Chapter 172 Double Trouble
“PUSH!” Alv shouted, watching as his son and daughter did their best to do just that.
“Hrrrrgh…” Van grunted as he tried pushing the boulder that was three times larger than him with weights on.
“PUSH!” Alv shouted again.
“I’m… trying!” Van grunted back, forcing the boulder another inch forward. “Why are we doing this again?” he asked, already tired and annoyed by this task.
“This training is to help increase your strength and speed. Believe it or not, it's actually very effective. The goal is to simply get the boulder around the lap as quickly as possible. That’s all.” Alv said. “Now PUSH!”
Van did his best alongside Luna also doing hers. Inching their respective boulders bit by bit around the track to the best of their ability and strength.
“I don’t care if it takes the whole day, you will finish this task!” Alv shouted, earning a few more grunts from Van and Luna.
And while it did not take most of the day, it did take about five hours for them to complete. Leaving Van and Luna huffing and puffing by the end of it.
“Good! Now do it again!” Alv said, arms crossed and waiting expectantly for them to continue. “And you will keep doing this over and over again until you all are able to push the boulder in less than an hour!”
“Less than an hour! That’s impossible!” Van exclaimed and Luna complained.
“Nonsense, Thea! Show them how it’s done!” Alv said, turning to his wife.
Thea nodded and got behind Luna’s boulder. She then proceeded to push it around the lap in less than ten minutes quite easily. She probably could have gone faster if she had used her full strength.
Suffice to say, Van and Luna looked a little worried that their parents expected them to get anywhere close to that speed. Otherwise, they would be here forever…
“Now then, we still have a few hours left for daylight. Get to work!” Alv said, giving a firm clap of his hands to get them back into it.
Van and Luna groaned and started the slow trek around the track pushing their respective boulders. By the time they completed another lap, the sun was setting down and they were exhausted.
“Good! Now that that’s done, it’s time to train your aura a bit. Get into your poses and close your eyes. Work your aura like usual and you should be able to recover some of your stamina. Once that's done, we will begin your next training session.” Alv said.
Van and Luna sighed, but took their seat on the ground and crossed their legs, closing their eyes and working their aura to help heal their bodies' woes and more.
After an hour, Alv addressed them once more. “Good, now that you are rested up, let’s begin your training once more. But before that, who here knows about aura cultivation?”
Van and Luna looked at each other before Van answered. “Isn't just training your willpower and body?”
“Yes, it is. That’s how you increase your aura pool. But did you know that there are other ways of increasing the strength and pool of your aura?” Alv asked.
Van and Luna shook their heads, the first time hearing this.
“Well… I don’t know if we already have gone over this or not… but you know that you have different types of aura do you not?” Alv asked, then continued when he got their nods. “Well, it has been discovered that you can sacrifice one of your aura colors to temporarily or permanently increase, or deepen, the color of another.”
“What happens to the color you sacrifice?” Van asked.
“Depending on how you did it. It either comes back naturally over time or is permanently gone with a permanent increase in your desired color. This means that you cannot use that color ever again, but conversely, the color you deepened will be even stronger depending on the strength of the aura color you sacrificed. Though this is a largely frowned on technique for increasing your aura’s power.” Alv said.
“Another method though,” he began. “Is to create what is known as an aura heart. Where you slowly infuse your aura into your heart and make it a part of your body. Thereby increasing your aura pool and regeneration. But doing such a thing can also get in the way of other cultivations, so it should not be done unless you are aware of what you're doing in the long run.”
“I’m telling you this now because there are a few more aura cultivation techniques that I want to impart to you two to help you grow while you are away from home. Something you can do on your own time to help increase your power. Once we are done with this month, I want to be able to have taught you everything you need to know about aura so even if you're gone for years to come you can practice and grow on your own.” Alv said.
“But… wouldn’t the school also teach us aura techniques and cultivations?” Van asked.
“True… but what they may teach could be different than what I’m teaching… I’ve traveled around the world honing my skills and knowledge about aura. I like to think that I may have a broader and more in-depth view of how to use aura and the best ways to grow it. And I just want to make sure that’s imparted into you two in case they don’t have knowledge that I may.” Alv said caringly.
“As a child, I grew up with barely a wisp of mana to my name. I had to do everything I could to improve my aura just to prove my strength. There are going to be times when your aura is all that you can rely on, either because you're out of mana pool, or because something is preventing you from using your magic. So being able to use powerful aura in case of emergencies can help save your life… and that’s the most important thing ever…” Letting some of his true concerns show through.
Van and Luna were touched by Alv’s concern for them and felt somewhat mollified that this was all for their sake and that all this harsh training was truly out of a genuine feeling of love for them.
“Don’t worry dad, we’ll learn everything we can about aura before we leave,” Van said.
“Ya! I love using aura over mana anyway! You can count on me!” Luna added.
Alv smiled kindly. “Thank you Van, Luna, I appreciate it…” sharing a moment with his two wonderful kids.
“And now that your break is over… let’s get back to work shall we!” He then summoned two training dummies from his soul realm. “You remember them right? Hope you two have fun!”
Van and Luna did remember the training dummies from before and paled a little at seeing those lifeless things brandish their weaponry before them.
“Let's begin your training… now!” Alv said happily. “Have fun for the next three hours!”
Van and Luna took all their good feelings back. They hated training. Jumping up and getting ready for battle as the training dummies pounced on them.
---
A few hours later, Van and Luna fell onto their beds exhausted. Thankfully they still had a few hours to shower and simply relax before bed. Something they planned to take full advantage of. And to which they did, taking a nice long bath… though doing their best not to let their wiping done of each other’s bodies lead to anything else…
After that, Van decided to train his aura for a bit, then enter his soul realm before going to bed.
As he entered his soul realm, he descended down toward Anna’s temple to see how she was doing. Walking through the hallowed halls of this great structure, he couldn’t help but feel how empty it was… it was a little empty before, obviously Anna planned for a lot more people down the line… but now it kinda felt… barren.
“Ah! Master! What brings you here?” Anna asked from behind Van.
Van spun around, a little surprised, but not by much. “Hello, Anna. I was just wondering if there were any changes or anything that I should worry about now that there are fewer followers for the religion you're growing.”
Anna raised an amused brow. “It’s your religion, not mine.” she teased.
Van sighed. “I know… I guess… but it's not like I asked for it, and you're the one that seems far more proactive about this than me. Not to mention you do all the work…”
Anna chuckled lightly. “I suppose you do have a point… would you like some tea? I know today has been a long day for you and that you probably want to go to bed soon. We can discuss matters of the religion then.” motioning down the hall towards the cafeteria.
“I would love to… but I can’t…” Van said sadly. “Not allowed to eat anything remember? Even my drinking is thoroughly watched. It’s all about that willpower…” sounding a little exasperated.
“Oh, I'm so sorry. It was not my intention to be rude or try to tempt you to ruin your training.” Anna apologetically said.
“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it.” Van lightheartedly replied. “I actually came here because I wanted to tell you something.”
“Oh? What is it?” Anna asked, tilting her head a little, curious about what it could be.
“I think I’ve decided to fully embrace being a god of order. But I also wanted to say that I think I want to be a god of knowledge as well… truth be told, I like learning, and I figured that by being a god of knowledge, I can also help others learn as well. And being a god of knowledge will also help increase the rate I learn, which I feel in the long run will help me immensely. I also have some thoughts on being a god of… perfection? Or perhaps a god that strives for improvement, maybe evolution? I don’t know the right word for it or connotation or how it relates to godhood. But I want those who follow me to always strive to do their best to be the best they can be. And I want their striving, to improve themselves to have an actual effect. Do you know what I mean?” worried that he was a bit too confused at the end there.
Anna smiled gently. “Of course I do. You’ve always had a kind heart. It makes sense that you would want to be able to help others, even as you help yourself.” she then gave a somewhat sad expression. “Sadly, you are not there yet to choose a second aspect. Or as some might say, domain or portfolio. Only when you have become a demigod can you add another, or two if you're lucky… sorry I could not be of more help…”
“No, that’s fine…” Van said somewhat deflated. “I want to thank you anyway for your help. At least if anything I now know what I want to become in the future. Is there anything I can help you with while I’m here?” he asked in the hopes of being useful since Anna has always given so much for him.
Anna tilted her head once more. “Hmmm… not that I can-” she then blinked. “Actually, there is something.” As a sudden thought came to her.
“Yes? What is it?” Van asked, also surprised that there was something Anna needed his help in.
“Your double is in the courtyard. Do you remember where? Near the big tree where you created those butterflies.” Anna said, waiting for a bit to see if Van remembered, then continued when he said he did. “Well, since so many women left, he has gotten a lot of free time and now spends it reading books there. He says it's because it is relaxing, but has also admitted that he’s hoping to see you about something. Though he has not yet said what.”
“Hmm?” Van tilted his own head now, and mentally reached out for his double. When he did, he got a mental hand wave and a sense that his other self was very close by. “You're right… I’ll go see him right now and see what he wants. I hope he wasn’t too much trouble while he was here.” a little worried that his double was a bother to Anna.
“Not at all. He hardly if ever bothers anyone unless it is to ask for a book or refreshment. Other than that, he doesn’t move from his place at all. Unless it’s to go back to the brothel from time to time to help deal with the customers that build up.” Anna said.
“Well that’s good… I’ll go see him now and see what he wants. Thanks for dealing with him while I was away.” Van said, thanking her.
“It really was no problem,” Anna said, feeling weird about being thanked for something she felt was trivial. “He is technically you, so of course, I would help.
“Still, thanks,” Van said, then walked towards the direction where his double was.
And just like Anna said, there he was, in the courtyard by the large tree, reading a book on the bench.
“So I heard you wanted to see me?” Van asked, wondering what all this was about.
The double slowly closed his book and looked at his true self. “Ah… yes… so good for you to come…” getting up from his seat. “There are a few things I want to talk to you about.”
“Such as?” Van asked.
“Such as your training, and what I feel is a gross misuse of my power…” the double responded.
“Your power?” Van asked, somewhat confused.
“Yes, my power…” the double affirmed. “You see, despite being powerless outside your soul realm, and you being stronger than me in general… I feel I could easily best you should we dual…”
“Oh?” Van said, wondering what this was all about and if his double was trying to start a fight. “And what makes you think you can beat me so easily when you yourself admitted that you're weaker than me?” wondering what angle his double was going for.
The double raised a finger. “One. Despite being slightly weaker than you, I do not show my emotions on my face easily. I’m practically unreadable…” now pointing at his somewhat blank and bored-looking expression. Then raised a second finger. “Two. I know every skill you do, every technique. And so long as I'm in your soul realm, we will always have an equal draw on your mana pool, which even includes your aura.” he then raised a third finger. “Three. I know how you think, I know why you think the way you think. I know what you would do before you do it. That’s why I believe I can beat you…” putting his fingers down.
“Okay… but why are you telling me this?” Van asked, realizing his double had a point and was a little worried about it.
“Because Van…” the double now staring Van in the eyes. “I’m your perfect sparring partner…”
“...huh?” Van blinked in response.
“Think about it, Van… if you can overcome me… you would effectively have surpassed yourself. And grow and evolve as an individual. In fact, I'm only here because you desperately want to get stronger and I'm acting on your subconscious desires. That’s why I say I want to be your sparring partner. Otherwise… I honestly don’t care…” the double said, looking the closest to annoyed that his bored expression could get.
“Oh…” Van said, feeling oddly relaxed now that he realized that this wasn’t some sort of coup d'etat.
“And another thing!” the double suddenly said, making Van tense. “What I learn, you learn. What I practice, you practice. Why do you think I'm reading whatever books I can get my hands on? Seriously Van, use your head. Anna does this all the time! Training her many selves at the same time to get stronger faster. And that isn’t even to mention that so long as I'm in your soul realm with access to your mana pool I can make anything you can. When you were having trouble making all those potions and enchanting all those arms and armor you could have come to me for help. But you didn’t… and quite frankly… I'm disappointed…” the double said, admonishing his true self.
Van blinked, then his eyes widened at how true the words his double spoke.
“And that's not even going into the dozen or so other things that you could be doing to improve yourself. You may have a hard time sensing the knowledge our subconscious provides, but I don’t. I even… made a list…” and the double pulled out a long, long, long piece of paper of all the things that Van could’ve done to improve himself.
Van paled. He really didn’t want to have to stay here for the next few hours listening to what was apparently a list of his subconscious’s complaints about how he ran things.
“Number one.” his double began. “You literally have dozens of not more past lives filled to the brim with knowledge from everything to farming to spaceship navigation. You could easily ask Ren to get you in touch with a few safe past lives to help train and teach you new things to make you stronger. But you don’t…”
“Number two.” his double continued. And continued to continue, always ending everything with. “But you don’t…” making Van feel really bad.
“Number one hundred and thirty-three.” the double went on. “You should get a wardrobe upgrade, you can easily afford it or make your own that would be far better than what you are wearing now… but you don’t…”
“Someone, please kill me… I just want to go to sleep…” Van whined inwardly.