Signs of Dedication

Klaus opened his eyes as he appeared at the transportation pod located around the epicenter of the city.

Klaus noticed the golden gate at the exact canter of the entire city, with the ball at the top of the gate that always kept going up until it dropped back, indicating a new day. The ball was around the middle of its travel path, which made sense considering that Klaus had left Main World at around eleven in the morning.

He continued to stare at the gate as he remembered that it led to the outside of the city and the parts of Higher World that were completely foggy and white without any signs of an end, almost similar to their training rooms. Having more time to think about it, he realized that it was almost similar to how everyone viewed space back in Main World, but with a different grasp.

Klaus then decided to cut his thoughts short as he proceeded to where the Arena of Valor was. He knew that he would have to check in with XVII to get in touch with IV and begin his training, so heading to the apartment building was unnecessary.

On his way to the Arena, Klaus managed to bump into one of the demigods and as she turned her face to him, he knew that it would take a while before he would continue with his objective.

CONVERSATION

Quinn: Oh hey, Klaus. I see you finally chose to show up.

Klaus: So it seems.

As Klaus responded, he continued on his path to the arena.

Quinn: I'm guessing you're headed to XVII so you can go ahead and train immediately, correct?

Klaus: Oh wow, what gave it away?

Quinn: Haha. Well, it's not surprising, considering the dedication of everyone that came back.

Klaus was surprised by Quinn's statement which made him ask his next question.

Klaus: So I'm guessing not everyone came back then?

Quinn: Yeah. A lot of people did, but a few people, like X and Ash, didn't.

Klaus: I figured.

Quinn: True. But it's still impressive how much effort everyone is putting into their training. Guess people didn't like their performance too much in the Cosmic League and wanted to redeem themselves.

Klaus: *sighs* I guess.

Quinn: I mean, even Lincoln. He's been working hard lately on upgrading his drones ever since he found that weird metal at the resource facility.

Klaus: Resource facility?

Quinn: It's this place where you can find a lot of raw materials that you can use for anything you want. When he was there, he found this material that had the typical properties of metal like its weight and tensile strength, but he claimed that one of its properties was that the material had its own electric charge, which was revolutionary to him. He seemed extremely happy about it and hasn't left his training room since then except to get food.

Klaus was surprised that even Link was that determined on harnessing his abilities.

Klaus: I guess everyone's focused on getting stronger.

Quinn: I guess so.

After the last statement, Klaus then continued once more on his path to the arena, but it didn't seem like Quinn was done.

Quinn: Hey, relax. We haven't seen each other for a while so how about we catch up for a bit?

Klaus sighed as he turned around to respond.

Klaus: Didn't we see each other by this time last week?

Quinn: Yeah... but don't you think that's more than enough time for me to gather a lot of information from the Cosmic League?

Klaus stopped for a brief moment as he analyzed what Quinn was saying. He knew that for someone like her to make such a statement, meant that she had found out a lot about something or a few things. Even though it was clear that she was using it as a reason to bug Klaus, Klaus was already somewhat used to it since Quinn always saw him as someone to gossip to. Plus, extra information never seemed too bad.

"Fine," Klaus responded after a heavy sigh as he turned his attention to Quinn who had a manipulative smile on her face. "So what do you want to say?"

"Well..." Quinn started. "I've been watching a few replays and doing a lot of research since the league about the final battle between Lance and Ash, and it got me curious how Ash had a completely different mind inside his head that could trade places with him, depending on conditions, who he addressed as Drake."

"Learn to take breaks with your sentences," Klaus softly commented as Quinn continued.

"So I wondered why that was the case since it didn't align with his father being the God of Fire. Then it hit me. Humans and Gods have almost identical physical properties and features, which makes sense why our appearance remains that of a human. But for demons, assuming Drake's appearance is that of a typical demon, it's safe to say that demons and Gods don't have the same physical properties. This might be the reason why they are two different minds in one body with Drake being the demon part and Ash being the God part. It also explains why Ash's pupils are white but have a bit of smoke as pupils instead."

"How sure are you about all this?" Klaus asked Quinn.

"At the end of the day, they're just assumptions, but it's not like I can clarify from someone who barely says up to ten words in a sentence," Quinn replied with a smile. "Plus, Ash didn't show up for training so I'm guessing he has some duties back in Under World."

The truth about the statements Quinn made was that they sounded possible to Klaus, but at the end of the day, they still had to confirm from Ash and since he was not present, it made that impossible at the moment.

"Another thing I found out was how Drake could spawn explosions. It's clear he can conjure fire by waving his hands at the location, an example was when he did that to burn Riley's roots during their fight, and after watching his battles a few times, I also noticed that the explosions always occurred exactly where his eyes were focusing. I wondered why he needed both visual contact and his hands pointed at the location to create the explosions, so I decided to tackle the ability with pure logic. I guess similar to reality, to cause combustion out of thin air, one of the possible means to do so is to fill the entire area with oxygen. This means that there's a possibility that Drake can create an invisible combustible area filled with oxygen anywhere he concentrates his vision."

Quinn turned to Klaus as she noticed that Klaus was not necessarily following what she was saying.

"I'm guessing you stopped listening," Quinn said.

"He creates oxygen where he stares and combines his flames to cause an explosion. Isn't that easier to say instead?" Klaus responded, surprising Quinn that he was even listening.

"And that's why it's you I choose to gossip with," Quinn then said with a smile on her face.

After a while, Quinn decided to change the topic.

"Enough about my unmatched intellectual analogies, how about you? Anything new?"

"Not really," Klaus replied.

Quinn smiled as she stared at him before responding.

"How about Avalon?" she asked to Klaus' surprise.

"How do you know about that?" Klaus asked with his usual expression but a slight raise of an eyebrow.

"You realize that a simple thought that brushes through your head is enough to narrate an entire story to me when I read your mind?" Quinn explained to Klaus.

"You and your brother really need to learn about invasion of privacy," Klaus then replied to Quinn after a frustrating sigh.

Before anything could continue, Klaus suddenly felt two hands resting around his shoulders from his back as the person placed their palms over his eyes.

"Guess who, papi," The person behind asked Klaus.

"You realize you're the only one that does this right?" Klaus responded. "Also the Spanish accent isn't making you any more incognito."

"Oh come on, papi," Iris started as she walked ahead of him. "It's a Latina accent, not Spanish."

Klaus seemed a bit confused so Iris decided to buttress her point.

"I speak Spanish but I'm not Spanish. I'm Brazilian," Iris explained.

Klaus didn't have anything to say he he didn't expect her to be Brazilian. It wasn't like he had assumed she was Spanish or something else, it was just that he genuinely didn't really care.

"Didn't expect you guys to be friends," Quinn then stated from the sides as Iris and Klaus turned to her.

"Klaus has a soft spot for me, what can I say," Iris then replied to Quinn as she smiled at Klaus.

Quinn looked at the both of them for a while as she seemed to have something brewing in her mind. After a few seconds, her eyes widened as she proceeded to say what she had just realized.

"Wait..." Quinn said as Iris and Klaus turned to her once more. "You two had sex."

Klaus closed his eyes and placed his palm on his head before releasing a heavy sigh, with Iris smiling at Quinn. This was enough to make Quinn confirm that her analysis was accurate.

CONVERSATION

Klaus: Do you really have to say everything you think of out loud?

Quinn: Yes. And I still can't believe it.

Quinn still seemed a bit confused so Iris decided to share a bit more about what happened.

Iris: To be fair, we were both hammered so it wasn't his fault entirely.

Quinn: Even though. Damn, at this point you're probably gonna end up sleeping with all the girls in Higher World.

Klaus: Can you not say that?

Quinn: *giggling* What? I'm just wondering why girls flock desperately to you despite your attitude.

Klaus: Been wondering the same thing.

Quinn: And even someone like Iris here, who doesn't even swing that way.

Iris: I'd ask how you know that, but what's the point?

After a few more minutes, Klaus managed to change the conversation and after a while, he decided to continue with his initial goal of training.

After they were done, Klaus headed to where he would find XVII at the Arena of Valor and requested his instructor. XVII was happy to help as he explained that IV would be waiting for him in his training room. Klaus then concluded with XVII as he headed for his training room.

On his way there, Klaus bumped into Lance, whose presence surprised Klaus. Klaus did not expect a few people to return for the training, and Lance was one of them. He had assumed that Lance would not see the need to train or get stronger, so that was possibly the reason his surprise was more than expected. Klaus continued to where he was headed before he remembered something. Immediately, he stopped in place as he got Lance's attention.

"Lance?"

"Ah, Walker," Lance said as he smiled after noticing Klaus' presence. "It would seem that you chose to train at Higher World as well."

Klaus did not respond for a few seconds. This made Lance realize that Klaus was more moody than usual so he wondered why.

"Is something troubling you?" Lance asked in concern.

"Shade," Klaus finally responded. "You didn't have to say what you did to him."

Lance seemed to be a bit confused.

"What I said?" Lance asked, hoping to get more clarity on the matter.

This made Klaus more frustrated that Lance could not remember, but he decided to let it go and continue with his intentions.

"You didn't have to tell him that he was weak, even if it was true or not," Klaus then said as Lance's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh. I had not intended to hurt him," Lance explained. "The heat of battle required me to be blunt at the moment, but believe me, I did not say that with ill intent."

This was all Klaus wanted to know and considering Lance's reaction and response, it was slightly clear that he didn't intend to hurt Shade, and this was enough for Klaus to drop the situation. As Klaus decided to leave, Lance stopped him for a moment before saying something.

"Where is he now? I would like to apologize if I can."

"He's not here right now," Klaus responded.

"Oh," Lance said. "Then I will make sure to do so when I encounter him once more."

Klaus had already confirmed what he wanted to so he just waved his hand and responded by saying "Sure, why not." before continuing to the training room.

Lance wholeheartedly did not intend to belittle or mock Shade, so the situation made him feel disappointed in himself. He also understood why Klaus was mad and respected his notion of defending his brother, regardless of the situation.

And after a few seconds of thinking, Lance continued to where he was going as well.

Klaus walked into his training room and he immediately saw IV waiting patiently.

"Welcome back, Klaus Walker," IV started as Klaus nodded his head and walked into the room, closing the back.

Klaus took a few seconds of thinking before he finally decided to explain what he wanted from IV.

"You know why I came back to Higher World, right?" Klaus started.

"To train, correct?" IV responded.

Klaus took a while before he finally explained his intentions further.

"During the Cosmic League, I tried my hardest not to be a burden to my team. I felt like I was doing a great job at keeping up with my expectations until I wasn't. First, it was Lance... and then Ash... and then X. I was completely outclassed."

IV looked at Klaus with sympathy. He completely understood Klaus' pain and frustration. Klaus turned his face to his left palm as he stared at it in thought.

"But I know I can do better," Klaus then continued as he turned back to IV.

"Your ability isn't tailored for offense, yet you made it work somehow." IV then said to Klaus. "If you still desire to push yourself further, I am certain you can overcome any adversary."

Klaus felt like it was easier said than done, but his signs of dedication were still clear to IV. At this point, it wasn't just about fulfilling his duties as a demigod, but also his hatred for losing.

"So..." IV then started. "What do you plan to do for training?"

Klaus thought for a second before responding.

"My abilities. I want to master them all and surpass my current state."

Klaus then had a thought so he decided to ask IV.

"My solar ball ability seems to be my best option for offense, especially considering my speed nullification in Higher World. My only issue is that creating light particles to make the ability function is extremely exhausting. is there a way I can relieve the stress on myself?"

Klaus knew that the solar ball was his only option in the meantime, but taking a lot of energy to create even a small one wasn't ideal for him.

"The truth is that there is no way to prevent your stamina loss while creating light from your own energy, so it is inevitable to relieve the stress," IV explained to Klaus.

"However..." IV then continued. "If you were to consistently get used to the amount of energy required to create a single ball, then your body can be accustomed to expending that amount of energy without having a significant impact on your stamina."

This sounded like good news to Klaus.

"An example is your burst speed in Main World. When you initially achieved that ability as opposed to current times, your maximum possible distance seems to have significantly increased, correct?" IV asked.

"I guess," Klaus responded.

"The same applies to all your abilities," IV explained. "The more your body strains itself from your ability, the more it gets accustomed to them, making the strain less over time."

This analogy made sense. Even though Klaus was surprised that IV was aware of his body adapting to his burst speed back in Main World, he understood that IV's statement meant his idea of mastering his techniques was a good one.

"So are you ready to begin your training?" IV then finally asked Klaus.

Klaus remembered his battle with X for a brief second. The excruciating pain for each punch X landed on him. He remembered every blow to be more devastating than the last. And every time he stood up, it only delayed his inevitable defeat by a few seconds. Klaus held on to that pain not as malice, but as a catalyst to drive him in becoming more than he anticipated.

"Yes. I must get stronger."