System's POV
chapter-459-2

A week later…

Thirteen and Diana moved around the Training Room as they continued their training.

Unlike the past few days when Diana was uncontrollably blocking Thirteen's punches, she was now dodging them all.

Ever since the young man stopped being considerate of her, she received punches even on her face whenever an opportunity arose.

Two days ago, Thirteen even took out a mirror and showed Diana her face which was swollen and bleeding in some places, making her understand how sorry her state was.

Since then, Diana had forced herself to dodge Thirteen's blows instead of blocking them because she knew that blocking them was useless.

The boy's punches would land on her body, making her lower her defenses due to the pain.

After that, Thirteen would decisively punch her face and made sure that it hurt a lot.

Erica, Shana, and Mildred thought that Thirteen was going overboard because he was no longer being considerate.

A girl's face was one of their assets, so if someone were to hurt it, it would definitely affect their self-esteem.

However, with Shana's healing and Thirteen's special face cream, Diana's face would return to normal after a good night's rest, making the girls unable to say anything about the punishment that their friend had to deal with every single day.

But after getting fed up with being one-sidedly beaten, Diana no longer put up any defenses and just focused on dodging and deflecting Thirteen's punches.

Of course, even with her best, Thirteen's punches would still hit from time to time. However, at the end of their session, the hit she received had been reduced by more than half.

She was also now counterattacking with straight punches of her own whenever she saw an opportunity, forcing Thirteen to back away. This flow continued for another week, and by then, out of the entire two hours that they were boxing non-stop, Thirteen was only able to land one to three hits on her body.

"Good," Thirteen said with a smile. "You have improved a lot. Tomorrow, I will give you two things, and we will change our training."

"No more boxing?" Diana was surprised because she was now getting the hang of the sport, and to be frank, it felt really good to not be on the receiving end of an attack.

"You can still do boxing after the training," Thirteen smiled faintly. "But we will change your training regimen because I deem that you are now competent enough to go to the next stage. I have asked my Father to craft you a few things, and I believe that these new gears will make your defensive fighting style better than before."

Diana didn't know what Thirteen had in mind, but after experiencing her growth, she decided to wait until the next day to see what he had prepared for her.

The next day, Diana arrived at the Training Room at their usual training time.

Thirteen was currently sparring with Shana, who was holding a wooden staff in her hands.

The teenage boy had trained the Saintess in using the wooden staff for her training. They believed it was not a bad idea since Shana was always at the back lines, supporting the team.

When their training session was done, Remi handed hand towels to the two of them and gave them both water to drink.

After wiping the sweat off of his face, Thirteen beckoned for Diana to come to him.

"Today, I planned to give you and Shana some equipment that will prove more beneficial to both of you compared to what you are using right now," Thirteen said he then took out a box from his Dimensional Storage and handed it first to Shana.

He then took out another box from his storage, and this time, he gave it to Diana.

When Shana opened the box Thirteen gave her, she saw two things inside of it.

The first one was a silver bracelet that had the insignia of the Central Government.

The second one was a circlet with wings on both sides.

Diana, on the other hand, received a necklace with a small golden gem attached to it.

Taking a closer look at it, the gem had the insignia of a sword and shield, which was the emblem of the Ross Family, which Diana was part of.

The second thing inside the box Thirteen had given her was a sword handle.

It didn't have any blade in it, which surprised her very much.

"Before anything else, please put a drop of your blood on both of those items so that it will be soul-bonded to both of you," Thirteen said. "Those items are Ancestral Gears, and they grow alongside their owners.

"Currently, they are at the peak of the Gold Grade, which both of you can use even though you are still Apostles. But in order for it to work, it needs to be soul-bonded to both of you first."

Shana and Diana were both surprised because they had only heard about Ancestral Gears but had never seen any of them.

These items were very good because they would grow stronger as their owners grew stronger.

After putting a drop of blood in each of their gears, they suddenly felt that it had become a part of their bodies.

The bracelet automatically equipped itself on Shana's left wrist, while the Winged Helmet split apart and transformed into two winged earrings that attached themselves to Shana's ears.

Diana's necklace also automatically equipped itself and nestled comfortably on the young lady's chest.

The sword in Diana's hand hummed faintly, as if eager to show its power to its owner.

"They still don't have names," Thirteen said. "So it will be best if you give them one. The bracelet on your wrist, Shana, and the necklace you're wearing, Diana, can transform into spears.

"However, these spears are different—they're also a banner at the same time. I'm sure you have questions, so it will be best if you just activate them for now."

Shana and Diana nodded and gave their new armaments names.

"Clemence," Shana said, and the bracelet on her wrist transformed into a three-meter flagpole.

A white banner that illuminated the surroundings appeared, making those who were within the range of the flag aura feel as if their body were being rejuvenated.

Shana's body also glowed faintly with a white color, making her look divine and holy.

To her surprise, she felt as if her fatigue had disappeared completely, making her look at the flag in her hand in disbelief.

It was as light as a feather, so moving it around wasn't a big problem. The tip of the pole also had a bladed point, which made Shana understand that the banner was also a weapon that she could use in battle.

"Clemence? That's a good name," Thirteen commented. "Then, let me tell you something about Clemence. This banner gives you the ability to Dual Wield and grants a healing aura around it.

"It also automatically creates a barrier that is strong enough to block arrows and other projectiles. Although it can protect against weapon attacks to a certain extent, it would be better if you channel your energy to it so that it can create a stronger barrier.

"When you're not using it, it will automatically absorb the excess Aether in your body, converting it to a barrier when you summon it. It also has the ability to prevent Mind-Affecting abilities from getting a hold of your mind.

"Last but not the least, it can create a powerful light that can illuminate even the darkest places. With it, you won't have to worry about finding your way into the darkness."

The Symbol of the Central Government could be seen in the banner fluttering automatically despite not having any gust of wind inside the Training Room.

Thirteen then shifted his attention to Diana. "Summon yours as well."

"Come, Justice," Diana commanded.

Immediately, the necklace hanging on her neck flew in front of her.

Diana grabbed hold of it, and the moment she did, it transformed into a flagpole, similar to what Shana was holding.

However, instead of a silver glow, the banner glowed golden, making those who were within its aura range feel as if they were ready for battle.

The young lady could feel her strength increase by a bit, and her senses sharper and clearer.

Similar to Shana's flag, it was also light as a feather, allowing Diana to move it without any problems.

"Come, Defender," Diana commanded.

The sword handle in her hand hummed in reply, and a golden glowing blade materialized over it.

Diana felt extremely comfortable holding the sword in her hand, making her feel that it was the strongest shield and the sharpest blade at the same time.

"Defender is an apt name," Thirteen replied. "That golden blade has the invincible property, which means that it will never break or shatter, allowing you to use it to block any strong attacks if need be.

"It's also very sharp, which would give you the ability to attack and defend at the same time. Now that you are proficient in moving around, you will be able to use these two artifacts better."

Derek, Mildred, Roland, and Joshua looked at the gears in their friends' hands and couldn't help but feel envious.

Only Erica didn't seem to feel envy or jealousy. After all, she had also received something from Thirteen, which was just as good as the items that were in the hands of her two friends.

Because of this, the swordsman approached Thirteen with a smile on his face.

"Ahem, Master. How about me?" Derek asked. "Have you also prepared something for me?"

"Yours is still being made," Thirteen answered.

"How about me, Zion?" Rianna hugged the teenage boy from behind. "You haven't forgotten about me, right?"

"Yours is being made as well," Thirteen replied.

"What about me?" Mildred asked cutely.

"Still being made," Thirteen answered.

"How about us?" Roland asked. "Is Sir Gerald also making something for Joshua and me?"

"… Yeah," Thirteen replied, but his expression didn't look very convincing.

The teenage boy then coughed lightly before asking Diana to follow him outside of the Training Room because she would teach him how to use her new gears in a mock battle in the forest outside of their residence.

The only way to put them to good use was through actual battle. And to be honest, he was also looking forward to the performance of the weapons he had asked to be made for the Hero Party.

Of course, he had talked to Laplace Demon about it. After a round of negotiations, the Demon and The One agreed to let the Hero Party have a few good items.

In fact, The One didn't give Thirteen too much trouble since it also favored Roland's Party, whom it believed would lead the next generation of Wanderers to new heights.

This was why, as a reward for Thirteen training the future Heroes of the World, it decided to not make the negotiations too one-sided and only asked for a few minor things from Thirteen.

Of course, Thirteen had also negotiated that since he was doing the world a favor—he asked The One to send him to an easy mission in Solterra for once.

However, The One only chuckled and said "okay," which made the teenage boy wonder if the God was just joking with him or was planning to send him to another mission that would make even Thrones and Monarchs flee in fear due to its level of difficulty.