A little while later.
Standing in the middle of the combat hall, Roland was busy wrapping thick bandages around his two hands. This would be his fifth attempt, considering the previous four were deemed not good enough by the white-haired girl overseeing his training today.
Roland was never comfortable sitting in silence, especially when he always had things on his mind to ask.
"Soooo… you're a death knight as well?"
"Uh-Mhn. You're not convinced?" She asked, tilting her head to one side.
Roland flinched, quickly raising his hands in protest.
"I didn't mean anything by it. Just a-err…curious question." He said with a half smile.
Roland finally finished tying the wrappings around both his hands. He rose to his feet, signalling he was ready. The silver-haired girl approached him and rather confidently took hold of his hand. She looked at both sides before nodding with approval.
"Okay, let's start. We'll play attack and defence. I'll let you go first. Try to land a single hit on me, and don't hold back."
Roland looked her up and down. Regardless of how he saw it, she seemed half his size and a little feeble-looking. It wasn't bad for a woman, but he carried some pre-meditated doubts.
'But being small-looking doesn't mean she's not a threat.' He reminded himself, quickly snapping out of his earlier thoughts.
Roland squared his feet and took on a fighting stance. His fists were clenched, separated and held up level with his chin.
"Let's begin." He announced with an air of renewed confidence.
With his eyes focused on her feet, Roland retold the basics back to himself, as he had been taught by Willow. He counted nine steady breaths. Halfway along the tenth, he slowly bent his knees and leaned forward. He centred himself and felt all the unique sensations throughout his body. His heels carried the stored tension, and his iron-ranked body positioned him loaded like a missile ready for takeoff.
Roland timed his movements and suddenly leapt forward. His body carried him across the training hall as quickly as the Willow moved the first time they sparred.
His iron body was filled with a tremendous amount of vigour. Motoring his limbs into gear. Left, right, left, right. He tossed a flurry of fists, almost blurring in motion by how fast they moved. Roland wore a wild smile; he lost himself in fighting with his newly trained body. The power surging through his body was intoxicating. Although each one of the punches was missed by a hair's breadth. He twisted on his heels and sent a straight kick forward. But the nimble-moving girl twisted around his kick and stood beside him, almost unmoved by his attack.
Roland's frustration was building; he instinctively tossed an elbow back. She dodged that, ducked low beneath his strike and sent two swift jabs against his ribs.
Roland felt an iron rod jab his sides in quick succession. He crumbled to the ground straight away. Struggling to catch his breath as he clutched hold of his side.
Not only was she nimble and quick-footed. She was monstrously powerful.
"You done already? Little prince." Her soft voice mockingly filtered into his ears. Roland couldn't tell if she was mocking him, but whatever he heard would always translate that way.
His ego didn't want him to stay down right now. Rising to his staggering feet, he tried again. This time, he planned on getting close enough to grapple the girl into a takedown or use his body weight to stop the girl's movements.
Both, of course, that failed.
And by the time he was done. Layers of sweat doused him from head to toe, and Roland failed to land a single hit within that time frame.
Half an hour passed, and finally, they switched roles, and this time, the girl was merciless.
It took her less than 30 seconds to floor him. An assault of palms, backhands, high and low kicks and the occasional arm bar proved devastating. By the end of their spar, Roland was riddled with sore bruises and a dented ego by the fourth try.
As he stared at the spiralling pattern against the tall ceiling. Roland couldn't help but appreciate how much the Willow pulled his punches. Most of these spars went on for at least a few hours.
'Safe to say I owe that aloof fellow a few apologies and thank you.'
Amidst his thoughts, a tiny frame towered over him, undoing the bandages against her dainty hands while she addressed his performance.
"Hm, so how was that for you?" She asked plainly
Roland was still gulping air for breath. A host of inaudible words initially spluttered out. But he did manage to settle down a little and convey what was on his mind.
"Too…strong." He managed to wheeze out. Appearances were deceiving; he couldn't have imagined the little girl was this strong.
"That's a fair assessment." She said nodding her head in approval.
"But respectfully, you're also painstakingly weak…young Lord."
"*huffing-*huffing...how so?"
"You're not fighting. You're trying to avoid dying. And there's a clear difference between the 1 and 2. Usually, weak people tend to fight just like you do; uncertainty and fear are the mind killers. You've already lost entering battle like that."
Roland creased a wry smile in response. He knew he was weak, terribly so, but he had almost forgotten the greatest tool or superpower he carried. His mind.
'Omega…did you copy all of that.'
{Affirmative! Omega has successfully recorded the one-sided beatdown and added it to the folder. Self-titled, battle experience }
Roland purposely ignored the system's jabs. He was very pleased with the results right now. Depending on how efficient the mental training was, he planned to use a combination of physical and mental practice to help him study the fight repeatedly.
'She's right; since my transmigration here, I've been focused on getting stronger to survive.'
"Oh right, we'll begin your daily routine tomorrow morning." She announced
"Eh? R-routine, what routine." He asked, dreading what would be said next.
"500 one-handed pushups, 250 sit-ups. 400 pull-ups and 6 laps around the castle grounds." The girl explained coolly
Roland heard those numbers and almost passed out.
"Do you…want me to die?" He might've not looked it, but he was genuinely sincere.
His words hit home as the girl pondered something. After a while, she lightly tapped the bottom of her fist against her open palm.
"Ah, of course, my mistake; make that 10 laps."
Roland allowed his body to fall back down again. At this point, he couldn't wait for the Willow to return.
***
Later that night...
'Omega, take me to my Mind Palace.'
Roland blinked a few times and felt his body drifting into a soundless sleep. A plethora of lights and stars danced, fractured into tiny particles before structuring into an expanse of colours. Roland eventually found himself back in that space with a purple sky. The clouds gathered above like before, and that small dark ball hung in the air like a distant black sun.
There were a few things he wanted to do. First mode to address.
'Omega, open the conscious cage for me.'
The white portal fissured into reality. Roland stepped through it, and a blinding pale light took him into another space. He reemerged into a room of pitch black covered in thin red neon lines. He scanned the spacious place before locking eyes with the Elder, who was still sitting in the middle of the red cage.
Once the Elder met his own gaze, Roland saw that brief look of panic slowly twisting into a look of relief. It must've been boring sitting there all day Roland thought to himself.
The Elder rose up gently to his feet. His two withered palms walked closer before they carefully held onto the static red bars. Roland looked at the Elder's hand, clenching and unclenching a few times.
He thought about something before giving the empty space a final look. With his arm outstretched, he took a few deep breaths and imagined the cage expanding. He had the right dimensions in his brain, and according to Omega, he simply needed to will it into existence.
Wizard Grey stood utterly confused until a sneering sound echoed from the cage around him. He quickly released the static red bars and watched in awe as the space enlarged considerably. Roland made sure the expansion didn't wrap him into the cage. By the time he was done, he exhaled a cool breath but needed to take a seat.
'I feel like all my energy has been zapped away from me. Even in this ethereal state, I still feel exhausted.'
He guessed this was the effect of using his mental energy, even though Omega had warned him briefly about the impact of exhausting his mental energy. Meanwhile, the Elder simply stared in deep wonder. It was clear from the looks of his age features that he had no idea what was going on.
While Roland was busy trying to figure out how to improve his mental energy.
"Oi, you there." Said the Elder, getting Roland's attention.
"Hm? Yes, what do you want." Roland replied, feeling a little jaded.
"Fine. I believe you are who you say you are." Said Wizard Grey with folded arms like a child.
Roland's brow lifted, feigning a look of genuine surprise. Inwardly, he secretly expected things to go this way.
"Ah, and what's changed your mind then?"
The Elder observed him briefly before taking a walk around the larger area within his cage.
"Can't say I've ever witnessed such powers before in my entire life, kid. And let me tell you something else, this isn't my first time devouring someone from their sea of awareness."
Roland wasn't surprised by that revelation; it still annoyed him that a slimy slug had been forced down his throat.
The Elder scanned his surroundings again before continuing.
"This place has no meaning unless you give it one. That is a power I never thought existed within this world."
Roland listened carefully to the Elder. He was right, considering Roland felt the same way when considering the scope of Omega's powers. At times, he felt almost afraid of what this system could do. At other times, he was overjoyed by how far his quest for knowledge could go with a system as sophisticated as Omega.
The Elder retired his speech and sat down again in the middle of the spherical-shaped floor.
"I won't submit to nonsense. I'd rather die. But I do acknowledge your power. And I'm willing to offer you any information or help you navigate this world."
The old man bowed his head in a bid to solidify his allegiance.
Roland wasn't quite sure what to say or do next. But he was glad the crafty Elder was submitting. In truth, not even Roland knew what to do with him. He could use him as a confidant. Or use his help with understanding mana? And then it hit him.
"You say you're a wizard right? Have you ever heard of someone possessing two mana cores?" Roland asked with a renewed vigour through his body.
The Elder looked at him as though he had gone mad, but then he lowered his gaze in deep thought. Roland watched him ponder something before a clear look of shock flashed across his wrinkled face.
"Are you sure?"
Roland understood exactly what he meant by that. He thought about it a little and couldn't see any direct issues that may arise from revealing his secrets.
"I'm quite certain. Also, one core is cracked, but the other seems dormant." Judging by the Elder's response, it fell in line with the Omegas analyst.
"Two cores? That's…that should be impossible. Especially for someone like you." The last bit was laced with venom.
"What do you mean someone like me?"
"There's a reason acolytes go through an awakening ceremony to activate their cores. The ritual is a risk and doesn't guarantee that the core will respond well in a new environment. Therefore, only awakened youths who carry unique body compositions naturally are favoured. They are likely to complete the ritual compared to non-awakened folk."
Roland nodded his head gently in understanding. It had to be because of that.
'Radiation.'
Omega had already told him a mana core generated high levels of radiation. A cracked core was usually fatal, and he was beginning to piece things together. Roland was wondering whether his failed attempt at forcing a mana core into his body had caused his previous death.
The only questions surrounding that were who would've helped Roland with that procedure and how he ended up with two cores.
'Unless Roland was completely unaware he already had one, but that doesn't..."
"So what you're saying is that carrying two cores is almost suicidal? And under no circumstances should anyone harbour more than one?" He asked the Elder with concern laced in his voice, searching his expression for answers.
"Well, in theory, no. An Archmagus with enough about themselves could make two cores work, but it'll only slow down their growth. Two power sources attempting to coexist will naturally cause more strain on the body and slow processes down. What you gain in power will severely reduce casting time and efficiency. And that's not considering what that would do to the mind."
Roland was lost in his thoughts. Although the idea of two cores sounded like a benefit at first, he was now less sure.
"So I was right. You successfully consumed the Nyn Root. Tsk!"
Roland awkwardly scratched the side of his head. It seems he was still paying for the sins of the deviant old Roland.
"Hmm, I don't know who or what you are. But holding two cores has something to do with you ingesting that thing. You should seek an expert healer or a professional since few people walk around with two mana cores. Although…"
"Although what?" Roland understood he must cut quite the desperate figure, but he didn't care. Carrying around a ticking time bomb wasn't on his to-do list.
The Elder observed him carefully before responding.
"There were a group of individuals. You can call them a particular race of fellows who were said to contain more than one core. "
Roland sat almost animatedly in wait. With large eyes, he almost urged the Elder to continue. Wizard Grey seemed to enjoy the suspense as he smoothed his white-forked beard playfully before an ugly smile gently creased against his aged features.
"They were called…the demon race. Kukuku."
Roland's nerves tensed, and he swiftly sat upright with a cold shiver running down his spine.
'Oh dear…'