[Same Day - 10 Pm.]
[Dragon Academy Training Ground - Sector 4.]
The training grounds were bathed in the cold, artificial light of mana lamps, the reinforced walls humming with containment spells designed to withstand siege-level magic.
BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!!!
The sound was rhythmic, like a war drum beating a frantic tempo. Zoginoi stood at the entrance, his hands clasped nervously behind his back. He stared at Hitachi, who was a blur of motion in the center of the arena. The young master was busy punching empty air, but the force sounded like it was striking an invisible obstacle—a ghost of an enemy only he could see.
BAM!!!!!
A visible ripple of distorted air, a sonic wave, burst out from his fist. It tore across the arena and smashed into the adamantine wall a hundred meters away, placing spiderweb cracks on a surface meant to survive dragon fire.
"Young Master, you don't have to work yourself to this extent." He quickly said, sweat beading on his forehead as he calculated the structural damage.
"No... I must! I must be the best and strongest!! If I can't even do that, how can I have my revenge!" Hitachi stopped, chest heaving, and sat down cross-legged on the fractured floor.
Zoginoi arranged his eyeglasses, his enhanced vision tracking the volatile red energy rising around Hitachi like steam from a boiling kettle.
"Gosh, seeing Mirabella's strength, and watching her take down a Lv500 Boss single-handedly must have snapped something from within him." He muttered to himself, holding his jaw in thought.
The Azul clan's bloodline was fueled by emotion, but it was a double-edged sword.
"But, anyone who made him feel this way always end up dead, or at least, he will challenge them to prove who is the strongest..." He stared at Hitachi, whose aura was growing darker, denser. "Maybe he knows he isn't Mirabella's opponent, which is why he is now training this vigorously. He plans to bypass his rank and become a god rank player..."
BOOOOM!!
The air suddenly grew heavy, smelling of ozone and burning ozone.
"EHHH!!"
Zoginoi shrieked, watching the small, contained energy around Hitachi explode into a raging inferno of crimson skeletal manifestations. The pressure cracked the floor beneath the boy.
"Hey!! Young Master! You can't achieve that with your current strength!! A shortcut will only get you and everyone around you killed!!!" He yelled, more sweat rolling down his face.
'I must stop this! If he goes out of control, this whole training ground will be destroyed. And if that happens...' His shoulders slumped in administrative defeat.
"The Azul clan will be tasked to repair it."
"I must. I must gain those eyes." Hitachi muttered to himself, gritting his teeth in pain as blood trickled from his tear ducts. He was trying to force an evolution his body wasn't ready for.
"Young Master!!! You can't get that eye without being a Lv200 fighter!! You will die!!" Zoginoi yelled, stepping forward to intervene, but the flames flared violently, forcing him to take some steps backward to avoid being incinerated.
SNAP!!
A crisp sound, no louder than dry wood breaking, rang out all over the training ground. It cut through the roar of the flames instantly.
The raging inferno around Hitachi shut down as if suffitated by a vacuum. The red energy vanished instantly. The cracked ground mended itself in a wave of restoration magic, and Hitachi's eyes snapped open, the colorful glow fading to his natural color.
"....??"
Everyone turned to the entrance. Hayatobi stood there, his left hand in the pocket of his robe, a slight frown on his face. His presence alone had rewritten the atmospheric rules of the room.
"What are you doing?" He asked in a calm tone, lowering his hand.
"Phew. Thank goodness, Lord Hayatobi is here." Zoginoi said to himself, wiping the sweat off his face with a trembling hand.
'Amongst all powerhouses in the whole three empires, only few could stop the celestial eyes powers. Maybe not stopped, but hold back... Hayatobi is one of those men.' He thought, his heart rate slowly returning to normal.
"Master."
Hitachi slowly stood up, his body trembling from the backlash, staring at Hayatobi with a mix of shame and defiance.
"I see you are training." Hayatobi walked towards him, his steps soundless. "Tell me, why are you so worked up? Is it because of what happened in the red dungeon?" He asked, stopping in front of Hitachi.
Hitachi gritted his teeth, and looked at his feet, unable to meet the Dragon Lord's gaze. He didn't say anything, but his silence spoke volumes of his wounded pride.
"Don't stress yourself about your sibling student."
Hitachi's head snapped up.
"Sibling student?" Hitachi was speechless, looking up at Hayatobi.
"Of course. Both you and Mirabella are now my students. And you know me, I don't take just anyone as my student." He placed his hand on Hitachi's shoulder, a grounding weight that dispelled the last of the boy's anxiety.
"I know the burden you carry within you, and your need for powers. But losing your cool and training without thinking is stupid. You should know you are different from other students, so your training needs to be carried out with a calm mind... Next time, don't make this error."
Hayatobi smiled slightly, the expression reaching his silver eyes.
"And don't place any status between yourself and Mirabella. Both of you are equal... Yes, Mirabella's strength is insane, weird, filled with mysteries, but don't let that get to you... You know why?" He raised his head to the opened ceiling, staring at the moon hanging high in the night sky.
"Because I know you will become one of the strongest fighters this world have ever seen." He added, his voice filled with absolute certainty.
Hitachi exhaled, the tension leaving his frame. He slowly nodded his head.
"Why are you here Master?" He asked, finally composed.
"Well, it should be, why are we here." Hayatobi corrected, turning to the door.
Hitachi and Zoginoi followed his gaze.
Standing in the shadows of the entrance was Mirabella. She was dressed in all black, a sleek combat outfit topped with a luxurious fur overcoat that gave her an imposing silhouette. On her right shoulder stood Cupcake, the white tiger now shrunk to kitten size, eyes glowing in the dark.
"I want to take you guys with me... I am sure Mirabella have some questions." He said, staring at Mirabella.
Zoginoi adjusted his eyeglasses on the crook of his nose, his hands shaking slightly.
'My god, I didn't even feel her presence. If Master Hayatobi Haven't said anything, I won't even know she is here... Is this the strength of a god rank fighter of her caliber?'
She was like a void in the mana field—undetectable until she chose to be seen.
Hayatobi turned back, staring at Hitachi. He opened his palm, revealing a radiant, pulsating crystal that hummed with concentrated power.
"Take this. It's time to become a Lv70 God rank fighter." He said.
*
*
*
Sorry for not releasing chapters... Just waiting for my readers to catch up.
Reason?
This book will be locked soon.