"Hahaha..."

What started as a low chuckle had quickly evolved to a maniacal laughter, one that drew the attention of most that were about to come use the training ground, causing them to immediately turn back.

But it wasn’t as if Orion cared at all, after all, what he had gained was absurd.

[Compatibility Increased: 70%]

[Skill Efficiency Stabilized]

[Mana Consumption: Reduced]

"Seventy percent..." Orion muttered, staring at the notification as his grin slowly widened.

That wasn’t just an increase, it was a breakthrough.

Before, every use of Shadow Step felt like forcing his body through something it wasn’t built for but now?

It felt... natural.

It wasn’t perfect, but it close enough.

"So this is what it’s supposed to feel like," he stood up, rolling his shoulders slightly, and without waiting, he activated the skill,

[Shadow Step.]

He suddenly disappeared and reappeared in a different spot, but this time, without any backlash.

He executed it as if the skill was his, rather than one he copied.

"Well done master," Luna said as she walked towards him, but just before she could reach him,

A slow clap echoed from the side of the training ground. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Clap... clap... clap...

"Well," a calm female voice followed, laced with mild amusement, "this is... unexpected."

Both Orion and Luna turned, and standing at the edge of the training ground was a young woman, arms crossed loosely as she leaned against one of the stone pillars.

She had long black hair and blue eyes similar to Orion’s.

Her expression was neutral, seeming almost bored.

"...Didn’t take you for the training type," she continued, pushing herself off the pillar and stepping forward slowly.

Her gaze moved between Orion and Luna, staying on the summon for a short while before walking past her and stopping a short distance away from him.

The moment she stood so close to him, a killing intent was felt behind her, causing her to immediately go on guard and turn around.

Though, she reacted a bit too late as there was a claw resting dangerously close to her neck as Luna muttered, "I advise you don’t stand so close to my master."

A bead of sweat rolled down the lady’s forehead and for a second, it seemed as if she was about to call out her summon.

Fortunately, Orion quickly stepped in and aced a hand on Luna’s head before muttering, "stand down."

Luna was a bit hesitant, but the head pats seemed convincing enough so she lowered her hand and the killing intent immediately disappeared.

Orion then let out a sigh of relief before turning to the lady and raising a brow, "and you are?"

She also dropped her guard, though she was still a bit wary of Luna, before she asked, "seriously?"

There was a short pause before she also let out a sigh and shaking her head.

"Guess that’s what happens when you ignore everyone your whole life," she straightened slightly and then introduced,"Astra Ashbourne."

"In other words," Astra looked at him with a small smile, "your older sister."

Orion blinked as the memory resurfaced, though he hadn’t officially met her, he had heard quite a bit about this sister of his, since she was one of the youngest to enter the summoners academy.

If one were to go by achievements, she truly deserved the Ashbourne last name, unlike someone like the previous Orion.

Still though, his reaction to seeing such a prodigy was,

"Huh."

That was it.

Just a flat, unimpressed reaction.

Astra’s eye twitched as she got mildly annoyed, but she quickly hid that reaction.

"That’s it?" she asked, her tone losing a bit of its earlier indifference. "No ’long time no see’? No ’I missed you, dear sister’?"

Orion shrugged lightly, "Should there be?"

As far as he knew, they never truly met, so it would be strange if he suddenly greeted her like that.

"...Wow," she muttered, dragging a hand down her face, "You really are insufferable. I thought people exaggerated."

"Good to know I left an impression."

"Yeah. A bad one."

Despite the words, there wasn’t any real hostility in her tone. If anything, she sounded... mildly entertained.

Her gaze shifted toward Luna again, more cautious this time.

"That thing almost took my head off," she said.

"She’s my summon," Orion corrected, "and she saw good reason to."

"Right. That summon," Astra amended, though her eyes narrowed slightly, "you’re full of surprises now, aren’t you?"

Orion didn’t answer that.

Astra exhaled slowly before rolling her shoulders.

"Well then," she said, her tone shifting slightly, "since you’re suddenly interesting..."

Her lips curved into a small, challenging smile.

"Want to spar?"

Luna’s ears immediately perked up again, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes, but Orion Placed a hand on her head again and patted it.

"Relax," he said, "it’ll just be a friendly spar, no need for overkill."

He then turned back to Astra, studying her properly this time.

Unlike Seth, who reeked of arrogance, Astra felt like she was definitely a strong one, so strong that he was uncertain he could beat her, even with his newly copied skill.

But then again, he wouldn’t back down from the challenge for two reasons.

One, he wanted to see how far behind he was, and two, he was certain that he’d gain Astra’s favor by the end of this, and given his reputation, another Ashbourne by his side was definitely welcomed.

"Alright," Orion nodded and she immediately smiled.

"Great," she said and walked to a rack by the side and picked up two wooden swords.

An action that would’ve been seen as strange by any other summoner, after all, summoners mostly relied on their summons for battle, preferring to take the backlines.

Or rather, stay safely protected behind their summons.

Only a selected few, those seen as either idiots or crazy would fight on the front with their summons.

And it seems Astra was one of those.

"I hope you don’t only rely on your summon for a fight," She muttered as she approached with the swords, "if that were the case, I’d be truly disappointed."

Instead of a reply, Orion extended his hand and Astra grinned before tossing the sword which he quickly caught.

"Alright then little brother," she muttered with a smile, "come at me."