Caelus took a look around, watching the guards about to run up to him, but as soon as they noticed two people perched up on the roof, they stopped.
"If you're gonna ask, I was protecting them since I still want to talk," Caelus spoke with an exhausted expression, "Though I need to know, why do you allow people to fight in those arenas? Is there like a specific time for that?"
The lady turned back. "Yes, how do you not know that, don't you live here-"
"No, I don't, why would you just assume that..." Caelus interrupted, not wanting her to just expect him to stay in their empire. "Why would I live in a place that is clearly hostile and unwelcoming to me?" Looking around, he saw the guards' unease as he spoke.
"Anyways, I'll have to go, I don't want to continue, you deal with whoever they are. From the looks of it, they're leaving.
Watching the roof of the building shake and a soft shockwave fly off, both of them had jumped to run off. Only then would two of the guards draw their swords; it began floating, mana coursing through it, as they flew to follow. Caelus turned away, leaving the two nobles, who were talking with each other.
They wouldn't keep interrupting someone or even be rude, especially if that person had saved their life... Even if they wanted to. It wasn't the right time.
Caelus passed by a few kids, who stopped to look at his tail and try to touch it, but it only flicked up to make sure they didn't. He was only okay with it in the shop because he was getting used to the body, but now it felt a lot weirder.
Caelus stopped right next to Tellus, looking at her, who was talking with Minerva while the other two girls were getting food.
"Tellus. Would you... Like to train?" Caelus asked; he wasn't sure this would be the right time, but he also wanted to see what she could do.
"I- Uhh, sure, why now though?" Tellus agreed quickly, her expression calm but a little puzzled.
"Because I didn't get time earlier to train with you, or at least fight, I wanna do more than what I have right now, since I've just started learning Cultivation," Caelus replied, rambling a little as he got a little lost in his explanation before realization, blinking once right before he stopped.
"I see, alright, well, I'll be going, Minerva, God bless," Tellus spoke, before turning to Minerva and continuing.
For a second, Caelus forgot Tellus was even religious in the first place. So he was confused momentarily.
Minerva waved as she got up, walking over to the other girls, probably to get some food and also to tell them that Tellus had left.
As both of them began walking back to the training area, Caelus took a look, trying to see how Tellus looked, noticing her hair though mostly black, had some dark brown at the tips, which reached her waist, she wasn't wearing armor, though she probably didn't need it, since cultivation would make it nearly useless due to how powerful it is.
Her clothing was... Different to say the least, it reminded him somewhat of the Victorian Era combined with Modern clothing, a weird combination, but he was still relying on what he remembered from his old world.
"...She does look beautiful though." He took a second, realizing what he just thought, and his face turned a little pink, though it was well hidden; even as a dragon, he couldn't conceal feelings like that.
Though he'd just met her, only a few days ago, he'd need to know her more to actually even think about getting with her. Though he found it deeply ironic that her clothing was similar in color to what her name meant, a light to dark blue mix with green, mainly in a pattern across the clothing, which covered most of her arms and legs.
Though, since he was distracted by her looks, he almost bumped into the wall; if it hadn't been for his tail swinging and touching it, he would've hit it without noticing.
Shaking his head, Caelus finally spoke. "Which place will we fight? I would assume the one for the Arcane, right?"
"Indeed, though I may be at a disadvantage, I'm of a higher stage than you, so it will be easier, but don't expect me to underestimate you; I will not be prideful as to assume you cannot hurt me," Tellus spoke with confidence.
Though for Caelus, she sounded very different when she was ready for training or battle. He wondered if that was normal.
Once both of them stopped, standing face to face, on almost opposite sides of the Arena, since the complete distance would be way too far away.
"Alright... In three, two... Begin! I won't give you time to react, that's not how fighting works!" Tellus spoke, her expression calm as she held her blade, dashing forward almost as if she vanished, a rupture in the air as what sounded like an explosion flew out. She moved so fast it hurt his ears.
Caelus on the other hand held his staff, pointing it forward, but this time, instead of simply doing attacks the entire time, a hexagon shaped circle appeared at the front of his staff, from that it surrounded Caelus like a barrier, though instead of going on a broader area, he applied it in a thin area right around his body, like a form of armor made by mana.
Tellus reappeared, her sword moving to slash to the side at the staff to cut it in half, not noticing the barrier due to Caelus making it so it changed color depending on what direction others were looking, to make it look like it was invisible.
Her blade, coated in mana, made contact; it cracked the barrier, but it didn't break it instantly. Caelus shifted, her leg swinging up to the side to kick directly at the ribs. He knew it was painful to get hit there, considering he's seen even trained professionals be hurt by a full-power kick there, though he wasn't going to add mana as he felt that was too much.
As the kick connected, she didn't expect someone to be doing Arcane while kicking. "What the hell!? I thought he was doing Arcan-" Only then did she realize he was simply kicking because it was the best option, even she could tell, using magic long range would be incredibly dumb.
Tellus was sent skidding across the ground, her ribs hurt, a ringing pain which caused her to wince, jumping back, a few blades formed, flying in a circle around her, they changed direction to face him.
Caelus, on the other hand, stood, calming himself as he visualized the waffle-shaped slash he had made against Arjuna. Taking a split second less to form, he sent it flying towards Tellus, who launched her blades, flying around it, which should've been expected, but Caelus didn't account for that, "Oh-... I underestimated her, I should probably stop that..." Caelus thought to himself.
Stepping back, as the blades flew closer, he continued hopping, moving from side to side to make sure he dodged them, so they missed. If it began targeting him, it'd still hit his barrier, but he shouldn't rely on it.
"...She's tactical at least, though I should expect that from a Royal Guard in Training." Caelus thought he could understand how Tellus fought, seeing how she moved and which attacks she used at what times.
He also noticed she didn't pressure him much, which he saw as a flaw, but maybe it was because she didn't want to go too hard. Caelus stopped, standing near the edge of the Arena, closer to the door on the left.
"Well, Tellus, should we continue and get more serious, or do you want to stop now?" Caelus spoke, a soft smile on his face as he also felt thrilled. Even if he wasn't one to fight, especially in his past life, it was still extremely addictive to do something this enriching.
"I think we can stop, I don't think we should go, Farther, since I still need to have some energy, since I need to go on one final Mission to be accepted into the Royal Guard... Though I can bring anyone who cultivates." Tellus replied, expecting Caelus to ask to join, though she was going to pick Minerva.
"I see, well then I wish you luck with that Mission," Caelus spoke, his staff moved down as the barrier around his body disappeared, though it was heavily damaged, and about to break. "I do want to know what you do there?"
Tellus looked surprised for half a second, only to go back to calm just as quickly. Shaking her head, she answered. "Usually hunting or to go find a group of assassins since they always go for Royalty and no nobles, for some reason." She stopped for a bit.
She was out of breath from the fight lasting longer than she expected. Because Caelus was a Dragon, he could fight longer. "I was going to bring Minerva along, but maybe I could bring you along instead."
Caelus tilted his head. "Why me? You've only known me for a few days. I assume you've known Minerva for years or at least months, but longer than me." He was confused about why he would be picked; he hadn't known her for long, even though he knew there wasn't a whole reason she could form.
"Because I feel like I can trust you, you didn't even try stealing my Heirloom, which is highly sought after, even by those of the Western Continent. Along with that, you... Didn't just accept my belief as I said, it-" She stopped for a bit.
"Helped me, I guess, not assume everything they say is right." Though she still trusted the priests and those of high rank in the church quickly, she wasn't to think they were entirely correct.
Caelus was surprised; he had already studied how stubborn people were in his previous life, though mostly how to overcome stubbornness. Her acceptance of what he said, even a little, surprised him.
"Alright. Well, what do you want to do now? I already ate, I won't eat for a while, so what do you usually do?" Caelus asked. He was bored.
"Well, the Mission is tomorrow, so we'll go then, but for right now, I guess we could go and meet my family since they're back from the trip. Though I don't know if they'll like you." She continues. A calm expression on her face with a hint of embarrassment.
Caelus listened, nodding and shrugging. He didn't know what else there was to do, so this was it.
[Back- Oh, you grew a lot, oh wow, okay, might as well reward you for that, so well, first of all, I'll give you a few techniques you could add, flashy but fast and strong!]
The system's hologram appeared next to Caelus, visible only to him, with Tellus tilting her head as she saw his eyes look to the side.
[Also, new Mission!]
"...I'm already going to go to one tomorrow, why not one now as well?" Caelus thought that he didn't like doing this on a whim.
[Explore the Tianyun Peak!]
[Locate and find the Tianyun Peak and then explore it to find the Corrupted Wyvern guarding the treasure. Once you get the treasure, go to the Peak of the mountain and place it there, and the corruption will be cleansed.]
[Rewards: Two Mana Regeneration Pills, Two Body Refining Pills, Three Sets of Materials for Foundation Pills]
"Okay, but what does the Foundation Pill even do..." Caelus thought, asking the system.
[It helps you grow faster whenever fighting or making techniques, so if you find something equal and fight it, you'll reach the next stage faster after the fight ends. Also, you have 10 hours to discover and explore the Peak.]