Chapter 04- The Training Platform

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Sometime after we returned to the mansion, I created an affidavit stating that my living quarters were not to be defiled in any way during my stay or entered without my explicit permission. During my days at the Academy, I was allowed a room to myself due to unavoidable circumstances in my past and safety reasons. So, I was accustomed to not having a nosy roommate sifting through my belongings or borrowing my personal effects. My mentor might have had reservations about forging a contract, but that didn't mean I couldn't lay down some ground rules myself. 

Their Vim signatures were psychically linked, so Wanderers were very picky about what they physically signed. Vim, which was akin to mana, was the internal energy flow that they could utilize to activate runes. According to rumors, certain Wanderers could write runes with just their fingers, and the symbols they wrote were still, apparently, power-bound. 

I disregarded Revelin's disapproving expression as I handed him my form—had he been considering doing anything immoral in my living quarters?—and urged him to sign so I could sleep easier.

"This is rather high-handed of you, seeing as how your room's provided by me," Revelin grumbled. "But, I'll sign it. Consider it a peace offering on my part." He filled in the blanks and signed the form before handing it back.

LIVING QUARTERS PRIVACY FORM

I, Revelin Eferize, hereby agree to never defile* the living quarters assigned to one Cyrus Kairos. (Unless I am justified in doing so.)

I will also keep from entering the aforementioned living quarters without Cyrus Kairos's explicit permission**. (Except for when I deem it wise to do so, i.e., fire and other such emergencies.***)

*- By "defile," I mean every sense of the word.

**- When I am not available to grant permission, no one is to enter my living quarters by default.

***- My personal judgment determines what constitutes an emergency.

Your delightful mentor,

Revelin Eferize

As I read the form a second time, I was unable to keep the frown from forming on my face. "You added terms and asterisks to my terms and asterisks," I stated sharply. I'd already foreseen that it would be difficult to get Eferize to sign anything, but did he have to go and alter my form? I let out a long sigh. The important thing, in the end, was that it was signed. "When are we going to sign my work contract?" I had never been one to back out of anything without seeing it through to the end, so I was determined to be trained by my assigned mentor, at least until I learned enough to work alone.

Revelin shot me one of his unreadable smirks that probably spelled doom in the future. "At the end of the week." He answered. "If you survive and I deem you worthy to take on as my assistant." He then proceeded to pull off his robe and pants and stripped down to his socks as he made his way toward his own living quarters. He wore no underwear. "Worry not," He tossed over his shoulder. "You will still be paid throughout this...orientation."

My expression had to have been as dumbfounded as I felt. A part of me was relieved that my mentor didn't stick around long enough to see such a stupefied face. One of the most challenging things I had to conquer during my training with Revelin Eferize was to get used to seeing the man in any state of undress. I also had to figure out a way to keep those images from being burned into my brain. After all, I could take anything else in stride.

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"If I am going to live this through to the end, I will need fucking soundproof walls," I muttered to myself as I sluggishly dragged myself out of bed the following day. What had I been going about just a few days before about taking everything else in stride? There was no taking 'living under the same roof as Revelin Eferize' in stride. 

The previous night, my mentor had himself a mini orgy well until three in the morning. I picked out the sounds of two rather vocal females and an even more vociferous male, along with my own mentor's voice...which carried down the hall and into my living quarters. Of all the Wanderers that existed, I had to be assigned to the one who regularly formed his Vim into rune condoms. I could have soundproofed the walls myself, but Revelin likely had wards on the walls. I had no choice but to wait it out. And after only four hours of sleep, I couldn't even concentrate on my breakfast.

I was halfway into my over-boiled "soft" eggs when my mentor walked into the kitchen wearing only his pants. I tried not to stare at the mess that was his hair. Just how powerful did one have to be to be able to summon up so much Vim and still be able to walk around feeling fresh as a daisy? 

"I ask that you please soundproof the walls of my room if you are to continue your boisterous activities late into the night. Understudies need sleep in order to function." I practically pleaded as I took a long sip of cappuccino from the huge coffee mug I had brought with me, one of my most prized possessions, and tried not to show any outward reaction to the way he stared at me.

"You're so pale. It's too easy to notice when bags form beneath your eyes," Revelin mused aloud. He must have felt some pity for me because he conceded to my request. "Soundproof room?" He affirmed while he quickly wrote several symbols in the air. As his fingers formed strokes, the psychic particles glowed blue in the shapes of the runes that he created. As soon Revelin was done, he swooped his hand over all of the symbols as if he were catching a ball and then threw them in the direction of the living quarters. "Done deal. The spell will only activate when the noise level in my room becomes too loud."

I was genuinely impressed. And I was beginning to understand where the' finger runes' rumors came from. Maybe my mentor was better than I thought.

"I placed the seal on my room, so you should still be able to hear all the other noises. If an outside threat comes in, one of us should remain alert at night, and it sure as hell isn't going to be me. I'm the damn boss."

I had a feeling that by 'outside threat,' he didn't mean burglars but other Vim carriers. And the fact that he was leaving me alone with the burden? Inconsiderate, as usual. I didn't know why I kept trying to tell myself otherwise.

"Those pajamas make you look like the little child you certainly are not," Revelin commented as he poured himself some orange juice. "Pedophilia is one of my turn-offs. So, I suggest that you change into your work clothes and meet me in the basement in an hour before I rip those pajamas off of you myself."

The leer that was sent my way made it seem as if he wanted nothing more than to use the pajamas as an excuse to see me nude. "I have five different sets of similar pajamas," I countered with a glare. "What I wear outside of work is not written anywhere in my non-existent contract, Mr. Eferize, and I don't intend to succumb to your tastes outside of work, either."

I couldn't read the look in his blue eyes, but his voice was clipped when he simply repeated. "Basement. One hour."

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An hour later, Revelin had me activate the rings of the arch-passage myself. He had me shift it to a particular setting that led to one of his many personal passages. This one led to a stadium-sized platform in the sky. 

"Where, exactly, are we?" I asked once we walked through.

The platform was made of white, unforgivably hard marble tiles. The four corners interlaced into high-flying buttresses, but other than those corners, the platform was wide open. With each cloud that I could see drifting past us in the distance, I became more and more anxious. I never had a fear of heights, but only because I was usually safely secure in harnesses, or there was always water around to cushion falls. But the platform made me wary of approaching any of the edges.

"This is my training arena," Revelin replied. The man had showered and was dressed in a loose white blouse and a pair of dark gray slacks. He traced a symbol on the ground with the tip of his shoe, and when he tapped on it, the previously open sides of the platform were filled with a particle forcefield, glowing in the blue hue that was Revelin's signature Vim. The fact that he could also create runes with his toes didn't escape me, the talented twat.

"So, we're training in a fancy, flying gazebo in the sky?" I muttered. I was relieved that the gaps were buffered. But, my mentor didn't seem to be listening to me. Instead, he motioned for me to follow him into the center of the platform.

"I will need you to not only defend yourself but at least one other person," Revelin stated.

"And by that 'other person,' do you mean the Princess of Darenvy?"

"Yes. And anyone else, should we take on another guarding mission," Revelin elaborated. "I warn that you will always leave this arena rather sore and exhausted." I believed the 'sore' part, but I had no intention to allow myself to become outright exhausted. 

"What are we working on first-Yipe! What in the world!" 

My mentor was cautious. He placed full-body particle barriers around both of us...but for reasons unknown to me, he felt that the entrance to my backside needed protection as well. "I would have surely recalled 'being anally probed' listed under my job description, and it wasn't! What would I possibly need to have a particle barrier riding up my ass for?"

"Oh?" Revelin stated, raising an eyebrow. "One would think you were already used to having a long, cylindrical object constantly up your-"

"Not funny."

"Let's begin. Turn that frustration towards your training and attack me."

I felt less violated when the particles were finally retracted from between my butt cheeks. But I was not a fool. Anger had no place in brawls...it created a mental fog and had a tendency to blind you. My mentor was trying to provoke me into lashing out without thinking. Instead of attacking physically, I decided to attack with my Vim.

A person's knowledge and experience determined the time and distance that Vim could be used. But, every now and then, users with a natural talent for energy manipulation were born. My hazel eyes narrowed as I studied my mentor's stance. I had a feeling that Revelin was born with the ability to both quickly draw Vim to himself and cast it into runes. I almost laughed as an image of a baby Revelin snuck into my mind. Would he have used rune symbols to bring back a fallen pacifier to his mouth before it hit the ground? One day, I had to ask him if anything like that happened for real. 

In a lighter mood, I sent out shards of olive-hued Vim towards my mentor's head without warning. The look on Revelin's face was priceless. I was right in thinking that he had expected a physical attack first. Who was I to disappoint? Afterward, I dashed over to the side with the intent of kneeing him in the stomach, but he managed to block the blow. 

And so I continued my 'training,' which turned out to be outright sparring. That I was able to keep up with my mentor made me wonder if he was going easy on me to study my movement. I wasn't wrong. Revelin began to predict the flow of my attacks and began to toy with me. He would dodge by an inch and tap whatever patch of skin I left unguarded.

I must have taken too long to think a series of movements through because he took advantage of my lull and invaded my personal space. My breath hitched, and I took a step back, only to stumble and hit the ground. Instead of helping me back up, my mentor decided to crawl over my form. My face flushed. The man was simply too close for comfort.

"Are we finished with today's 'training'?" I asked cheekily in the hopes of creating some distance between us.

"I have the final word on whether we are finished or not," Revelin stated with the authority that only a full-fledged Wanderer could muster. He studied me for so long that I wondered if he was trying to peer right through me. So, when he finally did move, I didn't expect the hand that took hold of my wrist to pull me up. "...and I say we are finished. Don't expect our next training session to be any easier. You won't surprise me a second time."

I wanted nothing more than to prove him wrong.