“297…”
“298…”
“299…”
“300！”
Allen’s arms turned to jelly as he fell to the ground, his sweat pouring like rain. He was currently going through his physical training. Three hundred push ups was a staple in his training on land, but under the pressure of doubled gravity, it became significantly harder for him to complete it.
The 20m² gravity chambers he was in could replicate a gravity 10 times greater than on earth, and could be easily modified to suit the user’s needs. This was the special room prepared for the contestants to train in, and in Babylon, such a room was not rare. According to Hughton’s ramblings, the military or even the greater nobles’ personal gravity chambers could go up to 50 times.
Training in the gravity chambers was extremely difficult for the average human, only by filling their entire bodies with Origin could most people counter the pressure from the gravity. Therefore, this process of physical training also helped to temper one’s origin.
Allen flipped his body to stare at the ceiling, as he spoke, “End training.” Suddenly, the pressure on his body disappeared as the A.I. ended the program. In the training building, almost everything could be controlled by a voice. And Allen was gradually getting used to this lifestyle, despite only being in Babylon for less than a day.
He stared at his reflection on the silver metal dome as he recounted Hughton’s words, his feelings as heavy as the pressure of gravity.
The Origin seal was more complicated than he had imagined, when he asked Hughton for a way to remove the seal, that drunkard had fell silent. After a while, the man spoke, “Of course there is a way, and there’s two, actually. But neither of them are easy. The first is the simpler one, but harder to accomplish. You have to find the person who placed the seal on you. There can be up to thousands of combinations of Origin, and even with the advancements in technology and A.I., it’s hard for it to calculate the true answer. The different attributes and the difference in strength for Origin creates countless possibilities. Therefore, the one who casted the seal knows the password best……”
“The second method?” Allen asked.
Hughton didn’t reply directly, instead, he stared at him, “Child, why are you so stubborn. Let’s just say this, even if you’re unable to form a Gene Circuit, I have a few tricks up my sleeves that might help you win.”
Allen shook his head as Lannie’s gaze and last words flashed past his mind. He spoke with conviction, “Major general, my final goal isn’t the Death Ring.”
He stared into Allen’s bright red eyes, and as if he felt something, Hughton shrugged, “Alright, it’s fine even if I tell you. The second method relies on yourself, your luck is actually not bad, that man placed three levels of the seal in your heart. I felt it, the first level is the weakest, maybe the origin of your nine vortexes can break it externally.”
“This is like breaking the lock with force when you don’t have a key. But I have to remind you, the Origin seal is just like a barrier around your heart. When you forcefully break it, even if you succeed, there’s going to be an irreparable damage to your heart.” Hughton patted his shoulder, “My suggestion for you now, is that if you want to use the second method, go and train in the gravity chamber. Only with a strong body and Origin, can you withstand the damage after breaking the barrier.”
“Thank you, Major General.” A smile appeared on Allen’s face as he got up and ran towards the gravity chamber.
Hughton shook his head as he looked at his running figure, “A dense and naive guy……”
“However, I do find myself liking this kid.” With a chuckle, he lowered his head and continued his work.
Allen had four Origin vortexes now, and he was five away from breaking the barrier. There was one more month left, that meant that he needed to condense all five vortexes within 30 days, something any other normal human would know to be impossible. With no choice, Allen gritted his teeth as he restarted the gravity simulation, resuming his training yet again.
No matter how hard it was, Allen wasn’t planning on giving up. He had lost too much, and he didn’t plan on losing the chance to get revenge for his mother and Bai Fang.
Outside of the gravity chamber, Hughton had already finished his work. Staring at the screen on the wall, he watched silently as Allen continued to train himself, sipping his alcohol.
When Allen finally left the gravity chambers, he couldn’t even walk straight as he fell onto the ground. Right now, every muscle in his body was trembling, and some were even injured. He didn’t have the strength to move even a single finger, and he could only keep his eyes open as he laid on the ground. Hughton walked over and picked him up, “It’s good for young people to be hardworking, but don’t overdo it like a dumbass. You can squeeze out every drop from your potential, but don’t do it all at once or that will kill you, kid.”
Hughton carried him back into his room and threw him into the bed. After a second, he returned with a needle and jabbed it into Allen’s arm, emptying its contents into his body. Hughton patted his face, “Don’t think too much, get a good rest. “
The world started to become blurry, and as Hughton’s face became hazy as well, Allen fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already the sunrise of the next day. Taking a shower and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Allen walked back into the quiet hall, it seemed that Hughton was asleep.
Allen picked up Massacre, which was placed on one of the tables. The black steel dadao was rebuilt, and as Allen swung it around, he couldn’t feel a difference. Suddenly, a voice came from behind him, “You can try infusing some Origin into the blade, see what happens.”
The old drunkard had a bottle of alcohol in his hands as he stood behind Allen, he seemed disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept the entire night. Allen followed his instructions and started to circulate the Origin in his body into Massacre. And as it entered the weapon, Allen could feel that the dadao was like a black hole, sucking the pitiful amount of Origin he had dry.
A wave of emptiness washed over the child as he barely managed to stand. But the Massacre in his hands started to change, the two dark red lines on each side of the blade started to shine as a energy blade about 20cm long appeared on the tip of the weapon. The extended blade was a dark red colour that resembled a screen as light rippled on it, shining on the boy’s excited face.
He could finally use Massacre!
After about 30 seconds, the blade flashed and disappeared back into the weapon. Allen could no longer hold on to Massacre, and it fell to the ground with a large sound.
Hughton picked it up and placed it onto the table as he stared at the depleted, pale boy sitting on the ground, “Look, you can use this toy now. That’s good news, bad news is, you need way more Origin to properly use it. Or you’d turn into a soft legged prawn every time you use it, like just now, and that’s just funny.”
Today, Allen understood the pain of Origin. The feeling of emptiness flooded his soul, and his heart pumped like a drum at his ear. His heartbeats rang in his head as it reminded him to be careful, even more careful in the future.
Allen sat on the ground for the entire morning, and as he did, Hughton drank and ignored him. Only after replenishing one of his origin vortexes did the feeling slowly start to disappear, giving the boy a chance to gather his energy and get up. And at noon, Hughton threw him back into the gravity chamber again. In the next two days, Allen simply repeated physical training over and over again, to the point where he suspected that the old man was slacking on his job.
During this period, Tonisev visit him twice briefly before leaving, and he seemed to be busy.
On the fifth day, Allen finished his breakfast and automatically started to head towards the gravity chamber. But to Allen’s confusion, Hughton suddenly stopped him and pointed at his side, gesturing for him to come over.
“I’ve already seen the information on the other contestants, these little kids are not as simple as they seem. Allen, once the competition starts, what do you plan to do?” Hughton asked with a casual tone.
Allen thought for a second before waving his fists, “I’ll have to eliminate everyone, then I’d win?”
And as he finished, his head was smacked by Hughton’s beer bottle. Hughton shook his head, “Did Ron teach you to think with your muscles? You idiot, wasn’t I clear enough? The difference between your competitors isn’t that big, a good majority are as strong as you. If you don’t use your brain, I’d bet you’d be dead in two days.”
“Then what should I do?” Allen asked as he rubbed his head.
With a snort, Hughton continued, “You must have a strategy, understand? Strength alone is just strength. You need both courage and cunningness to become a major general like me!”
Staring at the aforementioned “major general”, Allen wondered how much weight his previous sentence held. Sensing his gazed, Hughton coughed, “Don’t look at me now, you weren’t even conceived when I was young and on expeditions. How do you think my title was gained? I had to fight for it!”
“Listen well, there’s free time allocated for you guys everyday. And other than leaving the building, you can go anywhere else. My advice is to use this time to go to the training hall, meet a few friends, and if they meet your conditions, you can create a temporary alliance, this will be beneficial for you in the Death Ring.”
“Kid, you must remember. A single person’s strength is limited, not only in the Death Ring. Even if it’s your soldiers or your friends, you must learn to use your resources wisely. You’ll find out soon that this strength is much, much bigger than your own’s.” Hughton paused to think before continuing, “Of course, your own strength is important as well, you need it to gather your resources.”
“Lastly, read these books when you have the time, it’ll be useful.” Taking it out from his coat, Hughton threw three books into Allen’s hands.
Puttty Translations 