A deep thrumm echoed across the training arena, vibrating through the ground and the air alike. The force of it struck Caleb like a hammer blow, making his frail, scrawny body buckle and fold like wet tissue under its weight.
The sky itself seemed to bleed red, saturated with murderous intent. It wasn't magic, but pure, suffocating killing intent—so thick it could be felt crawling across the skin. It radiated from Adele, whose calm expression had twisted into one of cold fury. And honestly, who wouldn't be angry?
Time had been wasted—waiting for a piece of trash who, in her eyes, wouldn't even survive the next few months.
Adele's fury flared beyond reason. The air around her trembled, and the ground beneath her feet began to crack and crumble as if even the earth couldn't withstand her wrath. Dust and pebbles lifted from the ground, dancing violently in the force of her rising aura.
Then—silence.
The world itself seemed to hold its breath. Adele's face was shadowed beneath the bright sunlight, yet her anger was still palpable—thick enough to choke on.
As for Caleb… he lay sprawled on the ground, trembling. His body had taken the full weight of her killing intent—bones cracked, breath shallow, skin pale. All that from nothing more than her fury alone.
"You dare," she muttered, her voice sharp, "a mere donkey blessed with bloodline waste an opportunity like this? An opportunity people less privileged than you would kill to have."
Though her words were low, each one struck Caleb like a hammer to the chest—cold, heavy, and humiliating.
"How shameless," she continued, her tone slicing through the air like a blade.
Caleb's mind was in chaos. Shame… sadness… even a strange flicker of happiness for being acknowledged at all—but above everything else burned rage. Not at himself, but at her.
'Why?!' he screamed in his mind.
'Why would you hit me? Just because you were chosen to train a Ragnar heir, you think you can lecture me?'
'BULLSHIT!!!'
"Ugh." He pushed himself to his feet and looked at Adele, the faintest hint of intent flickering in his eyes. His crimson irises, narrowed into slitted pupils, would have been terrifying—if they belonged to someone strong.
"Please don't act like you've done me a favor," Caleb said coldly, his tone sharp enough to cut through the silence. "If you don't want to teach me, then leave. I honestly don't think you're of any use if you're going to act like this."
"What will happen," Caleb said with a sinister grin curling at the edge of his lips with blood dripping from his mouth, "when I tell the Patriarch that you laid your hands on one of the six heirs?"
Adele's expression froze.
Dominic Ragnar — the Patriarch of the Ragnar Clan. A man whose very name sent chills down the spines of nobles and kings alike. In Eldora, power defined one's worth, and Dominic stood at the pinnacle.
Ranks existed, of course — as in every world touched by mana and dragons. Cliches of webnovels and webtoons. But Dominic… he was beyond rank, a being who stood just shy of divinity. A monarch.
They went like so:
Adept tier!
A person's level was nearly nonexistent. Little to no Mana. Practically no strength.
Mastery tier!
The individual could now harness Mana at will, controlling elements like fire, ice, and water.
Lord tier!
Having surpassed the limits of Mastery, the person could achieve far greater heights, potentially reaching the level of a Regional King.
Apex tier!
The peak of all who strive to control elements—excluding Dragon Element and the Immortal Concept.
Ascendent tier!
Surpasses human limits entirely.
Transcendent tier!
Demigod level. Can wield almost any element in existence, including Dragon Element and the Immortal Concept.
Monarch tier!
Essentially a god. An immortal being not bound by anything, possessing existential force and power beyond comprehension. This is the rank held by the current patriarch of the Ragnar Clan, the head of the family.
Caleb was an Adept tier—basically a weakling, a piece of trash—despite having SSS-rank talent.
So when that trash threatened to report her to one of the Monarchs in Eldora, it was death—she had almost killed Caleb with her killing intent.
Caleb, looking like he'd been hit by a freight truck and barely standing, said, "I hope you'll face the consequences."
Then Adele bowed, clearly embarrassed out of her mind. "I'm sorry, Caleb Ragnar. It was my grave mistake. Please, do with me as you see fit."
Caleb looked at her with eyes void of emotion. Then, a smile stretched from ear to ear. He clearly looked amused as hell. Pure bliss.
"I won't," he said. "Let's start our training after I heal myself from the internal injuries I got from a… mad female."
In Eldora, they obviously had healing potions—I mean, it's a world with dragons. Naturally, things like that existed.
After an hour, he looked back to normal. Internally, he was fully healed, though scars still marked the outside of his body.
How did he end up with scars when all that had struck him was killing intent?
"How will we begin today's training?" he asked, his tone cold and unwavering.
Adele's eyes still burned with unspent fury. How could someone be so blind to their own place in the world?
"Your body is frail," she said. "From now until the next two months, forget about touching a sword. You'll focus on muscle training. The first two weeks, you'll run fifty kilometers and lift a total of a thousand kilograms. After that, we'll gradually increase the intensity."
"You should be able to lift ten thousand times that and run fifty times harder than that."
This training was unreal. Back in his previous life, before becoming a terminally ill patient, he had never lifted a single weight or run a single kilometre—he had been a complete couch potato.
So what awaited him?
Torture. Pure, unrelenting torture.
He stared at Adele as if she had just spoken gibberish, completely out of it—a total basket case. Then, with a hollow voice, he muttered, "Yes, ma'am."
And so, the brutal training began—led by the most beautiful yet terrifying woman he had ever seen.
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*A/N
I'm sorry if this chapter was a little bit out of it. Please bear with me and I'll try to increase my proficiency.
Thanks and Bye!!