Chapter 182 A Former Rival

Satoshi woke up earlier than normal to sneak in a morning jog before his training with his dad. The morning was chilly, as usual, so Satoshi wrapped himself in his hoodie and he wore the thickest jogging pants he had. As he got out of their front gate, he breathed in the cold fresh air, before he quietly closed the front gate. He didn't want to wake anyone up, especially Emma since she will most definitely join him in her morning run.

Right now he wanted to soak himself in solitude as he tried to take his mind off of things. The information he saw last night about his Nailgun familiar shook him to his very core. So before he viewed his other familiars' information, he wanted to mentally prepare himself.

Although it would've been better if he viewed all his familiars' information at once, he figured that hitting the bare minimum of his mastery over Nailgun would work better in the long run. At least, he would have at least one mastered familiar at his disposal when the worst-case scenario happens. That is exponentially much better compared to meeting all his familiars halfway.

"Big bro," Satoshi almost jumped out of his skin in fright when someone called behind him. He swiveled and got even more frightened when he noticed that there was no one standing behind him. "What the— "

"Are you going for a run? Aira wants to join,"

Satoshi's gaze shifted downwards, and that's when she noticed Aira, still in his pajamas and wearing the tattered shoes she wore last night. She was hugging herself, shivering. Even though the cold morning air got the better of her, not a single complaint left her mouth.

"Are you sure? You're still in your pajamas. Don't you feel cold?" Satoshi asked, he didn't even notice that his hand was already patting Aira's head.

"Aira wants to go with you," She continued.

"Next time, head back inside." Satoshi gently told her. "And look, how could you run in those shoes?"

Disappointment was written all over Aira's face, pouting as she walked back inside. Satoshi wanted to call her back since she was dragging her feet, but he turned around and shook his head instead. How could he let a little girl in pajamas run in the cold? She'd just get a fever soon after.

Step.

Satoshi paced himself before accelerating towards the nearby park where he usually jogs. The chilly breeze hitting his face renewed his energy, and he wasn't the least bit tired as he quickened his pace. A few greetings of good mornings were received and reciprocated as Satoshi did his laps. Once he was finished, he stopped by the water fountain and drank, beads of sweat pouring from his face.

A sigh left his lips as he summoned his Nailgun and stared at it for a good few seconds. The Nailgun seemed to stare back at him, and every time Satoshi gave it specific instructions in his mind, it promptly obeyed without delay. In mid-air, the Nailgun spun around, shot a couple of nails on the ground, and even whizzed past the trees at insane speeds. Satoshi shivered at the thought of riding the Nailgun while it sped at such insane speed.

Its newfound skills— Elemental Nails, Diamond Pierce, and Clone— were perfectly in sync with Satoshi's instructions as well Furthermore, the power output of the Nailgun was more powerful than ever.

For some reason, Satoshi thought back to the time when he fought against Hiroshi during the 'demonstration' test on the first day of school. If Nailgun was this powerful, he would've easily swept through the entire competition. Even the person who had a magnetic field wouldn't have stood a chance against him. A smile formed on Satoshi's lips. He really had come so far with his superpower, and everything happened in a span of a few months.

"Ah, right, Heimdall Agency has a training room, right? I guess I should stop by there after my training with dad." Satoshi said. It was still his second day as an intern so there were still a lot of places he hasn't seen in the Heimdall Agency. Hopefully, he could get some much-needed training there before he was sent on another patrol mission.

"Satoshi?"

This time, Satoshi didn't flinch when someone called out to him. From afar, a boy his age was walking towards him, holding a leash with a dog on the other end. Satoshi immediately recognized the dog's breed, a german shepherd.

"Yes?"

"I knew it. Who would've thought that you also jog around this park. Do you live nearby?" He asked.

Satoshi nodded, wondering who the boy was. He was a moment too late to realize that it was none other than the boy who defeated him back then, the one with the magnetic forcefield that nullified all his metal attacks during the competition on the first day of school.

With an amicable grin, the boy approached Satoshi, extending his hand for a handshake. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with his demeanor, Satoshi shook his hand in return, petting the german shepherd a second later since he couldn't help it. "He's cute, what's his name?"

"Ava, short for Avalanche." The boy responded. "I saw you on the news. I can't believe that one of my schoolmates already appeared on television a couple of times. I'm a big fan, by the way."

"Thanks, I'm a big fan too. The name's Simon Cerberus, and yes, that's really my surname." He introduced. He figured that Satoshi had already forgotten his name, that's why he brought it up.

"Cool, I'm Satoshi, I guess you know that by now." Satoshi scratched his head. He didn't know how to respond to what Simon said so he just awkwardly introduced himself.

"..."

There was a pause, and then, Simon let out a single um. "If it's not a bother... would it be all right if I ask for a rematch? I've always wanted to go head to head again with you." He sheepishly asked.