Chapter 58- Training with a wild cat part 1

"Again!"

Sienna's commanding voice boomed as she watched Lucious struggle to stand back up.

Since meeting her sister Bianca, Lucious had been led to a quiet section of the field and was told to fight as though his life depended on it.

Though he didn't reveal his magic to her, Lucious used the full might of martial prowess. Of course, it was nothing Sienna couldn't handle as a fifth stage aura master herself.

With each attempt to land a single strike, she had knocked Lucious on his behind. Though this could hardly be called training, Sienna first wanted to see what he was capable of.

"Is that all ya got? Thought ya killed a guy two stages higher, all I'm seeing is a weakling." Her taunts mildly irritated Lucious as she looked at him with a mocking grin.

"Just warming up, I'm ready to continue if you are." Lucious replied with a calm voice while circulating his aura.

His aim, to land a single strike, seemed like an impossible task to accomplish. He threw out a series of attacks while occasionally adding in feints to the mix, yet Sienna blocked and parried them all with one hand.

My physical stats and martial arts are at all at their current limit, I think it's time to use that.

Lucious took a deep breath and circulated his aura faster than usual.

Sienna saw Lucious's skin slowly light up as his very skin began to glow brightly with a violet colour. The display alone took her by surprise.

Once an aura master reaches the fourth stage, their enhanced abilities and deeper understanding in the usage of aura allows an aura master to manipulate the speed in which it flows. However, this can take a toll on the body and as such it isn't recommended for those below the fourth stage to try.

Unbeknownst to her, Lucious who had once been a peak stage four aura master on Earth, had already learnt this ability once and knew how to mitigate the side effects.

"Ho~ So, got some fight in ya after all eh?" Despite her initial surprise, she quickly recovered and prepared for whatever attack he prepared to use against her.

At its newly level five status, serpents razor became much stronger than it had previously been when used alongside his new stats.

His attack is on par with a high stage three aura master, quite surprising for a first stager. I wonder where and how he learned to manipulate his aura like that. As she appraised his skill, a small hint of respect crossed was visible in her gaze as she rushed to meet the attack head on.

Boom

The impending clash caused a small explosion, kicking up dirt and dust, obscuring Lucious's vision.

He suspected that Sienna would undoubtedly launch a surprise attack while his vision was obscured and so he adjusted his position.

As expected, Sienna shot forth like a cannonball with her fist raised. Lucious barely managed to react in time before she sent him flying as her fist met his stomach.

Of course, had she used her full strength, Lucious would have died on the spot. Not giving him a moments respite, Sienna charged towards him again and slammed her fist towards him.

Boom

Anticipating her attack, Lucious had already moved to dodge, causing her fist to slam into the ground with enough force to leave a small crater. The force of the impact sent shockwaves strong enough to blast Lucious several metres back.

"Are you trying to kill me!" Lucious yelled as he saw the aftereffects of that last attack. He broke into a cold sweat as he imagined what would have happened to him had he not managed to dodge.

He knew that he was just venting as she wouldn't actually hit him with such an attack lest they were really enemies. Regardless, that didn't stop him from voicing his complaints as he backed away.

As if to confirm his thoughts, Sienna chuckled and shook her head.

"I woulda stopped if ya hadn't moved in time." She grinned at his unexpected reflexes and battle sense, pondering if she needed to use a little more of her strength.

Though she was mainly testing his limits, she wanted to make sure he was pushing himself during the fight as it would give her a clear sense of his current limit in a life or death situation. If Lucious held back even a little while fighting her, she wouldn't be able to adjust his training accordingly.

Once again, she instructed Lucious to charge at her with everything he has, prompting him to accelerate his aura and use his serpents razor a second time. While continuous usage was ill advised, it was currently his strongest attack.

As such, he decided that it was worth the risk and slashed at her with killing intent. He lacked the strength to actually kill her and it seemed as though its what she wanted from him.

"Better, but not enough." Sienna lowered her body and kicked Lucious in the chest, showcasing her superior flexibility.

Got a couple hidden aces up the sleeve and has a good form, but this won't be enough. Sienna mused as she tightened her fist

However her thoughts quickly vanished as she noticed Lucious grinning.

"Somethin funny?" Her tone displayed her slight irritation as it felt as though he wasn't taking things seriously.

Instead of answering, Lucious simply looked at her feet as though he were confirming something.

"What, got a foot fetish or somethin?" Her irritation only grew as he didn't answer.

It wasn't until he looked at her foot, the same foot she kicked him with, that she noticed a small cut.

It was barely a centimetre long but the small trickle of blood was a stark contrast to her pale skin.

(A/N: 1cm is around 0.39 inches for all you imperial system users)

Realising that she had suffered a tiny scratch, Sienna looked a little confused which slowly transformed into one of surprise and then disbelief.

"Ha, that was probably from a stone or some other debris..." Her excuses sounded lame even to her own ear.

But she didn't want to admit that a kitsune who was four stages her junior, managed to inflict an injury on her, however small.

If word got out, it could tarnish her reputation unless he managed to surpass her and perform a series of accomplishments. In which case, landing a small scratch on her would give her bragging rights for being the one to train a once in a lifetime genius.

"Sure, a stone. Metal is found in the ground so it's kind of like a stone I guess." Lucious said with a sarcastic tone. He could took pleasure in seeing a series of complicated emotions displaying on her face as his tails swayed in amusement.

"I think that's enough fighting for now, I've a pretty good idea as where ya limits lie." Sienna said as she put her thoughts and emotions behind.

Lucious was covered in cuts and bruises as blood flowed from his open cuts. They had been fighting for nearly three hours and Lucious had been going at it at full strength almost the entirety of the duration.

The fight had taken it out of him both physically and mentally as he collapsed the moment she ended their session.

"Well, ya certainly lasted longer than expected. No wonder ya managed to kill a stage three aura master." She praised while throwing him a flask of cold water.

After half an hour passed, Lucious finally recovered enough energy to get back up. The sun had already begun to set as the sky took on an orange hue.

Every muscle in his body felt as though it were on fire and even his bones somehow managed to ache. Just standing up was a daunting enough task as he supressed a groan.

The last time I felt this way was back on Earth when my father beat his techniques into me. Wonder how he's doing. As his thoughts began to drift to his father, a loud booming sound stole his attention.

In the time he had been resting Sienna had continued her own training, even going so far as to using Bianca as her sparing partner who currently looked to be unconscious.

"I'm heading back, I'll be here same time tomorrow." Lucious called out to Sienna who was still training alone.

She gave an affirmative nod and washed his back as he departed the same way he arrived.

"Boy's even more interesting than I thought. Won't be long before we can have a real fight." Sienna muttered to herself as a grin slowly creeped its way to her face.

Lucious however, was unaware of her thoughts as the crisp cool air cooled him down a little. He just wanted to hurry back to the tavern and relax with a cold bath and some hot food.

But as he made his way back, his attention was diverted by his system.

[New urgent quest has been added to the quest list. Host is advised to view the details immediately.]