Chapter 122: Darkness Wisp

"Two Rules for training in the Room of Sacred Chaos." Howard read the stone slab with a rapt focus. "Rule number one, you can only train your body for five hours a day. And Rule number two, you can only train Ki for an hour a day."

"I guess that means a single day in the array will probably be equal to a few minutes where Founder Arista is. Does that mean you'll have eighteen hours to spend time with me?" Jenny blushed and leaned in close enough to touch Howard's lips with her finger. "Mmm, what a dream. You're stuck with me all by yourself, and will have to do everything I say if you want to kiss me, hehe."

"Let's just explore, first," Howard crossed his arms, and looked around the strange encampment. "Something doesn't feel right. I feel like we're being watched."

"Maybe it's those statues," Jenny sighed and bit her pink flush lower lip. She really wanted Howard to get the hint about their relationship status, and just ask her out already! She was still technically not his fourth girlfriend, and he spent one too many nights cuddling with Reece before they left Carelan Mountain Pass! 

She wanted his full undivided attention and then got this windfall of being stuck in a room with him for several months! However, looking into his dreamy, blue eyes beginning to explore she felt scared about the upcoming months. What if he never asked her out on a date or bothered to want to be with her at all? Would she always be the Fifth Wheel? 

She had seen Howard develop and grow stronger day by day in the month he fought Barabin, and felt like she was getting further left in the dust. Even now, as he walked past a few shrubs and explored the strange room she couldn't help but feel the gap growing.

Howard had on the golden locket she gave him for his birthday, and seemed completely unaware of anything besides the space around him. Meanwhile, Jenny felt like she'd gotten lost somewhere deep inside. And now she had to spend five months with him!

"There is a strange, glowing rock over here," Howard picked up the stone and tossed it back and fourth between his left and right hand. "What is it? It reminds me of your eyes when we kiss!"

"Ugh, you're so dense!" Jenny stomped her foot and walked over to snatch the rock from Howard. "It's-it's a… I don't know what it is. I'm not an archeologist! Ask someone else!"

"Why are you so angry, today?" Howard said with a minor hint of anger in his voice. "We should be working together. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry."

"It's okay, nice to know you can," Jenny smiled and pinched his cheeks. "Hehe, you're so cute when you're angry. If no one is watching, how about you kiss me against this tree?"

"Enough!"

"Stop that!" Two of the angel statues seemed to come to life. "Give us that stone! Give us that stone!"

"Oh, I get it! It's like a battery," Jenny smiled and skipped over to the statue. She gently slid it into the mouth of one of the statues before another stone slowly fell out of her right fist. Jenny had noticed two stones in the statues hands when she walked in that seemed dim and obsolete. On the other hand, the new stone shimmered brightly like a bright flashlight.

She smiled and quickly extrapolated how it worked. She'd always been quick witted, and tossed the stone into the silver green lakeside. A large puddle of water shot up and splashed against the verdant garden. A few seconds later, the stone began to slowly start to glow once again.

"Smart girl. I take it you're the leader," The statue's body slowly started to crack at the seems. A few seconds later, a woman with pale skin and a white dress manifested from the stone platform. "However, you didn't read the third stone. You can only pick one teacher. You chose me."

"I-I didn't know. Can I have the stone back," Jenny laughed awkwardly before she realized the beautiful black haired woman had started to glare at her. The beautiful woman had to be at least 1.9 meters tall, and had on black stilettos which made her seem even taller, but the most striking feature had to be her golden eyes and wings. She had small black wings like Monica, but with a much more mature and earthly look. Everything about her made Jenny feel both afraid and in awe. She looked like a women that could be on the front cover of Montgomery Magazine. "Heh, I'm just kidding! Just kidding!"

"Howard, right. I overheard you two talk. I teach fire techniques, which one of you uses fire?"

"Both of us," Howard smiled and found another stone on the floor. "Why?"

"You're in luck, young girl. You picked the right statue. My name is Argatha… However, it could have also been you noticed the fire symbol on my base and instinctively chose it." The lady sighed and pointed at a large tree. "Anyways, I have 5 months from the look of it. Why don't we start with a small analysis of what your future holds. Then I can decide what to teach you."

###

Three hours later, 

Argatha sat across from Howard in disbelief.

She had over 100 techniques she could teach, but none of them helped with leadership. Howard explained that he needed to defeat the Jarkales in a battle, but wanted a technique that made him more careful. She couldn't do anything to change his character, she only had techniques. What he wanted was someone to give him life lessons. She didn't offer those here.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you with that, Howard. The most I can do is teach you a few defensive techniques. That way you can protect your loved ones."

"I have one already called Fire King's Embrace. The Demon King made it."

"Well, the demon king also made me, so I bet I can teach you something." Argatha smiled and patted Howard on the head. "This room was created for anyone with a connection to the Demon King. If you're wondering, anyone who passed this room that wasn't a Horned would just see a wall instead of a door. Does that make sense?"

"No, but does it need to?" Howard said with a smile. "Heh, I just want to learn! Teach me teacher!"

"Ugh, I just happen to have the perfect technique to match with Fire King's Embrace… However, since we have so much time, I'll let you try out ten technqiues. You tell me which one is your favorite, okay?"

### 

A few days later,

Howard took a deep breath and sucked up all the Fire Ki around him. Because of the size of the room, he could only train techniques an hour a day, but it still was enough to grasp the basics of three techniques.

He tried out ten techniques like Argatha mentioned, and finally settled on three that seemed useful in a large scale battle. Wall of the Fire Lord, Fire King's Crystal, and Darkness Wisp. The three techniques amplified his abilities greatly when it came to defense, and Wall of the Fire Lord in particular really showed the ingenuity of the Demon King.

Wall of the Fire Lord created a large defensive screen that spread out in ever direction for 200 meters almost instantly. If he tried to do this without the technique, he'd at most be able to make a 10 meter wall. However, something about the specific Ki Circulation Method he was learning really increased the magnitude of his attack.

Holding out his left and right hand, a large flame appeared behind Howard's back that soon seemed to spread open like a powerful birds wings. The next moment, it instantly spread across the room and caused the entire side of the room to be shrouded in an amber hue.

Putting down his hand, Howard smiled and went onto the next two techniques. At the same time, he turned and looked at Jenny struggling to learn a technique with teacher Argatha.

"You're not normal!" Jenny bit her bottom lip. "I sat behind you in school and now I have to deal with watching you from behind again! Except this time, you're miles ahead of me!"

"He's quite okay," Argatha shook her head. "However, you have something he doesn't. You can memorize everything I tell you easily. He, on the other hand, has a special ability to emulate what I do. What you can do is much more impressive,"

"However, Howard, there is something I need to talk to you about in private. Would you mind coming with me to the green house in the back?"