How I got fuc*ed up

[System note: you got +1 Strength for deadlifting your body weight 500 consecutive times as an unawakened. Your body will adapt accordingly and the energy for the process will be taken from your Soul Space] 

“The hell does this mean? What is a Soul Space?” Julius asked himself, stopping what he was doing

But before he could find an answer to his questions, he felt a surge of power and a change in his body. He suddenly felt his muscles getting slightly bigger… But that was nothing to the power up feeling Julius was experiencing 

[System note: a Soul Space is one of the perks of the system you were gifted, where you can store non-living objects both magical and not. While the host was asleep, I detected an attempt to awaken with low level mana crystal that were subsequently stored in the Soul Space in order to be later used to upgrade the host] 

“Ehm, good job… Well, I guess I can explore the other functionalities after completing this mission” thought Julius, before getting back to deadlifting with much more ease  

“Kalon…” whispered Tiron

“I know… He suddenly got stronger… To think that he would adapt so quickly… I told you, this boy has some potential… He is gonna really end the challenge in less than an hour“

“I can see that but… Didn't you feel like a mana disturbance?”

“Yes, I did… And no, I have no idea why”

“If that bastard of Jorlof was here, he would have already understood everything”

“Do you really think that the Supreme Priest wouldn't look after Julius? We are in the temple, nothing can escape his sight”

“Old fart, come here and be of some use” said Tiron, raging to the air, without getting any answer

“Do you know that you should be more polite to your seniors?”

“I don't think so… Jorlof has been the Supreme Priest for so long that probably even the Royal Archives can't trace his origin… He acts all High and Mighty but he almost never move from the temple while on the frontlines we need powerhouses”

“The Supreme Priest is specialized in light magic, which is not primarily an attack element, plus they have you… Weren't you on the same level as him?”

“Don't joke with me… We may be on the same level and I may specialize in combat, but the amount of experience and battle awareness he has is no joke”

“Have you ever seen the Supreme Priest fight?” asked Kalon with curiosity

“Yes, once… When I was a young Colonel at the Qi Integration level… My unit was sent to block an enemy Great Legion…”

“Damn, that's tough… You were the leader of an Elite unit, weren't you?”

“Yes, I was… The job was supposed to be difficult, but not impossible, we just had to block the passage to a port which was very important for troop deployment”

“What happened?”

“We got tricked… The scouts didn't report that the legion had 2 peak-Qi projection experts… We got annihilated and I was the last man standing… Bound to be killed”

“He saved your life, didn't he?”

“Yes… He destroyed the legion in a second, without letting the bastards what was happening and shortly after killed the two experts in a matter of seconds… That day I swore I would become as strong as him and that I would stand on equal footing to him”

“And then what happened? “

“The stronger I got, the more I felt the gap… Even now, after reaching the peak of Qi Domain, I am not confident enough to challenge him… And the worst part is that he knows all of this… In his eyes, I am nothing but the young man he saved that day”

“These are the deepest words I heard from you… And I have known you for about 30 years”

“Go to hell… No, wait, I’m going to send you there, stay still and close your eyes”

“Tiron, cool yourself and focus on the boy… He is almost finished”

“Are you joking? That's not possible… that was not even 40 minutes”

“Suit yourself… I already feel some mana fluctuations coming from him”

“This kid… He is a monster”

“Too soon to be sure, we will have to wait after his awakening… But if he keeps going like this… I can't thinks of someone of his level in this generation”

“There is the boy from the Masetton family… “

“Well yes, but he has been nurtured since his birth, I don't think that's a fair comparison”

“Well…”

“A THOUSAND! MR. KALON, I GOT A THOUSAND!!” screamed Julius, still scared to death or being enslaved

“Kalon, I’m going to report to His Majesty… See you around” before a blink of an eye, Tiron whispers disappeared from Kalon’s ears, who acted as nothing happened

“Good job boy, now come here”

Before Julius could take a step in the priest’s direction, a new power up occurred 

[System note: you got +1 Strength for deadlifting your body weight 500 consecutive times as an unawakened. Your body will adapt accordingly and the energy for the process will be taken from your Soul Space. For the next week, you can't gain more points from this exercise] 

“Boy, if you keep doing this, you are gonna cause me a few headaches”

“Well, that was not intentional… However, why did you try to awaken me?”

A look of shock appeared on Kalon’s face 

“How…”

“I ordered him to try” said a voice, suddenly appearing behind Julius, who found a 190cm (6’3) old man standing strong on his feet and despite his age radiating an incredible aura that made air tremble 

“Supreme Priest!” exclaimed Kalon

“Relax, there is no need to hide such a thing from the boy… Now Julius, why don't we walk to the end of the courtyard? There is even a little maze for amusement”

“Isn't that another test, is it?”

“Ahahaha, no, don't worry… I just want to talk to you, plus the flowerbed as just as tall as you” said Jorlof “Kalon, wait here, I promise it won't take long”

“As you command, Supreme Priest”

“Drop the formalities, I'm just an old man”

“As you command, Supreme Priest”

“... Julius, come, with need to discuss a few things”

Said Jorlof, while already on his way.

A couple of minutes late, walking in the maze, as soon as Jorlof was sure that nobody could hear them, he started speaking 

“Julius, let me explain a couple things… After this little chat, Kalon will escorts you to the temple’s prison”

“But I didn't do anything wrong”

“Doesn't matter, it's the law… Before every trial, the defendant must spent the night prior in prison”

“That's quite unfair”

“Don't focus on that, there are more important matters”

“Such as? If the King, or whoever is there, decides I’m a threat, I am dead”

“I’m going to protect you”

“Why should you? We don't know each other”

“You are a Divine Summon from the god I serve… Plus, I talked with Stellar and he told me to do so… He even said to be wary of you and that if not handled properly you could turn into the greatest menace for our Kingdom… I assure you that while I do not intend to harm you, I will prevent you from harming this Kingdom with all my strength”

“Well, nobody tried to harm me yet, do I don't really have any reason to seek revenge… So, be at ease… Plus, you talked to a god and you have concerns about my threat level? Man, no disrespect, but the hell are you on?”

“We will see… Now, the important matters”

“I’m all ears”

“You are different”

“Yeah, I know that, thank you… I assumed you were the same that assisted at my summoning process which, for your information was not pleasant”

“Sorry about that… However, I was talking about your relationship with Mana”

“Last time I checked, I didn't even get a date with her, so cool off”

That comment earned Julius a long gaze form a pair of blue ice eyes

“No comment… I was referring to the way Mana acts around, you fool”

“You know, you never expect a Supreme Priest to act this way at the secondo meeting”

“Stellar warned me of your personality and the way to keep up, you iperactive kid”

“I take that as a compliment”

“As you wish… However… Kalon already explained to you about Qi and Mana but I am about to deepen your knowledge… When you reach a certain power and perception level, you can feel the flow of them… They are quite similar, we can even say that they have almost the same frequency… Despite being a life force, when it comes to unawakened it tends to avoid them like they are occupying his space or in same cases it literally runs away… That changes when we awaken and we start to accumulate them... Qi experts usually Qi focal point is in the intestine and for Mana experts is in the heart because of their different necessities”

“I wonder what I will be”

“I wonder the same… You see, despite being unawakened Qi and Mana are running to you, in particular to your mind”

“What does it mean? “

“I guess we will find out… If I was to make an educated guess, I would say that Qi and Mana are considering you an empty space to fill and that this will allow you to surpass your limits even before awakening… But why is the mind your focal point and what that will determine, only Stellar knows”

“That's all fun and games but I’m still concerned about the night in prison and the trial… Can you not say that you talked to Stellar and everything will be fine?”

“Do you think it is so simple? There are people that would rather kill you on the spot for fear of getting their power stolen by you? If we reveal that, you will obtain a big red target on the back of your head and I can't protect you forever… Plus, I can't leave the temple to go to the frontline”

“Frontline? Why should I go there? Isn't that the most dangerous place? I thought you were explaining how to survive”

“Because it's better an honest enemy than a false friend… Plus, under the pressure of war you will grow and you will get merits, with which you will be able to obtain military ranks… But don't worry, I won't send you to the frontline without proper basic training”

“... You know, you should learn how to make a pep talk; plus, who are you at war with?”

“With the Kingdom of Noctis… We have been constantly at war for ages… Luckily, we are currently at a stalemate so there is a little time for your training”

“Ages? I guess you diplomats are not that good”

“It’s not a matter of diplomacy, it's a matter of belief and orders from our gods”

“You take that a little to seriously if you have to do everything they want”

“It’s not that bad, actually… At least, we are raised to think so… However, that's not the point… Now, let's go back to Kalon and be ready for your first night in prison… Well, is it your first time?”

“Yes, it is”

“Well, don't worry… Most important, at the trial, never lie, never say that you talked to Stellar and never mention your differences about Qi and Mana, got it?”

“Well, I guess so”