After what seemed like an eternity, but was only just an hour, Lith completed circling the peak and stood in front of his aunt again.
Mayzin stared at him for a good few seconds and analyzed his spirit.
"Not bad, nephew." She said and on its own, her hand went forwards to pat Lith's shoulder.
Mayzin was trying her best to keep a distance from Lith, however, the aunt within her that cared for her nephew and nieces couldn't help but come out from time to time when Lith did something she found astonishing.
The peak they both were on was a place no dragon had access to, not even the ones serving Mayzin.
It was Mayzin's personal spot and she came here to relax and nap, shutting herself off from the world.
This place was filled with traps, illusions, and most importantly… curses.
If Lith's will was weak, he would've fallen down sooner or later due to the illusions.
If it was wavering and slightly strong, he would've gotten cursed and would still fall down or have some other adverse reactions on his body.
But, none of the above was the case as much to Mayzin's surprise, his will was far stronger than she had imagined.
She hated to admit it, but she was impressed by her nephew. Of course, not in a manner that meant attraction, but in the way of how family members would be proud of their child achieving something.
"What was the purpose of this, aunt? If you don't mind me asking." Lith asked politely.
In this world, it was rude to ask your master what they were teaching as it basically meant you were questioning them and doubting them.
Lith was thus careful with his words when asking. He simply wanted to know what his aunt was making him do, there wasn't much essence to it other than that.
Mayzin didn't mind Lith's question and answered what she was testing.
"Oh, I see." Lith nodded in understanding after knowing.
Mayzin nodded as well. "You did good. But, before we proceed, I need to ask you something."
Lith looked at her and waited for her to ask the question.
Mayzin cleared her throat and asked, "do you have any treasure on you?"
"Hmm?" Lith was confused. "What qualifies as a treasure, aunt?"
If this was some average person, they would've immediately taken out an artifact they found in some strange place or maybe a token they got from some mysterious old stranger.
In Lith's case, he had many things that a normal person would consider as treasure, and nothing that he personally would consider as one.
He needed clarification and asked Mayzin that.
"A treasure is something you value a lot. It could be anything, as simple as a rock or as expensive as a peak grade magic stone. What do you have on you that you value the most?" Mayzin elaborated her question.
What Mayzin said got Lith to think. He tried hard to find something, but there was nothing on him that he treasured.
Everything felt useless as he was a firm believer of having absolute power and not being boosted by some artifacts.
However, a split second later, something clicked him and he said, "I treasure my loved ones the most, aunt."
"…" Mayzin stared at Lith for a good few seconds, before flicking his forehead.
It stinged Lith and he felt some pain. Though there was no reaction on his face due to it.
"Nephew, I am asking about material things, not your emotional stuff."
"Oh." Lith finally realized it. "I don't really have anything on me like that, aunt."
"Really?" Mayzin was surprised.
Lith nodded.
She extended her hand out and held the pendant around Lith's neck.
"This isn't something you treasure?"
Lith looked down and saw the pendant.
Memories of the past flashed in front of his eyes as he looked at it.
This pendant was something he got as a gift during the first time he went out of the castle. It contained a picture of him, his mother, and his sister within it.
Not only him, Lilith and Lucy had this pendant as well.
This pendant wasn't any artifact or something that brought a big boost to Lith, it was just a normal pendant with a picture in it.
Lith held the pendant in his hand and had a look at it.
Sure, it was good and made him emotional remembering the past. However…
Lith shook his head. "It isn't, aunt."
Lith didn't have any attachment to any material things on him. It was what it was.
"Hmm…" Mayzin got to thinking, hearing it.
Lith seemed detached from materialistic things and although it was a good thing, it was also bad in its own way.
This was a world of power. You needed to have every little thing at your disposal to survive.
If Lith didn't even have any weapon on him that he considered his favorite, how was he supposed to fight properly?
No matter how strong one got, they needed a weapon or some or the other artifact on them for a boost.
Mayzin was a Supreme Rank, a being almost his mother's age. She knew the ways of the world and she knew he needed to have at least one such thing on him.
There was also a serious need for a treasure, some piece of material that Lith considered highly valuable.
Not only would it make Lith emotional if he lost it, it would also act as an anchor to stabilize him in the most difficult of situations.
For example: If Lith had attachments to this pendant, if he was all alone in some place quiet or stranded somewhere, he could look at these and have his mental state stabilized.
This pendant could be a reminder that he had people waiting for him at home, it could develop a feeling of hope, and motivate him to fight hard.
Any materialistic thing could become an anchor easily.
There were many ways to have an anchor, it could be some fond memory, or some other thing, but the best and sure shot way was having a material with you and looking at it.
To access memories, one needed a trigger, which was much difficult to have.
But, a material? All one had to do was look at it.
After a few seconds of thinking, Mayzin held Lith's shoulder and vanished from her spot.
The two then appeared in a massive praying hall.
The hall was empty and had many paintings, relics, and symbols. It was ancient as well as seemed sacred.
The relics and symbols were arranged in rows at the side of the hall like some trophies and Mayzin took Lith to one such relic.
Standing in front of what seemed like a roaring blue dragon, Mayzin turned to look at Lith and said, "these relics are something that belonged to great warriors of the Dragon race. They are all really old and have survived even the chaotic and desolate era."
Lith was surprised hearing this.
Now this was something fascinating.
He knew he had such antiques back at home as well, but he didn't have access to them because he was of low rank.
The most ancient thing he had seen was of the Ancient Tranquility Era and despite asking his mother to let him see the ancient treasures, she denied him and asked him to get stronger if he wanted access.
Mayzin then continued, "there are exactly a hundred and one relics here. By imbuing some of your spiritual power in them, you would be taken into the time of the warrior that possessed this relic. It will be something real and will last exactly one thousand and one nights."
"You have to survive all these nights and in case you die…"
Mayzin turned serious and stared at Lith.
She leaned forward to have a stare down.
Lith wasn't fazed. What could be the worst thing that can happen anyway? She would say he would die, maybe not get to resurrect, something along these lines…
"…you'll be cursed…"
'Oh, it's a curs—'
"…cursed to become a warrior. Meaning you'll lose all attachments to all things and would become a mindless freak who just has one thing in his mind: TRAIN! TRAIN! TRAIN! STRONG! STRONG! STRONG!"
ραΠdαsΝοvεl.cοm "…"
'What the fuck?' Lith was flabbergasted by the way his aunt spoke. He failed to realize if she was actually half a million years old like his mother or born yesterday.
Looking at Lith's surprised face, Mayzin smiled and slapped his cheek lightly.
"You're my sister's son, my best friend's husband, and also my stupid otaku neet's lover. I don't want you to become a mindless freak like that…"
"…so work hard, okay?"
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