Chapter 156: A Day on the Beach

Chapter 156 - A Day on the Beach

Salty droplets tickled his face. The crystal sea on his right was quite lively this morning. Stirred by the winds in the early sunlight, the wave crests sparkled like diamonds against a background of aquamarine waters. The shades of blue and beryl grew darker further off the coast.

Streams of people were already pouring into the promenade along the shore of Higharbor. The end of summer had little impact on the numbers filling the streets. With Autumn approaching, the worst of the heat had subsided, making crowds much more tolerable.

Kai dried his face with a hand. Is this a bad idea?

Maybe. Does it matter? Flynn raised an eyebrow. Youve already decided youre gonna do it, so why worry about it?

Yeah, thanks. If there is a switch to turn it off, I havent found it.

It was impossible not to feel a tinge of envy. Kai had spent three days thinking about what to do, and he wasn't any closer to an answer. How could Flynn always be so confident and unflappable?

Delaying the meeting any longer would be rude, or worse, suspicious. The twins were dying to show him their progress and skills, Ana and Lou too, albeit not so overtly. They had been all too eager to invite him to train together. Their motives couldnt have been more transparent, to flex on their poor ol mentor.

He could come up with excuses not to go or watch from the sidelines, though that would only postpone the problem. The more he tried to avoid it, the more attentive and curious theyd be about him.

Youll get old and wrinkly if you keep worrying. Flynn flicked his ear, making him jolt away. It will be fine, or well know better after today.

Kai glared at him, hands defending the sides of his head. Remind me why Im bringing you along.

He calculated his chances of throwing him off the pier. There were no dangerous rocks nearby and the water was deep enough to cushion the fall, though Flynn would likely drag him along into the sea.

For my charming looks and personality. He put on his most slappable grin. Also, for my inscrutable wisdom.

Right I must have hit my head pretty hard last night. How did this ever sound like a good idea?

His irritating friend had gone through the Republic brainwashing program too. That made him the closest thing to an expert that Kai could get his hands on. It was always good to have a second set of eyes and perspectiveeven if the value of his judgment was dubious at best.

Ive only talked to him once, but Lou seemed pretty alright. Flynn held his chin in a pensive pose as he imparted his wisdom. A bit stiff, but he managed to string three sentences without mentioning what a gift and honor it was to be accepted into the Republic scholarship program. Trust me, thats not something to take for granted.

The stone pier turned to wood and then sand. They took off their shoes before proceeding. The sun hadnt risen long enough to warm the ground, leaving it pleasantly chill under their bare feet.

A vast flat expanse dotted with people spread before them. Nothing special as far as scenic beaches went, except for its artificially enlarged size, an attempt of the governor to distinguish the capital.

From what Kai heard, the project had never reached any level of popularity with mainlanders apart from when the governor organized an event or festival. Without another use, it was left for the locals for most of the year.

Many were jogging in groups, sparring or otherwise training. They passed an old woman with leathery skin yelling at a group of kids swimming in the water. There were few open spaces to train inside the city unless you were willing to pay the Republic for their facilities. Kai came here once or twice a week to train with Flynn, he recognized about one in ten faces and no one he ever talked to. Anonymity in a sea of people.

Hey! Youve come, Ana raced towards them with a beaming smile, stopping in front of them to catch her breath, hands resting on her knees. No signs of the other three anywhere close.

You must be Flynn. Lou told me Kai would bring a friend, she greeted politely with an assessing look. Have I seen you somewhere? A small frown scrunched her brows.

You must be Ana, Kai told me a lot about you, Flynn offered to shake her hand, all charm and openness. I remember you from Hawkfield, you were pretty memorable.

You are part of the scholarship? She took a second look at him, her demeanor already more friendly.

I graduated earlier this year. I remember you were always so busy that we never got the chance to chat. You followed the mana classes, right? Best in your year.

Well Ana played with her hair, blushing. I wouldnt say the best. Sevila and Celui are pretty good, maybe one of the better ones.

And youre humble too. Flynn smiled again, poking Kai in the ribs. Any chance you can teach him that?

Very funny, especially coming from you. Why did I ever agree to this plan?

There were a few things Flynn did as well as being the center of attention. And if they were looking at him, they werent paying attention to Kai.

Ana giggled at his expense. Ill try, but it might be hard if hes like I remember.

In a blink, the two were already in deep conversation about common acquaintances at Hawkfield and sharing stories. Names and references flew over his head, if Kai didnt know better, hed think they had been friends for a lifetime.

Im in. Im just not sure if Kai can keep up. He patted his shoulder with concern.

Youre committing a lot to the act

He can run with Ana. Her biggest focus is on mana and knowledge skills, their level should be similar.

Youre with me then. She puffed her chest. It can be hard if youre not used to it.

Huh. Lou wasnt the only one treating him like a little kid, and she had a single year over him. I told you Ive trained with my teacher.

Okay just dont be stubborn if you cant keep up.

While Kai had decided to undersell himself a little for now, he wasnt planning to be a total slouch, far from it. He considered faking being at Orange , but Ana could read his grade. If he told them he wore a cloaking enchantment theyd ask him to take off and check Viryas amulet. Orange wasnt something people in the archipelago achieved before fourteen, let alone at his age.

Thank you, Ill keep that in mind, Kai said. You can do the same.

Without much fanfare, the group started running to warm up. Flynn easily took the lead with his profession, a shiny new unknown to soak up their attention. Lou wasnt far behind with the twins straining to keep up.

What did they say? Actions speak louder than words.

Little by little Ana lost her overconfidence. She tried to stay a step ahead of him, but Kai easily matched and surpassed her. Her breath became more and more ragged as she pushed beyond her limits.

It was cute how his little friends wanted to show off to their old mentor. Maybe it was time they remembered he had been the boss for a reason. Thankfully, Ana had more common sense than Kea and slowed down before collapsing.

Youre pretty good, Oli said, as the twins circled him. Not a drop of sweat on them. How high is your Running skill?

Well, that works. Thanks for the idea.

I evolved it to Orange years ago, one of my highest skills. Remember I taught you how to get it.

Oli nodded with a thoughtful look while Uli gave a low whistle. Youre not lying, are you?

Nope. Kai increased the pace till their lazy smiles turned serious. They were in excellent shape, making full use of their attributes with some kind of variant of a running skill. He was tempted to activate Empower and double his speed, their expression would be priceless.

One day I will, I can be patient.

The session ended too soon, it was supposed to be a simple warm-up. Kai avoided any suspicions with the excuse of a powerful movement skill. They continued with a variety of squats, pushups and stretches. It made him nostalgic for his time at the estate, though it was nice to train with other people instead of alone.

Kai played oblivious to the eyes observing him, waiting to see him falter and fail. A number of skillshalf of which he Improvised on the spotwere used to justify how he kept up with the twins.

Are we done already? He had condensed an artistic trickle of water on his forehead to hide the fact he had barely broken a sweat. The twins also looked far from pleased that their plans to overwhelm him and gloat had been thwarted.

Didnt you say you focused on mana skills? Ana asked, any trace of cockiness scrubbed away from her.

I do, but my mentor insisted that I train a broad mix. His mysterious teacher was his other excuse, that walked far closer to the truth.

How high is your Mana Sense and Manipulation? Ana bit her lip. You dont have to answer, but mine are level 37 and 32.

Oh dear, Im not sure you really want to know.

Oh, Im about the same. Kai put his index and thumb a little apart. Just a tiny bit higher.

General Skills:

Mana Sense (lv76>80)Mana Manipulation (lv64>70)Empower (lv64>66)Inspect (lv53>59)Blessed Swimmer (lv44>45)Water Magic (lv44>46)Alchemy (lv44>46)Runes (lv40>44)Nature Magic (lv38>39)Swordsmanship Advanced (lv24>25)Herbology Advanced (lv34>36)Attuned Meditation (lv15>17)Improvisation (lv9>12)

Hallowed Intuition (lv4>5)

Wracking my brains on the cube paid off. 80 and 70 are such great round numbers.

Okay, time for some weapon training, Lou stood up, ending their break. Kai, did you learn to wield a weapon?

My mentor taught me a little Swordsmanship.