Chapter 56: Long Day

Chapter 56: Long Day

When I woke up, I was enveloped by comfort and ease. I felt amazingly rested.

I had been up for almost two days straight since, during the time I was supposed to sleep a night ago, I instead advanced and my mind was overloaded with energy. I couldn’t go to sleep even if I wanted to.

But now, I had finally slept and reset my system. That rest seemed to have completely solidified the effects of my advancement, making me feel even stronger than before, perhaps smarter as well.

But my mind was preoccupied with the girl in my arms. Once my eyes opened and cleared, I saw her still dead asleep.

In fact, she had started drooling on my arm at some point, leaving a puddle on my sleeve. I just chuckled a bit and continued to lay there.

Honestly, sometimes it felt like the touch of the person you liked or loved was just as intoxicating as any drug. Simply looking at Umara made me happy.

Was I head over heels for this girl? Nah, no way. I’m in complete control of my emotions.

After a while of staring and enjoying her comfort, I suddenly saw her shift a tiny bit, indicating her awakening.

I smiled and leaned forward a bit, kissing her forehead.

Then I kissed her cheek, her breathing hitching a bit.

And then I kissed her chin, causing her hand to clutch my shirt.

When my lips were planted on her neck, her breathing came out like a shiver.

“J-John... Haah...”

“Hmm, good morning.”

I pulled away and looked at her with a smile, her ears burning red as she let out a few harsh breaths.

Unlike last night though, she was no longer so daring and bold. In embarrassment, she turned and buried her face in the pillow.

I laughed while climbing out of bed.

Both of us were still in our attire from last night, not having bothered to take anything off or change. Perhaps we would need to engage in the walk of shame back to the Magisterium.

Then again, I had my coat in my spatial sack, so throwing it on would make me look normal. Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

I looked back at Umara. After some silence, she went from embarrassed to curious about the room.

“Is this your own room?”

“Yea. The Key Master gave it to me back when I had nowhere to stay.”

“You were homeless?”

“Temporarily when I first came to the capital. I didn’t have a single coin to my name back then, but the Key Master was generous enough to give me this room for free.”

“Wow. Honestly, it’s nicer than my bedroom at our family mansion, so you got a pretty good deal.”

“I would agree.”

I nodded and looked around. This place was befit to house the famous, rich, and influential. To get a place like this anywhere else in the city would cost a massive sum of money, and I had gotten it for free.

Well, I’ve gotten everything I have now through the generosity of many people. It will take a long time trying to repay all of them, but it’ll happen one way or another.

Letting out a small breath, I pointed to the bathroom.

“If you need to, you can clean up in there. Do you have a change of clothes or do you want to go out and buy some?”

“No, I have my robes.”

“Oh, good. Well, you take the bathroom first. I’ll order some breakfast.”

“Alright.”

She nodded and jumped out of bed, heading into the bathroom.

While she did that, I ordered some room service, getting a breakfast platter.

And it didn’t take long to get here. I heard a knock on the door by the time Umara came back out in her robes.

“Here you go, sir. Call if there’s anything else you need.”

“Thank you.”

I took the cart that was rolled in, bringing it over to my dining area.

The wall closest to the dining area was entirely made out of glass from floor to ceiling, so we were able to eat while taking in the view of the morning city from so high up.

“Oh, smells good.”

Umara smiled and sat down, digging in with me. While we ate though, I looked out toward the two most eye catching buildings in the city.

The Royal Palace and the Magic Spire.

And as soon as the door closed, she jumped on me while sealing our mouths.

Oh, so that’s what she wanted.

Chuckling as she wrapped her legs around my waist, I went and placed her back against a wall, propping her up and going to town.

And that’s when I learned that she was a very fast learner. Compared to last night, she seemed like a pro.

Still, I was shocked at how eager she could get. With how embarrassed she always got when I teased her or showed her some love, I figured she was just more innocent or reserved.

But my goodness. This girl could get dirty.

After pinning her against the wall for a while, she eventually pushed off and brought us to the bed where we continued.

And we didn’t stop until one of my alarms went off around an hour later, signaling the time to head over to our training.

So after we reluctantly pulled away from each other, we cleaned up and left the dorms.

“Oh, we should go see the leaderboard.”

“That’s right! I wonder what place you’re at.”

Suddenly remembering how I was now an Elite, we both went and checked the leaderboard where I would be placed.

The leaderboard was located in the school’s secondary plaza near the west wing. There, the board was held between two marble pillars.

I looked at the silvery white metal frame that had 32 names atop it.

And there, in 11th place, was my name with 490 points next to it.

I nodded with a pleased expression.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself.”

“Mm, for only going on one trip, it’s amazing. Keep going like that and you’ll reach the top of the leaderboard. Though, I’m surprised that there’s also 3 others who become Elites.”

Umara looked at the bottom of the leaderboard where three more names were added along with mine. While she was occupied though, I suddenly turned and looked around.

There were always plenty of students within the plaza, but I was noticing how many eyes the two of us were pulling.

With my Aura I could sense the curiosity in the gazes of all the younger students, wondering who I was. I could also sense a lot of boys staring at Umara.

At first, I was simply amazed at how acute my senses and attunement to Aura had become. But the next moment, I found myself smirking.

I suddenly took Umara’s hand in my own, raising it and kissing the back of her fingers.

“W-Wait, why?”

She looked at me with a flushed face, her eyes darting around to all those around us, seeing all their whispers and giggles.

I didn't respond, intertwining our fingers before pulling her to the training grounds.

There, we found most of the other Elites waiting around by the Puppet Master’s outpost. The rest of our squad was included.

As we walked over, I felt Umara’s hand clutch my own a bit harder. I could imagine that it was a bit nerve wracking to be so open about our relationship in front of friends, but at the same time, what would it mean if we let go? That we were afraid to tell people?

Well, I think we were beyond that with everything that had happened in recent days.

Still, even I was a bit embarrassed as I saw Vetsmon and Feiden chuckle mischievously.

“Look at these two.”

“Where were you guys yesterday?”

“I-I knew it!”

Tana shouted from behind the men, as if she hadn’t been completely oblivious a week ago.

I laughed a bit as Umara tried to hide behind me.

“We were having fun not getting our asses kicked by the Puppet Master.”

“Yea? Well, you’re in for a good surprise.”

“John!”

Suddenly, there was a yell as the Puppet Master came stomping out of his outpost.

I scratched my head as he approached.

“Where were you two yesterday?! Actually, I don’t want to know. But since you skipped a scenario, your squad gets to do a hard one today! Now get ready!”

“Well shit.”

I cursed as we were all mercilessly enveloped by a pulling force, teleporting into the scenario.

Today was going to be a long day.