Kai now knew that the Deep Slumber could only be used on himself once a day.
If he's lucky, then he'll enter the House of Night, where he could meet beings of the darkness like Noxian. Learning their names would unlock their fragment and make him stronger.
And if he's unlucky, then he'd gained exp and woke up more refreshed than ever.
After using it for more than a week, he always woke up early in the morning.
He thought the Deep Slumber worked like sleeping in general, but it doesn't. He could dictate when he wanted to wake up. If he wanted it badly enough, like earlier, he could even wake up a few minutes later and still feel as refreshed as sleeping the whole night away.
"Maybe now I can use it multiple times?"
Kai looked skyward, closed his eyes, and cast the Deep Slumber again.
What came wasn't drowsiness, but a full force that slapped him like an invisible hand.
Brak—!
Kai crashed into a tree and fell to the ground.
He prostrated there for a good, embarrassing moment as he gasped for air.
"Okay," He forced an acute smile. "Maybe not."
Once he recovered, Kai continued with his training. Nearing dawn, his footwork wasn't good, but enough to follow his perfect slashing motion. Now, he doesn't look stupid as he swings the stick.
"But it's not fast enough…" Kai bent down and panted heavily.
Learning independently isn't an effective method, so he really wanted to meet Noxian again.
"You're working hard, that's good to see."
"Who's there?!"
Kai straightened his posture and pointed the stick at the silhouette emerging from the night's shroud. His stance eased the moment the moonlight crossed the figure's face. It was a face that he recognized—Matilda.
It was easy to recognize her despite the mask.
She has a scar that traces from her neck to her collarbone and then down into her tunic.
A scar from a blade, Kai reckoned.
"What are you going to do with that?" Matilda pointed at the thin, feeble stick. "Poke me with it?"
"I still didn't have anything to report." Kai turned around properly and tossed the stick away. He took the leopard hide and draped it over his shoulders. "I'll return with intel; you can rest assured."
"Shame," Matilda walked out and gazed at the river. "But I didn't visit only to ask for that."
Kai leaned against the tree trunk and crossed his arms.
He stared at Matilda with a raised brow, "You want me to thank you?"
"No, of course not," She fanned her hand in front of her nose, denying that accusation. "On the contrary, I still don't feel even with you. So, I came to tell you something that you might want to know. It's about that girl."
"Bree?" Kai frowned. "Let me guess, you're going to say she's a troubled girl, too?"
"Too?" Matilda turned towards him. "Did she talk about me?"
"I asked about you, and she answered. As simple as that."
"If anyone is a troublemaker between us, then it's her. Not me. After all, she's the one with a complicated family," Matilda scoffed, but didn't press further. "I was about to tell you that before that night of the attack, I saw her taken away.
"High Angels has loose rules, but there's one particular rule that we must adhere to. Can you guess what?"
Kai looked at her questioningly.
But since Bree was taken that day, the answer can only be one thing.
"It's because of me?"
"Yes. All Angels must adhere to the class system of the academy. Nobody can provide resources to a Lesser Angel. She knew this. She knew what would happen, and yet she still approached you."
Kai could feel a cold anger rising up from within.
He squeezed his arms hard.
"How does that make you feel?" Matilda asked.
"Angry," Kai's voice was biting-cold. And Matilda could feel his anger from it.
"Angry that she's punished because of you? Or because you're a Lesser Angel?"
"Angry because I feel weak and am weak. She must've pitied me."
Matilda's eyes flickered at his answer, but Kai didn't see it. He was too busy simmering in his anger to even look at her. "Here, put on some clothes," She tossed a folded tunic and pants. "You look more pitiful naked.
"More importantly," She looked down at Kai's crotch. "Your lower part is distracting."
Kai quickly wore the tunic and pants and instantly felt human again.
The fabric is quite thick and soft for plain clothes.
"Why are you giving me this?" He raised his gaze again and frowned. "I thought you sent Rakha to tell me to get information first before getting my clothes. Was it not your order?"
"That thick-headed manchild can't accept me as a leader," She shook her head.
Rustle—!
Kai and Matilda immediately ducked down at the rustling sound.
Both were extremely on guard as this was a rite with their lives at stake.
The sound came from across the river, whispers. Muffled, but unmistakably human. Kai gestured for Matilda to come close. She dropped beside him, and together, they lay prone low with the leopard hide over their heads for cover.
"Is this you? Or is it the hide?" Matilda pinched her nose. "It reeks here."
"Of course it's the hide. In case you haven't caught up yet, comfort is not entirely my focus here," Kai clicked his tongue. "Thought you were the rough kind who won't mind about these things."
"Just because I'm a bit more muscular, you thought that? I'm still a woman, you jerk."
Soon, two people emerged from across the river.
Both were wearing leather armor, a dirty gold cloak, and a bow in their hands.
A dirty gold armband wrapped around their biceps.
Considering where they were, the two seemed relaxed, even bantering like they had no worries. One of them knelt on the riverbank and cleaned his hands. Both Kai and Matilda realized his hands were covered in blood.
It could be animal blood, but their minds thought the worst.
"Looks like scouts," Matilda whispered. "Let's kidnap one of them. On my mark."
"How would you even go across the river quick eno—"
"Now!"
Matilda leaped out of hiding and sprinted towards the river.
Both scouts were immediately alerted and scrambled to escape.
It was what Kai was concerned about.
However, Matilda surprisingly leaped across the river in a single bound. Her golden sword flashed into her hand mid-air. She hit the ground rolling, narrowly avoiding an arrow, then exploded forward.
She shoulder-charged the scout before his fingers could touch his bowstring again.
Kai wanted to leap across, but he knew he wouldn't make it.
Instead, he grabbed a handful of rocks and threw them at the other scout.
Only then did he made the leap, and as expected, he could barely reach three-quarters of the river's width. He fought the last quarter, and when he climbed out, the scout was already gone.
"Fuck," Kai huffed angrily.
"It's fine, slowpoke," Matilda's voice pulled his attention. "Come here and help me restrain him."
It took a moment, but they managed to restrain the scout.
Now, he was stripped of his gear and kneeling with his hand tied behind him with aerial roots that Kai spotted yesterday while he was scouting the area. Blood marred his lips, and there were bruises across his face.
Matilda had interrogated the scout for the last fifteen minutes.
But her attempt bore no fruit.
"Follow the trail of the other one," Matilda instructed without looking. "See if you can find the general direction of where their base is."
"Good luck," the scout sneered and spat blood. "You'll need it."
Kai didn't heed his word, "What are you going to do?"
"I'll take it up a notch," She grabbed two rocks from the riverbank and returned, staring at the scout grimly. "You are a guy. You don't want to see what I'm going to do."
Not even questioning her, Kai left the scene.
He didn't know exactly what Matilda was going to do, but he felt sorry for the scout.
Kai activated Night-Phantom as he's now near enemy territory. He traced the frantic trail the fleeing scout had left—broken branches, disturbed earth, the desperate chaos of a man running away desperately.
But ultimately, he failed to find exactly where the scout went.
It suddenly disappears among the bushes.
He thought of an ambush or a hiding place nearby, but he couldn't find anything.
For ten minutes straight, he scoured the area, and still nothing.
Kai decided to go back to check on Matilda—and he frowned when he saw the scout was nowhere to be seen. He ran back to her with a clear frown on his face, "Where did he go?"
"I underestimated him. He got away," Matilda rubbed her chin.
A new bruise was forming there.
Kai was surprised.
From his point of view, Matilda isn't someone who would be caught off guard easily.
His Legacy Skill must be special, then.
On the side, there was a bloodstain on the ground where the scout should be. Matilda must've got to do what she intended to do. "Did he say anything?" He asked, certain that the scout would buckle now before escaping.
"Yes," Matilda nodded and cracked her neck.
She learned that the dirty gold armband belongs to Team Coeus.
And leading that team is a student nicknamed the Lion.
Lion is also a High Angel, and as his nickname suggests, has the bloodline of a Chimera. Anyone with the blood of a divine beast is normally more feral and physically stronger than normal, so Matilda is quite certain that Team Coeus would be the most troublesome.
"Is that it?" Kai asked.
She got a lot of information out of the scout, but there seemed to be more.
Or at least, Kai felt like she wanted to say more.
"No, that's it," Matilda shrugged. "He managed to escape before I could ask more."
Kai feels like she's lying, especially seeing that she was avoiding his eyes, but he didn't press further. I don't really know her, but I might be reading this wrong. She might only be embarrassed that she let the scout get away.
"Let's return first," She walked back toward the river. "You can also return with me."
He was expecting to be stationed here longer.
But Matilda must've had a change of plan now that she knew more about Team Coeus.
She was expecting to clash with Team Hyperion.
Now that the closest team was Team Coeus, changes to her plan should be made.
I should've killed that scout while I had the chance.
Kai regretted that he had left to follow the other scout. Had the one who fled been killed, he could've gained more exp. It was especially regretful knowing that this scout seemed to be strong enough for him to be able to escape from Matilda.
Wait, what am I thinking? Since when do I kill people so easily?
Just as she was about to leap across, she stopped abruptly on the edge.
He looked at her back, puzzled.
"After what I told you about Bree, we're now even, right?" She asked without turning.
"Yeah," Kai nodded hesitantly. "We're even."
"Good," Matilda nodded.
A deliberate, tense pause stretched between them.
Before Kai could ask what was inside her mind, she suddenly turned with full force.
Her golden sword gleamed under the moonlight as it reached for Kai's neck.