The Damned Demon

"Don't give the imp a chance to overwhelm you," Asher instructed as he sparred with Onyx and Graven, both of them trying to dodge their mentor's spear attacks.

Asher lowered his speed but made sure it was a tad above their level. He was giving more focus on these two because they were the weakest among the five and stood no chance of surviving unless he gave them the training they needed.

He knew these two Stoneborn men's main weakness was their DEX, and that meant the imp which would come out during the 2nd summoning would be their greatest enemy.

Since the imp is known for being light on its feet, it can easily destroy these two stone heads.

But he sighed, seeing how frustratingly slow these two were. They literally were moving slower than elephants and couldn't even dodge a single attack of his. If he had to guess, each one weighed at least 300 kg. No wonder they were treated as dirt in this society.

Zizola felt sorry for these two after seeing how their heavy bodies were acting against them. She could tell for sure that they won't stand any chance against the 2nd spirit, not that she also had any confidence about herself.

Nereus and Thetis continued to observe closely just to see if they could pick up any pointers their mentor might mention. However, they felt bad that their mentor was stuck with the two Stoneborn men, who might cause their mentor to lose face.

"Haa, this won't do. You two are made in such a way that agility will always be an enemy for you two," Asher said as he stopped trying to strike them. There was no point in teaching a fish to walk.

Onyx and Graven lowered their heads, feeling miserable and loathing their own existences. They realized there was no other way but to accept their fate next week.

"But that doesn't mean you two need it to defeat the imp," Asher's words suddenly made the two raise their heads with a look of disbelief and hope.

The pureblood siblings perked their ears, eager to learn how.

"Every race, no matter how low or high born, has weaknesses and strengths. But you two seem to ignore the strengths of your bloodline. Your natural defenses and body weight," Asher said as he pointed at the two.

Onyx and Graven had their jaws slack while staring at the royal consort with baffled looks. How could their abnormally high body weight be a source of strength for them?

Asher realized they were kind of slow in the head too, and so he clapped his hands, making everyone turn around upon hearing the floor moving.

They saw several large training dummies coming out from the floor.

"You don't need to move fast to be effective, but you need to be smart and use your weight and momentum to your advantage. Now I want both of you to stand here and charge at the dummies with the intent to knock them over. Remember, when you run, don't let your feet do all the work. Instead, use your weight to carry yourself forward," Asher stressed the last sentence as the two nodded readily and stood on the spots the royal consort told them to.

The two of them glanced at each other and then took a deep breath before charging toward the dummies in front of them.

The rest three watched with interest and was astonished at how scary the momentum of Onyx and Graven seemed the more distance they covered. They never expected Stoneborn men to run like this.

*KRASHK!*

*KRASHK!*

"Wow…" Zizola let out a subtle gasp upon seeing Onyx and Graven blast the dummies into smithereens with their own bodies. 

Nereus and Thetis also had their eyes widen since those dummies weren't that fragile. Not even they can smash those dummies with their bodies like that. Even if they attack using their weapons, it won't cause this much destruction in one move.

Onyx and Grave had their deep-set black eyes trembling with shock and various emotions upon seeing the dummies they destroyed. For the first time in their lives, they felt unstoppable and powerful. Even as if they were running earlier, they could feel the power surging through their body.

It was a surreal sensation they couldn't even imagine in their dreams. They never thought their bodies which they hated, weren't really useless.

Asher subtly smiled as he said, "See…This is the strength that lay hidden in your bodies all this time. But now that you two know how to use it, all you have to do is crush those first three spirits with your bodies, just like how you two crushed those dummies. Rush at them just as they manifest in the chamber, and they won't be able to deal with the momentum you carry."

Onyx and Graven nodded as they teared up and immediately fell to their knees, "T-Thank you, Master Asher, for showing us the strength we never knew existed. We were foolish and stupid earlier for not choosing you as our mentor. S-So…please…forgive us lowly things, and we will never doubt you again."

The two realized that if they got Warden Rebecca as their mentor, someone like her wouldn't help them to this extent. They had already heard rumors and gossip about how Warden Rebecca plays favorite and ignores the others.

They were glad the Devils still had some pity for them and made the royal consort end up as their mentor. It seemed as if he had some kindness even if might seem too stern at times.

Zizola teared up, feeling emotional after seeing how happy and grateful Onyx and Graven were. Even if she was only acquainted with them yesterday, she could relate to their disappointments and helplessness, considering her circumstances.

She also decided to not doubt her mentor again and put all her faith in him if she was to survive this.

"Zizola, it's your turn now. Step forward," Asher said with crossed arms as she walked towards with a nervous look.

Asher already knew Zizola was a goblin who was weak but had some control over flames and was agile.

"In your case, you are the opposite of those two. Your main strength is your agility which is enough to defeat the imp, but only if you know how to not let it strike your vital points. So let's see how you are going to defend yourself," Saying so, Asher brought forward his spear, and Zizola immediately took a battle stance with her spear out as well.

The spear wasn't her main weapon, but for the first trial, she had no choice but to use it.

Asher immediately made the first move, lunging forward with a quick jab toward her shoulder. Zizola remembered the dodging exercises she had practiced yesterday for hours and dodged to the side and countered with a swift kick toward her mentor's ribs.

Asher blocked her kick easily, then swung around with a roundhouse kick aimed at her head. 

Zizola held her breath as she ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding the blow, but just as she was about to catch her breath, her eyes widened upon seeing the tip of the spear closing in on her chest.

"Ahh!" Zizola grimaced as she stumbled back after getting hit in the chest. Fortunately it wasn't a real spear.

"Never relax just because you managed to dodge a few moves. The imp won't stop attacking until you are lying on the floor, bleeding to death. And that means you should never take your eyes off it and track its every move," Asher said with squinted eyes.

"Yes…Master Asher," Zizola said as she rubbed her chest and stepped forward while taking his advice to her heart since she knew how scary the imp could be.

This time as they began their spar again, Zizola had her eyes fixed on his movements. Asher tried to stab her a few times while slipping in some kicks here and there. 

Even though Zizola did get here and there, he noticed how the frequency reduced the longer they sparred. She also seemed to be dodging and blocking with increasing confidence.

Since she drank an Epic Grade Stamina Potion, it was keeping up her energy since the potion was still working its magic in her body, preventing her from getting tired easily.

As they sparred, Asher pointed out the areas where she was leaving herself vulnerable and taught her how to defend against different types of attacks the imp might try to get an opening.

He also told her not to become lax on her attacks. He then pointed out the vital points on his body that she should try to attack since it could be not only useful on the imp but also on the four-armed Raksasha, who was slower than the imp but definitely stronger.

Just one attack from the Raksasha would incapacitate her, and that was why Asher told her to practice dodging until she could dodge without getting hit once.

"I have taught the basics now. Now practice what you learned by sparring against the dummies," Asher clapped as a wooden dummy sprang out of the floor with a spear in its hand. 

Apparently, these wooden dummies can be adjusted to various difficulty levels to train the candidates, and Asher planned to do just that since he couldn't train them every hour of the day. But since he already taught them enough techniques and concepts, it was more than enough to help them get better.

Zizola deeply bowed, "Thank you, Master Asher. I will not fail you," She said with a sincere look, seeing how he had used some of his precious time to train a nobody like her. She felt as if she had learned years worth of training in just a few hours and didn't expect her mentor to possess such magic like that.

Asher wasn't an official teacher in his past life, but as a powerful hunter, he had learned from the best and even tutored many unofficially, just like he had trained Rachel.

All this gave him enough experience on how to think like a teacher and teach them based on their strengths instead of forcing them to do what they cannot.

Asher summoned more dummies to let Onyx and Graven practice what they learned as well and refine their "charging" techniques.

He then looked at the overzealous siblings, Nereus and Thetis, who were still looking at him, their eyes glowing even more. They were flabbergasted and overwhelmed upon seeing how their mentor made those three no longer seem useless within just a few hours.

Not even the elders in their tribe could teach with such skill. 

Asher left them for the last since he knew they could pass the trial quite easily, especially since they already had some training and possessed Rare Class bloodlines.

But despite having Rare Class bloodlines, what made them special was their ability to talk to fish…literally. He looked at the mysterious rune circles on their bodies, especially their arms and their forehead.

These were not just some tribal marks, but summoning rune circles etched onto their skin, probably at birth. They could practically summon a sea creature to do their bidding in any situation.

And not everyone in their tribe had these since only a very few geniuses were capable of forming such a connection with the sea creatures.

However, he was not surprised since these two were the kids of Naiadon's tribe leader. 

Asher rubbed his wrist as he said, "The training I have planned for you two will be more intensive than those three."

The two immediately clasped their hands together and said in a loud, determined voice, "We are prepared to accept anything you throw at us, Master Asher. We won't rest until we fall."

"Good. That is the spirit," Asher curved his lips, knowing that these two would decide whether he would win his bet against Rebecca.