Getting out of the train and taking a hover car back home Liam finally had time to check out the reward for his accomplished challenge. C generously displayed the item's information in front of his eyes.
[Eye of Vaunorah
Effect: Send out one of three subordinate invisible eyes within a range of 20 meters. Everything the subordinate eye observes can be displayed on the main eye as long as the main eye is within range. The subordinate eye can be dispelled at any time. Eyes deployed: 0
Restriction: Can only be used by Bleary Mirage]
The Eye of Vaunorah took the appearance of a purple gem in the form of an eye, looking deceptively beautiful. In the game it was an item proficient in scouting, highly sought-after by many people, especially treasure seekers.
Liam was satisfied with the way its effects transitioned to real life. With this item he was more confident in searching for his parents.
It could help him with investigating in which ruin his parents went missing by finding his parents' journals which were most likely in the hands of either Brayan Colville or his father. And later on, the Eye of Vaunorah would also become also a great help in exploring ruins, making it possible to scout out danger in advance.
"Sir, we have arrived."
Suddenly the voice of his driver brought Liam out of his thoughts. He noticed that the driver, a young man, had already opened the door for him.
Liam smiled, giving a quick thanks as he got off. He saw the sparkle in the driver's eye, brimming with admiration but also a hint of hesitation.
"It's ok, just say it.", said Liam.
"Yes, thank you. Sorry. I... I just watched the fight of you against Green Streaked Blood again. I'm a big fan! Could I get your autograph?"
Being in a good mood Liam nodded with a smile. But suddenly he froze.
"Wait, what do you mean by you just watched the fight?"
"Ehm. Your fight, it's all over the internet. Didn't you know?"
"No, I didn't! How could it be?"
"The official tournament site updated and released videos of all the fights. But they also appeared on MyTube and basically everywhere you can watch videos."
Liam was surprised by this revelation. He knew that Fortune had attempted to record some matches, but she was stopped by C. Had the AI done this so it could publish all the matches itself?
Liam didn't really care that much but the impact was already apparent just from the driver's eyes. Briefly fulfilling the man's wish Liam said his goodbyes and went back to the apartment.
Once there, he was immediately welcomed by Merida and Serena. His sister was sitting in front of the TV, also watching the tournament with great excitement.
As the two siblings talked, Liam learned that his friends suggested watching a few fights in the gaming house's cinema. The construction was due to be finished in two more days and most of the gaming house could already be used.
Liam was surprised to hear this, but he quickly figured it out. Apparently, he couldn't receive any messages while he was within the void, missing the chat between his friends.
Now that he was already done with his mission for the day Liam had no reason to refuse. As his plan for the evening was set, Liam decided not to wait. He spoke with Serena before calling his driver and going to the gaming house right away.
Once there, he could see workers applying the finishing touches and Miss Ellford checking everything dutifully. It was amazing to watch everything coming together.
Liam took the elevator and first messaged Cynthia. He just knew the young woman would surely be upset if he came to the gaming house without telling her.
But as Cynthia answered that she was out enjoying the flower festival with Mel and a few other friends, Liam put the issue at the back of his mind and entered the place he came here for. The gym.
The door opened and Liam stepped in. He carried a large bag, entering the spacious changing room. Just as he thought how strange it was to be all alone, loud banging sounds reached his ears.
Liam was surprised and curious. He changed and opened the door towards a hallway. Straight ahead was another door, where the noise was coming from.
Entering through it, Liam found himself in a state-of-the-art training centre with everything one would need. From standard treadmills to special machines which could even help starlight masters improve.
To the right was a smaller ring meant for sparring. And in front of it were sandbags. The weakest of those could be used by normal people while the heaviest was meant for starlight masters.
As Liam's eyes glanced at the sandbags he was stunned for a moment. A woman was using one of them right now.
She wore short black training clothes, which revealed an extremely athletic, lean body shaped by years of martial training. With every one of her powerful blows, her brown hair tied into a short ponytail swayed behind her head. A few drops of sweat ran down her body reflecting the sunlight coming in through huge windows.
Suddenly the door behind Liam shut close, causing a loud noise which echoed through the room. Liam shook awake. The woman instantly shot around, her sharp eyes staring at the door, her fists raised vigilantly. Liam stared back, coughing awkwardly:
"Sorry Silva, I didn't want to startle you."
The woman quickly relaxed, a smile blooming on her face.
"Liam, what are you doing here?"
"The same as you probably. Since we planned to meet in the cinema today, I realized that the training centre should also be ready to use, so I came to train."
"Haha, same for me."
"I'm surprised, though. Don't you have a private gym at home?"
Silva sighed, annoyance flashing through her eyes:
"Unfortunately, not. Our building has a gym but unfortunately all residents can go there. People constantly try to talk with me. Either it's someone wanting to forge ties with my family, guys asking me out, or both. Thus, I'd rather prefer training alone."
"Sounds quite annoying. I guess that's also the reason why you went to the dojo in the past?"
"Yes. It was such a great place! A pity it's closed right now... However, now we luckily have the gaming house. It's a blessing that none of those annoying people can come here!"
Silva laughed lightly, obviously in a great mood. Liam smiled along but inwardly he felt quite awkward. After all, didn't he just disturbed Silva's peace? Thinking this, he excused himself:
"Ok, Silva. Then I won't hold you off from training. We can talk later before the others arrive."
Silva noticed that Liam was about to turn around and quickly called out:
"No, wait. I didn't mean it like that. I didn't try to chase you away. Furthermore... now that you're here I wanted to try something."
Liam was taken aback, having no idea what Silva was up to. His looked at her with curiosity, prompting her to explain:
"I wanted to spar with you!"
"Spar?"
"Yes. In the game I'm a tank and can't fight other players due to my limited damage. But in the real world it's different. My strength as a third stage martial artist coupled with the skills of a tank... maybe not even the famous Bleary Mirage can defeat me!"
Liam looked at Silva's face brimming with confidence and a grin slowly formed on his face. His competitive streak was challenged. If Silva thought she would have the upper hand, she would be in for a surprise.
Liam let out a light chuckle, nodding his head.
"Ok. Now I'm curious what makes you so confident."
"You'll see.", responded Silva with a grin. "By the way, how strong are you now? I will lower my power to match you. If I face you with the strength of a third stage martial master, it would be too overwhelming."
"No need to worry. I'm also at the third stage."
"WHAT?!"
Liam's chest tightened as Silva reacted almost violently. He suddenly thought it might have been smarter to continue hiding his strength.
"How can you be at the third stage? And I can't even feel it. Your strength is perfectly hidden. Wait, if that's the case maybe you always hid your strength and were already at the second stage when you came to the dojo? But why would you do so?"
Met with Silva's barrage of questions, Liam fell silent, not knowing how to answer. His thoughts raced as he swayed between truth and lie.
"I... this has to do with the disappearance of my parents. I feel that it's better if some people don't know everything about me."
Silva was frozen, processing these words. Heavy worry filled her eyes as she asked carefully:
"Can you... tell me more?"
Liam realized a lot might depend on the decision he was about to make. He looked into Silva's eyes seeing the worry deep within them. Finally, he came to a decision. He decided to trust his friend:
"I can tell you. But it has to do with your family. Maybe now is not a great time."