Divine System: Land of the Abominations

"And that, young lad, is how you throw a proper jab! Hahaha!"

Picking himself off the ground, Nero swiped the blood off his nose and glared at Sergeant Vane. At the moment, his body was covered in bruises and fist marks. He was in a horrible state.

And the main culprit of his sorry look was the large man that towered over him at the moment.

Initially, he had thought that after absorbing so many Seals of Sin in a single day, his strength would have been enough to overpower this muscular geezer.

He had been wrong.

He slowly placed his arms up,

"Time out."

Nero quickly threw up the flag as he could endure a beating no longer.

Then he fell onto the sand, his breathing heavy.

Sergeant Vane chuckled then walked over, casting a large shadow over Nero's much smaller frame,

"Kid, do not be disheartened. For arms as skinny as yours, they sure do pack a punch."

Nero grimaced, "How do you do it?"

It made no sense. With over five hundred Seals of Sin, he was able to overpower a good number of Abominations in a head on clash.

And while it was true that he was not in the Yang form, the power of his Yin form was still nothing to scoff at. He could tear a darksteel plate with his bare hands if he wanted to.

And yet, after sparing with the Sergeant for hours, he still had been unable to fight the damned geezer.

Sergeant Vane snorted as he folded his arms and raised his brows seriously,

"Your form is still rather weak. Your body, your core density, also lacks the weight you would need to use a Blizter. With this much, you still have a long way to go before placing me on my back."

Nero frowned, his eyes scanning the large man's frame,

"How do I get so big?"

The old man raised his large arms and grinned,

"Well, of course through years of training and exercise, is what a sneaky bastard would say! Hahaha!" He guffawed.

Nero rolled his eyes.

After training with the sergeant for so long, the old man was no longer uptight with him, much to his dismay. His crude remarks and demeanor, meant Nero often found himself on the receiving end of an earful.

Nero raised a brow, "Then how?"

Sergeant Vane chuckled,

"Through genetic modifications and enhancements of course."

He paused for a moment, then he stretched out a hand to Nero.

Nero glanced at it suspiciously for a moment before taking it, allowing the Sergeant to pull him to a sitting position. Then he plopped down onto the sandy ground as well,

"You have noticed that all Templars are much larger and taller than the average man, no?"

Nero nodded, "The average Templar is about seven feet tall in a Blizter, towering over almost everybody. But I thought it was the armor."

The Sergeant shook his head,

"Not quite. Most Templars are just as large as I am even under their armor. This is often because of decades and centuries of biological advancements. This is another reason why noble families are treasured so much by the Church. Because we give them their warriors." He said with a soft smile.

Nero's eyes widened, "Then what about normal people? I heard everyone has a chance to become a Templar if they pass the trials.

Sergeant Vane snorted out a laugh,

"That's a bunch of horse shit, boy. There might be a lucky few every once in a while, but the heathens who do apply are to fill up the numbers and death count."

Sergeant Vane's eyes narrowed, "The weak and the puny are simply fodder for the high and the mighty. Even in the matters of death and war."

Nero grimaced, "I see..."

The Sergeant nodded,

"Even those that do surpass expectations and pass are usually sent to backwater towns were they shall earn no glory and live out their days with just enough but not too much. A terrible fate for he with the spirit of a warrior."

Nero's face was blank as he muttered,

"Will that happen to me too?"

The Sergeant chuckled darkly,

"Unfortunately for you, such dormant days are not within the scope of the Commander's vision for you. The materials and resources used to condition a body so it meets the same standards as a noble's are rather expensive. Some would say they are worth a small fortune."

"Why would the Commander spend so much on me?"

Sergeant Vane frowned, "I don't see it either. Maybe you are more special than either of us give you credit for."

Nero rolled his eyes then snorted.

If what the Sergeant says is true, then he couldn't afford to be mess up.

Suddenly, he froze.

"Wait a minute... Are you saying all the other candidates for the trials will be just as large as you?"

Sergeant Vane chuckled darkly,

"Some might be even bigger. Who knows what sorts of abominable things from the Seven Hells they are pumping the kids these days with."

He looked at Nero deeply, his expression rather serious as he continued,

"You need not worry. Your conditioning is almost complete."

Nero could say nothing to that.

He had known all this time that his boy was being changed. Even for a normal human, he was rather tall, albeit not bulky.

"Alright, enough talking. Muscles are not the only thing used to throw punches. Before you get those, let's put you through the others..."

Nero sighed heavily then rose to his feet.

Sergeant Vane preferred physical demonstrations over words during training.

This meant he would rather Nero feel his point rather than using his words to get them across.

Often times, that meant beating the living shit out of him to teach him a lesson.

However, after so long of training, Nero had begun to pick up on things rather quickly.

"How that we have gotten the light sparring out of the way, I shall teach you a secret technique of the Blood Lotus Regiment."