Tap~ tap~ tap~
The sound of footsteps sounded in the training room as two figures blitzed through, one chasing after the other.
No, it was more of a dance than a chase. A dance between two beings that at this moment, didn't seem human.
On one hand was a youth with black hair and amber eyes, his expression was stoic, his sharp features gleaming as droplets of sweat dripped from his face, only touching the floor of the training room when he was meters away.
He had a slick build and his lean limbs were well defined. It was obvious that he was hiding considerable power beneath the shadow of his figure.
His steps were light and quick, he was like a swan gently trudging the surface of a still river, a footwork that was so different from his aura.
His body moved, his ankles twisting as he barely managed to dodge the grabbing hands of his opponent.
And opposite him was a younger lad with grayish-silver hair and eyes that sometimes seemed silver, sometimes gray and other times completely white.
Unlike the black haired youth, his expression was one of utmost seriousness. His soft facial features did nothing to diminish his ferocious aura as he pounced forward at his opponents, his slender limbs bursting with surprising strength.
His body twisted, his joints seemed non-existent and his body itself almost formless. He was a snake, a large python that had locked against another ferocious beast, both battling for dominance.
These two were of course Reid and his master, Emris, respectively. They have been playing catch for almost a week now, this was the training that Emris had suggested.
At first, Reid thought it was impractical although he never voiced it. The exercise was too easy for him and after hours of playing tag, he would be perfectly fine while Emris would be sweating buckets with his breath out of control.
Of course Reid didn't complain, he was after all, just a servant meant to serve his master.
But after the first two days, he began to see the difference between his master's movements. The novice became an amateur and the amateur soon became adept.
After four days, it became troublesome to keep up and he lost a few times. He had to give it his all and he even had a minor breakthrough in his movement technique, a feat that was shocking.
Reid's movement technique was a cheap knock-off, he expected that he had reached the limit but under the pressure of Emris chase, he had to dig even deeper than he had.
And now, whenever they trained, it was like two Tier 1 knights were sparring instead of a Tier one and a noble with a broken core.
The change was shocking.
'I see, so this is the real potential of the Leonis martial arts scripture. No… I also have to admit that young master Emris has monstrous talent. If he had a core…..'
"Huu…. Let's stop here for now." Emris said as he came to a halt.
"You've hit a block, young master." Reid began, taking the initiative to speak.
Emris would have been surprised but he was used to it now. Whenever it came to training, Reid was even more active than usual and his stoic face wasn't as stiff.
"It seems like my skills are now subpar compared to yours, young master."
Emris picked up a towel and began to dry himself. He began heading out of the training room with Reid following closely behind him.
"What do you mean?" Emris scoffed. He glanced back at Reid,
"I'm not yet at your level, body movement and footwork is not all there is to battle."
Reid walked faster, arriving before the door and opening it so that Emris could walk out.
"But, it's true that I've reached a block. What made me progress was the pressure of your skills, but now, the pressure isn't enough."
"If it's okay with you, young master, I can recommend a few knights to spar with you."
"Nah…" Emris shrugged. As he walked through the hallway, his eyes seemed a bit vacant, his thoughts unknown as he muttered,
"I don't think there's any Tier one knight that can beat you."
Reid didn't say anything, but his hand slightly twitched. There was a subtle curl at the end of his lips, it was obvious he was pleased.
"What grade are you?" Emris asked.
Normally, except those that were popular and their skills were well known, no knight, warlock or even imperial censor in their right mind would tell someone else their grade within a particular rank.
It was sort of an unspoken rule,...and it was even seen as some sort of taboo to ask.
But Reid didn't mind telling Emris, apart from the fact that Emris was his master, there was also the fact that Emris saved his life.
"I'm at the superior grade, young master."
"Oh?" Emris said, he seemed genuinely surprised. He remained silent for a moment before suddenly stopping.
Reid wanted to ask why they were stopping when he suddenly realized that they've arrived at the bathroom.
"Well, the next time we spar, we'll be sparring for real. It's time we truly began training."
Emris dumped the towel on the floor before heading into the bathroom, leaving Reid standing outside.
'I guess I should take a quick shower and prepare a towel for the young master.'
Reid turned around to walk away when a familiar orange hair entered his view. It was Jenna and she seemed troubled.
"Reid… we've got a situation…"
—
[Mission completed, Preparing rewards…]
[Congratulations, you've earned x1 rare skill card…]
[Congratulations, you've earned one random equipment card…]
[Congratulations, you've gained a new skill— Formless shadow scripture…]
[Congratulations, you've earned x50 achievement points...]
I closed my eyes as Esfyn's voice echoed in my mind. I had other matters to think about.
'I need to up my training, the improvements I've noticed and the things I've gained in this past week have made me realize…'
I was weak. Too weak. Previously, I thought that if push came to shove, I could hold out against a Tier 1 knight or a 1 star monster.
But training with Reid made me realize that I was pretty weak. With just my movements alone, I was sure I could kill the me of last week.
Yet I'm pretty sure I still can't defeat Reid in an actual battle.
'Sigh…. I want to say slow and steady, but I've been having this bad premonition….'
"I should probably find a way to increase Reid's skill. I have a feeling his potential should be higher than the 1 star I'm made to believe…. The same is probably true for Jenna…"
I sighed, finally relaxing to enjoy my hot bath. The room was filled with steam, ever since I gained the ice jade constitution, my previous hot and cold baths weren't hot or cold enough anymore.
Jenna had to increase the heat a lot smd I had to cool the water down artificially depending on which bath I wanted.
"Esfyn, let me see my gains. Start from showing me my character card."
[Here it is, Lord Emris.]
[Host's Exclusive Card]
Host: [Emris Leonis]
Race: [Human]
Bloodline: [None]
Potential: [One star (Top-tier)]
Combat Strength: [None]
Trait: [Perfect body], [Mana resonance]
Skill: [Formless shadow Scripture (Basic)]
Talent: [Spearmanship(Advanced)], [Ice jade constitution (basic)]
Achievement points: [50]
Inventory: [Rare skill card x1, Random equipment card x1, Mission card x1, Function card (third eyes awakening) x1]
"Esfyn, can I also upgrade my skills like I do my talents?"
'Since there was a basic grade, that means I should be able to, right?'
[No, young master Emris. That will be detrimental to the host's growth, hence, that function is unavailable.]
'oh… bummer.'
"Then what does the basic grade signify? The skill should have five grades too, right?"
[Yes, young master Emris, but the grades of a skill reflects your proficiency with the skill.]
'Ah… I see…'
"Okay then. Can you tell me about my gains this time?"
[The rare skill card is a random rare skill card. The same goes for the equipment card, it would be randomly picked.]
"Okay, let's get this over with!"
[Randomly selecting seven rare skill cards….]
Seven cards appeared, forming a circle around me, just like the first time I drew random cards.
Knowing that it was extremely random, I closed my eyes and picked one.
"Don't reveal the card yet, let me choose the equipment card too."
[Randomly selecting seven equipment ranks of various ranks….]
'Various ranks?... Now I'm nervous.'
The same scene repeated itself, seven cards appeared before me. This time, I took my time to pick one.
*
The door to the bathroom opened and Emris stepped out. Although his expression was the same, the subtle curl at the end of his lips told that he was in a good mood.
"Young master, we have a situation…" Reid began as he handed Emris a towel.
'His hair is a bit damp,... That's unusual. Reid cares a lot about his appearance….' Emris assessed with narrowed eyes.
"What's going on?"
"We just received news from Miranda,.... The family head called for a meeting."
'Miranda?... That's Julien's maid, is she not?... Oh no…'
Emris' eyes widened as the bad premonition he had earlier suddenly intensified.
His good mood suddenly went to shit as his expression darkened.
"When is the meeting?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"This… it's tomorrow morning sir,... Less than twenty four hours away."
"Julien, you bastard!...."