Heretic Trainer: The Gym Is My Cultivation Method

Inside Nyxvar’s private voidship, the others had already moved ahead, leaving Garion and Atlas near the rear corridor.

Rachel was not far away, but for the moment, she gave them space.

Garion leaned against the dark metallic wall and glanced at Atlas. "So."

Atlas slowly turned toward him.

Garion’s grin faded a little. "It’s another candidate, huh?"

Atlas was silent for a moment.

Then he nodded.

[Most likely.]

Garion’s eyes narrowed. "Because of the similar path?"

[That is one reason.]

Atlas folded his tiny arms, his blue eyes unusually serious.

[A strange cultivation path. Explosive growth in a short amount of time. Different realm names. A system that seems to bypass the normal universe rules. And now Volkrath said he felt some connection between you and them.]

Garion rubbed his chin. "Yeah. That sounds familiar."

[Too familiar.]

Garion looked toward the distant window of the voidship, where folded space passed like black-purple streams of light. "But why is there no mission at all?"

Atlas frowned.

[I don’t know.]

Garion glanced back at him. "You don’t know?"

Atlas’s expression became irritated.

[Don’t say it like I’m useless. I am very useful.]

Garion grinned faintly. "Sure."

[I hate that tone.]

Garion chuckled once, but his eyes remained sharp. "Still, no mission, no warning, no system reaction. Isn’t that weird?"

Atlas nodded slowly.

[It is.]

He looked toward the front of the ship.

[But I think the reason is simple. We haven’t met the Dragon Slayer directly yet.]

Garion raised an eyebrow.

Atlas continued,

[Right now, our connection with them is basically zero. We only heard about them through other people. The system may not be able to judge anything until you stand before one yourself.]

Garion’s grin slowly returned. "So after I see this Dragon Slayer..."

[Then we will know.]

Garion cracked his knuckles softly. "Good."

Atlas stared at him.

[Do not immediately punch him before I finish checking.]

Garion looked away.

Atlas’s eyes narrowed.

[Garion.]

Garion smiled shamelessly. "I’ll try."

[That is not reassuring.]

---

The black-purple voidship moved through folded space like a shadow swimming between worlds.

Streams of distorted starlight flashed past the windows, bending around the ship’s spatial runes before vanishing behind them.

Garion stood near the front window with both hands in his pockets. "Almost there?"

Nyxvar glanced at the shifting spatial map before him. "Yes. We will arrive soon."

Garion nodded, then looked back at the Dragon Gods. "By the way, I still don’t get one thing."

Aurelion frowned. "What now?"

Garion pointed at them casually. "From what I know, those guys hunt dragons, but they only have First Rank Divine Dragon Slayers right now, right?"

Varkhor nodded. "Correct."

Garion spread both hands. "Then why are all of you so tense? You guys are strong. First Rank should only be like Low-Rank God level, right?"

The Dragon Gods’ expressions darkened.

Abyron spoke first, his voice heavy. "It is not that simple."

Garion raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Selkhara’s cold eyes turned toward the window. "Yes, they have only confirmed First Rank Divine Dragon Slayers so far. But killing one is not easy."

Varkhor continued, "To safely kill a First Rank Divine Dragon Slayer, at least an Intermediate-Rank Dragon God must personally move."

Garion blinked. "Seriously?"

Aurelion’s golden eyes narrowed. "If a Low-Rank Dragon God fights them, the result is dangerous."

Verdroth smiled coldly. "Dangerous is too polite. There is a good chance the Dragon Slayer wins."

Rachel frowned slightly. "Because their path counters dragons?"

Varkhor nodded. "Exactly."

Nyxvar’s voice was calm but sharp. "Their aura weakens dragon bloodlines, suppresses dragon laws, disrupts dragon instincts, and strengthens their attacks against us."

Abyron added, "Against other races, a First Rank Divine Dragon Slayer may only be similar to an ordinary Low-Rank God. But against dragons, they are far more troublesome."

Garion rubbed his chin. "So they have dragon-specific buffs and dragon-weakening debuffs."

Atlas nodded.

[Crude wording, but accurate.]

Aurelion’s eyebrow twitched. "Do not describe divine racial suppression like some cheap game effect."

Garion shrugged. "But that’s basically what it is."

Rachel sighed softly.

Varkhor did not deny it. "That is why we cannot treat them casually. Every dragon they kill makes them stronger, and every stronger Dragon Slayer becomes a greater threat to us."

Garion slowly nodded. "I see. No wonder you’re all angry."

The spatial map suddenly flashed.

Nyxvar looked forward. "We have arrived."

The voidship slowed.

Outside the window, folded space peeled open, revealing a dark border region filled with shattered asteroids and drifting ash-gray light.

Far ahead, a broken battlefield floated near the edge of a High Grade World’s protective barrier.

Several dragon corpses were scattered across the void, and a single figure stood among those corpses.

The person wore armor made from dragon parts.

Dark dragon scales formed the chestplate. Curved horns rose from the shoulders. A dragon skull fragment covered one side of the helmet. Bone blades lined the arms, and a long weapon made from a dragon spine rested in one hand.

Garion stared at him through the window.

For a moment, he felt like he was looking at something from a game in his past life, Dragon Slayer.

That was the first thing that entered Garion’s mind.

In his past life, there were countless games where hunters killed monsters, carved their bodies apart, and used the materials to customize armor and weapons.

The figure outside the window looked exactly like that kind of character.

The more they looked, the clearer it became that this dragon slayer was also a candidate like him.

Not only that, judging by the armor style and the way it looked almost too much like a game design from Garion’s past life, this person might also be reborn.

Rachel noticed his expression and quietly looked at him. "Garion?"

Garion did not answer immediately.

Atlas suddenly froze.

His blue eyes widened as a familiar panel of divine light appeared before him.

[A new mission has appeared.]

Garion’s eyes sharpened. "Let me see the mission now."

A moment later, the mission panel appeared before him.