Chương 87: Chapter : 87

"Well," Ken mumbled, his voice sounding totally flat and annoyed.

"That is just fantastic. I taste like a burnt piece of toast. I hope you guys are happy. My completely average face is ruined." Laxmi was rolling on the floor, holding her sides.

"Oh my goodness! You look like a chimney sweep! This is the best training session we have ever had!"

"It is not funny!" Naomi scolded Laxmi, though she was clearly struggling to keep a straight face. She walked over to Ken and handed him a small towel from her pocket.

"Wipe your face, Ken. And stop standing there like a statue. You were supposed to jump backward when you saw the fire coming."

"I was frozen in pure terror!" Ken lied smoothly, wiping the black soot off his cheeks, though it just ended up smearing the dirt around even more.

"My survival instincts told me to play dead. It works on bears, so I thought it would work on fire."

"Fire is not a bear, you idiot," Naomi sighed, shaking her head.

"You are impossible to train. I don't know how I am going to fix you." Right at that exact moment, the heavy wooden doors leading into the estate creaked open. Luna wandered out into the courtyard. The lightning user was wearing oversized, fuzzy pajamas and holding a half-empty glass of water. She was rubbing her eyes lazily, looking like she had just rolled out of her massive, comfortable bed five seconds ago. She let out a huge yawn that almost made her drop her cup.

"Why is everyone yelling out here?" Luna mumbled sleepily, taking a slow sip of her water.

"I was trying to sleep, but all I hear is Laxmi laughing like a crazy person and Ken screaming about chickens." Ken pointed a soot-covered finger at her.

"Tell them, Luna! Tell them that five in the morning is illegal! You understand me! We are connected on a deep, lazy level!" Naomi looked at Luna and got an idea.

"Luna, since you are awake, come over here. I want you to show Ken what a real, high-speed magical attack looks like. He thinks his tiny blue sparks are enough. Show him why he needs to learn how to dodge." Luna blinked her tired eyes. She looked at Ken, who was covered in black ash, and then she looked at a heavy, reinforced wooden training dummy sitting on the far side of the courtyard.

"Do I really have to?" Luna whined, taking another slow sip of water.

"I haven't even had my breakfast yet. Using magic makes me tired."

"Just one attack, Luna," Naomi promised.

"Please."

"Fine," Luna sighed lazily. She didn't get into a combat stance. She didn't drop her glass of water. She didn't even fully open her eyes. Luna just casually raised her free hand and pointed a single finger directly at the heavy training dummy across the yard. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. She didn't shout an attack name. She just flicked her wrist slightly. CRACK-BOOM! The sound was absolutely deafening, like a bomb going off right next to their ears.

A blinding, jagged bolt of pure, brilliant yellow lightning shot out of Luna's fingertip. It moved so incredibly fast that Ken barely even saw the flash before the impact happened. The lightning hit the reinforced wooden training dummy dead in the center. The heavy wood didn't just break; it completely exploded into a thousand tiny splinters. The sheer force of the blast knocked a small crater into the stone wall behind it. Smoke and dust filled the air instantly. Luna lowered her hand.

She let out another massive yawn, scratched her cheek, and took another slow sip of her water, acting like she hadn't just unleashed enough voltage to power a small city.

"There," Luna mumbled sleepily.

"Can I go back to bed now?" Ken stood perfectly still. He dropped the towel Naomi had given him. He stared at the smoking crater where the dummy used to be, and then he stared at the sleepy girl in the fuzzy pajamas. He threw both of his hands directly onto the top of his head, opening his mouth wide in a look of absolute, highly exaggerated horror. He grabbed his messy hair and pulled on it dramatically.

"Oh my gosh!" Ken yelled, his voice cracking loudly. He took three massive steps away from Luna, pointing at her with a shaking finger.

"You are terrifying! You just blew up a tree while holding a cup of water!" Laxmi smirked, crossing her arms.

"That is what real speed looks like, Ken. If you don't learn how to dodge, that is what is going to happen to you in a real fight." Ken aggressively shook his head back and forth.

"No way! Dodging that is impossible! I am making a permanent life decision right now. I am officially writing this down in my brain." He turned to look directly at Luna, bowing slightly at the waist.

"Luna, I promise to always, always be incredibly nice to you," Ken declared loudly, entirely serious in his comedic panic.

"I will bring you snacks. I will carry your bags. Because if you ever get mad at me, my short little legs will absolutely never be able to outrun your super-fast thunder magic! I am your loyal servant from now on!" Luna just blinked at him, looking totally confused by his dramatic yelling. She turned around and started shuffling back toward the doors of the estate.

"Okay. Whatever. Just keep it down next time. I'm going back to sleep." As Luna disappeared back into the house, Ken turned to Naomi and Laxmi, giving them a goofy, soot-covered smile.

"See? I learned a valuable combat lesson today," Ken said proudly.

"Don't fight the scary lightning girl. My training is a total success. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go wash my face before I sneeze out a whole campfire." Naomi just groaned and rubbed her face, completely giving up on the idea of turning him into a brave knight. The morning training session was officially a disaster, but for Ken, acting like an absolute clown was the perfect way to start a nice, lazy day.

Ken Eliot stood in the courtyard, scrubbing his face with a small white towel. He rubbed his cheeks so hard his skin was starting to turn red, but the thick black soot from Laxmi's fireball just wouldn't come off. He looked like a guy who had just tried to clean the inside of a chimney using only his nose.

"Man, this stuff is like glue," Ken complained loudly, dropping his hands to his sides and letting out a heavy sigh. He looked over at Ira, who was standing nearby holding a water bottle.

"Hey, Ira. Can you do me a huge favor? Can you use your water magic to wash my face? Just a gentle splash. Nothing crazy." Ira looked at him with a completely flat, emotionless expression. Her face didn't change at all. She raised one single finger, pointed it at his forehead, and shot a tiny, high-pressure squirt of water right between his eyes.