Chapter 95 - Willpower

At first, Zelos didn’t do anything; he just cleaned himself in Reina’s office and then rested and ate when he was hungry. When he had to, he went to look after Nightstorm and soon he would return to the office.

Now and then, Reina would open her eyes and raise her eyebrows while studying Zelos without saying a thing, but soon, she would return to her meditation. Things stayed like that for two days until she decided to leave and eat something outside. Zelos followed her.

The same happened several times until she felt that she had postponed too much a well-deserved bath and she finally broke her silence when Zelos entered the bathroom with her.

“... What do you think you are doing?”

“I am annoying you. You need a taste of your medicine.”

“Do you know why I ignored you?”

“To test me, right? Well, I don’t care anymore. I am in a hurry, so I will force you to fight me for real.”

“You are half right, I needed to test your willpower, but the other half is because I didn’t agree to this. Liry sent a letter asking me to train you, and she revealed her plan, but I never said yes.”

“Not my problem.”

“... Alright, alright. You win this time around. Let’s stop with this nonsense. I will train you since you forced me to lose my cool for a moment. Insist on this folly anymore and then we will truly become enemies.”

After considering his options, Zelos decided not to go overboard with his attempt to annoy Reina. He recognized that while she had caused him trouble, it wasn’t intentional malice, just a misunderstanding or perhaps a lapse in judgment.

Reina, on her part, realized the trouble she had caused Zelos and decided to make amends for it. She approached him, acknowledging her mistake. Moreover, Zelos was growing tired of the nonsensical games. He had come to realize that such petty actions didn’t serve any purpose other than creating unnecessary tension and discord. He valued peace and cooperation over petty conflicts.

So, instead of escalating the situation, Zelos graciously accepted Reina’s apology. He chose to move forward, putting the incident behind them and focusing on more important matters. Their relationship should improve as a result.

Zelos nodded and then left Reina’s house. When he did that, he was able to see an army of her underlings ready to strike him if he had gone too far with his idea of retribution. In the end, he ignored them and then went to clean himself in the river before heading to where he left Nightstorm.

“You are surprisingly calm, and this place is much more annoying than I remember, and it is getting on my nerves.”

Nightstorm grunted weakly, and he looked like he was in a good mood. That only happens when he usually has several apples… he didn’t think that someone would give apples to his horse for no reason, but the natives were people who liked nature and animals by that extension. 

On the other hand, they hated humans and their society and everything that same society brings. Those are easy to spot: greed, conflict, and destruction. One might say that progress can’t be done without that, but it didn’t mean that the natives had to like it… at least they weren’t trying to force their ways on others and maybe that was why they kept to themselves as much as possible.

“Follow me.”

Reina said and then returned to her office, which could be called a meditation chamber. This time around, Zelos didn’t find many people looking at him annoyed. After they sat down, she stayed quiet for a while and then sighed.

“First of all, I would like to apologize. I knew that you would come around this time, and I told everyone to ignore you if they met you. Still, they didn’t recognize you since you had become taller and physically stronger.”

“It would be weird if I didn’t grow, considering how much I usually eat.”

Although Zelos usually eats a lot in order to replenish the nutrients, his body uses it to repair itself. Ultimately, he was always improving his body whenever that process occurred. For combat, his trait was weak, but in the very long run, it had a lot of potential since it could make his body stronger a bit at a time and tougher than well. It was rare nowadays for him to crack his bones during training sessions and that happened all the time in the past.

“Although I was against the idea of training someone from outside, I considered testing you once again. I still feel like I owe you guys a bit for the last time, after all. Another reason that I wanted to test you is because teaching you would be a waste of time if you didn’t have certain qualities.”

“Such as?”

“Calmness, full control over one’s mind, and the capacity to always do what is necessary and nothing else. I heard that you started a business. That is why I am not sure you have those qualities.”

“So, you would only be able to teach me to fight like you if I weren’t greedy, impulsive, full of anger. Well, too bad, I am all that and then some.”

“That is why we will need to test your willpower here. You will have to at least be able to meditate for one week here if you have any hopes of learning what I can do.”

“I can see that your moves don’t have any wasted movement on them, but isn’t your fighting style like that because your trait allows you to find the best path to defeat the enemy or something like that?”

“Not exactly. I won’t explain how my traits work, but fighting like that is because I can keep my head cool and remain focused on the surroundings completely. The more you do that, the more you will be attuned to danger and how to avoid it the best way possible.”

Zelos was accustomed to keeping his cool during battles. His training had honed his combat skills, allowing him to maintain, to some extent, a calm demeanor even in the midst of chaos. However, learning to improve that from Reina was a different story altogether.

Zelos’s approach to fighting was chaotic and unpredictable. He favored unorthodox tactics and seemed to revel in the chaos of battle. While Zelos could handle himself in a fight, he found it difficult to follow the safest paths.

What made matters worse was that Zelos didn’t worry about wounds during combat. His unique abilities allowed him to heal from injuries rapidly, so he often threw himself into fights without concern for his own safety. However, this lack of concern made it harder for him to focus on the task at hand.

“I know how you fight, so this can be an interesting experiment, to say the least.”

Zelos didn’t like the phrasing, but he understood her point and agreed to it. There is truth in that while using a sword, you hold it with your hands and use the strength of your arms. You can make the swing faster and more powerful by putting the weight of your back, and even the stance of your legs can help with that.

Perhaps Zelos could sharpen his fighting style following the same logic. Moreover, it was high time for him to improve his Resolve. He needed to increase his mana to make his gauntlet a more useful tool. It was embarrassing that it could barely endure a single attack.

Without wasting time, Zelos sat down and then crossed his legs and then tried to clear his mind. He already did that exercise many times, but not for long enough to improve his Resolve. Still, he had nothing better, so he soon broke his record. Things started to become a bit annoying around six hours. He needed to water the plants, and then he wondered if he wouldn’t pass out without drinking water and if he would mess up his body by not taking a dump for a week as well.

Zelos endured that, but soon, other things started to pile up. The thirst, the hunger, the desire to sleep… enduring all that at the same time was about to increase his willpower, but for how long would he have to keep increasing it until his body could ignore those physiological needs?

In the end, Zelos was able to hold out for a full day before he was forced to take a break and do everything that he needed to do.

“You endured for longer than I expected.”

“How can I endure this for one week nonstop? The human body needs water, food, and sleep, and it can’t last for a full week without all that.”

“You will have to find a solution for that, then.”

Zelos soon had an idea of what he could do to meet Reina’s expectations. However, he wasn’t entirely sure if it was the answer she wanted. The idea of sitting still and quiet for such an extended period was quite challenging.

Despite his uncertainty, Zelos decided to insist on attempting the task without any assistance. He knew that relying on external aids would defeat the purpose of the exercise. Reina wanted him to delve deep within himself, to find inner peace and strength through sheer willpower and discipline.

Determined to prove himself, Zelos found a secluded spot where he wouldn’t be disturbed. He settled into a comfortable position, closed his eyes, and began to meditate once more. The first few hours were no longer the hardest. His mind didn’t wander incessantly, at least for the first twelve hours.

In the end, Zelos was forced to take another break after 36 hours, and he couldn’t help but be moody thanks to it. His willpower increased by three points in those two sessions, though.

Health: 2080/2080

Magic: 730/730

Stamina: 1960/1960

Strength: 102

Vigor:106

Precision: 84

Wisdom: 20

Willpower: 53

Traits: 

Regeneration Lv 98