Born in Blood

As Liam got submerged in the river, he instantly noticed the new effects of his body.

For one, despite it being a cold spring night— and a colder river no less— Liam wasn't too bothered by it.

And although the water currents ran against him, it was considerably weaker than before. He could easily swim against it now.

Slowly, pieces of the gunk washed off his body, revealing a defined and muscular exterior. The claw wound had already turned into a faint mark.

He began to hold his breath underwater. Part of him never wanted to do so again, but with a stronger body, came a stronger will.

Two minutes passed with Liam underwater, yet he didn't feel any major discomfort.

The feeling of vigor, energy and strength was addicting. He needed more.

'I need to test this body.'

Liam exited the river and dried himself off— wearing his gym suit— before approaching Lloyd with an anticipating expression.

"Can we spar now?"

Lloyd heaved a sigh, taking out two slant-tipped blades.

"Come."

Liam suppressed a smile from appearing on his face. Slowly, he unsheathed his own blades.

The katana and wakizashi were plain silver-made weapons, only thinner to accommodate Liam's short and weaker stature.

'They're so light now.' Liam thought, before shifting his gaze to the opponent.

Lloyd stood opposite to him, like a statue, he stood still with his blades lowered to his sides. 𝙗𝒆𝒅𝒏𝙤𝒗𝒆𝙡．𝙤𝒓𝙜

Under the night sky, Liam's vision improved quite well, enough that he could assess Lloyd's calm, domineering expression.

Liam gripped his blades tighter, before tensing his knees and shooting at Lloyd's figure.

Clang!

Sparks lit the river bank with an orange hue as four blades collided.

Liam instantly felt the strength of his attack, but Lloyd didn't even get pushed back by it; calmly parrying it and shoving the former away.

Stumbling backwards and fixing his footing, Liam didn't stop with his offensive, performing a swift barrage of powerful swings.

A series of loud 'clang' noises reverberated through the air, and sparks continued to form.

Before, Lloyd would always spar defensively, focusing on blocks and counter attacks.

Now, he was forced to become serious as Liam's speed, strength and dexterity was bolstered. As the fight continued, a crazy smile appeared on his face — which could only be described as proud.

Right as Liam attempted to slash at his thigh with his wakizashi, Lloyd evaded and instantly grabbed his wrist.

'Well sh—'

Liam couldn't complete his thought as he was hurled a large distance away, crashing and rolling in the dirt face first, before abruptly hitting a tree trunk.

"Ugh," Liam grunted as he picked himself up and cleaned his face. His body slightly ached, but his bones weren't broken, and his skin wasn't bruised. "You need to stop throwing me."

"You little rascal." Lloyd guffawed, storing his blades back inside his ring. "I can't imagine what you'll be like when you awaken all three centers of power."

Liam expressed a slight smile when he thought of the future.

"Speaking of centers of power, I'll make some preparations for tomorrow." Lloyd said, referring to the sea of consciousness. "I'll also need to teach you how to absorb 'Ora' into your body. For now, go home and rest."

Liam nodded with a grateful smile, sheathing his blades and bidding farewell to his teacher.

Instantly, he began to run back home, testing his newfound stamina.

Sprints were also a normal part of Liam's training routine, and he had built a solid amount of stamina during the five months.

Usually, he approached his limits at 15 minutes running full speed, but now…

Liam ran half an hour without sweating at all, already reaching the borders of Ucladd.

'I wonder what the further ranks can allow me to do.' He thought.

Needless to say, his ambition for strength rose.

Liam respectfully greeted the border guards as he made his way into the peasantry, then continued to run until eventually reaching his house.

From the house window, a faint candle light flickered bright and dim.

Heaving a short sigh, Liam creaked the door open and silently walked in. "I'm home."

Eve left her room with a slightly worried expression— which softened once she saw her son in one piece.

Eve had looked significantly better than before.

Her cheekbones were no longer visible, her face lightened up and her figure improved, all due to Liam bringing food from his hunts.

To her, Liam worked as an assistant to the hunters guild, which — in turn for his support — gave him a share of the meat they hunted.

Eve smiled as she thought of her son's hard working and determined personality. She neared his forehead for a kiss.

"Welcome home. I've already made your dinner, but it's gotten slightly cold." She said with a slight sadness under her warm tone.

In truth, she felt somewhat guilty for allowing Liam to work at such a young age. However, in Echoria, the age of adulthood was fifteen, since the core formed at that time.

"Thank you, ma. I'll finish eating then sleep. I have another long day tomorrow." Liam thanked, sitting and wolfing down his food.

The two conversed shortly— with Liam telling Eve about his day — before Liam finished his food, entered his room and put his head to sleep.

The night quickly passed, and the day arrived.