To most people, Athnas' form must have seemed like a blur, but after years of training with Olivia who was ten times faster, Greg's eyes could easily track the man as he disassembled Anuk. No hesitation, no wasted motion, and most chillingly, not a hint of emotion on the man's face as he did what he did. Part of how human beings understood each other was by being able to put oneself in another person's shoes. Even if you didn't personally feel or believe something, you could put yourself in the shoes of someone who does and see things from their perspective. The man he was looking at was a flesh robot. If he were a sadist or even antisocial like Kori, his actions would still be cruel but somewhat understandable. But even as he repeatedly carved up the giant, Greg couldn't see anything human register in the man's expression. The was no joy or remorse, exhilaration or sympathy, cruelty or mercy in the man. He was ruthlessly carving up a living being and Greg could tell with absolute cer

You know, my master was a real sadistic bastard," Greg found himself speaking. Much to his surprise, the spell amplifying his voice was still in effect, meaning that everyone in the amphitheater could hear him. That, however, didn't bother him in the least as he calmly continued speaking. "She'd beat me within an inch of my life and call that training. If at least three of my bones weren't broken by the end of a training session, she felt that she had gone easy on me. I've probably broken my bones more times than I have bones in my body. At first, I thought that she was just looking to torture me. The better a fighter I became, however, the more I realized that she was holding back. Countless times I had been left bloody and broken on the floor and she had been holding back! In a twisted way, it made me really angry at her. The thought that she could easily break me and not even push herself while doing so, awakened a demon in me!" "I didn't want to win, I knew perfectly well that sh

Greg's free hand immediately swiped at his face to clear it of any loose sand that might still be sticking to it even as he took a step to the side to avoid the attack that cut through where he'd been just a second before. He may have been momentarily forced to close his eyes, but training with Olivia had long since taught him not to just rely on eyesight. Listening to the man's armor and clothes swish about told Greg about how close or far he was. And though his earth sense was badly degraded, he could still feel it when Athnas took a powerful step forward, probably launching some attack. Greg opened his eyes just in time to see Athnas' dagger cut through where his throat had been just a second before. The man had gone for a three-part attack. Sand to blind him, a thrown dagger to sink into his skull, and a slit throat to finish it off. "Getting desperate already? Good... good," this chilling remark is all that Greg uttered before he went on the attack... Greg looked down at Athn

Had Greg still been a mortal he suspected he would have only been able to feel a vague sense of connection to the several different women but not much beyond that seeing as the connections weren't in any way tangible or as a result of some mana connection. After taking the life-order promotion elixir, he had gone from the mortal tier over into the demi tier. Now, even as he walked over to where Athnas' corpse lay, he could clearly pick up in the elements of law that were woven into ethereal connections between himself and the women. Picking one of the connections at random, Greg reached out to it. Greg almost stumbled as he was suddenly intensely aware of Iriya, wife to a merchant by the name Kardu. She was seated to Greg's right on the third row closest to the arena. She was currently next to her husband but looking at Greg with burning desire in her eyes. It wasn't that Greg's vision had split or any such thing. He couldn't piggyback on any of her senses, at least not with the surf

If what Olivia reported was true, the current situation Reina was in, critical as it seemed, was a drastic improvement compared to where she had been. The girl had already stopped breathing by the time his teacher found her. She immediately began casting spells and hasn't stopped ever since. Based on Olivia's report, all this had taken place just minutes before Greg was awakened. His teacher was no longer hobbled by crippled mana pathways. The spells she'd been casting, however, drew on knowledge and magic from higher tiers hence her strain. She was currently the equivalent of a third-tier mage in terms of mana capacity and was holding the line against a poison that was maybe two or three tiers above that. It was illogical, no doubt. Olivia had assured him that his family was safe and that it was Reina who had been attacked. Greg, however, had first made his way to his family. His mother and sister were in a room, with two of Olivia's clones guarding just outside the door and two in