Deep in the night, Alex's sturdy room.
Currently, apart from Alex, two persons were present, Pandora (Meera) and Alice.
''Let's me ask you again, Meera, do you really wish to stay. I can give you back your freedom.''
Alex said as he kept repeatedly tapping on the table.
''Master"
Alex glared at Pandora (Meera), she immediately corrected herself, it was because Alex gave her a new life, a contract was formed between them at that moment, since then Alex became her master, however, he didn't like that appellation because he saw her as a friend, although she has become her subordinate, it doesn't change that.
''Yes, Alex, I wish to stay beside you. There is nothing for me to go back to my hometown to do anyway. The old Meera has died. Would you please call Pandora from now on? I wish to assist you.''
Pandora sincerely expressed her wish to stay beside Alex. As she said, there was nothing left in her hometown for her to go back to, except for accepting that arranged marriage, something she would never do; it was why she escaped in the first place. The person she loves the most died unexpectedly after she left, so she doesn't wish to go back.
''Very good. Pandora, welcome to the Touch family. You will be one of the first guardians. You will work under Sera, train under her, she will be your leader.'' Alex said before dismissing Pandora.
After Pandora left, only Alex and Alice left; as usual, Alice had her emotionless face.
Alex stood up and ordered, ''Follow me.''
Alice silently followed Alex until they stopped in front of a big door; it was the door leading to the training room; before leaving, Alex has it remolded; it became more spacious, more sturdy; it was like another dimension.
Alex and Alice appeared inside a forest.
The two-faced each other with thirty meters separating them.
Although he was still recuperating, Alex had no trouble fighting for a moment; he decided to test Alice to judge if she was fit for what he was about to ask her to do.
''Come at me," Alex ordered.
Whoosh!
Alice disappeared, the thirty meters between them got instantly reduced to zero with just a step.
Clangs!
Instead of attacking from behind as one usually does, Alice attacked right from the front; her beautiful white sword slashed at Alex from a tricky angle; however, Alex blocked the blow with his knife.
Boom! Boom!
Each time that the two clashed, an explosion would occur, destroying the nearby trees. In terms of physical strength, shockingly, Alice seemed to be on par with Alex, this pleasantly surprised him, and he was delighted at the same time.
Alex and Alice took a step back; they put distance between them; the two stared at each other in the eyes before Alex fired.
Bang!!!!
Somehow, since Nyx's awakening, Alex noticed that the speed at which he summoned Silveria and the speed at which he fire had doubled.
With only one bullet, three bullets would emerge; their speed was deadly.
However, Alice could perfectly see the bullet moving at incredible speed; she sheathed her sword and went into a quick draw position.
Shing!
The moment she unsheathed her sword, the bullets were perfectly cut into two that bypassed her, leaving a big hole in the trees behind her.
''Let's stop here.''
Alex said, feeling the small each on his left cheek, a cut he received from Alice's sword; not only did she cleanly cut his bullets, but she also counterattacked at the same time, thus managing to leaves a minor injury on Alex's cheek. The skill she used resembled that of the young man with golden eyes.
'She will do. She's strong, and more importantly, I think she will grow stronger than she is now.' Alex mumbled.
〖Yeah! It's a blessing to have her under your wings. Someone who can imitate other's people ability is extremely rare, even back in our days, her latent potential it's not a joke. Personally, I think she will surpass Pandora by a fair margin.〗Silveria offered her opinion.
'Well, I won't deny that. It's good to have them both.' Alex replied before turning to face Alice.
''Alice, from now on, you are part of the family, do not hesitate to talk with others.''
Unexpectedly, Alex's words struck something inside Alice's heart, even if it was slightly; Alice's expression changed as she bowed.
''Understood, Master,'' Alice replied.
Even though Alex wished to correct her, he leaves her be, at least for now, later he would ask her to change this appellation after successfully integrating the family.
''Alice, like Pandora, you will work under Sera, train under her; however, you will have a special role. You will be Gracier's shadow, always protect her from the shadow. This doesn't mean at the sight of a small danger; you will intervene; if you do this, she will not grow. What I want is that you will move only in an extreme case such as what happened recently1. Well, don't worry, you will know the specifics later. For now, please go back.''
''Understood, Master. Good night.'' Alice said before vanishing.
Alex sat on the ground after Alice left; he gazed at the illuminaes lighting the training ground for a moment before saying.
''How long do you want to keep hiding for?"
There was a silence before a black shadow manifested into the form of Sera; she sat beside Alex.
''Fufufu! You have become powerful; now you're able to detect me even when I'm hiding. Who would have thought that the boy who first visited our store and was weak, so weak that a normal goblin could snap his neck, would become so strong less than a year? Your growth rate is frightening, so frightening that it can make one scared.'' Sera said while gazing at the ceiling.
''How is the old man?" Alex asked.
''Oh! That old geezer is doing fine. He asked me to greet, to tell you to visit him when you have time.'' Sera responded.
''I will certainly visit him; he is my father-in-law after all,'' Alex said with a smile.
Sera ignored him and asked.
''What are your plans from now on?"