The sports hall was quiet, except for the sounds of two men sparring. Klaus and Justin faced each other, their eyes locked in concentration. Klaus held a small rubber ball the size of a walnut kernel, while Justin's hands crackled with ice and wind.
Justin launched a flurry of ice shards at Klaus, who stood calmly in place. Klaus watched the shards approach him, then flicked his wrist, sending the rubber ball flying. The ball collided with the ice shards, deflecting them harmlessly to the side.
Growling in frustration, Justin lifted his hands once more, this time conjuring a powerful gust of wind that swept through the hall. The wind picked up speed, knocking over weights and equipment scattered throughout the room. But Klaus stood firm, only his hair ruffled in the breeze.
The celeb tried everything he could think of, but Klaus' powers proved too much for him. Klaus simply stood in place, deflecting every attack that came his way with ease. Justin grew more and more exhausted, his movements becoming slower and more sluggish.
Suddenly, Justin lunged forward, aiming a swift kick at Klaus' head. But the rubber ball spun faster, shot up and slammed into Justin, sending him flying ten meters away. He tried to get up, but his knees felt weak.
In the end, Justin was unable to get back on his feet, lying on the floor and breathing heavily.
Klaus smirked, he had won the fight without even breaking a sweat.
"The last attack was unexpected," Klaus said. "But it was stupid. You'll need more than brute force to defeat someone like me."
Justin nodded, his chest heaving. "I know. I'll work on it."
They had been training for two weeks, and during that time, Klaus polished Justin into a better awakener. He filled in what the man lacked, training him to be tough and creative in utilizing his abilities.
At first, he doubted that Justin could improve in one month. He saw potential in him, but he doubted Justin's mentality, given the incident in the gymnasium locker a few weeks ago. However, Klaus' expectations were wrong.
Justin never complained even though Klaus beat him to a pulp. The man always got up when he fell and stood tall in the face of an opponent much stronger than him.
Klaus was impressed by Justin's tenacity, but that didn't mean he was going to make it easy, he continued to push Justin to his limits, and that man improved as the days went by, especially in his mentality.
He really enjoyed training Justin, as if he had a real disciple. Klaus needed to give it all if he wanted to see Justin reach his full potential.
"We have a 15-minute break before we practice again," Klaus said.
"Yes, boss."
Klaus walked over to the blue box in the corner of the hall, opened it and took some cold mineral water out of it, and he threw it at Justin. The celeb looked surprised when the bottle landed on his stomach.
He then sat next to Justin. Silence fell over them. Klaus chugged the cold water while Justin rolled the cold mineral water bottle over his chest.
"I have an ice element, but somehow I can't use it to cool my body." Justin broke the silence.
Klaus put the bottle down after he finished quenching his thirst. "That's because you create ice with mana inside your body, so the ice becomes part of you. Just imagine, how funny it would be for an ice caster to get frozen by his own ice. But it's a different story if you manipulate elements from objects around you."
Hearing Klaus' detailed explanation, Justin rolled over, looking at him with a curious gaze. "Well, you have mediocre talent and even weak elemental affinity. Not to mention, you're like a beast when it comes to fighting, and you know a lot of things. Honestly, who are you? I've never met a kid like you."
Klaus raised one eyebrow. "Kid? This kid is your boss yet your master. Keep it on your mind."
Justin twisted his lips and lay down on the floor.
"Anyway, I became guild master, right?" asked Justin, glancing at Klaus. "What do you want your guild to be? You know, there are all kinds of guilds out there. Like the blacksmith guild, the support guild, or that weird porter guild. What do you want your guild to be?"
Klaus paused, thinking carefully about his plan.
Not all awakeners got talents suitable for battle. Some of them had talents that were "creating" or "complementing", such as talents for strengthening materials, dismantling components, analyzing organic subjects, or restoring a damaged object. People with talents like these were impossible to go into the dungeon.
These awakeners contributed in different ways.
They created various kinds of equipment and necessities that awakeners needed when they were in the dungeon. They worked as blacksmiths, alchemists, medics, and even researchers. They even created their own guilds based on specialization.
Klaus smiled. "You'll find out later."
Justin frowned, curiousity all over his face.
"Anyway, your question reminded me of something," Klaus continued. "I need to recruit some young people or college students for my new company. Do you have any acquaintances? Some friends who have a keen interest in the arcana field."
Justin raised one eyebrow, the curiosity in his mind growing. "You want to recruit interns? Hmm, I have a lot of friends in college, I mean, my former college. Though I don't go there anymore, I still keep in touch with them, pretty often."
Klaus squinted, a bit surprised. He didn't think that Justin had been to college, even though he wasn't so serious when he asked him.
Justin suddenly opened his eyes wide. "Ah, I actually have some friends, uh, you could say nerds. They're really obsessed with arcana research."
Klaus raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Really?"
"Yeah, but why do you need interns?" Justin asked. "Wouldn't it be better to hire professionals?"
Klaus sighed, with a small smile. He slammed Justin on the stomach and got up, while the celeb whimpered in pain.
"You ask too many questions. Break time is up. We'll finish the training session today, then we're off tomorrow. We'll meet up with your friends."