The one in front of him was a woman of tanned skin and orange hair, none other than Qiulei. Mares first reaction was to see if his mask was still on, and seeing that it indeed was, he focused on the unknow woman.
"You are?"
He was almost sure she wasn't part of the coliseum, the presence and aura she had was completely different from anyone that worked or lived on this place. But if she truly wasn't someone from the coliseum, he couldn't understand what she was doing there, in a room alone with him.
On her end, Qiulei watched the boy with interest. She had been warned by Talho himself that his mask could not be taken off, and while she knew she actually could if she so desired, offending the forces of the coliseum and whoever was behind the boy, when they were far away from the academy with a bunch of students with no actual experience, was simply not worth it.
She had tried to see through him better, now that he was literally in front of her, and even so it was for naught. Usually, she could tell someone species or characteristics with a glance, but in the silvered eyed case she could barely see through his biology. It made her more curious and impressed. The orange haired even thought of the same hypothesis as Elaso, that Mares was a member of an ancient race. Seeing his ridiculous speed of recovery made her more certain on this idea.
"Qiulei. And I suppose I can't hear your real name, right?" She asked with a grin.
Mares nodded, not sure in how exactly he should answer to that.
'What do you think of her, Es?'
'I… I can't read her at all…' In his mind space, the white haired was astonished. Since they got on this planet, this was the first time she could not read someone. Even Talho, though he gave a huge sense of pressure, was readable. But Qiulei, standing right in front of them, for Esen, it was still like if the was not there.
The professor noticed the boy getting tenser, a curious light shined on her eyes.
"Don't worry, I won't quibble with someone so young. You will probably hear more about me soon. The only reason I came here is because I am curious about you. I hope to see you again, soon."
Before the long haired had any chance of reacting, she was already gone. It was not like she walked until the door and went out, Qiulei simply disappeared out of their sight.
'Did you see her opening the door?' He asked in awe to Esen.
'No… she is just… gone…' The white haired was as surprised as him.
'Teleport?'
'I guess so, but there were no fluctuations of astral energy, or space fluctuations…'
Both were amazed that someone liked that had suddenly showed up and took an interesting on Mares.
'They sent you here to grow silently, but I wonder what they would think if they knew someone like her is already paying attention to you.'
The appearance of Qiulei was surprising. At least, in the worst case she hides her intentions too well and was still cautious to act, and on the best case she was indeed just curious. Both Mares and Esen concluded that the second was more likely than the first, after all, actions in battle were enough to make someone curious, especially those that are capable to notice more details.
'But would that madman and the Estardentes truly left me without keeping some eyes here…' Mares did not carry the same optimism as Esen.
[…]
"I am going for a drink. Will you keep following me?" After getting out of the infirmary where Mares was, Qiulei walked a little further until she stopped and looked at her back.
"Sorry lady, I was just fulfilling my duty, as I was order by lord Talho." A man appeared seemingly out of thin air. It was impossible to see his body covered in fabric. He was slim, with three meters and limbs that looked thin enough to break with the slightest pressure, or at least that's the impression they passed visually.
Qiulei observed the man, ever since the moment she convinced Talho to let her see Mares she knew she was being watched, though she was surprised this one referred to Talho as lord. As far as she knew, the coliseum did not have such powers under them.
The orange haired had thought that this would be the chance to understand which power was behind the silvered eyed, and yet, now that she was face to face with the watcher in person, she still could not figure out who was behind him. And he referring to Talho as lord, while it could be just to distract her, was not something she could rule out.
"Scared I would take your boy away?" She was not interested in talking in circles when both clearly knew what the other side was thinking.
Naturally, the cloaked man was not expecting her to be so blunt.
"I wouldn't think so from someone was reno-"
"Let's skip this part. I indeed got interested on the boy, but it seems there is nothing I can do now. However, I plan on using the coliseum services to hire him for a job."
Qiulei said at once, letting clear her intentions of not planning to give the cloaked man space to refuse her. She might not be willing to offend a possibly strong force for a boy she barely met, but even if she could not recruit him, the teacher still had all intentions of getting his help for her students, especially her pupil, hunt.
To her surprise the cloaked man had no misgivings.
"That's great then." He simply said before bowing to her as a courtesy and walking back down the corridor. The moment he went out of Qiulei's field of vision, she stopped sensing his presence. Either way, she was sure he was no longer giving her any attention.
'I could only sense him when he started paying attention to me… where did someone like this came from?'
Qiulei started to have a feeling that she should be more cautious. She didn't know where this watcher came from or what his skills were, just as she had no idea what that boy with silver eyes was. She had the feeling she just saw through the tip of something, but it was impossible to know how deep and far it actually goes.
The orange haired sighed and shocked her head. She no longer felt like a youngster that could be interested in prying, she had a lot on her back that could suffer because of such an action. She would only focus on her disciple and her growth, and on the other students as well. What else could come from the silvered eyed boy, she was not in a hurry to learn about.
[…]
Mares looked at his arms, there was no scars on it, no scratches, nothing. It was just as if he never got hurt to begin with. His eyes seemed to have a complicated feeling.
'How do you feel?'
To answer Esen he punched forward, in a casual and unprepared way. It resulted in waves of wind that connect to the wall and created small cracks on it.
A satisfied smile formed on Mares' face seeing that result.
'My physical strength improved a lot.'
'Hihi, your strengthening regeneration is as much of a cheat as ever.'
He nodded mentally and sighed.
'Still, what a weird race. Getting stronger by regeneration after a beating. This universe sure has a lot of weirdos.'
He thought to himself that this was the type of power that lots of people would like to have, especially those that… liked to be a bit more radical. Esen nodded showing her agreement.
'And can you do it now?' The white haired asked putting her finger in her chin. She looked cute, and for Mares it was even more effective.
Instead of answering he raised his hands and observed the aura of astral energy that covered it. It was the usual light that resembled a star, but this time there were faint glows of green in it. If Qiulei was still there she would be shocked, because that was the same aura of energy that the rank three void beasts had.
'I have a feeling I can use a beast technique.' Even Mares was surprised with the extensions of his copying skills.
'I guess is not that surprising, beast techniques in theory are just like innate techniques, but… you know, for beasts. This just proves my Mares is amazing!'
Her proud tone caused a smile to form in Mares' face.
'Hey, wait… I think there is another way to use this ability!' Esen suddenly said, her expression was thoughtful and she seemed interested in her idea.
'Oh, what it is?' Mares asked, curious to what she was thinking.
'If you have better control over this ability and apply it to change your aura, you might be able to fake your identity.'
Mares' eyes shined with that possibility. It might not be useful in battle, but once they manage to run away from this coliseum, the ability to fake his aura could be vital to throw away their pursuers. The only worry would be his eyes, but he could easily cover them.
'As expected of my little bunny, you are a genius!'
Mares said in a spoiling tone.
'Yes, yes, compliment me more!' Esen puffed her chests, making them waver, even if she was in the moment a mental body in Mares' mind. Her cheeks were red, she was acting convinced in that away to hide her shyness. She was very, very, happy with Mares spoiling her a little though.
He just had an important battle, and there were lots of things to worry about regarding the future, but at that moment, the two relaxed and enjoyed that they could be in each other's presence.