The atmosphere was strangely cold for a tropical island, it was the first time Nathan had ever felt really cold since he arrived, so he used a little essence to strengthen his skin, making it feel less cold than before.
A small smile appeared on his face as he saw that all his efforts had worked. After almost three months of training his control over the essence, he had finally managed to use it well.
Of course, he still had a long way to go, but he could do things like the one he had just done.
Nathan followed Syril through the facility for a while until they reached a white building far away from the complex of rooms, they were in.
Nathan stopped and looked at the building with interest. He had never been in this area before, so he had no idea what the function of the building in front of him was.
Syril noticed that he had stopped and was also looking at the building.
"This is where I live"
Nathan looked at her, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.
"You live here?"
Syril nodded with a slight smile and clasped her hands behind her back.
"Yes. Perks of being a student of one of the generals"
Nathan narrowed his eyes.
"What about me?"
Syril shrugged.
"I don't know what Dilliard thinks."
Nathan frowned at the building again.
'I'll definitely talk to him'
Between living in a normal room in a complex full of cadets, Nathan preferred living in a building like this a thousand times over. Anyway, Syril led him inside and the two of them walked through the interior of the building.
The building was quite neat, most things were white, just like the outside. There were a few people inside who seemed to be cleaning the place, and as soon as they saw Syril, they stopped what they were doing and bowed slightly.
"Welcome Lady Syril" said a man cleaning the floor.
Syril nodded and waved warmly before walking on.
Nathan looked around in confusion and then approached Syril to ask.
"Who are they?" he whispered close to her.
Syril spoke without turning.
"They work here... only my teacher and I live here, and it's quite big, so they take care of all the cleaning"
Nathan was surprised again.
'Such a big building for only two people... what a waste'
Anyway, Nathan stopped looking around and continued to follow Syril.
"So, where are we going?"
Nathan asked as they came to a lift and Syril asked before looking at it.
"It's a surprise"
Nathan didn't know what to say, so he just sighed inwardly.
They both got into the lift as soon as it arrived and soon began to descend. Nathan watched as the floors got lower and lower until they reached the 20th floor.
Suddenly the doors opened, and Nathan looked around in surprise.
In front of him was a large, empty central arena, surrounded by all sorts of weapons, machines and even a bar.
Nathan began to walk towards the arena, looking around curiously.
"What is this place?"
Syril trotted slightly ahead of Nathan before turning and raising his hands to introduce the place.
"This is my training place"
Nathan looked around, the ceiling had to be at least fifty feet high and almost twenty feet wide. It was a big enough place to train without worrying about mobility.
Nathan walked over to the shelves of weapons and ran his hands lightly over them before looking back at Syril.
"So, what are we doing here?"
Syril walked over to him and picked up a spear before making a few clever turns, attacking the air, and stopping in the combat arena, pointing the tip of the spear at Nathan.
"Let's fight"
Nathan was surprised again.
"Fight? I just got out of the hospital less than an hour ago"
Syril shrugged.
"I won't be too hard on you this time, it's just for practice"
Nathan looked at the weapons and decided to take a normal longsword. Then he slowly approached the arena and stood a few meters in front of Syril.
"Fine"
Syril smiled and a second later she ran over to Nathan.
Now Nathan could tell if someone was using essence to strengthen his body or not. He didn't go so far as to know which part of his opponent's body he was strengthening, but he could at least feel it. And at the moment, he couldn't feel any essence in Syril, so he didn't use it either.
Nathan defended Syril's attack, and both began to dance while attacking and defending.
Nathan had never fought anyone with a spear before, so he didn't know how to defend himself. However, all the years he had spent training with Boreas had given him an instinct for adapting to different situations against different weapons.
But no matter how slowly they learned to use a spear, Syril's movements were smooth and fluid, as if the spear was an extension of her body.
Nathan had seen her use a scythe, but when he saw her use the spear, he could not doubt that it was indeed her primary weapon.
The young woman before him was full of secrets. Apart from her main weapon, he had no idea how her technique worked, but since she didn't use it, Nathan wouldn't use it either. It was not as if he had the attention for it.
For several minutes they fought while Syril limited the force she used. The rehabilitation had helped Nathan to regain his full mobility, but his stamina, strength and endurance were much lower than before, so he soon reached his limit.
Both stepped back and looked at each other, Nathan breathing heavily. In comparison, Syril was perfectly fine, her breathing calm and even, as if she had done no physical exertion.
Nathan brought his hand to his face and removed his mask before throwing it on the floor, a small smile on his face.
After three months of inactivity, he was fighting for the first time, and it made him realize one thing.
'Ahh... I love fighting'
At first Nathan trained with Boreas to help him forget the trauma he had suffered, but over time his nightmares became less intense. But after a few years, Nathan began to see the training as something normal, a routine.
He had been fighting every day for almost seven years, but now that he had been quiet for three months, he understood it completely.
As well as realizing that he really enjoyed fighting, he understood that facing someone was the best way to understand them.
Syril was the first cadet he met when he arrived in Khan, the first to see his face and the first to help him in any way. But in the end Nathan never trusted her, he didn't know her at all, she was just a stranger who had discovered his secret. It was normal for him to be a little suspicious of her.
But in time he realized that the young woman was just absurdly curious. She was interested in everything, and if it was interesting enough, she would explore it further, if not, she would get bored immediately.
It seemed that Nathan's background was a subject that caught her attention enough to make her curious.
Like Nathan, Syril had a slight smile on her face.
"That's interesting, even though you don't use essence and you've barely learned how to use it, you're strong"
Nathan knew Syril was referring to his ability.
"Well, that's normal, considering you're his student" Syril explained.
Nathan just continued to catch his breath as he listened to her.
Syril put his spear on the ground and began to stretch his arms.
"Let's change things up a bit"
Nathan got her message and dropped his sword, which hit the ground with a metallic clang. Then he opened his hands several times, warming his fingers.
They both ran towards each other with smiles on their faces as they raised their fists.