Obsession of a Lion

===Status===

Name: James Luminary

Rank: III

Strength: V

Speed: V

Stamina: V

Intelligence: V

Mana grade: III [Higher]

Charm:?

--> Inherent Disposition : [Child of Light]

--> Battle Arts: [Shining Sword]

-Martial Skills: [Double Strike], [Triple Strike], [Arc of Glory], [Ascension]

--> Elemental affinities: [Light]

==========

'I finally broke through...'

On the tenth day of their break, James had finally managed to break through to a [Higher] M.G.

It was monstrous progress, managing to break through even though his starting grade was already incredibly high for a freshman.

He had spent every single day improving himself, making full use of the time capsules and his teachers' guidance, and it was beginning to show. With a haggard face and eyes with dark circles underneath, he looked like he was about to collapse at any time.

As he was about to exit the training room, a gentle voice reached his ears,

"Why do you do this to yourself?"

Sarah was standing in a corner of the room, watching the young man with concerned eyes.

With a gentle smile and a shoulder shrug, he answered her question,

"You know why I am doing this Sarah. This is for everyone's sake. For when he comes back... I need to be stronger. Much stronger."

She walked up to the tired golden boy and caressed his cheek while she gazed into his hurting eyes.

"Are you sure that this is really about keeping everyone safe?"

After spending a whole semester together she had gotten quite a good read on the young man, although he still had a lot of mysteries about him. But she couldn't shake the feeling that his desperate search for power wasn't about being a protector.

He placed his hand over hers and spoke confidently,

"I don't want Miren to have to endure all the hate anymore, even if I have to make him hate me. I also want our classmates to feel safe and this is the only way."

Even though he wore a bright smile his eyes weren't smiling. Although tired and haggard they still contained a certain determination.

Sarah could only smile at his declaration, unable to retort his conviction. She knew her position, she was his support and she would continue to support him.

"Is that so? Well, I believe in you. But don't you think you can relax for a couple of days now? You are almost a Rank IV now right? Shouldn't you be to enjoy your summer break a little?"

'Guess I should spend some time with her...'

They were already at a point where they could be called a couple, although they hadn't crossed the line. After Miren had gotten abducted everything seemed more real to the students. They could lose their lives at any time, and the world wouldn't wait for them to grow up anymore.

So Sarah had made her move, not wanting James to disappear like Miren before she had confessed her feelings. Even if James was dense it wasn't like he could mistake "I like you" for something else, thus they agreed to try and start dating.

"So what do you want to do?"

A huge smile appeared on the beauty's face, a result of the training-obsessed James finally coming out of his cave. Hugging his arm, creating a situation where it was squeezed between her huge assets, she started to drag him out of the room.

"I want to go to the amusement park! Oh! I also want to go to a fancy restaurant and eat nice food! But first, you have to take a shower, you stink!"

James let himself get dragged by his girl and listened to her going on and on about what she wanted to do. But his mind was still elsewhere.

Mike had already told them before the break that Miren would most likely be back at the start of the next semester.

'Less than one month huh... Wonder how much you have changed...'

****

Sitting next to Misa and in front of Sophie, we were having a serious conversation. With her brows wrinkled, Sophie asked me yet again,

"Are you sure you want to join us for a hunt? There is not a single monster out there lower than Rank III you know?"

Hunts were a big part of the reason why Basilisk managed to stay afloat economically. Although they did random jobs for questionable people, most of their money came from selling monster materials and mana crystals which could be used to construct different technology.

Getting a bit irritated at her insisting on making sure I wanted to come, I said with conviction,

"Yes, I'm really fucking sure I want to go. You also know that I can always run away if I have to. I need to challenge myself if I want to get stronger, and this is the perfect chance."

Sophie flinched a bit at my aggressive choice of words, but it seemed to have gotten my point across.

Misa took my hand, clearly showing that she was worried about me and didn't want me to go out on such a dangerous trip.

"But Miren, you are still so young, there is no need to be so desperate!"

Looking at the one I now felt could very much be my future wife I tried to explain my viewpoint,

"I do have to be desperate. As soon as I became the highest-ranked student I got a target painted on my back. Even the one I regarded as a friend became my enemy. More importantly, I want to be able to give you the life you deserve."

"Miren..."

"Misa..."

"UGH! Please stop! Fine, you can join us tomorrow, but you better make sure to stay alive so our negotiations don't fail."

Unable to bear witness to our affection any longer the amazon finally gave in.

It couldn't be understated that it was indeed a weird situation. The hostage would get to join a hunt in order to train, but at this point, I really didn't feel like I was a hostage, and apparently neither did Sophie as she accepted.

After more than a week of sparring against her, I was quite certain that she found my level of power at least acceptable. I had gotten more and more hits in on her, although none would have been fatal even if I could penetrate her skin., but at least it proved that I was improving.

"By the way, it seems like you are going back to the academy in two weeks. They are just about to sign the legislation we asked for next week. So you will be back just in time for when the semester starts."

I only gave her a brief nod as an acknowledgment of what she said.

It was weird, in a lot of ways I didn't want to go back to the academy. Somehow it felt like I could live a better life here, but I knew it wouldn't be possible. For one, Sophie had already told us that they would dismantle Basilisk after this. It was, after all, the sole reason for its existence.

But there was still something that made me want to go back. It had nothing to do with the people there, nor was it about the facilities, although they were incredible. No, after James's challenge something had sparked inside of me. I wanted to prove myself. Not to them, but to myself.

I knew I had gotten stronger during my time here, but it could probably not be compared to my classmates who had access to so much more than me. Time capsules, intelligent training dummies, and teachers to guide them, just to name a few things.

Thankfully, my mana conglomeration speed wasn't normal. I had managed to raise my M.G. several steps in just a semester, something normally incomprehensible, almost impossible. It was most likely thanks to my unique relationship with my element, somehow letting me improve my mana every time I got to meet the strange purple figure inside of me.

"So when do we meet up tomorrow?"

"We will leave at 6 AM, so we usually meet at 5:30 to organize ourselves at the gates."

And with that, we concluded our conversation and went on with our days, with me eagerly waiting for tomorrow to arrive.