With both of his hands fixed inside his pockets, the youth calmly approached the man standing a few meters from him.
The figures of all the men he had been facing seconds ago were all writhing on the floor, multiple parts of their bodies swollen.
Many of them couldn't help but suck in a cold breath, a single word passing through their heads: monster.
There was no doubting it, if he had wanted to kill them, they would be dead.
The youth ignored each one of them, not even sparing them a glance, and reached the man after a few seconds.
"You look pissed, father. Who were you talking to?"
The expressionless face of the youth crumbled, a smile appearing on his face as he inquired, noticing the man's angry aura.
"No one you should worry about," the man's tone was dismissive. "How do you feel?"
The youth's smile widened. "Sounds like you were talking to my lovely sister," he remarked in a sarcastic tone.
Seeing the man's impassive stare, the youth released a chuckle before deciding to respond.
"I feel okay. I've completely consolidated my power in the Expert- rank."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on the man's face.
"Walk with me," he suddenly turned and started walking towards the exit of the room.
'What's wrong with him?' the youth showed a slightly puzzled expression before following soundlessly behind him. His father was acting weird today.
The room they were currently in was incredibly large, and so were all the places pristine white.
There were currently multiple equipments situated on different areas around the room. Although it wasn't as advanced, it was obvious that this was a training room.
The door parted open as both the man and the youth approached, the duo walking out of the training room and into a hall.
Every part of the building seemed to be made of bones, the walls and the ground smooth.
"Spineus," the man suddenly called out.
Hearing his name, the youth, Spineus, furrowed his eyebrows, turning to look at his father once again. He truly was acting weird.
"Yes, father?" He responded.
"How old would you be this year?" The man asked.
Spineus simply shook his head slightly. He was already tired of reacting to every weird thing his father did. He responded,
"16."
The smile on the man's face widened. "A 16-year-old Expert-rank, huh," he muttered under his breath, stroking his long beard as he kept on walking through the hallway.
"Hm?"
Before Spineus could ask what he had muttered, the man suddenly asked another confusing question,
"Tell me, Spineus, when did I start training you?"
"Immediately after my Osseomancy?"
Unlike with the human race, where when a child reaches the appropriate age of 7, he or she would be locked up inside a room with high mana density and keep on doing this until he or she awakens their mana core, for the bone race, it was a different process to awaken.
When the youths of the bone race reached the appropriate age, they each get locked inside a chamber located deep inside the Ossarch palace.
Said room was adorned with intricate bone carvings and symbols. In the middle of this room was a single skull whose aura, despite obviously being unalive, radiated an intense aura.
That skull was the skull of the first-ever Ossarch of the first generation bone race. Since his death, they had been using his skull to awaken the next generation youth.
The ceremony was simple: enter the room and place one hand on the skull; the rest was automatic.
The purpose of this ceremony was to awaken the latent bone-related abilities. For the bone race, mana and their bone-like abilities were intrinsically linked.
Awakening their bone-related abilities would awaken their Marrowwell located just beside their hearts, which was basically the mana core for the bone race.
Of course, each one of them could awaken naturally when they reached the appropriate age, but this was done to fast-track everything, just like the human awakening ceremony.
"Do you know why I did that?" The man inquired once again.
"Because of my talent? It was pretty obvious," Spineus responded to his question in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Yes, but why did I do that? Why did I decide to go out of my way to train you personally?"
His words seemed to make Spineus enter a deep thought. Why did he do that? He used to think it was because he saw his talent and was well, his son, but hearing him now, it was obvious there was another, more personal reason for doing it.
Seeing his son's confused expression, the man simply smiled and turned to face his front, reaching the end of the hall after a few seconds. The door parted open as he walked through.
Spineus followed directly behind him, and the duo found themselves inside an elevator which carried them upwards.
After a few moments, they both stood at the top of a balcony situated on the roof of a tall skyscraper-like building, looking downwards where the city sprawled out.
"Look at the city, son, tell me what you see."
Spineus gazed at the city for a few seconds, his head coming up blank. "Um, bones and people?" He responded awkwardly.
The man gave his son an intense side-eye that lasted for a few seconds, causing the latter to clear his throat in embarrassment. 'I should have thought of something better,'
"You're half right," the man turned his gaze away from Spineus, looking back down.
He continued,
"Those 'bones' down there are more than just skeletal structures. They are the essence of our people, our heritage, and our future. Each one of the people down there represents a member of the Bone Race, a legacy of strength and resilience passed down through generations."
"Long before the war with the humans, our Ossara family were the sole rulers of the Bone Race, guiding our people with wisdom. But as the war with the humans came, our lineage was scattered and diminished. This allowed that accused lineage to take the power that was rightfully ours."
"But that doesn't mean our story ends here. No, far from it. It means that we have a duty, a responsibility, to rise once again to our former glory. To reclaim our rightful place as leaders of the Bone Race."