God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

Nova woke up from his slumber again, heading to the guild as it was only 4:45 AM. He knew that he wouldn't be able to recover his sleep again, so he decided to head to the guild and start training early.

He brushed, showered, and ate some food. Then, like he did yesterday, he left a heft bowl of food and water for the kittens, who would probably be sleeping until later in the day. He locked the door after seeing if the kittens were fine, even gently kissing them, then left.

He watched across the city, seeing how it was so quiet, yet so loud. The silence was deafening his ears, since there was nothing. No cars running, no early joggers. Just nothing. He slightly staggered on a rock, but stabilized, and ignored the silence.

I wonder what we will do today. He thought, curiously tilting his head to the right, his lips puckered out. His hands were in his pockets, rattling the phone to give him company. Maybe we will continue from tomorrow, maybe we will fight holographic monsters. I mean, it gets boring fighting the monsters on Beastaria, but the humans don't another about the other realms, and for good reason, so I guess it's fine.

He was a minute away from the guild before hearing a car speeding towards him. It was the classic white van, and he knew what might happen if that van stopped right in front of him. He exhaled heavily, pushing his head back, as if he didn't want to be bothered trying to fight dumbass's that wanted to try and kidnap him.

And, of course, the van stopped right in front of him, pushing the brakes as if its life depended on it. Three guys with masks came out with a knife and a bat, rushing towards Nova.

Then, suddenly, all three of them disappeared as Nova was just ready to fight. He looked down to see shadows, which meant that Marcus had stopped the three from attacking him. Sending them somewhere else or even killing them with his shadow and disposing of the body.

He approached the driver, who was scared to death, then gave a slow, condemning nod. Nova felt pity for the driver, since his job could not able to be completed.

He went across the road, entering the guild, waiting for Marcus, who was once again talking to Adam. Nova was confused about how Adam was always early. He thought that Adam might just be living inside the guild for all he knew.

Then they went to the ninth floor. They took the elevator, entered the ninth floor, and saw that the space was empty. There was nothing other than wall lights. They stepped in, and there was no additional gravity, like yesterday, no pressure that would bug their bones with every step they took, just nothing.

"Today, we are going to delve into some real sparring," Marcus said as he removed his suit, getting naked in front of the two, and then wearing some training clothes to help with his flexibility and assertion.

"Let me guess, us two versus you," Nova said, pointing at Adam.

"Yes, of course, I want you guys to work together as a team, but also demonstrate your individual strengths." Marcus cracked his bones, stretched as the other two decided to join him. "And Adam, you can use your ability today, so try to use it to the fullest."

Nova realized that Adam hadn't shared his ability with him, so he sharply turned towards him, scaring Adam slightly. "You haven't told me your ability yet. What does it do?"

Adam spoke up slowly, not stuttering anymore, not in front of Nova and Marcus at least: "It's..." he tried to engage his mind to remember the name, "called Adaptitive Hide. According to my mind, my body is supposed to react instinctively to physical threats, like my skin hardens, my muscles flex, my senses sharpen, once the ability is active. I can also temporarily mimic a single physical trait, so like claws, scales, or fur, for brief usage."

When one awakens their ability, a part of the mind is opened to help the person know what their ability is, and everything related to the ability, like after reaching six pillars, the individual is teleported to their mind space and chooses if they want to differ or evolve, and whichever choice they pick, the mind space alters like that.

Nova comprehended Adam's words, then tilted his head slightly with a smirk. "So basically, you're a walking armor set with bonus features. Interesting."

Adam rubbed the back of his neck, unsure if that was praise or mockery. "Yeah, something like that. I wasn't able to use it yesterday, since my body ran out of energy."

"Did I tell your guys yet that the guild on the third floor has a very expensive and big gym that has everything you may need? So, you two shits should go there every day, even on Sundays, to work out with whatever split you have going on for you."

Adam replied, confused, as he didn't know what a "split" was: "What is a split...?"

He got slightly embarrassed, then Nova patted his shoulder and told him, "We'll go together today, so don't worry about it. I'll teach you everything you need to know what the gym and all the machines and weights."

Marcus clapped his hands once, sharp enough to echo throughout the room. "Good. Now that's settled. We'll begin to spar, since you will need to work as a team, but when you can't, you also need to react with instincts and work with your body. Let's begin."

"Rules are simple," Marcus continued. "You two are allowed to go all out. Use everything at your disposal. I, however—" he gave a calm, almost arrogant smile "—will not be using my full strength, or anything close to it. I will also not be using my ability. Only martial arts. But make no mistake: if you leave an opening, I will punish it. So try not to falter."

"Begin."

Just as the word left Marcus's mouth, Nova blurred fast Adam in a split second, closing the gap between them instantly. Adam, startled by the sudden motion, barely managed to activate his ability.

Marcus sidestepped Nova's opening strike effortlessly, twisting his body with practiced grace. He thought that Nova had gotten much faster since the last time he saw him, which could be a sign of him beginning to manifest his ability.

Nova had anticipated it; he spun low, his heel cutting through like a sniper. But before he could connect, Marcus caught his ankle with one hand and flung him sideways as if he were weightless.

Nova twisted midair, freeing from Marcus's grip as he landed on his feet with annoyance.

Marcus turned his gaze towards Adam, who was charging at Marcus with surprising speed. Adam's muscles swelled, claws sprouting from where his fingers used to be, and he slashed downward.

The impact rang stridently. Marcus blocked it with his forearm, unshaken, though his eyebrow raised. "Good. It seems like you do have bite."

Nova took the opening, appearing behind Marcus in a blur, fist cocked back like a coiled spring. He unleashed his fist, but Marcus dodged it effortlessly again, as if predicting exactly what Nova was attempting to do.

But then, Marcus felt his ribs get engaged, aching slightly, almost nothing, but he wanted to create drama, so he acted like it ached a lot in front of the boys. Nova was just using his coiled fists to create a distraction so that he could launch a kick at the side of Marcus, like a pro footballer.

Marcus released Adam from his grip and was standing towards the side, only about five meters away. He looked at Nova with calm eyes, while also looking at the two with applauding eyes. He knew the eyes were indirectly working together, since Nova's playing style was much different then Adam's, but at the same time, they complemented each other.

Nova and Adam turned to glance at each other, nodding their head in unison as they rushed towards Marcus. Marcus slightly grins at the two, waiting for all that anticipation that the two built, die in vain. He was excited to finally be getting an effective adrenaline boost that he hadn't gotten in a long time.

Marcus steadied his stance, lowering his center of gravity just slightly. Nova blurred first, his fists steadily increasing their pace every time his shoulders and arms coiled. But Marcus weaved through them with calculated precision, enough to scare Nova slightly.

Adam followed immediately, his claws swiping in tandem with Nova's flurry, timing his movements so that Marcus had to defend from two angles at once.

Marcus grinned wider. Good. They're syncing without realizing it. He pivoted, parrying Adam's claw with his elbow and slipping past Nova's barrage. But Nova anticipated the evasion this time, and he cut off Marcus's escape with a sudden low kick. Adam capitalized, his sharpened senses guiding his strike toward Marcus's exposed ribs.

For a fraction of a second, Marcus felt the sting of pressure, an actual threat. His eyes gleamed with excitement. "Finally," he murmured, before vanishing forward in a burst of speed, aiming to test how far the two could really push him.