Home and Back

"32"

"THIRTY TWO DAYS?"

For the second time, Leus loudly shouted in the library, making everyone look at him with disdain

Arno was amused by his reaction while Leus just face-palmed

"Sorry....."

"This one is on me, I wanted to see your reaction"

Leus became irritated but then many thoughts shot through his mind

'Is everyone home okay? Did Scar need help while I was inside? Why did mom come?'

He then realized that there were more important things to do.

"I gotta go, I'll be back tomorrow or the day after"

After saying that, Leus hurriedly walked away without hearing Arno's reply

Arno returned to reading his book while thinking to himself

'Kids these days are always in a rush'

Leus walked to the Guards but he saw two unfamiliar ones

'Right, It's the evening shift'

Hoping that they might know something Leus initiated a conversation

"Hey"

Leus expected the usual cringe-inducing salutes, but to his surprise, he got a normal reply

"Hello Young Master, How can we help?"

Leus was startled for a second by their quick reply but he quickly regained his wits and asked

"Do you know if someone asked about me?"

One of the Guards nodded and said

"Elite Knight Blaze asked the morning shift guards a single time 10 days back, and Soldier Viorica 4 times in the last 6 days, 3 of which were for the morning guards and once for the noon guards."

" ... "

'Getting accepted in this job definitely requires a special memory'

'Anyway, no one from the Slums came which means that things are okay there'

"What did my mom want?"

"Soldier Viorica brought you food but it ended up consumed by either the morning or the noon shift"

Leus took a sigh of relief

"Thanks for your efforts, I have to go now"

He quickly left the library and headed home

'Mom misses me'

His pace was so fast he was home in half the time he usually needed to reach, he quickly opened the door and stepped inside

"LEUS!"

Viorica quickly went and hugged Leus so tightly that she almost pushed all the air out of his lungs

"Why did you take so long this time? Are you upset about something?"

Leus tried to talk but he couldn't, he had to wait until Viorica let him go.

"It's not like that, I just didn't know that I took this long"

Viorica wasn't entirely convinced

'How can someone not know that this many days passed?'

But to her, Leus was just a young kid, although he was a genius and a special one, she still blindly trusted and loved him

"Fine, let me prepare you something to eat"

Viorica went to make food while Leus went to Amethyst and Merlin and spoke with them until it was ready.

When the food came, Viorica sat beside Leus

"So, how is your training going?"

"Pretty good, I think one more time and I'll unlock my first Elemental Abstract"

Viorica didn't know exactly what an Abstract was but she knew that it was something strong

She smiled brightly and said

"I'm so proud of you, but don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Viorica kept looking at Leus in awe and admiration.

Since the day Blaze told her about Arno's plan, she truly realized how special Leus is.

Seeing her expression, Leus thought to himself

'Looks like mom is cheery today'

"So ... Where is Dad?"

"Dad gone back to the Strife Zone about 9 days ago, he tried to meet you before he went but you took too long.

Oh and he told me to say you something"

"What is it?"

"He's telling you to listen to Arno and do what he said you to do, and focus on learning the Abstracts as it's necessary for your future even if it'll take a long time."

She put her finger on her lower lip for a moment, trying to remember if there was anything else, then she added

"He also tells you not to be worried about coming back home as frequently as before, he'll take care of that."

Leus became puzzled

"Necessary for my future?"

'I thought I was living in that future ... is there a next stage too?'

Viorica nodded and replied with a smile

"Arno has a plan for you after you finish unlocking all the Abstracts required.

You should discuss the details with him, but to make things simple, just listen to your Dad, Okay little genius?"

Leus instantly agreed

'No one can say no to this radiant smile'

Leus conversed with his mom for a while, time passed quickly and it became night, so everyone decided to sleep.

When Leus entered his room and was alone, the image of Kenton started flashing in front of his eyes again but he shook his head and distracted himself

'I got a lot to do, There's no time for this'

The feeling of pain and anger lessened so much that Leus completely forgot about it when he was with his mother or when he was focusing on something, but in moments of solitude, all these feelings would faintly return.

Regardless, Leus wasn't interested in staying alone in his room and analyzing his emotions, so he decided to deplete his Mana Pool and sleep.

That night, Leus got up two times because of nightmares, but overall the quality of his sleep improved a lot since the last time.

'Arno was right, I feel much better after exiting ... I didn't expect Mana to affect my emotions...'

'That makes me wonder, Do affinities affect personalities?'

He remembered that the leader of The Butchers was dark-haired, which meant that he had an affinity for darkness.

Leus was wondering if his affinity had anything to do with his personality.

'Well, It doesn't matter anyway.'

Viorica asked Leus to stay home one more day since he came back late yesterday, and so, he did as she said.

He also wanted to ask for meals to take with him inside the Barrier, but he gave up on that idea.

'I don't think it's going to be of any use, food won't remain edible for one or two weeks inside the barrier'

'Also Mana might contaminate it in some way or another ...'

On the second day, Leus decided to go back to the library.

He exited his house and for a moment, he looked in the opposite direction, the direction leading to the Slums.

' ... Sorry, I'm not ready now.

After I unlock the Abstract I'll go and check on Scar.'

He turned around and walked towards the library, ready to go back into seclusion and unlock the Elemental Abstract of Illusory.