After eating, we trained for another five hours as Leo showed me how to use the Elemental Aura.
It was easier than I thought yet difficult at the same time.
You see, maintaining an aura of fire or lightning is much more difficult than just using mana to envelop my body.
Master said that I'll be able to use it efficiently with practice. For now, I can barely maintain it for a few seconds.
Then, Master also gave me a few magic spell scrolls and asked me to memorize and practice the hand signs within them.
Right now, after training some more, I was exhausted and laying flat on the matted floor, looking at the ceiling above while panting heavily.
"Okay, break's over," Leo's voice soon reached me as he appeared over me. "Get up, let's resume your training."
"Master mercy!" I cried out through my ragged breaths. "I can't– I can't anymore!"
"No, I'm pretty sure you can go on for about another three hours before finally passing out," Leo grabbed my t-shirt collar and effortlessly pulled me up on my feet.
"Master, I have a match tomorrow!" I tried to reason with the red-haired monster, but he just flashed me a smile.
"It's fine," he waved his hand. "After you'll pass out, I'll leave you be so you can rest until it's time for the Tournament."
"Huh?! Do you want to kill your sole pupil by training him like this?!" I snapped at him.
"What? No, of course not," Leo denied. "I don't think you'll die like that. Look, my own master trained me like I'm training you and I turned out fine."
I wanted to comment on him claiming that he turned out fine, but I quickly dismissed that thought. I love my life, after all.
"Now then, let's get back–" Before Leo could order me to get back to my training, a notification sound rang from my smart bracelet.
Ding—
"I told you to switch it off during training, didn't I?" Leo commented upon hearing the chime of the notification bell.
"Ahh, my bad," I replied apologetically. "I switched it on to look at the time and forgot to turn it off. I'll do it now."
As Leo nodded at my words, I tapped on my smart bracelet to turn it off.
However, just as I was doing that, my gaze fell on the notification that had popped up and I stopped.
It was a text message.
And it was from Kai.
The content of the text message said:
Lucas Morningstar, come to the location below in fifteen minutes. Come alone and don't try to pull anything.
I just want to talk.
Along with the text message was GPS location.
Deja vu much?
"What is it?" Noticing that I was taking too long to turn off my smart bracelet, Leo asked if there was any problem.
"Sorry, Master, but I think I'll have to run," I said as I started heading for the exit door. "Something urgent has come up."
"Huh?" Leo exclaimed. "What about your training?!"
"I'll continue it later!" I shouted back at him as I left the dojo.
In the background, I could hear Leo distressingly screaming at me, "Don't get into any useless fights or I'll break your bones myself!"
†
Before anything else, I first went back to my apartment. I needed to check up on Sera.
After making sure that she was fine, I left some cherries for her on the dining table before I left the apartment.
It's only been a few weeks, but she's growing so fast. Right now, she is already easily around more than half the size of my arm.
Soon I'll have to take her out for hunts and walks.
Anyway, that's for later, currently I was walking toward the location Kai had sent me.
He asked me to be there in fifteen minutes and I was already running late. It had been around twenty minutes since I read his text.
After walking for ten more minutes, I finally reached the location I was supposed to reach.
And guess what? It was the same apartment building that he asked me to come to earlier!
Why the hell did he send me the location then? He could've just asked me to come here! Since I've already been here once, I know where this place is!
Haaa, anyway, as soon as I entered the apartment complex, I received another text on my smart bracelet.
Ding—
I tapped on the notification as soon as it appeared and a holographic screen projected out in front of me.
Come to apartment number 374.
It was from Kai.
"Damn," I couldn't help but be impressed by the dramatics he was putting on.
I mean, I feel like I'm going to have a secret meeting with a mafia boss or something.
Shaking my head and clearing such distracting thoughts out of my mind, I checked the building list of room numbers and found out that number 374 was on the fifth floor.
Taking a mental note of that, I walked into an elevator and got onto the fifth floor.
After walking in the hallway for a bit, I found the apartment I was looking for. On the main door of apartment 374 was a note that said, [Come in.]
"He really does love dramatics, huh?" I thought to myself out loud.
I mean, he could've been here waiting for me at the door, but he left a note instead.
"Haaa," shaking my head again, I gripped the doorknob, twisted it, and twirled open the door.
Taking my shoes off at the doorway, I walked through the gallery into a drawing room.
The drawing room was lit in a dim, red glow coming from the red light bulb on the ceiling, casting eerie shadows on the antique furniture in the apartment.
There I saw a young man with black hair sitting on a plush crimson couch.
He had his shoulder-long black hair neatly swept back, accentuating the chiseled features of his face.
Dressed in a tailored black suit that seemed to meld seamlessly with the darkness around him, Kai had his legs crossed comfortably.
But as soon as his teal eyes landed on me, he opened his mouth to speak.
"You're late," he said as he slowly rose from the couch and stood up.
