Walking out of Joseph's barber shop with Leon— we soon swam through the crowd of incessant paparazzi and influencers, making our way back to the Rolls Royce. I once again sank into the plush seat and Corvus sat on top of my head disappointed that there's less hair for him to sleep on. He slept anyway, that little bastard is a snoozer.
Leon got in and we were on the road before we knew it. Leon tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove before glancing at me.
"We'll be at my place in 10, okay."
I nod as I drift my gaze out the window. We drove past the beach of Virginia Beach— the sandy shores blurring as we drove past it. What Joseph said back in the barber shop stuck with me—'lay low and don't stand out if you don't want to be crippled'. I glanced at Leon and asked.
Leon's face momentarily hardened.
"If I'm being honest… no." He let out a slow sigh. "It's a place ruled by the strong."
A pause.
"If you're the King of the school—aka rank 1—you have the same power as the headmaster." His voice turned bitter. "It's a place where if you're weak... they'll fuck you up."
I furrowed my brows, bitterly mumbling, "That's some bullshit…"
Leon nodded, his gaze narrowing, grip on the wheel tightening. "Indeed it is, Kerrigan." A beat. "I hate it myself. But it's what Amalga wants..."
He exhaled sharply, mana beginning to bleed out into the air. "To mass-produce strong Awakened at the cost of others. Like a fucking culling."
The car groaned slightly as his grip crushed the steering wheel. "Where bloodlines are sought after like candy. The weak die. The strong rule with a dictatorship. And then—"
He sneered. "They fuck. Make more of themselves. And repeat the process." His voice cracked like breaking glass, raw and full of loathing.
Mana pulsed. Heavy. Suffocating.
I could barely breathe.
Corvus didn't even stir. That bastard just snored on my head. Leon's tone dropped, cold and final. "The Four Great Clans… I wish I could kill them all myself."
He paused.
"I can… but the aftermath would be a pain in the ass."
Then—
He blinked. Realizing. Pulled his aura back in with a breath. Pressure vanished like it had never been there.
I gasped, clutching my chest. The air tasted like copper.
Corvus yawned like nothing happened. Leon rubbed the bridge of his nose and apologized "I'm sorry— I got carried away."
"It's okay… it happens to the best of us." I replied nonchalantly, even though I was gasping for air moments ago.
'So this stayed the same...'
'Even in the simulation and in the real world. Those who obsess over power walk all over everyone else'
This was going to be an issue in the future for me. The interests of Amalga and the 4 Great Clans differed heavily from mine and since I'm Leon's mentee they'll expect me to bend a knee to their regime. If you already know me by now I'm not going to fucking do that even if I die and even after I die. So I now had to find a way to maneuver through the people who might end up being my enemies in the future.
But… not now. It was far from an issue for now. I'll handle it once they start to fuck with me. For now I just needed to learn as much as possible from Leon and get as strong as possible by the time of my enrollment. Since I'd be joining mid-year at America's No. 1 academy— it's bound to make heads turn.
For the rest of the drive Leon returned to his usual chirpy attitude but I knew he was angry. I didn't pry, not my place. Not that I'd even want to know in the first place. He even left a small dent on his steering wheel. We soon arrived at Leon's place. I wasn't even surprised anymore. It was the largest mansion I'd ever seen, larger than the Hoffmires.
I stepped out of the Rolls Royce, the cool breeze gracing my features. Leon exited soon after— I didn't realize at first. This guy was taller than me and I'm 6 ft 1[. Like damn how perfect can a person be! Rich, famous, tall, powerful and handsome, ticking all the fucking boxes like its a checklist. Just damn… I'll catch up to his greatness one day. Nah I'll be better.
That's enough of that.
Leon then looked at me with a malicious smile— freezing the very blood in my veins. Rubbing his hands together like a comic book villain he sneered gleefully.
"Time to start your training! I'm— I mean we're going to enjoy this very much kukuku…"
'What have I got myself into…'
Leon then gestured to follow him and I did. Walking straight to my doom. I had no choice in the matter, I just accepted the fact my fate was sealed. He led me through his large patio into a separate building. There were 2 security guards present, they nodded to Leon as they let the both of us in.
I stepped into a large room. The ground— just plain and pure concrete and the walls lined with titanium. There was a bench along the entrance, so I took the sleeping Corvus off of my head and lay him on the bench. Leon stood in the middle of the room looking at me with a smile.
'I'm finished'
I stood opposite him waiting nervously for his instructions. He then cleared his throat and exclaimed.
"We'll be focusing on leveling up your adaptation [Flow] and incorporating your skill [Hyperdrive] and increasing your mastery!"
I nodded and we both got into our fighting stances. Leon then commands, his voice echoing in the room.
"Okay Show me what you've got."
"Okay" I retorted.
I then instinctively bent my knees and increased the mana flow throughout my body. The air around me began to crackle with energy. My freshly cut hair rising in the air. I start to take deeper breaths before activating it.
"Hyperdrive…" I muttered.
My body propelled towards Leon like a bullet— ripping through the air with a sinister whistle. Once I had closed in the distance, I slammed my foot into the floor; cracking it. Twisting my hips— accumulating the power in my feet, I throw a punch carrying the momentum of [Hyperdrive] at Leon's torso.
Boom!
Crack!
"AGhhhh FUCK!" I yelled in pain.
Leon's torso felt like a fucking steel wall. As soon as my fist collided, the bones in my arm shattered from the force of the impact. My right arm now slowly turning purple was throbbing with pain.
Leon just smiled coming to my aid. "You used too much power— you're not strong enough yet to withstand the force of your skill"
As I winced in agony, he carefully knelt down on one knee and held my arm. He then looked at me with a wide smile.
"This is going to hurt but don't worry, it'll help you a lot!"
"Wha— AGhkkkk!" Before I could even process his words, a surge of electricity assaulted my nerve fibres. I felt as if my body was melting from the inside out, my vision going white. I roared in agony until it abruptly stopped.
My vision faded back in slowly and I glared at Leon.
"What the fuck was that?!" I understandably yelled.
Leon just kept his ever-infuriating grin and pointed to my right arm. I complied and looked. My eyes widened. I felt no pain— the discolouration completely gone as if it wasn't ever there in the first place. This arm had all its bones broken just moments ago, its muscles torn.
Leon then spoke proudly "That's one of my skills, [Shock Therapy], with high voltage electricity I can heal anything at the cost of frying your nerves alive. It also makes your bones stronger from calcification" He said the last part with a smile.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Great… Now I'm Frankenstein with nerve damage…" I mumble to myself.
Leon continued as he walked up to me and held my arm.
"When you use your skill, you feel a surge of mana in your body right?"
I nod.
"Okay good." Leon continued "What you need to do now is when you feel that surge— immediately focus it on body parts you need to use to increase the power. Then when you use it again, immediately spread it throughout your body to maintain momentum and then when you're close— focus it on your arm, it's easier that way . Your arm will break as your bones aren't strong enough yet but I'll heal it stronger than before. Let's try again."
"Okay, yeah I'll try that." I then jog backwards until I'm a good couple of meters away.
I take a giant breath of air and mutter "Hyperdrive".
The air around me begins to crackle with energy— heat exploded through my veins as mana surged. Taking Leon's advice I move the sensation to the body I need: my right leg. They began to burn— it felt as if it were on fire from the amount of mana going through my meridians. Soon I only felt the sensations in my desired body parts.
I then bent my right knee and kicked off. Hurling myself at Leon at a considerably faster speed— then I began to spread the mana throughout my body. The burning sensation dampened now becoming a gentle warmth.
Once I closed in on Leon's figure, I then focused every drop of mana into my left arm. Making my meridians overflow with mana— the burning sensation rose again. Unbeknownst to me a blue lighting began to crackle around my arm— my arm's vascularity increasing dramatically.
Then smashing my foot on the ground, I pivoted myself— turning my hips. Then with a BOOM! I land a powerful punch on Leon's ribs. The force was powerful enough to shred his clothing where I had punched. It was also powerful enough to break all the bones in my left arm now.
My left arm went limp, dangling like a dreamcatcher. I chuckled as I looked at Leon's bewildered expression. Leon's gaze settled on me— his lips slowly curling up in satisfaction.
"That was so… so much better! Now you know how to make the most of a skill…"
Leon then walked forward to me and placed his palm on my limping arm. Gritting my teeth, I steeled my mind for the immeasurable pain that'll be coming. Then it happened, electricity fried my nerves. My body felt like it was melting. Before I knew it— it was over. My arm was back to normal.
Leon then took a few steps back.
He then tore off the sleeves of his suit— muttering something inaudible. Suddenly, his arms began to contort. Scales began to form, growing from his skin— his fists becoming considerably larger, more circular. I felt the mana emanating from him, crackling in the air. Leon then looked at me with a smile.
I gulped.
"This will be both your training to level up [Flow] as well as making your skeleton stronger for when you use [Hyperdrive]. I'm going to attack you at full force and all you have to do is fight back or if not just dodge."
'Fuck'
Before I even wrapped my head around what we're going to do. I blinked.
I saw Leon dash so fast towards me— as if he teleported. My heart stopped— an overbearing pressure pushed down on me. His eyes looked at me with pure intent to powderise every bone in my body. His mouth wide open in a sinister smile. A blue glow manifested around him.
For a second… For just a second.
I thought I saw…
Death.