Chapter 53 - Pendant

After using Meteor Shower, Fang had depleted all his energy, and the room grew dim.

Similarly, Yume withdrew her energy and turned to him with enthusiasm. “Fang, you’ve improved quite a lot since I last saw you. Did Valeria frequently spar with you to practice?”

Fang replied modestly, “Yes, Valeria has given me a lot of help. Thank you for this opportunity as well.”

“It’s nothing at all. After all, you and Valeria are quite close. Hearing the entire title is really a bore, so just call me by my name.”

He hesitated, as Yume was a prominent figure he felt awkward addressing by name.

However, she gave him no chance to respond. “Since you didn’t object, you wouldn’t mind if I treated you like a brother, right?”

Fang could only agree with a nod.

She smiled. “As your elder sister, I shouldn’t visit without bringing a gift.”

She then extended her palm, and a pendant appeared, which she handed directly to him. “This artifact will help attract energy and will be quite useful for your practice.”

At first glance, Fang recognized the gem on the pendant. The distinct shade of purple indicated that it was a type of jade, extremely valuable for energy absorption. He estimated its worth to be at least ten thousand gold coins. “It’s too precious; I can’t accept it.”

“I don’t have any use for it. The artifact is only useful for absorbing energy without a specific property, so it’s better off with you… unless you think it’s not good enough?”

His face reddened slightly with embarrassment. “No, it’s more than good enough.”

“Since there are no complaints, you can have it!” Her assertive manner left no room for arguments, and Fang could only feel grateful.

“Thank you, Yume.”

She smiled. “Don’t be too quick with your thanks. After all, I’ll be coming back next week.”

Stunned, Fang slowly asked, “Next week?”

“For now, the country headquarters isn’t very busy. Without an assignment, I don’t have much to do during my break, so I don’t mind visiting here on weekends… or am I not welcome?”

Fang replied hastily, “You’re more than welcome to come.”

“Then, I’ll see you next week!” She waved her hand and left the room.

---

Soon after Valeria accompanied Yume out, she returned to the living room and questioned Fang. “So, what do you think?”

“Yume’s very strong, and the spatial element is really different from the dark element.”

As he spoke, Valeria interrupted, “Yume?”

“Yes, she told me to call her by name and gave me this.” Fang pulled out the pendant. “I was reluctant to accept it, but she insisted, saying it was useless to her, and gave it to me as a gift.”

Valeria examined the pendant closely and was surprised. Yume hadn’t lied; the pendant was indeed useless to her, but it was a keepsake she had worn ever since Valeria met her. Passing it on to Fang wasn’t because she took a particular liking to him—Valeria understood Yume’s intentions.

Although Yume wanted to help, her strength was insufficient to confront the pirate group. Even if she had the power, she was constrained by her duties to the country, and there was no chance they’d risk one of the country’s assets on such a reckless mission.

However, Yume knew Valeria placed all her hopes on Fang, and giving away her precious heirloom was her way of showing support.

---

The weekend arrived, and as promised, Yume came again. This time, she briefly spoke with Valeria before heading to the practice room. “Well, Fang, I’ll be your trainer tonight!”

This time, he wasn’t very surprised. “Thank you.”

“There’s no need to be so polite. It seems you might need a little reminder…”

Suddenly, an array of cubes flew densely towards Fang. He had no chance to dodge everything as the cubes spun toward him. With a dense crunch, some of the cubes struck his body.

A flare of energy accompanied every impact. Unlike the fire element’s burning or the metal element’s laceration, the spatial element’s redeeming feature was its tenacity, not its offensive properties.

So, when the cubes hit Fang, it felt like he was being pounded by bricks. Though it hurt, it wasn’t unbearable due to his defenses.

Instant parry?

Last week, Yume hadn’t counterattacked as she wanted to gauge his abilities, but seeing he had mastered his skills, a happy expression appeared on her face.

Since he could handle that, there was no harm in going all out for once!

---

Although she said she would be training him, she was relentless in her assault, stopping only once Fang’s energy was completely exhausted.

The intensity of the spatial element attacks wasn’t enough to cause internal injuries; however, physical harm was unavoidable. Throughout the evening, he was battered around, but by numbing his senses, he didn’t feel much pain.

Yume stared in astonishment; usually, no matter how talented a person was, they couldn’t endure this much pain. She never expected him to remain conscious after such a grueling training session, but it worked out well for her purposes.

Yet, comforting was not her style, so with a single wave, she walked out the door.

When Valeria looked at Fang after seeing Yume out, her face paled in fright.

Even with the low level of energy, the constant barrage of attacks must have exhausted him. Fang appeared covered entirely in a bluish-purple bruise. His pitiful appearance prompted a sharp question from Valeria. “Yume was quite ruthless. Don’t you blame her?”

His mouth moved tiredly into a composed smile. “I don’t. I understand that this kind of training is extremely beneficial. Once I adapt to this intense fighting and build up my stamina, it’ll definitely be a huge help.”

A small grin briefly appeared on Valeria’s face. “If you understand that much, then there’s no need for further discussion. There’s already a bath prepared for your wounds, so come quickly!”