Hell's Academy

In the middle of the night with the moon dancing against the grass on the outskirts of the Great Slavensen Nation's main city, Jenniva, Howard and Mernan stood across from each other on a large stone platform.

It had to be far enough away from the city that no one inside of Jenniva would accidentally get hurt by one of their attacks.

Howard was roughly equal in strength to someone in the SSS rank now that he had a breakthrough into the SS rank. Though he wasn't completely there yet, with his intent combined with his strong body, the force he gave off was more than palpable.

Lasinda, who wanted to watch the fight, sighed as she had no choice but to watch from the top of a distant mountain. She looked at Howard and her father once again laughing. Both of them seemed happy that they were about to spar with one another, and yet… She couldn't get over the feeling that something was wrong. 

Alenx kept appearing in her mind and particular the way he behaved when she returned with the Jade Stem Herb. If not for Howard, the more she thought about it, with the way she grabbed him there was a large chance she would've had no chance of resisting his strength. Would he have pulled her somewhere and stolen the plant before waiting a few days for her father to die? The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like Alenx behavior was inimical to her father's health.

And yet… She'd seen him do so many different things for her father over the year. He constantly searched for plants to try and heal him, and even helped create trade routes that benefited them with the higher level nations.

In the Jarkalon Abyss, the closer you lived to the top of the abyss, the stronger your nation usually was. The Arthraku, for instance, lived in an extremely perfect area where the Ki in the air was at least 2 times as pure as anywhere in the Abyss.

When compared to the Great Slavensen People, the purity of their ki was at least 5 times better, and yet… Howard had already grown in strength so much since he got here. She looked at him with a trace of surprise as his ki began to circulate around him. That was not the energy someone her age should have! The ground began to rumble as she looked forward. Suddenly, her worries and fears about Alenx went out the window and instead she just looked at Howard and her father getting ready to fight.

'Let's hope Howard doesn't hurt my father… I was certain it be the other way around, but now I'm not so sure.' Lasinda felt a little bit nervous as Howard activated his Fire Ki, as an energy surged around his body.

'That feeling from his ki is almost like he has an entire world inside of him. It's really hard to describe, but I have a feeling it's not even mastered. How terrifying would that force be if it reaches a higher level?'

What Lasinda was noticing was Howard's intent from his Ki Hearts and indeed it made him seem especially fierce compared to normal warriors of his rank. In fact, it made him so much stronger that it was almost as if he was in a different rank than everyone else. She'd only known him for three days, but it seemed like his abilities couldn't be underestimated. But would this eventually cause them problems if he stayed around too long? Would the Arthraku really not find about him? After all, they not only had the biggest strength but the most resources. It would only be a matter of time before someone from the Artrhaku came here to buy from them and felt his energy.

She stopped thinking about it and just looked at Howard before she felt a burst of wind. The next instant, Howard and her father were already in front of each other.

"Fire King Sprint!" Howard said before he seemed to turn into dozens of lines of light that shot at Mernan from all directions. He instantly converged at him from 20 different angles while Mernan smirked.

Mernan, in his black robe with his white hair flowing behind him, stuck out his hand and activated his domain ki at Howard's approach. The next moment, thousands of leaves seemed to sprinkle in the air. They looked as sharp as razor blades, and instantly grew in size to roughly the same height as a person.

With a flick of his hand, all those large leaves shot at Howard's 20 sillhouetes while Mernan smirked. He may seem strong, but he still didn't have access to domain ki yet! The difference between him and Howard right now should be night and day! Even with that bizarre strength Howard possessed, there was nothing he could do against his overwhelming strength!

"Behind you!" Howard screamed out, causing Mernan to look back in surprise. Howard swung his fist with his maximum strength before a large wall of ivy shot into the air behind Mernan.

This was a skill from one of his plants he'd gotten a long time ago called the Ivy Wall Fern. It allowed him to grow a large wall made out of ivy that got stronger with the amount of Ki he put inside of it. 

Though it was only considered a plant useful for S rank warriors, the defense it gave to someone in the SSS rank were very similar to the strongest steel any warrior could wield. But looking back, he almost instantly saw Howard's hand pierce it while a white light shimmered around his body. 

Boom!

Howard destroyed the Ivy Wall instantly before 50 different sillhouttes made out of flames appeared around Mernan with their fists attacking him with all their might.

Mernan, taking a deep breath, almost couldn't believe it. It had been less than a single second and he already needed his domain?

"Ivy Wave Domain! Activate!" Mernan screamed and held out his hands.

The next moment, all the various figures that had been approaching him got slashed into by what appeared to be an endless wave of green ivy. 

Boom!

Howard, who had been confident a second ago, shot back a thirty meters before he looked forward at a world of green plants that had emanated outwards from Mernan's body. It almost instantly seemed to increase his strength by 100 times, and yet Howard was very excited! There was nothing more than he wanted was a real challenge! This was exactly what he was hoping for!

"I'm going to attack now with all my strength, is that okay?"

"I think you've already earned the night, no, your life with my daughter hahaha!" Mernan closed his eyes before his domain almost instantly contracted. He dropped down onto one knee, and then looked forward at Howard while sweat began to pour down his head. Even though he wanted to believe it, he still wasn't fully healed. He looked towards Howard and smiled seeing the concern laced in his eyes.

"No need to worry." Mernan said, "I just need a day longer to be able to use my domain. However, what was that Ki you used. It seemed strange. It's almost like it's stronger than my domain ki, and yet I'm a higher rank than you."

"Let's just call it my intent haha!" Howard walked over to Mernan and helped him up. A second later, he saw Lasinda rushing towards him with her face completely pale. Seeing her father fall against Howard, part of her wanted to be happy, and yet the rest of her was really scared! She just got her father back and the last thing she wanted was to lose him because he overexerted himself! He told her he was completely better, and yet look at what just happened! He could barely stand!

"Howard, how dare you! What are you doing? Don't you realize you're supposed to let him beat you up? Where are you manners?" She said, with tears falling down her eyes as she hugged her father with all her strength. "I-I can't believe you! Tonight I may let you sleep with me, but only because my father already gave you approval."

"I would lose to your father if he could use his domain," Howard sighed and looked down at his hands. "After spending some time with you tonight, Lasinda, I think I want to train. There is one breakthrough I need to make. If I don't, I won't be able to protect you. I've realized that this place is different than the lowest level of the Furnace. I must be stronger and be prepared."

"Well, consider me a happy father in law, but-"

Wooo! Wooo!

What sounded like a war horn played in the distance as Howard, Lasinda, and Mernan looked at each other on the platform. It became apparent rather quickly that something was wrong. Howard, with a puzzled expression, turned to Mernan. His eyes seemed to be asking "what was that sound?"

"That… That is the sound that someone is attacking our troops," Mernan forced himself to a stand and smiled. The next moment, a plant seemed to appear above him from his back from his stomach. This was the Jade Stem Herb that he worked so hard to get, and it almost instantly caused him to begin to heal.

"Unfortunately Howard, it looks like I already need to request for you to protect my daughter. Would you mind running towards the sound of the horn? I'm sure now with your strength, you'll have no problem dealing with them."

Mernan felt pathetic, but nonetheless could tell with Howard's strength defeating any warriors besides perhaps the strongest the Great Neck Nation had to offer would be a cinch. He smiled and pointed Howard to the west, where the sound emanate, before Howard without hesitation nodded his head.

"I'll go deal with them, but why do I feel like something is off?" Howard sighed and stepped down off his back foot before he almost instantly shot into the distance towards the sound of the horn. "I hope I'm not wrong about this, but I have a feeling that this isn't the Great Neck Warriors. This, unfortunately, feels like something much more nefarious."