Workout

Just yesterday I turned eight years old and I reached the age when I can start studying personally with my Father. And even though it took a decent amount of time, I will finally be able to get combat skills.

Niva also informed me that my "Supreme Demon" bloodline has awakened by 60% and that I will need another three years before fully awakening. I also found out that I now have only three hearts, and the other four have not yet formed. Which brings me to the idea that until the whole bloodline awakens, I won't have all seven hearts.

I also learned that the demons of this world have only one heart, like many, but there are exceptions. Which is very useful to me. In the event of an inevitable loss, I can arrange a whole drama about my death, due to the deprivation of the "only" heart.

Also on my birthday came my first quest:

---

Quest: I'm a genius!

Description: Reach level 20 in two years. Show all the demons that you are a genius like your father. Do not disgrace the great name of your father and your mother.

Reward: Mana Control[ur3], x10 Mana stones[ur8].

There is no penalty for Refusal.

The penalty for failure is a reduction of all characteristics by 35%, with a period of 5 years.

---

And naturally I accepted it. This was my first quest that gave me at least some advantages as a reward.

I also learned that, in fact, level 20 means becoming a full-fledged demon in this society. And if I already become like this at such an early age, I will be considered a genius. And as far as I know, my Father became a full-fledged demon with level 20 at the age of 14. Therefore, I must try not to disgrace his name and mine.

With the help of Niva, I found out what these "mana stones [ur8]" are. As it turned out, this is a container where energy is stored-mana, which can be used as a generator. If you take ordinary level 1 mana stones, they contain [3000/3000] reserves. But if you take the ones that I have, then they are already [150000/150000] stocks.

If we compare all this correctly, it turns out that I can use them as a catalyst for the spell "Gate to Purgatory", but it's a pity that there are only ten of them.

Now I'm heading to the training ground or rather the gym. My Father should be waiting for me there, who wants to know what I am capable of. Before going there, I did the usual warm-up and training for myself to raise the characteristics. But I had to not strain too much, because in training I can get tired faster.

And after about a couple of dozen minutes of walking around the castle, I arrived at the training hall. And I will say that it is quite large. Two football fields can be installed here. And the ceiling height is comparable to a ten-story house.

And in the middle of all this hall, my Father was waiting for me. He was dressed in his casual attire for the public. Then, with a sharp movement of his hand, my Father threw a stone at me, which I barely even had time to notice.

-*Whistle*-

-*Bam*-

When I heard a sharp whistle near my own ears, I already heard an explosion behind my back. And I saw a huge hole in the wall. And when I realized what had happened, I looked at my Father.

"You're late, my son. My Father replied sternly.

"I'm sorry, Father. I got a little lost and got carried away with my own training before coming here. — I tried to justify myself. But just seeing my Father frowning, I understand that the excuse is weak.

— Eh... well, it doesn't matter. Follow me to the tower of Magicians. First we need to find out your initial capabilities and special ones. — Said the Father, walking to the exit of the hall. I, having executed his commands, followed him.

And after a few minutes of walking behind my Father, he and I arrived at the tower of magicians. And the structure was quite impressive, a tall tower with peaks on top.

Then my Father and I went into one of the rooms. There I saw in the middle of an empty space a pedestal on which there was a crystal ball. As I understand it, this is such an analogue of my "Assessment" ability. I've read about it in books about magic items. As far as I know, the ball uses the information stored in mana to turn it into information. This is a very complex artifact that only Archmages and Kings of Races have.

— You should have already understood why we're here. Just put your hand on the ball and pour your mana into it. And we will find out your capabilities and hidden abilities that you don't know about. — My Father said to me, pointing to the ball.

I just nodded and followed his instructions, hoping that all my precautions paid off.

Symbols similar to my status in the system began to form in the ball:

---

{Status.}

[First and Last Name — Meliodas Diablo]

[Level — 9]

[Age — 8]

[Gender — male]

[Demon Race]

[Racial abilities — High physical strength, High regeneration.]

[Abilities — no]

[Skills — Etiquette[ur7], language skills [ur7], mathematics[ur6], spelling [ur9], etc.]

{Characteristics}

[Strength — 65]

[Dexterity — 55]

[Endurance — 1000/1000]

[Protection — 50]

[Mana — 5000/5000]

---

Looking at my status already through the ball on the characteristics, I can note that I have gained a decent strength for children of my age. It was not for nothing that I increased the load on my home workouts every day. And looking slightly at my Father, looking for emotions on his face, I could see a satisfied smile.

— Hmm... very good results. You have a high potential, perhaps you can become a full-fledged demon already at the age of 13-18. It also looks like your mana reserve is above average. Most likely it's because of the peculiarities of your mother's family. My Father replied with a smile. From his conclusions, I realized that I needed to increase my training even more, otherwise I could fail the quest.

When I took my hand off the ball, everything that was written there went out.

— Now we need to find out your capabilities in battle and understand how you will develop in the future. And now we have to go back. — Said the Father. And I left the tower of magicians together with him.

When we returned to the training hall, my Father immediately ordered the guards to bring all kinds of weapons and other things from the armory. And there was a whole bunch of all sorts: swords, spears, bows, shields, blades, staffs, etc.

— Now we will find out which weapon is best suited to you for your future training. And the best way to check this is for you to use this weapon for its direct purpose. Attack me, my son. Don't worry, I will restrain myself at a decent level so as not to hurt you. My Father replied with a slight grin. He's provoking me! So I need to calm down, it's just trying to test my nerves.

"Very well, Father. I promise not to hit too hard. I said with the same grin in my voice. But knowing the Father, it is unlikely to provoke him.

I quickly picked up the usual swords, which were almost no different from those of the castle guards. And he ran straight at his Father. My speed was high, but not enough to hit someone. So when I ran up to my Father, I quickly swung my sword at him. I wasn't worried that I might accidentally kill him, people like my Father wouldn't even scratch from that.

-*Ding*-

My sword was stopped by a small rusty dagger that didn't even move from my swing. I quickly change my position and stance, attacking from the blind spot, but my sword was again met with an obstacle in the form of a dagger.

-*Ding*-

-*Clang*-

Each of my next blows was stopped by my Father's dagger. I understood that such a rusty weapon should have crumbled to dust after my attacks, but my Father most likely fed this dagger with his mana, than strengthened its strength and hardness, and other factors.

In general, I tried to inflict at least some damage on my Father, but my attempts were useless. Therefore, I began to cover my sword with mana, for equal effect, which in fact is very difficult.

The further our fight went, the faster I spent stamina and mana. I tried to memorize all possible attempts and my Father's scheme for each of my attempts and blows. I needed to read my Father and understand his next move and I was able to.

At the very last moment, when my Father took my dagger blow, and I just started changing my position again and already knowing how my Father would act, I put a false footboard in advance, which he noticed and changed my position to the place I needed. And I quickly struck a second blow and already thought that I would hit and inflict, albeit weak, but good damage, but my blow was knocked down by my Father's dagger, so I could only scratch it.

—Not bad, son. I didn't even expect that from the very first workout, you would be able to read my old style of movements so quickly. But let's continue while we have time. — The Father said with a smile, and then the duel continued.

And for half a day, my Father and I conducted sparring training to find out which weapon suits me best. I was able to use each new weapon correctly only because I remember how characters from anime and games that I once played started using it.

But after all this hard day, I'm lying on a clean stone floor, which is now slightly damp from my sweat.

— Haa… Haa… I... would still... a couple of minutes… Haa... — With uneven breathing, I tried to tell my Father that I only needed a couple of minutes to get him. Now I was getting debuff for abusing my health and stamina [-100/1050].

Of course, my characteristics have slightly increased from such loads, but this is not enough to become strong. I need to train more and now attend training with my Father more often. I hope Mother won't be offended.

"We were able to figure out what suits you best with a sword. You're also not bad at hand-to-hand combat, and at least you're good with a spear. Now we can systematically train you in the right direction. You were able to hit me in some moments and even slightly hurt me. — My Father praised me.

— Haa… Thanks... next time… Haa... I'll definitely show... you..." I answered more clearly.

— I hope so. Now we're done. Tomorrow at the same time and place. Don't be late this time, my son. — Said the Father going to the exit.

Well, as they say, "they don't become strong in a couple of days." I have to train hard and one day I will be able to become as strong as the original Meliodas.