Chapter 329 - Self Control Training(3)

And so Eric gave this bizarre bit of training a shot. I mean how bad could it be right? He tried this a couple of times on rainy days when he couldn't go out, to beat boredom. But yet again his head was over a soft comfortable fur blanket that time.

Placing his head on the flattest piece of Volcanic rock he could find, he started lifting his legs high in aims of attaining balance. At first, he just tipped over and fell on his back. It hurt more than one would consider for it to hurt, his shoulder blades took in a lot of impact and so did his h.i.p.s.

Luckily though, nothing is broken. He decided to take a different approach towards this unique training method. He directed himself straight forwards the lava, so if he fell again it would at least be a lot softer. Ironic isn't it? But lava doesn't burn him so hey this is very smart.

He placed his head against the Volcanic rock as softly as he could, and prepared himself to try this trick again. He realized that last time he might have given a bit too much thrust, so this time he slowed down.

At the first attempt of lifting his legs up, he didn't yet get straight enough, meaning that he didn't give enough thrust this time. Not to worry, at least he can easily try again.

The second shot became a bit more progressive of course, that's how progress naturally works. But just a second later his feet met the Volcanic rock, he doesn't have enough abdominal strength to keep this going and his arms are just not helping.

"You good. Keep it up." Kazer encouraged as he stood 10 feet tall a couple of meters away, "Use arm."

This time, deciding to rely on his arms a bit more, his feet raised high but he didn't tip over. Managing to hold this pose for 3 seconds, he already started shaking and felt a lot of his muscles twitching.

Kazer walked over closer, and asked. "Can you stay this?"

Able to catch up what he said, he answered. "Barely."

"Good." Kazer answered and without allowing him to see how many seconds he can keep it up, he pushed Eric and threw him down to the Lava.

Pissed off, but at the same time feeling a lot of relief thanks to the fact that he won't have to keep that form up anymore, he popped his head out of the lava and as he clung to the Volcanic rock he asked. "Why did you do that for?" But he didn't ask it angrily.

"Do you angry?" Asked Kazer as he grabbed Eric by the collar and dragged him out of the Lava.

"I'm not angry, although I find this training a bit pointless." With no aims to offend them but on the other hand having it hard to understand why does it have to be this hard. "The hardest training exercise I had, was when I learned the fire shield. Yet that seems a lot easier now compared to this."

"Is this Fire Controlling?" Asked Kazer with his eyebrow raised as he walked over to his preferred sitting place and awaited it for Eric's answer.

"Well no..." he answered, not quite understanding where this will lead.

"This no fire, this lava. It wants control, it want stronger man." Although a rough sentence, Eric could understand the concept. This is no job for a weakling, it literally requires strong brute strength.

"So I need to be stronger? When will I know that I will be strong enough to at least reach Level 2? I don't think I can do this for years." Eric became brutally honest here, these training exercises are just not for him. At least Akareas got lucky when she came in to power with Lava as an aid instead of Fire.

"Controlling Lava is like grabbing Lava and carry all weight. If no carry, you crush." Kazer answered brutally honest, in some terms this doesn't exactly link with self control but at the same pace it doesn't have to be all about it. Lava Controlling obviously has more to it, like the required strength.

"I understand." Eric answered, and trying not to let his motivation fade here he continued. "I will need a lot of time from the looks of it, I'm not as strong as any of you."

"You not need, you just not be crushed." He explained, and with the bit of Ignite language he knows, he wanted to explain another training method but this time it focuses less towards the physical. "Now we do different train. Hmmm."

He tried to think it through, how could he explain this to Eric in a way he could understand? "Do you know kids?"

"Yes..."

"Kid have no discipline, no order. You teach them order." With that part down, thinking that he might have understood it enough.

He decided to explain why the Grand Masters have chosen this type of training exercise. "This is self control train, but no strength needed. Just mind."

This made one thing clear, the physical exercises are over. Now it gets mental, after all it is all about perception. But what low life would loose their control thanks to kids? What would Eric do? Torch them? No that's tremendously stupid since he flew down and gave all of his capabilities to save a kid.

But if not torch them, he can't slap them either. They can pretty much beat the daylights out of him even though in Ignite years they would qualify as 3-10 years old. I suppose the best way to find out is to go and try it up there.

"So do I have to go there now?" Asked Eric hoping not to stay here and balance himself upside down all day. If he came back tomorrow and tried it, it would feel a lot easier since he would be well rested.

"No no, now touch toes." Kazer answered with a smile across his lips and tried to sync in meditation himself. The team of 5 have decided to keep him with this exercise for another hour and for the two more hours he will be babysitting the kids.

Commander Alia specified that Ignites have it hard to work after 8 hours of labour, so they decided to make the last hours physically easy. They don't want to break the Golden Blood, on the other hand they want to make him more and more worthy of his title.

...

"AAAAAAA!"

'Hihihihihihi."

"Meow."

"Hahahahahaha!"

As you might have noticed, these are kids. Although Eric found it confusing how they know how to meow considering that felines aren't so common in Ignis, a bit less common than Black Wolves even.

He became glad that at least the wild cats here are of a species smaller than average hounds, they are not harmful. Most importantly he wanted to figure out why did these kids meow.

He was a kid as well, but this type of behaviour was too rare for him. As if it was seasonal, and furthermore these kids remind him of the rotten kinds in Crutal Kingdom. I'd like to say that ill.u.s.tratios only, but not really. Some Ignite kids showed behaviour that some might consider demonic, but they are kids after all.

To make this task a lot less difficult, actually it can even be considered a cheat. He brought along a special lady that did not have a tantrum or set of rage ever since they met, Ada. If anyone can help him deal with kids it is her, or Commander Alia but she tends to tease a lot.

"Welzer Artej!"

"Welzer Artej...?"

"Welzer Artej."

Repeated the kids one by one, after they saw the respected King, the respected Golden Blood. They even started calming down, instead of yelling and shouting. Eric has been sent here to a room in the first spiral but this time he was smart enough to fly up instead of walk up.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be doing this "training" alone?" Ada asked, still not understanding the point of it but trying to respect the word of the Grand Masters.

"I didn't want to face so many people alone." And of course here Social Anxiety is working hard, for some reason he has developed a dislike towards Children. Mostly because he technically escaped the title of a child a couple months ago when he became 16, but also because he knows how devilish they can be. "And I think you mentioned something about loving kids."

"Correction, I love the chubby faces they bring." Ada explained as she grabbed the possibly youngest of this bundle of kids, he seems to have trouble walking so he must be around 10 years old. Inverted but at the same rate it proves how long Calidum Lutum take to be physically ready. "Touch them."

Of course she would ask to touch them, but how could he say no? Ada is just too enthusiastic. He grabbed the youngling's cheek and squished it a little bit, finally could understand why Commander Alia loves doing this so much.

"Those are soft." Eric complimented although the kid just stared blankly towards the King, not quite understanding what a Golden Blood is even thinking that it is because his small size. But the other kids are making a hype out of it so why not aye?

"But they do yell a lot." Eric pointed out what he doesn't like about kids apart from some other demonic behaviour.

"They are just kids, they yell to discover." Ada spoke, and it even felt like a joke.

Until Eric asked, trying to carry out the joke. "Discover what? How fast can my ears bleed?"

"I'd say they want to discover how much they can yell." Ada explained, as she afterwards glanced at another kid who keeps poking another kid because the finger sinks down every time he pokes.

"If you don't want to loose control here, just become as mindless as they are." She explained as she gave Eric a shove, pushing him inside the circle of kids. "Just have fun."