Chapter 194: One Last Date…?

“We finally got into this damned city!” Ronan was the first one to shout, his voice loud and full of excitement as he practically skipped past the massive gates that had just let them through.

Wide stone streets stretched endlessly in every direction, layered on top of each other like veins in a living giant.

Towers rose high into the sky, some thin and elegant, others thick and fortress-like, all covered in runes, banners, and magical lamps that floated lazily in the air.

Just like Gloria’s City, this place was built to house monsters and had the space to support more than fifty million people!

Adventurers, mages, knights, merchants, nobles, mercenaries, every kind of figure imaginable moved through the streets, their auras clashing, overlapping, and sometimes outright colliding.

“Damn…” Ronan whistled.

“I could get lost here for a year and still not see everything.”

“Please don’t,” Selene muttered flatly.

“Should we head towards the academy now?” Maelis asked, looking at Leon.

Leon crossed his arms and thought for a moment.

“The professor said the official meeting is on the fourteenth. Today’s the twelfth, so…” He shrugged lightly. “We have the rest of today and tomorrow free.”

Ronan’s eyes sparkled.

Leon turned to Maelis with a casual smile.

“That being said… do you want to go on a date?”

The silence lasted exactly half a second.

“No.”

Instantly rejected, causing his casual smile to instantly twitch.

“Pfft!” Ronan burst out laughing, bending forward slightly as he slapped his knee.

“HAHA, holy shit, that was brutal!”

Even Adrian failed to hide it this time, turning his face away while his shoulders shook faintly.

“R-Right. Of course. Just asking,” Leon cleared his throat and straightened up, pretending nothing had happened.

“Sure you were,” Ronan snorted.

“I’m heading to a curse shop,” Katia uttered suddenly, already turning away.

“Don’t wait for me.”

She left without another word.

Almost at the same time, Cassandra walked off in another direction, not even sparing them a glance.

“…As expected,” Ronan muttered.

“I need to contact my father,” Maelis said next. She paused for a brief moment, her eyes flicking toward Gray before she looked away again.

“I’ll see you all later.”

And just like that, she was gone too, disappearing into the crowd. Then, Ronan looked around, counting on his fingers.

“…That leaves nine of us,” he muttered.

Gray glanced around as well.

Leon, Adrian, Selene, Selina, Lyra, Lira, Ronan, Claire, and himself.

“So…” Ronan rubbed his hands together.

“Anyone got a suggestion on what to do now?”

At that moment, without realizing it, everyone turned their eyes toward Gray.

His lips twitched.

“…Why are you all looking at me?” he sighed, already knowing where this was going.

Then he shrugged.

“I’m already busy,” he stated flatly.

“I’m going on a date with Lyra.”

Before anyone could react, he reached out, grabbed Lyra’s hand, and turned away.

“Let’s go.”

Lyra blinked for a second, then her face flushed slightly as she hurried to keep up with him, her fingers tightening around his.

“W-Wait!” Ronan started, but Gray was already walking off.

“See y’all later.”

The two of them disappeared into the crowd, leaving the rest behind.

A strange silence followed.

Selene crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed slighly.

Selina looked away with a small click of her tongue. Lira remained calm as always, though her gaze lingered on their retreating backs for a second longer than necessary.

Claire just pouted slighly.

“…Tch,” Selene muttered.

“A-Anyway! What about the rest of you? Anyone else wanna do something?” Ronan cleared his throat awkwardly.

Selina was the first one to speak, “I’m going shopping. I need new clothes.” She turned and walked off before anyone could reply.

“I’ll go check the weapon district,” Selene added shortly, already heading in another direction.

“I want to visit a library,” Lira said calmly.

“I’ll return later.”

“I’ll… go see a Magic Shop!” Claire exclaimed lighly, and just like that, she left as well.

In less than a minute, the group was reduced again.

Ronan slowly turned his head.

Only three people remained.

Himself, Leon, and Adrian.

They stared at each other.

The bustling city felt even louder now.

“…Wow,” Ronan muttered.

“We got ditched hard.”

“It seems so,” Leon coughed lightly, adjusting his posture.

“At this point… we might as well explore on our own,” Adrian let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples.

“…Yeah, right.” Ronan nodded slowly.

“Right…” Leon nodded as well.

The three of them stood there for another second.

Then, without saying much else, they turned and started walking, three boys, alone in a city far too big for any of them to truly understand.

…

Gray didn’t slow his pace until they were far enough from the others; only then did he loosen his grip slightly.

Lyra noticed immediately.

“…You’re walking fast,” she said softly, though she didn’t pull her hand away. If anything, her fingers curled tighter around his.

“Habit… crowds annoy me.”

She smiled at his words, leaning a little closer to his side as they walked.

“Where shall we go?” she asked lightly.

“Mhm…” Gray hummed thoughtfully, “I heard that there was an arena around here, maybe we could go there and watch some fights.”

“…Is that your idea of romance?” Lyra rolled her eyes.

“You need to get stronger, Lyra,” he suddenly spoke in a serious tone, causing her to freeze slighly as those hypnotic rings stared deeply into her soul.

“…I have something tell you…” he muttered lighlty.

“And what’s that?” Lyra asked curiously, tilting her head to the left slightly.

[Rank: Peak Grandmaster (96%)]

“…I’ll tell you in a few hours,” he muttered, biting his lip lightly, as if holding something back.

Thud!

Lyra punched his shoulder without warning.

“Hey!” she snapped.

“Now I’m curious! You can’t just say that and stop!”

“Nope,” he replied flatly.

“Later.”

“Hmph!” She turned her head away, cheeks puffed slightly in a pout.

He ignored it completely.

“Besides, you need to get better at controlling your golden lightning. The way you use it is almost like you have no fighting experience whatsoever, so if we find a lightning mage, maybe you could pick up a trick or two,” he declared.

Hearing his words, Lyra frowned slighly and nodded lightly.

“Alright.”

Satisfied, Gray leaned down and pressed a brief, gentle kiss to her cheek.

She froze for exactly one second.

Then her ears turned red.

“Y-you can’t just do that so casually,” she muttered, flustered.

“Watch me.”

Before she could retaliate, he pulled her forward, dragging her toward the massive stone structure looming just ahead.

The arena.

They paid the entrance fee, passed through the gates, and the sound hit them directly.

“CRUSH HIM!!”

“TURN HIM INTO MEAT!!”

“RIP HIS ARM OFF!!!”

The roar of the crowd was violent, feral, filled with bloodlust and excitement. The air smelled of sweat, iron, and mana residue.

Lyra stiffened slightly, her eyes widening.

“…It’s loud.”

Gray, on the other hand, felt a strange sense of nostalgia creep in.

This place reminded him of one of the first arenas he had entered after taking this body. Back then, he’d fought not for glory, but for the token to participate in the Knight Exam.

After finding a place to sit down, their eyes instantly locked on the arena, where the fight had just ended, and another one was taking place.

CRUMP!

Another gate opened.

“This time!” the announcer shouted, his voice magically amplified, “we have the swift magic swordsman, LIGHTNING WOLF!”

A lean man stepped out, electricity crackling faintly along his blade, arcs dancing over his boots as he rolled his shoulders.

“And facing him, raw power incarnate, AXE BARBER!!”

The opposite gate burst open.

A massive man emerged, nearly two meters tall, carrying an absurdly large axe resting on his shoulder.

His muscles bulged, veins pulsing, a savage grin carved across his face.

“LIGHTNING WOLF!!”

“AXE BARBER!!”

BOOOOM!

The gong slammed down, the sound echoing through the arena like a cannon shot.

Almost instantly, Axe Barber leapt towards the oponent.

The stone floor cracked under his feet as his massive body flew forward, axe raised high above his head, muscles swelling as mana surged through his arms.

“DIEEEEEE!!”

WHOOOOOSH—!

The axe came down like a falling mountain.

Lightning Wolf vanished.

CRASH!!!

The blade smashed into the arena floor, stone exploding outward in jagged chunks, dust and debris erupting into the air.

“MISS!!”

“HE DODGED IT!!”

Before Axe Barber could even pull his weapon back…

CRACKLE—ZAP!

A streak of blue lightning flashed behind him.

Lightning Wolf reappeared in a blink, his body twisting mid-step as electricity burst from his boots, pushing him sideways at an unnatural angle.

He didn’t swing immediately.

Instead, he dragged his sword lightly along Axe Barber’s back.

ZZZZT—!!

“GRAAAAH!!”

The giant roared, skin blackening where the blade touched, smoke rising as lightning seeped into his muscles.

Lyra sucked in a sharp breath.

“…He didn’t cut deep,” she whispered.

“No. He’s planting lightning on his opponent’s body.”

As if proving his words, Axe Barber tried to turn.

His right leg twitched and then locked.

“WHAT?!” Ronan’s voice rang from somewhere behind them.

BZZZT!

Electric arcs burst from Axe Barber’s thigh, his muscles spasming violently as he stumbled, nearly dropping his axe.

Then, the Lightning Wolf moved backward as the lightning flashed briefly under his feet, never exploding wildly, never wasting energy.

Crackle!

He struck again, but not using the destructive power of lightning in one go. But dealing small, almost inexistent hits that didn’t seem to cause any damage.

Each hit left faint glowing lines on Axe Barber’s body, like veins made of lightning.

Lyra leaned forward without realizing it, her eyes completely locked onto the fight.

“…He’s not releasing everything at once,” she murmured.

“He’s… circulating it.”

Gray glanced at her.

’Good… she’s learning something from this at least.’

Axe Barber roared and slammed his axe into the ground.

“ENOUGH!!”

Mana exploded outward.

BOOOOM—!!

A shockwave ripped through the arena, flinging Lightning Wolf backward.

He skidded across the stone, his boots screeching.

“AXE BARBER!! AXE BARBER!!”

The giant charged, swinging wildly now, abandoning precision for raw power.

WHAM!

CRASH!!

Each strike shattered stone, forcing Lightning Wolf to retreat again and again.

Crackle!

And just then, the Lightning Wolf stopped and lowered his sword lighly as electricity crawled up his arms, not violently, but smoothly, like flowing water.

Lyra’s pupils trembled.

“…He’s compressing it.”

Gray smiled faintly.

“Now watch.”

Lightning Wolf thrust his sword into the ground.

ZZZZZZZZAAAAP!!!

The glowing lines on Axe Barber’s body ignited all at once.

“W-WH—?!”

His entire body convulsed.

Lightning erupted from inside him.

BZZZRT—BOOOM!!

Axe Barber screamed as his muscles locked completely, axe slipping from his hands and crashing to the floor.

Lightning Wolf stepped forward calmly.

One clean swing.

THUD!

The giant collapsed face-first, smoke rising from his body.

“LIGHTNING WOLF WINS!!!”

The arena exploded.

Lyra was breathing fast now, eyes shining.

“…I see it,” she whispered in complete surprise. “He doesn’t let lightning control him. He lets it flow. Like it’s part of his body.”

Gray looked at her with a satisfied smile.

Her mana was subtlyu stirring, unconsciously mimicking what she’d just seen.

’She truly is a genius…’

“That’s the difference between talent and experience,” Gray stated quietly. “You have more power than he has. You just lack refinement.”

Crackle!

She nodded at his words, her fists clenching slightly, a golden lightning crackling lightly.

“…I want to fight like that.”

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