Ezra Echelon Liberation System

Chapter 36: Leaving

Even though part of the village had been destroyed in the battle between Ezra, Mira, and the Boss, the villagers didn't blame them at all. Instead, they were grateful to them for killing the tyrant who had been causing everyone to live in fear for a very long period of time now. They even came to give Ezra and Mira money and food to sustain them during their stay. Even the innkeeper let them stay in his inn without paying a dime.

In one of the rooms in the inn, Ezra and Mira sat down cross-legged eating chicken stew and rice. There was a bottle of expensive wine beside them and chunks of fried pork which were lying in a very large bowl. Silently they enjoyed themselves, drowning in the meal before them as if they were going to die any moment from now. It was rare for them to eat meals such as this so they had to cherish this moment because it might never come again.

"In all my life I've never been treated like this," Mira said with a smile as she popped a fried pork into her mouth like a greedy child, oil dribbling down her lips. "I mean, I've been in a sect and all but they've never treated me like this. It was really for me to eat meat."

Ezra didn't say anything and allowed the young woman to ramble on as he enjoyed his meal. Having a meal like this was not strange for him because it was a daily occurrence to him when he was back in the Echelon nation. As the young master of the Echelon sect, he had everything he wanted and never lacked anything. Meals like this did not even measure up to half of what he had at the Echelon sect. Hence he was not as overwhelmed with the meal before him like Mira was. The reason he was even overwhelmed, to begin with, was because he had not had a meal like this since the Echelon sect was destroyed. It had been so long.

"Ezra," Mira called Ezra who was still eating silently. She looked into his eyes for some time as she grabbed another pork and popped it into her mouth, smiling as she chewed on it. This caused Ezra to raise his eyebrows, wondering why his protege had called him.

"What?" Ezra asked after some time. "You just called me without saying anything. And then you're staring at me while eating...It's awkward."

"Do you want me to stop looking?" Mira asked as she blinked several times, adding a kind of charm to herself.

"No, no," Ezra immediately waved his hands, throwing a piece of pork in his right hand into the air. Seeing this, he immediately leaped into the air at such an insane speed that even Mira couldn't see him. He then grabbed the pork which was almost falling to the ground before kicking his feet off the ground, leaping to his former position. And before Mira had any idea what was happening he was already seated back where he was.

"What...what just happened?" Mira asked with a dazed expression as she looked at Ezra before turning around to look for the pork which had flown out of his hand. "I thought you just threw the pork away."

Ezra smiled as he lifted the pork in his right hand, showing it to her before popping it into his mouth just like Mira had been doing earlier. He then flashed a smile at her before saying, "I just caught it."

"You...you caught it?" Mira was very surprised because she had never seen Ezra use such a speed before. "I mean, I know you're fast but I've not seen you move this fast before!"

Huh? Ezra narrowed his eyes momentarily, wondering why he had moved that fast as well. Is it because I got the Hunter title? Does it give a boost to all my abilities which have existed before?

Mira fell into a deep thought for some time before asking, "Does it have to do with the Hunter title which you got as a reward from the Echelon system?"

Ezra usually told Mira everything about the Echelon system so it was no news she already knew about the reward he got from the most recent mission. When he heard Mira ask this question he nodded, "It might be the reason. It feels like my Ethereal Step received a very huge boost when I used it to get the pork."

"Interesting," Mira said with a smile. "Does this mean that all your abilities would receive huge boosts when they're in use?"

"Most likely," Ezra said with a nod as he poured himself a wine and drank it. "But we have no way of knowing for sure till I get the chance to use my abilities against an opponent."

"Don't tell me you're yearning for a fight," Mira rolled her eyes at Ezra who immediately froze. "I mean you almost got killed some moments ago!"

"No, no," Ezra chuckled nervously. "It's not that I'm expecting an opponent! It's just that..."

"You need to train yourself so that you'll become the most powerful person in this world," Mira said with a teasing smile. "Only that way you'd be able to protect those you love."

When Ezra heard this he fell into a deep thought, comparing the reason he wanted to become more powerful to the Boss's reason. They were almost the same except that the Boss wanted to save the whole world while he just wanted to protect those he loved. This made him to wonder who was nobler between the both of them.

Mira stared at the silent Ezra for some moments and was about to say something when the latter looked at her and said, "We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning?" Mira grumbled in complaint. "Why? I was beginning to enjoy my stay here!"

Ezra didn't respond to her and continued eating. After all he was her teacher and could do anything he wanted without having to tell her. She was nothing but his protege!