367 Birthday [1]
It's been a month since the 'incident.'
Spider is now officially recognized as a threat since the Central Government has acknowledged its presence in front of the media.
After all, the deaths of several police officers couldn't be overlooked. Besides, the authorities had concrete proof of Spider's existence.
One of their own members confessed after enduring three days of continuous torture.
I was also briefed about the clash between the main characters and my master by my trusted allies, Quinn and Grace.
I repaired my Smart Bracelet by using my Edit Pen and went out of the Sect for a day to access the internet and chat with them.
I knew something like that could happen long before I even left the academy. So on the day I gave Quinn and Grace the task of retrieving the Petals of Ambrosia from Nero, I also asked them to take a healer along with them when they go.
Of course, I wasn't concerned about Nero and Anastasia. Both of them were main characters, after all. Even Chase was an important character.
All three of them had insane amounts of plot armor.
And once again, I was proven right. This time, their plot armor happened to be none other than me.
Quinn informed me how the three of them were at death's door. Anastasia even died for a few seconds.
Had I not told Quinn and Grace to bring a healer with them on their way to meet the trio, all three of them would've died there.
If I'm being completely honest here, I didn't expect their battle to conclude like that at all.
I know Leo is one of the strongest warriors to ever walk the face of Earth, but when he returned to Mount Hua, I couldn't spot a single wound on his body.
I, at the very least, expected Nero to deal one relatively fatal strike to Leo.
Since Leo was there as a member of Spider, I knew he couldn't have used either of his strongest techniques, Symphony, or even his array of powerful relics.
Without his insanely broken techniques, secret art, and weapons, Leo is essentially just a man with a Platinum rank mana core.
I'm also certain that Anastasia and Nero must have gone all out.
Anastasia would have employed Eclipse Bringer, and Nero should have unleashed the Longsword of Light.
No, actually, considering Nero's personality and the severity of their defeat, I believe he would have also resorted to unleashing his Gift.
There was a report of a thunder explosion in the heart of Iron Hand City that day. It was also raining there that day. I guess he used the Fire Heavenly sword to use the Lightning element.
So, even after using nature to give himself a strategic advantage, he still failed to even scratch Leo? He still lost so severely?
I can't decide who's more broken.
Is it Leo, who easily thwarted all the attacks that could have very effortlessly crushed any Platinum or even Diamond rank warrior?
Or maybe it's Nero, who survived against such a monstrous opponent for as long as he did.
...You know what? Maybe it's both of them.
Yeah, both of them are complete monsters.
Anyway, after coming back to the Sect, Leo started training me alongside Ifa.
From early morning till late noon, I train with my master. Then he would hand me over to Grandmaster, and I would train once again until late evening.
Life has become a literal hell. I don't even get as many breaks as I used to during the start of training.
Dark circles have once again appeared under my eyes. It's difficult to even stay awake and walk straight these days.
On the bright side, I can see the progress.
My swordsmanship has improved, and Ifa is finally about to start teaching me some sword art.
My physique has also been developing to Ifa's satisfaction.
According to him, I'm appearing more 'manly' these days, although still too delicate… whatever that means.
On a side note, my master came to me one random day and asked me to show him the Dawnbreaker.
I tried telling him that I only knew the first form of the Dawnbreaker, and even that was incomplete. Despite that, he asked me to show it to him regardless.
After I finally did, a sharp glint of understanding flickered in his eyes as he nodded and left.
It was strange, but I suppose that was the end of it.
Right now, the evening had settled in.
The radiant sun hung low on the distant horizon, blurring the line between the sky and earth.
The sky itself was painted in myriad shades of orange as the evening sunlight filtered through the glass window of the training hall.
Inside the hall, I was engrossed in training with Trish.
Ifa was observing by the sidelines, a bright smile tugging on his face. I couldn't even begin to fathom what was going on in his deranged mind.
Trish and I had been sparring for weeks now, and it was clear that both of us were making rapid progress.
She loathed losing, and I detested not winning. She enjoyed fighting, and I had to admit, I did too.
In a strange way, we both worked well together.
To outdo one another, both of us had to put in a considerable amount of effort in honing our techniques.
Today seemed to be one of those days where Trish was pushing me back. Good for her. She had been constantly losing for the past three days.
Fwoosh—!!
I knelt to the ground, dodging a swift slash by allowing her wooden blade to pass harmlessly over my head.
Quickly rising from my crouched position, I lunged forward, thrusting my blade.
But Trish deftly whipped her leg up, striking the end of my blade. The training sword jerked from my grasp and spiraled into the air.
Before it could even fall and touch the ground, Trish's wooden blade found its way to my neck.
"Nice try, Morningstar," Trish remarked, a dangerously beautiful smile adorning her cheerful face.
A similar bright smile spread across my face. "You know I let you win, right?"
Trish chuckled, pulling back her blade from my neck. "No, but I know you're a sore loser."
I gasped playfully. "How dare you, Lady Zenith? I only ever cried once after losing to you."
Trish erupted into another fit of laughter, picking up my sword and putting it away with hers.
Meanwhile, the smile on the old man's face turned into a grin as he listened in on our casual banter.
After a while, he walked up to us and declared, "Okay, you two, enough training for today. Dismiss."
As soon as he said that, it seemed he remembered something and added, "Oh, and Lucas, your master and I have some Sect business to attend. We apologize and promise to throw you a party tomorrow."
"Hmm?" A frown etched itself onto my face as I asked, "What party?"
Trish quickly interjected, "Grandpa! It was supposed to be a surprise party!"
"Yes," the old man nodded. "And we'll give him a surprise tomorrow."
"....."
"....."
Trish appeared dumbfounded, and so did I, albeit for entirely different reasons.
"Wait," I chipped in. "I don't understand. Why? What's happening?"
Trish sighed and turned to me, a mix of helpless and guilty expressions on her face.
"Your... bir... Your birthday party," she said meekly.
I blinked in confusion before my eyebrows shot up in surprise. Right, today was the twenty-eighth of November! It was my birthday!
Since my smart bracelet was broken and I don't use a physical calendar, I completely forgot about my birthday!
"So that's why Master Leo was grinning so much today!" I clapped my hands together as if suddenly understanding something. "I knew he was up to something!"
"Yes," Ifa nodded. "He was really looking forward to surprising you. But now he's bummed since he can't do that."
Awww! Poor him.
"Anyway," the old man said, turning around and making his way out of the training hall. "I should get going. Close the training hall after me."
He then glanced over his shoulder and gave us both a mischievous grin. "Oh, and no funny business, you two."
I frowned. "Huh?!"
"Grandpa!" Trish exclaimed, her face turning red.
As Ifa exited the training hall with a hearty laugh, Trish let out a sigh and turned to face me once again.
Fidgeting with her fingers, she said, "So... Do you want to celebrate your birthday with just me? If… If it's fine with you!"
Honestly, I wanted to sleep.
But even I wasn't heartless enough to turn down such a pretty lady when she herself asked to celebrate my birthday.
Probably she just felt bad and didn't want me to be alone on my nineteenth birthday. So thoughtful.
I shrugged. "Sure."
