"Hey, Sevin, let's get to it!" Roke shouted, trying to wake Sevin up.
In fact, he'd barely slept after everything he had heard the night before. He still couldn't wrap his head around how strong he really was.
But he was desperate to prove his worth. This was his shot to show he wasn't just a dead weight anymore.
He'd stayed up all night, obsessed, pulling up and dismissing that translucent green menu.
POWER UNLOCKED
Explosive Light
CEF: ???
All he knew was that he finally had a power of his own. He had no idea how to truly trigger it, but he knew this was his shot to show he wasn't just a burden anymore.
But there was one thing he wanted to know: why those question marks? It made no sense to him, but anyway, he needed to figure it all out.
Only after Roke practically broke down the door with his knocking did Sevin finally snap out of it.
"Dude, did you have to wake me up? My bed was so…" but Roke didn't even let Sevin finish before cutting him off.
"Of course! Who better than you to train me?" Roke said with a grin.
They headed down from the third floor to the second, making their way to the testing room.
Just beside it, however, a door stood ajar, and they could tell right away that people were inside.
They stole a glance inside and saw the seven gods gathered together, in deep conversation.
"The gods are holding a meeting," Roke whispered under his breath.
"Are you out of your mind, Acedia? You want to leave everything in the hands of a fourteen-year-old kid?" Ira shouted, his temper flaring.
They kept bickering about Roke for ages, eventually bringing up a secret mission.
But…
Ira appeared right behind them.
"What do you think you're doing, spying like that, boys?"
"We were… we were on our way to train," Roke said, his hands trembling.
Sevin turned pale beside him; he wanted to run, but he couldn't move a muscle.
"I've had a brilliant idea," Superbia said, puffing out his chest with pride.
"How about we see if he can weather the storm?"
"What do you mean? Hahaha!" Ira started laughing hysterically.
With a smile on his face, Superbia added, "What if we give the successor three months to hit Rank A?"
Ira let out a loud guffaw and said. "Hahaha, no way! But alright, you're on. Challenge accepted."
Roke stood there in total shock, but then his thoughts drifted to his ailing grandfather.
"I don't know if I'll accept," Roke muttered.
"Think you won't make any money?" Acedia said, walking with slow, lazy steps.
"Just go out there and choose a guild. The gold will find its way to you."
Roke saw the opening he needed; he didn't hesitate for a second before accepting the challenge.
Sevin turned to Roke and spoke up. "In that case... let's go train."
They were on their way into the testing room when Acedia called his counselor over to show them where to train.
They followed him down the staircase and past the throne room. Right there, behind a closed door, was the room they were looking for, the words "Training Room" engraved on the front.
The counselor swung the door open, revealing a vast hall packed with workout gear and a large area dedicated to meditation.
Once they were left alone, Sevin, who was pretty sharp, wasted no time and headed over with Roke to figure out how the machines operated.
They went to the treadmill first. Sevin took the lead and turned it on; it started off very slow, as if it were just for a warm-up. But before he knew it, the treadmill began to get faster and faster.
It forced him to the point where he needed to use his CEF potential.
CEF: 500/500
400/500
300/500
200/500
Sevin was reaching his limit, his breath coming in ragged gasps, but he refused to stop.
CEF: 100/500
50/500
Sevin shut it off, collapsing from utter exhaustion as though his strength had vanished.
Sevin stepped down, and Roke took his place.
Roke switched the treadmill on.
Then, a translucent green menu flashed before his eyes.
"What is this?" Roke asked Sevin, looking completely clueless.
CEF: ???
Sevin just shrugged, giving him a 'don't ask me' look.
The treadmill began the same way for Roke, starting slow before ramping up the pace. In the blink of an eye, it was moving at a staggering speed, so fast Sevin could barely follow the movement, even as Roke stood frozen on top of it.
"What... what even is this?" Sevin whispered, breathless with shock.
What shocked Sevin even more was that Roke wasn't even sweating. The speed kept increasing faster, faster until the palace lights suddenly flickered and died.
And Roke was still running, with his body glowing with a brilliant white light.
"What the hell is going on in here?!" Ira roared, appearing suddenly in the training room.
Then, the other gods arrived one by one to see the commotion. They all saw the same thing: flashes of white light illuminating the treadmill.
Roke was still breathing easily, as if he could keep running forever, his body still glowing.
Then, he pressed the stop button, and the treadmill began to slow down.
And when the machine finally came to a halt, he saw everyone staring at him.
Acedia approached with slow steps and said, "That's my boy. There's no doubt in my mind now..."
But Ira cut him off. "Running is easy. I want to see him in a real mission when it counts."
He then turned around. "Now, I'm heading back to my city," he said, turning his back and waving his hand. "I've got matters to attend to."
He reached the doorway and came to a halt, his back still turned as he spoke. "Don't forget the challenge. I'll see you...."
He let the sentence trail off.
After he left, the room fell silent once again, and the other gods began to filter out as well.
Acedia, however, remained in the same spot, staring at Roke with a smile on his face.
Acedia drew closer and whispered softly into his ear, "Prove what you're worth. Your CEF potential... it's limitless."
"Limitless?" Roke breathed the words back.
Acedia said nothing more as he stepped back, leaving Roke standing there alone with Sevin.