We reached the power stone goal for today, so Bonus chapter! Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------------
At five in the morning, deep in a forest near Velmora, a young man with brown hair was doing push-ups with a gigantic rock strapped to his back.
"Ninety-eight…"
His arms shook as he pushed himself up again.
"Ninety-nine…"
"One hundred…"
The moment he finished, Issei collapsed flat onto the ground, breathing heavily.
On the tree above him, Adrien sat cross-legged on a thick branch, reading a book.
He glanced down at Issei. "Alright. Let's get going."
Adrien closed the book, jumped down from the branch, and landed lightly on the ground.
Issei slowly pushed himself up onto his knees, still gasping for air. "G-Going where…?"
"Next, we're heading to a city," Adrien said. "It's different from Velmora, but I have some shit I want to do there."
Issei blinked. "Okay…"
Adrien turned and started walking. "Start running."
Issei froze. "WHAT!? I'm running there!?"
"Of course you are," Adrien said without looking back. "If you sprint, it should take you around six hours. We should arrive by around eleven."
"Are you trying to kill me!?"
Adrien stopped and looked back at him with a flat expression.
"You won't be able to unlock your Balance Breaker if your body stays as weak as it is." Adrien pointed toward the road ahead. "Now run, Basenji."
--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>
Adrien floated in the air above Issei as he sprinted alone the road.
"HAAAAAHHH!"
"HAAAAAH!"
They could now see tall buildings in the distance. After another 30 minutes they finally reached Nocthane. Unlike Velmora Nocthane is one of the most advanced cities in the territory. It is a large urban city built to support trade, research, travel, and modern devil life.
Outside the city, two demon guards clad in armor checked both of their IDs before letting them in.
Issei was still breathing heavily and his face was pale, he looked at Adrien. "Hey, can't they notice that you don't leak demonic energy?"
"Are that shit at sensing? I'm surrounding my body with a bit of demonic energy so they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between me and other devils."
Issei nodded as he started looking around the city. "Whoa! It's so different from Velmora!"
Adrien continued walking beside him. "The Underworld has different types of cities and towns. Some places are built like modern human cities, with trains, hotels, offices, stores, and all that normal shit. Then there are old towns like Velmora that keep the medieval fantasy look on purpose. Those places care more about tradition than modern convenience."
As they walked down the wide street, they passed a group of low-ranked devils. The girls in the group were wearing very human-like clothes, though the style was much more revealing.
Issei's eyes followed them immediately, his mouth almost watering. Adrien glanced in the same direction and noticed where he was looking.
"Go talk to them," Adrien said casually.
Issei paused for a second, then shook his head. "No. I can't just go after every girl I see."
"Good. Dragons naturally develop polygamous relationships, but that doesn't mean you should chase anyone who crosses your path. Keep your standards up."
Issei blinked, then looked at Adrien walking beside him. "You're really teaching me about women…"
"I promised I'd change you in one month," Adrien said. "This is one of the paths to boosting your confidence and strength. I'll make sure you leave your virginity behind."
"So what are we going to do here?" Issei asked, still looking around the modern city.
"I want to check out a place that sells items around here," Adrien replied.
"What kind of items?"
"Stolen and smuggled goods."
Issei stopped for a second and looked at him in surprise. "Wait, but aren't you the prince of this territory? Shouldn't you, you know… uphold the law?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Adrien continued walking with his hands in his pockets. "Besides, other clans would never sell me the valuable shit they're hiding. So I go to smugglers instead."
Issei gulped and followed behind Adrien. After walking for a while, Adrien turned into a shady side street. He headed all the way to the end of it, where a set of stairs led down to a metal door. Adrien walked down the stairs and knocked on it.
A few seconds later, footsteps could be heard approaching from the other side, and the light visible through the peephole disappeared.
"Will they recognize you?" Issei asked quietly.
"Yeah," Adrien replied. "This is the face I use whenever I'm sneaking out."
The door opened, and an old man greeted them from inside.
"Sir Valthen! Welcome!"
Adrien walked in, with Issei following right behind him.
The shop was made up of only one room. It was dimly lit, and at the far end stood a long counter, which the old man quickly moved behind. There were no aisles or shelves like in a normal store. Instead, a large rectangular table stood in the middle of the room, with several chairs placed around it.
"How are you doing, old man Orlon?" Adrien asked as he approached the counter.
Orlon gave him a tired smile. "I've seen better days… What can I help you with today?"
Adrien took out a folded list of chemicals and herbs, then handed it to him. The old man adjusted his round glasses and skimmed through the items Adrien wanted. His eyes moved down the paper slowly.
"I have most of these…" Orlon said. "Are you trying to create another potion again?"
"Yeah," Adrien replied casually. "It should work this time. If it does, I'll give you a flask to sell the next time I visit."
The old man's gaze shifted from Adrien to Issei, who was standing awkwardly behind him.
Adrien noticed and added, "That's Basenji. I'm teaching him."
"Is that so?" Orlon asked, looking Issei over. "Are you planning on retiring?"
"Nah," Adrien said. "He'll just help me with the shit I do."
"Ho-ho-ho, you're in for a long life, my friend," Orlon said to Issei with a quiet chuckle.
After Adrien got what he needed, he left the store with Issei.
A few minutes later, the old man placed several sealed packets, small glass bottles, and bundles of herbs on the counter.
Adrien checked everything quickly, paid him, then stored the items away.
With that, Adrien turned and walked toward the door. Issei quickly followed behind him, throwing one last nervous glance at Orlon before stepping back out into the city.
--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>
Issei threw a punch. Adrien dodged, stepped in between his legs, and threw him over his back. Issei slammed into the ground again. He was breathing heavily now, and his whole body was covered in bruises and injuries.
"Again," Adrien said.
"Guh…" Issei slowly forced himself back to his feet. His legs were shaking, and he looked like he could faint at any moment.
Adrien had been training him in hand-to-hand combat for nearly five hours straight.
With a strained shout, Issei attacked again, throwing a high kick at Adrien's head. Adrien raised his arm to block it, but at the last second, Issei suddenly lowered the kick and changed the angle, aiming for Adrien's waist instead.
Adrien immediately reacted. He twisted his body at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the blow, then used the momentum of his movement to drive a kick straight into Issei's gut.
"Gah—!"
Issei coughed up blood and was sent flying backward. His body crashed into a tree, struck the trunk hard, then slid down it before collapsing onto the ground, completely unconscious.
Adrien approached him, lifted him with ease, and placed him over his shoulder. A second later, he vanished from the makeshift training ground and appeared inside the hotel room they had rented.
He threw Issei onto the bed without healing him.
Issei was completely out cold, his body battered from the hours of training. Adrien looked at him for a moment, then turned away. He had no intention of healing him. If Issei wanted to grow stronger, his body needed to become more resilient, and the fastest way to do that was to push it past its limits, let it recover naturally, then repeat the process again.
That was how Adrien had trained his own body when he was a kid.
He left the room and closed the door behind him. As he walked down the hallway, a maid passed by, pushing a food trolley.
Adrien glanced at the covered plates. "What's on the menu today?"
The maid stopped politely and gave him a small bow. "For today, we have boar steak, crimson drake ribs, and mushroom stew."
"I'll have one of each, thank you. Take them to room 807"
Adrien placed three golden crowns on her trolley. The maid's eyes widened slightly, two crowns was far more than the cost of the food. It was a huge tip.
"Y-Yes, sir. Right away," she said, quickly bowing again.
Adrien gave her a small nod and continued walking down the hallway, leaving the maid staring at the coins in disbelief.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Yo, How are yall. So my finals are soon so I'll be dropping less, I'll be dropping one chapter per day instead of two and when we reach power stone goals I'll also drop bonus chapters.
After I'm done with the exams I'll drop more.