After Syvis left Jay's room unsatisfied, Jay set about watching the baron's video over and over again, trying to glean as much information as he could from those short seconds.
Although some people might see the baron's fighting style as dirty and improper, just as Syvis did, for Jay it was the opposite.
This was because Jay was aware that no matter what one's intentions were towards their enemies, they would not necessarily think the same way.
And what drove this thinking was nothing more and nothing less than all the fights he had in the South Zone, where even though he had no plans to kill anyone, the same could not be said for the people he faced.
Finally, the cherry on top of the cake was that not everyone had the luxury of fighting 'fair and square', as that was the privilege of strong people.
'Hm, I should try to find more videos of this baron, they will certainly come in handy.' Jay thought, in his mind trying to recreate how to execute the moves from the video.
Unfortunately, without being able to perform the moves with his own body, he wouldn't make much progress.
'Well, I guess I'll save it for tomorrow.'
After saying that, Jay then turned off the light in his room and stripped down to his underwear before covering himself with his sheets, though he still didn't plan on sleeping, instead pulling out his smartwatch and opening his messaging app.
In the end, he only paused until he reached a contact with the name "Myrin."
***
The next day, after his classes and a failed attempt to socialize with his target, Faith, Jay found himself returning to the training center, accompanied by Vilda, who was curious about said facility.
"I really didn't expect you to work at the training center. My sister always said that although the pay and benefits are good, only those people who liked punishment were the ones who would get jobs there." Vilda said, surprised by what Jay had told him.
"...She said so?" Replied Jay.
"Un, that's why she also works at the training center of her city."
"..."
In that way, they both quickly made their way to the training center, which, as always, was busy with dozens of students coming and going.
Passing through the entrance until they reached the reception desk, Jay then told Vilda to wait there while he changed clothes, so Vilda moved to the most convenient and comfortable place for him... the corner of the room!
Not only were they going to avoid bumping into other students, but it was also a safe place where they could see any kind of unforeseen threat coming.
Looking around, Vilda was a bit impressed, though it was a normal reaction, after all, it was his first time visiting a training center.
While training centers were among the most important and eye-catching establishments in every city, Vilda preferred to spend his time in places that required less physical exertion, such as the library or the city's research centers.
Moreover, also thanks to his sister, Vilda already knew more or less what functions this center offered to students, so it had not been among his priorities to visit the center.
However, since he had received an invitation from Jay, he thought it wouldn't hurt to take this opportunity to see the center in person.
And who knows, there might also be something that would be useful to him.
"Oh, Vilda, is it really you?"
Suddenly, while he was busy with his thoughts, a person's voice reached his ears, interrupting him.
Bringing his gaze towards the source of the voice, Vilda could see a young blond man slightly taller than him who had apparently just entered the training center.
In response, Vilda's gaze turned hostile, while he merely mouthed the name of the person in front of him, "Nico..."
Despite the clear hostility on Vilda's part, Nico still approached with a smile on his face before speaking, "And to think that we would meet again... what's more, seeing you in a corner again, this sure brings back memories of high school."
Faced with these words, Vilda just stared at Nico, not wanting to respond since if he did, he knew he would only fall into his game of provocation.
It was clear that they knew each other, and how could they not, after all, they had both gone to the same high school in the empire.
Being an esper and a mage respectively, both having been born in the empire, a place where almost all education was centered towards pugilists, the places where they could bring out their skills were limited.
As a result, they ended up going to the same supers school, which is where they met.
Although it is worth mentioning that they were not friends at all, quite the contrary.
Thanks to his talent with magic, specifically light magic, plus the fact that he possessed a certain level of natural charisma thanks to his appearance and outgoing personality, Nico had earned a popular and respectable position in the school.
On the other hand, Vildan not only had a weak presence, making him often go unnoticed, but he also preferred to spend most of his time alone.
That would have been fine, however, if not for the fact that Vildan's esper ability clashed directly with Nico's, causing the latter to often seek him out to stir up trouble.
"I had already proven that my magic was stronger than your ability in high school but... a replay of the event wouldn't hurt at all right now." Nico said with a proud smile on his face.
Slowly, the shadows in the corner where Vildan stood began to move, moving up Vildan's legs until they reached his arm and took the shape of a small blade that Vildan raised to the height of Nico's neck before speaking, "This isn't high school anymore."
Not the least bit concerned, Nico replied with the same smile on his face, "Hoo, I see you've at least grown some guts."
The atmosphere around the two was serious, so much so that even though the corner didn't have many students to begin with, they began to actively avoid that area.
One would think the receptionist would try to do something, but she was too busy with the incoming students and doing something on her smart watch...whatever the latter was.
Seeing that it didn't look like anyone was going to interrupt, Nico then raised his right hand slowly, at the same time as the mana gathered in his hand and made it give off a considerable glow.
Vildan's shadows also grew stronger, unwilling to give in to Nico's light, apparently a confrontation was imminent.
*Pam!*
"Ouch!"
But before Nico could touch Vildan, a hand suddenly struck Nico's head, causing him to lose his concentration and with it the spell in his hand.
With that action alone, Jay, who had returned from changing his clothes, had broken the tense atmosphere that was present in the reception.
"You..." Nico said, rubbing his head as he looked at Jay with some resentment in his eyes, but the resentment quickly disappeared before he spoke again, "So you did work at the training center."
"That's right, though tell me, what did you come here for? I hope it's not to look for trouble." Jay replied, who for some reason was holding in his hands a change of clothes just like the one he was wearing.
"No, no! I came to... talk about what you said yesterday..."
"...?"
Vilda was confused, it was the first time he saw Nico behave that way, especially if one took into account that the last time someone touched him without his permission, that person ended up with an extra hole in his body.
"You... know each other?" Vilda said.
"Not really, it's just some guy that I beat up yesterday."
***
After dealing with the situation at the front desk, Jay invited both Vilda and Nico in, and now they were in one of the many yards he had to clean up.
*Swoosh!*
The sound of brooms being scrubbed against the floor were what could be heard most coming from this courtyard, something that even Jay alone could not normally accomplish.
Although it was understandable, since this time, it wasn't just him cleaning the yard.
Nico, who was dressed in the same uniform as Jay and was sweeping the yard, asked, "Can you remind me...what does this have to do with yesterday's chat?!"
He had originally come to offer something to Jay, but without him knowing exactly how, the next moment he had on a training center worker's uniform and a broom in his hand.
"Take it as if it was compensation for attacking me yesterday, and if you don't want to do it... well, we'll just have to settle it like yesterday~" Jay said as a creepy grin formed on his face, though of course, without stopping sweeping for even a second.
"...Man, this yard sure collects a lot of dust huh..." Nico replied as he averted his gaze and continued sweeping.
"Pft."
Seeing the usually proud Nico being so meek, Vilda couldn't help but let out a small laugh, though he had to stop himself almost instantly.
'Hm, I knew I'd managed to influence him well, but I didn't expect him to visit so soon.' Jay thought.
Even taking into account that Jay's control over his parasites had improved tremendously, it was odd that it had worked so quickly.
After all, in both Carl's and Colt's case, both had been targets for Jay to assimilate, which meant that his little ones had had considerable time to be able to fully familiarize themselves with their respective hosts.
However, it hadn't even been a day since he had left a parasite in Nico's body, so this raised some doubts in Jay.
'I'll have to look into this later.'
Although this was adding one more task to accomplish to his to-do list, Jay didn't mind this, as he liked that the system had so many unknown things to discover.
In that way, time passed, with a mage and a pugilist working as a team along with the occasional help from an esper, tasks that would normally take Jay several hours were finished in just a couple, leaving them free to spend their time in other ways.
Back in the living room of the residence Jay was staying in, the three of them were seated on separate couches, three glasses of colorful drinks on the table and a relaxed atmosphere.
"Ahh, a cold juice after a hard day's work is certainly the best!" Jay said, a smile on his face.
Also sipping on his juice, Vildan added, "I agree, I feel productive."
"Un, this juice isn't bad at all..." Said Nico, who looked the most tired of the three.
A silence then spread throughout the living room, with three satisfied young men enjoying a refreshing drink.
*Bam!*
Suddenly, Nico slammed the table before standing up and shouting, remembering the reason for his visit, "I didn't come here for this!"
"If you break the glass, I'll break your leg." Jay threatened, glaring at Nico.
"...Ahem, yes, sorry." Replied the blond mage, setting the glass down carefully on the table.
Also setting his glass aside, Jay added, "Come on then, since you're so excited, speak up."
"Alright, you see, I've been thinking about what you told me, and I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that you were right! I had these doubts about myself and the team I had put together since a long time ago, and it turns out they were true! At least most of these..."
"Hm, so? I don't think you came here just to say I was right, did you?" Jay asked.
He had already expected this kind of answer, so Jay's attitude remained relaxed, rather, what he was most interested in was what Nico's course of action would be.
If all went well, then Jay would have a useful light mage as a recurring contact.
This time looking directly at Jay, Nico continued, "From now on my priority will be to choose quality over quantity, but for that very reason is that my current goal remains the same as before. Therefore I came here to ask for your help, I want you to help me recruit Veldran."
"Heh, you sure don't learn eh, but well, at least there must be a reason why you want to recruit him so badly, and I doubt it's only because of his physical abilities." Jay said.
At this, Nico's expression turned serious, "His physical abilities are nothing compared to his real power... his esper ability. If he were to use it, even the three of us together wouldn't be able to fight him."
These words made Jay's interest rise even more, so he couldn't help but ask, "Tell me then, what would that ability be?
"Veldran's ability.... is Blood Control!"
