The book he is currently reading is about Rune making. He doesn't know his real father but he knows it isn't the sun god and yet the grand god claims to be his father. It is not like Helios will trust his real father either but that lie is enough for him to know that there's something fishy going on here.
Why would a god claim him as his child? Could the god be mistaken and ignorant of it or did the god make the mistake on purpose? Whichever one it is, is likely to lead to a bad ending if he doesn't prepare for it.
He finished the chapter he was reading in his book and said to Hak.
"Alright, let's go."
Hak stood up and led the way to the training grounds.
"Your brother Divine Lord Staniel will train you today." He said to Helios.
Helios nodded. He is currently staying in the demigod section of the palace which is used to raise the children of the sun god. The sun god has had a lot of them over time. Some of them died in battle or old age and some of them ascended either on their own or as subsidiary gods of the Sun god. So even though he is currently the only demigod of the sun god alive in the mortal realms, his older siblings drop by once in a while to chat or teach him.
They passed through guards and servants. All these giants bowed to the 14-meter-tall Helios and Hak. Hak likes to match his height with that of Helios to be able to protect him better. Helios was 13 meters tall two hours ago but he has grown taller by a meter since then. Helios will continue to increase in height till noon when he reaches 15 meters then he will start to reduce reaching 5 meters at midnight.
They reached the archery field and found someone waiting for them. It was a giant about 115 meters tall. Apart from the height that will make this giant stand out, he looks just like an average giant to the untrained eyes. He is wearing a simple toga and sandals. There are numerous tattoos etched across the yellow skin of his muscular body. But Helios could perceive that the body is not made from flesh.
"Greetings brother." The giant's voice boomed.
"Hey," Helios replied unenthusiastically
"Why are you so glum all the time? You should be getting excited as the sun rises." Staniel asked.
The cycle of the sun affects more than his strength and size. It should also affect his mood but that's impossible because of his mind. The other thing that he can't control is his skin color. He starts red at dawn and becomes orange, then yellow at noon. Then he becomes brown at night.
He replied. "I am excited but it is not about this training."
He is excited about what he will get after the training. He will receive that divine crystal and try out some experiments in Rune making. The best things in this plane are related to the divine and only they can excite him.
Staniel began to reduce his size until he reached 15 meters. He laughed and asked, "Were you bribed again?"
Helios nodded.
Staniel shook his head. "I thought as much. You used to be so enthusiastic about training. Always asking me questions and begging me to train you how to fight. What happened to you?"
Staniel asked as he began to set up the environment.
The archery field began to shrink and morph to the specifications he set. The targets were set in a straight line with an interval of 100 meters between each target.
Helios watched the change with mild interest. He had inspected it a while back, so even though it is a divine artifact, he isn't as interested in it as he used to be.
"I realized that I am a natural genius. So there's no need for me to train."
"Is this because you're a demigod and your path to awakening is set? Do not let your heritage get to your head. You can still be killed before you awaken." Staniel warned him.
Being Awakened is the giant's term for transcending.
Helios nodded. "How about a bet? I'll prove my genius and you will give me more divine crystals."
Staniel considered his proposal and agreed. "I know I shouldn't encourage your lazy attitude but your exhibition competition is around the corner. Archery isn't bad for you to showcase. So I'll take the deal but there has to be some punishment if you fail."
"Sounds reasonable."
"Good. I'll give you one divine crystal for each target that you hit. You can stop when you want to stop and I'll let you go. If you go ahead and you fail, then you owe me the same number of days in training.
"Deal." Helios agreed.
If he hits all ten of them, he will get 10 divine crystals. If he misses at the sixth target, he will only have 5 crystals and he will owe 6 days of training. It is a good deal to him. Then he stretched his hands to Staniel and asked "Can I borrow your bow?"
Staniel asked in surprise, "Didn't you use the sunbow for your first Rune?"
"I didn't."
"Why not? The sun bow is a very important weapon for demigods of the sun."
"I haven't made any runes yet."
Staniel was shocked "What? You're two stars old and your body is as strong as those with 10 stars but you're telling me you don't have any runes. What have you been doing?"
He turned to Cardinal Hak. "Why did you allow this? What is he going to showcase during his second-star celebration?"
Hak bowed and replied. "Divine son Helios said that he prefers to create his own Rune himself. He refused to allow any Rune master to mark him."
Staniel was beginning to get angry "What kind of nonsense is that?"
Helio waved his worries away. "Don't worry, I'm already training to be a runemaster."
"And how long is that going to take before you get any good? How long before you can compare to the Runemasters? Runemasters take hundreds of years to reach their level of expertise."
Helios shrugged.
His reaction isn't a good enough answer for Staniel. His yellow skin was beginning to light up and his eyes were turning blue. He began to emit an increasing amount of light and heat. The surrounding was beginning to heat up.
Hak quickly intervened. "Please calm down, Divine lord Staniel."
Staniel breathed out and blue flames rushed out of his mouth. His eyes returned to the red color while his skin stopped changing to white.
He spoke after he had calmed down.
"Let's change the bet. I'll give you 1 divine crystal for the first target that you bring down. Two for the second, three for the third, and so forth. But if you miss, I want the same number of training days and for you to get a Rune of my choice. I'll increase the difficulty too. That shouldn't be a problem for you since you're a genius."
Staniel changed the archery field's configuration again. The interval between the ten targets became 200 meters. He has doubled the difficulty.
If he hits the sixth target, he gets 6 extra divine crystals for a total of 21. But if he gets greedy and misses the sixth, he only gets 15 and he will owe Staniel 6 days of training.
Hak spoke up again, "I don't think this is a good idea, divine lord Staniel."
Staniel rounded up on Hak in a flash. He became brighter for a brief moment and he appeared before Hak like a flash of light.
"You think him going around without a Rune is a good idea? I don't want him to embarrass the lineage of the sun god."
Hak tried not to flinch beneath Staniel's cold blue eyes. "It is not a good idea for him to be runeless, but it isn't a good idea for you to select a Rune for him either. A Rune is a lifelong matter that shouldn't be forced."
Demigods of the sun have their emotions affected by the cycle of the sun to become more positive. They get excited easily because of it. They also get angry quickly and are very proud. Helios' nonchalant behavior towards the upcoming talent exhibition isn't sitting well with Staniel.
Staniel was about to blow his lid again when Helios spoke, "I think the bet is a good idea. Let's go."
"See, he thinks it is a good idea. If you can take his word for him to be runeless, then you might as well take it now." Staniel said to Hak.
"I still need the bow." Helios requested again.
Stelios grunted but activated the runes for the sunbow on his body. The tattoos on his body began to glow with the activation.
