’t think I can continue this...!”

Sevedant’s eyes suddenly flashed and he started saying “Weak! Stupid! Pathetic! Complete waste! Effortless loser! Spineless coward!”

“Okay, okay! Fine! I’ll do it!” Lakshman said with a disturbed expression on his face.

Sevedant nodded and said “Good spirit. Keep up. Get stronger. Be better.”

“Y-You really think so? I don’t feel like I’m getting any better than I was before,” Lakshman said and he looked unhappy.

Sevedant looked at him for a moment. Then he stretched his hand out and said “Summon Gravity Rings!”

In an instant, there was a small flash of light. Then there were four rings on his outstretched hand. Lakshman slowly got up as Sevedant passed them to him. Lakshman looked at them and thought the rings look good, but he did not understand why he was passing them to him.

“Why are you giving me these, Sevedant?” he asked him.

“Gravity Rings. Wear them. Arms and legs. Excellent training,” Sevedant said and he nodded at the rings.

“Well... Okay then,” Lakshman said with a puzzled expression.

So he slung a ring for each of his arms and legs. Wearing them, he somehow felt a little strange as if there was energy coming from the rings. He did not know why, but he had a familiar sense with the rings.

“What now?” Lakshman asked Sevedant after a few seconds of not knowing what to do with them.

“Say these words: Gravity Rings times hundred,” Sevedant told him.

“Um...” Lakshman said and looked hesitant.

“Do it!”

“O-Okay,” Lakshman said with a shrug of his shoulders. He stood up to have a better for the rings. The rings fit his arms and rings perfectly that he almost did not feel them.

“Gravity Rings times hundred.”

For a moment nothing happened. The next thing he knew, his arms and legs suddenly felt really heavy. They became so heavy that he suddenly went down on his knees while desperately trying to keep his arms up. He groaned as he struggled to keep himself from going under all the heavy pressure.

“W-What the?!” he exclaimed in shock as he groaned from the severe pressure on his arms and legs.

“Gravity Rings. Increase gravity. Times by number. Heavy pressure,” Sevedant said calmly as he watched Lakshman struggle.

Realising that he will not last any longer, Lakshman desperately asked “H-How do I... stop it?!”

“Say: Gravity Stop.”

“Gravity Stop!” Lakshman shouted.

In an instant, all the heavy pressure suddenly disappeared. He collapsed on the ground and breathed heavily as if he had run a very long distance without stopping. It took him a few seconds to catch his breath and look at Sevedant in annoyance.

“You pranked me!” Lakshman said indignantly.

“Training exercise. Excellent growth. Excellent speed,” Sevedant said coolly.

“Easy for you to say! I’d like to see you using this training method!”

“Don’t believe? See this.”

With that, Sevedant stretched his arms out for him to see. Lakshman only saw the bones that Sevedant had which puzzled him. Then, as he looked closer, he realised there were five rings inserted into each hand. Then Sevedant revealed his other hand and they also had a ring for each finger.

“A-Are these... Gravity Rings?” Lakshman asked hesitantly and Sevedant nodded.

“Gravity Rings. At thousand. Easy hundred,” Sevedant said as if the number did not matter to him.

Lakshman’s eyes widened in shock as and he exclaimed “Thousand?! Gravity Rings times a thousand?! Do you mean for each of the rings or...”

“Together.”

“Wow...! That’s a lot!”

Sevedant nodded and said “Need strength. Need growth. Get better. Train harder. First principle. Always remember.”

“Wow...! So that’s what it takes to be a Titan ranked warrior?” Lakshman asked in awe and Sevedant nodded at him.

“Cool! I’ll try to achieve it so my parents will be proud of me!” Lakshman said and he suddenly looked very excited for the first time in some time.

“Good goal,” Sevedant said and he sounded impressed.

Later, Ondine asked if she could also use those Gravity Rings, but was declined. The reason appeared to be that her body could not handle the training. It seemed that Sevedant could tell just by looking at her that she cannot do it. It upset her, but Lakshman cheered her up by stating she will still be strong by using the regular method.

With those words of comfort, she smiled happily at him until Tetra made a rude comment. As usual, they began arguing and Lakshman decided to leave them be. Lakshman had learnt to keep out of their argument since he knew it was due to their fiery rivalry.

With this, Lakshman’s training progressed to the next level.

| HOME PAGE |