The rest of the training went by in a flash. He learned so many things about combat from the ground up. Stances, how to read situations, and which attacks were most effective in various different scenarios. He found that he excelled in using all kinds of weapons, even without the usage of his skills. Once his foundations were properly established, Juno even went through the trouble of helping him learn how to integrate his skills into his fighting style.

She also taught him a few skills that would be necessary for him to optimize himself. Mana Cloak was a versatile skill that allowed him to cover his own body in mana for various reasons, as well as any of the weapons he wielded. Other than that, he learned Bullet Barrage and Sniper.

She couldn’t teach him how to use his War God’s Instincts precisely, or the Point Warp, but she left him with some tips on how to best incorporate them into his style. Once everything was said and done, he felt like an entirely new person. As if he was properly prepared for the Tower now.

“You’ve completed the first level of training. Go finish a few floors and send me a message when you’ve developed your first technique.”

“I’ve already made skills on my own though?”

“No, I said a technique. Skills are ultimately the System’s power. You can learn it manually, but that’s a hassle. Techniques are more personal, there are no shortcuts with them. For instance,” she took in a deep breath and centered herself within the void. Then, after fixing her gaze on the vast nothingness before her, she punched the air and stepped into it. It was underwhelming for a moment, but a sudden gust of wind threatened to throw him off of his feet as countless after images of her flashed around her. They all converged on the point where she punched, but it didn’t actually look like she did anything special. He couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around how she pulled such a thing off, especially without the help of the System.

“That was the Rainstorm.”

He furrowed his brows. Honestly, he was confused. What was the point in differentiating between skills and techniques? Was there any actual reason, or was this world just convoluted and poorly designed?

“Will I be able to learn that technique?”

“Of course, little brother. You can learn anything I can do. You’d need to learn Fluidity first so you can stream all of the movements together. After that it’s just repetition until it’s something you can do in your sleep. Focus on creating a technique that works for you right now.”

“Understood. Thank you, eldest sister.”

“There’s no need to thank me! This is what family is for, is it not?” She laughed deeply as she opened up the exit for the both of them.

He saw the training grounds on the other side of the portal and was surprised to see that the sun was still out.

“How many days have we been training?”

“Days? It’s been a handful of hours out there. If you count by the hours we spent here, I guess it’s been a few months? It’s hard to keep track and the time conversion is never exact.”

“So it’s a hyperbolic time chamber?”

“Sure, whatever that is.”

A few months is a long time… It didn’t feel that long at all. I didn’t get hungry or sleepy. How human am I really?

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“Before we go through, I need you to understand something, little brother. You’re going to become a key figure in a lot of political matters that are bigger than the two of us. Pure power isn’t enough to make it in this world, even as a tyrant. You have good summons, but you need to make allies. I’ll always support you when you fall, but it’s imperative that you’re able to stand on your own two feet. It took me centuries to make the Empire what it is today, so don’t feel rushed, but you need to learn who you can and cannot trust in this Tower. Even Mother isn’t an infallible existence in this hell hole. Creatures greater than her have perished before. Eventually, a new upstart will attempt to take her spot here the same way she did the rulers before her. That’s one of the unavoidable cycles of life. It’s only a matter of time until the power is taken by those with vast ambitions, and you’ve entered the fray at a very pivotal time. Be careful not to let anyone use you in a way that you haven’t accounted for.”

He nodded. She told him some stuff he was already starting to understand on his own, but the extra information was something he was grateful for. “Thank you again for everything.” He wrapped his arms around her in a quick embrace. He could tell she was surprised by how she jumped slightly within her skin, but she returned the hug, albeit awkwardly.

After he was satisfied, he let go and left through the portal. “Oh, keep an eye on that goblin! She’s a lot more than she seems!”

Her last words were unheard by Amon since he’d already left through the portal, but she didn’t bother repeating it. She closed the portal behind him and went about her business.

Once he was back on the second floor, Amon was greeted by a comforting sight. Jack had created a hammock for himself where he was currently relaxing and Blue was sparring against an equally large kitsune.

I should summon more animals for Blue.

Neither of those activities were what brought him comfort to watch. Seru was standing in the middle of the training grounds with her blade in hand, waiting for an opponent to step up to her. From what he could gather from a glance, she’d defeated quite a few players and summons alike, which made them apprehensive in approaching her for a battle. She was a dominating force no matter where she was despite being such a small goblin.

It didn’t take long for her to pry her eyes from the training once he’d made his appearance.

“Lord Amon!” she exclaimed as she ran over to him, only to fall to her knee once she was before him. How did your training go?

Amazingly, Seru. What’s going on here?

Well, Jack refuses to fight anyone but the strongest here. The trainer won’t fight him, and he said the next strongest was me. They didn’t take too kindly to that, so they’ve been trying to prove that they’re not inferior to a goblin.

Fruitlessly. I’m proud of you. Did you at least learn anything from the trainer?

No, not really.

Don’t worry, let’s go home and do some real training.

The sight was probably frustrating for other players to see. Amon had received special treatment. He was taken away by Juno herself and they probably thought that he wasn’t too deserving of such an honor. He could tell from the venomous glares he was receiving that people felt many different ways about him coming out of nowhere and receiving the submission of the goblin that had been terrorizing the training field.

Isn’t this normally the time for a power check? I wonder if any of them think I’m only strong because of my summons.

As if it were on cue, someone stepped up with a shrug and addressed the rest of the trainees. “Those from powerful families are born with the resources to obtain powerful aides. There’s no use in comparing ourselves to someone that relies on their summons.”

He saw Seru’s hand tighten on the hilt of her blade. She didn’t rise from her knee, but he could tell that her restraint wasn’t iron clad.

Do you wish for me to take their tongue, Lord Amon?

He mulled over the question. He was an Alucard, so he couldn’t just let someone disrespect him so openly. Juno wouldn’t approve of him letting this slide, even if she had just told him to be careful. Even if she would’ve disapproved, he probably would’ve done something regardless. He had to stay true to his character, after all!

The only question was what would be the absolute coolest thing he could possibly do here?

I’ll handle it, Seru.

He stepped forward and lowered the hood of his cloak so that his face could be seen clearly. His once brown eyes had slowly grown more and more lavender over time, but this wasn’t something he was aware of. He looked over all of those present with a dead look on his face before raising a hand towards the man that had spoken lowly of him.

A chunk of Fyn stabbed itself into the ground before the man, which caused him to laugh. “See? He can’t even land a shot on h–”

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence due to his head and neck going their separate ways. Amon had used his marked the chunk of Fyn with Point Warp and teleported to it. In one swift movement, he covered his arm with a sharp veil of mana and swung it to behead the man. His head rolled on the ground and his neck gushed blood for dramatic effect.

“Speak my name with caution.” was all he said before walking off without even bothering to clean up his mess. Let’s go. Was all he said to his summons, who all stopped what they were doing to follow him.

Jack was probably the coolest of his summons, since he jumped off of the hammock softly and shoved his hands into his pockets. He kept his gaze forward and low, adding to the icy air around him. Blue fell into step behind Amon, wagging his tail softly.

Seru walked closely beside him, but she took the time to turn around and stick her tongue out at all of those watching in awe before refocusing her attention on Amon.

Yeah, that was cool as shit. He wanted to smile to himself, but he’d save that for when he was in private.