Chương 35: Teacher!

"Oh?"

Nex raised his eyebrows and folded his arms while staring with interest at the young girl.

"And what is your reason for asking me that? I am sure you have already seen the gaping gap between us."

After Nex woke up from his daydreaming, he retracted his precious aura and instead, gave off the one he usually has that "camouflages" his charm, causing the gazes from the rest of the women to be withdrawn.

But since Elise have already met Nex's charm head-on twice, the "camouflage" was less effective on her. Luckily, it was enough for her to get her wits back and leave her with only a slight, charming blush.

"Because I want to be the strongest in my rank! Strong enough to even be counted as powerful amongst the S-Rankers!"

"Is that so? And what does it have to do with me?"

"Don't make fun of me. I never heard of an A-Ranker who managed to kill a Glided King as you did. If I manage to defeat you, then it means that I am strong enough to reach my goal."

The resolute look in her face and how her shaking fists are clenched so tight that her knuckles turned white reminded Nex of a memory. This kind of look, he knew very well.

He acted very similarly during his earlier days back in Perias. And because of that, he knew that this girl in front of him won't take no for an answer.

"Very well…"

Nex sighed and almost immediately, Elise's lips blossomed into a beautiful smile that would have caused any normal hot-blooded guy to be in a daze.

"Thank you! My family owns a training ground near here. So if you're ready we can---"

"No need."

"Wha---"

Ignoring her surprised reaction, Nex grabbed her shoulder and in the next moment, her vision twisted and she found herself at an open field outside the city.

"How did we get here? Ahh! I know! You're an Awakened with teleportation superpower, right?"

Elise looked around initially with a questioning gaze but soon cleared when she realized what happened.

"You could say so. You're an Awakened as well, right?"

Nex let go of her shoulder and walked away, putting an ample amount of distance between them as he stood in front of her.

Among Hunters, there are those who are lucky enough to awaken a superpower when they breakthrough in cultivation, or when they have enlightenment or when they consume a special item. They are usually the most talented and powerful amongst their ranks and are usually referred to as Awakened or Espers, depending on their type of power.

"That is right."

Elise nodded and reached out her hand.

Her hair began to glow in bluish hue and out of thin air, a magnificent, translucent blue spear formed. It landed on her hand which gave her a heroic yet mystical image that made one think she was a battle spirit.

"I can make weapons using my mind power. But this power is nothing but a curse. The weapons I create are too weak and break easily. When they break, I instantly become weak and would have to recuperate without cultivating for days."

The spear on her hand turned into an exquisite bow. It was an amazing thing to witness, can ever render one to be speechless. But the person who did such a wonder stared at the weapon in her hand with a melancholic expression. Her eyes were downcast.

"Is that so? I think it is a very beautiful superpower. A useful one, too! I'm sure that in the future, you could overcome its weakness and turn it into the most powerful one. I bet lots of Hunters would be envious of such superpower."

"You really think so? You really think that I could make that superpower into the strongest?"

Elise have never been encouraged by such words that when she heard them, her face instantly brightened.

"Yes. I know that if you put more effort into it, you could do amazing things."

"T-thank you."

Meeting Nex's charm head-on again, Elise could only murmur while lowering her head bashfully.

"Well then, since we have finished chatting, let's move to the reason why we came here. Do you have everything you need before we fight? I am now ready."

"Yes? Yes! I am wearing high-grade Hunter Clothes and as for my battle gear, I always carry my Hunter Armament around."

She was confused at first but realized his words quickly.

The bracelet on her wrist shone in bright light. A moment after, a full battle attire appeared over her normal clothes. In her hand, there was a shining, semi-futuristic spear.

'Hmm… So this is the famous Hunter Clothes and Hunter Armament… Quite nice.'

Nex looked at Elise's gear with interest.

Hunter Clothes. This apparel were made from special materials and claimed to have great ability to enhance defense and movement. Don't be fooled by its appearance that looked similar to normal clothes. Their costs are quite exorbitant that it's usually only the high ranked hunters and people with affluent backgrounds can afford them.

As for the Hunter Armament, they're pricier than the Hunter Clothes. This seems reasonable as they are more complicated than the clothes with special technologies and magic formations involved in them. Any Hunter can pull out their weapon in a moment's notice with this which is very convenient and a must-have for Hunters.

To carry both Hunter Clothes and Hunter Armament, Elise sure is rich!

"Mr. Nex? Aren't you going to use your gear as well?"

"It's fine. Let's start like this. If you managed to show enough power, then I will pull out my gear as well. Don't worry, I have something similar to Hunter Armament as well."

After he said that, the look in his eyes changed slightly. He made a signal to her.

"Come."

Remembering once again, how Nex defeated the Gilded King, Elise didn't question him any further and charged at him without wasting any more time. Cracks appeared at the ground where she stepped as she closed on him swiftly.

Nex stayed in place and continued to look at her, not bothered in the least.

The moment she arrived at his range and swiped her spear at him, he jumped backwards slightly and dodged her attack.

Elise, however, wasn't done yet. Changing her stance in an instant, she injected magical power into her spear and stabbed rapidly, shooting a fast shot of mana with each stab.

'Not bad.'

Nex dodged the shots as he walked backwards. She was shooting stabs at wherever he was about to go to, seemingly sealing his ways to escape.

He just smiled at this situation and stepped backwards with some force this time and instantly increased the distance between them by a large amount.

Before Elise managed to cover the distance, Nex used a strange movement technique and began to circle her while letting her see nothing but after images.

"Don't think you can get away just with that!"

Elise yelled and stabbed her spear strongly into the ground while using a large amount of magical power.

Instantly, countless of blades made from light were shot from the ground into the sky and cover everything in dozens of meters around Elise.

Seeing that Nex's after images are quickly vanishing upon getting hit, Elise looked around in order to find the real one. But while she searched for him, she suddenly felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Got you!"

Turning around and sweeping the magical-power-enchanted spear in 360 degrees, she caused waves of powerful and sharp magical power to come out wherever her spear passed. A tornado of magic blades were made from where she stood.

"Kuhk! Not bad!"

A sound of something getting hit and Nex's pained voice could be heard.

A hit! She hit Nex!

Elis became excited and turned to where she heard the voice from, only to see Nex's hand right in front of her. The nail of his middle finger was covered by his thumb.

*Bang!*

Having been flicked in the forehead by Nex once again, Elise flew backwards and fell on the ground. This time though, she didn't lose her consciousness and even jumped back on her legs by tapping her palm on the ground and spinning in the air.

She entered a stance once again, ignoring the pain coming from her forehead and stared at Nex with fighting intent stronger than ever.

"Even though you lack a bit of experience in fighting against people, you are quite good for your age. But you should give up. You won't be able to defeat me with your current strength."

Nex was nodding with approval in his assessment of her skills. They were good and she was able to react with good judgment to the changes in the battle flow. Not to mention her determination is top notch.

A fight like this one may seem all about physical attacks. But it isn't at all. How one's mental state can determine a win or a loss. If she had been a little more delicate mentally, after receiving an attack that caused her to stumble, her morale would be affected in the least. This can cause unnecessary mistakes and may lead to her defeat.

But she wasted no time in standing back up and was ready to continue the fight. She has good mental strength which he appreciated.

But he became solemn when he advised her to give up on fighting with him.

Comparing their experiences, it was like comparing a crawling baby to a professional runner. This fight has a winner right before it has even started.

"No! It isn't over yet! Until I defeat you and prove that I am strong enough, I won't stop! Even if it means I will die trying!"

She began to channel every bit of power and energy inside her body and charged at Nex with all her might. True to her words, she was truly planning to put her life on the line.

"You are too young to say things like that."

He shook his head before staring at her with a sharp gaze.

"Very well, give me everything that you got."

But she could no longer hear his words nor be able to process them. Elise was already buried so deep in her emotions that all she had in mind was to defeat Nex.

She closed the gap between them in no time and jumped as soon as she was near enough. She then swung her spear down at him mid-air with everything that she has.

The attack was packed with so much power and speed that the spear began to blur and the air around it began to fiercely vibrate. Even an SS-Ranker will get injuries from being hit directly by it.

When the spear was just half a meter away from Nex, something that Elise couldn't even imagine happening had occurred. The time seemed to move so slow that the spear almost seemed like it was frozen in the air.

To her horror, Nex lightly raised his hand to grab the spear by the blade. She wanted to yell at him that he will lose his arm! But to her shock, the moment that he grabbed the blade, all the energy from the attack dispersed into the air like it was a small cloud of dust.

"Only fools will recklessly sacrifice their life like that."

She heard Nex's berating tone in her ears and before she knew it, she was already back in the ground.

Lifting her head, she saw him looking at her with a serious face. It was so unlike his usual casual expression.

"You didn't experience enough of life to just throw it away just like that. You still need to enjoy life and have fun. Maybe go on a date or have a fling or two at the same time. Travel the whole world and eat all kinds of cuisines. Learn different languages and master your craft. Perhaps you can create a secret move for your own. But if you put yourself under that kind pressure…"

He squeezed the spear blade, making the SSS-Rank weapon break like it was made of thin glass.

"…You will find out that you have paid too great of a price."

"I-I…"

She stuttered with a blank face as she suddenly felt she had been woken up from his words. Her eyes became misty and she let go of what remained of her spear. She then hugged Nex and began sobbing into his chest.

Facing this slight surprise, all Nex could do was to lightly pat her head and sigh.

"There, there. Although I hope that you let it all out, if someone sees us in this cliché situation, some not-so-nice guys from the police will come."

But Elise didn't listen to him and continued to soak his t-shirt with tears that only increased as he patted her. For too long, she felt alone with no friends or caring family. There was no one to encourage her or stop her from being reckless.

She just kept on pushing herself to get stronger and didn't even notice the ever-increasing pressure that she has put herself under.

And now that she met this stupidly handsome silver-haired man who recognized what she is going through and even comforted and showed her care, she couldn't help but unleash all of her locked emotions.

After over twenty minutes of crying and sobbing, Nex was starting to feel a little awkward and began to think about how to get out of this situation. Luckily, before he needed to do something, Elise opened her mouth and said something that made him doubt whether it was good or bad.

"Teacher…"

Something isn't right here.

"…I promise I won't do it again. From now on, I will only follow what you instruct me to do!"

Nex lowered his head and stared at the young girl who still had her head burrowed into his chest.

"What teacher?"

"You. My teacher."

He felt a slow headache starting to build. He only wanted to go on a walk and before he knew it, there is now this girl that is calling him her teacher.

"Can I refuse?"

"No! And I will not let you go until you accept it!"

She took no notice of the bitterness in his voice as she tightened her hug around him. She was determined to lock him in place.

'Come on!'

He could only groan internally. Sensing her emotions, he knew he didn't have much choice.

"Fine!"

He tried to console himself internally.

'Since I'm already training Jane, what does it matter if I take another one?'

"Really?"

She lifted her tear-stained face and stared at him intently, trying to see the honesty in his eyes. Upon seeing that and his nod, her face brightened as her lips turned upwards in a beautiful smile. A smile that Nex has to admit was the most beautiful one he saw from her by far.

"Thank you…"

She didn't get to finish what she wanted to say when her eyes closed due to exhaustion and passed out. Her head landed back on Nex's chest who quickly held her so she won't fall to the ground.

Seeing how his new student was unconscious, Nex shook his head. She overtaxed herself long ago and managed to barely hold on using sheer will power. Staring at the young face that now seemed full of relief and joy, Nex gave out another bitter sigh.

"In the end, I am still too good of a person."