Agni Igris then moved on to check Rudra's progress as well.
He eventually found the boy training in the gym with Mira.
He watched as Rudra started his training and after seeing him, Agni Igris tried and failed to contain his large grin!
Although the other two were geniuses in their own right, Agni Igris could confidently say that Rudra was an altogether different beast!
He wasn't as smart as Thor nor as proficient in weapons as Iris. No, his talent lay in combat! The control of his body, the instinctual movements, the refined and calculated precision of his strikes.
Agni Igris could tell that Rudra was built for combat! This idea was only cemented as he watched Rudra train!
Rudra's body had become molded for fighting! He was flexible to the point of performing acrobatics that looked superhuman! He was explosively fast, and his blows were heavy enough to crush metal with his gauntlets on!
Agni Igris had only taught him two moves from the {Draconia Arts} series, being the {Twin Claw} and {Tail Disk}!
However, as he saw him now, Rudra seemed to have become fluid in those movements as he danced around the training ground!
Rudra dodged, blocked, and parried, every hit from the 5 training dummy's that surrounded him!
Two dummy's lashed out kicks toward his head simultaneously! However, Rudra, without missing a beat, jumped and spun horizontally through both of the legs!
*Whoosh*
As their legs clashed, in a great show of athleticism and control over one's body, Rudra spun vertically and used the momentum to land a {Tail Disk} kick on one of the dummy's heads!
It was elegant and sharp, not to mention strong! Instead of denting the metal like a normal kick would, it left a slash mark as if his legs were blades!
He seemed to have mastered the technique as his kicks shot out as whip strikes instead of blunt impacts!
Slicing the head of the training dummy in half, it fell to the ground and was considered dead.
As soon as Rudr finished the kick, he landed and pivoted on the same leg as he swiped the leg of the other dummy who had yet to bring it's other leg down completely!
As the dummy fell to the ground, Rudra hopped into a punch, ready to end the dummy, however, he paused his attack and tilted his head to the right slightly as another dummy tried to hit him in the head from behind!
Rudra had been sparring with Mira for half a year now! Fighting her had awakened something like a sixth sense in his head!
He felt like he could control his body so well that he could 'see' in the back of his head.
Rudra didn't understand what this ability was quite yet, however, he made it his strength as he integrated it into his combat ability spectacularly!
He continued to fight the dummy's with ease as he thoroughly enjoyed himself, evident by the predatory smirk that never left his face.
Agni Igris smirked as muttered, "What a monster" with a proud tone.
Mira nodded with a perplexed expression, "He managed to land a hit on me during our very first spar"
Agni Igris' eyes widened slightly at that news.
Mira continued with a wry face, "He has managed to land many more since. His only weakness is the weakness of his realm as his fighting capabilities are simply monstrous"
"He fights like he has decades of experience in combat despite being only 11 years old" She finished as Agni Igris chuckled.
He knew he made the correct choice of adopting these siblings.
He narrowed his eyes as he thought, 'However…'
He shook his head and looked back to see Rudra panting slightly as he stood over 5 demolished training dummies.
He then told Mira, "Do you think they are ready for the next phase?"
Mira looked at Agni Igris as she rubbed her chin, "Hmm, Their progress has been nothing short of masterful so far but I am only securely confident in Rudra"
Hearing her assessment, Agni Igris narrowed his eyes as his face became thoughtful for a second.
"We will give them a theoretical exam about the beasts and survival necessities and if they pass" He smirked, "We send them on a hunt"
*****
(In an office room in the castle)
The kids came into the office room Albert was leading them to and were all curious about what they were doing.
As they entered the room, their eyes widened, and they saw Agni Igris sitting there with his legs crossed and his signature predatory smirk.
He smiled as he greeted the kids, "Hello, children"
All of the kids smiled and got excited as they saw him! They had long wondered where he went as he had been missing for 6 months!
They had thought that he abandoned them, just like everyone else had. Albert and Mira explained that Agni Igris was an emperor and as such, had duties and responsibilities that made it difficult to give them constant attention.
However, they had remained adamant that he was coming back, although the kids didn't hold out much hope.
Seeing him again, the kids felt like he hadn't abandoned them and were all happy about his return.
Rudra wore a smirk that matched Agni Igris', Iris tried her best to hold in her growing smile, and Thor blatantly smiled brightly.
Agni Igris felt joyful seeing the reaction to his return.
He then told them that he was proud of them for their progress and that he never expected any less from his children.
All three kids beamed with happiness and pride as they heard this praise from their adopted father and planned to continue to earn his approval.
He then explained to them the next phase of their training that he had planned.
He told them that he had spent the last week closing off the area around his castle. And that he wanted each of them to go hunt a beast and bring it back.
He had killed all beasts that had absorbed enough Ki to reach the Ki surge realm!
Even though that is the lowest realm of power that one can attain, the kids had yet to awaken.
"This is a test, if you pass, you will be allowed to continue to the next phase of your training" Agni Igris challenged them with a smile.
After saying this, he had the kids sit down and take a theoretical exam about their knowledge of beasts in the area. Hunting patterns, strengths, weaknesses, habits, etc.
After taking the test, Agni Igris told them that they all passed. Rudra passed because he had been studying in the library almost everyday.
Iris, because she payed attention in Albert's lectures, unlike Rudra who usually fell asleep.
And Thor had an almost edictic memory, so he passed because he did a little of both.
"You three have a week to prepare, don't waste it" Agni Igris told them sternly.
Seeing them nod with serious expressions on their faces, he dismissed them.
The kids all had excited and determined expressions on their faces as they left the office room.
"This is going to be a fun challenge" Iris muttered aloud as she closed her eyes, deep in thought about how she would best accomplish this task.
Thor nodded his head in agreement as he exclaimed, "It should be a fun one though, we finally get to leave the castle"
Rudra stopped as he looked at them both and smirked.
He scoffed, "Try to keep up—if you can. My hunt will be over before you even begin."
Thems fightin' words!
Iris and Thor both felt their ego taking a hit as they heard Rudra's words.
"We'll see about that" Iris said as she narrowed her eyes at Rudra.
"I'll beat you" Thor yelled, a fire burning in his eyes.
"Heh" Rudra smirked as he walked away.
"Very soon, we'll settle this" He waved before walking towards his room.
Iris and Thor also went to their rooms as well, as Agni Igirs had told them prepare for their upcoming hunt.
Throughout the night, Rudra was unable to sleep so he decided to get some training in.
He stretched lightly before hopping on his feet for a few seconds.
He then cracked his neck as 10 dummy's materialized in front of him before smirking at them.
"Time to see if 10 of you will even help me break a sweat" He exclaimed in excitement as he charged in at them.
He wasn't the only one training as Iris and Thor were both swinging their weapons in their bedrooms, as Rudra was not the only one who couldn't sleep for the night.
All 3 of them trained as they prepared for this new challenge. From being abused to being held captive as mining slaves.
They were sick and tired of being weak and getting taken advantage of.
From now on, they decided no more games, no more hesitation, no more childish distractions.
It was time to hunt!
*****
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