Azaroth trained hard. He was solely focused on his sword fighting and left essence manipulation for Kael to teach since he didn't have any experience with it.
Stallus trained from her corner where they both didn't speak to each other. She kept switching from her sword training to essence training, where she would put energy around her right foot and launch forward.
They trained in silence for a while, the only sound being the whooshing of their weapons.
"Well....." Stallus said beside him, and Azaroth brought his sword smoothly around instinctively, but she put energy on her feet and slid backward on one leg.
Azaroth blinked. He had been so focused on his training that he hadn't even heard when she got close. No, she was just that light on her feet.
Azaroth flicked sweat away from his face. "You shouldn't do that. You will get killed."
Which would cause unnecessary stress for him with Kael Hound.
"I trust my feet to get me away." She shrugged and turned to put her sword on the rack. "You are getting good with that sword. It's almost as if you have been with it for years."
Azaroth said nothing. He brought his sword down and sheathed it on his waist. It was true that he was getting good with the weapon, but not much a blade could do against a blast of fire.
Azaroth didn't know why Kael Hound was so set on teaching them weapon fighting. Most Awakeners didn't bother with weapons since it was considered a tool for the weak.
Bringing down lightning or fireballs was enough for most Awakeners.
Azaroth walked to the rack, unbuckled his sword, and put it on the rack. He then turned to Stallus, who had been expecting an answer to her question. "You are good with your saber too, and you are still hiding a lot from your saber technique."
She narrowed her eyes. "Yes, but not because I want to. I need to be good at essence manipulation to do it. Saber technique has only one powerful skill really, and that changed with the coming of the essence. Made it more formidable. It's called 'Quick Draw.'"
Azaroth nodded. So that was it. He turned to go.
"And you? There's a lot you are hiding, far too much. I can see that from your eyes," Stallus said, taking a step forward.
Azaroth turned his head to look at her, and his red eyes glowed like little embers. "Are you going to keep yourself out of my business?"
Stallus felt it, that it wasn't just a threat. She took steps backward. "Of course. I'm only curious."
"Like a cat? Remember what happened to the cat," Azaroth said flatly, and he climbed the stairs.
Stallus stood there, watching him go. Her blue eyes shone uncannily. The cat must have seen a lot to sate its curiosity first, Stallus thought and smiled.
Azaroth entered his room and undressed down to his trousers. He wished he had his weapon with him or at the very least a dagger. He climbed on his bed and let out a sigh.
"Even I have my limit. That training had taken a lot out of me, and those monsters I killed were not easy either." He checked his cores. His normal core was empty since it had just advanced, and his chaos core was very low.
"Better to fill them up for tomorrow's training." Azaroth sat up and started gathering essence in the air.
He chose his normal core first, taking the essence and filling his core. It would take a while to fill that core.
Will I even sleep tonight?
Azaroth didn't know if he slept or if he was in semi-consciousness, but he was tumbling in deep darkness soon enough. Falling through unending darkness that blocked both sight and hearing.
He landed in a heap on a floor covered with thick darkness.
"Is this how you treat me now?" Azaroth stood up. He wore a black sleeveless training uniform just like the other time.
"Come out. I know you are out here," Azaroth called out.
A red giant eye cut through the darkness, then another eye and another until thousands of red eyes were looking at Azaroth.
A voice breathed out. "Finally. The chaos core."
Azaroth looked at the thousands of eyes. "Cut it out. I know you can see without all this drama. I have questions for you."
A deep sigh that rolled with wind sounded, and all the eyes except two disappeared. "What do you want to know?"
"What can I do with this chaos core you talked about supporting the last time?" Azaroth asked.
"You can supplement with it. The main function is as a vessel that will grow as you do until it is ready," the voice said.
Azaroth didn't bother to ask until what was ready; he knew he wouldn't get an answer, so instead, he asked, "Supplement with my normal core, right? With the techniques I learned?"
"Yes. It will make your techniques, when combined, stronger. Of course, you can choose not to always combine but use them separately, which is still the same," the voice answered.
Azaroth thought about it. He was in the Hound's territory and couldn't let anything slip out. Especially the news that he had two cores. He would have to learn how to use them separately and combined. Wait...
"Won't people find out I have two cores? I've been told powerful Awakeners can get a feel of your powers," Azaroth asked.
"No. The chaos core hides itself. No one except those who are the same can know," the voice said.
Azaroth nodded. That was good news, and he wouldn't have to worry about being found out unless he let something slip.
"Which techniques are more powerful as a complement to the chaos core?" Azaroth asked. He knew the Hounds mainly practiced fire techniques.
"All techniques, of course... but you can choose fire. Fire and chaos is a recipe for deadly skills," the voice said.
Azaroth narrowed his eyes. Did the eyes know he was in the Hound's territory where fire was easy to learn?
Well, no matter. Azaroth had decided to play along since he would gain power from it.
"What's the next step now?" Azaroth asked.
A cold laughter rumbled through the darkness. "Training! Training! Now sit and fill up your chaos core."
Azaroth sat in the darkness and did as he was told.