System's POV
chapter-456-1

The sound of Rhia's giggles faintly spread across the forest around the mountain where Zion's Family Residence was located.

The little girl was currently riding on top of Albion, who was racing with Derek as the latter ran while carrying weights on his body.

Uncle Boo trailed behind Rhia and even looked at the Swordsman in disdain as if telling it by its gaze "Is this all that you can do? Pathetic!"

Derek, who had no idea that he was being looked down upon by the little Beholder, was sweating like buckets. He was now feeling tired, and yet, he still had to run five more laps around the mountain.

'At this rate, I won't finish until lunchtime,' Derek thought as he forced himself to take one step at a time. 'I knew the training would be something like this, but it seems that I still underestimated the training routine prepared for us. Zion is really a hellish trainer.'

Using Rianna as an example during the latest battle, Thirteen told everyone the importance of having enough stamina to run away from monsters during times of crisis.

Erica's excuse of "mages don't need to build stamina" was easily rebuked by Thirteen with a few words.

"I'll piss on your grave when you die."

This incensed Erica so much that she started to run despite feeling like she was about to die after five minutes.

Unlike Derek who needed to run around the mountain for ten laps, the Sorceres only needed to run around it once.

Although Thirteen was strict, he also understood that doing the impossible on the first day wasn't going to help Erica build up confidence and motivation.

The Hero Party, the Valkyries, and Rianna were given a specific number of laps around the mountain depending on their physical abilities.

Shana and Mildred were allowed to only run two laps because, unlike Erica who was physically unfit, the Saintess and the Archer received decent physical training when they were younger.

Roland and Rianna would also run ten laps like Derek, while Diana and Joshua would run five times around the mountain.

Remi was also included in the training, running alongside Shana and Mildred, making sure that they didn't stray off the course that was littered with bright yellow flags.

"I… swear… that if I die… I'll kill you… Zion," Erica huffed and puffed as she walked like a zombie with a mission.

"You're already like this when you still have afternoon magic training later," Thirteen replied in disdain. "How weak are you, really?"

"You… brat," Erica wheezed. "No respect… for elders."

"Sorry, Grandma," Thirteen replied with contempt. "Should I give you your walking stick now?"

Thirteen was worried that Erica would suddenly roll over somewhere along the course and collapse, so he decided to accompany her and walk beside her as if taking a leisurely stroll in the mountainside.

"I'm a… Sorceress," Erica stated. "You should… train me… with magic!"

"Like I said, that's for the afternoon," Thirteen replied. "What's the point in training you in using magic when you'll be the first to die once a monster breaches past Diana's defenses? I'm doing this for your own good, you know?"

Although Thirteen's words were filled with contempt and ridicule, the corners of his lips were raised slightly.

Seeing Erica like this reminded him of some of his Hosts who all started as weak nobodies.

In fact, Erasmus, who had now become a Death Lord, was once a sickly boy.

Growing up, Thirteen gave him a lot of quests to help him strengthen his body.

The System Rewards at that time were just very simple things, but getting rewarded for a job well done motivated Erasmus to do well, and a few decades later, he had become one of the strongest, if not the Strongest Wanderer, in Pangea during his era.

Knowing that a reward system was effective in motivating someone, he applied this method to his family, especially when he was training Mikhail and Shasha several years ago.

"Then how about this?" Thirteen said. "If you complete this task, I'll give you a reward. What kind of reward do you want?"

"A punch… on your… face!" Erica panted for breath.

"If you punch me, Remi and Rhia will get upset," Thirteen replied. "We can't have that, so think of something else."

Erica stopped walking as she leaned on a tree trying to regain her breath.

"Make me… strong," Erica replied. "Make me strong… instantly!"

"Girl, how about you just gather seven magic balls and make a wish to make you strong instantly?" Thirteen smirked. "Now ask me for a more realistic wish."

"Marry me."

"On second thought, how about we start searching for those seven magic balls, yeah?"

A laugh escaped the beautiful young lady with dark blue hair. As one of the rising stars of her generation, she had her share of marriage invitations from various families, including those from the Scions of the Monarch Clans and the Ten Prestigious Families.

Despite her background of being just a poor commoner, she rose in the ranks, making her a hot commodity because of her talents.

Perhaps they thought that if she were paired up with their talented children, Erica would give birth to an exceptional child who would become a future prodigy.

She playfully asked the thirteen-year-old to marry her even though she wasn't really serious about it.

However, Thirteen's instant rejection made her understand that in his eyes, she wasn't special enough to be considered as a lover candidate.

Having been given a few minutes to regain her breath, Erica was feeling a lot better. She glanced at the teenage boy, who was looking at his sister riding on top of a Unicorn that was the size of an adult Siberian Husky.

"Bwadah!" Rhia happily greeted her brother as the two of them high-fived each other. "Yay!"

After the two high-fived, Albion continued to run because he didn't want Derek to overtake them.

Currently, Rhia was in the lead of the race, with Derek in second place.

Roland was in third, and Joshua was in fourth place.

It seemed that the Hero was pacing himself and not exerting himself too hard for this stamina training.

Thirteen was fine with it. All that mattered was they completed the ten laps he had asked of them.

"Erica, are you still alive?" Derek asked while jogging in place.

"F*ck off," Erica replied in a manner that would make Shana shake her head in disappointment.

"I guess you're still alive," Derek laughed before continuing his run. "See you later, Master."

Thirteen nodded "Mmm."

Five minutes later, Roland and Joshua also appeared in their vision.

Just like Thirteen expected, the Hero was still looking fresh and seemed to be taking this training as a normal jog.

"Are you alright, Erica?" Roland asked the Sorceress, who was still leaning on the tree.

"I'm fine," Erica replied as she made a gut pose and a peace sign. "This is nothing for the great Erica!"

"Well, as long as you're fine, then it's good." Roland then gave Thirteen a brief nod before continuing his run.

"Don't push yourself too much," Joshua commented. "We know that you're not built for physical fitness exercises."

Joshua gave Zion a sidelong glance before running after his love rival.

When he was certain that the two were out of earshot, Thirteen smirked at Erica.

"You sure know how to keep up appearances, huh?" Thirteen said. "You must really like Roland, huh?"

"What's there to not like about him?" Erica answered. "Unlike you, Roland treats me well."

"Well, unlike me, Roland was unable to solve the crisis in the Rigel Continent," Thirteen smirked. "Please, we're not on the same level. He's not even as valuable as my pinky finger."

Erica clicked her tongue because she couldn't say anything to refute the annoying brat's words.

Although they were called the Hero Party, their achievements indeed paled in comparison to Zion's achievements.

While the Sorceress was feeling irritated, Thirteen approached her and held her hand.

"W-What are you doing?!" Erica was about to pry the teenage boy's hands away, but when he saw how serious his gaze was, she stopped midway.

"Erica, listen to me," Thirteen said solemnly. "Among the members of the Hero Party, you have the highest potential. You may not see it in a year or two, but there will come a time when you will surpass everyone, including Roland."

"O-Of course, I will. Just who do you think I am? I am the Rising Star, Erica." Erica, who was weak to praise, felt smug after hearing Thirteen's words.

The teenage boy was harsh on everyone and only had a soft spot for his family, especially his brother and sisters.

So when Zion complimented her, Erica felt as if she had received the highest validation. After all, it came from the Supreme Commander of the Alliance.

"Do your best, okay?" Thirteen said as he firmly held Erica's hand. "I am looking forward to hearing the Epic Sagas of the Great Erica."

"Fufufu, you will hear it even if you are living under a rock—I will make sure of it."

"As expected of the greatest Sorceress of Pangea."

As the two were happily chatting with each other, Shana, Mildred, and Remi appeared on the course and saw them together.

Seeing that the young man was holding onto Erica's hands, Shana suddenly felt a discomfort in her chest, which she couldn't understand.

"Erica, are you fine?" Shana asked as soon as she arrived beside the two. "Do you need healing?"

"Yes!" Erica replied in a heartbeat. "Cast your rejuvenation spell, stamina spell, and healing spell. In fact, give me all the buffs that you can give me-awww!"

The Sorceress placed her hand on the side of their head that had been given a karate chop by Thirteen.

"Don't listen to this fool," Thirteen said. "The three of you continue to run. We will still have training after this."

Mildred chuckled after seeing Erica's pitiful expression before lightly tapping Shana's shoulder.

"Let's go," Mildred said. "It's good to see that someone can bring Erica down a peg. This will be a good experience for her."

Shana gave the two bickering teenagers another hard glance before she followed behind Mildred, while still feeling the discomfort in her chest.