"I am sorry, Mother..." Alaric faced Raika with an apologetic expression.

"He doesn’t seem to be part of them..." The now crimson swirling steam calmed.

"Huh!..." Raika jumped down, Philip’s heart almost jumping out in fright.

He was already on edge at Alaric’s ruthlessness, and now it seemed the mother and son were going to fight.

His worries unfounded.

Raika passed by Alaric, stopping in front of the boy. She stared intently at the shaking youth, the young boy’s knees giving in under her gaze.

"You are right, he has yet to see blood." Raika nodded in acknowledgement.

"Let’s let him be..." Raika ignored the boy, turning to Alaric.

"You know you could have handled it better, right?" She started to evaluate Alaric’s performance.

For his first time, most would say he did well, but for Raika, the son of the thunder princess and Hell Flame could have done better.

"You could have blasted away the marbles instead of dodging them..." Her gaze turned to the crimson mist around her son, blood not from the enemy but his own.

"..." Alaric nodded, taking note of what his mother said.

He had fought like in his Navy days, dodge and counterattack.

Parrying wasn’t something he was used to, and thus he listened to his mother’s words like a prudent student.

"You shouldn’t give them room. You should have known they were Earth mages and taken the high ground at the very beginning..." She added, Alaric only nodding like an obedient child.

"This isn’t my world, I have to be innovative with my attacks..." He made a mental note.

Meanwhile, the boy just stared at the two, a bit confused as to what had happened.

Had they just used them as dummies?

From the very beginning, they had no chance of winning.

"... If he dies, you go scot-free..."

Raika’s words at the beginning made sense.

If not when.

They shouldn’t have taken the job.

" What have I gotten myself into ... Please don’t kill me ... Please don’t kill me..." He muttered.

He couldn’t move, didn’t even want to, hoping and praying they would leave, but it seemed they weren’t going anywhere for the time being.

Raika moved around the battlefield, pointing out what Alaric did wrong and could have done better.

They reflected on the battle for the battles to come.

"... Do you get it, son?" Raika concluded, stopping beside the cluster of spikes.

"I got it..." Alaric nodded enthusiastically.

He hated the gruelling training of the Navy SEALs, they all did, but what made them continue was the feeling of betterment.

Becoming a little stronger, greater, and better than you were at the beginning.

Each gruelling training pushing you towards another day of survival.

And he had fought, his first true battle in this new world where he thought he could live peacefully.

And he had a mentor who watched over him, correcting his flaws for future battles.

Though he bled today, tomorrow he might bleed less.

"Let’s get some sleep, we have a long journey ahead of us." Raika took the lead, heading back to camp.

Philip followed, his gaze a bit blank.

He was still adjusting.

Alaric stopped, staring at the boy, not out of pity. "He is a water mage, I wish he could help me understand the element better, but alas." He shook his head before following Philip.

He wasn’t a monster that would request the shaking boy to teach him water magic when he had slaughtered two of his comrades right in front of him.

.

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Dominus City

Hugh Vulcan walked towards the hanging tower of the Nebula headquarters.

Adorned in plain bronze armour, his hair hidden under a hood, face obscured by the mask he wore.

These were times of war, and though Dominus City didn’t feel it,

the higher-ups were aware.

The security was thus extremely tight. No one could just enter and leave as they wanted, yet Hugh, belonging to the enemy kingdom, was in the city.

This wasn’t because of a lack of security but because he possessed a teleportation crystal which brought him to the entrance of the headquarters.

Though the headquarters was in the Dominus Kingdom, Nebula is an independent group, belonging to neither side.

The teleportation crystal was owned only by VIPs, basically those rich enough to purchase it.

Wether Vulcan or Dominus they didn’t discriminate.

He wore what he wore to prevent others from recognizing him in the lobby.

Unlike the city, no one would be suspicious of you for wearing a mask.

He stepped through the door, the first time he had entered the headquarters of the Nebula, not that he had gone to any of their branches.

Most entering for the first time would marvel at its luxurious interior, but he didn’t even spare a glance at it. His mind filled with the intent to kill Raika and Alaric.

...

"How may I help you?" the receptionist addressed him, Hugh passing a card to her over the counter.

A plain red card which translated to an assassination request.

"Do you have a prior appointment?"

She needed to know beforehand; if not, he would have to wait in line.

"..." Hugh pulled out another card, a plain white card.

The receptionist’s brown eyes glowed as she scrutinized the card, recognizing familiar patterns.

The card held his appointment stamp, as he had already called the headquarters before he came.

Without any further delay, she gave him back the card and pointed him to the third floor where he could make his demands.

Hugh stepped into the elevator, his cherry-blossom eyes glinting with murderous intent.

"I will make sure you and that barbarian mother of yours don’t make it home..." He gnashed his teeth.

He was unaware that the mission had failed, unaware it was a waste of time to be here.

He had called headquarters for Raika to be added to the assassination request, his request being met with an official meeting at the headquarters.

They explained the reason...

Raika was the thunder princess, a powerhouse whose disappearance would cause massive waves in the Kingdom.

A lot of work needed to be done before they accepted such requests.

With a cling, the elevator door opened to third floor. An empty hallway with several doors on each side, each leading to an office.

He looked at his card.

"Door 13..." He quickly found the door and knocked on it.

"Come in..." The door opened, revealing a simple office, an old man with dark red hair sitting at the desk.

"Welcome, Hugh Vulcan, please take a seat..."

Heeding the man, he sat down, his eyes fixed on him.

"Let’s get straight to business, how much for both son and mother?" he said, taking off his mask and leaning forward.

"Take this." A pouch materialized in front of the old man, Hugh confused.

"..." He opened it, gold coins reflecting on his face "200,000."

"What’s this for?" he asked, brows raised in confusion.

"I am sorry, we can’t take your request. Here is the amount you paid for the assassination and an extra fifty thousand as an apology for wasting your time..."

________________

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A/N

10 golden tickets = 1 extra Chapter.

100 power stones = 1 extra Chapter.

Goal: G: 0/10

P: 9/100