"Begin!"

Evélyne's shout brought Lucas' eyes to focused vertical slits as he shot towards Sasha, becoming a white and red streak. Sasha became a sky blue ray as she rushed forward as well.

Bang.

With a muted bang, they collided fist to fist, a blast wave surging out as none of them budged.

After a brief delay, Sasha unleashed a flurry of claw strikes as she snarled.

Lucas evaded and parried the vast majority of her blows. His movements crisp and fluid as if his bones were made of water.

With each narrow dodge and parry, small tremors were released from Lucas' feet and hands, softening Sasha's ferocious blows with each discharge.

This dangerous dance went on for about six seconds before Sasha's sky blue claw grazed Lucas' shoulder with an audible crack.

The blow left a gash in his shoulder causing him to stumble back in pain, trying to regroup.

Sasha didn't let up as she closed the distance instantly, Lucas smirked as his stance swiftly readjusted and a white blur struck at Sasha's chin.

Boom!—crack!

Sasha's head shot back and a cut appeared on her lip, her eyes dazed from the blow. Lucas retracted his tail swiftly and shot towards her. He unleashed a sharp punch towards her heart, his fist blurry like a mirage due to the K.D Rune's effects and its velocity.

'??!'

His instincts suddenly blared in alarm but it was too late. A sky blue fist smashed into his elbow, shattering it. Another fist smashed into his face, knocking him back, destroying his lower jaw and snapping his head to the side, whipping out streaks of blood. Finally, Sasha spun into a roundhouse kick aimed straight at his neck.

The kick slashed through Lucas like a blade through smoke as it was just an afterimage. Sasha frowned and tried to correct her stance—

BANG!

A white blur smashed into Sasha from behind, sending her flying forward with a grunt as she spat of a mouthful of blood. Gritting her teeth, Sasha hardened her concentration. The energy coat around her brightened and a sky blue light consumed her eyes.

'[Sensory Overload]!'

Everything froze, the sounds of the surroundings became a drawn out, low hum. As she looked ahead, she saw Lucas in slo-mo getting into a wider stance, preparing to dish out another devastating strike. Sasha shutdown the skill and maneuvered herself into a heel kick.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave radiated outward as their fist and leg collided, flinging both combatants away from each other. Skidding to a stop, the both looked at each other, gazes alight.

'How is he progressing so fast?'

Evélyne asked herself in genuine wonder as a small frown appeared on her face. Having watched Lucas all this while, even she couldn't fully understand it.

Lucas' current form kept shifting, injuries all healed as his Runes and scales burned with warped lights. Sasha on the other hand was coated with a sky blue light that constantly increased in luminosity.

Paying closer attention to her, you would notice she floated a few centimeters off the ground. The radiant energy around her struggling against the world as the air actively avoided her.

No words were exchanged as they rushed towards each other, clashing more than ten times in a split second. With each thunderous collision, huge craters and powerful gusts followed.

In a matter of moments, the training yard was all but destroyed as their tempo kept rising. Their collisions produced volatile sparks of Spirit energy as they threw everything at each other.

'Seems I'll have to step in. At this rate, they might cause irreparable damage to the training field.'

At this thought, Evélyne transformed into a crimson streak and joined the fray. With immaculate timing, she caught Sasha's leg and Lucas' tail in one smooth motion.

"Stop. It's a draw."

She let go and gave them room to stand down. Sasha and Lucas disabled their Skills and abilities slowly, Sasha swiftly returned to normal, her legs wobbled prompting Evélyne to support her.

Lucas looked on in concern as he sent out tremors from his feet for almost ten seconds. When he was done, Sasha seemed to have gathered herself,

"Why push yourself so hard, Sasha?"

Lucas asked with a frown as he approached both women. Sasha smiled weakly as she said,

"Fighting you is a lot of fun… I just didn't think it would take so much out of me."

Evélyne looked down at her, her ruby eyes glowing. Sasha tightened her grip on her supporting hand as she said,

"I'm fine mistress, just a little tired."

Evélyne gave her a hesitant nod. Lucas sighed as he said,

"Just take care of yourself Sasha, I don't want to see Evélyne go berserk. The quiet ones are always the deadliest."

Evélyne gave him a flat look while Sasha giggled. Lucas smiled as he tried to change the topic,

"You didn't actually get hit by my tail on my first strike, huh?"

Perking up, Sasha smirked,

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Nope~ I was so happy when you fell for that false memory I gave you."

Lucas sighed,

"Techniques really do make a difference. When we spar normally, we are almost dead even but with techniques…"

Sasha's tail wagged excitedly as she finished,

"I usually win. You really should improve your skills, sir Lucas."

"Sure, sure. Want to go another round—"

Cough.

With a cough from Evélyne, Lucas recalled how the match ended.

"Hehe, sorry about that Evélyne. How about we just keep discussing?"

Evélyne just nodded faintly and left the training yard to grab a weapon from the weapons rack. Sasha giggle as she saw Lucas winking at her.

They discussed for a good two hours with Evélyne practicing in the background. At some point Lucas noticed Evélyne stood still, her eyes directed at nothing in particular.

"You okay, princess?"

Evélyne's expression shifted slightly but she finally said,

"I am fine… I am just contemplating something."

Lucas just nodded and let her be. Sasha moved over to her mistress and held her hand. Her tail curled around Evélyne, drawing a peaceful smile from the taller woman. Seeing this interaction, Lucas shook his head and said,

"I will be meditating at my spot."

"We will follow you, sir Lucas,"

Sasha turned to her Evélyne and asked,

"Right, mistress?"

Evélyne gave her a soft nod.

"Fine by me."

The trio strolled slowly up the stone path and eventually found themselves at Lucas' favorite view. They all sat quietly on the patch of grass. Evélyne and Sasha just cuddled with each other while Lucas fell into quiet meditation.

'Hard to believe it has already been two months… Yet at the same time it feels like it has been longer.

My strength far surpasses what I possess in the cavern now, hell I don't even know how strong I will be when I truly go all out. But gaps in my knowledge still remain.

I have no idea how to cross the Level 5 threshold and the library isn't sharing. My Runes have already reached my knowledge limit and I can't try them out freely. The pact is still grinding at my core as well.

As for my Skills… Learning new ones is proving to be quite challenging and I don't know which direction to take my current ones… Status.'

———

[STATUS]

Name: Lucas Maverick

Species: Mimic

Tier: 0

Level: 5

Essence: Freedom

Achievements: [Anomaly], [Daredevil],[Expert Combatant],[Amateur Runist] ,[Speed Demon],[Above and Beyond], [Martial Artist].

Traits: [Daring Mind],[Runic intuition],[Beyond Flesh+], [Overcharge], [Solid combat instincts].

Attributes:

•Physique: 5

•Spirit: 5

•Mind: 5

Skills:

•Guide [Special]

•Adaptive Resonance – [Level 5]

•Leech – [Level 5]

•Spirit sense – [Level 5]

Attribute points: 2

[Quests]:

…

———

Looking at his status screen, not much had changed but appearances can be deceiving. He slowly opened his eyes as he concluded the long meditative session,

'The academy seems to be the answer to all my problems.'

As he gazed up at the sky, the gentle glow of the crimson moon bathed his face. His attention wandered to his left, where the soft snoring of Sasha caught his ear. He turned to see her slumped against Evélyne, her head resting on Evélyne's thighs as Evélyne's fingers gently stroked her hair and ears, her eyes closed in a peaceful smile.

/Hey, Evélyne./

Evélyne kept her focus on Sasha as she sent back,

/Yes, Lucas?/

/How much stronger do you think I have grown?/

/You should be able to defeat your former self in a move or two./

Lucas nodded as he felt the same, he then asked,

/What happened to Sasha? I am sure you can sense she is changing. I don't mean the physical tiredness—/

Evélyne's expression grew cold as she responded,

/Do not worry, it won't happen again. She just needs time to get better./

Lucas just nodded and they both fell silent once more. After a few moments, Lucas sent over,

/Can I ask you something?/

/Sure./

Lucas flat expression grew serious as he thought,

/Can you cancel the pact?/

Evélyne froze, she then continued massaging Sasha as she thought back,

/No./

Lucas expected this but frowned nonetheless, to his surprise Evélyne sent over a thought.

/I can't because you will leave if I do. I… I can't—/

Sasha suddenly stirred on her lap,

"Are you ok, Mistress?"

"I'm fine Sasha, get some rest okay?"

Sasha gave her a pointed look before nodding and went back to sleep. Lucas silently good to his feet as Evélyne was distracted.

"I should turn in as well princess, see you tomorrow."

Lucas left for his room with a curt goodbye while Evélyne nodded and carried Sasha to her room.

When he finally laid on his bed, Lucas felt a mix of emotions, confusion, anger, determination, but most of all—hunger. A deep hunger for power as he sank into dreamless slumber.

———

Two weeks later…

"Are you ready to leave Lucas?"

Katlyn's hologram said. Lucas' reptilian tail swished behind him as he gave his response,

"Ready as I will ever be."

"Good. Meet us at the air field."

Lucas just nodded as the hologram vanished.

"Phew… the day is finally here."

As Lucas walked out, his cold gaze gleamed with palpable excitement. His doors opened soundlessly as he stepped out. Already very familiar with the manor, he headed for the hangar.

On his walk, he noticed only a few attendants were around. This made the corridors quiet, giving him an ominous flash back.

'I'm not about to get eviscerated right?'

Though he smiled at the thought, his eyes hardened. A jolt from the pact snapped him back to focus. He brushed his paranoia aside and continued moving forward.

In a few minutes, he found himself at the air field. The slightly ionized air causing his nose to wrinkle. Looking around, Lucas spotted a line up of attendants and guards. He saw Sasha waving at him along with Evélyne, obviously enticed by the shorter Beastkin.

Lucas grinned and jogged over to them. After greeting the familiar attendants and exchanging nods with his friends, his eyes turned to the sleek vessel resting on the landing pad.

At first glance, the aircraft looked modest—no larger than twenty meters from cabin to tail. Its hull was a seamless sheet of polished silver, so smooth it reflected the surroundings like a liquid mirror.

Streamlined, angular contours ran along its frame, not just for aesthetics but for function; each edge subtly shifting under the light as if the ship itself was breathing.

Thin veins of glowing runic etchings pulsed faintly across its surface, like circuit lines etched into metal, forming geometric patterns that hinted at its arcane power source.

The wings were wide and blade-like, tapering to fine points and housing four compact, fully maneuverable thrusters—two on each wing—capable of rotating in all directions.

They shimmered with a soft blue glow, each engine suspended within a magnetic cradle, allowing for silent, omnidirectional thrust. At the rear, two larger thrusters protruded from the tail, shaped like sculpted fins that could adjust mid-flight for agile directional control.

As Lucas took in the ship with his cold eyes, Katlyn's voice drew his attention.

"Now that you're all here, we can set off. Say your farewells because this trip is going to be a rather long one."

Evélyne and Lucas didn't really say much given they barely interacted with the other maids. Sasha on the other hand, spoke to and hugged quite a few of them cheerfully before walking over to her mistress. With a nod from Katlyn, the attendants bowed and took their leave.

"Come on board, children."

The trio boarded the ship smoothly showing varying expressions.

'It's bigger inside. I wonder how it was built...'

As they walked through the ergonomic ship interior, Katlyn stopped at an expansive hall and turned to the three.

"We are heading straight for the One World Academy. Make yourselves comfortable while I start the ship."

With that, Katlyn vanished with a streak of crimson light, leaving behind the excited trio to contemplate what awakes them in the near future.

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