Blaze was about to move and knock out Cherry when she opened her mouth and said, "You left class to stay under this downtrodden tree?"
Blaze said after he noticed that she hadn't heard anything or seen Robin, "If people concentrate on their problems, the world will be peaceful. The issue is that they focus on other people's problems more than theirs." Before turning and walking away. He walked towards the south direction.
His words made Cherry fall into a brief daze before she recovered and chased after him.
"Hey, I just want you to practice with me. You will benefit too. You know, the academy focuses on how to use mana in daily life, while the military focuses on how to use weapons and mana in battle," She said after she caught up.
"True. But have you seen a master practicing with a rookie?" Blaze questioned as he walked while leading Cherry away from Robin's location.
"Yes. In the Imperial Palace, I see them all the time," Cherry refuted coldly.
"They're not practicing; they're teaching their students. Do you even understand the meaning of 'practice'? When two people practice together, they both benefit. But if a master practices with a rookie, only the rookie benefits," Blaze said calmly, his expression unreadable. He kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, focused on his path.
Cherry's eyebrow scrunched up, and her face contorted into a frown for a moment before her eyes abruptly widened, "Are you calling me a rookie?"
"If not a rookie, how did I beat you? I'm sure you must have liquefied your mana," Blaze retorted. The only reason he spent time talking to her was because she was a Princess, and he didn't know her position in the Empire.
"I have—"
Blaze turned and cut her, "Call your carriage to take us to the southernmost region of the school before we can continue our conversation." He discovered he would end up wasting time if he walked there.
"Practice with me and I will call him," Cherry replied coldly.
Blaze's eyes met Cherry's, holding her gaze for a moment before he turned his back on her. He walked away without saying a word, leaving her standing there in confusion.
Cherry chased after him after he had walked some distance and asked, "What's so sacred about you practicing with me?" but Blaze never replied. She asked another question, but Blaze went on with his nonchalant silence without sparing her a glance.
After she asked her fifth question without receiving a reply, she had to compromise. "Wait, I will call my carriage driver."
Blaze finally halted and focused on her. "Go and bring him. I will be waiting for you here."
She started at Blaze strangely before tapping on a metallic band on her wrist. "Hey! Uncle Ben, Can you come pick me up?" Cherry said after punching some weird code and a person popped up like a holographic display. It made Blaze squint. All this while, he thought the band was jewelry.
"What's that?"
"A Com Amulet. That's what other students used to communicate with their guardians or parents, outside the academy," Cherry said calmly.
Blaze nodded before turning to the side, as he stared at the neat road.
"Back to our previous conversation…" Cherry's voice jolted Blaze.
She continued, "You're right. I have liquefied my mana, making me a liquid core Awakened mage. However, my physique is just slightly enhanced than a misty core Awakened mage. That's why from misty core to solid core is still classified as an Awakened mage. Our physique remains the same; only our mana core gets enhanced.
"Although the misty core sub-level is the easiest to pass, it's also the sub-level with the most unstable mana. When you become a liquid core Awakened mage, that's when you can use mana freely. Now, you know the reason for your lucky win?"
Her words made Blaze nod, but her next sentence made Blaze raise his eyebrows. "Now, will you practice with me?"
Blaze was about to respond when his attention was diverted by the sight of a luxurious carriage, adorned with gold linen on white, and being pulled by a pair of black horses.
Aphrodite whispered in Blaze's ear, "He was at the meeting." Despite maintaining an impassive expression, Blaze's eyes were surreptitiously fixed on the coachman. The coachman was dressed in a black robe and wore a bamboo hat.
"How do other students transport without a train? Do they have carriages?" Blaze asked, changing the topic smoothly.
"Nope. Everybody walks. However, the spatial gates will be opened after the first test," Cherry replied, and Blaze nodded even though he was clueless, before walking into the carriage casually.
He then ordered, like he owned it, "The southernmost part of the academy."
Cherry entered almost instantly and sat beside Blaze. The carriage galloped away.
"So, are you going to practice with me?" She asked and displayed a smile for the first time.
Blaze's cheek spasms as he tries to keep himself from beating her. Suddenly, an idea sprouted in his mind.
"If you answer all of my questions, I might consider practicing with you," Blaze said, a sly grin spreading across his face like that of a wolf.
"I will tell you as far as it isn't classified information." Cherry reverted to her aloof state.
"Where can I get comprehensive information about the history, culture, and magic of the Dragon Empire?" Blaze asked with a smile still hanging on his lips.
"The information can be found in the school library, but you can only access it when you pass the first test," Cherry said with a straight face.
Blaze nodded before looking outside the carriage through the window absentmindedly.
"So, are you going to practice with me?" Cherry asked abruptly, interrupting Blaze's serene moment.
Blaze's face contorted into a nasty grimace, before he yelled coldly, "Pest! Could you please let me have peace?"
"No. Except you practice with me."
Blaze took a deep breath and composed himself before gazing intently into her eyes. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What is your goal?"
"To become immensely powerful," she replied almost immediately.
"That's not the whole truth. What is your true aim?" Blaze asked calmly, his voice low as he continued to maintain eye contact with her.
Cherry's eyes glinted with determination as she answered, "To control my fate."
"Control your fate? Even the daughter of the Emperor cannot do that? Give me a more believable answer," Blaze said coldly, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.
"I—"
"We've reached," the voice of the coachman cut Cherry.
'I guess we are encroaching on a forbidden topic,' Blaze thought before alighting from the carriage. What greeted his sight was a big forest. He looked at it for a moment before returning to the carriage. His action perplexed Cherry and the coachman.
"What is your purpose for coming here?" she asked, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Forest gazing," Blaze lied with a serious face that made Aphrodite giggle sweetly behind him.
"Take me to my house," Blaze ordered the coachman before relaxing. "As for you, I will think about it and tell you my answer after the first test."
Blaze closed his eyes, realizing that it would be foolish to try to search for the flawed rune while the undercover coachman was present. When the carriage came to a stop outside his house, he stepped down and walked inside without looking back. The coachman narrowed his eyes as he watched Blaze's door, his thoughts unreadable.
Meanwhile, Cherry stared at Blaze's door with a cold expression and narrowed eyes, her mind racing as she recalled what she had overheard while hiding beside the tree. Each of them had their schemes.