Inna shuddered in disgust as she roughly unwrapped his arms around her.
"Did I choke you too much that your brain got damaged?"
Rhys just laughed cheerfully as he let her go.
"No, no. I'm perfectly fine. Well, except for my throat hurting. But… it's just… It's… nothing. I'll...tell you later."
He winked at her as he started to cast a healing spell for his bruised neck. He touched it lightly and winced at the slight pain.
"Man, your grip is something else, huh. Never had a girl choke me before. It was usually the other way around."
Knowing the meaning behind his words, Inna scrunched up her face in disgust as she took a step back. Rhys saw her grossed out face and he couldn't help but laugh lightly.
Then he noticed Orion and the other guys just gaping at them by the side.
Rhys didn't feel like explaining himself so he just decided to dodge the questions they've been subtly asking him with their wide eyes by talking about something else.
"So, now you know how good my tutor is, right?
Orion and the guys nodded slowly and they finally regained their senses.
They heavily panicked when they thought that Inna was going to really kill him but turns out they didn't need to worry at all!
It was probably just part of their training …
"O-oh yes! Man, she almost gave us a heart attack there. We all thought she was going to do it for real so we rudely interrupted the match."
Orion laughed and Arian and the others followed suit. Their laughter shook off the tense atmosphere. Thankful that they misunderstood, Inna laughed stiffly as well.
"Ha,ha…. Yeah… I wasn't really going to… kill him. Ha,ha,ha. I mean, as a… tutor teaching her uhm… student, you gotta make them feel like it's the real thing to bring out the best in them, right?"
Orion's eyes glittered with respect as he nodded frantically.
"Indeed! Indeed! I guess I still have a long way to become a teacher, huh? Still, the way you fought earlier was amazing!"
Arian chimed into the conversation as he patted her back softly.
"Exactly! Your speed, your power, and your counter attacks… they were just AMAZING! I mean, the punch that you landed was such a clean and powerful hit that I almost felt my jaw crack when I saw it hit."
The other guys surrounded her as they nodded in agreement.
"That kick you made earlier, I can even feel the wind disturbance from where I'm standing!"
"Yeah! At first, we thought the way you fought was weird, but I guess that's how you warm up huh?"
"Yeah! Yeah! Guess expert have their own strange ways to get into the zone…"
Inna just stiffly laughed at them as she checked Rhys's neck. Fortunately, the bruises were now gone because of the healing spells. But what Inna didn't understand was the fact that he seemed pretty cheerful about it.
Was he actually aware that she was totally going to kill him if it weren't for the fact that Orion and the rest were able to stall for time for her to calm down?
Back when she was strangling him, she had no control over her actions at all. She was screaming at herself to stop but it felt like she was screaming inside her head instead. Thankfully, the coldness withdrew from her body just before Rhys could faint.
Rhys saw her worried look and he couldn't help but smile.
Actually, he himself thought he'd be pissed after what happened.
But then, if it weren't for her, he wouldn't have been able to dent the seal that his Master had made.
So, he's greatly happy right now.
The seal was originally used as punishment to suppress his magical abilities so that he won't use it for making trouble. And sealing his magic meant that he'd be unable to use at least Intermediate tier magic spells.
The best he can do was use magic for menial tasks like cleaning up and reducing his muscle strain.
But because of her making a huge crack in the seal, he's now able to tap into most of his magical ability that leaked through the seal. Although the ability he had now couldn't be on par with his original self, at the very least he's able to cast Intermediate tier spells which includes the very important healing spells he missed so much.
Usually, the only reason that his seal can be broken was when the condition was fulfilled. And his cruel of a Master decided that the only time he'd ever need his magic would be when he's a second away from death.
A second away…
Sometimes it made him think whether his Master truly cares for him or he was just being forced to train him and was now looking for a way to get rid of him without incurring the wrath of his father.
But since Inna stopped before he was a second away from death, the condition wasn't technically fulfilled, hence the seal wasn't fully broken.
And he's eternally grateful for that…
Because it was the perfect loophole for him. He gets to have half his power back, and the presence of the seal was still there.
Since if it did get broken, his master would've definitely felt it disappear and he'd cast another one again.
So, he could say that her attempting to kill him was a blessing in disguise and he couldn't help but hug her in glee.
He can finally use magic to cool down his body when they're training for half a day outdoors in the sweltering heat of the sun. He can finally cast a spell to heal all sorts of muscle pain he's been having from the annoying abuse of his Master. And he can finally cast a spell to disappear whenever those annoying Mahogany class girls get a hold of him.
He doesn't have to suffer from the abuses anymore!
Just remembering it made Rhys want to hug Inna again.
Before he was skeptical about her but now he really really likes her!
Aside from the fact that she saved him from his abused life, she's actually everything he could ever want.
Strong, fast, and a heavenly good fighter that can do magic as well!
In fact, by far, she's the most worthwhile opponent he ever fought with ever since he arrived in the academy.
Though she's still weak in the magic area, that can be fixed if she continued to train with Raghnall.
And of course, he noticed it just moments ago but her reactions when he teases her were so cute as well.
The way she gets pissed and when she panics…
It made him want to just continue bullying her.
Now he knew why Raghnall wanted to teach her magic. He just wanted an excuse to have this interesting girl to be by his side.
He's so obvious.