CHAPTER - 173

  Narrator: Dav, leaving the kitchen, headed toward the table where the girls were seated.

  He listened for a few seconds.

  He sat in the middle, in front of them, without disturbing.

  Valeria, continuing to speak, moved behind him and began to play with his crimson red hair.

  Iris, also listening to Valeria, was pulling Dav’s cheeks for fun.

  Selene, instead, was touching his hand, observing his nails, trying to imagine the perfect color to paint them.

  At that moment, Dav became like a younger brother and a doll to tease and test.

  They remained there for thirty minutes, laughing and joking, with Dav’s silly face enduring everything in silence, waiting for Leo’s dinner.

  Iris, shortly after, stood up, stopped tormenting Dav, and headed to the kitchen.

  She stayed there for over ten minutes, then returned with two trays and a bag of drinks.

  Dav thanked her with a small smile, his hair all messy, cheeks red from the tugs, and nails painted black.

  He got up, nodded in farewell, and left silently.

  The girls kept giggling softly, seeing him in that state.

  Dav headed to Leo’s room, carrying everything with him.

  Meanwhile, Lucrezia woke up, washed her face, and left Dav’s room, heading toward the cafeteria.

  "I overslept.. He’s already gone.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  I’m not surprised,"

  she said, yawning as she looked around.

  Dav arrived at Leo’s room, knocked, and entered.

  He saw Arthur and Fin close to Leo, checking for any injuries.

  He looked at them strangely and then exclaimed:

  "Am I interrupting?"

  Fin and Arthur, startled, turned around quickly, saluting in the air like soldiers caught red-handed.

  "Professor! Welcome back!"

  said Fin with a surprised look.

  "Go take a walk,"

  said Dav in a light tone with a half-amused expression.

  The two boys left immediately, closing the door behind them.

  Dav set the food on the small table, removing it from the trays with care.

  Then he approached Leo and shook him hard to wake him up.

  "Hey, wake up. It’s time to eat."

  Leo opened and closed his eyes several times, dazed.

  "What time is it..?"

  Dav, pointing to the food, replied:

  "Dinnertime. Hurry up and eat while it’s hot."

  Leo got up and sat near the small table.

  "My body is tired..

  I feel pain, not too strong, but I don’t see any wounds."

  Dav, chewing, looked at him seriously.

  "Don’t worry, it’s just mental pain that you still remember.

  You feel tired because you have to get used to the Ki."

  Leo looked at his hands, his body.. no visible wounds.

  But when he looked at his right arm, he felt a mental pain, as if someone had torn it off, though not completely.

  "Ah.. I see. The Ki."

  The two looked into each other’s eyes for a few seconds in silence.

  Then Leo burst out:

  "What the heck is Ki, sir?! At least is it useful?!"

  Dav chuckled slightly, seeing him so surprised and full of questions.

  "If you’re still alive, it’s thanks to it.

  So I suppose it’s useful, right?"

  Leo’s eyes sparkled.

  At last, he had gained something, he was no longer a "powerless one."

  "Let’s start from the assumption that Ki is not a power, but something similar to aura.

  It’s more connected to the human body, like the blood that flows.

  I can’t tell you if Ki is better than mana or aura: you’ll discover that only with time."

  Leo remained happy, even if he still didn’t understand how to manifest it.

  "How do you activate it? How does it work?"

  Dav sipped his tea and replied with a sigh:

  "It’s not something you can turn on and off like a TV.

  Ki doesn’t turn off: it will stay with you until you die, I believe.

  Didn’t you notice anything different during the fight? Or during training with Fin?"

  Dav looked at him from the corner of his eye, sipping again.

  "I remember the second attack.. when she healed me, sir.

  I don’t think it was just my instinct.

  It was like a quick reflex.

  I felt strong, fast… and the pain, the fatigue… felt far away."

  Leo, still smiling, got emotional, wiping away his tears with his arm.

  "Congratulations, Leo.

  Now you’re a Ki user, and you’ll grow stronger and stronger through training.

  Now eat,"

  Dav concluded, looking at him with a small satisfied smile.

  END OF CHAPTER - 173