*And so! Lia Silver is the winner of this intense battle!*
A teleportation circle appeared and took Miki to the infirmary.
Lia glanced at the audience and raised her sword in the air to demonstrate her victory.
Amidst the loud cheers of the audience, Lia finally exited the stadium grounds via the same tunnel that she had entered.
As she wasn't really injured in the previous fight, she didn't need to go to the healer, so she decided to go back to her own room.
However, just as she entered the waiting area, a familiar voice greeted her from the side.
"Congratulations on winning; you have gotten stronger than before…"
Hearing those words, a smile appeared on Lia's face as she glanced to her left, and sure enough, Rio was standing there while leaning against the wall.
His face was still expressionless as ever, and his eyes were just as lifeless as always.
But from Lia's perspective, he was smiling and congratulating her for this victory.
"When did you come here… I didn't even sense you coming.."
Rio simply shook his head in response to Lia's words.
"I was standing here all along… Even when you entered the stadium grounds, I didn't want to disturb you as you looked so determined…"
Lia was taken aback by Rio's words.
She certainly didn't sense that Rio was there when she was leaving to fight; this just shows how amazing Rio's stealth abilities have become.
[Cough… I did detect him standing there, but I guessed he didn't want to disturb you, so I didn't tell you either…]
Hearing Kai's explanation, Lia shook her head and sighed.
"I would need to take a shower first; I got my clothes covered in dirt while fighting… Shall we meet at the cafeteria one hour later?"
Rio nodded his head at Lia's words, and his figure blurred in an instant.
As he disappeared, he left a few words behind.
"Okay then, let's meet an hour later… I am waiting for you there…"
Seeing Rio leave so fast, Lia could only shake her head.
'He's gotten so fast after advancing to rank A… Now I can't even detect him anymore…'
When Lia had fought Rio during the 'Group Survival Test', she was able to barely keep up with Rio's speed and was able to see his attacks.
But after Rio became an A-ranker, he seems to have reached a totally new realm.
Not only has he become much stronger than before, he can even beat ordinary A-rankers without batting an eye.
[This kid… He's getting more unpredictable as time passes… I am starting to lose track of him… it won't be long before he becomes undetectable for me…]
Even Kai was surprised by Rio's insanely fast progress.
[To think two insane monsters like Link and Rio were born in the same era… the chance of this happening should have been extremely low…]
[I guess the next millennia will be dominated by the human race…]
Lia also nodded her head at Kai's words, but she couldn't help but feel strangely troubled in her heart.
She clenched her fist tightly and shook her head.
'I just need to keep training…'
Lia stopped thinking about these things and went back to her room.
Kai manifested in his cat form and slumped on the couch while Lia went to take a shower.
He respects his master's privacy; even when he was with Tomar, he would manifest in his cat form and leave for a few hours when Tomar was busy with his wife.
(Fun fact: Rio threatened Kai to never forget about Lia's privacy; otherwise, he would blast him off with 'Sword Intent'... and as 'Sword Intent' is like poison to spirit beasts, Kai had no choice but to give in…)
…
Cafeteria.
Lia arrived at the cafeteria five minutes earlier than the promised time, but Rio was already sitting there.
Lia smiled a bit and went over to sit beside him.
"Sigh~ you always beat me when it comes to arriving early…"
Lia once arrived about half an hour early on one of their dates, but as it turned out, Rio was already there.
Usually, he arrives an hour earlier than the promised time; he picked up this weird habit in his previous life.
(The word 'Late' doesn't seem to exist in his dictionary…)
Rio shook his head in response to Lia's words.
"It's a habit; don't worry about it…"
Lia sighed at those words,
"You make me feel guilty whenever I get late..."
Hearing those words, a playful look appeared on Rio's face all of a sudden,
"Well, if you really feel guilty, how about you make it up with a kiss then? Fair deal, isn't it?"
Hearing his rare playful tone, Lia felt a bit embarrassed at those hooligan-like words.
Rio usually suppresses his emotions all the time, so when they do surface, Lia is always surprised.
(If Rio had normal emotions like others, he would have teased Lia all day long, and she would have fainted from his relentless attacks…)
"W-well… Maybe on the next date, I guess…"
Hearing those quietly spoken words from Lia's mouth, Rio nodded his head and stopped teasing her further.
The waiter served the food, and the two of them started eating.
After finishing their meal, the two got up and went for a walk in the back garden.
Lia stretched out her hand, and Rio held it gently, and the two walked side-by-side.
At that moment, Rio finally arrived at the key question.
He glanced at Lia's face and asked in a calm voice.
"You seem troubled… Is something bothering you these days?"
Rio might not be able to show his own emotions, but he is very good at discerning others emotions with just a slight hint.
He had already seen through Lia's smiling façade that he could feel that she was troubled with something, and the fact that she wasn't talking about it meant that it was something difficult to express.
Rio's unexpected question caught Lia off guard, but she then sighed.
"Sigh… You saw through me; you rarely show emotions, yet you can discern others emotions so easily… That's so strange…"
Rio dismissed Lia's statement with a shake of his head.
"I have always been like that… Sigh, don't try to change the topic; talk about what's bothering you…"
Lia's attempt to change the topic failed, as Rio saw through it in an instant.
"Even during the fight, you seemed troubled for some reason; you were behaving as if you didn't want to use your full strength…"
Rio's word caught Lia off-guard; she never expected that Rio would notice such small details.
"Sigh~ now that you have cornered me so badly, I have no other choice…"
Lia sighed and admitted defeat. She figured out that she couldn't win in arguments against Rio.
With a troubled look on her face, she said,
"The thing is… I feel guilty for using Kai's power… I don't want to rely on external power to win; even during that fight, I won because Kai's blessing enhanced my mana output…"
"If not for that, I would have lost to Miki in that fight… I feel like I have cheated… I don't deserve this victory; in the end, I didn't win with my own strength."
Before Lia could continue, Rio flicked his finger at her forehead, breaking her out of that self-loathing talk.
"That hurt!"
Lia rubbed her forehead and pouted her cheeks at Rio's actions.
But Rio just shook his head.
"What are you talking about… Kai was summoned by you; he's a power that exists for you to use, and your strong 'will' reached out to him and awakened him from century's old slumber…"
Rio stared into Lia's eyes and continued in a calm voice.
"Kai carries the power that was created by your ancestors to bless your bloodline…"
"You simply inherited what was supposed to be yours; this power belongs to you and only you. The moment you awakened these powers, you had proved yourself worthy enough to use them..."
Rio's words hit Lia's heart directly.
"Miki admitted her defeat when she saw the real power you hold; she respected your strength, and she already acknowledged your use of this power, so why do you think you cheated against her?"
Lia had no words left to answer that question; she could feel some hidden darkness start to vanish inside her heart.
Rio stretched out his hand and said it with a rare smile on his face.
"Be proud; you are worthy... There's nothing wrong with using a power that was clearly meant for you. Keep getting stronger and accompany me to the peak of this world…"
"I trust that you can do it, Lia…"
Rio's words were full of trust and acknowledgement.
Not only did he express his feelings toward them, he also told her how much he trusted her.
Those words carried the emotions of acknowledgement and care for her.
Lia's eyes moistened at those words.
This was the first time that someone had trusted her this much in her life; not even her father had acknowledged her so openly.
Rio's words seemed to have acted like a catalyst for Lia.
Those words carry such weight that they cleared the dark clouds of self-doubt that were swarming in Lia's heart.
At that moment, Lia had accepted her true self, accepted her powers, and acknowledged her existence for the first time.
[Ding! You have attained a sudden 'Epiphany'!]
[Ding! You have realized your 'Path'!]
[Ding! You have fully conquered the darkness in your heart and have achieved a state of 'peace'!]
[Ding! As a result of conquering the darkness fully, your suppressed talents are resurfacing!]
[Ding! All conditions met! Ascending to rank A…]
…
…
Author's Note.
Yo! It's your beloved author here! Rio really has a talent for helping others find their true self… He should become a 'therapist' at this point…
Question of the day.
Would you like to get some life advice from Rio, too?
13:02
1. Yes (Ask him about how to rizz up a girl like Lia…)
2. No (He won't listen to your ramblings unless you are Lia or a friend of his…)
By the way, don't forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.