[ A record of Max's journey through years 3 to 16 spent with Dharti ]
As Max emerged from the mound of earth, he felt a different connection with the world. He was now rooted to the earth, like a colossal tree with its roots running deep. It was time for the second stage - Adaptation.
The following years were a test of Max's physical strength and endurance. Dharti, the Earth Goddess, started adding boulders on him.
It was not a figure of speech, it was not a cute addition like placing boulder on the edge of a stick, forcing Max to lift the stick over his shoulders for weight training.
No!
It was literally placing a boulder over his head, which Max had to balance with his own two hands and raw power.
On day one, the boulder was replaced several times as although it started with the size of a car, in the end it became as big as a tall fern tree.
To Max, Each boulder represented a challenge. Each boulder was a part of the earth he was learning to understand, and each boulder was a hurdle he needed to overcome.
From simple movements to practising combat techniques, from resting to meditating - Max had to carry these weights at all times. The heavy burden gradually honing his body into a resilient and unyielding entity.
If he dropped the boulder, he was supposed to change his stance lifting the boulder from a comfortable one to one where both his arms were fully extended over his head and forced to support the full weight of the boulder for one day using nothing but his palms.
Dharti watched his progress, her eyes occasionally softening with admiration as despite the gruelling training Max never complained or backed off from a challenge.
Everyday he would push himself to the limit, as Dharti could see that his failures came when he was physically incapable of supporting the weight and not when he mentally gave up on the job.
As the years passed, the small flecks of grey in Max's beard grew deeper and deeper as his visage became irresistible to Dharti who wanted to do something wild to test his resolve.
One night, after Max had mastered carrying the weight of a massive boulder, she approached him, her green eyes glowing with an unknown emotion. With a mischievous smile, she snapped her fingers, and her dress fell to the ground, leaving her bare under the cool night sky.
Max blinked, his mind going blank at the sudden sight, the Goddess's body was glistening under the artificial moon, for some reason there was dew drops on her skin which made her look all the more fresh and appealing.
She had small erect nipples that were beckoning Max to suck on them, however, before his gaze could wander towards the wrong parts, he took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and looked away, maintaining his respect and resolve.
The Earth Goddess chuckled softly, her nude form adorned by the moonlight. "You are full of surprises, Max," she said, gathering her dress and disappearing into the night, leaving Max alone with the echo of her laughter and the weight of the earth on his shoulders.
Over the next few years, Max's physical strength increased manifold. He was now carrying the weight of a small mountain, moving with grace and agility, despite the heavy burden. His body had become more durable, capable of withstanding immense pressure, a characteristic attribute of the Earth element. He had mastered the second stage - Adaptation.
With the mastery of this stage he was sure that he had maximised 4 of his stats after his long and gruelling training with 3 elements and those stats were -
intelligence, endurance, constitution and strength.
He was close to maximising agility however dexterity was still a lengthy endeavour.
It was odd because his level was only 403 not improving much after his tier promotion since he did no levelling excercises, however, although he was so early into his tier, he was close to maximising his stats that could be done through training.
If he just levelled up normally now and focused on dexterity he would be able to reach the pinnacle of the path of the perfect warrior by the time he reached the level cap.
The third stage of his training was Manifestation, and it was here Max understood the true might of the Earth element.
Dharti introduced him to his new opponents - beings of stone and earth such as golems, swordsmen, archers, mages and many other lifeforms against which Max had to test his newfound power.
He discovered he could create shields of stone to protect himself from attacks, walls of earth to block paths or entrap opponents.
He learned to send seismic waves through the ground, destabilising his opponents or creating trenches in their paths. He could mould the earth and stone to form weapons – a stone spear for long-range attacks, an earth hammer for devastating close-range assaults.
He could shape the ground beneath his opponents, creating sudden pitfalls, or causing the earth to grip their feet, immobilising them. He could command boulders to rise and strike, and even manipulate the battlefield's very terrain to his advantage, creating a strategic high ground, or trapping opponents in a valley of his creation.
Through these practices, Max mastered the Way of the Earth, cementing his position as a formidable warrior, one who could manipulate the battlefield to his advantage, protect allies with impregnable defences, and crush enemies with devastating attacks.
With each passing day, Max's control over the Earth element grew more refined. He could feel the energies of the earth flow through him, resonating with his own, resulting in a perfect harmony that allowed him to manipulate the earth to his will.
As he stood there, victorious over the stone beasts Dharti had summoned, she looked at him, her eyes sparkling with admiration and a hint of desire. "You have successfully mastered the Way of the Earth, Max," she acknowledged, a soft smile playing on her lips. "I must admit, you are unlike anyone I have trained before."
Deeply impressed Dharti showered Max with praises but also looked sad as she realised that it was the last night that the two of them were to be together.
" I know you don't wish to sleep with me and it's clear that you love the woman in the real world a lot, she is really very lucky to have a man like you.
However, while I have failed to seduce you, I want to shoot my shot on our last night together.
I'm quite old, and I've been lusting over your body for a while now.
It started as a joke, but it's something I must have now.
If you agree to satisfy me as a one time thing, I'll give you my word as a goddess I'll never talk about it outside this chamber.
If not, I'm sorry but I'll knock you out and have my way with you tonight anyways.
Either way I'm not leaving this chamber without having a taste of you " The earth mother said in a serious voice as Max realised that he had became an obsession for her.
Contemplating his choices seriously, Max decided to relent in the end and give his teacher a night to remember.
It was not because he wanted to do it, or because he would have ever cheated on Asiva, but because after such a long time of training together he had also grown a little soft towards Dharti and wanted her to be happy.
Hence completely contrary to his last days with Kremeth and Khnum, his last day with Dharti was marked with doing mushy exercises on beds made of rock.
Hence after 16 years 1 month and 4 days of training with Dharti, Max managed to master the Earth element.
—------
/// A/N - This bonus chapter has
been sponsored by patron Cervantez91, please thank him in the comments for the same///