Chapter 19

After his talk with Marcus, Julian returned home to rest for the night. The trip was exhausting and he was ready for a little break. He sat on his bed and watched the news to see what was going on in the city. He didn't see anything too exciting. There was a new bakery opening up in his area, and an old grocery store going out of business. The only story that caught his attention was a report on the rise of Inquisition activity in the 11th sector of the city.

"I guess we'll all have to be more careful from now on. It seems that these people are growing restless."

He turned off the television and was about to go to sleep when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, dude! You wanna get together tomorrow and do some sparring? I just broke the first tier of Skol Chant and I wanna test out what it can do."

Luke sounded excited on the other end.

"Sure. Congrats on your progress! If you keep growing at this rate then you'll be a major asset to our squad."

"Thanks, man! I'll meet you at the gymnasium tomorrow by 10."

"Sounds good. I'll see you then."

Julian hung up the phone and went to sleep.

On his way to meet up with Luke, Julian stopped to grab some breakfast at a fast food place and headed towards the academy where the gym was.

"This breakfast meal is so cheap! I could've bought 10 of these!"

He arrived at the gym and saw Luke standing outside.

"You're late and you didn't even bring me anything!"

"Relax, man. You know I don't have that kind of money. This stuff is expensive!"

Luke gave Julian a look of disapproval.

"Let's just get started."

They moved inside and changed into their gym clothes. Luke stood opposite Julian in the center of the floor.

"Don't take it easy on me. Give it everything you've got!"

Julian signaled to Luke to come at him.

"I can try!"

Luke moved forward and activated Skol Chant. He leaped into the air and came flying down towards Julian's head.

"Still too slow right now. Once you break the 3rd tier, then you could probably catch up."

Julian just moved out of the way and let Luke crash into the floor.

"It won't take me long."

Luke jumped up from the floor and charged at Julian. He swung his fists at Julian's stomach. Julian kept dodging every strike with ease.

"You've got the basics down. Now you just need to get the technique right. Try to imagine hitting me before you even swing. Use that feeling to guide your movements."

Luke jumped back and went in again. This time he used a series of punches and kicks while moving to circle Julian's body.

"Like this?"

Luke swept his foot under Julian's causing Julain to stumble forward.

"Actually, yeah! Good job! Just remember the feeling of connecting an attack on your opponent and your technique will gradually improve."

"Seems like you've got a good teacher, Luke."

Albus was standing in the doorway watching the fight. He was observing how much the two had grown since they went on their trip.

"Hello, captain. Yes, Julian knows a great deal about fighting and martial skills, so I asked him to help me perfect mine."

Albus walked over to them and took off his coat.

"How about you let me join in? Both of you can come at me at once."

Julian looked at Luke and then back at Albus.

"Are you sure?"

"Why not? I doubt I'll get hurt by two first years."

Albus was very confident in his skills. He was a captain in the Imperium, so he believed that two first years didn't even hold a candle to him.

"Alright. Sound fun!"

The three of them got into position and began the match.

Luke was the first to move. He tried going in for a few strikes but was tossed aside by Albus.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that."

Julian was the next to move. He circled to the side and kicked a wind blade towards Albus. It was about to hit him in his side but Albus dodged at the last second. The wind blade flew past him and hit the wall.

"That's impressive! You must've broken the second tier of your martial skill, at least."

Albus saw the mark where the wind blade hit the wall and saw a large crack form. He turned back to Julian and didn't wait for the next strike. He dashed forward and let out a series of punches.

'This guy is pretty fast.'

Julian was dodging the strikes, but he didn't have a chance to counter any of them. Albus's speed was very impressive.

Luke had gotten back up and charged in again to strike Albus from behind.

"You should know that I've trained for this sort of situation."

Albus jumped up and dodged Luke's strikes and landed behind him.

"It isn't too hard once you get the hang of it."

Albus grabbed Luke's shoulder and an orange light started shining from his hand. Luke's body then began floating off the floor.

"What the hell?"

"It's his ability. He can make things float by touching them."

Julian pulled out a talisman and stuck it to his chest. His body became invisible as he moved towards Albus.

"Impressive. An ability that turns you invisible. That could be very useful on spy missions."

As Albus spoke he felt a slap on his back. He turned around but didn't see anyone.

"I see. You think you can take me down by sneaking around."

When he turned back towards Luke, he saw that Luke was already standing away from him on the floor.

"Wait...But how? I used my ability on you."

"Your ability won't work if your aura can't circulate."

Julian reappeared beside Luke with a grin on his face. Albus was a little confused about what exactly just happened, but he was still pretty impressed.

"You two are very impressive. Keep this up and you'll catch up to me in no time."

Albus grabbed his coat and left the gym.

"I think I'll go home too. I'm getting pretty tired from all this sparring."

"Sure. I was thinking about leaving as well."

The boys said goodbye and left the academy. On his way home, Julian's phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hey Julian, are you busy?"

"No Iris, what's up?"

Iris paused for a second before speaking.

"Do you maybe wanna...go on a date with me?"