The night fell slowly over the village. The torches illuminated the new streets of Lito-médula, and the aroma of roasted meat floated in the air, mixing with the night breeze.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard of César's house...
Asia was riding a strange creature; her expression showed absolute tension, as if she were making a superhuman effort.
Suddenly, without warning, the animal vanished into a swirl of darkness that returned to Asia's head like a shadow.
The sudden disappearance caught her off guard, making her fall heavily to the ground.
"Well, it's a little difficult, but I can already keep it for six seconds," Asia murmured while brushing the dust off her backside.
Laura, at the side, was holding back her laughter with effort.
Lina elbowed Sasha and whispered, "Why don't you try it too?"
"No, thanks," Sasha replied, waving her hands quickly. "It's already very hard for me just to summon it, much less ride it."
Asia sighed with admiration. "How did César manage to obtain these incredible creatures? Even though they seem insignificant at first glance, who would have thought they would have such an amazing function?"
César had already distributed these "shadow horses" to the people close to him, explaining their main function.
'Mental power,' Asia thought with fascination. She could not believe that another type of cultivable energy existed apart from the ones they already knew.
Laura nodded with undisguised devotion. "It's incredible. Even though my people captured them, if it weren't for César, they would have only been food. We would have never discovered their true importance."
"Mph! It was nothing. I bet it was thanks to the blessing of that God," Raka intervened, pretending disinterest. But deep down, although she tried to be stubborn, her eyes shone with the same respect.
The girls looked at each other and chuckled; they all knew that even though Raka pretended to be displeased, she deeply admired her husband.
The harmonious atmosphere was interrupted by the arrival of two more figures: Adira, the matriarch Adaro, elegant even with her wet scales, and Taurina, the proud daughter of the minotaur leader.
"I hope I'm not disturbing," Taurina said with a radiant smile.
"Not at all," Asia replied kindly. "We were just talking about how incredible César's gifts are. These horses are very useful."
Taurina's eyes sparkled upon hearing César's name. "It's true. Who would have thought that, aside from Aura, Mana, and Ether, something like Mental Power would exist?"
Taurina, like most minotaurs, had already begun to learn the power system that César had established thanks to the blessing of the God with the form of a bird.
"That's true," Adira intervened. "And it's even more incredible that he knows about potions. That's something only the ancient shamans are experts in."
Adira was especially interested.
Her people were now cultivating algae, and she felt curious about one of the potions César had mentioned: one that could form a water seed.
According to César, she had a high probability of possessing elemental affinity with water.
Although she still did not fully understand what "elemental affinity" meant, her curiosity was enormous.
"Yes… César is incredible," they sighed almost in unison, once again immersing themselves in a conversation full of admiration.
Meanwhile…
In the Training Field
Outside, in the vast areas designated for combat, three young goblins were breathing heavily.
In front of them stood their father, Gab Gron, the former Goblin King.
"Is that all?" Gab growled.
Gobut, considered the fastest of the brothers, attacked first.
His axe descended with tremendous force, but against the veteran skill of his father, his speed was not enough.
Gab dodged the blow with insulting ease and counterattacked with a dry strike to the stomach. Gobut fell to the ground without air.
Gabe tried to take advantage of the opening by moving his spear quickly, but the old goblin blocked the attack and threw him over his shoulder as if he weighed nothing.
"Pathetic," Gab snorted while looking at his sons with disdain. "Too weak. You weren't even enough to warm me up."
Then he looked at his last son still standing: Góbol.
Unlike his brothers, Góbol's physique was imposing, even surpassing the robustness of César himself.
The young one remained silent, surrounded by a strange energy that was not mana. It was Ether.
Góbol advanced and his sword moved like lightning.
Gab barely managed to block, but the impact forced him to step back several steps. Surprise crossed the old king's face.
'Incredible… this is the same path as César,' Gab murmured to himself.
Góbol gave no respite and attacked again. Gab, now prepared, smiled. "Good. Now this is getting interesting."
Although Góbol had the advantage in brute strength, Gab possessed decades of combat experience.
As the minutes passed, the technique of the old king prevailed and Góbol ended up on the ground next to his brothers.
A short distance away, Gorn, the minotaur leader, observed the scene with his arms crossed.
His frustration at seeing his daughter joined to a goblin still burned inside him.
But then an idea crossed his mind.
'Even if I can't take it out on César, I can teach his father a lesson,' he thought with a malicious smile.
He approached the arena with a deep voice. "Hey, goblin."
Gab raised an eyebrow.
He sensed a hint of malice, but dismissed it thinking it was just the rough nature of César's men. "What's going on?"
The nearby minotaurs, goblins, murlocs, and adaros gathered around, sensing a spectacle.
"I have observed your training," Gorn said with a smile. "I wonder if you would also like to train with me."
César's father let out a laugh and accepted without hesitation. "Sure."
Gorn advanced like a mountain in motion.
Gab concentrated his mana into his sword and launched a slash, but Gorn did not even stop.
The minotaur broke through the defense, splitting the steel sword in two with his brute strength.
His fist continued its path until it struck the goblin's chest, sending him several meters across the ground.
Gab rolled and coughed, trying to recover his breath.
Gorn looked at him with contempt.
'Pathetic,' he thought to himself, although he pretended external concern.
But before he could leave…
A figure appeared in front of the giant.
It was Luna, César's mother.
She approached the minotaur with icy calm.
"Would you also like to train with me?" she asked.
Her voice was calm, but it had a sharp edge like ice.
Gorn laughed carelessly.
'I'll teach the mother a lesson so the son learns,' he thought as he accepted.
Luna raised her sword and the minotaurs burst into laughter, expecting a quick victory from their chief.
It was their biggest mistake.
Luna moved.
Her sword spun like a storm of silver.
Her mana was not crude; it was refined and precise.
As part of a clan that already manipulated mana before César's arrival, and now with her son's new system, she was on another level.
She was no longer the defenseless woman who had once been captured.
In seconds, Luna surpassed the giant's guard.
One, two, three strikes of her mana-covered sword struck Gorn's vital points.
Although the minotaur's skin was tough, the precision of the attacks wiped the smile from his face.
Before Gorn could react, Luna's sword struck his knee with perfect technical force.
The giant fell to his knees and, in the blink of an eye, the tip of the sword stopped at his throat.
Absolute silence filled the field.
"Next time…" Luna whispered with a voice only Gorn could hear, "…choose better who you hit."
Gorn stared at her. Then, to everyone's surprise, he began to laugh. A deep and genuine laugh. "HAHAHAHA!"
For a minotaur, strength was the only language worthy of respect.
He slowly stood up, looking at Luna with real approval. "You are incredible. Much better than the werewolves I've met."
"Aren't you angry?" Luna asked with curiosity.
"No. Now I understand," Gorn replied.
He looked toward the village, imagining the figure of César behind all this power.
'Your family is full of monsters,' he thought with a satisfied smile.
Now he knew he did not serve a simple goblin, but a lineage destined for greatness.