October 3, 3108
The scout group was at their usual spot today, with no extra people around, and everyone was discussing yesterday's events, including me and Liam.
"Astrel broke Luna's barrier generator, so Nero had to minimize his attack on her as much as possible."
Liam was explaining the situation that occurred yesterday. He had to stop other Astrel supporters from attacking Nero from behind, so he saw how Astrel disconnected the mechanism from Luna's back—right in front of Nero—so he could understand her situation.
"How is Luna feeling?" I asked.
"Surprisingly, she came out without any serious trauma, just some bruises. And thanks to someone's intervention, Astrel is now very intensively looking for the unknown person."
Liam nudged me lightly with his elbow, signaling that he knew it was me who had intervened and given Luna a little break.
"I'm happy for her."
I ignored his signals, pretending to smile as if I had no idea what he was talking about.
"Also, it's a major coincidence that all the people in Astrel team were knocked down, leaving his team almost completely without points."
"What a miserable day for Astrel. What misfortune"
I replied, continuously ignoring any hints from him.
"Huhh. Are you sure that you won't have any problems?"
Suddenly, Liam's face turned more serious.
"As long as nothing unexpected will happen."
"Attention, everyone!"
Mr. Michael called from his usual place.
"Starting today, you are allowed to enter the abandoned city area and the desert area. Keep in mind that as you go deeper, predatory animals will appear along with traps. Your missions will also take place differently. I have assigned you into pairs."
Suddenly, a notification appeared on my watch:
| Kail Vaylith – Liam Leafblade |
"Remember, the person paired with you is neither an enemy nor a friend. You will receive missions that require you to work together, and missions where you will compete. Now, gather your equipment from the warehouse and then come to me to receive your mission."
I turned to Liam, who was practically glowing with excitement.
I'm not sure if I should be happy that Liam is my partner or not.
Of course, Liam was a professional with excellent skills, but at the same time, he was very eccentric and inattentive.
"Kail, this will be fun, I promise you!"
Liam placed his hand on my shoulder, and we started walking towards the warehouse.
Huhh.
Let's hope this this will not have bad consequences
Once we got our equipment— now without a spare quiver—we headed towards Mr. Michael to receive our mission. A small line had already formed, and we waited for our turn. However, we soon noticed that Mr. Michael was looking directly at us. Once he made sure we had established eye contact, he gestured for us to step out of the line and wait.
"Did something happen?" Liam asked.
"I don't know. Anyway, let's wait until everyone gets their missions."
We stepped out of the line and moved away from the others to talk.
Luna didn't come today.
Everyone had already received their missions, and we were the only ones left sitting on the ground when Mr. Michael approached.
"I didn't do anything."
Liam suddenly started apologizing.
Mr. Michael momentarily turned his gaze toward him.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing bad! At least for the last three or four days, for sure."
"I'll talk with you later."
Mr. Michael sighed, rubbing his forehead, clearly exhausted with his younger brother.
"You two are the best students in the scout group, which is why you're getting the right to choose. The usual pairs were formed in a balanced way, with higher-performing students paired with lower-performing ones. If you want, I can send you with the standart teams, and you'll complete the standard missions."
During Mr. Michael's short pause, Liam cut in.
"Or?"
An imposing look from Mr. Michael instantly silenced him.
"Or... I will personally take care of your lessons. This will only be possible twice over six days, because for the rest, you'll have lessons with the Knights and Tanks groups."
"Lets do this" Liam immediately jumped in.
"Kail, come on! I'm sure you're tired of those routine missions too."
I took a short pause to process the information. Not noticing any downsides, I nodded.
"Okay, I agree."
"Great! Activate your armor and follow me."
We followed Mr. Michael deep into the forest. This wasn't the area where we usually trained. Up until now, all our missions had taken place in the central and western areas, but now we were heading east. Eventually, we arrived at an open field— a clearing that marked the boundary between the forest and the desert area beyond.
"And what exactly are we going to do?" Liam asked.
"Your scouting skills are already at a decent level, but to perfect them, you need real experience. However, at the moment, you don't have the opportunity to gain it."
Mr. Michael explained as we listened attentively.
"You're already training with Ronald to improve your elemental abilities, and you're attending classes to enhance your weapon proficiency. With me, you'll be focusing on the use of Armor and movement techniques."
The professor took a few steps away from us, and a minor armor formed around his feet.
"It's quite simple—try to touch me."
Liam and I exchanged a brief, confused glance, but understanding the challenge, we placed our weapons on the ground and launched ourselves at him like two predators.
Movement Technique: Wind Kingdom (4☆)
1st Stage: Territory Formation
I quickly formed my territory and closed the distance to the professor, but without any sign of effort, he sidestepped, letting me pass right by him.
Liam, increasing his speed with every second, also closed in, but Mr. Michael effortlessly evaded him as well, using minimal yet incredibly swift movements to escape our attacks.
The entire clearing was soon engulfed by swirling winds generated from our rapid movements. To an observer at a distance, it might have appeared as though a tornado was forming due to the powerful wind currents.
I continued using my territory to narrow the gap, but every time I got close, Mr. Michael evaded with uncanny precision, as if he could foresee my trajectory. Meanwhile, Liam's tremendous speed left him unable to change direction easily, quickly exhausting his stamina. Though I had conserved more energy than him, I was now approaching my own limit.
Determined not to end the test so easily, I activated a new territory and lunged at the professor again. This time, however, instead of avoiding me, he placed a hand on my shoulder and used my own momentum against me. The sudden force sent me tumbling across the ground.
Liam suffered the same fate, landing face-first next to me.
That was extremely pathetic, I thought to myself.
It's not that we failed to touch the professor; he didn't use either elemental powers or techniques to counter our attempts. The entire time Liam and I were dashing across the clearing, Mr. Michael never strayed far from his starting position.
Mr. Michael approached us and squatted, lowering himself to our level.
"Your stamina isn't bad."
Just stamina? We're training movement techniques here! I wanted to protest but held my tongue.
"That's not fair! You know my technique!" Liam blurted out, his tone full of frustration, followed by a series of quick excuses.
"Anyway, you're using it poorly."
"I don't know anything!" Liam whined, now behaving like a child.
Mr. Michael shook his head.
"The bigger issue than your use of techniques is how you control your aether."
I frowned and asked for clarification. "What exactly do you mean?"
"As you both know, aether is expelled through all skin pores, whether they are open or closed."
Liam and I nodded in unison.
"Instead of letting it remain idle in your ManaVentis, focus on redirecting it into your armor components. Doing so will make your armor stronger, more resistant, and will also make it easier to activate your techniques."
Liam looked skeptical. "But then, wouldn't there be a risk of breaking the ManaVentis due to insufficient aether?"
"I know that from personal experience," I added, recalling past failures.
Mr. Michael remained calm and continued.
"You don't need to transfer all the aether from the ManaVentis to the armor—only the excess accumulation. It won't be easy, and it will take a lot of concentration, but mastering this will definitely help you improve."
His explanation was clear and concise, sparking both motivation and deep thought within us as we considered the possibilities his advice presented.
As we returned to reality, Mr. Michael continued,
"Kail, your movement technique is excellent for both offense and evasion, but you always tend to push it to the maximum. Instead of closing the distance with a strong, obvious rush, try using smaller, varied bursts with different tempos to disorient your opponent."
"Liam, you rely too much on your maximum speed, which forces you to expend extra energy both to redirect yourself and to recover lost speed. It's better to maintain a speed that allows for more flexibility and variations in your actions."
His words made us both pause and reflect—they made sense and could truly enhance our performance.
"That's all for today. Come directly here tomorrow, and we'll continue."
Before we could leave, he added, "Oh, Kail—Mr. George wants to see you after the lesson."
Hearing that wiped away all thoughts of movement techniques from my mind. Now, all I could think about were the countless reasons why the head of the knights' group had summoned me.
We gathered our belongings from the ground and headed back. After parting ways with Liam, I made my way to the knights' training ground.
The field was eerily empty—an unusual sight compared to the usual bustle of trainees and observers.
As I approached the lone building in the area, just a few meters from the entrance, Astrel stepped out from inside.
I instinctively lowered my gaze toward the ground, pulling my hood further over my head to conceal my face completely.
With each step I took, I felt an increasing pressure—gravity itself seemed to push me harder into the earth. Still, I maintained my relaxed, steady pace toward the warehouse.
My heartbeat quickened, pounding with an overwhelming urge to burst out of my chest. With every step, this feeling grew stronger, intensifying exponentially. The sound of Astrel's footsteps felt like thunderous explosions in my ears.
Boom.
Even though I kept my gaze down, his presence loomed in my peripheral vision, forcing my attention onto him. I found myself instinctively tracking his movements.
Boom.
Astrel showed no reaction—his posture remained unchanged, his stride unwavering. Not even a single degree of his body turned toward me. He simply continued forward.
Boom.
As he reached the edge of my vision, I subtly turned my head just enough to confirm that he was still walking away, maintaining his course.
We passed each other. As far as I could tell, he didn't pause or acknowledge me in any way—there was no indication of interest on his part.
His footsteps returned to normal sound, no longer carrying the oppressive weight they once had. With that realization, I allowed myself to relax a little.
"You aren't from the Knights group."
Fuck you, you crazy bastard. Of all the people you ignore every day, why did you have to take an interest in the one person passing by you now?
I turned toward him, raising my head just enough to meet his eyes. I forced my facial muscles to relax as much as possible, determined not to show a single hint of emotion.
"Yes, I'm from the Scouts group."
"Scouts?"
The moment he heard my answer, his face tensed slightly, his eyes widening as he began analyzing me with unsettling intensity.
I felt as if hundreds of sharp blades were closing in on me, ready to pierce me at any second.
"What weapon do you use?"
Astrel's voice remained steady, but to me, it sounded like it was echoing from the depths of the underworld, dragging me down with it.
A shiver ran through my entire body. I tensed all my muscles—if I didn't, I knew I would start trembling. My answer couldn't be delayed any longer.
"A bow."
The instant I responded, Astrel clenched his fist, looking ready to pounce on me at any moment.
"Which team were you on yesterday?"
"Elysia's team."
My answer seemed to relax him a little, though he still wasn't ready to let go of his suspicions.
"Whose living shield were you?"
"Tim's."
Hearing that, Astrel finally relaxed completely. His indifferent demeanor returned as he turned away, heading back in his original direction.
I exhaled silently and resumed my way to the warehouse.
As soon as I stepped inside and passed the entrance, I leaned my back against the wall, breathing heavily. My hands trembled uncontrollably, so I clenched them together in an attempt to steady myself. Closing my eyes, I focused on regaining my breath.
Not even when I was being hunted by those who wanted to kill me did I feel this afraid.
A faint smile formed on my lips at the thought.
"How are you feeling? Did something happen?"
I opened my eyes instantly at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. In front of me stood Professor George, his expression showing mild shock at the scene he had just witnessed.