(Next day)
Jiwoo and Kayden were training in the basement meanwhile Kartein and I were working on my chain in the living room. In the morning I gave Mago a warm bath and turns out he's white with his back a very faint shade of cream. He looked lovely after cleaning up and I couldn't stop adoring him.
Mago looked like he had warmed up to the cats as well and it was like the cats had adopted him as their younger brother. Earlier when Jiwoo and I took him to the vet to get him some nutritional food, we were told that he was indeed a labrador. The poor pup was still limping because I hadn't recovered him fully yesterday. Mr. Kartein had said that it would take up to a week for me to heal him fully and I was still glad because Mago was able to move around on his own.
I sat on the floor before going on with our training and Mago came toward me and sat in my lap. I petted him lightly and the small pup slowly rubbed his face against my hand. I couldn't stop the smile that formed on my face.
"You're so precious!", I nearly squealed.
"He's following you around the whole day. At this point you'll have to take him wherever you go", laughed the white cat as he came to pet the pup with his small paws.
"I wouldn't mind that. He's such a well-behaved child", upon hearing the compliment Mago rolled onto my lap exposing his belly. I gently rubbed his belly and he got ticklish which made me giggle at his antic.
"Let's start with combat training now. You can play with Mago later", Kartein said to which I held back a whine and place the sleeping pup on the couch.
The white cat first instructed me to do numerous exercises like; 1000 pushups, squats, pull-ups, and so on. Then he got into his human form to teach me hand-to-hand combat. In the process, he also taught me how I can use my force control to move it to my hands and feet to make the attacks stronger.
_____
(A month later)
I arrived at the Shinhwa building first with Mr. Kartein and Mago. Just like my mentor had said, I had to bring the pup wherever I went or he would start crying. Maybe it's because he's still very young and craved love and affection but I just couldn't resist his charms and ended up bringing him along.
When I saw Jiyoung, Inkyuk, Jurion, and Veramonte in the sparring area, I lightly bowed to them and greeted them.
"I see you're here first. Where are your brother and Kayden?", Veramonte asked.
"Mr. Kayden asked me to leave first. They'll be here soon", I answered looking up at him.
"And your mentor, Kartein?"
"Mr. Kartein had to take care of a few things so he left first."
"I see. How long has it been since you became his apprentice?"
"It's been two months, sir."
Veramonte hummed before proceeding to chat with his grandson. Inhyuk smiled at me before saying, "Is he new addition to the family?" He pointed at Mago who was sleeping beside me.
"Ah... Yes, he is. I'm sorry for troubling you but this little guy wouldn't stop following me around", I said smiling bashfully.
Jiyoung spoke up, "It's no trouble at all. You can bring him along anytime you like."
I thanked her generosity. Inhyuk tried to pet Mago but the pup growled at him and hid behind me making the elder sullen.
"They're here", Veramonte said and just then Kayden and Jiwoo entered the room.
Jiwoo being the sweetheart he is, politely greeted everyone before Kayden said, "Well, what are we waiting for? let's get right to it."
"That's fine by us", said Veramonte.
The atmosphere suddenly got heavy as the match was about to begin. I was standing in the corner with Mago and Mr. Kartein.
"Jurion, right?", asked Kayden.
"Yes, sir."
"Shame on you", Kayden said surprising Veramonte and Inhyuk who were standing beside him. I tried to stop the growing smile on my face. He continued, "A world's ranker picking fights with a little boy..."
"Kayden! We already went over that!", exclaimed Veramonte.
I kept my mouth shut not wanting to anger the old man because it will be very easy for him to misunderstand me and take whatever I say as disrespect.
"And? It's not like I'm making this up, am I?" Kayden continued, "You wanna tell me what he did was just? Come on, I'm right all the way, and you know it. You got work to do on putting your grandson straight."
Jurion felt embarrassed as he spoke up, "I admit that my desire to fight with your apprentice has gotten me talking on the spur of the moment. And I'm sincerely grateful to your apprentice for accepting what I put on the table. With that being said, I propose that I be given a handicap to bridge our gaps. I'll consider myself defeated if your apprentice lands an attack on any part of my body."
He fell for it!
Jurion continued now looking at Jiwoo, "This is not to belittle you in any way, so please don't get me wrong."
"I know you're not trying to look down on me. And I also know that my chances against you are scarce with or without a handicap", Jiwoo said.
Veramonte smirked. "Now that they both have agreed on a better term let's get started."
"Better term my foot!", Kayden fired back seeming displeased.
"We will now begin!", claimed Inhyuk. I held Mago in my arms because it might get uncomfortable for him to be exposed to such power for the first time.
Beep~
Beep~
BEEP!!~
Jiwoo bluffed a long-distance combat pose and went all out the moment the match started. Using his max speed he went to attack Jurion and the young man wasn't fast enough to block it ultimately letting Jiwoo win the spar. I couldn't help but smirk at Jurion's shaken expression.
"It's over", Kayden claimed proudly. "You said you'd consider it a defeat if Jiwoo made a successful attack on you, correct? You've lost."
"JIWOO SEO, WINS!", announced Inhyuk.