Training Center

The serum was true that not only increased both intelligence and memory but also was reinforced by her mana to boost her mental strength.

She had already channeled her mana training 6 times in succession. This was already double that of the past.

[Based on my calculations, you should be able to do so 3 or 4 more times before exhaustion sets in.]

"Now is not the time to test my limits," she said before heading to the door, down the hall, and into the dining hall.

She arrived for breakfast before everyone else. There was still half an hour left before the servants knocked on their doors to call them for breakfast.

"Good morning, young miss. Do you have a request for the chefs?" asked one of the maids.

"Does the chef have any recommendations?" she responded while drinking a cup of water.

"We have received fresh Red Salmon from the Arbis Coast." the maid said with obvious pride in her voice. This is probably because she comes from the city of Arbis.

Since had been a couple of days since she ate a fish dish, she agreed to eat a small portion of the salmon for breakfast.

The maid left as Cynthia pulled out her smartphone. She was looking through local and global news as it allowed for her newly enhanced memory to refresh certain aspects of what he had already seen.

As she scrolled through the general headlines and financial news, the maid approached the head butter, Gordon Miller.

"Should we inform the young miss Lilliana and young master Antoine about her choice?" she asked the stern man in a normal voice. Most of the servants had been around Gordon's indomitable pressure for a while and had become used to it.

They were all scared of him at first glance though soon they learned to know him as a lenient and laid-back man when it comes to simple mistakes.

He knows when to reprimand when to let everyone relax. They all trust, respect, and adore this old man very much.

"That would be ideal. They did ask for some breakfast as young miss Cynthia before they went to bed last night. Our master also happens to like Arbis Red Salmon. As for the miss, I will ask." he replied while rubbing the small, gray goatee on his chine.

The maid nodded and went to inform Lilly and Antoine of Cynthia's breakfast choice so she could reaffirm their decisions.

...

After half an hour had passed, everyone had gathered at the table. Breakfast was eaten together only on weekends as the girls had to attend school early in the morning. Since Antoine and his father do some work after dinner, they usually sleep after the girls. This leads them to miss the girls in the morning as sleep is considered very important for stable health.

"I didn't know that my big sis could be so much more alluring," commented Lilly when she saw Cynthia's mature and stylish outfit. "Can you give me some tips?"

"You don't need my tip. You look cute in basically everything." Cynthia replied with confidence and a smirk. She believed in those words with utmost confidence.

None of Lilly's outfits had been anything noticeable but with her angelic halo and gorgeous face, you could ignore her simple clothing. She wasn't bad at dressing up as her closet was tailored in a way that the chance of something mismatching was rare.

Lilly pouted and said, "I agree that I look cute in everything but that doesn't mean I can't try to look better." Cynthia sighed when she heard this as it was quite annoying to teach someone to dress properly.

Rather than annoying, she was rather lazy and didn't want to do something so useless.

'Then again, I do want to see her in certain clothes.' There were already outfits being planned in Cynthia's head as she felt that there was an obsession building.

"Then I will pick what you buy today and you will owe me one, deal?" Cynthia said. She wasn't going to help for free and she already had an idea for what she was going to use that favor for.

"Deal!" Of course, there was no hesitation at all as she was more than happy to owe her sister a favor to drain more time out of her.

Antoine and Alexander heard this conversation but the details went in one ear and out the other. They had no interest in fashion, as long as the girls did not wear anything too revealing, they were okay with it. Cynthia and Lilly are young after all. They can have all the freedom they want when they become independent adults.

Alison as their mother paid very careful attention as she was surprised at how good Cynthia's taste is. In her mind, Cynthia is very mature and understands her face and body well.

This way, the design of pieces was not only working together, but the neutral tones did not allow for any chance of pieces overpowering each other.

Alison liked this type of style very much like this way of dressing was exactly the way she used to go out.

Tight jeans that accentuated the legs, a somewhat loose shirt, a necklace that brought attention to her neck and shoulders, earrings that were small yet elegant, and finally a coat that was light and long.

She once again secretly sighed at the fact that Cynthia had all the qualities that she Lilliana lacked.

"When are we meeting up with Daly(Darlene) and Karina?" Cynthia asked before the servants brought over everyone's breakfast.

"At around 12," Lilly replied before starting to shove her mouth full of her plate filled with an assortment of salmon-related dishes.

"12?! Then why did you tell me to wake me up so early?"Lilly had indeed told her to get up this early or she would have gladly missed breakfast with the family in order to get some good sleep in.

That is if she had a normal night and morning. She really hoped she could get a break from all that was happening around her.

"Nwo...tha...yob...khan...use...mafa...(Now that you can use mana)" Lilly finished over half her portions in no time but spoke while doing so. This made her words a task to decipher but not that hard of a task.

She gulped half a glass of water before finishing her sentence cleanly "I want to show you around our training center." She then continued her feast.

When she heard the words 'training center', Cynthia was overjoyed on the inside. On her face though, there was nothing but a blank expression as her smirk from earlier disappeared.

She was back to her cold self and nodded before calmly dissecting her food with the utensils. She found that the salmon was indeed fresh and light. It made her full but not too much. It was also healthy when paired with the side dishes.

No one showed any change of expression when hearing the training center as it was common knowledge that the Duketh's owned such a facility.

It was where the Extractors hired by the family trained their mana abilities and it was available to family members for the same purpose.

Cynthia had never been able to enter this state-of-the-art facility with the best trained and equipment but she had seen its magnificent structure from the outside.

Now she was going to see what it was like inside and would actually get to use it. The family has already decided to invest in her so they will spare no expense.

After this small talk, the breakfast went as usual as everyone ate pretty quickly. The men headed to work, Alison went to the hospital to check up on Oswin and the girls went out for a trip.

...

3 luxury SUVs exited the Duketh Estate simultaneously. These three vehicles were joined by a convoy of all-black SUVs. These were their bodyguards.

In a villa that had a clear view of the estate's entrance, a middle-aged man looked out of his window through a gap in his curtains.

He took out a walkie-talkie and pressed on the button so he could relay his words to the listening ends.

"All members of the Duketh household have exited the estate." He says.

After a moment to let his comrades digest the information, a reply comes through with no static. Beep!

"Copy that. To confirm, there are no Duketh's within the estate."

"Affirmative. We can begin as soon as the command is given."

"Alright. Please be on standby."

"Copy that. Selvin 12 going on standby."

At this time, the vehicle convoy was out of sight, and the middle-aged man sat down on a couch. This was one of the very few pieces of furniture available in this unlit villa.

"The government is getting crazier by the day...." he muttered under his breath. His burly hands held onto the walkie-talkie with a tightened grip.

Crack! He shattered the device with his bare hands as the plastic and metal components dispersed.

Back to the convoy of cars, they had split up at some point with 2 of the bodyguard vehicles sandwiching a main car within the middle. Traffic was pretty high this time in the morning as no people were heading to work.

It was also a weekend so it wasn't as bad as on the weekdays when students were heading to school. Traffic is something that no metropolitan city is complete without. It really is difficult to rebuild entire cities with traffic in mind as there are larger concerns.

So with the mixture of traffic and the fact that the training center was located on the other side of the city, it took them half an hour to get there.

The convoy stooped right outside a stadium-like dome-shaped building that was built up its metal walls. The walls had a snake scale pattern with their rhombus grooves. Sometimes, these groves would one and close, it was like the building itself was breathing.

"What do you think?" asked Lilly with a smirk as she started to hop towards the building. They had just stepped out of the SUV with men in women in suits and black sunglasses following behind them. All of them had earpieces on.

"I think it's breathtaking," replied Cynthia. She was once again willing to shine a smile on her little sister as she was really glad to be able to see this marvel of engineering and economic marvel.

She was thinking about the billions of dollars that went into buying the materials and hiring the scientists and engineers to build such a structure.

"Hehe, you're breathtaking," Lilly said as she grabbed Cynthia's arm and dragged her inside so she wouldn't stay and scrutinize the outside of the building.

This was an actual concern as she was staring at it with stars in her eyes, The building that was breathing on its own was really a sight to marvel but it had its practical purposes and wasn't just for vanity.

Inside, there was a reception desk at the very forefront with 2 fairly attractive women working on desktops. You could only assume they were working as you couldn't really see their screens.

They wore black suits and skirts and had the professional look of assistants. As soon as they saw the faces of the two young girls, they got up from their seats and bowed slightly.

They often saw Lilly so they knew her identity as the child of the boss that was many levels above their direct boss. The daughter of the second most wealthy family in Navas City.

"Good morning young miss," they said in sync as the two were very used to it.

Their eyes then wandered towards the stylishly dressed young woman with long black hair cut into bangs on her forehead and bright crimson eyes.

She had a cold and expressionless face that contained endless beauty. A face of an Ice Goddess was looking at them like they are worthless ants. She was like a queen that slowly descended her castle from the snowy peaks of an imposing mountain and they were the snow beneath her feet.

They were without value, only to worthy of being crushed under her heel. This was the face of a villainess.

(Authors Note: So I had to take a break to settle some things before my classes started. Now that they have, I can go back to writing daily. There is a question I have for you all. Would you prefer a mass release of chapters or consistent daily uploads?

This story is slow-paced at the moment and I do plan on letting it gain speed once in while with the action sequences I have planned. That's why I was wondering if I should release bundles of chapters together.)