Chapter 15 - Secret

Just then, Julius awoke from cultivation on his own with a gasp.

"What happened? You were doing so well too," Jun complained.

"And do me a favour and explain why you were smiling even though you were cultivating?" Jun demanded.

"I am smiling?" Julius asked.

"Yes you were. Now tell me what was so important that you had to break concentration?" Jun asked.

There was only a single thought that was passed through Julius' head. When he first thought about it, he didn't get bothered by it at all which was odd however when he thought about that subject a bit more, it caused him to break concentration. That specific thought was...

"It was nothing!" Julius yelled out by accident as he tried to stop himself from getting flustered, especially in front of his master.

"If it's nothing then why do you look embarrassed and why did you yell? Unless..." Jun said as he got an idea. Just the thought of it made him grin more than he had ever done before. Sure he had some sinister looks in the past but this one made him look like an actual villain.

"So mister prince.... who's the lucky lady?" Jun asked before breaking into laughter then once again calming himself down. Just as Julius heard that his master had figured it out, his face turned more red.

"I've got you now! So tell me, is it one of the daughters of the kings and queens which rule the 8 kingdoms? It would make sense though, people of royalty end up sticking to other royalty," said Jun as he tried to figure out what Julius' thoughts were.

"Oh right, of course. No one would think of that... he'll never get the right answer. He created a path for me to escape without me even having to ask," Julius said to himself as he tried to stop himself from laughing in victory.

"It in fact is one of them but I'll never tell you which one it is," Julius replied to Jun as he tried to make up a fake story that his master would believe.

"Suit yourself then, I'll just come along with you when you return to the kingdom. They'll most likely hold a celebration for you in which all of the royal families will attend. Then on that day, I'll watch your reaction as you greet each of the guests and the one in which you'll act the weirdest is the woman which you thought of," said Jun proudly.

"Even though I've grown old, I'm still as smart as I used to be in my hay day," Jun said as he smiled.

"No! This could prove to be problematic! Even if I don't act any specific way around the other princesses, if he sees me speaking to HER, he'll surely find out," Julius thought to himself in anger.

"I'll just have to make sure he forgets about accompanying me to the kingdom by the time this is all done," Julius told himself before replying to Jun.

"Have it your way then. But I assure you, I won't make a single change in the way I speak so you'll just be wasting your time there, that's only if you manage to live that long in the first place old man," Julius replied which caused Jun to sigh.

"I guess you're right. At the rate at which you're going, it'll be a millennia before you complete your training," Jun mocked Julius.

"Oh is that so?! Then how about we get started already! You don't want to die before you find out my secret do you?" said Julius as he stood up proudly.

Even though Julius didn't get a chance to sleep yet, he stood up as if nothing was wrong with him. Of course it would only be a matter of time before he would feel the drawbacks of pushing his body to its limits.

"That's fine by me!" Jun replied before standing up himself and rushing outside to begin Jun's physical training which would last until the day was over.

Once in the backyard, Jun prepared to test a theory he had from the previous day. He had created a hypothesis as to why Julius was able to run 32 laps without even feeling the slightest bit of fatigue. His hypothesis concluded that Julius was able to adapt to things as long as he got started on them. In the beginning, he might be very slow at it but as time goes on, he increases his speed and form at which he performs the tasks given to him. It was truly a terrifying concept to perceive. Especially considering the fact that his ability might not have any limits. However, since Jun couldn't assign seemingly insane tasks out of nowhere, he had to create some lies.

"Since I don't want to die before I meet the princess who broke your concentration, we're going to have to speed things up! GIVE ME 1000 PUSHUPS RIGHT NOW!" Jun yelled at Julius.

Even though it was an insane request to ask of someone who clearly had weak arms, Jun's eyes suggested that he wasn't joking. Julius knew from experience that if the goals Jun set weren't met, it would surely end badly. Nevertheless, Julius attempted to do the task he was given.

"Either I finish those pushups or I die trying. I won't allow myself to fail and stay alive, especially because I would rather die from exhaustion than die at the hand of this man," Julius told himself as he got on the ground in a plank-like position before attempting the insane task of completing 1000 pushups.

"1..."

"2..."

"3..."

"5..."

"I'm starting to feel sick. My head hurts so much. I feel like puking. All I want to do is die!" Julius said as he didn't even get through a small fraction of the total amount he was asked to do.

"10..."

"20..."

"50..."

"100..."

"500.."

"999."

"1000!" said Julius as he unbelievably accomplished the impossible task which his master had set upon him.

"He really did it! He was at his base stats too! He didn't even rank up or level up! Truly a terrifying monster.. We might finish his training before we know it!" said Jun as he looked at Julius with his eyes widened so he could perceive the monster he was raising.