Chapter 17: Truly Irreparable
It was early morning, and the gym still echoed with nothing but the metallic sounds of Priam’s effort.
"Cousin!" an excited voice called out as it entered the gym.
Priam stopped training and turned around, seeing the excited Flaris approaching. Priam’s expression changed abruptly because Flaris was now giving off an incredibly powerful presence. It was as if her demonic power was being carried through the air itself and could send chills down anyone’s spine.
On top of that, she was dressed very differently from what he was used to. She wore a black-and-white battle outfit that highlighted her pronounced feminine curves.
Combined with her height and imposing presence, she would definitely attract the attention of any man, no matter where she was. Flaris had gone through the coming-of-age ceremony of her demonic side, and now truly looked like a complete Demoness.
It was Priam’s fourth day in the main clan, and he had already earned the reputation of "the weird spear guy."
Other youths from branch families had already arrived, but at best, they could only be called average Mages. Some had tried talking to Priam or training there, but the moment they saw him whipping himself with absurd amounts of weight, they immediately turned around while muttering prayers.
But today, right behind Flaris, Priam saw two dozen of those youths.
All of them had come to talk to her after hearing she had arrived, hoping to build a good relationship with her. Priam had already heard the reason from Flora. His cousin was actually the greatest standout among the younger generation of the branch families. Everyone in the clan knew her.
And unsurprisingly, every single one of the youths there was male.
Even though they shared the same surname, the blood relationship between the branch families was incredibly distant. Priam and Flaris were no different. They called each other cousins simply because it felt closer that way; calling each other siblings would have felt strange.
When everyone saw her run toward Priam with a smile on her face... Priam felt as though he was being shot by the furious stares of those young men. If thoughts could kill, Priam would already have been torn to pieces.
Little did they know, Flaris was actually euphoric because she could finally train. She genuinely got along well with Priam, but her one true passion was training.
Priam snorted. He wasn’t about to waste time explaining that Flaris was basically like a sister to him.
"I spent seven days without being able to train! Seven days, Priam! I almost went insane!" Flaris rushed over and vented, her eyes shining with the intensity of an addict going through withdrawal.
"I started seeing training weights where there weren’t any. If I’d spent one more day sitting around, I would’ve ended up bench-pressing the carriage!"
Priam smiled with pure mutual understanding. He didn’t need to say anything. He simply nodded toward the heavy equipment storage room.
They didn’t waste time with light stretching or idle conversation. Within minutes, what could be seen inside the gym was no longer training—it was a high-level display of masochism.
The floor trembled slightly as both of them covered themselves in weights, heavy armor, and oversized weapons. An average person wouldn’t have lasted even a minute carrying all that. But those two...
They immediately started exercising and performing combat movements without stopping, with obvious enjoyment shining in their eyes.
The youths outside were horrified.
The pace was frantic, a festival of crashing weights and muscles being pushed to the breaking point, something far more terrifying and violent than anything Priam had ever done alone.
Flaris’s newly arrived servant stopped beside Flora, his face losing all color. He stared at the scene with bulging eyes, as if witnessing some forbidden ritual.
Flora, on the other hand, merely let out a long sigh, already used to it. Watching the pair, she silently reached a conclusion in her heart:
These two aren’t clan prodigies for nothing.
They’re...
Two maniacs!
Two uncontrollable lunatics who seemed to consider physical torture the purest form of morning entertainment. For any normal person, it would have been a nightmare.
But for them, it was simply another cheerful and happy day.
***
Early in the morning, Flora approached the gigantic table overflowing with food, where Priam and Flaris were eating side by side voraciously.
This was the seventh day, and all the youths who had come for the coming-of-age ceremony were already present. It was at the start of this day that the order for everyone to gather arrived.
"Young Master Priam, Lady Flaris, everyone must go to the clan library in two hours. The first stage of the coming-of-age ceremony is about to begin," Flora explained lightly.
"First, everyone will be instructed on the most important matters by the Grand Elder. After that, you’ll be able to choose a Magic Art from the library and will have 3 free days to study it. Then, during the second stage, everyone will finally compete and show their worth."
Priam nodded, his eyes shining.
...
The library was located in the northern part of the clan. It was the grandest and most imposing building, second only to the main residence where the clan leader and her family lived.
After showing their identification plaques, Priam and Flaris headed straight to the literature hall. That was where an important lecture would take place, one that all youths participating in the coming-of-age ceremony were required to attend.
Among the dozens of youths from branch families, there were some who had been born shortly after the previous ceremony five years ago. They were already nineteen years old, but they hadn’t been completely disadvantaged because of the rules.
If they were identified as talented, they could apply to become clan soldiers and would then receive permission to learn a Magic Art ahead of schedule. But obviously, that would completely bind them to the clan forever.
In the end, it was all a way for the clan to keep its members under control. To make that system work perfectly, they had to start with the younger generation, instilling from an early age the need to respect and obey the main house.
Priam had already realized that this world wasn’t peaceful in the slightest. Clans, sects, and even families were constantly being destroyed from all directions because of internal conflicts, wars, and similar matters.
As a result, Priam stopped trying to use the standards of someone from Earth to judge the actions of people from that savage world. He had to dance to the tune if he truly wanted to live freely and to the fullest.
Of course, he wouldn’t do anything he personally considered wrong, even if everyone else said it was normal. But he also couldn’t go around creating problems for no reason.
Upon entering the literature hall, Priam noticed that all the youths had already arrived.
Priam and Flaris’s breakfast was admittedly a bit time-consuming. Since they had time, they had even done a healthy "digestion" session by training intensely early in the morning.
They only had enough time to clean themselves up and run over, arriving practically at the last minute.
"Lady Flaris."
As soon as the two entered, several young men approached and greeted Flaris cordially. Naturally, they were all extremely friendly, trying to befriend her.
She politely nodded to everyone, but refused to sit at the table closest to them. She saw Priam walking away and taking a seat at a table in the corner, so she sat down beside him at the same table.
All the clan youths watched this in silence, but their expressions became somewhat distorted. Priam’s name wasn’t unknown to them. Everyone had heard of the son of the Great Alchemist Boey, who had previously been evaluated as a completely useless waste.
The events between Priam and the clan leader’s children had obviously not been made public. As a result, seeing Flaris become so close to trash like him awakened an instinctive resentment within them.
Flaris murmured quietly as she sat down, "It’s way too exhausting being around those people..."
Priam nodded. She genuinely didn’t like all that bureaucracy and people constantly trying to flatter her. Priam, on the other hand... he simply didn’t really know how to deal with them, much less how to make friends properly.
That was a serious problem created by his two lifetimes of isolation. For now, he chose not to force himself until he felt comfortable trying.
As for their misunderstanding, that wasn’t his problem.
After a few seconds, Flaris turned to the side and stared at three figures who had been sitting there, coldly observing them for quite a while.
"Well, well, it’s a pleasure to finally meet the ’arrogant and uncontrollable’ country bumpkin," a calm voice full of mockery rang out. "It seems that growing up without a father is truly an irreparable flaw. A mediocre woman on her own couldn’t raise you properly. But that’s not a major problem. The main clan will handle that job one way or another and put you back in your place."
At that moment, Flaris felt the atmosphere around Priam change.
She swallowed hard, feeling that someone was about to suffer terribly.
