Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 157: Mysterious Material - Extreme Training

The moment Nikolai reached the basement where Alexei was waiting, he felt quite curious. Not only did the walls become thicker with each floor below ground, but there were thick metal supports. Yet the metal wasnʼt one that Nikolai recognised... ʼIs it something from the Nexus?ʼ

He noticed the rooms became smaller but more extravagant and of higher quality with each floor down he went. Once at the door to the private training room, he noticed not a sound had come from inside.

”I canʼt even hear any ambient sound...” This was with his enhanced senses; earlier, he could still hear people from the top floor. Yet once entering this basement floor, all sound vanished.

*Knock*

”Ouch...”

Nikolai knocked on the door, made of the strange metal from the support beams and pillars. However, the moment he did, a sharp pain shot through his wrist and knuckles. The metal was extremely durable and strong!

”Is he not here?”

A short while after knocking, Nikolai finally gave up being polite and just pushed the door open. Its weight forced him to use both hands, and his eyes widened. This heavy door took almost all his strength just to open.

ʼWhat kind of a freakish metal is this?!ʼ

*Thud!*

”Fuck!”

The moment he opened the door, it suddenly shot open; someone pulled it from the inside and sent Nikolai flying into the room. His body tumbled while hitting the padded ground with loud thuds shaking his brain, making him feel dizzy.

”Oh? Nikolai, did you struggle with the door? Sorry, itʼs a little heavy; I guess we need to work on your physical strength since youʼre not using your muscles properly.”

Nikolai dragged himself to his feet while confused. ”What do you mean?” His eyes looked at Alexei with a doubtful expression, then noticed the strange outfit that he wore. ”Whatʼs that strange bodysuit?”

”Well, first, I mean, youʼre only using a portion of your body. It seems that what Uncle Ivan said and you didnʼt awaken till recently. So your body and mind are subconsciously limiting your strength as if you were still human.”

”I didnʼt know this. Then how do I fix it?” Nikolaiʼs brows lifted from the curiosity and shock. He never realised that he needed more than just pure training and natural growth. That he might need special training to change his subconscious actions.

”Youʼll need to get over the mentality of thinking like a human... so Iʼm going to force you to abandon those thoughts. Here, wear this and get ready.” Alexei tossed another one of the strange bodysuits he wore. It was pale grey, but the moment Nikolai tried to catch it, his body slammed into the ground.

ʼItʼs the same strange material!ʼ

Alexei chuckled before smirking at the floored Nikolai. ”Well, itʼs a bizarre metal that I found from one of the unclaimed Nexus worlds. Itʼs still a contested Warzone, so the price was a little high.”

ʼThere are Nexus worlds that are at war? I didnʼt know this... Selene, why didnʼt she tell me?ʼ

Seeing the look of confusion on Nikolaiʼs face, Alexei couldnʼt help but rub his chin. ”It seems like you didnʼt know, but donʼt blame whoever hid it. Those worlds are really dangerous; those fucking ancient monsters fight there; even I would die if I went without an enormous force.”

ʼWhy is the Nexus always such a dangerous place?! Itʼs way too hazardous!ʼ He muttered inside but kept it down and only sighed out loud. ”How will I get better? Iʼm still confused about how the suit will help?”

He quickly put on the suit, struggling to maintain a basic posture, a feeling like gravity was yanking him down to the earth.

However, seeing this, Alexei nodded, ”This is step one; you need to be able to perform normal actions in this room with that suit. Oh, and you are not allowed to remove it for the next three days.”

”WHAT?! FUCK YOU!”

”Hahah, no thanks, my wife is just fine! But seriously, Nikolai, your bones, muscles and even your skin far surpass even the highest royal-blooded vampire or werewolf; that was before my wifeʼs help. So, you understand, right? Sometimes, your body canʼt keep up with what your mind KNOWS you can do. Trust me, and Iʼll make you surpass even me within a month.”

Although he felt quite dubious, the moment he felt the suit and heard Alexeiʼs words, Nikolai believed in him. However, he didnʼt think it would take a month; rather, he refused to take that long. Though this suit... if he wore it at the wraith mission.

ʼWill I be able to survive?ʼ

”Well, whatʼs step two then?” A slight grin formed on Nikolaiʼs face; the expression made Alexei take a deep breath, the sharp and wicked smile, his narrow and powerful eyes glaring at him. ʼIt feels like Ivan before battle!ʼ

”Hehe, itʼs easy—”

The next moment, Nikolaiʼs pupils shrank as Alexeiʼs fist hit his stomach after he literally teleported in front of him. ”—Survive, my blows!”

Nikolai spat up blood while his feet left the floor, flying backwards. It was the first time someone had punched him so hard since he had turned.

The power felt close to Sebastian as Alexeiʼs fist hit his stomach when he fought him. The impact surpassed the pain, likely due to the bodysuit dulling the pain. However, he couldnʼt react or counter before another fist connected with his right side.

”Sh... Ack!”

ʼAlexei! This bastard!ʼ He tried to grab the fist but could not move his arm fast enough; before his right arm reached it, Alexei used his left and slammed it in between the fist and his side.

An audible *Crack* shook the room. The moment after the blow, Nikolaiʼs body shot into the wall, impacting the padded metal. A large indent of his body appeared before he fell.

Nikolai gasped in pain as the impact almost shattered his bones. ʼIf I donʼt get used to the suit, Iʼll fucking die!ʼ

However, a shadow cast across him; looking up with blurry eyes, he noticed that the blurry shadow was Alexeiʼs leg, which quickly became like a deadly iron bar.

Alexeiʼs leg whipped back before snapping at him like a hydraulic press. ”Wake up, Nikolai; the real training is about to start!” Alexei shouted from above. Nikolai saw the incoming attack and gritted his teeth. ʼI will fucking kill you!ʼ

He turned, forcing himself to block the blow with both arms; a sudden force sent him floating in the air from the force. Then Alexei followed up with a spinning back kick to the centre of Nikolaiʼs chest.

”GET READY, NIKOLAI!”

”NO, YOU GET FUCKING READY!”

Nikolai rolled over on the floor while he took in several large breaths.

However, he noticed that his left arm was a little twisted. Seeing the damage, he felt so tired he could sleep for the day and a half heʼd trained before, but this was madness... anger and frustration building up inside him.

He couldnʼt keep from getting beaten.

Nikolai focused, his eyes narrowing at the incoming Alexei. It was heavy; his body screamed at him, yet he forced all his blood to flow to his limbs. A sudden surge formed inside him as all his blood turned purple, then black.

Nikolai felt a pain in his chest, limbs and bones... the suit constricting and placing pressure on his entire body. Yet, the black blood, like a raging river during a storm, began to flow through his broken arm and heavy limbs aggressively.

ʼUgh... it fucking burns!ʼ At first, the black blood was like liquid fire; his pathways and muscles felt like they were searing hot with magma.

”IʼM HERE TO GET READY FOR BATTLE!”

His left foot kicked off the floor with a loud bang, sending his body to his feet from the immense kinetic force. Even though he moved slower than usual, Nikolai felt the difference; each movement or action was painful and made him feel a dull ache.

Almost like he had overworked himself at the gym or during training in the past, and this pain came from his unused muscles and power.

Slowly, he began finding them one by one. ”Phew...”

Nikolai released a long sigh, watching Alexeiʼs fist coming towards him with a right hook. He wanted to dodge and find an opening, but the speed of his body slowed too much. Instead, Nikolai raised his right elbow to Alexeiʼs arm.

*Bang*

Alexeiʼs fist slammed into Nikolai, shaking his body as if a battering ram had hit him. The moment it did, Nikolaiʼs elbow smashed down on Alexeiʼs arm.

Alexei quickly stepped back and looked at his right arm in surprise; he avoided out of instinct, forming a smirk on his lips. ”Good, but not enough!”

The moment he said that his left leg snapped out with a front kick straight to the chest.

From here, the two began a gruelling session of ʼtrainingʼ together.

***

Three hours later, the pair were both stood facing each other. Their bodies were straight, and Nikolai was panting, his arms trembling from the various bruises hidden beneath the suit. Meanwhile, Alexei had a slight cut and bruise on his left cheek while looking amused.

”Haa... this damn bastard....”

”What... youʼve still got some steam, you little shit?”

Alexei smirked, while Nikolai just glared, his body too sore and tired to even do anything more than this. He didnʼt feel bad, though; his muscles screamed in pain like they were burning.

His constant flow of blood was the only thing that kept him awake and conscious. Alexei never hit his face but always focused on his body, a different place for each attack, forcing Nikolai to use ALL muscles in his body.

However, his brain was too fatigued, almost exhausted.

Thankfully, the suit could change its colour and look like the userʼs skin tone, which helped him a lot.

The grey bodysuit might make him look a little strange outside of the gym after all.

”Well done. Youʼve passed the first day, not that great, but good. But tomorrow, the real training starts... Your suit can only be removed to shower, and if you need the toilet, there is a small button on the wrist that will take care of that. Also, no sex! Hahaha! Good luck, Nikolai, and take care.”

Honestly, he just wanted to collapse, but tonight, he was meeting Ryan about the mission, which meant Brian and the others might also come. Nikolai also messaged Risa because it was obvious their evening training at the tower was off.

”Ugh... Iʼll get my revenge, damn Alexei!”

”Hahaha, please do! You are too weak right now!”

Before he knew it, Nikolai found himself sitting at the entrance, drinking an energy drink with his messy hair and broken body.

”Somehow... it feels like paradise.” He whispered while his dull gaze watched the setting sun out the window.

”Nikolai? Why are you here?” The voice was someone he didnʼt expect to meet until he remembered that Brian also trained here...

”Ah, Ryan, I wanted to meet you. What good luck.”

Ryan could only look confused because the voice of his friend sounded so drained and weak, just like in the past. He couldnʼt hide his happiness, maybe feeling nostalgic about the situation.

”I just finished, so shall we grab a coffee before the meal?”

”If youʼre driving, Iʼd love to!”

”But man, you really look like youʼve been through hell, Nikolai.”

”Hahah... well, I am preparing for our mission. I canʼt embarrass myself now, right?”

”True, but donʼt push it too far. I worry about you.”

”Ah, I wonʼt.”

Nikolai then fell into Ryanʼs car, relaxing in the back seat as he closed his eyes. A momentʼs rest to recover from the pain.