Maxine worried about Jonathan Levings for nothing. Grandma Victoria reprimanded and threatened him for over an hour and it wasn't the first time she had done this apparently. Grandma Victoria had yelled at him every day that she was on Earth before and after Orianna and Maxwell's wedding.
Unfortunately, grandma Victoria also heard about Maxine's training and decided she should join in. Grandma Victoria's idea of training was non-stop sparring session and Maxine found out first hand how skilled her grandmother was with a sword. Even after several hours, she couldn't figure out how her grandmother moved so swiftly when their speed was relatively equal. She was literately covered in welts from a training sword after each and every sparring session due to this and was now laying on her back panting after their most recent session.
"How the hell are you able to move like that?" Maxine asked as she replayed their sparring match in her head. Her grandma had blocked and dodged Maxine's attacks with minimal movements before unleashing swift counter attacks. In fact, Maxine could've sworn that more than half of her attacks should've landed.
"Mind your language, young lady," Grandma Victoria answered, "And as for your question, it's all a matter of experience and proper muscle control. With your intelligence and talent, it should take you another year or two before you begin to figure it out for yourself. Do you have any other questions?"
"Do you have any idea of how to improve my chances to breakthrough to gold?" Maxine asked.
"Your blade skills should be sufficient as they are, but you're not taking advantage of your attribute as much as you should," grandma Victoria pointed out.
"And how would I do that?" Maxine asked, "As far as I can tell, it's good for mimicking other attributes and making constructs."
"Are you sure that's all there is to it?" grandma Victoria asked, "Have you ever considered why it's able to mimic other attributes?"
"No, not really," Maxine answered and thought about it for a few moments, "I guess it's because everything gives off a shadow of some kind."
"A good guess, but not quite," grandma Victoria answered, "Shadow's don't have any physical form, yet the shadow attribute can. Think about it on a deeper level. Why would the shadow attribute be able to become anything?"
"Hmm, technically it's made up of two different types of energy. One is white and the other is black," Maxine answered and a thought entered her head, "Those two energies... are they yin and yang?"
"Very good," grandma Victoria said, "Shadows exist in a state between light and darkness. They are a mixture of yin and yang if you will. This makes our attribute terrifyingly powerful, but at the same time, nearly impossible to completely master it. To do so, would require that an individual to be both yin and yang either in body or soul." So, they would need someone with a fused soul or a hermaphrodite to master the shadow attribute to even have a chance to master it. I fulfill one of those requirements.
"What exactly are the benefits of mastering an attribute?" Maxine asked as she sat up.
"Endless stamina and energy reserves while surrounded by their attribute and the ability to take on an elemental form. Which makes the user nearly invulnerable, except to their opposing element," grandma Victoria answered and she noticed that Maxine had taken on an odd expression, "What's with that look? Don't tell me that you've actually met someone like that? It's incredibly rare for anyone to master their attribute." That sounds disturbingly similar to Chris' elemental destroyer mode.
"It's just that it sounds terribly similar to an ability of one of my friends," Maxine answered honestly and she saw her grandmother's gaze become rather intense.
"His attribute?" grandma Victoria asked in a very serious tone.
"Fire," Maxine answered simply and was about to tell her grandmother that it was Chris Maze. However, grandma Victoria held up her hand to silence Maxine.
"Don't you dare speak your friend's name," grandma Victoria scolded Maxine, "I would be too tempted to recruit him to join our clan when he is needed here on your world. And believe me when I say that your world needs him. He can easily act as an extra hand to help you protect Earth. Afterall, your father can't always look after your world."
"I know that he can't," Maxine replied.
"It's good that you understand that," grandma Victoria, "Now that we are on the topic of your world, who have you selected as your political advisors?"
"An existing organization called the United Nations," Maxine answered, "Most of the major nations of this planet, and a lot of the minor ones, are part of it."
"Oh, my. There must be quite a few of them, but I suppose most of them are non-cultivators. So, it makes sense that you would need that many to help you," grandma Victoria remarked, "Just be careful when handling them."
"I know that," Maxine said, "I've already identified at least six of them that don't like me for the mere fact that I'm a woman, but it's more of a cultural thing than any real reason, though."
"Ah, yes. Cultural differences can be difficult to get around," grandma Victoria agreed, "There are ways to overcome that. And I know you may not like it, but the most primitive way is usually the best. Which is a demonstration of overwhelming power."
"I'm certain they already know that I'm extremely powerful, but they have false confidence that their cultivators could defeat me if they come at me in enough numbers," Maxine retorted, but an idea popped into her head, "Unless of course, I organize a training session against a hundred or so of their silver stage cultivators, but it will only work if their skill levels are below a certain threshold."
"That shouldn't be a problem. Besides those close to you, there are six on this planet that could put up a bit of a fight," grandma Victoria answered, "And I doubt that any of them would stoop so low as to gang up on a single opponent. It would injure their pride. Even if they do, it will only make it a bit challenging for you and you should still come out as the victor."
"Fine, I'll ask for a friendly sparring match against their cultivators at the next time I talk to the world leaders," Maxine replied.
"Good and with your training out of the way, I'll go spend time with Lucas," grandma Victoria said with a smile, "I so enjoy spending time with that little boy." Yeah, we both know why you like spending time with him. He literately called you 'auntie' when he first laid eyes on you. I don't care how old a woman gets. They always like being viewed as younger than they actually are.
"Enjoy," Maxine said and as soon as grandma Victoria had left the room, she pulled out the crystal that Turan gave her yesterday. I haven't had a chance to look through this thing since grandma showed up and I really need to return it as soon as possible before Turan gets in trouble.
Maxine retrieved the knowledge crystal from her dimensional ring before looking at the contents. Are they fucking insane?! She literately watched a shadow lord charge up into the clouds that housed the lightning tribulation and how thirty three lightning bolts attacked him from every direction. However, they only possessed a small fraction of the power than the original three would've normally endured. Holy shit! I thought the lightning tribulation got nastier the closer to the clouds you tried to get, but this proves that you can still perform the tribulation before the lightning can fully gather. However, it brings a different kind of tribulation that requires speed and adaptability rather than power and resilience. This method would perfectly suit me. I really need to thank Turan for this later, but for now I need to return this knowledge crystal to him.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Once she looked it over one last time, she put it into her dimensional ring and created a portal to a park before walking through it. She looked around briefly to admire the scenery before taking a stroll on the paved path. I might as well enjoy the scenery until Turan shows up.
It didn't take long before Turan popped into existence a short distance ahead of her. "Was the information within that knowledge crystal helpful?" he asked with his usual smile.
"Yes, it was and thank you for letting me look at it," Maxine said as she tossed the knowledge crystal back, "I owe you one."
"You are most welcome," Turan said with a slight bow of his head.
"I still feel bad about you taking that risk," Maxine said, "So, is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"Hmm, let me think," Turan said as a thoughtful expression appeared on his face, "How about we go on a date?"
"You have to be joking," Maxine said in combination surprise and disbelief, "You know I don't like you in that way."
"I'm aware and I'm asking you all the same," Turan said almost pleadingly to Maxine, "I only wish to you to indulge in this fantasy of mine for one evening. It would mean everything to me." Maxine really wanted to tell him no, but she felt a strong need to repay the many debts that she owed him.
"Before I decide whether to agree to this or not, I want to hear what kind of date," Maxine asked.
"I've heard that it's rather normal to go out to eat at a nice restaurant and perhaps go watch a movie," Turan offered.
"I don't think I can handle that to be honest. I can already see the political bullshit that might happen because I 'fancy an offworlder.' I really don't want to deal with that crap," Maxine said, but an idea popped into her head, "But there is something that I can do right now. Just don't move. I'm not sure if I will be able to go through with it if you do."
Turan had a curious look on his face as Maxine quickly approached him, but like she asked, he didn't move. She grit her teeth and slowly brought her face closer to his. But she veered off to the side to give him a light kiss on the cheek before reluctantly hugging him. She could feel Turan tense up, mostly in surprise, but in the next moment, he very carefully hugged her back. She instantly went rigid and had to resist her impulse to break free and punch him. I told him not to move! He's lucky that I don't beat the ever living shit out of him! No, I need to calm down. He's just giving me a hug and doesn't mean any harm. I'll just indulge him for now. I just have to think of this as the next step in my rehabilitation. I've already gotten to the point that I can tolerate being around men. This is nothing more than the next logical step and Turan is one of the least likely men to ever hurt me. He's already proven that many times over. So, I should chill out.
"Thank you, Maxine," Turan said softly into Maxine's ear before he very carefully removed himself from her embrace, "I know how hard that was for you." And that's the second time he's called me by my first name.
"Just don't expect me to do that again any time soon. I'll see you later," Maxine said.
"That you will. Farewell, Ms. Levings," Turan said with a slight bow of his head.
Maxine created a portal back home and was suddenly hugged by Hellen once she was through it. "Uh, what was that for?" Maxine asked in confusion as she hugged Hellen back.
"I've worried about you for so long, but I'm just so glad that you've taken the next step towards healing," Hellen said in obvious happiness, "Although, I wish you would've pick someone else to make that step with."
"Before I jump to any conclusions, can you tell me what you're talking about?" Maxine asked.
"You've never taken the initiative to come into such close contact with a man," Hellen said as she broke from their embrace, "For awhile, I thought you would never take that step. I had to constantly remind myself that madam Neshan said that you would, eventually." Ah, so we are talking about my androphobia. Great. But that brings up another question. Why the hell are my parents always fucking watching me?! It's getting real damn annoying.
"For one, I trust him a little bit," Maxine said defensively, "And I owe him, a lot actually. He literately betrayed his own people for me when he thought I was going to die and let me look at something that could get him into a lot of trouble. Opening up to him like that was my way of saying thank you. And now that I think about it, giving him a quick peck on the cheek and a hug seems ... inadequate for what he's done for me."
"Is that true?! Did that young man really betray his race for Maxine?!" grandma Victoria practically shouted as she rushed to them from the playroom that was recently added onto their home.
"Yes, it is, mother," Hellen answered, "I saw the whole thing."
"I've done a disservice to that young man," grandma Victoria said to herself, "I need to make this right."
"You could always try apologizing to him," Maxine offered.
"I'll do just that," grandma Victoria said as she swiftly made her way towards the airlock, "I just hope he doesn't disappear before I can approach him." Good luck on that grandma. He still believes you want to kill him, so that might be a bit hard. Anyways, I need to call the UN secretary. He should be able to set up that battle that grandma suggested, but I'm going to make a few adjustments to what she thought of.
"Oh! Mom, can I borrow your phone?" Maxine asked, "I need to call the UN secretary to arrange an exhibition match."
"Sure, go ahead," Hellen said as she handed Maxine her phone.
Maxine swiftly called the man and only had to let it ring twice before it was answered. "Hello, Ms. Levings. How can I help you?" the UN secretary asked.
"I'm sorry for calling you like this, but I noticed that several of the UN representatives were very unhappy at my appointment as their representative in the Alliance," Maxine explained, "So, I thought I would show they why with a martial arts competition."
"An interesting idea. Go on," the UN Secretary replied.
"It's not going to be an ordinary competition. I'm planning on sparring with their strongest fighters one at a time without any breaks," Maxine explained, "And if you could, I would like a list of all of injuries that they are suffering from. It's not for the reason you think it is. I want to heal their injuries so they can't complain that their warrior lost because of some old injury."
"An interesting proposition, but what if one of them wins?" the UN Secretary asked. Depending on the rules that you set up, I doubt that will ever happen.
"Then that person gets to take over my position as Earth's representative within the Alliance," Maxine answered, "And yes, it's a legal method to choose a planet's representative." I may not like being in charge, but anyone else at my level of strength would probably not do as well as me. That means I have to win. In any case, this one on one fighting method against a large number of enemies back to back works in my favor. Horatio Quay was very insistent that I build up a ridiculous level of stamina to compliment my speed.
"Interesting," the UN Secretary said, "I'll let the other members know of your challenge."
"Thank you for setting this up," Maxine said, "And enjoy the rest of your evening."
"I will, good night," the UN secretary said before disconnecting the call.
Maxine promptly handed the cellphone back to Hellen. "Thanks, mom. Mine just doesn't work all the way out here," Maxine said.
"It's alright," Hellen replied calmly, "Oh, could you tell your father that lunch is ready? Lucas should be with him."
"Sure," Maxine said as she headed towards Guan's alchemy room. When she got there, Guan was in the process of teaching Lucas the various scents and shapes of various herbs.
"This particular herb is quite useful when you need a small extra boost in speed to outrun any persuers," Guan explained as he held up a small cluster of yellow flowers that had a huge bulb at the base of it's collective stems, "It can be eaten directly, but to get the most use out of it, it has to be concocted into a potion. Be careful not to mistake it for it's toxic cousin. They are easily distinguished by the yellow green roots. Whereas it's toxic cousin has purple and green roots." Lucas was nodding his head while looking intently at the herb Guan was holding.
"Sorry to interrupt, but mom said lunch is ready," Maxine said and Lucas smiled before bounding out of the room towards the kitchen.
Maxine turned to follow him, but Guan said something that stopped her cold in her tracks, "Be careful about what you eat and drink around those politicians, Maxine. If I can bypass your body's immunities, someone else can as well and might do it completely by accident." What does he mean by that? Is someone going to make an attempt to drug me? With what?! Damn it, daddy. Why can't you be more direct and just tell me? Fuck, I guess he's trying to encourage me to figure it out for myself, but at least, he gave me a hint. It looks like I'm going to have to prepare my own food and drink for awhile. And it might be a good idea to bring plates, cups and silverware too.