It's the same voice." Nathan's eyes widened in shock.
"It's him... It's Ken!!"
Siena knew that Ken was Nathan's close friend before the energy blast occured and it was surprising to see him here.
Nathan felt joy…joy that Ken was alive.
"Maybe he might know where Raymond is," Nathan thought.
"But how do I speak to him?"
Ken looked to be around 33 years old and Nathan was still basically 17 years old.
Moreover, his appearance changed alot and he wasn't sure if Ken would recognize him.
"There must be a way," he thought.
*******
Joey walked into the weapon room with a smile on her face.
"The training was worth it," she muttered while looking at the spear in her hand.
She trained with the sword and was getting pretty good with it, but she decided to try other weapons and found out that the spear felt more natural to her.
She dropped the spear in the rack of weapons before going to the changing room to remove the training gear.
"I'm still weak," she thought. "There are stronger people out there, I can't slack now."
Joey steeled her resolve and with a determined look, she went out of the changing room.
After the break, the matches continued, livening up the arena again.
The matches weren't much after the break and they finished quickly, with a few lasting longer.
"Today's training matches have come to an end," Ken announced. "The second part will be tomorrow and all participants should get ready."
Orion usually did the announcement, but Nathan couldn't see him in the arena.
All the students started going out of the arena.
While Nathan was going out, he kept his eyes focused on Ken.
Ken was walking towards one of the buildings close to the ASC.
Nathan increased his pace and got right behind him.
"Good afternoon, sir," Nathan greeted nervously.
He was confused, he didn't know what to tell him.
Nathan's mind was racing with thoughts as he stood face-to-face with Ken. How could he explain the changes? Would Ken even believe him?
Ken turned back to look at Nathan and asked, "Hmm, how are you?"
Nathan replied nervously, "Uhm... I'm fine."
The situation felt awkward, and Nathan just stood there, making Ken look at him in confusion.
"Is there anything you need?" Ken asked.
"N-No, I don't need anything," Nathan stammered.
"Okay," Ken said before walking into the building.
The glass door of the building displayed the words "Teachers only" in green.
"Since he's a teacher in this academy, we'll surely see him again," Siena said.
"I guess that's true," Nathan replied.
He entered his room and after taking a bath, he started training his vampiric senses.
There were a lot of things on his mind, but he didn't stop and continued training.
As the bright day outside caught his attention, he opened his eyes and huffed.
"It improved," Nathan said.
He trained his vampiric senses until morning, and since vampires didn't need sleep, he was okay.
"I'm not feeling that pang again," Nathan said.
"Because you resisted it, but it'll come again, and this time even worse," Siena warned.
After completing his necessary tasks, Nathan went to the hall where the remaining students' names were listed, just like the previous day.
"The students who didn't participate yesterday will participate today," Orion announced.
This time, the students who participated yesterday were now the audience.
Before Nathan entered the changing room, Joey ran up to him.
"Hey Nathan," Joey called out.
"Hey," he replied.
"You're participating today, you're strong, I'm sure you'll win," she said with a smile.
"Yeah... thanks," Nathan muttered before walking into the changing room.
Joey thought, "Still giving short replies."
"But at least he said thanks," she added before walking to her seat.
Inside the room, Nathan was given the training gear.
Then he was asked to choose a weapon.
He chose a short sword with a green-colored hilt.
Nathan looked at the ring where the matches would take place, but he didn't see the person he was looking for.
"Why isn't he here?" Nathan thought.
He was expecting to see Ken, but that wasn't the case. Jagger was the one standing close to the ring.
The matches started, and they were just as intense as yesterday.
Jagger had to step in a couple of times to stop dangerous hits, and because of that, no participant received a serious injury.
The cheering of the students didn't stop as the matches continued.
"Next match, Declan Vale versus James Trout," Orion announced.
They both entered the ring, ready to battle.
Declan's right arm enlarged, brown fur grew on it, and his nails transformed into sharp white claws.
It was the same transformation he showed Nathan in class.
Declan was the first to attack.
He dashed towards James and swiped his claws.
James stretched out his hand, and before the claws could reach him, a blue-colored barrier manifested in front of him.
*BOOM*
The impact cracked the barrier but it did not break apart.
A smile appeared on James's face.
"I've got you," he whispered.
Declan's eyes suddenly widened in shock, and he leaped back, but it was too late.
The barrier's shape changed and became spikes that attacked Declan.
"Haha, I've won," James said in joy.
"He won't go down so easily, he hasn't even used all his skills," Nathan thought while watching the match.
The flurry of spikes stopped, and everyone looked at Declan.
He was standing perfectly fine. Hard scales covered his body, and there wasn't even a scratch on it.
The crowd cheered, they were eager to see the outcome.
"How are you not injured?!" James asked, which was a very stupid question.
Declan bent his knees, and his legs started reducing in size.
*BOOM*
He kicked off the ground, and in an instant, he appeared in front of James.
The barrier was formed, but it wasn't enough to stop Declan's punch.
*BAM*
The barrier got broken, and Declan's punch connected with James's stomach.
"Ugh," James groaned in pain. He fell down roughly, and everyone could tell that he was no longer in a position to fight.
"The winner is Declan Vale," Orion announced.
"Haaaa," the students cheered.
While the students were discussing the match, something else was happening.
In a dark room with only a chair in the middle, a person was sitting down with crossed legs.
"You know what to do, Billy," the person said in a feminine voice while looking at the boy standing in front of her.
"Yes, I'll do everything in my power," Billy said.
"Good, after it's done, you'll get the energy stones," the lady said.
"You can leave now," she added.
"Thank you for this opportunity," Billy said before leaving.
"This is gonna be interesting," the lady muttered.
************
"Next match, Nathan Langley versus Billy Thornfield."
Nathan walked to the ring, and at the same time, a boy with a buff body also walked to the ring.
He had short black hair, and he was wearing a pair of gauntlets that reached his elbow.
The students started murmuring after they saw Nathan.
"Damn... who's that cutie?"
"I'm definitely cheering for him."
The chatter continued, and some of the boys even got jealous.
Billy had a grin on his face while looking at Nathan.
"This dude is dangerous," Nathan thought.
Suddenly, a system notification appeared.
[Quest]
[Don't lose against Billy]
[Reward 1: Fire Element]
[Reward 2: 300 points]
[Reward 3: ??]
A smile appeared on Nathan's face.
"I can finally unlock another element, but the system is telling me not to lose."
"For this kind of quest to come up, then this guy is definitely dangerous."
"I must be serious about this," Nathan thought as he raised his sword and took his stance.
"So, you're Nathan Langley, huh? This'll be a good one," Billy said with a grin.
[Hey guys, join the discord server: https://discord.com/invite/W5cZUjt. Thanks]