Khan and Monica exchanged simple salutes with the announcers before leaving the embassy. The hovering limousine was already waiting for them on one of the roofs, so they could set off immediately.
The limousine had all kinds of comforts, from darkened windows to a small fridge, but Monica could only think of lifting the curtain between the pilot and the passenger's seats. As soon as she established some privacy, she jumped next to Khan and took his left elbow in her arms.
"Someone is happy," Khan laughed as Monica curled on the seat to lie on his shoulder.
"We did it!" Monica exclaimed, and giggles followed.
"We indeed did it," Khan nodded, looking at the luxurious box on his lap. "Do you think they found out about our plan?"
"My plan," Monica corrected. "Well, I only bid on things I might realistically desire, and your knife should settle the rest."
"We can claim that gallery offer and sell the knife on the same night," Khan suggested. "That should save us some time."
"It would," Monica voiced, slightly turning her head to hide her face in Khan's shoulder.
"What is it?" Khan asked.
"Nothing," Monica stated, but her tone said a lot, and Khan had already understood what was going through her mind.
"Did you enjoy our night out?" Khan wondered.
Monica nodded while keeping her face hidden. Still, she eventually turned to show a strange expression. She wanted to say something but remained silent, waiting for Khan to figure things out himself.
"We are spending a lot of time together now," Khan announced. Monica had settled in his flat since the elevator didn't have cameras. No one could know in which apartment she slept.
"We are," Monica confirmed.
"We are basically living together," Khan continued, leaving a kiss on the top of Monica's head.
"We are," Monica giggled, "Even if we barely leave the bed."
Khan laughed with Monica, and the two snuggled closer, but she eventually diverted her gaze. Something was still on her mind, and Khan spoke again to address the matter. "But?"
"But," Monica repeated, "I would like, you know, to do more couple's stuff."
"Like?" Khan asked. He had an idea but wanted to hear it from Monica.
"Walking hand in hand in the middle of the street," Monica responded, "Going on dates, being honest about us for once."
Khan rubbed his cheek on Monica's curls. He understood her struggles. He even shared most of them, but they both knew why they weren't dating in the open.
"I could get all cute for you before a dinner or something," Monica continued, smiling at the thought of the scene. "You know, couple's stuff."
"You are always cute," Khan praised.
"But I want to be cute for you," Monica complained. "It's different."
"What else?" Khan joked. "Will you also bring me to those social events you like so much?"
"They are such a bother," Monica scoffed, "But picturing you at my side feels nice. I would finally have the chance to show off my boyfriend."
"Am I that amazing?" Khan chuckled.
"I chose you," Monica smirked, "So yes."
Khan laughed, leaving another kiss on Monica's curls before speaking reassuring words. "We'll get there."
"I know," Monica stated. "I just felt like whining a little to my man."
"Needy girl," Khan teased, and Monica wore a proud expression before closing her eyes. It was late, and the weekly free time had just begun, so it was normal to feel tired.
Khan glanced at the box on his lap before looking at Monica again. She was the sole reason behind his cheap purchase, and more Credits were bound to flow thanks to her. Monica had also been an endless source of help with his studies. Her support had been incredible, and she had never asked for anything in return.
'How much patience does she even have?' Khan thought as his packed schedule appeared in his mind.
"Hey," Khan eventually whispered.
"What is it?" Monica asked in a sleepy tone.
"Let's do the gallery and the knife on separate nights," Khan suggested.
"What?" Monica questioned, opening her eyes to look at Khan. "Why?"
"To get two nights out of that," Khan explained. "They won't be actual dates, but that's the best we can do for now."
"What about your schedule?" Monica wondered. "You are barely sleeping as it is."
"Fuck my schedule," Khan responded. "I want to do something for us."
Monica wanted to refuse, but her smile betrayed her. When she noticed it, she gave up on hiding her true feelings, and her arms quickly reached for Khan's neck.
The couple kissed, and Monica tightened her hug on Khan's neck as her happiness became too intense to contain. Her lips soon found his mouth again, but she eventually returned to his shoulder.
"Don't take too long to come home tonight," Monica warned before closing her eyes again.
"What?" Khan asked.
"I know you want to try the spell," Monica voiced. "I'll wait for you, but don't overdo it. You are still injured."
Warmth filled Khan's chest, but he still decided to continue with a joke. "Do you have something nasty in mind?"
"I just like to wake up next to you," Monica revealed, and the warmth spread through the entire car.
The limousine dropped Khan in front of a building full of training halls in the second district before heading toward his flat. The area was empty due to the late hour, so Khan entered the structure without wasting time.
Many of the Harbor's services had taken note of Khan's profile after his deal with the Headmistress. He only needed to show his phone to unlock countless doors freely, and the training halls were one of them.
Soon, Khan entered the largest training hall in the structure and left his luxurious box on the floor. He even connected his phone and tightened the brace before closing his eyes to focus on the symphony.
Khan quickly reopened his eyes and jumped upward. A tinge of his mana fused with the environment and slightly altered the symphony's structure. The synthetic energy became a force he could manipulate, allowing his feet to find platforms in the air.
Another jump brought Khan closer to the hall's ceiling, and a third made him shoot forward. He even kicked the air a few times to turn himself upside down and begin a reckless dive toward the floor.
A violent landing seemed about to unfold, but Khan tapped on the air a few times to adjust his position and disperse his momentum. He stopped falling when he was only a meter from the floor, but gravity eventually brought him down.
Khan wasn't really training. His injured state didn't allow him to see how far he could push his new proficiency level. He was only doing his best to remember the sensation of flying, but no problems appeared there.
Something had clicked on Nippe 2. Khan's mind had reached a level of understanding he couldn't forget. His mind had expanded, and that change was forever. Flying was part of him now.
'If I can fuse Maban's technique to all my sprints,' Khan thought while adjusting the brace once again, 'I'll probably become unbeatable in the third level.'
The "probably" was superfluous. Khan had enough battle experience to know how powerful his new proficiency level was. Adding Maban's insane speed to his flight would make him unstoppable.
The desire to train harder showed its presence, but Khan knew his limits. Flying put a lot of strain on his limbs, which didn't work well with his injuries. He had to wait a bit longer, but that didn't make him powerless.
Khan moved his attention to the box on the floor. He sat in front of it and lifting the lid revealed a few items. He saw a disk and a few screens, which forced him to reach for his phone.
The disk fused with the phone once Khan completed the usual procedure for magic items, and he lit up the screens in the meantime. The latter had reports, explanations, and raw data about his purchase. It seemed that Pandora had already done its fair share of tests.
Khan used the hall's menus to bring up the video contained in the disk. Images started to play on the floor together with multiple stats. The footage depicted some otter-like creatures with fins and scales, and the recording highlighted their mana while adding many details to the scene.
Some soldiers fired at the otters, but the latter instinctively unleashed their mana to create the famous spherical defensive spell. Still, their energy was denser compared to humans, and it even carried metallic properties that accumulated on the edge of the technique.
The bullets failed to pierce those dark spherical shields, and the latter even deflected some of them. Clanging noises resounded through the hall as the otters used that chance to run into a river nearby to escape the assailants.
The video continued, showing a different but similar scene. The Global Army tried to capture those otter-like creatures once again but failed to inflict any damage to their spherical shields.
The recording went on, showing glimpses of those Tainted animals in their natural environment. Everything was for the purpose of gathering data, which the Global Army definitely accomplished. The video had countless details, especially regarding how the otters used their mana.
Khan remained pleasantly surprised by the number of examples the video provided and played it again once it ended. He focused on the otters' mana and composition during his second watch, and more details became clear.
A sigh escaped Khan's mouth once his second watch ended. He had completely understood the spell's advantages and shortcomings, which made him realize why it was so hard to apply to humans.
The otters had a naturally metallic mana, so they only needed to push it outside their bodies to create a shield. Instead, humans would require an additional passage to obtain similar properties. Even Khan's mana anomaly wasn't enough to reach such strong effects.
The high consumption was a known problem. The otters relied on their spell to escape from sudden attacks. They never used it in prolonged fights. They actually didn't fight at all due to the nature of their species.
Those features would usually push humans to stay away from something so troublesome, but positive aspects existed, and they were incredible. The spell's power was terrific, but that still didn't cut it. The unbelievable casting speed was the true gem of that alien technique.
Of course, the otters could deploy their shields so quickly due to the absence of additional passages. They only had to release their mana, and the latter would do the rest. Khan needed to achieve something similar to retain the spell's positive aspects, and a few ideas had already taken form.
Khan skimmed through the screen to make sure he had understood everything correctly. The reports of Pandora's tests confirmed his idea, so he eventually stood up to try a few things.
At first, Khan followed the otters' casting method. He concentrated on his mana for a few seconds before unleashing it from the entirety of his body. The execution only released uneven flares that didn't take the shape of a sphere, and even their power turned out to be disappointing.
Khan expected a similar result. The otters already had mana in the right places, so they didn't need to control it. In their case, a simple release was enough, and Khan could reach similar speed levels only through training.
The power was the only thing training couldn't fix. Pandora's tests had also shown similar results. Humans had a different type of energy, and Khan's mana anomaly couldn't fill that gap.
The shape of the technique made Khan release the spherical version of the Wave spell. That was closer to what he was trying to achieve, at least in terms of power and effects. However, the casting time was too long and shortening it was impossible. He would have already done it otherwise.
The short tests left Khan in a pickle. He stood between two extremes, with a useless release of mana on one side and an offensive spell on the other.
A compromise wouldn't work either since it would remove the otters' spell's good qualities. Khan needed that casting speed without losing too much power. Achieving it was the only problem.
Khan scratched the side of his head while inspecting the hall. He had another idea, but the area might risk paying the price. Still, those worries couldn't do anything against his curiosity.
'Alright,' Khan thought while closing his eyes again. 'I know you are here, and I need that power.'
The insides of Khan's mind remained silent, but he didn't let that fool him. There was a power inside him that could make the spell feasible. He only needed to learn how to harness it.
'Come on,' Khan cursed. 'We are on the same side.'
The silence remained undisturbed. No clicking growl arrived, but Khan knew it to be inside him.
'Fucking mindless cloud,' Khan cursed again.
The clicking growl had resounded when the Princess exposed Khan's relationship and had even saved him on Nippe 2. He didn't know if the cloud or the transformation were to blame, but that was part of him now. He was sure of it.
The cloud had the strange ability to make the chaos element terrifying. It didn't do anything special, but its mana could devour metal and pierce walls. That was the kind of energy Khan needed for the spherical spell to work.
'Fine,' Khan thought. 'You asked for it.'
The trigger for the clicking growl was evident, and Khan had no shortage of sad thoughts. He also knew how to play dirty, which he didn't hesitate to do in the safety of the training hall.
Memories from Nitis, Earth, and much more crossed Khan's mind before his thoughts gave birth to entirely made-up scenes. He wondered what would have happened if the kidnappers had hurt George and Monica. Many things could have gone wrong during the attack, and Khan considered all of them.
'Here it is,' Khan smirked when a faint sound began to echo in the back of his mind. His mana also started to boil, foreboding the incoming wild emotions.
Khan kept his imagination running until the clicking growl became loud enough to suppress his thoughts. He found it hard to control his fake scenarios, but the process had already been a success, and he unleashed the otters' method to see if something had changed.
Wild flares of purple-red mana escaped from multiple areas of Khan's body. They carried no order and definitely didn't create any spherical shape. However, the raging power they unleashed seemed able to destroy anything in their path.
Khan's mind went silent when the mana dispersed, but he smiled in satisfaction. That path could work. He needed to adjust many things, but it was a viable approach. Yet, a strange detail caught his attention when he thought about trying again.
'Where did my clothes go?' Khan wondered since he found himself fully naked. Only burnt and torn rags had survived his flares, and they were on the floor.
'I was wearing my good suit, wasn't I?' Khan shook his head while tinkering with the menus to request more clothes. It seemed that Monica would get an additional date since he now lacked things to wear in the following auctions.
