Blaze was sitting inside the tree at night, ready to absorb mana. After observing that he absorbs more mana at night, he stopped absorbing mana during the day. That way, he utilizes the time he can absorb mana efficiently before he reaches his limit. He had accepted the fact that the blue tattoos function effectively under moonlight. His blue tattoos started glowing as usual before he felt a cooling sensation envelop him. Closing his eyes, he began absorbing mana. His core is still empty.
After absorbing mana for about three hours, the throbbing sensation in his veins prompted him to halt. Aphrodite had already warned him about the repercussions of exceeding his limits regularly. The unrestrained mana would gradually erode his veins, rendering them brittle and feeble in the long run. Though he might not feel the consequences immediately, his veins would become vulnerable to ruptures in the future.
"Hey, are you angry?" The voice of Aphrodite made Blaze turn slowly. He stared at her blue eyes for a while. Her blue eyes shone brightly at night while maintaining eye contact.
"I'm not angry," Blaze said in a calm and composed manner.
"If you're not angry, why are you not talking to me?" Aphrodite asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I just put you in your place. I'm not angry," Blaze replied calmly.
"My place?" Aphrodite asked in surprise.
"I classify people into three categories: ally, foe, and stranger. You never told me about yourself and I respect that, after all, that's your private life. However, withholding information that could potentially save my life is considered a betrayal to me. So, I placed you under the category of a stranger since I can't chase you away. We can coexist without any expectations of personal connection or sharing of information," Blaze said without revealing any expression.
"But I'm not your slave to answer your question."
"And that's why I placed you under the category of a stranger. You don't have to listen to the question."
Aphrodite squinted in response to his words, but Blaze remained stoic and leaped off the tree before heading back to his house.
As Blaze entered his room, he noticed that Aphrodite was already there. He had become accustomed to her sudden appearances in unexpected places.
Aphrodite approached Blaze and stood half a meter away from him, positioning herself directly in front of him. "Let's start over and clarify our relationship," she said as they stood facing each other.
With a friendly smile on her face, Aphrodite introduced herself to Blaze. "I'm White Demon, the seventh demon general of Hell, but you can call me Aphrodite," she said, extending her hand for a handshake. Blaze noticed that she still used the name he had given her.
Blaze stared at her for a moment before stretching his hand to shake her and said, "Blaze Draven, ex-special ops agent of Earth."
"Where is Earth located?" She asked curiously.
"I don't know," Blaze replied offhandedly.
"About your category, why is there no friend?" Aphrodite disappeared and appeared on a table in his room, reverting to her previous, curious self.
"Friends? They are just people who like you for what you provide. Once you outlive your usefulness, they will abandon you. So, an ally is the appropriate term," Blaze said coldly before climbing onto his bed.
"Woah! Your philosophy about friends is really…you got a visitor"
"A visitor?" Blaze asked.
"We will talk later," Aphrodite replied.
It wasn't up to five minutes when a knock made Blaze turn to the door.
"Don't tell me it's Zara," Blaze muttered before walking to the door. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Robin.
Blaze scanned his surroundings cautiously, uncertain of why Robin was in his house, but found nothing out of the ordinary. He proceeded to grab Robin's shirt and forcefully pulled him into the house. After shutting the door, he hurled Robin to the ground.
"What are you doing in my house?" Blaze asked coldly.
Robin struggled to catch his breath as he spoke, saying, "I double-checked the date for the smuggling, and it's set for tomorrow at midnight. It took me by surprise."
"Took you by surprise? So we need to leave tonight?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.
Robin nodded slowly.
Blaze contemplated for a moment before he spoke, "Go get two black cloaks and enough coins. We are leaving now. Remember, wear your casual robe or tunic whatever when coming back."
Robin nodded and quickly left.
Blaze looked outside the window and gazed at the moon. "The time should be between 11 and 12. Is anybody monitoring my movement?"
"No," Aphrodite replied.
"What makes you so sure?" Blake turned to Aphrodite.
"I could feel the presence of any living thing 50 meters around your house."
Blaze nodded before walking outside. He sat in front of his house while making silent calculations.
"Aren't you afraid Zara or Cherry might look for you?" Aphrodite asked.
"The punishment for leaving the academy without a leave letter or emergency letter is just expulsion. Nothing to be scared about. However, if I miss this chance to get mana stones, I don't know when another one will come by," Blaze said as he gazed at the moon.
After three minutes had passed, Blaze caught sight of Robin as he ran towards him, panting heavily.
"You shouldn't run at night when you are about to do something sneaky," Blaze chided emotionlessly.
"I… had… to be quick or my roommate—"
"Okay. Let's go," Blaze cut Robin, who struggled to talk while panting heavily, before walking towards a direction.
Robin quickly nodded in agreement before following Blaze, but after walking for a while, he couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer. "Hey, aren't we going in the wrong direction? The shortest path is the other way," he pointed toward the direction that Blaze had taken during the day.
Blaze did not respond or acknowledge Robin's observation, instead, he continued to walk forward steadily.
"Hmm… I thought we were going to wear the black cloak while walking."
Blaze still kept his mouth shut.
"Do you have a plan when we go out there?"
Silence!
"If we get caught, we will be in a big soup."
Silence!
"There is one girl I want to propose—"
"Do you ever stop talking?!" Blaze barked at Robin when his silence couldn't deter Robin from talking.
Robin immediately clamped his mouth.
Blaze began regretting his decision to partner with a talkative rookie. His voice could expose them. The night was quiet. He took a dark path to avoid getting caught. However, Robin is behaving like a possessed demon, sent to jeopardize his plans.
The night regained its serenity after Robin quieted.
After two hours, they finally caught sight of the forest.
"Lead the way," Blaze said calmly.
Robin nodded before walking in a direction. Blaze just followed quietly. The sound of the singing insects and nightcrawlers could be heard from the forest. The darkness didn't hinder their vision. They moved swiftly and nimbly while weaving through different gigantic trees.
"This is where we will be practicing after the first test. Also—"
"Can you focus?" Blaze half-questioned and half-scolded coldly. It made Robin clamp his mouth in fear.
Blaze felt angry and frustrated, thinking to himself, 'I always thought fighting was strenuous, but stopping a talkative person from talking is just as challenging.'
After roughly ten minutes, they arrived at a spot where the ground was covered in leaves and thick vines. Robin opened up a path, and a hole appeared in front of them. Based on Blaze's estimation, the hole was about five meters wide.
"My father discovered this hole by accident. He used it to sneak out with my mother during…"
'Now, it's a family matter?' Blaze thought before growling with a deep voice while releasing his killing intent, "Shut up!"
Blaze palmed his face in frustration. Suddenly, a rustling sound of the leaves behind him made Blaze halt.
"Shhh!"