Ryu'er, with her tiny stature, was more dexterous than anything and with her durable physique, she could easily adapt to extreme moves within Nik's technique. The moment she pounced at Nik, instead of hugging Nik's neck, Ryu'er propelled herself slightly by placing her palms on Nik's thighs and then, in the small space, flipped her body so that her legs instantly fell on Nik's shoulder and coiled around his neck. Pulling herself up by the tug of her calves, Ryu'er grasped Nik's collar and stopped her face right in front of Nik. For a moment, Nik didn't know how to respond. 

With Ryu'er being an equally disastrous monster as her mother, she was capable of attracting mates by spreading her scent through her crotch. And now, with her legs loosely coiled around his neck, the slight fragrance turned into an overflowing scent that enticed Nik to breathe deeply. With a heave of his chest, Ryu'er's body moved up forcefully but she didn't let go and hissed once more. "I'll definitely make you forget mom!" Through the gaps of her hair, Nik matched Ryu'er gaze and even if he her tone was forceful and confident, her eyes showed anything but those emotions. It even showed in her body language.

After getting this close for the first time, Ryu'er simply didn't know what she must do. Her grasp was slowly loosening, and her breathing grew faint.

'What should I do? I can't go back after this... will teacher even allow me in training sessions after this?'

Panic gripped Ryu'er's heart as Nik exhaled softly and gently picked Ryu'er up from by her armpits. "Eeh~?" With a deep flush, Ryu'er tried to struggle but once she was moved away, Nik set her body on the bed and himself shuffled down on the floor. Placing both of his hands on her knees, Nik tilted his head up and got the full view of her gaze from beneath as she looked down in obvious embarrassment. "Don't be so cruel, now." Smiling comfortingly, Nik softly stroked Ryu'er's thighs. 

"There is no way I want to forget a wonderful woman like Gojira," whispering, Nik leaned down and gently kissed Ryu'er's exposed left knee. Looking up, Nik locked his gaze with slightly despondent Ryu'er. "Don't feel rushed, Ryu'er. Don't you already see a pattern?" Nik inquired as Ryu'er finally tilted her gaze and pouted sourly, "What pattern?"

"Hmm, let's see. Shen Xiu, Lanruo, Asami, Klas... these four and you. What do you have in common?" Nik shifted his seat and sat near Ryu'er. She turned her head to look at Nik and pointed at him, "Teacher." Nodding, Nik winked at Ryu'er. Ryu'er's feeling for him was basically an open secret for Nik. Still, a part of him was slightly lazy to change the current, smooth, teacher-student relationship and turn into an amorous one. "You mean—" An astounding thought appeared within Ryu'er's mind as she gasped mildly. Still, her shock wasn't even fully revealed when Nik warmly placed his palm on her head and softly rubbed his thumb before gliding his palm down her neck. Leaning forward, Nik slowly pecked Ryu'er's lips and retreated once again. 

When all this happened, Ryu'er's shock turned into a virtual certainty but all of this was swept by the sudden kiss leaving her in a daze. "Huh?" She tilted her head up to lock her gaze with Nik as he grinned and slid his palm on top of her head once again, stroking her hair gently. Finally, he brought his hand to her forehead and pulled back the locks of her hair, freeing Ryu'er's crimson pupils surrounded by the sapphire iris. 

"Did you just..." muttering, Ryu'er bought her index close to her lips and traced her thin, soft lips while still focusing on Nik's face. 

"Hmm?" Nik tilted his head and with a wolfish smile, swooped down for another peck. This time, his lips tightly sealing Ryu'er's as his free hand gently grasped her shoulder. 

'Is teacher initiating mating? Is it finally going to happen?'

Ryu'er's heart thumped as her lips parted slightly, allowing the duo to breathe into each other as her widened gaze remained locked with Nik's narrowed one. "–This– is the pattern," with a whisper, Nik retracted and wiped Ryu'er's luscious lips with his thumb before breaking the contact and standing up.

"Anyway," Nik continued, "forgetting anyone is out of the question. I have heard a few things about you from Gojira, but there is no point in pursuing that topic. If—" Nik turned towards her and smiled "–you think that there are no corners you are willing to cut and still intend to make me forget others, then make that clear to me later. I am sure, I have the tools needed to tilt that train of thought."

Nik waved his hand and turned towards the door, unaware of Ryu'er's pupils turning vertical with a predatory glint under her bangs. Before Nik pushed the door open, Ryu'er suddenly tackled him from behind. Well, her intentions were clear, but Nik barely moved as Ryu'er's body slithered around Nik's torso and instantly, she had locked Nik's body with a tight hold while her lips whispered into Nik's ear.

"No way! I'll make you forget everybody. Only I— aaiiiii!"

Ryu'er yelped as her momentum broke and her courage deflated as Nik gripped on her wrists and turned her body. With her legs around his waist, Ryu'er made a round around Nik until her front faced Nik and her back was pushed against the wall. "Ohh, this isn't what I taught you," musing in a low voice Nik pushed his waist and plucked Ryu'er's lips with his hands resting on her plump butt. 

Ryu'er instantly felt her mind buzz as Nik forcefully pushed his tongue into her mouth and played with her inexperienced fleshy delight. After taking a measure of her butt, one of Nik's hands moved towards Ryu'er's face and stroked her cheek without any intention of stopping. 

"Mmg!"

Soon, a soft grunt escaped Ryu'er's lips as the two continued to push their waist against each other out of pure passion. When Nik felt that he might have gone overboard, Ryu'er instantly shifted her hands from Nik's neck to her cheeks and finally moved her tongue in Nik's beat. "Forgotten yet?!" Ryu'er retracted her face, her pupils were barely visible but Nik easily observed the change in her pupils and shook his head. "This much effort is nowhere near enough. Now get down, before you regret it." 

"No!" Ryu'er snorted and licked her lips. Before she could initiate a kiss, Nik's hand covered her entire face as he chuckled mildly, "I really mean it. Calm yourself down, Ryu'er. Before you allow any bloodline changes, you need to unlock your spirit rings."

Ryu'er's body shuddered slightly as she finally sensed the slowly violent feelings growing within her. Gulping, Ryu'er controlled her breathing as she slowly curbed her instincts. Nik's slight fragrance announcing his most practical skill— Pheromone Illusion— also contributed to the task at hand. Once Ryu'er had completely settled down on Nik's waist, she finally realized her situation and blushed heavily. Her hands, which were clutching in Nik's tunic hurriedly eased in its grip while her legs let go of Nik's waist. Sensing this, Nik helped Ryu'er down and smiled knowingly.

"Do you want to continue? Making me— forget— that is." 

Purposely leaning down, Nik let his lips brush against Ryu'er, teasing the little beast as she averted her face and looked sideways, unable to match Nik's gaze or bear the sheer intimacy resulting from both of their actions but deep within, a certain happiness blossomed. With a nod, Ryu'er grinned broadly, "It is either that, or you make me forget my plans. Oomph~"

Letting out a cute sound, Ryu'er nuzzled her head against Nik's palm as he softly stroked his hair and nodded. Nik had already decided to settle some of the impatience within the girls around him and today's 'discussion' with Ryu'er could be considered to have changed their relationship qualitatively. No matter what Ryu'er said, her actions already spoke that she wasn't a hasty beast like her mother who would jump once a target is locked. Instead, she was far kinder and tender than any young girl Nik ever met. Even Kurumi knew how to abuse a boy her age out of his own worth, but Ryu'er couldn't do that, at least, not verbally.

"I'll be going now. Be sure to do good in your exam... and, whatever you need for your spirit rings, don't hesitate to ask the materials from me... Gojira simply sleeps all the time."

Nik continued to rub his palm over her head as Ryu'er nodded meekly. 'Pat, pat, pat~' She continued to hum internally. After a few breaths of tender care, Nik left and finally decided to continue his training in [Space Manipulation]. Previously, he wanted to use his evenings for learning more about inscription patterns. But with Xue Yin now occupied with his consciousness to build the city, it would take a few days before his studies could resume. In between, Nik had asked Gojira if there was something she could teach, but most of her abilities were instinctual or inherent. Even the date set to adventure within the star dou forest to collect herbs for the Alchemist Association was after the exams, and in between the week-long vacation. 

All this left Nik with two most prominent options— either continue to temper his private spirit ring, or start gaining experience in a new manipulation skill with hopes of using the previous experience to shoot past the initial levels. 

With his foundation of [Element, Gravity, Life, and Hamon Manipulation], Nik felt an obvious increment in his skill— space manipulation. So, he decided to pursue this skill before turning his attention to a few skills that circumstances made him neglect— cure and absolute sharpness. These two skills still weren't able to show their full potential due to the sheer intensity of other priorities in his life. Not even once did the thought of entering the dastardly time-warped place emerge within his mind. 

'I even need to find out the change in the notebook after it gained its second page. Should I consult Sky already? Hmm, I'll give myself two days. After that, I'll just bother her.'

Nik was then joined in by Klas during the training. The crucial thing about Klas was that her endurance to gravity was quite measured since most of her body is strictly made of some form of minerals. If Nik exceeded her limit, she would literally break before forced to find her pieces and join them back. Yesterday, the two had also discussed their future plans and also settled on the basic measure. To fully make Klas free of her homeworld, however, Nik would need to do some hard work, but it would be worth it. But this would make his promotion quest a notch harsher, and his return to homeworld would be slightly delayed, too.

Later, after a hearty dinner, Nik did request everyone for a bath. He enjoyed a warm bath in everybody's presence and fortunately, he was shameless enough to push his own selfish request of joining in which was agreed quite smoothly by the rest of the girls.