"Come on, Caesar! Haven't we been getting along just fine? Sparring with me all this time has helped improve your fighting skills, hasn't it?" Axis said.
"No. Fighting you doesn't help me improve anymore. So if you want to train, you can do it on your own," Caesar replied.
Did you seriously just say my fighting skills had improved? I was fighting a kid, so I had to hold back completely. And this brat could fly and fire blasts in midair, while Caesar couldn't wear his Power Armor, weakening his combat ability by more than tenfold.
Fighting Axis had no training value at all. Caesar was just a sparring dummy taking a one-sided beating.
"Why don't you call one of your colleagues over?" Axis asked.
He was still more than 300 points weaker than an Adeptus Custodes! How had he managed to make the guy give up on himself?
Was it because the Saiyan battle instinct was too powerful, and combined with the assistance of ki, it had become too much for the Adeptus Custodes to handle?
Come on, man! You're an Adeptus Custodes! Why are you acting like some washed-up old guy?
You can't handle a setback like this? How are you supposed to protect the Emperor?
"No need. The Emperor assigned me to protect you. The others have their own duties," Caesar said.
Call another colleague over just so you can make him give up on himself too?
Without his Power Armor, he'd already been giving it everything he had. And Axis was more than capable of suppressing him in hand-to-hand combat, on top of having a Ki Blast for long-range attacks. Their combat abilities simply weren't on the same level.
He'd never seen how strong a young Primarch was, but Caesar doubted that even a Primarch at this age could be this terrifying.
So there was no need to call over another Adeptus Custodes just to get them beaten too!
"How about I give you a boost?" Axis asked.
The Emperor had said that his ki could improve other people's physical abilities. If it could strengthen Russ, then surely it could strengthen an Adeptus Custodes too!
"No need!" Caesar got to his feet. With the help of a nearby Servitor, he put his golden armor back on, then stood motionless beside Axis.
He was like a statue. No matter what Axis said, he didn't react. He simply refused to spar with Axis again.
"Forget it! Is there any gravity-adjustment equipment here? Like a room where you can change the gravity? I want to try ten times normal gravity," Axis asked.
Since this Adeptus Custodes didn't want to play with him, he might as well train himself to adapt to gravity!
Planet Vegeta, the Saiyans' homeworld, had ten times Earth's gravity. That was one of the key reasons for the Saiyans' powerful physiques. Axis felt he needed to train under higher gravity.
"Denied!" Caesar shook his head.
Gravity training? What was this kid thinking?
It was extremely dangerous. High gravity could cause serious problems for humans, especially since Axis was still so young!
Even a Primarch wouldn't dare try something like that.
"It'll be fine. This is part of my training," Axis said.
Ten times normal gravity would be as easy as eating and drinking. After all, that was the gravity of the planet he'd been born on!
"You're about to undergo Custodes Surgery. You shouldn't put your body through any strain before then. Custodes Surgery isn't as easy as you think," Caesar said.
The ideal age for Custodes Surgery was between birth and seven. The older a child got beyond that, the lower the chances of success.
The procedure had the highest success rate in infancy, and even then, fewer than one in a hundred infants who underwent Custodes Surgery would become an Adeptus Custodes.
For children over seven, the success rate was practically zero. But with Axis's terrifying physical strength, the chances of his Custodes Surgery succeeding could well reach 100%.
Even so, the kid should take better care of his body and rest properly, getting into peak condition for the procedure instead of messing around here.
"If you're that confident, I don't see why not. This ship does have a gravity-adjustment chamber. It can go up to twenty times normal gravity." The Emperor had appeared in the Training Room at some point.
As soon as he saw the Emperor, Caesar dropped to one knee.
"Forgive me for not welcoming you sooner, great Emperor," Caesar said.
"I only just arrived. I've been watching you fight all this time," the Emperor replied.
Just how terrifying was the Emperor's Psychic Power? If he wished, he could cover an entire planet in an instant and learn everything happening there.
Over the past few days, aside from handling matters concerning the Imperium of Man, he'd been using his Psychic Power to observe Axis.
He'd been curious about the fight between Axis and his Custodes bodyguard. No matter how strong Axis was or how astonishing his potential, there was no way he should have been able to defeat an Adeptus Custodes at his age.
That was true even if the Custodes wasn't wearing Power Armor.
But the truth had left everyone stunned! Using a power called ki, Axis could enhance his physical abilities, increasing his strength and agility. He could also read his opponent's movements and anticipate their attacks.
He had actually defeated an Adeptus Custodes, and his physical abilities had improved even further over the past ten days or so.
That was why the Emperor had approved Axis's request to use the Gravity Chamber today.
Caesar nodded and led Axis to a room in the Training Room. He opened the door and let Axis inside.
"The maximum gravity here is twenty times normal. How about starting at double gravity and getting used to it first?" Caesar asked.
"No need! Ten times normal gravity is fine," Axis said, waving his little hand.
Ordinary people couldn't handle ten times normal gravity, but for a Saiyan, it was like going home.
Caesar's mouth twitched. He glanced at the Emperor questioningly, and the Emperor nodded.
Caesar activated the tenfold gravity setting. The lights in the room suddenly dimmed, and the gravity shot up to ten times that of Holy Terra.
Axis, however, acted as if nothing had happened. He stretched, jogged a lap around the room, then hopped twice in place.
"Emperor, there might be a problem with the gravity device. I'll call a Tech-Priest to repair it," Caesar said.
This wasn't at all what he'd expected. The machine had to be malfunctioning.
"No need. The machine is working perfectly," the Emperor said.
Before you continue