Damien chose the Shadow Lounge as his hiding spot not just because of its secrecy, but also its policies.
This lounge specifically was the type of place that didn't ask any questions as long as one was paying proper attention to the rules.
As for those rules, they were simple.
Nobody in the lounge would try to enquire about other guests's identities or conversations without express permission from said guests.
If this rule was broken, one would be banished from the lounge. Worse consequences would follow, varying from small misfortunes to the destruction of an offender's entire fortune.
No fighting was allowed in the lounge.
Peace has to be maintained, along with a certain level of decorum. If one was a nuisance to others in the lounge, then one would be banished.
It was a simple set of rules, but one that absolutely catered to the guests.
And it also left room for certain things.
"As long as you arrive in the lobby, it doesn't matter how you arrive."
The main entrance was only for potential new mbers. Even the people who had used the tailor shop were arranged to test if August and his group were worthy of becoming mbers.
They had recomndations from Damien, so of course they were shown a bit more lenience than a normal person.
August didn't have the Sanctuary.
He needed a place where he could escape to when he had no other options. That way, Damien wouldn't have to beco an absolute presence in his son's life.
August couldn't forever exist thinking that Damien would save him from anything that was too hard for him. That would never allow him to grow.
The last thing Damien had for the three was a gift.
First, rings that were imbued with his power. Using them, they'd always be able to return to this place, even if placed under spatial restrictions.
It was only ant to be used during ergencies, so Damien made sure to warn them about their overuse.
They were specifically designed so that they wouldn't be indestructible. Misuse would lead to their destruction.
Secondly, he took them to a place outside of Fort Halleya.
The four of them were teleported to an island in the middle of the ocean. It was sufficiently large with a wild ecosystem of its own, and it was inhabited by any sentient or extrely powerful creatures.
It was a perfect training ground.
August would be close to the sea, Valerie would be close to the forest, and lania would be close to the earth.
Here, they could spend the next two weeks honing their skills before their first match started.
And, since they were sufficiently distanced from civilization, Damien temporarily made their rings indestructible for the sake of transportation to the mainland.
It was enough to make Valerie and lania's wonder fade.
They were forced to get used to the strangely nigh absolute power of the unknown being who August called "dad" so endearingly.
Instead, as Damien left them to their own devices, they imdiately made use of their new blessings.
Two weeks was not a lot of ti, especially when they knew the significance that this match held.
lania didn't have to fight for a month, but that just ant she had to use her ti to practice even better than her peers so she could truly stand on their level.
Her strength alone wasn't enough against people who would attack with massive swathes of mana that disallowed her approach.
Draga could split mountains with a stomp. He could raise the earth and wreak havoc because his physical body had evolved beyond its ans.
Right now, lania really was just at the starting point. She didn't have ti to focus on vague matters unrelated to her training.
She, August, and Valerie were on the sa island, but they each had their ideal training locations away from each other.
They had the ability to converge when they needed to, but most of their training would still be done alone.
That was how lania found ti to sneak away to the mainland in search of Damien.
He hadn't gone far. He decided to stay in Fort Halleya in case August needed him. Two weeks later, he would go watch the first official match before departing to actively search for the Dragon Emperor again.
The Shadow Lounge was not just a location, but a club. They had multiple safe areas around the city that served different purposes.
Damien had booked a room in their hotel. He was planning to head there, but he'd stopped at the lounge for a mont to speak to the person who ran it.
lania just so happened to catch him before he left.
Damien raised his brow as he saw her.
"You are…lania, right?" He said, nodding to her.
"Yes, sir," she replied respectfully.
"I see. Good luck with your training. I'm sure you'll do well."
Damien was already leaving, so he was planning to just go on his way, but lania stopped him before he could.
"Sir, please wait!" She said, sowhat desperately.
"Please tell if you are the crow-masked man!"
She didn't waste any ti or try to skirt around the subject.
Since Damien was probably more knowledgeable about her situation than even she was, she directly told him what she wanted to say.
Damien raised his brow curiously. Being straightforward was different from this. lania was just saying what she thought and telling him to confirm.
"What would you do if I was?" He asked, curious about what she wanted.
The crow-masked man was an avatar created to show her the way. He was ant for nothing other than the distribution of rewards.
In earthen terms, he was a non-playable character. Damien never expected lania to see him as anything important.
But, he was wrong. lania saw the crow-masked man as the one who gave her a chance. Unlike Damien, she didn't see it as the result of her own efforts.
She already knew what she wanted from him.
Damien's lack of refusal was practically admittance in itself.
She got on her knees and kowtowed in front of him to show her sincerity.
"Please be my master!"
The one who gave her the technique was the one who would know more about it than anyone else.
With Draga's techniques, there wasn't much to actually be taught. The process was quite straightforward.
The problem was that the environnts necessary to carry them out were not.
Places like the mountain she'd been placed in before; she needed access to them so she could truly push herself beyond her limit.
That caught Damien's interest.
"Oh? You have already decided to pursue Draga's path?" He asked.
"That is correct," lania replied.
"I've accepted the consequences. All of them."
"I see…"
In front of a person like lania, there was no point in wasting effort denying her allegations. She believed them wholeheartedly and wouldn't budge.
Damien didn't necessarily have the ti to take in another disciple. It would've been a problem if she needed him to teach her.
But, if all she wanted was help finding places to train and challenge herself?
Damien could do that without a problem.
'This one has a lot of loyalty towards August.'
She was already planning to stay by his side repaying him for as long as possible. If that belief didn't waver, then lania at her peak would be one of August's greatest aides.
'It's not bad to give her a little bit of help.'
She had the worst start of them all. lania just wanted to stand at the sa level as the rest of them. When she'd accomplished that, she was fine with doing the rest on her own.
The beginning of her developnt had to be done in the harshest way possible.
lania needed another mountain.
She was sowhat like Damien in that regard, willing to sacrifice herself and struggle tooth and nail for power.
He admired that determination. And for it, he was willing to give her what she wanted.
"Stand up," he said, a smile on his face.
"Let's go visit a place."
Reviews
All reviews (0)