The sun was still low when Draven arrived at the woods.
The place was about half an hour from the village. It was isolated, full of ancient trees and large rocks that formed small clearings. For Draven, it was the perfect place to train without anyone seeing him.
He placed his hand on one of the larger rocks.
"Let's begin."
The Great Sage immediately answered in his mind.
Training initiated.
Objective: Improving control of Noctharum
Testing physical resistance
Training Armament Haki
Draven took a deep breath.
First, he decided to test his physical strength.
He positioned himself in front of the large rock and clenched his fist. A dark layer began to envelop his arm.
It was Armament Haki.
He struck.
CRACK
The rock shattered into two irregular pieces.
Draven looked at his own hand for a moment.
— It's still strange…
Even to him, that strength seemed excessive.
The Great Sage commented:
Analysis complete.
Current physical strength:
approximately 8 times greater than that of a trained adult human.
Draven let out a small sigh.
— It's still not enough.
Now it was time to train Noctharum.
He reached out to the ground.
Shadows began to slowly lengthen. At first, only small dark lines moved.
Draven concentrated more.
This time the shadows rose, forming three small dark blades floating in the air.
The Great Sage analyzed:
Form created:
Noctharum's Blades.
Stability: 63%
Estimated maintenance time: 12 seconds
Draven made a quick gesture.
The blades flew towards a tree.
THUD
They became stuck to the tree trunk before disappearing a few seconds later.
Draven nodded slightly.
"That's better now."
After a few hours of training, he sat down on a rock to rest.
Even with his high stamina, using Noctharum continuously still tired his body.
The Great Sage explained:
Reason for fatigue:
The body is still adapting to the flow of dark energy.
Recommendation: Gradual training.
Draven agreed.
He was still growing. Overexerting himself could be dangerous.
While resting, he heard something.
Footsteps.
Draven turned his head immediately.
On the other side of the clearing, three figures appeared among the trees.
They weren't from the village.
One of them had bluish skin and golden eyes. Another possessed arms much longer than normal. The third carried a curved sword on his back.
They also understood Draven. The man with the sword spoke first:
"So you're the boy they were talking about."
Draven stood up slowly.
"It depends. Who's asking?"
The man smiled slightly.
"Hunters."
Draven narrowed his eyes.
Now he understood.
After the previous fight, someone probably spread the word that there was a strange boy with unusual powers in the region.
And some decided to come and check it out.
The Great Sage quickly analyzed:
Enemies detected: 3
Threat level: moderate
Probability of victory: high
Draven snapped his fingers.
The shadows around him began to move again.
"So you came on the right day."
The three hunters drew their weapons.
And Draven stepped forward.
"I needed some more serious training."