The next morning, Ryan practiced jogging, sit-ups, and push-ups as usual. Now all those exercises have become a habit for him. After physical training, he will take a shower and then meditate to strengthen his mana core, and only after that will he have breakfast.

Fenrir had already left while Ryan was meditating. He was hungry, he said.

After breakfast in his room, Prabin immediately came to pick him up and took him to the special training ground. Ryan didn't know exactly what the special training ground was for or who it was for.

"Prabin, can I have lunch or dinner with the other students later?" Ryan asked Prabin.

"Of course, but for you, I will deliver lunch every day so it won't disturb your training, and also lunch for your instructor," Prabin replied while walking lightly. His footsteps were completely silent.

Ryan nodded.

"Do you know who the earth element instructor is for me?" Ryan asked again.

"Yes. Lady Terra will be the instructor for the earth element," Prabin replied.

"Hmm... Terra? Seems like I've heard that name before," Ryan muttered while stroking his chin.

"She is a goddess. Earth goddess," Prabin explained with a smile.

Ryan was surprised. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"We have arrived. Please check for yourself," he replied again and immediately walked back in the direction they had just come from.

Ryan stared at the very large and seemingly heavy door in front of him. He was somewhat puzzled, 'How can I open the door?'

He tried to knock on the door loudly. Suddenly, the door opened and Ryan looked inside with amazement.

There is a meadow as far as the eye can see. He then entered and saw even some large trees and the sound of a babbling river, not far from where he was now.

'Huh... How could such a vast place be inside a room?' Ryan was astonished.

He looked around in confusion and walked further away from the door.

'Is it a dimensional space? Or the door itself a portal?'

When he approached the riverbank, he saw a woman in her thirties with brownish-green hair and light brown skin, wearing a white tunic, dipping her hands into the river. The fish gathered around her hands as if they all wanted to be caressed.

"You arrived on time," the woman said without turning to Ryan.

Ryan hesitated for a moment and then approached the woman. After getting a bit closer, he asked, "Excuse me. Are you Terra... ah sorry, Lady Terra?"

"Of course. Who else?" the woman replied casually.

Ryan was just staring at the woman who was still playing with the fish. Is she really Terra? Earth Goddess from Ancient Rome?

"Sit here," said Terra, raising her hand from the river and pointing to a spot beside her.

Ryan sat next to her without saying much, even though he actually had many questions. His experience with Anubis left him a bit traumatized.

"What do you feel with the ground you are sitting on right now?" asked Terra.

Ryan frowned and, confused, tried to feel the ground he was sitting on. "It doesn't feel that hard, a bit wet," Ryan replied hesitantly.

"Close your eyes and feel it again," said Terra with a slight smile. Her bright green eyes observed Ryan. Ryan felt a bit nervous being watched by a goddess.

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He immediately closed his eyes and tried to focus and calm his mind. He began to feel a sense of calm flowing into his body through the ground he was sitting on.

Ryan slightly tilted his head. The ground beneath him felt different from what he usually experienced. Previously, he always thought that the ground he walked on was an inanimate object.

"The land... feels alive..." Ryan murmured as he opened his eyes.

Terra smiled broadly. "Very good. Now try to imagine that you take energy from the ground and put it into your body."

Ryan nodded and closed his eyes again. He visualized that there was a flow of energy from the ground entering his body. After a while, he truly felt a foreign energy entering his body. He flinched slightly but did not open his eyes. He tried to absorb the energy.

"Very good," said Terra, clapping her hands together in front of her chest. "Now open your eyes and place your palms on the ground."

Ryan opened his eyes and did what Terra asked.

"No, not really on the ground. Raise it a little. About three handbreadths from the ground." Terra demonstrated.

Ryan did it.

"Try to visualize you taking energy from the ground through your hands," said Terra.

Ryan tried it, once or twice without success. On the third attempt, he succeeded in drawing energy from the ground through his hands.

Terra laughed and said, "It turns out you're not only very handsome, but you're also talented."

Ryan choked on his own saliva. Terra laughed even more and teased Ryan again, "You're so cute!"

Ryan's ears turned red, but he didn't dare say anything.

'Damn. The gods and goddesses have a habit of teasing me,' he thought to himself.

Fortunately, Terra didn't read Ryan's mind, even though she surely could have. Terra immediately continued with what she was trying to teach, "Now imagine you are pulling the earth into a round shape, into your hands."

Ryan tried to do it. He immediately succeeded in pulling the soil, but its shape was all over the place. A few times he tried, the shape of the soil he took from that position was always not round.

Terra asked Ryan to keep trying until he could catch it in a round shape, and patiently, she waited for Ryan while playing with the plants and animals in the meadow.

***

Ryan walked into the dining hall. Along the way, many students smiled at him, both boys and girls. The Arena of The Elements is one of the places where the candidates for The Guardians of Time receive their education before becoming The Guardians, or these students can be referred to as Initiates.

Ryan responded to their smiles and greetings politely. However, until he finished eating, none of the students dared to talk to him. He sat alone.

While eating, he listened to the students' conversation. They were discussing the events in Al-Qusayr and also in Tokyo. They enthusiastically recounted every Guardian they knew while watching the videos of the events in Tokyo.

"Themes was there too! He looks really cool with his sword."

"Reny was also there, she really looked elegant with her bow."

"How much longer can we be like them? I can't wait to wear that cool blue robes."

"And the beams of light they shot, especially the golden ones, were really cool. The demons immediately turned to ash."

"We haven't reached the point of learning to unleash that golden divine power yet, have we? When will we be able to?"

The students were really excited to talk about the Guardians. They laughed together while reading the netizens' comments on those videos.

"Look, someone commented, 'Miss beautiful in a blue dress, my heart is instantly captivated by you. May I ask you to marry me?'"

The other students laughed.

Ryan smiled along with the cheerful chatter of the students. But in his heart, it felt bitter. If they face enemies as strong as Beelzebub, will they still be able to survive?

When his dinner was halfway done, a male student around twenty years old approached him. Behind him, several male students followed. The male student has red hair and a slim yet muscular build.

The other students eating around the table where Ryan was sitting saw the red-haired boy approaching Ryan and started whispering. Ryan, who had experienced school life before, quickly understood that the boy approaching him was a thug.

"Hi, how are you? Your name is Ryan, right? My name is Rohan." The male student greeted Ryan. "They who are behind me are my subordinates."

Ryan looked at Rohan and replied to his greeting. "Hi, Rohan. Nice to meet you."

Rohan grinned and sat in the chair in front of Ryan.

"I will get straight to business. Would you like to join me?" asked Rohan.

"Joining you in what?" Ryan asked somewhat confusedly.

"Of course, become my subordinate," said Rohan while laughing and hitting the table quite hard. His subordinates behind him also laughed.

Ryan looked at Rohan calmly and replied, "Sorry, but I can't."

Rohan, upon hearing that, immediately slammed the table again, this time harder. "Why? You think you're a tough guy? You think that because you are The Chosen One, you don't want to join us?"

Ryan shook his head. "I just can't."

Rohan got up from his seat in anger, the chair he had just been sitting on almost thrown from its place.

"You will know the consequences for rejecting my offer!" Rohan shouted as he left the dining hall, followed by his subordinates.

Ryan sighed. He can't just make friends. He was more afraid that his friends would also be targeted by the Time Weaver and got hurt.