Systemless in a Parallel World

"I now know where to start with your training!" Merlin said as he watched Zayn getting up from the ground with jelly legs.

The young Normie was barely able to stay up on his feet but that was what Merlin had expected, from the beginning.

There was no way that a 13-year-old kid would be able to stand on his feet after fighting an adult for four hours while getting beaten up and pushed to the ground every few minutes.

In fact, it was already a surprise that Zayn didn't lose consciousness or collapsed after two hours. The young Normie's willpower was immense. It was not something one would expect from a 13-year-old kid, that was for sure!

"Oh…really? What are we starting with?" Zayn asked, sounding totally exhausted, yet still interested in Merlin's evaluation of his strength and talent.

However, the answer he received was not exactly pleasant to the ear, not after he gave his utmost for the last few hours.

"You're not as bad as I expected you to be," Merlin revealed in all honesty.

"I doubt you want me to feel honored," Zayn replied rhetorically, not even noticing that Merlin was staring at him with gleaming eyes. In Zayn he finally found his trace of hope that turned into a small but blazing hot flame, sending him warmth and much more hope than he had felt in a long time.

"Let's eat something, while I explain to you what we're going to do in the next four months!" Merlin said, walking back into the kitchen area where he prepared a portion of the well-preserved special meat. It was time to start providing Zayn with the nutrition he needed to grow stronger.

Zayn was the diamond in the rough Merlin had hoped to find for a very long time, and it was as if fate led the young Normie to him with a plan in mind, a plan where both would benefit from each other and attain their respective goals.

While Zayn was oblivious to the thoughts that flashed through Merlin's mind, he was slowly advancing through the kitchen area. His legs felt like jelly, and it took quite a while before he reached the chair he was told to sit. He lowered his head and placed it on the wooden table where he closed his eyes until he was woken by the smell of juicy meat that wafted towards him.

His eyes turned round at the sight of the meat Merlin prepared.

"Don't eat it too fast and chew it slowly, otherwise, your body might not be able to digest the nutrition and soul particles well. Savor the meat while I tell you what we're going to do," Merlin explained, which was enough to attract Zayn's attention.

In the following half an hour, Zayn ate the meat slowly while listening to the detailed plan Merlin had come up with in a short timeframe.

It was pretty interesting, but what intrigued Zayn much more was how it was possible to cook such a delicious meal in such a short time. He felt invigorated and felt like he could easily fight for a few hours once again.

The soreness all over his body had disappeared and he could hardly feel the cuts and bruises he had sustained while fighting Merlin. As if that was not enough, the massive amount of lifeforce that flooded him was pretty intense as well. It allowed him to be wide awake and for all his ailments to disperse into thin air.

While he realized what exactly it meant to feel even more vigorous and a tad stronger after taking a bunch of potions and having one of the well-preserved special meat rations, Merlin was already staring at him with a smile on his face. The smile looked like just the grin of a devil, and Zayn's body responded immediately by causing chills to run down his spine.

"Get up. We're getting started!" Merlin announced.

"Now?"

"Now!"

A disgruntled groan left Zayn's lips but he got up from the chair without voicing out any complaints. He took a deep breath and told himself that it was a necessity to gain strength. He had to give his best to become stronger in the next four months, and Merlin's plan sounded reasonable.

With that taken into consideration, Zayn got hold of his Dragontale Twin Sabers. However, Merlin shook his head when he saw what Zayn intended to do.

"You're working out now not sparring. Start with 500 push ups, run a thousand times around the dojo walls, finish 250 pull-ups, and do 500 squats."

Merlin smiled calmly at Zayn as he gave him the first order to initiate the hellish training programs he had in mind.

Zayn stared blankly at Merlin, not sure whether his teacher had gone insane, or if he fell on his head earlier.

'I might have one Soulring…but isn't that a little bit too much?' He wondered but didn't voice his thoughts out loud. It was quite obvious that Merlin had a plan in mind, and taking into consideration that they bought more than 120 Potions of each type, in addition to 240 rations of the well-preserved special meat, he could pretty much tell that he was going to be fed with potions and meat.

His diet would be extremely mundane and he would hardly have any time idling around. Not that he planned to idle around, either way. It was just that the entire training program was bound to be more intense than expected.

"By the way, I noticed that you didn't add any studying in the schedule you prepared. Are you planning to only train me for four months straight, or can I acquire some knowledge about all kinds of monsters in the library as well? I mean, all that training is useless if I encounter powerful monsters with unique traits that I don't anticipate," Zayn asked while hurriedly adding, "I'm not trying to train less or anything like that, but I think gaining knowledge of my future opponents is also very important…and I was only given the basic lessons in the Academy. That means my knowledge is pretty bad. I joined the Adventurer Hall for information, but hardly had any time to study until now…"

Initially, Merlin thought that Zayn would complain about the strict schedule and harsh workout, but that was not the case. On the contrary, Zayn had come up with a very valid point, something Merlin hadn't even taken into consideration until now.

"I will adjust the schedule, don't worry," He said, without adding the thought that flashed into his mind.

'I will just lessen some of your sleeping time!"