"Little Red, is this the place?" Howell found that the sight was unbelievable. Carmen who was on his shoulder also let out a surprised emotion that Howell felt through their link.
'Partner, this is another place! Different than where we were before.' Carmen was surprised but excited because she probably could do it too given enough time.
"Yes, Master! I find this isolated and wild island for our training ground." Little Red said as she checked the condition of her Isolating Frame, Shield Talisman, Concealment Array, and Spatial Lockdown Ruler. This was a safety procedure she ingrained deep into her core as she was still the Crimson Dragon Queen.
"Training ground where it truly belongs to us...private training ground...hehe..." Howell wore light clothes as he was going out with the purpose of training and that paid off. He also went into euphoria since he could go all out here.
"So Master, what do you say we are training around the topic of Martial Arts?" Little Red was looking at Howell in a different manner than usual and Howell now knew the reason he felt odd.
"Little Red, are you...are you a training and battle maniac?" Howell realized that Little Red's gaze was like an excited hunter who had found its prey, someone who could finally do what it could not do before.
"What is wrong with that?" Little Red put her finger on her lips. She was currently in her human form and wore a crimson tight suit that had a black outline. Her proud figure was enough to make any human male take a second look but Howell was nervous for a different reason.
"Er...nothing." Howell could not say anything since he really needed training and pointers from someone with abundant battle experience like Little Red. Then Howell picked Carmen up and gave her to Little Red.
"Please take care of Carmen, Little Red," Howell asked this seriously.
"For now, you can do whatever you want. After the training with Master, we will do our own training session. After that, we will train together with Master and conclude our future direction." Little Red said so that Howell could also hear while she also conveyed this thought to Carmen.
'Thank you.' Carmen was glad since she went overboard during her last training. She also wanted some time to rest and adjust her condition. Little Red put Carmen in the Arcosystem, the storage specific for living entities.
"Master, after exercising your strength during the part-time job do you feel the difference between a Conscript Rank and a Tamer Apprentice Rank?" Little Red asked Howell sweetly.
"Origin energy quality, quantity, strengthening, capacity..." Howell thought and found some of the important details he could perceive.
"Good. But Master has neglected that sudden increase in strength is not a good thing. Especially when their mental strength, capacity and balance are off like Master. It is a recipe for disaster." Little Red said with concern and Howell was intrigued but realized that the new concept was likely to be one factor for higher power rank.
"So how do I improve, cultivate, train this mental aspect? I scratched the topic when I found in some school book subjects that briefly discuss this but what actually is the mental aspect?" Howell asked.
"Hmm, some being called it the harmony of will and body. But I prefer to call it conscience capacity. It means how much can your consciousness take part in the operation of your body. Normal living beings only utilize a fragment of it to sustain their life but for us who aim for higher power rank, we need more of it." Little Red narrated but then Howell felt like her figure was dispersing.
Howell felt dread at that moment and moved his left part of the body slightly to the back. He felt something hard hit his left shoulder as Little Red threw a straight punch.
"...that is one example!" Little Red still explained the topic but with a demonstration this time. Then Howell quickly moved his right leg as he tried to spin around but Little Red was having fun and with her Martial Arts(A) ability, she first swept her right leg to Howell's leg before using her hand as a fulcrum to make a whipping attack with her left leg.
Howell was hit by the left leg as he moved a bit in the same direction as the attack to alleviate the damage and gained some distance.
Sadly, Little Red predicted this and pinned Howell down completely. Howell replayed the scene again and again and was surprised by some of the results.
"Little Red, you are using the same strength as me...right? Then why is it that you move and change your attack faster?" Howell was confused by this revelation. Until this point, Howell was sure he would be able to block her attack but the last attack...
He could only react after it landed.
Little Red was pushing Howell's neck with her left arm while her right palm was right at the top of Howell's belly. This position was not only locking his movement but also locking his origin energy. Her face was like a battle-trained veteran when she attacked him but then it reverted back to her warm expression.
"This is the effect of low conscience capacity. Mental strength...Master is quite excellent in this one and this is purely objective but the imbalance will be problematic if not handled immediately. Now Master understands the importance of conscience capacity and mental strength, right?" Little Red was smiling while letting Howell go and helped him stand up.
"I think I get the gist of it. A kid who only deals with a hammer toy suddenly has to handle a metal hammer. It is more likely that the kid will hurt himself more since the kid doesn't know that the kid is not fit to handle the metal hammer yet." a bit abstract of Howell but that was how he understood it.
"To train conscience capacity, the only thing I can offer is sparring, physical training, and adapting to the current power rank Master possesses. Nothing more effective and safe than that." Little Red gave her advice.
"Let us continue our sparring. Your move is not only better but also has an important purpose, right miss Martial Arts instructor?" Howell teased Little Red a bit.
"Hmm...do you know that I specifically train this aspect because it can increase my conscience capacity and also be useful to Master?" Little Red bit her lips as she played her crimson hair with her finger.
"Yes, I do. So please give me some pointers for this junior, just like what those people in the Orient do." Howell cupped his hand and Little Red was smiling from that action and demeanor.
Then Little Red gave pointers to Howell about Martial Arts ability. Next Howell was trying another ability that was shared from Little Red. Of course, Little Red could dodge and counter it since it was her ability and she was more familiar with it than Howell.
Flyingrain Serpent Strike...Howell could only do some rudimentary with it since he was not a serpent and used his limb as a substitute.
Venom Fang...Howell used his nails and even his teeth as he used this ability and indeed some venom spilled out.
True Dragon Aura...surprisingly, this was one of the things that Howell could grasp and utilize well enough that it became the first ability Howell could really use after his exchange with Little Red.
"Master's True Dragon Aura has increased in control. Looks like Master has gotten inspiration from somewhere~" Little Red knew where the reference to Howell's understanding came, obviously it came from his observation of her.
"Yes. I need to be able to deter being to lower their morale...continue!" Howell then tried more of his abilities since this was a good time and place to train.
Bloodvenom Mist...Howell formed a venomous blood mist. Because Little Red knew of its effect and was immune to it, she asked Howell to observe the surrounding plants and small animals to see the effect. The effect was a horror to Howell's eyes. Plants withered and turned to dust while animals were corroded, to their bone. Of course, it was also because they were too weak and did not even reach Wildbeast Rank.
Origin Energy Sensory...Howell could perceive origin energy from 1 kilometer away at most. The details became clearer as the thing got closer to Howell.
Meditation did not need to be spoken but it truly helped Howell for his calm and inspiration.
But Information Form Manipulation...
"Little Red, are you saying any kind of thing is information and when one has sufficient conscience capacity and mental strength they can even gather intelligence through radio signal, internet, and even the world without any tools and gadgets?" Howell was shocked. How was that even possible?
"Yes. You become the sender and receiver of information form so gathering information will become a piece of cake. That is the meaning of manipulating information form." Little Red briefly explained. Then she continued, "But it doesn't mean I know the future that is still undisclosed. That information is too chaotic to be calculated. The past however is easy to see in comparison."
Howell nodded as that made sense. The past's trail of information could exist even if they were just dust but information about something that did not have a trace or did not exist was not supposed to be read since there was no information to be perceived in the first place. Of course, some signs could be traced but the final result would definitely be different...
"Huh, the sun is above our head. Call Carmen here. We need to have a lengthy discussion about our bonds and what to do while I am going to my parent's house and at school." Howell was thinking that they had to speak their mind and also plan the general direction forward.
'Partner, what do...you want to talk about?' Carmen was on Howell's palm this time and she felt a bit uncomfortable due to the direct exposure of the sun. So Howell covered her with his other hand.
'I have to tell you and Little Red about our future direction. After this, I am going to my parent's house since this is a holiday and I did not visit them previously. Then I also have school to attend for at least one more year. Little Red would be fine but you...you are not exactly registered...' Howell was concerned about this and told Carmen.
"Carmen, what Master means is that you are not supposed to be known to the public that you are Master's tamed beast. He is still a student at Olive Highschool and he is supposed to be only at Tamer Apprentice Rank level 3."
'Eh? But Partner is Conscript Rank, right? So what is going on?' Carmen was surprised that Howell's power rank was seen by others like that. To her, Howell was a Conscript Rank level 3 beast tamer and had a powerful beast under him.
'Well, when the night comes I will tell you about the thing you wonder about.' Howell was satisfied when Little Red informed him about Carmen's hard work from the night when he was already sleeping to the fact that she kept eating and resting in proportion so that she could grow stronger at a faster rate.
"Do I have a beast that needs a long time to shine? Late bloomer?" Howell pondered about it since both Little Red and Carmen had that characteristic.
"Where are we at? Right, what my actual power rank is and what the public knows is different. The same goes for you Carmen. They are not supposed to know that I, Howell, am your partner. Please keep this in mind when we move around." Howell reminded Carmen once again.
'Mmm, okay. But I will eventually have to show myself, do I? How are you going to do that?'
'Little Red, can you help me? I am not sure about this after all...' Howell wanted to know what Little Red had prepared that she proposed an idea.
'Well, I can place an Anti-Mimetic Frame on Carmen. Then we can say that she is your domesticated beast to produce quality silk. This is the best cover so far.' Little Red was holding her laugh when she relayed this.
'What!? Becoming that kind of thing...that is...that is...' Carmen was enraged before feeling sad. Howell was forced to truly calm Carmen Down.
'It is okay. Of course, I do not mean it but the others need some justification from us so that they will not suspect us and focus their attention to us.' Howell pacified the moody caterpillar by stroking it. Howell did not understand whether it was the caterpillar's best spot or Carmen's personal taste but she became docile and calm when he did that.
'To be lowkey.' Howell added the vocabulary that Carmen started to grasp.
-
Bethlen City. That was the city Howell had been living in his whole conscious years. The downtown was the area where he was often strolling during his student's time but most of his life was spent on the outskirts of the city.
That was also the place where his parents lived. Howell carried Little Red as usual while he had to carry Carmen with a transparent plastic box. That plastic box was found by Howell when he was underway to the outskirts of the city and saw an unused and abandoned box. Furthermore, the box was cleaned up and he stuffed the silk that made Carmen's bed inside.
"Initially I wanted to use public transport to get here but Little Red, you insist that I adapt my power with jogging from downtown to here. Twenty minutes of...nonstop jogging." Even Howell who had reached Conscript Rank was exhausted. But it was also because his usage of his origin energy was subpar at most and still developing.
'Master, you are improving faster. Sure the running when Master was doing delivery yesterday helped but this is more effective.' Little Red knew the difference and found out that this kind of training was the most effective for Howell.
"I think it is also because of our training on that wild island that I know my condition.' Howell added and both of them felt that was true.
Then Howell jogged to the small hill that appeared in front of his eyes. After reaching the peak, he stopped and looked down.
The view was that of an orderly built complex. But sadly the building itself was old and appeared to be full of dust and mold.
'Partner, where is this place? The material for that building...that is the mixture of Damas isn't it?' Carmen sensed a bit of the building and was surprised to know that. Little Red had already known about it but Howell picked that information up from his Insight Eye.
"Damas mineral is usually used for reinforcing building structures, especially for fortresses and bunkers. So why is this building like that? Oh, is that the reason?" Howell thought for a bit and looked at the description of the building.
[...the abandoned building of the relocated military base. It has been repurposed as a residential building]
"The relocation fifteen years ago...at that age, I am barely more than two years old. And now that I think about it, Father used to tell me a trivia about our home. So that is true." Howell went down memory lane as he walked to the place where his home, the place where he grew up was.
Then he found himself at the front of the metal door that was the most familiar to him. Howell knocked it in a way that was unique to him alone. Seven rythmical knocks on the metal door and then he stopped. Howell wondered if his parents were at home now or going somewhere else.
Then Howell felt the footstep and he used his origin energy sensory and detected three beings in his house. Howell knew that one was probably his mother while the two were her beast companions.
He did not want to use origin energy sensory often because others could feel it and it could be an offensive sign. So Howell opted to use Insight eye but it could only allow him to give information on objects that he directly saw, not what was behind or the multi-layer object. That was something that would rise to the question mark on his panel.
Then the metal door opened and Howell saw the familiar face he had seen for most of his life. It was the face of the middle-aged woman. Her auburn air had faded most in the color signifying the passing of age but her face still retained most of the beauty she had when she was young.
"Sweetie, you finally decided to come back. Why did you not contact us last year?" she was smiling but Howell could feel many emotions from it. It was wrong for him not to even contact them but it could not be helped.
"My phone was broken and everything else needs money so I cannot even contact you two even if I want to." Howell did not know what to say other than these sentences.
Why did his phone break? It had something to do with his first encounter where he and Jake met.
It was fortunately resolved but both of them were not well in terms of financial capability so Howell could not even find a replacement since it was well above his budget. Add to the fact that he already had Little Red to be fed and taken care of...
Howell was also circulating Pure Concealer for safety reasons. He was showing his mother his power rank for almost a year. He was so ashamed that his true power was powered through the interference of the system. But he knew that only by becoming more powerful that he had more capability and opportunity to change things for the better.
