After the incident with the Dark Spirit, Emilia had almost become a completely different person. She is a lot more cheerful, having fun and working to her fullest. Even her cooking had improved greatly which surprised everyone.

“This is really good!” Wolfenstien commented as he joined them for breakfast that day.

“Thank you very much!” Emilia said cheerfully.

They were looking at her in surprise. She felt like a completely new person with the energy and happy attitude. She had also stopped pulling dangerous things on Lakshman which surprised them. Marilia was impressed how the girl changed in one night.

As they finished their meals, she, Ondine and Marilia rose up. Then they collected all the plates and went into the kitchen.

“That was fulfilling...!” Wolfenstine said as he sipped on the glass of water.

“You know what...? I think I could get addicted to her food!” Rumble said and they laughed.

“Well...! That’s a good thing for me. Now I don’t have to listen his annoying voice all the time demanding food!” Marilia said loudly from the kitchen and they laughed again.

Lakshman had leaned back in his chair and looked towards the kitchen. Ever since the Dark Spirit was taken care of, Emilia began to behave friendlier and kinder. At the same time, she also stayed close to Lakshman much to the annoyance of Ondine and Tetra.

“She’s rather happy... Does she think master only loves her?” Ondine muttered to Tetra.

“Who knows, but at least she stopped doing those stuff with master,” Tetra said in a low voice with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Maybe she’s waiting for some sort of opportunity to do it...?” Ondine said in a worried voice.

“Don’t be silly, Ondine! I don’t feel that she’s capable of such things right now,” Tetra said with a shake of her head.

At that moment, the Phoenix Portal appeared and Felix walked through it.

“Good morning! How is everyone doing on this lovely morning?” Felix asked brightly.

“We’re fine! We just had a really tasty breakfast!” Rumble said as he patted his stomach.

“Oh really?” Felix said and he sniffed the air. Then he looked surprised and said “You’re right! Something does smell really nice around here. What did you eat?”

“I don’t really know, but it was really good!” Rumble said happily.

Felix laughed and said “Well then... Mind if I get some spare to taste?”

At that moment, Emilia appeared out of the kitchen. She was carrying a steaming bowl with the food for him.

“Here you are, Felix!” she said and she handed him the bowl.

“Wow! Thank you!” Felix said appreciatively.

“You’re welcome!” Emilia said happily before returning to the kitchen.

As Felix sat down, Wolfenstine said “The girl’s changed...”

“Really? How so?” Felix said as he happily ate the food she gave him.

“Well... Earlier, she and Sevedant got into an argument.”

“Really? With Sev? About what?”

“Emilia wanted him to eat, but he refused. When she asked him why, he told him that he was an Undead. Then she asked him which kind of undead he was and he told her he is from the Skeleton Undead and how they don’t need food source to life.”

Hearing that, Felix laughed and said “Wow...! The girl’s got guts to talk to him like that! Normally he’d knock anyone who dared to talk to him in such a way.”

“Yeah, but Emilia was pretty persistent. So he escaped by saying he had work and left,” Darian said with a sigh.

“That is strange... Maybe he’s taken a liking to her? Hey, Lucky! You better be careful or you’ll lose one of your slaves!” Felix told Lakshman with a grin on his face.

Lakshman chuckled and said “Fat chance of that happening.”

At his word, Felix laughed and continued eating the food. In a few seconds, he finished the bowl and placed it on the table. He patted his stomach with a happy expression on his face.

As Emilia came out to get the empty bowl, Felix said “Thank you for the breakfast! Perhaps I should get you to prepare some cooking lessons for my wife.”

Emilia laughed at his compliment and said “I’m just a novice at other things, but I’m really good at making this food though.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“It’s the food my mother used to cook for breakfast because I always felt too lazy to wake up in the morning.”

With a cheery grin, she left as everyone at the table began to laugh. Lakshman looked at Emilia’s happy expression and felt no darkness from her. He was happy she could smile like that so cheerfully that it made all of her suffering look like a tiny bug in her life.

That was when Lakshman suddenly remembered something he had wanted to speak with Felix about. Lately, he had been coming home and training him in rigorous training. It was intense because Lakshman began to use more and more of magic, energy attacks and fighting techniques.

“Felix... I have a question for you,” Lakshman asked him curiously.

“Really? Go ahead and ask away!” Felix said cheerfully.

“Well... It’s about this technique I don’t know about...”

Lakshman wondered whether he should tell Felix about the Dark Spirit incident. Then he decided it was better if he pretended it was just a dream and alter the story a little.

“I had this strange dream where I was being attacked by this dark spirit or something. Then this person, I think he looked like me, came over to assist. He created this really powerful... um... spherical shaped barrier that blocked all energy attacks! Do you know what it was?”

“A barrier...? Hmm...” Felix said and he made an expression as he thought about it. Then he said “Was that barrier pulsating? Like... Did you feel energy from it or something?”

At his question, Lakshman thought about it and said “Yes! It certainly did.”

“Mmm... Then it’s most likely an Energy Barrier,” Felix said as he came to the conclusion.

“An Energy Barrier?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“Come to the training grounds and I’ll show you,” Felix said and he got to his feet.

What Felix meant by ‘training grounds’ was the world Sevedant originally lived in. Because Lakshman was being trained there, Felix calls that world by that term. Lakshman understood this and following after him while smiling to himself.

Once they are in that world, Felix stepped onto the platform and told Lakshman to stay clear. Then he began to explain about the Energy Barrier.

“It is a concentrated energy released around you as a protecting. Think of it like an energy ball and you are on the inside,” Felix said as he conjured an energy ball in his right hand. Then he said “Think of another energy ball as the enemy’s attack and when they clash, this is what happens.”

Felix went ahead and made an energy ball in his left hand. He held the right and the left energy balls away for a moment before bringing them together. When they got close, a strong wind was released a violent sparks emitted from the clash of the two energy balls.

Then the balls turned small and vanished as Felix said “That is the power of an Energy Barrier.”

“Wow...!” Lakshman said in awe.

“It’s really powerful, but it depends on how your mind is feeling at that time,” Felix told him.

“How my mind is... feeling? What do you mean?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“Like... Unlike a Barrier Magic Spell, this one requires your concentrated energy. That means you are constantly holding up a barrier with your energy. That barrier will stay strong or weak depending on how you are feeling.”

When Lakshman continued to look puzzled, Felix said “Say for example you’re worried. The Energy Barrier will be pretty unstable and you will be forced to use your hands, like this, to hold it up! On the other hand, if you are as cool as anything, you can just closer your eyes, fold your arms and be a man!”

Lakshman was suddenly reminded of when the Decisive Player was like that when the Dark Spirit was hitting them with waves of energy attacks. He was calm and strong with his arms folded.

“Cool! Can you also do it?” Lakshman asked and he suddenly looked eager.

“Sure!” Felix said cheerfully.

At that moment, there was a familiar voice from behind that said “Me as well.”

Lakshman turned around and saw Sevedant and Tetra walking towards them. It looks like Sevedant had sneaked back in without Emilia detecting him. The realisation made Lakshman inwardly smile.

“Ah! Look whose back! I hear you argued with Emilia today!” Felix said brightly.

“Yes... Not happy...” Sevedant said in a sad voice.

“Ah well! Sometimes, women are just difficult to handle...” Felix said and he sounded like a man with great experience in the matter.

“Right... Now. Energy Barrier Clash?” Sevedant asked him.

Felix nodded vigorously and said “Sure!”

As the two warriors squared off against each other, Felix said “Tetra! Form a barrier around us. Lakshman, you can stay inside! You need to be in direct contact of the barriers to understand their might!”

“Ah... okay!” Lakshman said with a nod of his head.

Tetra silently nodded and put her hands together. In an instant, a barrier formed and enclosed around them. Lakshman stepped back until he touched the barrier. He was only trying to keep as much distance as he could so he does not get injured.

Felix and Sevedant looked at each other and shouted “Let’s do this!”

“UUURRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!”

With a scream, the two suddenly began surging with power. Then a formation of energy began expanding from the centre. It took on a spherical form and continued to expand towards each other. Then, with a heavy impact, the two barrier collided and caused the ground to shake.

The barriers began to clash that were created by Felix and Sevedant. Violent sparks began to erupt out of the clashing barriers. Felix and Sevedant furiously fought each other while clashing their barriers at each other.

“So that’s the Barrier Clash...” Lakshman whispered in awe.

He was shocked at the sheer power the two of them were releasing. It was just like the time when Felix and Sevedant fought each other with their fists for demonstration. However, more and more power kept being released as each tried to overtake the other.

“What’s wrong?! Gotten soft?!” Felix shouted.

“Never!” Sevedant yelled.

The two had their fists clenched tightly as their energy began to warp the clashing barriers. Lakshman suddenly felt something was wrong, but he was not quick to realise.

“UURRAAAGGGHHH!!!” the two of them screamed.

At that moment, the barrier suddenly interlocked. Then they got absorbed and expanded at incredible speeds. Lakshman was shocked to see the barriers merge and expand. Then he realised he was in the way just as the barriers hit him.

“GGAAAHHHHH!!!” Lakshman screamed as the heavy impact of barrier surged him with power.

The clashing of powers were not hitting him hard as he was pressed against the barrier. Lakshman could barely hear the panicked voices of Felix and Sevedant. Tetra, who stood behind her, had a worried expression on her face, but she continued to keep the barrier up regardless.

“Oh crap! The barriers merged!” Felix shouted in a shocked voice.

Sevedant did not say anything. He looked towards where Lakshman was being pressured against the edge of the barriers by their barriers. Then he said “Are you sure?”

“I don’t know, but it’s better to try! If we could break the third seal, he’ll be a lot more powerful than he is! He’ll also have various other knowledge I could teach him!” Felix told him.

Sevedant looked at him for a moment in silence as Lakshman’s screamed grew louder. Then he asked “Is this alright?”

Felix nodded and said “Yes! If anything happened, I’ll just use Restoration to quickly heal him!”

The two of then turned and looked towards Lakshman. He was screaming as the power and the impact of the barriers shocked him. It was a pain he had never felt before and did not know what to do.

“Lucky! Try to destroy the barriers! Try creating an Energy Barrier!” Felix shouted at him.

Through all the pain, Lakshman heard Felix’s words, but it did not help. He was being hit by a lot of power and he wondered how they expect him to suddenly create a barrier. It was so powerful that he struggled to focus his mind.

Then his mind started drifting as he slowly. The pain was causing him to keep away.

“This is so... painful... How do I create a barrier under such a powerful attack...?” Lakshman thought weakly.

“Fool... It’s possibly! Watch how it’s done!”

Then there was a violent flash in his mind and he returned to the surface. The barrier were still clashing against him, but he had stopped screaming. Instead, he flashed his eyes open and looked at the clashing barrier hitting against him. His eyes had three stared shapes with a black dot in the centre.

He pressed his left hand against the barriers and pushed them back. Then he closed his eyes and held his right forefinger in front of his face. After channelling energy into it, he reopened his eyes and swiped at the barriers. In an instant, like breaking glass, the barrier were shattered.

Felix and Sevedant were shocked to see such a powerful demonstration. Then they wondered if they succeeded in breaking the Third Seal. Lakshman slowly walked towards them and his face remained expressionless.

“Um... Lucky?” Felix asked when he and Sevedant walked over to look at him.

Lakshman looked at them and his face remained expressionless. Then he quickly moved and hit both of them in the chest. The impact appeared to be soft, but the power behind it was so strong, both warriors were lifted off their feet and sailed through air before smashing into the walls around.

Then Lakshman turned around and saw Tetra looking at him. She had an astonished expression on her face as she continued to keep the barrier up.

Lakshman smiled and started screaming “UUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGAGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Then a powerful shockwave was sent everywhere and it completely destroyed the barrier. Tetra fell down and wore a shocked expression on her face as he destroyed her barrier with just a scream.

“D-Destroying the Phoenix Barrier with nothing, but his will power? What...?” Tetra said slowly as she stared at Lakshman.

Lakshman straightened up and looked at her. He smiled and nodded at her which puzzled her. Then he closed his eyes as everything settled down. As he reopened his eyes, he moaned softly and looked around with a shocked expression on his face.

“W-Wow...! Did I do all this?” Lakshman asked at seeing the destruction and noticed the barriers were gone.

Then he heard the sound of rubble falling away as Felix and Sevedant got up. The two of them did not look hurt, but they winced as they rubbed their chests.

“That was a powerful punch...” Felix said wearily.

“Indeed it was...” Sevedant said and he moaned softly.

“Um... Are the two of you okay?” Lakshman asked anxiously.

“In perfect condition!” Felix said before wincing slightly as his chest hurt.

“Really? That’s good at least...” Lakshman said in relief.

Felix chuckled and said “Seriously though... I didn’t expect you could destroy the barriers like that...! Where did you learn that technique?”

Lakshman quickly waved his hands at them and said “Not my doing! The Decisive Player got angry and did that!”

“Oh... So it was the Phoenix...” Felix said and he sighed heavily. Then he said “Well...! Get back to training, Lucky! We only got one more day to go! You’ve got to train hard today and tomorrow!”

Lakshman nodded and said “Yes!” Then he walked into the building to train inside the Gravity Chamber.

When he left, Felix grimaced and said “Looks like trying to force the Third Seal to break was a bad idea...”

“I told you...! The seals were placed specifically in a way they cannot be forcibly broken! A condition must be met before they can break and let master possess that power!” Tetra told him severely.

“Ah well...! At least we managed to prove you were right! Now to go and train him like usual!” Felix said brightly. Then he suddenly moaned and said “But first... I think I’ll heal my chest... That was a powerful punch the Phoenix hit me with...”

He walked over and sat down before he started healing himself with a magic spell. Seeing him in such a state, Sevedant and Tetra looked at each other for a moment before they shook their heads in resignation.

Just like that, another day went by without any troubles. With one day left before the beginning of the tournament, Lakshman was training as hard as he could to improve his skills and techniques.