64 Chapter 64

After ten minutes of the fight, Juno failed to remain unscathed. Her ether barrier burst with each hit of Kyon's fist, and every impact that reached the goal hurt like hell. His blows were so strong that she had to change her tactics. She tried to dodge his punches, taking advantage of her speed and seized every opportunity to hit him at any weak or unprotected spot.

It struck Juno as strange that she could not win the battle even with double speed. The slave was weaker than her. How could he possibly keep fighting! Why… Why were his movements so unpredictable... Why couldn't she hit his soft, unprotected skin? Juno could not believe that his movements were so perfect! The rootless slave couldn't be a gifted fighter! Anyway, Juno had to brush away all these thoughts and focused her mind on the battle.

There were some good moments in their fierce battle. Every blow that reached the slave-master swept over Juno in waves of ecstasy. When he was writhing in pain, her old life seemed to get back on track, her envy disappeared. But then again, the world lost its colors. The awareness that she was a slave hit her like a shock wave. It was an excellent motivation to fight more skillfully and get stronger than her enemy. It encouraged Juno and gave her strength. She would never accept that a dirty beggar looked down on her.

During their vicious battle, Kyon got a lot of bruises and contusions, even if he managed to soften the impact of about two-thirds of her blows with pure energy.

Had he mastered the basic grade of elements before meeting Juno at the hot spring, he would have survived in the mansion. He would have withstood her beatings. He would have recovered with the help of Synergy faster than he got injured. His only trouble would have been food...

The balance of Juno's and Kyon's power was far from equal. He moved a little faster, counterattacked better and got fewer injuries. Juno was afraid of pain and did not want to lose to him. She was careful, and it played right into Kyon's hand. Like a graceful cat fighting a poisonous snake, she tried to dodge his blows and attack. It was quite a show.

Each time she hit him, Juno let out a whoop of joy. Her face lit up in delight. When Kyon hit her hard, she winced, about to whine in pain. Anyone would take pity on her to be forgiven in heaven once and for all.

Kyon kept working on his movement technique and struggled to focus on the battle. He found out that his muscles contracted faster if infused with energy. He had to continue with experiments because he was missing out a lot. Even if he refined his ideas, his technique would not rise over the "C" rank. He would have to complete the analysis of the pure energy basic grade to create an effective technique. For most masters, one minute of his study was equal to years of hard and diligent work. It's even hard to imagine how difficult it is to create a movement technique.

At some point, Kyon realized that his energy was over (what an unreasonable waste of energy!) while Juno was full of strength and determination.

{Well, I will humiliate the little fool another time.} - Kyon thought with annoyance. He was eager to beat her in an "honest" way.

Juno noticed that the slave was exhausted and didn't use the element anymore. Now he was like a cornered child, completely in her power! Her ego rejoiced: "I am no mediocrity! He lied!" A sweet victorious smile appeared on Juno's face. However, Kyon suddenly stretched out his hand and said:

«Let's stop the fight, please.»

Juno stood rooted to the spot. Her disappointment gave way to the triumph of her victory. «Ha! Who's the fool here? You have lost, admit it! I can see that you have no more strength! Why did unceremoniously stop the fight? Clinging to your pride? Don't you have no self-esteem? Of course... Where would a pathetic slave get it? You will never have as much energy as I do because you are just a slave.» - A gleam of triumph sparkled in her eyes.

A wry smile slid across Kyon's face. «Have I ever tried to hide my defeat? And how does it change the fact that you are nothing but mediocrity?» - He really wanted to humiliate the arrogant girl.

Juno glared at the loser with contempt, her arms folded. «All you can do is keep saying how weak I am. Let's be honest. You lost like a pathetic old dog!»

Kyon looked at her like she was a crazy fool. «You have almost lost to the opponent who is two stages weaker and twice as slow as you are. How dare you claim you are no mediocrity after that? I will beat you fair and square as soon as I master the simplest movement technique.» - He was obsessed with this idea.

It hit Juno like a bucket of cold water. She stopped dead, her mouth open in surprise. How stupid she was! She had convinced herself that victory over him would bring her lost dignity back when in fact, he was right! It took her so much sweat to defeat him! What a shame… Her sweet, childishly naive face blushed. Joy gave way to indignation, anger was replaced with confidence. «So what? I have beaten you and it's all that matters! I have humiliated you! You are weak and pathetic!»

She headed for the exit, pleased with herself. Let the slave choke on his own saliva with anger. The main thing was that she had defeated him.

«I did not allow you to leave the training ground.» - Kyon said coldly.

Juno turned around, her lips pursed. The mere glance at his insolent face made her shudder. How dared he to order her around? She was out of her element again. It didn't fit the noble lady to obey a slave. Even her grandfather always asked her politely. As for guys like Yegorka, they had to beg her to do anything. But a slave... She would never accept it.

Juno did her best to keep cool. She sat on the bench, crossed her legs and said:

«What do you want from me, loser?»

Her words could hurt anyone, but not Kyon. He was completely indifferent to Juno's insult.

«I did not give you permission to sit on my bench, miserable slave! You have soiled it! I order you to hit yourself in the chest three times and call the servants to clean the dirty bench!» - He said in a piercing, almost screaming voice, paying Juno back in her coin.

Her eyes widened. «No… You can't…» - Her body had already stood up against her own will. Her hand no longer belonged to her. She struck herself three times in the chest and touched the formation on her wrist to call the servants.

It was like a breath of fresh air for Kyon to know that she was hurt, that despair reigned in her soul, that hatred was slowly growing inside her, ensuring him that she wasn't going to break down, that she would stand up to him. If Juno were afraid of him, he would lose interest in her. He would never hesitate to use her fear against her anytime and anywhere.

After the servants left, Kyon sat down, regally spreading his legs and stretching his hand in front of Juno. «I order you to kneel and kiss my hand to apologize for your misconduct.»

Shock and horror reflected on Juno's pale face. She couldn't believe her ears. «No…» But a second later, she couldn't control herself. She fell on her bare knees and kissed Kyon's hand: «Master, forgive the talentless fool for her misbehavior…»

Kyon sighed wearily, annoyed at her stupidity. He looked down on her with disdain. «Dirty trash, never dare to soil the place where I sit again!»

Juno nearly fainted. Her head was spinning, her ears were ringing, she was dizzy. {It can't be... He said that... To me...} - The world turned upside down. She just wanted to die, but first, she needed to kill the dickhead, tear him apart, and take a bath in his blood. Did all slaves have feelings? No way. The higher they rise, the harder they fall.

As for Kyon, he finally felt at peace. Everything fell into its rightful place. Juno's lovely emerald eyes looked up at him with despair, disgust, and anger. He wanted to kiss her just to make her spit blood with fury. He hated her so much. However, her sweet beauty transformed his hate into something even more disgusting. Kyon didn't want only to beat her but also to dominate her in all possible ways, which was too mundane and crass for his main goal. It was time to move on.

The masters had given Lovr a taste for inaccessible heights. Their attempt to prepare him to become a god was crowned with success. The principle of paying debts, a clear understanding of good and evil, justice (individual for everyone) and humanity, allowed Lovr to get everything he needed to a sufficient measure.

At the moment, his character and ambitions demanded new goals, plans, and priorities that could help him achieve the desired heights. His motivation could be understood if taking into account that peace and degradation were torture for him while progress and self-development were his source of life and pure joy.

In this world, he couldn't be powerful with talent only. He was talented enough, but he also needed resources. If he wanted to raise his limit of cultivation, he needed a good foundation, a unique body. A nurtured body required considerable resources. To boost his cultivation speed, Kyon needed high-quality medicine to accelerate cycles, breakthrough medicine, enzymes that accelerated the body and the soul cultivation. He also needed to live in places dense with energy, like the Stones' estate. To improve his energy quality and to defeat opponents at higher stages, he needed expensive enchanted weapons, incredible powerful techniques, advanced grade of elements, a developed unique body, tons of powerful assisting, attacking, and defensive items or formations. All that had one thing in common... {I need a lot of resources!} There was no doubt he needed a high position in the family, in the kingdom, in the empire, in the world! Kyon set himself the goal of achieving legitimate power in the Stone family. It would be the first step.