Rise of the Devourer - Book 3: Chapter 8 — Training Hall

After spending a relatively restless night in his new bed, Noah arrived at the training hall as the light from the first dawn began to pierce through the skies earlier than he had anticipated. It really was strange to be living on something that was flying through the clouds for such extended periods of time. As Noah entered the chamber, he noticed Kaelan already present within the chamber. Erwest was there as well.

Noah stepped inside, finding the chamber to be nothing like he had anticipated. He had been expecting a sparring room like he had seen in the Windrest’s Guild, with a giant open area marked with lines and protected by wards. Yet instead, the chamber was small, with seats present inside as if to watch something, with a glass wall directly opposite the seats, separating a different area which contained multiple magic circles and runes covering it from top to bottom.

“Is this the right place?” Noah asked as he stepped inside. His eyes went to the glass wall, and he noticed different screens displaying the visage of a forest.

“It is. I assume you have never seen a projected battleground before,” Kaelan asked.

“Nope. I have not,” Noah replied.

“It’s basically what it sounds like; this thing can make projections of you and re-create all kinds of environments and training grounds that look and feel no different from reality when you’re inside. It allows people to train as if they were doing the real thing, which can create a substantial difference in the nature of the training and the result it bears. And as a bonus, you don’t have to worry about killing the other person and can go all out,” Kaelan said, before the draconian glanced sideways with his reptilian eyes and gave Noah a toothy grin. “Neat, right?”

“Yeah. Quite a bit. I’m not sure I understand how it works, to be honest,” Noah said, looking at the screens.

“Just watch,” Kaelan said.

Noah looked at the glass wall. The images moved around before jumping to Seraphina. Noah saw the woman walking around as different runes filled the air around her, forming all kinds of patterns faster than he could read them.

A creature sat on her shoulders, some kind of mix between a cat and a fox with long ears that stood up and scanned her environment. On a nearby screen, Noah saw Valeria moving through the forest stealthily, circling around Seraphina’s location. The woman’s hand was tight around her war axe, her eyes set on her target as she moved with nearly no sound.

He could almost hear their breaths, along with the sound of the insects crawling throughout the forest. As Valeria closed in, the creature on Seraphina’s shoulder turned, letting out a warning screech. The Valkyrie jumped, quickly intercepted by a razor-sharp pressurized blade of water. Twisting mid-air, Valeria dodged the attack that nearly cut her in half as her war axe slammed into the ground, tearing up the earth and shaking it.

Seraphina jumped off, wind runes appearing around her feet as she took to the skies, combining her wind runes with fire runes as lightning struck from her fingers. Valeria blocked the bolt with her axe, a red and golden aura swirling around her as the woman roared, her presence intensifying. Leaping up into the air, she threw her axe at Seraphina, who created a barrier blocking the attack, but the weapon shattered it and went past it, cutting through her shoulder and drawing blood. Seraphina did not stop, and neither did she pay attention to the wound, her fingers already casting another spell. Flames burst from her fingers towards Valeria, who charged through the attack, flying at the airborne woman. Seraphina pushed herself backward, further into the skies, as Valeria fell back to the ground, her war axe flying back into her hand.

Slamming her axe into a nearby tree, she used the leverage to kick off back into the skies for another attack. She swung her weapon, a beam projecting from it as it struck Seraphina’s barrier, shattering it and breaking her spellcasting as she fell to the ground. Valeria leapt, her fist striking the woman’s gut where it was blocked by a boulder rising from the ground as Seraphina grimaced, blood flowing from her mouth.

The earth beneath Valeria’s feet exploded, the ground caving in beneath her. The Valkyrie roared, rushing out as Seraphina continued to cast rapidly, water runes mixed with earth as the pitfall trap quickly turned into quicksand, dragging the Valkyrie in.

Golden wings erupted from the woman’s back, as she jumped out shaking off the mud, but Seraphina continued. Vines rose from the ground, grabbing at her feet and arms, trying to drag her back into the muddy trap.

Fire spilled from Valeria’s arms, burning the vines as she rushed closer. Her fist, charged with golden red energy, struck at Seraphina, who shrieked, raising her hands in the air. Noah did not hear any sound but read the woman’s lips as the words translated themselves automatically.

“I surrender!”

Both figures vanished in a flash of blue light, reappearing in the chamber where Noah stood. Neither had any injuries present on them, nor did they bear any kind of armor that he had seen them wearing during the battle.

“You are so mean, Val!” Seraphina exclaimed, folding her arms as she pouted. The critter on her shoulders let out a chittering noise, as Seraphina fed it a mana crystal, before it vanished into blue light.

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“You need to be prepared for traps to go wrong. And you give up immediately the second you get hurt. No matter how good of a mage you are, Seph, if you give up that easily, you’re not going to last,” Valeria said.

“Good match, girls. Don’t be so hard on her, Val. She took one of your attacks directly and did not give up even when she started to bleed. Just a few months ago, that alone would have been enough to make her quit for good,” Kaelan said, patting both women on their shoulders.

“Hmph!” Seraphina pouted, snorting as she walked back and sat down on one of the chairs with her arms crossed.

“Looks like our new friends have arrived,” Valeria said, taking note of Noah.

Noah glanced back behind him, noticing Snow, Aurelia, and Zax all standing within the chamber, having arrived there while he had been busy watching the battle.

“Indeed. So let’s not embarrass ourselves,” Kaelan said, before turning to speak to Noah and the rest. “Welcome to the training hall! It’s one of the best, if not the best part about this airship. But this will be what we will be using to spar. Unfortunately, this little thing can only handle two people at once, so we will have to do those in pairs, as the other chambers have been taken by different teams,” Kaelan said.

“I still can’t believe they have put one of these on an airship. I knew that higher-grade kingdoms and certain nobles had access to simulated battleground chambers. But I never thought I would see one available on an airship,” Aurelia said, gasping in reverence.

“Not just one, four. It’s a great way to train for the trials, and given that this airship really only makes the trip twice a year back and forth between Drakonias, they deemed it worth the price, as many people come here simply to have a chance at using one of these,” Kaelan said.

“It’s an illusionary device, is it not? A sophisticated one. We do not think these had existed back when we had been around on the continent before. Quite the fascinating creation,” Zax said.

“Precisely. Yes, it’s an illusionary device. The battle does not actually take place, but instead, it’s a hallucination shared between two people. Though the experience is very much real and that is what matters as far as training is concerned. It’s a great way to gain both experience and levels quickly,” Kaelan said.

Noah looked at the device in fascination. It reminded him of his training chamber within his astral space. But here, he could actually gain levels from the battles he participated in.

“Alright, so let’s start with the basics. Right now, the three of you are like teenagers. You’d struggle to even stand in front of the king,” Kaelan said, before looking at Noah. “Well, you might last for a minute.”

Noah grinned at the man’s words. He had trained against the Dragon after all.

“Stop grinning, Noah,” Zax said. “You have your own problems. Your fast growth means all your skills are lagging behind, both in levels and actual experience. You fight entirely on instincts, which is fine, but it’s not going to last against seasoned warriors.”

Kaelan nodded. “I could tell as much just by looking at him. There was a distinct lack of experience reflected in the way he stood and moved, but he’s got very good natural instincts, which is probably why he’s made it this far.”

Noah thought of his battle against Raesar, who had almost beaten him while using just a single ability and sheer raw power.

“Before we begin the training, do the three of you know the trials and what happens within them?” Kaelan asked.

All of them shook their heads.

“Alright. The battlefield is different every time, so is the exact challenge. But there are three: the Dragon’s Breath, the Dragon’s Will, and the Dragon’s Might. The first one, you have to go through a chamber with dragon flames, rushing across before the chambers close while fighting anything that attacks. After that, there’s a path to traverse where you will have to face the aura of a Dragon bearing down upon you. Each step you take, the intensity of it will grow stronger and stronger, and the path you must walk more treacherous. You’ll have to maintain your calm and traverse through the arena to successfully pass the trial. And then finally, those who remain will battle until the top five are chosen, and are awarded the title of Dragon Warrior. But the winner is the only one who gets to go further into the last chamber, and try the trial of the Dragon’s Heart.”

“Did you take it? The Dragon’s Heart trial?” Noah asked.

“I did,” Kaelan said. “I failed. It’s been decades since anyone successfully traversed the path.”

Noah stood silently for a few seconds, his mind going through the possibilities. He had already seen Kaelan, and how strong the man was. But he had also failed.

He clenched his fists. I need to get stronger.

“All right. Since we already have pairs that we’re going with for today, I got us some sticks with numbers on them to decide who will go first,” Kaelan said, extending three sticks that he grabbed in his hand. “Each one of you picks one.”

Noah tried to use his abyssal awareness to peek through Kaelan’s closed fist but found his ability obstructed by the man’s aura.

Finding his attempts obstructed, Noah gave up and just grabbed a stick, before looking at the number.

“Three,” Noah said, before shrugging to himself.

“Two,” Erwest said a second later.

Noah turned to look at Aurelia.

“Guess I’m first,” she said, her gaze moving towards Seraphina.

“Aww, I was hoping my turn would be last. I swear I have the worst luck,” Seraphina said, getting up from her chair.

“Looks like it’s Aurelia and Seraphina first. Both of you, put your hand on the magic circles on the glass, please,” Kaelan said.

Seraphina walked up, placing her hand on the circle as she stood, tapping her foot impatiently. Aurelia walked up a bit later, slightly more hesitant, before placing her hand on it as well.

“Great. Now send a pulse of mana into the spell, and it will send you a message to activate it. Just select that and—“

With a pulse of blue light, the two girls vanished, and a moment later, they appeared on the glass screen in front of the rest of them.

Kaelan shook his head before focusing his gaze on the glass. “Well, let’s enjoy the show then.”