Shadow Slave

Chapter 498 Superficial Connection

ʼTrain her…ʼ

Wasnʼt that exactly what he wanted?

It was.

But wasnʼt it also exactly what he wanted to avoid?

Yes, it was that too.

Sunny was in a strange predicament. The solution to the problem that had tormented him for many months had suddenly fallen right into his lap out of nowhere, but to make use of it, he had to do something that went against all his previous reservations.

He didnʼt want Rain to be connected to him in any way. If Sunny was honest with himself, he had to admit that he was drawn to her… or rather, to the faint, half-forgotten memories of a different, happy time that she represented. His desire to reconnect with Rain was both selfish and misguided, since he knew that nothing was going to bring those memories back to life.

…And if Sunny was really honest, he had to admit that deep down, he harbored a lot of resentment toward her, too. For having a loving family while he had none, for being fine. For not needing him at all.

What a mess of emotions that was! And if there was one thing Sunny was really bad at dealing with, it was his feelings. For him, fighting hordes of Nightmare Creatures was much easier.

And then, as if his inner turmoil was not enough, there were external forces at play, too. There was his [Fated] Attribute, the strange connection he had to Weaver, and Nephis with her murderous feud against the Sovereigns and the inhuman will to see the Spell destroyed.

The more he and Rain were connected, the higher were the chances of her being implicated in all this. But…

Maybe, as long as they only had a shallow connection between a kid from an affluent family and her hired tutor, things werenʼt going to get out of hand.

He also had to consider that the threat posed by a potential First Nightmare was much greater than that of being superficially tied to him. After all, Sunny had not done anything to attract the really dangerous kind of attention… or rather, had not been caught doing anything like that yet.

…While he was torn between these conflicting thoughts, Rain waited patiently, and then, misjudging his silence, said:

”Oh! Of course, I will pay you. I have some money saved for a trip, and… well, I can also talk to my parents. Itʼs just that youʼre the only Awakened I know… you know? Apart from my combat instructor in school.”

Sunny looked at her, a deep frown on his face. Eventually, he asked:

”What brought upon this conversation? Why do you suddenly want someone to train you? You said it yourself, you already have a combat instructor. I thought you rich kids get taught everything you need in school.”

Rain suddenly grew quiet and looked away.

After a while, she said:

”Ah, that… you probably havenʼt heard, but there was a… there was a Gate that opened near my school today. Many people almost died. I saw a real Nightmare Creature, even. It was… was this close to me. An Awakened like you wonʼt probably understand how it feels, right? Oh! Sorry, what am I saying? Of course youʼd understand. I mean… what I meant to say is that I was absolutely powerless, and that was… not a nice feeling. Not a nice feeling at all.”

He glanced at him, and said with a suddenly serious voice:

”So I want to become strong. Really strong. Strong enough to never feel that way again.”

Sunny almost laughed.

ʼOh, what irony… here we are, so different and in such different situations, but our desires are completely the same. Become stronger, so much stronger. As strong as one could possibly be…ʼ

Rain paused for a few moments, and then added:

”And what we are taught in school is not nearly enough. At least… at least it wasnʼt today. Some of my classmates have private tutors that their parents hire for them, real Awakened fighters. But itʼs just a question of status to them. They donʼt really learn… or if they do, I didnʼt see it make any difference when the Nightmare Creatures were trying to kill us…”

Sunny smiled from the corner of his mouth.

”Thatʼs because a thousand hours of training will never be as impactful as one real fight. My own… mentor told me that once.”

He hesitated for a second, and then sighed.

”I myself was trained by a very special person. The best fighter I have ever met, and probably ever will. The funny thing is, though, I sort of swindled her into teaching me how to handle a sword. Felt a little guilty about it ever since. So I guess it wonʼt hurt to pay it forward and help someone like you out.”

Sunny looked at Rain with a dark expression, realizing that he had already made a decision.

ʼAh, to hell with this... why make things complicated when they are actually really simple?ʼ

He shook his head.

”Be warned, though. If you want me to train you, I will really train you. Itʼs going to be hard as hell and hurt a lot. I donʼt want to hear any complaints, or see you slacking off. Understood?”

Rain suddenly giggled.

Sunny scowled.

”Whatʼs so funny?”

She waved a hand.

”Sorry! Sorry. Itʼs just… itʼs funny when you act all strict and serious, because you, you know… are barely older than me. But I do understand. Iʼll work hard, I promise.”

Sunny stared at her for a bit, then said in a low voice:

”What do you mean, barely older than you? Iʼm ages older than you! Just half the crap Iʼve seen would be enough for a few lifetimes of the likes of you!”

Then, he smiled menacingly and added:

”Oh, and by the way, I also wonʼt be cheap! I have mouths to feed, you know. That guest youʼve seen… I canʼt seem to get her to leave. Thereʼs also a stone-hearted beauty who always follows me around, and her diet is unreasonably expensive. But what can I do, attracting women with terrifying appetites seems to be my curse…”

He sighed, looked at Rain, and added:

”But if you still didnʼt change your mind, then fine. Iʼll train you, Rain…”

😉