Aurea stood beside Zenon - her chin up and back straightened. She eyed the three Unseens in front of her, then lowered her gaze to eye Zenon. He felt somewhat violent about it, being so short that she needed to lower her sight just to match his height.
He turned his gaze back to the three Unseens who were scared shitless by Aurea's presence. Just before he could mock them, the girl coldly said,
"If you wish to beat each other up, wait until the First Layer. You'll have enough freedom to kill each other if you wish to."
Not being able to reply back, the three Unseens nodded before quickly walking towards another of the shelter's facilities. Now the hallway felt peaceful again. He sighed before continuing his - hopefully - peaceful journey toward the canteen.
'Huh?'
But he felt something restraining him by the shoulder.
He turned and saw Aurea holding him while staring daggers. Zenon did the same and both remained on the same stand-off for some seconds.
"Same goes for you. I don't care that you are a Void Carrier but stop messing around already. It's getting annoying." She said.
Zenon though, deaf to her warning, removed her hand forcefully and said out of his own free will,
"Don't need your help. I'll do whatever the fuck I want without someone babysitting me."
He then continued walking as if nothing happened, under the eyes of an indifferent Aurea.
Something felt familiar about him, that's the reason why she approached the situation in the first place. If that intuition never came, she would have continued walking toward the training center.
Sighing, Aurea left as well.
---
'Tch, I hate people like her. Always acting as if they can intervene in every fucking situation. Just let me have some fucking fun.'
Already finished eating, Zenon walked toward his bedroom. The embarrassment he felt when another person had to defend him was so strong that he felt the heat in his ears.
He couldn't still forget that day in the outskirts, and it will probably haunt him forever. While for some it may seem something trivial, for Zenon it was a turning point in his life. That's how serious the situation became.
Clicking his tongue, Zenon opened his dorm door and got inside. He lied on the bed before sighing and covering his face with his hands. He started taking deep breaths until that anger disappeared and his mind somewhat calmed.
He then opened his Soul Runes and focused on something he wanted to understand for a while.
[Familiar Abilities: Void Traveler
Void Traveler Description: Your master's soul and body can travel through the cold emptiness of the Void and share his senses with yours at will.]
He then looked at his Familiar and said, "Wanna try this out?"
Leviathan stared at him for a while before moving toward his shoulder, where he remained still. Zenon put his hand on his chin for a while and said,
"Alright, since I need to go to the library to get an extra book and also study... how about you go towards where the fighting lessons happen. You know, inside the big warehouse from some days ago. Just stay there and we'll test your ability."
Nodding again, Zenon smiled and went toward the bathroom to take a bath and clean his clothing.
After half an hour, he made his way toward the library which coincidentally was near the warehouse. The moment he stepped inside, he sent his Familiar toward the warehouse while traveling inside the void.
The sensation was far from pleasant.
To properly sense what the Leviathan was sensing, half of his head became his. Meaning, his left eye, ear, nostril, and tongue received Leviathan's senses once he activated his Ability.
He was currently seeing double, literally. Both the library and the warehouse.
But since the Fighting lessons don't start until four in the afternoon, he had an hour to complete most of his homework. And, since he wanted to get used to that weird sensation of two bodies, he tried to complete them while his Familiar was in another building.
'Damn, this is harder than I thought.'
Trying to focus on writing while your other eye is analyzing a warehouse is beyond impossible. He tried to write a Rune but his focus would switch to a metal plate that was on the verge of falling.
Nonetheless, he spent that one hour trying to complete it and managed to finish half of it before the first Unseens appeared inside the warehouse. Luckily, his familiar was hidden deep in the Void, and couldn't sense him or see him.
It wasn't until the instructor arrived that he stopped his work and focused solely on the warehouse. He closed his right eye and made him seem as if he was sleeping, filling his vision with the warehouse, where all the Familiars scattered around, some even standing on the beams that supported the ceiling.
'Dan is the one teaching them? I thought it would be Harbor, suits his personality just fine.'
A tall man with blond hair appeared and was wearing a mere t-shirt and some shorts, all the clues given to know we were talking about Dan.
"Hello, boys and girls. As I explained the previous day, today we'll be focussed for three hours straight - until seven in the evening - on fighting and sparring. As you know, the last two hours are optional, do as you wish."
Take this week's lesson as an initiation to the real art that is fighting. However, before we start, I'll make a quick game."
Leviathan moved a little bit to properly see the Enlightened.
"I need to measure each of your skills and strength, so we will warm up with a little King of the Hill game."
Some Unseens muttered between themselves, looking extremely excited about this event. Especially those who had previous training. For the first time in their lives, they could test their abilities and emerge victorious!
They quickly formed a big circle around Dan, who smiled as he said,
"I need two of you, now."
Most of the students remained in place, hoping that someone would step up. No one liked being the first at something, as it could take them by surprise and be defeated in the most embarrassing way possible.
After some seconds of silence, one Unseen stepped forward, a red-haired boy.
His form looked really strong. His muscles were the most outstanding part of it all and when he took his tracksuit off, revealing even bigger muscles, it made some people gasp as he walked toward Dan.
Then, a girl came from inside the crowd.
'Is she seriously going for it?' Zenon thought.
She also took her tracksuit off, revealing a white tank top and trained arms. Nothing too special, but still had some muscle to work with. Yet, still refused to take off her white neck warmer.
Zenon's eye subconsciously focused on the outline of her chest, which was kinda develop-
'Fucking hell, Zenon! Focus please, you aren't here to satisfy your hormones.'
But in this situation, it was better to have little than two mountains getting in the way. Leviathan got a little bit closer and found the perfect spot to spectate their fight.
They were facing each other with some distance between them, enough to give them some time to act. Dan put his hand in the middle and counted down.
"Rules are simple. Make your opponent leave the ring or make his back touch the ground. Three, two, one... start!"
The male Unseen sprinted toward her at an insane speed and lifted his fist in the air. He then brought it down toward the girl, and the next second he was sent flying to the ground.
It happened so fast that most of the Unseens couldn't comprehend how he ended there.
Not only that but he was knocked out cold.
Even Dan remained still for a moment, his eyes gleaming with surprise and amazement. He knew just how strong Aurea was, but seeing her in action was something else. After all, she carried out the mission alongside another one to rescue Zenon from the Fire Keepers.
He then smiled and said,
"Winner is Aurea!"
The atmosphere inside the warehouse dropped as cold as ice. Most of the Unseens were second-guessing their excitement and genuinely wanted to drop the lesson. Not only that, but Aurea's indifference made it much worse.
"She... how fast is she?"
"I-I'm honestly having second thoughts."
She then eyed the Unseens and slowly said,
"Anybody else?"