Chương 16: Spartan Conditions

"Today we will conduct an unrestricted training session. You may use your powers to their maximum. Classic formation, one minute for preparation." As always, Atreus sounded completely focused and ready for battle. He generally never joked, as if he didn't know how.

"It will be a shame to break your winning streak. Finally." I immediately drew my primary weapon from behind my back. Atreus had taught me to fight with a wide variety of things, but he wasn't a fool and understood my primary strength. Therefore, I trained the most with staves, for this is the primary weapon of local mages. The meter-and-a-half-long piece of wood, adorned with an aquila, was incredibly useful.

First, it was made of a relatively exotic, yet very durable material and could be used as a melee weapon if things went completely south. However, the primary function of this force weapon was the ability to channel the energy of the Immaterium in large volumes with lower risks. It was a mandatory item for me, one that Atreus forced me to carry everywhere, at all times, so I would be ready to respond to a threat in any situation.

And he wasn't just throwing words around—he could attack me unexpectedly while I was sleeping or resting, and heaven forbid I reacted too late. He would deliver a moralizing lecture, followed by punishing extra training sessions. I moved to my starting position. Our training field was a simple clearing. Atreus preferred this place over training halls because it was closer to reality. He generally liked to change training locations so I wouldn't get used to them and would constantly adapt to new conditions.

Today, however, they were particularly mild: no rain, trees, hills, and even the surface itself was relatively flat. There might be some snags and roots in the way, but I was experienced enough not to stop monitoring the terrain. There were no people around us right now, as the upcoming battle would inevitably cause mass destruction. And there was no need for anyone to know about our techniques. Atreus had reached his spot much faster than me and was already waiting for the fight to begin.

Since we were conducting a virtually unrestricted training session, I could use my powers, but the lack of restrictions applied to Atreus as well. He held Nikos in his hands, the legendary blade that was perfect against psykers. This blade could miraculously cut through the very energy of the Immaterium, rendering many techniques in my collection useless. Many, but far from all. I turned and stared at the motionless Praetorian.

Yes, I had guessed his former place of employment a long time ago, but I never asked him about it. Over the past few years, I had gained a better understanding of the old warrior's character, and, Emperor preserve us, he was far from the best person. In a way, he didn't care about me. He only cared about the fact that I was alive, and only because it was his mission. If he were given the order to slaughter me and everyone else on this planet, he would execute the mission without blinking an eye.

I closed my eyes for a moment, scooping up the energy of the Immaterium. I was well-built, but still a baseline human. Physically on the level of a professional athlete, but that was nothing compared to even an ordinary Space Marine. Any Astartes, even the weakest, would tear me to pieces barehanded in close combat. If I didn't use my powers, of course. And that is a very big "if." I accelerated my consciousness to the limit, after which energy rolled through my body in waves, filling me with strength.

A rather complex Biomancy trick requiring very fine control to avoid mutating into some hideous monstrosity. However, in return, it allowed me to increase my stamina, physical strength, and bodily resilience by an order of magnitude. This, combined with mental acceleration, gave me the ability to move with incredible speed. With all these enhancements, the gap between me and a Space Marine became relatively small, but Atreus was still on an entirely different level.

And although his age was showing, and the sheer fact that he wore no armor helped me greatly, I had yet to defeat him even once. However, progress was evident, as over the past year, he had increasingly resorted to using Nikos to deal with me. I used every second, preparing for the upcoming battle. Another advantage of mine was that real fights are almost never conducted with such preparation. While Atreus gained nothing from waiting, I became exponentially more dangerous.

After all, you can prepare so many things in a minute... The battle began briskly. Atreus dashed in my direction with the speed of lightning. Without the influence of the Warp, I wouldn't have even seen his silhouette, he was so fast. But now, this was a level I could work with. I exerted an effort of will, and the ground beneath us began to tremble, after which two stone hands burst forth from it, attempting to grab the nimble old man.

He barely noticed them, deftly weaving through them and leaping out of their grasp at the very last moment. I hadn't expected such a simple trick to work on him anyway. Most importantly, I managed to knock him several meters into the air. I waved my hand, and a literal tempest began to blow in Atreus's direction. A small hurricane threw him to the side, after which I began surrounding the Custodian with layers of compressed air.

And although this couldn't stop Atreus, slowing him down and throwing him from side to side was very easy. Honestly, I was only able to hold my own against Atreus because I had thoroughly figured out his move set. I'm sure none of his previous opponents knew so much about this old man, which was why they couldn't formulate a successful tactic against him. Nikos could cut through and prevent any Warp manipulations, but it was still just a blade.

It could easily pass through the strongest psychic barrier, but it was useless against a rock I simply threw with telekinesis. Even though he could easily slice through it, the inertia from the impact wasn't going anywhere. I moved air currents, creating an impenetrable barrier around him, and his primary ability was useless against it. But he had other tricks up his sleeve. After all, he still physically surpassed me by an order of magnitude.

His feet touched the ground for only a second, but that was enough for him to dash toward me through the curtain of air. I directed hurricane-force winds at him, but he moved through them without issue. In a few seconds, he covered several dozen meters and was in critically dangerous proximity to me. I swung my staff, and a small spark flew from it, erupting into a massive wave of flame. Dozens of meters of earth were engulfed in fire in an instant, and I was still holding back.

Pyrokinesis was a very dangerous discipline, but also one of the most useful during combat. How could an old man wearing only a robe possibly survive this? Honestly, I still didn't fully understand it myself. Atreus had explained to me about uneven flame currents and the possibility of dodging even the wave itself if you managed to press yourself close enough to the ground, but I was never able to replicate the technique. An impossible task that he miraculously managed.

But even so, the fire inflicted severe burns and charred the transhuman quite nicely. However, this didn't stop him and only served as a greater motivator to move toward me. Trying to slow him down, I threw a bolt of lightning from my hand, but he simply cut it with his blade. I wonder, does he know the laws of physics don't work like that at all? Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. There was no time for further reflection, as I had to dodge his attacks myself.

The Custodian was a couple of meters away from me and swung Nikos with all his might. And I could tell he wasn't holding back now. He knew that even if I lost a limb, I could restore it with Biomancy. But the effect of such training would be much greater. I had already lost limbs a couple of times, which made me put far more effort into these fights. At the last second, I dodged the blade, which only severed a portion of my long hair.

I wasn't a fool and knew how stupid it was to have such a hairstyle, but I couldn't do anything about it. I had shaved my head bald several times, but the next morning, it all miraculously grew back. Attempts to get a tan or, conversely, make my skin paler were fruitless. My appearance returned to its original state no matter what I did. Not a bad state, mind you, but I didn't like looking at a pseudo-Primarch in the mirror. However, now I understood why Atreus used to stare at me so long and hard.

If he is old enough, he might have seen Magnus back when he was a hero of humanity. I executed a roll to the side, but the blade was already flying toward me. Parrying the Custodian's attack was pointless; not even Biomancy would elevate me to his level. Especially considering the fact that he currently held Nikos, a very dangerous weapon capable of slicing through the steel of a voidship. However, I had plenty of tricks up my sleeve. I clenched my hand and used telekinesis to throw myself to the side.

The blade managed to graze me, leaving a large gash across my shoulder, but it did not end the fight. I yanked myself aside as the sword pierced the ground where I had been sitting moments before. Atreus reacted instantly, launching himself in my direction in another dash. I lightly tapped my staff on the ground and used telekinesis to lift myself high into the air. A seemingly simple trick, but it required filigree telekinetic control, as the chance of losing one's spatial orientation was too great.

I had only learned free flight a few months ago, but the skill was worth it. Not only did it give me an incredible advantage on the battlefield, but it was also simply a thrilling experience. Humans have always dreamed of flight, and they were right, for the sensation is incredible. But now wasn't the time for that; I still had to defeat an old demigod. I channeled power through myself, healing the cut, and immediately began raining blows upon Atreus.

If he had a ranged weapon right now, I would be in big trouble, but even then, I could have erected an impenetrable barrier around myself and continued to strike. Fireballs and lightning bolts, hurricanes and earthquakes: I had spent years with Atreus, and he had never, not once, taken pity on me. Therefore, I had no intention of holding back either. The Custodian was much tougher than he looked, and a stray attack wasn't going to kill him. After a minute of wreaking havoc, I stopped casting spells.

I had reached a dangerous threshold, having channeled too much Warp energy through myself. Any further, and the power would inevitably slip from my control. The dust cloud gradually cleared, and I saw a heavily wounded Atreus, still standing on his feet. His clothing had been reduced to rags, but Nikos didn't have a single scratch. He stood there, looking at me, making no move to attack. Previously, when I took flight, he managed to stop me in the process, simply moving faster than my telekinesis.

But this was the first time I had managed to execute my plan flawlessly. And I didn't know what to do next. The Praetorian stood in silence for another minute, then turned and began walking toward our home. I remained hovering, watching him leave, unable to process what had just happened.

"... Victory?" I had never defeated Atreus. Before, at least. And I would most likely never be able to defeat him without using psychic powers, but the mere fact of my achievement was worthy of a celebration. My mentor was a veritable machine, seemingly capable of handling practically anyone. And defeating him changed a lot. After the battle, I set the field to rights. I returned the chunks of earth to their places, then released a fraction of energy to restore the plants.

This wasn't some sign of my love for nature; no, it was an objective necessity. The local nature heavily disliked it when anyone disturbed the peace. And if our training caused too much damage, there could be very unpleasant consequences. Like aggressive, suspiciously intelligent vines starting to smash our residence. Having finished my work, I exhaled in relaxation, then flew toward our settlement. I could have walked, but I was in much more of a flying mood right now.... I sat in my room, meditating.

The complex we lived in was a rather amusing structure. They were standard metal blocks without a foundation. They adhered to the ground using a magnetic cushion, as any attempts to alter it ended in disaster. As I was told, they had previously tried to build actual cities here and turn Lehida into an Agri-World, but all the settlers went insane after a year or two. Therefore, all the colonies were abandoned, and only Jaya's arrival changed anything.

She was a very experienced psyker and clearly knew more than she let on, so I was certain something foul was afoot here. Generally, I didn't have much free time to sit and ponder what was happening around me. Constant training forced me to work from morning until evening, but today was different. Following my victory over Atreus yesterday and my recent exam with Jaya, they had halted the lessons. I hadn't seen the Custodian at all since he walked away, and Jaya was currently in her study, not coming out.

I could have gone to see her myself, but I suspected this was all just another test. A more cunning and subtle one, aimed at seeing my reaction to the new circumstances. Well then, I could play along. I stood up and exited my room. It was a small space containing only a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. There were no windows, and the only light source was the lumen-globes. Spartan conditions, courtesy of Atreus, who had personally forbidden any decoration in this place. He even ordered the walls to remain grey.

Something about "psychic tempering," but I doubted the effectiveness of such a practice. I headed to the medical wing, where the remnants of the strange fungus were supposed to be stored. Along the way, I greeted the other few inhabitants of this place. They were primarily the Inquisitor's guards and some of her Acolytes. There were only researchers here, but not a single member of the Cult of the Machine God.

Which was strange in itself, as I couldn't even fathom the existence of men of science outside their ranks. But the elderly Inquisitor generally liked doing strange things. Entering the room, I noticed there was no one here. And that was strange, as the medicae's job was to be present here in case someone needed medical assistance. Of course, he could have gone to lunch or personally gone to help someone, but where were his assistants then?

Negligence on Lehida was costly, and you could genuinely be killed for being absent from your post without cause. Especially if it involved doctors. Even a fool could see how suspicious this all was. So I closed my eyes and tried to figure out what was happening using the Warp. Although every human soul is like a burning candle, each is so unique that confusing them is simply impossible. I could expand my perception for several kilometers, which effectively covered our entire settlement and the surrounding lands.

The exception was Jaya's room, which had some sort of shielding against such things. But no matter how hard I searched, the chirurgeon and his assistants were not here. I couldn't feel their souls, meaning they had either all simultaneously hidden in my mentor's room, or something bad had happened. In moments like these, you start to understand why all experienced psykers love Divination so much—you just will it, and you see everything for yourself. Returning to reality, I tried to find the fungus samples.

They were supposed to be in a specialized chamber, accessible to only a few people on the base. I had been given access after I started using Biomancy to treat everyone indiscriminately as practice. And if my theory was correct, the samples...

"And why am I not surprised?" Of course, they weren't here. All the vials had vanished, and I had a solid theory as to where. Well then, it was time to pay my mentor a visit. I had accumulated some questions a long time ago. Author's Notes: I just want to remind you that in Warhammer, the ability to fly without technology is incredibly rare. Only certain daemons and psykers of incredible power can fly without restrictions. And yes, Gabriel could have won much faster, but this was primarily a training bout.