Kai's Household. Afternoon.
"Well going back to our previous topic, I'm sorry for putting you through all that. I will stop trying to send you in the illusion but only until you learn the most basics of combat. I estimate that you'll need a week, therefore I will only give you a week before throwing you back in whether you like it or not."
Although he felt panic, Reo had promised to train him so he wasn't all that nervous.
"You should rest, experiencing death should have given your mental state very severe damage. You may not feel the effects immediately but I'm certain you'll experience it soon."
Reo was also looking at Kai with worried eyes.
"I'm also wary of that. I told you before that dying without your physical body experiencing it would be sometimes a fate worse than death. I wasn't joking. You should tell me if you're feeling fatigued and then go to sleep immediately afterwards."
Kai stayed silent and just sat on the table looking downwards.
"Kai?"
""Kai?""
Reo, Juro, and Akemi all spoke at the same time.
THUD
Kai fell down with a thud. Juro and Akemi immediately inspected Kai's body.
Kai's whole body was sweating, his skin was pale, and he was twitching in pain as he grabbed his chest.
"Haa...haa..."
Kai's breath was ragged as he was struggling against the pain in his mind.
"KAI!"
Juro raised Kai's head from the floor as Akemi also had tears at the corners of her eyes.
"We should get him to bed. If his condition is still bad tomorrow morning, I won't allow him to go to the daily training."
As Juro and Akemi delivered Kai to his bed, they conversed.
"Do we really have to let him experience that illusion? Why don't you just train him in the backyard?"
Juro shook his head at Akemi's suggestion.
"He wouldn't be able to experience the true fear of death. He'd become a coward if he suddenly faces it for the first time."
Akemi sighed.
"Should I teach him my healing magic?"
Akemi's suggestion made Juro ponder for a moment.
"That would definitely be useful for him. Healing magic can heal people but leave scars for deep wounds. And regular healing magic can heal the caster at a fourth of that speed, but your healing magic is special since you learned it from her.'
Juro stopped for a moment before placing a hand on Akemi's shoulder.
"You can heal people twice as fast, the scars sometimes stay but you can heal yourself at the pace of regular healing magic. I bet that he can even train it further when he uses it. The cure that comes along with it may also come in handy."
Akemi's body twitched when he mentioned her but Akemi's expression stayed the same.
"I'll teach him when he finishes the 24-hour cycle inside the jungle."
Juro smiled mischievously.
"I wonder what his face would look like when he realizes that after the 24-hour cycle finishes, it will double to 48 and then to 96."
Akemi sighed.
"The time ratio would increase each time and it would be stuck at four hours. But the difficulty whenever he clears one would double. I don't want him to go to the last cycle though, that last cycle is very dangerous and can interfere directly with the mind."
Juro smiled and carressed Akemi's cheek while looking at her with warm eyes.
"I assure you, unless absolutely necessary, I will not send him in there. Seeing as the illusion came from the relic my father gave me, I have no absolute control over it. Even if he were to make me send him over there, I will stop him."
Akemi smiled and leaned into his hand while holding it within hers. His hand was large and made her feel safe.
"I love you."
Akemi lovingly whispered.
"I love you too."
Juro replied.
"Now then, we better go and let him rest. I assume he'd need the rest of the night before his condition stabilizes."
"I'll bring him some medicinal soup every hour."
"Nn."
Juro and Akemi walked away from Kai's door.
"Kai, are you alright?"
Kai's breathing was beginning to stabilize and some pink began to show on his skin.
"I'm fine... I managed to recover a bit, not too much though."
"These are the side effects of a mental injury, dying and living is normally too much for the human brain. Some even die outright, but most of the time, they just experience weakness for a few hours. Since your mind and soul were strong to begin with, I estimate that in an hour you would be nearly recovered."
"I estimate that I'd be fine in half an hour..."
Kai managed to utter.
"You're treating death too lightly. Your father had expected this and made you go through this illusion to temper your mind and soul. But his means are too slow, I have an even faster way! But I'll teach you how to cultivate mind and soul power with a godly technique along with physical and magical techniques!"
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Kai got excited at his words. Although he had never experienced actual combat, he had just experienced death. Naturally, he'd want to do anything he can to prevent that.
"I'll definitely beat that illusion!"
Kai made a firm resolve.
"Though the illusion will get harder each time you beat it..."
Reo muttered which Kai had missed.
"Hm? Reo, did you say something?"
"Nothing, nothing."
Better not damage his confidence.
"I'm definitely going kill that wolf next time!"
Kai was laughing ominously.
"Guess he has a grudge. I normally would not mind since that's normal but he has a grudge against an illusion..."
"Reo, I'll go meditate to calm myself down."
"Okay, I'll just guard you from up here."
Reo flew to the air as he watched over Kai.
"Now then..."
Kai closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the bed. It was much better than laying down because he could not focus.
The darkness attribute, I have to harness it to make an attack. I've been taught how to use it but never really taught how to launch it away from my body since throwing it doesn't seem to work.
Kai placed his palms together and began to channel his energy.
I also need to try and use my attribute to calm my mind and soul. I heard that darkness can calm the user but when it berserks, the user would go mad.
"Haaa..."
Kai let out a breath as he tried breathing in a pattern.
This should help me calm down a bit, now I should channel the darkness.
Kai sat still for five minutes before black smoke gushed out of his hands and into the surroundings.
Kai's heart began to palipitate slower and slower as it gradually returned to normal. His mind also relaxed made evident by the smile on his face.
"I'm done."
Kai stood up with a huff.
"Reo, I'm alright now. We can get started on those 'godly techniques' you were talking about."
Reo flew down to Kai's height and spun around.
"Hmmmm..."
Reo looked at him unblinkingly.
"W-what is it?"
Kai looked at him nervously.
"You actually calmed your mind and body with your attribute of darkness. That is normal but nobody has ever taught you the method. And the fact that you achieved this in less than ten minutes... You are a genius that barely appears in a thousand years!"
"W-was it that big of a deal...?"
Reo nodded his... head? I guess you really can't say it was his head seeing as his whole body was a head.
"I still have to keep a low profile in front of others so it's best not to show anyone else. I can't hide too much or I'll be looked down upon though."
"Nn. You're correct. Hide it but don't hide too much. The fact that you have dual attributes is one and the fact that you can actually channel your dark attribute this fast is also a fact that must be hidden. To touch the tip of the darkness, you used a few seconds. The one who had a time near yours was that Yoko girl. She took a total of ten minutes, even then, that was really fast. I have only seen a little more than a thousand who have accomplished that. But I have never met a single one who managed to do it in a few seconds."
Reo stopped for a bit then continued.
"The elder saw it but I don't think he'd be too shocked to the point where he would become suspicious. But truth be told, if the fact that you awakened your element in a few seconds were to spread in a huge city where knowledge and information are abundant, they would immediately hunt you down seeing as you could be a threat or give you treasures to gain your favor."
"So hiding these two facts are the most important but I can show a bit of the rest?"
"Yes, exactly."
"So it's okay for me to dominate my peers?"
"Eh?"
"What? Since it's okay to show a little bit of talent then I can supress everyone else right?"
"Wouldn't that cause trouble for your father?"
"True..."
Reo was trying to persuade Kai. If Kai really wanted to supress his peers, it would be really easy for him but it would break his idea of a low profile.
"You're still too naïve. Even if you want to keep a low profile, just by defeating your peers effortlessly; you'd garner attention. If you just tell Akane and nobody else, it would be fine. But, if the other adults find out about it, they would definitely inquire from your father."
Kai had listened closely. Reo was right.
Kai sighed.
"Alright, alright. Just go and teach me those techniques you were talking about. The attack type first!"
Reo shook his head and began to talk.
"Alright, let's go with the basics. Techniques, like the name implies, are used to improve oneself. There are many types of techniques, body enhancement techniques, martial arts techniques, magic techniques, and many more. I'm going to teach you a bit of mind and soul techniques. Afterward, I'll teach you martial arts, body, and magic techniques since you would have already trained your mind by then."
"Alright!"
Kai punched his palm.
"Now, don't get too pumped up. Techniques aren't as fun as you think they are. For now, we can train inside your room but we'll have to use the backyard soon."
"Alright, alright! Let's go already!"
Kai was getting impatient, it was understandable seeing as everyone would be the same when they were told that they'd be able to get powers.
Reo sighed.
"Alright, here we go. First, go back to your bed and sit down."
Kai followed his instructions and sat down cross-legged on the bed.
"Now, close your eyes. I will impart the first mind technique through a mind transfer."
Reo went close to his forehead as he also closed his eyes.
"[Transfer]."
Kai felt a twinge of pain as information flew into his brain.
"...So this is a mind technique...!"
Kai was excited.
"Normally, transferring techniques take more time but with this mind technique, I can instantly transfer it. Though it comes with a slight pain."
Reo hovered around Kai.
"There does not seem to be any problems, I transferred the mind transfer technique to you. You should already know how to use it. You can use it to transmit many things such as memories, techniques, and thoughts. Really useful if you want to keep silent but the downside to it is the proximity, your minds would have to be near each other. The current maximum distance is about one meter."
"So you can only use it if you're close to each other, guess transferring thoughts from far away is still quite difficult."
Kai pondered for a moment.
"Is it possible to enhance this technique?"
"This? No. But you can create a new one. Though it isn't as easy as it sounds. It is possible to send words to a distance but thoughts are really difficult to transfer. Anyway, enough of that, we have to transfer the rest of the techniques to you. After mind techniques are the soul techniques."
Kai nodded and closed his eyes once more.
"Alright, I'm going to transfer the second mind technique. This one is called Mental Pressure, this technique is very strong due to the lack of arts using the mind. This technique can influence others without their knowledge, though it depends on the proficiency and the power of the user's mind. Useful for making people with a weak will submit to you. But this doesn't do anything against people who have a stronger mind, even if they do not possess this technique itself, they can still resist you."
Reo once more went near Kai's forehead.
"[Transfer.]"
"Ugh."
Kai groaned.
"Why does this one hurt more than the previous one?"
Kai inquired to which Reo responded.
"Transfer is a very basic technique. The slight pain you felt was the cause of me transferring it. Mental Pressure is a very formidable technique and would undoubtedly cause you more pain than the previous one. But don't worry, mental techniques hurt but soul techniques hurt more!"
"Eh...?"
"Let's keep going. I'll give you the final mind technique. Telekinesis, people can use their power to grab objects from afar but with Telekinesis, you can use it even without sufficient power and mind techniques can only be countered by other mind techniques or with sufficient power so this is very useful. Nobody can stop you from taking anything."
The process repeated once more.
"...That actually didn't hurt as much as the previous one."
"Because Mental Pressure is a technique for the overlords of this world. Only the supreme have it. The ability to control the weak by their wills, it is truly a frightening power."
Reo hovered around his head once more.
"I haven't done this in awhile. My mental power is drained... I still have enough to transfer the soul techniques though. I've actually been in a state of deep-sleep in this country for at least a century so it'll take my mind awhile before it recovers to its peak."
Kai didn't listen to Reo as he kept his eyes closed.
"With this, I can be strong! I just took a step towards my goal!"
Kai had a large grin on his face.
"Goal?"
Reo inquired.
"I can't tell you right now, but I will tell you in the future."
Kai assured Reo.
How could he let anyone know? Becoming a Monarch of this world built on power. Anyone who hears him would just laugh at his ramblings. Until he has sufficient power to be acknowledged by others, he will go through it all alone.