285 Fun Time

"What took you so long?" Kael mumbles, his fingers tapping incessantly on his screen as he leans against a rough bark tree. The crunch of footsteps on dry leaves signals another's approach. "Oh? What's this? Were you expecting me?" the newcomer asks with a flourish, removing his hat to reveal a persona of undeniable intrigue.

He's dressed in an ensemble that marries refined taste with roguish charm—a symphony of black and brown leather, accented with subtle hints of red that suggest a life both adventurous and perilous. His hair, a mess of black strands, somehow looks both impeccably styled and carelessly tousled, while his eyes, deep and enigmatic, pierce the dim forest light.

He halts, a smirk playing on his lips. "And here I thought everyone would ignore me," he says, pushing his hair back casually.

Kael, still focused on his screen, barely looks up. 'Okay, I guess I'll have to do it manually since Ayla is busy. Good thing I have Eira, she always makes me whatever I need,' he thinks, finally closing the screen. He meets the other man's gaze, his expression unreadable. "Come on, did you think you could hide that face? It's practically begging for attention," he retorts, standing up straight with a calm demeanor.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhahahahahaha," the man laughs heartily, covering his face with his palm, his amusement resonating through the woods. "You're awfully calm despite a criminal being in front of you," he continues, then, with a flick of his fingers, he sends a pebble hurtling at Kael. It grazes Kael's cheek before embedding itself in the tree behind him.

'Yup, I couldn't even see it. There's no point in attacking him,' Kael realizes, his stance unchanging, betraying no sign of the pain from the pebble's scrape.

"Show me what you got, kid," the man challenges, gesturing invitingly with his hand, a provocative grin spreading across his face. His posture relaxed yet poised, he stands ready, the very embodiment of a seasoned warrior baiting a younger opponent.

"No," Kael mumbles, leaning back against what remains of the tree. The man blinks in confusion, the only sounds are the chirping birds around them. "Huh? What?" he scratches his head, baffled by Kael's response.

Kael shrugs nonchalantly. "I don't wanna fight," he says, punctuating his declaration with a yawn.

"What the fuck?" The man exclaims, his frustration mounting. He exhales sharply, trying to regain his composure. "Oi, kid, you have to fight me or I'll kill you."

Hearing this, Kael just shrugs again, unbothered. "Nah, I don't wanna. In fact, I won't ever use martial arts again. As of this moment, I'm a pacifist," he declares, almost casually.

The man scratches his head in disbelief. "And they call me crazy," he mumbles under his breath before stepping closer. "Hey kid, I don't think you understand. I'm going to kill you if you don't fight back."

But Kael simply exhales, his calm unnerving. "Aren't you going to kill me regardless? So why would I waste my energy fighting you?"

The man pushes his hair back, his patience wearing thin. "Ugh... listen, kid, I don't give a fuck about this stupid ceremony. Just show me the elven martial arts and I'll be on my way. If you don't, I'll kill you for wasting my time," he says casually, fixing Kael with a stern look.

"No, I—" BOOM! Before Kael can finish his sentence, he's sent flying back, barely managing to lift his arm to block the strike. POW! As soon as his legs touch the ground, he's kicked and blasted away again. "Come on, kid, stop fucking around," the man yawns, hands in his pockets, taking a step before reappearing behind Kael as he flies midair. "Just show me already," he mumbles before kicking Kael midair with a shockwave that blasts through the area.

"I know damn well you can react to this," the man mumbles, appearing above Kael as he's flying mid-air, stomping him into the ground with such force that the earth shatters, sending shockwaves rippling through the forest. "I told you I'm a pacifist," Kael coughs out from the newly formed crater, dust billowing around him.

"What a damn stubborn kid," the man scratches his head, visibly annoyed. 'What the hell is wrong with this boy? Apart from his weird mentality, he's also strange. I'm limiting my speed so he can react, but he just lets himself get hit. And then there's his body, or is it an artifact? Something is protecting him from internal injuries,' he ponders, his curiosity piqued by Kael's unusual resilience.

Both turn to look in the distance and see a girl approaching fast. "Oh fuck... Dammit, Lysandra, you were supposed to stay with Biana..." Kael exhales under his breath, frustration evident in his tone.

"One of your little friends, huh?" the man mumbles, lifting his leg off Kael and stepping back to allow him to stand.

Sitting up, Kael scratches his neck and stands up, dusting himself off. "Hey, don't say it out loud when you notice it," he chides the man casually.

"What are you on about?" the man raises an eyebrow, clearly confused by Kael's cryptic comment.

"I can't really control her—" BOOM! Lysandra launches an attack at the man, but he simply grabs her punch, the impact resulting in a shockwave that shakes the surrounding area.

"Oi, girl, can't you see we're talking here?" he retorts, his tone a mixture of irritation and amusement. He then punches her in the stomach, sending her flying back through the air with a force that leaves a trail of upturned earth and broken branches. 'Interesting, this much destructive power without using mana or aura?' the man thinks with a grin, intrigued by Lysandra's raw strength.

"Hmm... I guess this is okay. You can have fun for a bit," Kael yawns, leaning casually against a tree while pulling out a holographic screen. Nearby, Lysandra stands up, shoving aside the rubble of trees and rocks. 'I thought he was in trouble... how does he always have a plan for everything? I thought I knew him well enough...' she muses, slightly bewildered by Kael's apparent nonchalance. Rubbing her stomach not from pain but from hunger, she clicks her tongue in annoyance. 'So annoying,' she thinks, then charges at the man again at full speed.

"Oh? That didn't hurt you? What type of physical fighter are you?" the man asks, tapping his chin casually, intrigued by Lysandra's resilience.

Lysandra, not missing a beat, extends her finger outward, and a line of compressed fire shoots out. Shwoosh! In a flash, the fire reaches him. He extends his palm outward, and the fire makes contact with it, breaking into bursts of flames as if it were a solid object, pushing him back and scorching the surrounding area. 'Her fire is strong, it feels awfully familiar... I just can't recall from where,' he ponders, feeling a déjà vu as Lysandra's flames grow more intense and potent.

From his perch, Kael yawns, seemingly uninterested in the unfolding chaos. 'Damn, just how many of these things are around? What a pain, Ayla's father just had to steal her from the academy...' he mutters, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the screen.

BOOM! The man grabs onto Lysandra's fist mid-attack. "Stop it with the fire already, show me your full streng—" he begins to command, but before he can finish his sentence, Lysandra coats her fist in flames and punches him, resulting in a fiery shockwave that burns the sky and scorches the ground.

"Dammit, Lysandra, don't let the fire spread," Kael mumbles, his focus still on his screen, seemingly more bothered by the potential forest fire than by the fight itself.

"Ugh... you just refuse to let people talk, don't you? And why the hell is an energetic kid like you so quiet?" The man mumbles, swatting away the flames with a casual flick of his hand. His expression betrays a mix of amusement and irritation.

"Is there a reason to talk to you? I just don't see the point in talking to some worthless man." Lysandra's fiery hair and eyes begin to change, the flames slowly replaced by a cooler palette of white and blue until she looks completely transformed. Lifting her hand, frost starts to spread, halting the flames and freezing the area around them.

"Oh shit, this is cool," the man grins, scratching his chin, clearly impressed. 'It's not uncommon to have affinities for both fire and ice. However, based on the fact that she hasn't used any magic circles, that means she has a high affinity for both which is practically impossible,' he thinks, his mind racing to understand the anomaly before him.

Looking up just in time, he sees a huge icicle plummeting toward him. "Pfff, you're funny. You know I'm faster than that, right?" he quips, appearing right next to her with his hands nonchalantly tucked in his pockets. Lysandra tries to punch him, but he easily sidesteps to her right.

"Since you're a kid, I'll play along with your delusion," he jests, taking a step only to reappear right below the falling icicle, letting it crash down on him. The huge shard drives him into the ground, creating a crater. "Oh shit, this thing is sharp; it almost cut my leather. Do you know how expensive this is?" he complains, lifting the icicle and stepping out of the crater with a theatrical flourish.

Boom! Lysandra attacks him with nonstop punches and kicks, her body now coated in an icy mana. 'This is strange... why is her mana so cold?' he wonders, blocking her blows. 'Her attacks are getting stronger. It doesn't hurt, but I feel uneasy again,' he thinks, maintaining a calm exterior despite the escalating ferocity of her assaults.

'I can't hold it for much longer,' Lysandra thinks while panting heavily. She grits her teeth but is unable to maintain control. Taking a step back, she dons a hat Kael gave her. Under the hat, however, her small horn begins to grow, emitting a bright red-orange glow as a sudden burst of mana radiates from her. Her hair and eyes return to a fiery color, and she breathes heavily, "I-I'm sorry, I can't hold it in any longer."

Attempting to coat just her hand in fire, she instead envelops her entire arm in large, swirling flames. "What is this..." the man mumbles curiously, stepping closer. Suddenly, Lysandra's shades crack and break off, revealing her eyes—dragon eyes—that send shivers down his spine, bringing back a memory he wished to forget.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

-7 years ago

"Hmhmhmh, to think I got it," he grins, holding up a jade shaped into a star that glows with a green and yellow light. The area around him is tumultuous, with heavy winds whipping through the stormy night, shattering the silence of the great misty mountain hidden by the sea.

"A thief on my turf? How bold," a clear voice cuts through the storm calmly. He spins around with wide eyes. "Who's there!?" he demands, searching the shadows.

Above him on a rock sits a figure with hair blending shades of red, orange, yellow, and a hint of blue. Her eyelashes are a vibrant red-orange, and her eyes burn with a dark red intensity. Remarkably, she remains dry, as no water can touch her—it evaporates before it can get close. "What? How are you here? This isn't a place humans know of," he stammers, taking a step back.

She stops leaning on her arm and speaks in a soothing voice, "Human? There is no human here apart from you, young one. This is my treasure," she declares, standing up and walking towards him, her presence overwhelming. Her gaze freezes him in place. 'I... I can't move, there's no doubt she's a dragon,' he thinks, fear creeping into his heart.

"Be grateful I'm feeling kind. However, if you attempt to step on this land again," she continues, her voice still soothing yet carrying an undeniable threat. A tiny flame appears on her finger, no bigger than a grain of rice, but to him, the flame seems larger than a mountain.

The tiny flame flickers with a menacing grace, its diminutive size belying the monumental power it holds—a stark contrast that unsettles him deeply. To him, the flame in front of him could turn a mountain into ash. 'What is this... I... I can see it... this is true fire, this little flame can destroy a mountain—no, it can do more than that, I just can't see anything past a mountain,' he thinks, his mind grappling with the scale of its potential devastation. It's not just fire; it's a cataclysm waiting to be unleashed, a spark capable of rewriting landscapes and obliterating all in its path.

She taps his forehead gently, her touch as light as a feather yet imbued with an overwhelming force. "Know your place, dear human," she whispers, her voice a soothing melody that carries a stern warning. The simple contact sends a jolt through his system, a shockwave of energy that commands absolute obedience. In that moment, his body succumbs to a complete shutdown, every muscle, every nerve suddenly immobilized under her spellbinding power. Paralyzed, he stands frozen, acutely aware of his insignificance in the presence of such elemental might, a mere human before the embodiment of nature's unforgiving wrath.