Jade tightened her arms around him and pressed her body closer, consequently sandwiching her breast against his chest.

Two minutes later, they broke the kiss while breathing heavily with a smile on their faces.

"What was that for?"

"Does a girl need a reason to kiss her boyfriend?"

Hearing that, Zach's eyes widened in surprise and a grin appeared on his face.

"I guess this means you've decided to....."

Jade hushed Zach with a finger on his lips, preventing him from saying anything else.

"Yes, you've got yourself a girlfriend," She beamed and slowly stepped back with her eyes still locked on Zach.

"I'll be expecting you tomorrow for our date. Don't be late," She said before saying goodnight.

"Goodnight," Zach replied before heading to his room.

Upon entering his room, Zach plopped down on his bed, but before he could fall into oblivion, he instantly recalled what he had planned to do after returning home.

With an exhausted groan, Zach rolled over to the side of his bed to pick up his tablet.

Since he was going to be selling his portraits, Zach knew he had to open his bank account to store the money he made from the portraits.

The moment he was done with this he went straight to sleep.

------

The next morning, Zach instantly got up from his bed and started his daily workout routine before taking a shower and leaving the mansion.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He entered a train going to the nearest train station to Amelia's apartment building.

"Amelia's house is quite far from mine even though we live in the same city," He muttered to himself.

"It's an hour away so I should be able to return back in time.... I hope," Zach hoped, recalling the things he had to do right after he was done with Amelia.

He didn't know what to expect from Amelia, however, he wanted to rest a bit and preserve his strength as much as he could before he arrived at her place.

Following the directions of the address he had with him, Zach followed it carefully until he arrived at a really big mansion.

He rang the doorbell and heard a voice from the other side of the house.

"Zach Darkmoor?" The female voice asked and Zach responded.

Comparing Zach's face to the short video he made in his application form, Amelia's secretary could see that he truly was Zach Darkmoor.

With his identity confirmed, she slowly opened the door for Zach to step in and Zach could see a woman with leopard ears and tail, dressed in a pristine white dress suit.

"Please, come in. Lady Amelia would like to see you now," The secretary welcomed Zach in and led him straight to where Amelia's room was.

The moment they stopped in front of Amelia's bedroom, the secretary knocked three times and awaited permission from Amelia to open the door.

"Come in."

The secretary slowly opened the door and Zach stepped into the room.

Upon entering, Zach was surprised to discover that Amelia's bedroom was twice the size of his bedroom.

The walls were adorned with rich tapestries, allowing the room to exude an air of opulence and sophistication while tall windows allowed sunlight to shine through, casting a warm glow across the room.

The centrepiece of the room was a lavish four-poster bed with intricate carvings, draped in sumptuous fabrics of deep burgundy and gold.

Amelia could be seen sitting on the bed with her legs folded into a meditating pose while wearing nothing but a blue bikini.

Her eyes were closed in meditation but she pointed to her right and said.

"Please, have your seat."

Zach noticed two chairs, a small round table and two cups of coffee on it.

Steam could be seen rising from the cup as Zach sat down on one of the chairs.

"Thank you for seeing me this early in the morning. I hope it wasn't particularly difficult to find your way here?" Amelia asked.

"It wasn't."

"Great, now let's get started. It's great to see that you weren't lying about today being your birthday. I can see that you're yet to awaken your mana core as well."

"Was this why you requested to meet me this early in the morning?"

Zach already knew this but he had to act as though he didn't.

A smile appeared on Amelia's face and she replied. "Forgive me, it was the only way I could know if you were lying to me or not. I'm sure you understand why I had to be cautious when recruiting a new artist."

"I guess so."

Amelia slowly opened her eyes and asked. "Alright, so how would you feel if I were to guide you on what needs to be done for your awakening?"

"Really? You'll help me?" Zach said, feigning surprise.

"Of course, if you don't mind this old woman offering you a piece of friendly advice and guidance, then I'd be happy to help. So, what do you say?"

"Yes," Since he intended on awakening his mana core the moment he was done with Amelia, Zach saw this as a way of killing two birds with one stone.

Not only would he be awakening his mana core, but, he would also be receiving a couple of advice from one of the best heroes in the city.

"Alright, come sit over here," Amelia said, patting the spot beside her.

Zach walked to the bed before getting on it and crossing his legs to assume a meditation position beside Amelia.

Noticing that he was ready, Amelia advised. "Relax your nerves. Cancel out the sounds around you and allow your body to feel the energy flowing through the air."

Zach closed his eyes while carrying out the instructions. He could slowly feel the energy hovering around him.

"Now, take a deep breath and imagine the energy in the air filling up your lungs."

Zach did as instructed and he imagined the air carrying traces of energy in it as it danced and swirled within him.