A Spar before the Next Stop.

"Are you ready to leave?"

For an entire month, Alex had been taking it slow. He was taking his classes, training his techniques, and sparring with Wei and Jane from time to time. During this one month, he had been trying to learn more about the people of the Grey family.

Not because he was chummy with them, but to assess their weakness and behavior patterns.

A few weeks back, he had submitted a better program to Steven. He had completed it all by himself, and it showed. There were still some problems, but they could be easily ironed out with a few adjustments. To solve the high demands from the processor, he had cut down on many things. It still identified the students for any suspicious activities. If there was any suspicious activity, the program sent a message to all the active assassins at the institute. Instead of accessing a whole different database, this was more viable.

Hank had made some suits for him as a present. Clara had bought him a state-of-the-art laptop. Jane gave him a custom blue and silver Glock and Roses, and even Claudia had given him a parting gift, a combat suit. He was going to return in a year, but these gifts were supposed to remind him of the family.

"At least they are usable."

He placed all the gifts inside the travel bag.

He took a laminated picture from his bed and looked at it for some time.

A memory of a mission. A photo of him and a girl dancing inside the ballroom.

"Credits to the photographer. It was a good moment."

He placed the photo in a frame and hung it on the wall. This was reserved to be his room now.

After he was done, he opened the door.

"Done. When do we leave?"

"As soon as you are done with your master. Lucius wants you to meet him at the training ground."

Alex sighed.

"Do I need to change?"

"No."

Wei said that and left. He had his own preparations to return to.

Alex decided to change anyway. He put on the combat suit that Claudia had bought him.

As he walked inside the Training ground, it was empty. Lucius was nowhere to be found.

"Master?"

Alex called out to him.

"Your guard is down."

A punch straight towards his gut. Alex smiled and said,

"It was necessary to fool you."

He narrowly dodged the attack. Lucius was open.

'A fatal flaw.'

His fist aimed toward his jaw. Lucius took a step back and dodged.

"You will have to try better than that."

Lucius increased his bloodlust. Alex stretched around a bit and asked,

"You could have just said that it was a fight."

"I thought the message was descriptive enough."

Lucius cracked his neck. It was time for a good old-fashioned spar.

"Begin!"

Lucius went in to attack. Before Alex could blink, his fist was already there.

Alex used his hands to block the attack. He was pushed back in the process.

Due to the distance created between them, he might have been able to prepare himself for the next attack.

"Smart."

But Lucius was right in front of him. He was on the offensive, and he wanted Alex to know that.

Another strike, this time aimed towards his ribs. Alex sensed his movements, but he had no idea how to deal with his speed. This was Lucius going all out.

In a last-ditch attempt, Alex moved his right hand to block the attack. By the looks of it, he was on track to block his next attack.

Lucius went forward with his attack. His fist connected with the forearm. Alex decided to plant his feet and absorb the attack. Miraculously, it worked.

Alex prepared to use his left hand. This was the only window he was getting.

But he was unprepared for what happened next.

Alex was able to absorb the attack because Lucius hadn't used too much of his power. His left hand approached Alex almost immediately after the last attack. He grabbed his neck and raised him off the ground.

"Just because you know a few tricks doesn't mean that you can talk back to your master."

The fight was absolutely one-sided. Lucius had been observing Alex from day one. He was smart, but he wasn't invincible. Alex had been training under Lucius, and from the beginning, he had been holding back. Today, he decided to show how much stronger he was than his student.

"When I say something, you listen."

His grip tightened. He had been planning on this lesson for over a month now.

"When you work for my family, you listen."

Alex was struggling to breathe. Lucius was not kidding around.

"If you have taken me as your master, then you listen."

He threw Alex on the ground. He was not somebody Alex could afford to push around.

Alex coughed up some blood. Lucius looked at him and asked,

"Do you understand?"

He wiped the blood off his lips and said,

"Yes."

He had been rash. This was a family head we were talking about.

"Good. The collective has prepared your punishment. Wei will escort you to China."

Lucius turned around and left. His job has finished.

Alex looked at his back and said,

"I will remember this."

Lucius stopped. He didn't turn around and said,

"You should."

He left after saying that. It was his intention from the beginning.

"System, did you get his data?"

"Yes. Do you want me to prepare a hologram?"

He pushed himself up from the ground.

"Yes."

Now he had a better reference point to improve.