Chapter 108: Feelings

Alex slowly stood up and smiled. He looked at Midnight who was having the time of her life laughing at him being taken down. 'I guess I have to try and go all out just to take her down… I guess what I learned today will be helpful.' He said to himself remembering the training he did just a few hours ago.

Imani backed away and gave Alex some time. After Alex collected himself and looked ready, Imani spoke, "Okay, I'll do the same thing." She smiled. Hearing Imani's words, Alex was confused. He didn't expect Imani to say what she would do next. Alex put his guard up and waited for the attack. 

Imani once again charged towards Alex, aiming to punch him in the gut once again. Alex took a deep breath and thought back to the training. Just before he got punched once again, Alex quickly put his hand in front of his stomach and grabbed Imani's fist. 'Strong!' Alex's eyes opened wide as he used Imani's momentum against her and threw her to the wall. 

Imani however seemed to stop herself from being thrown and smiled at Alex, "very Good." She spoke before throwing another punch to his gut. Alex jumped back, barely being missed by the attack. He took a deep breath and thought, 'I won't be winning this battle. I can see that. I guess my only choice is to defend from any attack incoming.' He set up his mindset and was ready. 

The two were in the arena for over an hour. They exchanged blows with each other but at a very slow pace. Imani threw a new attack every time and let Alex defend himself, trying to teach him how one should defend themselves. Midnight, who was at the sidelines looked very bored by this time. She looked lazily towards the arena and sighed, "It was fun to watch at first but now, It's just the same thing repeating itself. She attacks Alex, Alex falls. She then tells him what she will do the same attack, Alex dodges or defends himself. Alex has, for the past one and a half hours done only 5 attacks. If It was going to be this boring, I would have gone up and helped out with the gates…" She mumbled. 

"You know, I feel the opposite. Being busy with the games is a lot more troublesome than being busy here. Ryan already told you that you don't need to worry about the gates until his training is over. You went to deal with a few yesterday but got yelled at, didn't you?" A deep voice spoke from behind Midnight. 

Midnight rolled her eyes and nodded, "I just wanted to help you, it seemed like you were having a lot of problems and had many places to go at once so having one more A rank would have been more helpful. But looking at you being here, It seems like Mr busy isn't so busy after all." Midnight smirked.

The man behind Midnight was Oj, He looked at the arena and smiled, "I wanted to see my future disciple, that's all. They're working me overtime so Every day I have three pm to six pm free. They called it my daily break but it's just them allocating time for me to train this kid. Just phrasing it in a kind way." Oj looked at Midnight. 

Hearing Oj's words, Midnight smiled, "It's weird, isn't it? I've talked to him a lot in the past few days and I don't see anything special in him, except for his monstrous ability." 

Oj furrowed his eyebrows and questioned, "What? You just contradicted yourself. His monstrous ability is special itself. What do you mean by him not being anything special?" 

Midnight nodded and looked at Oj, She slowly explained, "Well, I needed to make my wording a bit more clear. I mean as in, He isn't that special when it comes to charisma. Hell, the first time I saw him… It felt like looking at a confused pup. I'm not saying that Alex is a dog but I'm just confused about what's so special about him for Ryan, Master Zhun, and Hana especially to be focusing on him. If we ignored the current gates situation, I'd say that those three are revolving around him. Hell, even now, I can't help but feel like I should do something to help him. That's what I mean, What's the thing that's making everyone revolve around him?" Midnight looked a bit distressed. 

Oj smiled when he heard Midnight's words, "You know, It's been so long since I've seen this side of you Midnight. It must have been some time since you've talked to buster so you must have kept your feeling inside." Oj spoke in a soft and kind tone, "I understand what you mean. But this isn't about Alex is it? At least it's not entirely about him. Tell me, you know I have you back every time. Just tell big brother Oj your problems." 

Midnight smiled and nodded, "It's… I've been trying so hard to get closer to Hana. I don't want her attention, I want to give her attention. I've been trying so hard to let Hana be loose with her feelings but it seems like she just keeps everything to herself… I can see a dim light in her eyes, not something that anyone would have. She looked lost every now and then, sometimes distressed. But she never speaks up about it. But once Alex appeared to this world, I was more than just surprised by how close he got to Hana. I even saw a smile on her face while talking to Alex… Something that I've never seen before. Sure, she smiled only to try and piss people up but not a genuine one. But He was able to bring that out… That's why I feel so lost now, Alex seems to bring out that from her." She looked sad.

Oj took a deep breath. He nodded as he listened closely to Midnight's words. "I get how you feel. It must have been harsh to you when you saw that. But ask yourself this, Shouldn't you be happy that Hana is changing herself? I think you're just more jealous of Alex, which it's totally fine. I think you just tell me how you feel about everything just now must have made your mind more clear. But to think you kept it all in… buster is one call away. If I see you like this another time, I will call buster myself. Take care of yourself, Maddy. You're a kind soul, don't let that soul be hurt by minor things like that." 

Midnight nodded, she looked at Alex and Imani, "You're right. I feel much better now that I've cleared my thoughts. What a dumb thing to be sad about… But thank you. I guess I'm just relieved that Alex appeared in our world. If he becomes stronger, We have another protector in our hands, someone who can take care of the big gates…" Midnight then turned to Oj with a put, "Just don't call me by that name again! You know that I don't like that!" She said as her cheeks puffed up. 

Oj laughed when he heard Midnight's words. He looked at Alex and smiled, "But seriously, This kid is a mystery. He has this weird energy around him that just makes people want to get closer to him. I guess that answers your first question as well. He has hidden charisma, his attitude might need a change, however. I've seen him thrice now and I can already say that the kid is naivety reincarnate." 

Midnight nodded, She agreed with Oj. "I think that's slowly changing. The more a person spends their life as an awakened, the more they evolve mentally. All this killing changed people. I'm sure he will change with time." 

Imani looked at the two and smiled. She clapped her hands and the arena's holograms suddenly stopped. Alex took at Imani and spoke, "That's all for today?" He was hurt all over but Alex didn't want to give in. 

Imani nodded and spoke, "We have Oj here, why don't you save your energy and let him heal you. You'll get to see his healing properly without being affected by Master Ryan's Illusions." She smiled. 

Hearing Imani, Alex nodded and walked over to the two. He looked at Oj but didn't know what to say. 'Should I just say heal me? Wouldn't that be rude?' Alex didn't know how to word his question without making it sound rude. 

Oj looked at Alex and rolled his eyes, "A simple request is enough. Maybe with a please at the end. I've seen that expression so I understand, but if you need healing from other healers, You need to speak up." Oj pointed to a seat, indicating Alex to sit. 

Alex quietly sit down and waited for Oj. "Hmm." Oj hummed as he stood up and crouched in front of Alex. His hands hovering over Alex's chest. A green stream of energy suddenly came from His hands as Alex felt his pain all numbing away. 

[Healing Detected]