Kazoru's training

At the barbecue restaurant, both the gang and Akira were having a blast of a party. They both began conversing about having concerns about Akira's system. They were confused by the strange phenomenon of a system being broken. Akira was the one who should be in a state of confusion about his system, yet he did not know where to begin to explain it. He only believed that his system broke due to the uniqueness of his main ability, but it was only a matter of assumption with no proof of what happened.

Shifting the subject, they asked about Akira's experience in joining the Red Phoenix. Akira told them that it was fun and he had most of a great time being there. But yet, he made his decision not to stay. Now it got Akira wondering, how was Kazoru doing. He knew he was in the middle of his training, yet he wanted to know about his well-being.

[Sazoru's headquarters]

Now, in the current time as Akira was having a barbecue, Kazoru was doing his training over the last 3 hours nonstopping. Drenched with sweat, he was deeply exhausted as he panted and lay on the ground.

"Ha... Ha... Ha... This isn't good. It's not enough!" Kazoru looked at his shaky hand as he was unable to move a toe. He practiced his magic to the point where he would exhaust and waste all the mana he had, making the whole place a wrecking mess. 

He sat down and drank 1.5 liters of water, chugging it till empty. 

"I'm not good enough. I need to train much better to surpass my limits. Regardless of how I train, I will surpass him! " Kazoru muttered as he mentioned Akira. He trained hard until his muscles began to cramp. 

He considered Akira his rival, in need of inspiration and motivation. He didn't know how Akira trained, but he could only imagine that his training was way above his imagination, considering he had massive strength because his scythe was heavy. Holding a massive strength was not his talent nor his proficiency. So, to beat Akira, he needed to specialize in his magic to the point where he would reach his awakening. After all, Akira was immortal and he would often regenerate the muscles that were halting his training, and Akira also had immense stamina, this was why he was on another level. However, Kazoru still didnt know he was immortal, but instead, he believed he had blood magic.

In the state of thought, he felt completely wasted on squandering his mana but never felt he had made any progress. The only thing he could think of was that he needed more swiftness and agility so he could triumph over Akira. To begin with, he wasn't very agile, making him think he should ask Kitsune to mentor him. Unlike the Vlahadeer family, Kitsune was the most agile  and flexible person.

After training, Sazoru came in to check on his nephew. He was a bit surprised that he had almost burned the place down.

"Seems like you are way too, what's it called, ambitious about this rivalry."

"Say less, I'm here to beat Akira!"

"Woah, Woah, easy there. You can't beat him with that level kind of training. I know how he trained and how well developed his power, after all, Rozori reported that too."

"Uncle! Spar with me!" Kazoru said it with full aspiration.

Sazoru gave a nod and asked to go to his position. Kazoru went right and Sazoru went left, distancing them further by about 120 meters. Sazoru threw a bottle of medicine to make Kazoru's mana replenished and gave him time to stretch.

After Kazoru drank the medicine, he started igniting his flames. Kazoru's flames roared with passion, making Sazoru smile proudly at Kazoru's passion. Sazoru ignited his flames as well. Sazoru's flame was yellow, and Kazoru's was red. Kazoru was the first to engage, and he blasted himself with his flames like a rocket. 

Kazoru's magic coated his fist, turning his fist into flames. Sazoru quickly reacted to his attack by moving his fist away from him. Kazoru was thrown like it was nothing. Kazoru did know that, compared to him, Sazoru could easily beat him within seconds. Kazoru gave it a try, even if he was outmatched.

Sazoru appeared next to him and punched him as he blocked him. Kazoru fired his flames towards Sazoru's face but was canceled by Sazoru's  counterattack on his wrist, making his flames directed the wrong way. Kazoru generated flames from his feet like a jet and began backing away.

After he was on his feet, he fired a massive ball of flame.

[FLAME MAGIC: LACRASTE E'XORA FUMEXIAXI]

Kazoru blasted his whole front with a huge amount of flames. Meanwhile, Sazoru standing there didn't react to anything that Kazoru did. He let out his hand and faced his palm to the giant flame. He then deflected the flame and directed it away, dispersing all of his flames. Sazoru blitzed to Kazoru's front and point two of his fingers to his forehead.

"One movement, you're dead."

"Damn it!" Kazoru was on fours and began hitting the ground filled with frustration.

"Now, don't let being weak discouraged you, it's not a shame for being weak but staying is. Your movements were quite stiff and predictable. You should learn martial arts more."

"And how should I learn?"

"I'm not really busy, but I have some work that I need to take care of. Kitsune is apparently busy too. Ah, how about you go to the old sage's place?"

"And may I ask? Who is this old sage?" Kazoru didn't know whom Sazoru mentioned, and the fact he was busy, made him appear confused because the squad was on break.

"His name is Tor. He was once called "The Blaze of Destruction." He was one of the deadliest people in the world. Despite being old, he is still dangerous. In his era, he was feared, but I don't think his title stays in this era. In fact, I admired him. He was my mentor once, but I don't have the skills to do moves or martial arts. To be frank, I just learned some martial arts moves. Kitsune was his student too; the fact that she could move like a beast was because of him."

Sazoru warned that when he taught his students, he could be extremely strict and ruthless. No matter what weaknesses Kazoru had, he had to overcome them. Kazoru didn't care in the slightest bit and ignored his warning. 

Sazoru then gave him leads on the location where he had to go. Tor lived in a deserted forest. He lived by nature, seeking peace for himself. It was said that many animals, even rare ones, lived there because the place was protected by Tor from poachers. He asked Kazoru to go to the Izami forest. He was on top of the mountain, and whether he was meditating or training, he did not know. 

Kazoru gave an understanding and went to the Izami forest in a hurry. Izami Forest was located outside Celesta. It took nearly 4 hours from Sazoru's headquarters to get there. After arriving, Kazoru felt something was watching him. Kazoru was also scared if he used his fire too irresponsibly. If he went too far, there was no telling what punishment Tor would give after burning the whole forest down. The bushes kept rustling as he took one step each. He then shouted at the unknown person who was spying on him. It then came out, and it turned out it was a girl. She appeared nervous toward him, making Kazoru think she was lost and scared. Kazoru grabbed her hands and asked about her condition. She then right away kicked him in the chin hard, fracturing his jaws.

"Keep your hands off me, you weirdo!"

"Owwwwww, sorry..." Kazoru groaned as he touched his chin, rolling repeatedly in pain. He was impressed with how well her kick was.

"Hmph, you idiot, touching hands would mean we are husband and wife. Don't cause a misunderstanding, you hear me?!"

"Huh?!" And with that, Kazoru was utterly confused by her statement.