Chapter 9:- Training [II]

Two months later_____

"Good morning." Everyone looked at the handsome young man who has changed a lot in these 2 months. William now was taller than before. With his height, he also has started developing muscles.

"Good Morning William" William sat down as his 3rd stepmother served him food. William's meal was different from others. While others had light breakfast, he was having a high-calories and nutritious meal.

"How is it, William?" Jessica, his 3rd stepmother asked. Today it was his 3rd stepmother's turn to cook. Yesterday it was his mother who cooked food for everyone.

"It's really good. I really like spicy chicken." Jessica smiled and continued eating. Unlike other days, today William's father appeared to be absent from the dining table.

"Where is father?"

"Your father was called and has gone to our neighboring Kingdom on her highness's behalf."

"By the way, how is your training going?"

"If I have to describe it in one word, I would say Tough."

"Haha! If your foundation is not good enough then just leveling up won't help you." William had to agree with his grandmother. After 2 months of non-stop training, William's stats have improved.

"When will Lara and others return home?" It's has been two months since William last saw his sisters, and he wanted to see them again. Unlike his parents or the queen, his sisters were easygoing and spoiled William. If his sisters return home, William was thinking of asking the queen for one day holiday.

"Don't expect them to return for the remaining year. I heard their school was going to take part in some competition in takes place once every 4 years."

"William here is your milk."

".....My milk?"

"Children should have one glass of milk every day. Don't worry, the milk is fresh. I am sure you will like it."

Sigh!

William picked up the milk glass and drank it in one go. Ever since his birthday passed, he has been drinking his stepmother's milk. It's not that William hated drinking her milk rather this whole thing felt wrong to him.

"How does it taste?" Jessica who was sitting next to William asked with a teasing smile.

"....It tastes sweet." William looked at his plate and replied.

"I put sugar in it to make it sweet." Jessica replied with a straight face.

"Jessica, you spoil William way too much. These days I feel like my baby is giving you more attention." William decided not to say anything in defense. He and others knew that his mother was joking.

Each night, after having dinner, his mother would at least spend one hour with him. She would ask him about the things that he does in the royal palace or sometimes she would just tell him stories of her younger days.

"I am full." William stood while wiping his lips with a napkin. "Oh, one more thing. Her Highness has asked me to spend the night in the royal palace. So I will return tomorrow." Olivia pouted her lips. She couldn't say anything against their ruler.

William pretended to not see his mother's pout. After nodding at his grandmother, he left the Mansion.

Watching William walk out, Jessica sighed as she spoke out loud. "Without William, this whole house feels empty." Everyone had to agree with her statement. William was their joy and their pride. He was the little shining star that everyone in the family wished to protect.

"Mother, what do you think of sending William to his sisters' academy?" Layla, William's second stepmother suggested. Layla was a woman who was older than the Succubus queen but she looked like she only was only 25 years old.

Layla had long black hair that reached her waist. She wore a knee-length white dress today. Compared to William's other stepmothers Layla was lacking in both chest and back areas. But her beauty cannot be underestimated. Just like wine, with age, she and William's other stepmother was getting beautiful.

"Though I would love to send William to his sisters, I don't think the queen would agree." Olivia sighed as she wanted to see her grandson and granddaughter get along and get married in the future. Before she even secretly had planned to send William to his sisters. But that all changed when the queen personally began training William.

"I personally feel that the queen is overprotective of William. Poor William, he cannot even go outside the mansion alone." Jessica was a little unhappy about the fact that the queen was keeping William all to herself.

"By the way, where is Martha?" Layla asked.

"As usual she is researching in her laboratory." William's first stepmother, Martha was a researcher. She had a Gold rank skill called Magical Engineer. Martha would spend most of her time in her laboratory. She was so busy with her work that William has not seen her since his birthday.

Sigh!

"How many times I will have to tell her to at least join us for breakfast?" Olivia sighed.

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Scene change

"Your Majesty a new oil mine has been found on the border of our territory. But there is a problem. The barbarian tribe who lives on the scattered islands on the border of our Empire won't allow the oil to be mined. They are claiming the oil mine to be theirs." Walking into the throne hall, William found that the queen was having a meeting with royal officials.

"Did the barbarian tribe forget who gave them shelter when they were kicked out of the Azuburg Empire?" Unlike normal times, Laura looked very cold.

Her eyes looked like the eyes of a predator. Her sharp and cold eyes were making the royal officials tremble slightly. Even though they tried not to show it, William was able to feel the fear in their hearts. After spending so much time with the queen, Aditya had found that whenever Laura was angry, sad, or frustrated, the coldness in her eyes would increase.

Unlike other times, the queen was wearing a golden crown and wearing a long blue dress exposing her long legs. Crossing her legs on top of each other, while resting her arms on the armrests part of the throne, today Laura had the Aura of Queen. Before her ice-cold eyes, nothing can be hidden.

"Send a message to the barbarian tribe that if they do not do back down, the queen shall personally come to destroy them."

"Pardon the interruption, your Majesty if we attack the Barbarian tribe, there is a chance that we would also end up offending the other small tribes who live on the scattered islands near our border." William curiously listened to the words of the royal advisors. There are thousands of scattered islands on the border of the Empire. Some of those islands are inhabited by small tribes while most of the islands are abandoned.

"So What? My mother was kind enough to let those small tribes settle down on your border. With time they have started to think that they own the place and can order the Succubus queen to do their bidding."

The coldness in Laura's eyes further intensified. Her face was shrouded in a layer of frost. Even though her face currently showed no emotion, those who are familiar with Laura knew that this time the Barbarian tribe was finished.

"Give a warning to every tribe living on our border. If any tribe supports the Barbarian tribe shall be considered the enemy of the Kingdom. That's all for today. You all may leave." The royal officials bow one last time before exiting the throne hall, leaving the queen and William alone.

"William, you're here."

"Come with me."

After removing the crown, Laura put the crown on the throne and left the throne hall. "Today, I am going to test the result of your 2 months of training. If your performance is not up to the standard, then you can forget about going back home."

"You can wait for me in the garden. I will change and come." Saying that Laura away walked in another direction.

"She is so strict. When it comes to training, she is completely merciless." During their training time, Laura becomes a completely different person. She would not show any affection or warmth for William.

After reaching the garden, William was a little surprised seeing Laura's mother, Rosie sitting on the wooden chair and drinking tea while relaxing under the shade of a tree.

"William, you're here. Want some snacks?" The queen asked while the maid who was quietly standing behind her refilled the teacup.

"No, I am good." William took some time to observe the former queen. He was a little saddened to find the condition of the queen getting worse. She can't even get up. Even though she tried to hide it by acting normally, William can see that her right arm was slightly trembling while holding the teacup.

Soon Laura returned after changing her clothes. She now was wearing black Hakama over a Kimono.

Release!

As if the dam that was holding William's mana had suddenly disappeared. The weight on his body suddenly disappeared. His mana was no longer suppressed.

"How do you feel?"

"Never felt this better." He can feel the tremendous changes within his body. Unlike before, he now can control his mana more efficiently. Before his mana flowed in a circular path and he had no control over it.

"Good." Laura looked satisfied with how fast William has progressed.

"Like yesterday, are we going to spar today?" Every day William and Laura would spar for 2 hours. Laura believed the fastest way of learning to fight would be by sparring. Even though she always lowered her powers, William never managed to defeat her in a fight.

"Yes"

"Will I get any reward if I manage to surpass your expectations?"

After some consideration, Laura decided to give William a chance. "How about this, today if you managed to land even a single attack on me, I will allow you to copy my Star-Blaze ability, the white flames."

"Awesome" William has been wanting to copy the White flame for some time now. But with all the training, he never got the chance to ask Laura.

"Good luck Will" Rosie cheered William from the sidelines. If her condition was better, she would have trained William instead.

"Like always, I will lower my power to level 25. The battle will end once you're out of mana. Before running out of mana, if you can land a hit on me, you win."

"Alright.

[_Name:- William Portsley

_Race: - Incubus King

_Age: - 10

_Level: - 0

_Class: - None

_Blessing: - Blessing of Succubus Goddess, Blessing of Elven Goddess

_Racial Skill: - Incubus Charm, Lust suppression, Endless vitality, Intercourse Wish, Birth control

_Innate Skill: - Perfect copy [Sage rank]

_Passive Skill: - Sword dance (level 2), Wise Blizzard Slash (level 1)

_Strength: - 9 → 15

_Agility: - 15 → 30

_Health: - 10 → 20

_Stamina: - 20 → 50

_Mana: - 310 → 330]

After some sparring sessions with Laura, William's Sword dance skill managed to progress to level 2. 'It's not that I did not want to learn new skills, it was Laura who forbade me from learning new skills until I completed the first phase of my training.'

"Today you can attack first." Usually, Laura would be more brutal during their sparring sessions. Since her mother was observing them today, Laura decided to not anger her mother by going hard on William.

"Then here I come."

Sword Dance!

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Extra Information: - Hakama is the skirt-like pants that are worn over a kimono. It is a traditional piece of samurai clothing.