Richard stared at me with his mouth opening and closing a few times without any words coming out, and he just hung his head after a while before looking back up at me.

“Please…please explain further.”

“Well, that’s pretty much it. I am not a human, but instead an Infernal. An entirely different race of people altogether. Not based on the color of my skin or anything but like a true alien race. Well, alien to Earth that is.”

“And you’ve known since you joined the Tutorial?”

“Pretty much. I grew up a human like the everyone else here. It was only recently that I found out I was apparently different.”

“Sigh…And that’s why you can use these…flames?”

“Yep.”

“And your strength?”

“Ah I guess so. I heal a lot faster than the rest of you, so cultivating through the Body Tempering Realm was a bit easier for me.”

“I see…well that’s good.”

“Good?”

“Yeah, it all makes sense now. I always wondered how you were so much stronger than us, but knowing you’re an alien brings it all together. Wait is calling you an alien offensive?”

“No, but I’d prefer Raizen. Actually, I think you guys can start calling me Raz now.”

“Ah yeah sorry about that, I’ll stick to Raz…but I do have a question if you don’t mind.”

“Go for it.”

“That word…Infernal. If I remember correctly, it has demonic ties…,are you from a race of demons…?”

A race of demons eh…I really have no idea…I mean black flames would make sense from that perspective but…are we demons? I have no clue.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I still feel like a human being for the most part, and I’m sure I still act like one, so while I don’t actually know what a demon looks like, I really don’t think I suddenly became one.”

“Ok…honestly Raiz- wait no Raz, this is a lot to take in, but at the same time I know this is the type of secret you only tell someone when you trust them, and I don’t plan on betraying that trust. Though what about everyone else? Do you plan on telling them?”

“Well, everyone saw those flames, so it is not really a secret anymore. I’ll tell them all later.”

“Okay good you’ll tell them all later…I wonder how Irene is going to react…”

“Irene? Why her specifically?”

“Oh! Did I say that out loud?! Hey, forget you heard that okay?!”

Why does he look so frightened? Guess I’ll play along though.

“Sure, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Good…good…”

That was weird. Irene huh. Guess I’ll have to ask her on my own.

Anyway.

“There’s a couple other things I’d like to discuss but they can wait until after training.”

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“Ah yeah, I almost forgot about that. Do you think they are ready for us now?”

“I know they are.”

“Well, alright then. I’ll go gather the others. I’m sure they’ll be fired up based on what happened this morning.”

“Sounds good. See you over there.”

And with that Richard left. I lingered for a few moments as I thought about that conversation. I expected a bigger reaction from Richard about being an Infernal, but after the initial shock he seemed to take it in stride. Of course, he could just be doing a good job of faking it and is slowly planning to run away in the dark of night. Or perhaps he plans on maintaining appearances until the Tutorial is over, before finding moving on at the first chance he gets.

Or, he is shocked, but isn’t throwing away the rapport we’ve built during this Tutorial. I already decided to trust him until he gives me a reason not to, so there’s no real benefit in assuming the worst or thinking about it too deeply.

I told him and I’ll tell the others, then we’ll go from there.

Though he did mention some interesting things.

Demons huh. I have a lot of questions for whoever this Elder is.

And Irene.

The tall female archer.

Yep, I’ll try to talk to her at some point.

Alright, enough dilly dallying lets go train.

The walk to the training grounds was a bit longer due to the size increase of the Outpost, but it was still relatively short.

After a couple minutes of walking leisurely, I made it to the training ground, where the others were also gathered at one side. There already getting ready to start, as I made way over to the Outpost Leader.

“Hello.”

He simply nodded and then I heard a voice in my head.

‘You have revealed a lot. Are you aware of the implications?’

‘Implications? What kind of implications?’

He stared at me with out responding for a few awkward moments before finally speaking again.

‘The Multiverse is a place without mercy. The amount of people that die due to simply knowing things someone else deemed they shouldn’t are too many to count. Being associated with you could bring them harm. Harm they are likely too week to defend against. So, are you aware of the implications?’

‘Well, I am now, but can’t cry over spilled milk. Things have already been revealed and I’ll do my best to adapt to the situation as it arises. If knowing who I am brings them harm, then it’s up to me to be strong enough to make sure those who would do so, pay for it dearly.’

It was for a fleeting moment, but I could have sworn I saw a smile just now.

‘Good. As long as you understand. Your training will be different now. Our sparring sessions have been far too light. Your time here will dwindle fast, and you are far stronger than most of what you will soon face. It will hurt you in the long run if you get used to being stronger than your opponents. Ready your spear.’

I didn’t waste anytime and raised my spear.

One singular moment after my spear was raised, and I was now flat on my back with the sky taking up my entire line of sight.

I didn’t see anything. He was standing there one second, then in the other I felt a punch on my chest and before I knew it, I was on my back.

It hurts.

“Why are you still on the floor? Get up.”

He spoke aloud this time.

I rose to my feet and shook off the pain. This time I wouldn’t wait for him to come to me. Once I steadied myself, I quickly closed the distance between us and lunged out with my spear. He sidestepped my lunge with such grace it felt like a dance, and I was once again on the ground.

“Hm, I see. That is enough for a warmup.”

Right after he said that an immense pressure descended upon me.

“Get up. Fight as if your life depended on it.”

I didn’t second guess his words and pushed my body up once more. This is far from enough to sway me.

Though what happened after that, would’ve made me quit if I was still just a normal college student.

It was nothing short of a beating. A sever and brutal beating.

While I have injured through training before, it was never to this extent.

He slowed his speed down to one I could match, and as expected I never even came close to hitting him, but he didn’t suffer from that challenge. Using just his hands, I somehow ended up with large gashes all over my body. There was a wound running from my neck to my hip and even now at the end of the battle it was bleeding profusely.

I had numerous other cutting wounds, broken bones, and I’m sure plenty of things on the inside that I simply had no time to figure out. But I was still standing.

“Rest for a minute.”

I didn’t have time to think about anything else as I plopped down to the floor. Even doing that hurt. I saw that for a few moments with labored breathes, wincing as the air stung my open wounds, and then something amazing happened.

My wounds…they began to visibly heal.

POV Jrino

I knew their healing factor was the real deal, and I had a feeling it take a jump once he reached the 5th Cycle. It is the first step of cultivation where one’s body will typically go through their biggest change. Though this was something else. It took me years of bitter cultivation to reach the point where my body could heal at that rate.

Life truly isn’t fair.

Though this also means I can push him further.

This is good.