Chapter 69: VOL 2 Chapter 14: Going out?
As every morning, Erik got out of bed wearing nothing but long shorts, surrounded by Tiberius and Kaiser, who were now sleeping in their puppy size. And Ebonique, who, for some strange reason, had recently started sleeping near the head of the bed in her smallest form. Although, according to her, spirits didn't need to sleep, well, as far as he knew, neither his masters nor Seraphina needed to sleep, and yet they did it every day, so who was he to question it?
After stretching, Erik looked out the window towards the garden, still dark due to the lack of sunlight. Noticing that it wasn't raining, he smiled cheerfully and left the room with a light step. Once outside, the star-haired boy began his morning exercises, consisting of the same set of martial arts movements he had learned on the island, although now they were a bit different.
Even though the movements could still be divided into four categories: the light and ethereal ones, which he often used to dodge or move across the field; the fast and precise ones, especially useful for attacking vital points; the elegant and fluid ones, which worked incredibly well to use the opponent's force against them; and finally, the firm and powerful ones, essential for blocking attacks or striking with great force—these movements had now changed a bit.
Over the years, and as his power level increased, Myst had slowly and gradually guided Erik to modify them, with small changes each time, until they accumulated into what he now had. Despite his increased strength during this time, the movements remained as effective, if not more, than the initial exercises, and they continued to "evolve."
With a calm and focused expression, Erik continued practicing in the early dawn until the sun began to rise, announcing the morning. After a few more repetitions, he approached the wolves and Ebonique, who had at some point arrived in the garden and were now lying on the grass not far away.
Seeing him approach, the pair of wolf cubs quickly got up from the ground excitedly and ran towards Erik, energetically rubbing their small heads against his legs while barking and wagging their fluffy tails at great speed.
"Good morning, Erik." Ebonique greeted in a soft voice while increasing her size from about 30 cm to around 2 meters, before approaching her dear contractor.
"Good morning, Ebonique."
Erik greeted with a cheerful smile, placing his hand on Ebonique's large head, who now looked less like a snake and more like a powerful dragon or something resembling a horned dinosaur to Erik. He began transferring to his curious contracted spirit the mix of Mana and Myst that she loved so much.
"It's really mysterious how your appearance changes from time to time, Ebonique."
As he "fed" and stroked Ebonique's powerful scales, Erik commented, a bit surprised. The mighty 'dragon' responded casually while relishing what was possibly the most delicious thing in the universe.