On their way back home, Kane had been silent. He had been thinking if what he had been doing for the past weeks was the right thing to do. People had been telling him that he was like the Kane that they knew. He wanted to be different, but he did not want to change his current self.
He knew he would not be able to act differently. It would be hard for him to suddenly act like Arisa, Gavin, or even his master. It would be hard for him to suddenly change his attitude and even his way of thinking.
“What are you thinking about?” Arisa asked him after they went off the bus. They started walking towards their training place because their master told them that they would immediately train as soon as they were back.
“None of your business.” Kane walked ahead without looking back, his hands inside his pockets.
Arisa rolled her eyes when Kane ignored him. She regretted that she even went to talk to him because she thought that he was having
Kane went home late and he just realized that his body was sore when his back met the soft mattress of his bed. He looked at the ceiling and thought about the things that their master told them. Though he thought that he had good insights, it was still not enough. He needed to learn how to solve situations on his own without hesitation.A moment of hesitation might cost you a life.Kane could not remove those words in his head. He remembered the leak incident and the monster attack in the village. What if he was the only hunter in the area? What could have happened if Arisa was not around? He was only able to keep the people alive because there were people assisting him. He was able to fight mindlessly because there were people behind him who would take care of the people for him.A moment of hesitation… He needed to be strong enough that he would not need to hesitate. Kane stretched his arm and looked at his hand. He needed to grow stronger.He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth
After that incident, Kane started using his mana manipulation ability to speed up and leave the apartment in a blink of an eye. He had been doing it for days while going on a jog, to training, and even on his way back home. It had been a routine and he was glad that none of the people who seemed to be interested in him were observing or stalking him.“You’re early today as well.” Arisa noticed when she entered the training place and found out that Kane had started his training already.Kane sighed as he stared at his hands lightly. He did not even notice that Arisa had been there watching and teasing him. His attention was so immersed in his hands after he tried to release his mana that he could not give his attention to anything else.Was he about to break through? Arisa thought when she noticed Kane’s focus during the past few days. She could tell that the guy was getting impatient but she commended him for not bursting out. She knew how frustrating it was when someone was about to
Kane felt a little frustrated after a few tries. There were too many instances that he almost drowned because he was getting more and more impatient the more he failed.He went out of the water and dropped himself on the grass. He was still catching his breath as he stared at the sun that was about to go down. Usually, he would spend just a few hours finishing a task and he could do at least two tasks in one day. Why did he end up not being able to finish the task assigned to him? Had he gotten weak because he had less practice?“We’re done for today,” Viktor called his disciples who were busy trying to finish the task that he gave them. He noticed how frustrated the two had become because they were used to finishing at least two tasks in a day. However, that would be a thing of the past starting from that day.Those who were strong needed to grow stronger by doing things that seemed too hard at first. He deliberated what he would do next and decided to level up their training. He was
“Tell me what you want.”Kane laughed out loud. What he want? What would they do if he said that he wanted to kill all of them? What would they do if he said that he wanted everything from them? Would they give them what they wanted?Kane stepped harder on the man’s neck. The leader was alarmed when he saw what he did and asked him again.“I told you to tell us what you want!”Kane, though he was usually expressionless laughed hard. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? I was busy minding my own business but then you’ll come and attack me without even telling me the reason why. Aren’t you just out of your mind? I could not fathom how and where did you get the guts to ask me why.”Kane’s manic laugh made the other look pale, especially when his face suddenly turned serious.In a blink of an eye, he was suddenly out of sight and the men started to fall almost lifeless to the ground. Kane’s mark was just a critical slit on their throats which slowly took away their lives the more time
Gavin ended up giving Kane to Clay when he said his full name. Who would have thought that Kane was the nephew of the AC branch head? It just made sense that they were both eccentric and stubborn.“You’re as loyal to your boss as ever.” Gavin shook his head in disappointment.“Don’t give me that. You even become the babysitter of his nephew.”Gavin rolled his eyes when Clay gave the unconscious Kane a piggyback ride. Arisa just could not understand what they were talking about, but she kept listening just in case they started talking about something important.“We’re heading home now,” Clay said as he put Kane in the backseat of his car. “Do you want me to give you guys a ride?”“No, thanks.” Gavin immediately declined. “I’ll teleport them back to the guild.”“What a convenient ability…” Clay entered his car and started the engine. “Thank you for knocking him out, Mr. Roa.”Viktor just nodded his head and the car took off. Left with the older guys, Arisa could not bring herself to ask
Kane was in front of Clay’s laptop, talking with Mr. Romero via video call. He was reporting everything to him and the man looked like he was in deep thought. Just like Kane, he was not expecting the devouring to manifest since he also knew how Kane spent his mana regularly in his training.Was it really because of his frustration?“Are you trying to do something?” Mr. Romero asked. He knew that Kane would not feel frustrated unless there was something that he really wanted and he believed that he could have it.“Yes. I’ve been trying to use my mana outside of my body,” Kane answered truthfully. “When I do land purifications, I always use a special dagger to bring the mana outside of my body.”“You wanted to cast magic?” Mr. Romero asked, his tone full of curiosity. He was aware that Kane was able to manipulate his mana to strengthen his body and increase his speed. Why would he think about casting magic?“Can’t I?” Kane asked. He was still not sure if it was possible for him to cast
The uncomfortable ride ended and Kane did not expect that Arisa would bring him somewhere near the sea. They stopped near a beach and he thought that they would enter there, but Arisa pulled him towards a small hut just a few meters away from the beach entrance.“Hey, did you even get permission from the owner of this hut?” Kane asked when Arisa just barged in and they found that no one was inside.“I don’t need to do that; this is my house.” Arisa smiled as she climbed up the window nook.“This is your house?” Kane looked around. It was an old hut with little to no furniture. The thick bags of dust and the cobwebs also signified that no one have lived there for a long time.“Don’t look around like I am such a big disappointment.” Arisa laughed. “It’s the truth that this house is mine. My Mom and Dad used to be the caretaker and managers of the beach and as a part of the compensation, this small land beside the beach was given to them. My father built this hut for me when my mother di
“Seems like we’ll go to another mission tomorrow,” Arisa said after checking her phone. Since Arisa told their master that he was with her, Viktor only sent the message to her and asked her to relay it to him.She insisted to give Kane a ride home and she invited herself inside Kane’s apartment despite the man’s stern refusal.She looked around the apartment and realized that it was so like him to keep his living space neat and clean. Aside from the fact that he was living alone, he was always outside so he would not need to clean all the time.“Where are we going? Did Master give additional instructions?”Kane who just came from the kitchen put down a pitcher of juice on the center table and gave her a glass. Then he went back to the kitchen to get the cookies that they bought before they went home.Before he settled down across Arisa, he put the cookies down on the center table first and get a glass of juice for himself.Arisa shrugged. She already told him the content of the messag