Rygar and Eris crossed the forest with the familiarity of those who already knew every tree, every rise of the terrain, every bend in the path.
The dense green, interwoven with ancient branches and roots, was no longer an obstacle — it was almost an informal training ground.
In the past few months, they had traveled that route countless times, most often just the two of them.
Ghislaine, now in the final months of her pregnancy, no longer went to the Combat Temple.
Verdia, for her part, was increasingly absorbed in her magical research and training, leaving only the pair to go daily to the Temple.
It was in this context that a small tradition was born between Rygar and Eris.
A race.
But as with everything between them, even in the simplest moments there was passion and fire.
The rules were simple: Rygar used only his raw physical strength, without any reinforcement from Touki or Magic, while Eris went all out — no restrictions.
It wasn't a fair competition, but that was precisely the point.
Rygar's pure physical strength had already transcended what was considered abnormal.
His strength was better described as monstrous. Literally.
Even without using Magic or Touki, he was already capable of competing with dragons in terms of pure muscle power.
This was due mainly to his innate talent — a talent whose true origin was still unknown to him, but which was directly linked to the Laplace Factor.
But, also unknown to Rygar, it was because he had so heavily stimulated his physical body in his youth that he had become so strong.
Since childhood, Rygar had been a born warrior.
The days passed between exercises, stretches, intense body training and the constant practice of martial arts. Every cell in his body had been shaped for combat.
And even after beginning to rely more on Touki in the Sword Sanctuary, he never abandoned physical training.
After all, at that time, he had challenged Eris to defeat him without using Touki, so he had to train without it to keep up with her pace.
This relentless discipline resulted in a body that reached extreme levels of power, even among those marked by the Laplace Factor.
Ornthorn was a great example; he also carried the Laplace Factor.
He was considered a prodigy among warriors, and his pure physical strength was only at the lower King level — and he had already reached his peak.
Rygar, at only eighteen years old, had long since surpassed him. His Laplace Factor was stronger than Ornthorn's, of course, but the constant stimulation had also been essential.
Even without knowing the roots of his demonic strength, Rygar had ways to measure it.
Based on tests carried out during training, his raw physical strength was comparable to that of a North Emperor in the initial stages. An impressive feat.
A single casual punch from him could pulverize a stone wall.
His muscles, tensed to the limit, propelled him at such absurd speeds that he was like an ambulatory sports car, only faster and infinitely more versatile.
This exorbitant physical strength, combined with his God-level Touki control, placed him indisputably at the top of the world.
Even without magic, without spells, just with body and spirit, he was confident he could face — and win against — most God-level opponents.
Gall Farion and Reida Reia were his benchmarks.
Both still alive in his memory as masters he had already surpassed.
Even if the two joined forces against him today, Rygar would still win. Only a being like Orsted could represent a real challenge.
But if it were without using Touki, he would still lose a battle against Eris.
It wasn't just a comparison of brute strength; it was more about the technical nature of the abilities Eris could employ.
Touki was greater than force. It was mana control, it was ancestral martial knowledge condensed in techniques like the Longsword of Light or the Flow.
Techniques like the Wild Dash required absolute control over one's mana, fired in tiny, directed, and continuous bursts to propel the body.
Rygar could rely on his monstrous legs and steel lungs, but without Touki, he couldn't use techniques that transcended logic and physics.
Of course, if Rygar used Touki, Eris couldn't react to a single blow in a fight.
Eris, over the last few years — especially during the war against Millis — had blossomed as a combatant.
Ranked fourth among the Gaia's Twelve Kings, Eris was a warrior feared across the Continent and beyond.
She had beaten Clint several times in training, and she was an Emperor-level warrior — fierce, relentless.
In the current race, she held a slight advantage.
She was becoming ever more skilled with the Wild Dash.
Rygar strained, but still kept pace, maintaining the pressure, determined to win even by the narrowest margin.
At that moment, among trees and bushes, small animals hid in terror at the sound of the violent strides.
The forest trembled lightly with the impact of Rygar's feet, while Eris's red silhouette slid between branches and leaves, leaping over rocks and roots like a hunting she-wolf.
Both ran with smiles on their faces. It was indeed a contest — but also a game between two warriors who knew each other's bodies as well as their own.
Every curve of the path was a chance to overtake, every obstacle a test of reflexes and instinct.
And then, after one more curve, among the thick trunks, the silhouette of the Combat Temple appeared. Imposing.
Eris ended up winning by a hair.
Realizing this, she stopped, spun on her heels, and began hopping for joy, bouncing like a child who had just won a sweet.
"I won! Hehehee!" she exclaimed, with a broad smile and eyes shining with satisfaction.
Rygar just laughed and, with a serene and confident look, replied:
"All right, you won here... but I won last night."
Saying that, he continued walking with loftiness, as if that subtle provocation was all he needed to feel victorious.
Eris's cheeks puffed with discontent, tinged by a light blush. She ran to catch up with him, lightly tapping his arm with her clenched fists.
"How am I supposed to win at that?! You never get tired!" she complained, in a tone between frustration and embarrassment.
Rygar just let out a soft laugh, unperturbed.
As they approached the Combat Temple, the metallic sounds of clashing swords and training shouts echoed through the air.
The place was buzzing with energy. Several warriors had already arrived and were training vigorously. Wherever Rygar and Eris passed, those present briefly halted their training to greet them with respect.
It was then that a figure appeared as a blur atop a nearby rock. It was Taes. Beside him, almost simultaneously, appeared Kilian, standing with impeccable posture.
"Rygar! We're about to depart!" announced Taes, approaching with agile steps.
Kilian stepped forward and greeted them formally. He stood straight and bent slightly.
"Your Majesty Rygar. Lady Eris." he said in a respectful tone.
Rygar had long since given up trying to make him stop these formalities. It was just part of Kilian's personality.
He had led the tribes of the Great Forest while still very young, and that had made him naturally serious and rigid. He didn't intend to change that now, even in peacetime.
Taes, on the other hand, ignored any ceremony. With his typical informality, he got straight to the point:
"We received a message from the Hobbit Territory via the Magic Letter. There are suspicious movements of Sea Beasts on the coast. And also reports of sightings of the people of the Sea Race. Kilian and I will investigate."
Rygar furrowed his brows.
"The Sea Race..." he murmured, thoughtful.
He had always wanted to investigate this mysterious race more deeply, but time and his obligations made that impossible for now.
It was, however, one of Verdia's dreams to explore the ocean depths. Now that she knew it was possible thanks to Rygar's advances, she was not in such a hurry.
Even so, strange movements should never be ignored.
Eris grumbled:
"But you haven't even fought Jino yet! He really wanted to face you yesterday!"
Taes sighed, with a wry smile.
"All right... well, he'll have to wait until I return. It shouldn't take more than two or three months."
Rygar nodded.
"Fine. Remember to activate the Vivre Stone if you think you're in danger."
Taes took from his pocket a perfectly round stone with magical engravings, gleaming in the daylight.
"Here it is!" he declared.
The Vivre Stone was a special artifact, similar to the Magic Letter device, but with a different function: when activated, it alerted Rygar instantly to the location of whoever carried it.
He could create only about ten of these stones at a time, and he had given one to each of the people closest to him, to be used in extreme-risk situations.
Kilian spoke, in a slightly hesitant tone:
"Your Majesty, I don't know how much you trust that boy Jino... but I believe he will be a great force in the Kingdom of Gaia in the future. Perhaps the greatest, except for Your Majesty."
Rygar waved his hand nonchalantly, well aware of Kilian's ever-cautious nature.
"Don't worry, Kilian. Jino is a simple boy when it comes to what he wants. He's not the calculating type. He's truly talented, but that's a good thing, not a bad one."
Rygar's words seemed to dissipate some of the tension on Kilian's face, who just nodded, satisfied with his leader's confidence.
Rygar gave the two a final look and said:
"Be careful on your mission."
With no further words, Taes and Kilian became blurs in the air, using the Wild Dash to speed off toward their new mission.
Just ahead, Eris and Rygar spotted a small red dragon, about two meters long.
The creature, upon noticing the two approaching, raised its head, observed them for a brief moment, then ran with agility to a higher rocky ledge, flapped its wings and launched into a graceful flight.
The two remained impassive. Eris, her eyes still tracking the dragon in the sky, commented:
"That was Ornthorn's dragon, Tar?"
Rygar nodded slowly, still watching the direction in which the dragon had disappeared.
"It was him..."
Immediately afterward, he turned to Eris and said, in a firm voice:
"Eris, go to the Main Arena first. I'll check if Aisha is in the Magic Tower and bring her. Gather Jino and Nina there."
Eris nodded briefly, and without another word went ahead, taking the path that led directly to the arenas.
Rygar, for his part, vanished in the blink of an eye, as if he had dissolved into the air.
Despite the focus he maintained on his physical growth and combat technique, Rygar also devoted part of his time to magical practice, even within the Combat Temple itself.
He had set himself an extremely ambitious goal: to make his chantless spell casting speed as fast as his own reaction time, which was already at an almost unattainable level.
In other words, he wanted to cast spells with the same naturalness and fluidity with which he wielded his sword.
He aimed to achieve this for several reasons.
One was that he realized that, no matter how much he trained daily, perfecting his swordsmanship, physical strength and combat techniques, he felt he was approaching a limit.
A limit that, however high, was still below the level of the Dragon God, Orsted.
He knew — he felt in his bones — that if Orsted decided to attack him again, perhaps the next day, he still wouldn't be ready.
Even if he continued to hone his swordsmanship for years, maybe decades, that wouldn't be enough.
Orsted's technique was the most refined and perfect in the world. His strength, his speed, his magic — everything about him was at the absolute pinnacle.
To reach such a level with conventional training, Rygar calculated it would take decades or even centuries. And even then, he might never truly equal him.
Furthermore, there was the growing risk of Orsted simply deciding to kill him for becoming too strong.
After all, that seemed to be exactly his plan last time. It was something Verdia said that made him reconsider.
Before that, the Dragon God seemed to think Rygar was an apostle of Hitogami, but it was only after Verdia mentioned her daughter with Rygar that he really gave up.
He couldn't decipher exactly what was going on in the mind of Eidar's assassin, but it was a hidden motive that Rygar still didn't fully understand.
And he certainly couldn't trust it.
Faced with this, Rygar saw two viable paths to reach the top more quickly and effectively: magical advancement and the strategic use of magical items.
In the realm of magic, Rygar had a unique advantage. His knowledge from another world granted him a different perspective.
He conceptualized invincible spells, definitive magical concepts, many of which were absurdly complex and difficult to execute — but not impossible.
Moreover, his experience in the war against Millis had shown him, beyond doubt, the power that a well-used magical item could achieve.
Galgard's armor, for example, increased physical and defensive power to extraordinary levels. The fanatical dagger, capable of ignoring Touki and cutting flesh without restriction.
The Hazywalker cloak, which hid from all senses.
Even the Seven Magic Towers of Milishion were far more troublesome than he had expected.
For this reason, Rygar now also dedicated himself to the creation and refinement of spells and magical items.
Verdia was his main ally in this field, but Aisha, with her innate genius, also played an important role.
As he pondered all this, his steps led him to the imposing Magic Tower of the Combat Temple.
As he had suspected, Aisha was there, absorbed in her notes and experiments.
-----
Hello! If you want to support my writing, check out my subscription P@treon
By subscribing, you will get access to up to 20 advanced chapters of the Webnovel and polls to decide various things about the story.
Your support will encourage me to continue writing more chapters! Check it out here: pa treon.com/DaoistJunkYard