The next morning, Aurora and Atticus could be seen on the training ground. The day before, Atticus had managed to convince Aurora to ignore Rowan's command.
Aurora had reluctantly agreed, although Atticus could still notice her shaking at times. But he left her alone, allowing her to deal with her inner turmoil.
'If she's not 100% in this, it would be a waste of time,' Atticus thought. He knew that, in the end, everything depended on Aurora.
If later down the line she decided to return to her father, he wouldn't be able to stop her. He also recognized that abruptly leaving her father behind would be incredibly difficult; after all, he was her only family.
Atticus turned his gaze away from Aurora, who was already nervously biting her fingernails, toward the approaching duo of Lucas and Nate. They both displayed slight surprise when they saw Atticus standing together with Aurora.
'What's going on?' Lucas couldn't help but wonder. But Nate was always one to wear his emotions on his face, so he openly asked, "Seeing you both together is so weird. Have you two become friends or something?"
Lucas couldn't help but internally give his friend a high five. He too was curious. Although he had recently informed Atticus about Rowan, he didn't want to ask him about this situation due to the evident awkwardness.
Atticus smiled and replied, "I guess you could say that. We're friends."
Hearing his words, Aurora froze. When the duo arrived, she hadn't even glanced at them, too absorbed in her inner turmoil. But Atticus words had an unexpected impact on her.
'Friends?' She muttered inwardly. That word made her happy, too happy, eliciting a small smile from her.
"What the…" Nate exclaimed in surprise, leaving his mouth hanging open. Atticus and Aurora as friends? It was the last thing he expected.
They were the first and second ranked in the first year, essentially the fiercest rivals in the class. Everyone had noticed the intense stares Aurora usually directed at Atticus whenever they were on the training ground.
What was even more baffling was the fact that Aurora had recently lost to Atticus. Nate had expected their rivalry to intensify after that match. This development was truly unexpected.
Lucas raised an eyebrow, thinking, 'Interesting.' While he couldn't say for sure what had transpired, he had a general idea of the situation.
However, both Nate and Lucas's faces couldn't help but twitch when they realized that Aurora didn't even spare them a glance since they arrived.
They all remained awkwardly quiet as the other trainees began to arrived.
As they were each arriving, they were each expressing their surprise at seeing Atticus and Aurora together.
Just like Nate, they had expected Atticus and Aurora's rivalry to grow stronger, especially after Aurora's loss in the combat challenge.
However, all they could do was gossip and whisper amongst themselves, none of them having the balls to approach Atticus and Aurora.
At 6 a.m., Elias promptly arrived at the training grounds, and he couldn't help but smile upon seeing Aurora looking far less worn out and battered than usual.
He glanced at Atticus, and his smile widened; he could guess what had happened.
Without wasting any time, they delved into the training session.
It was Aurora's first time going through the course at full strength. Despite being weaker than Atticus, she still outclassed the other trainees.
With the brutal training she had gone through, she couldn't be compared with the rest of the trainee.
Aurora closely followed behind Atticus, leaving the rest of the trainees far behind. Atticus turned to see Aurora keeping up with him.
She was keeping an eye out for traps, and as she turned, she caught his gaze and spoke, "What are you looking at?"
Atticus smirked and suddenly picked up the pace swifty sparking a competitive spirit in Aurora.
She immediately pushed herself harder and started running after him, trying to win, but she eventually struggled to keep up and was left in the dust.
Atticus reached the finish line after an hour and took a few seconds to catch his breath. Elias greeted him with a smile, "Well done, you're improving quickly."
He couldn't help but compliment Atticus on his rapid growth. Atticus was now able to finish the course in just 1 hour, a stark contrast to the 3 hours he usually allotted for the other trainees.
"Thank you," Atticus replied and decided to wait a while to see if Aurora would make it back.
After about an hour and 30 minutes, Atticus and Elias spotted a petite red-eyed girl emerging from the forest. She looked completely tired, but her determination unwavering, refusing to give up.
Elias smiled, pleased with Aurora's progress. He had trained many youths, and it was always a thrill to see them improve.
The more geniuses in the family, the greater the success for the Ravenstein family.
Aurora dropped to her knees as she reached Atticus and Elias. They allowed her to catch her breath, and after a few moments, Elias spoke, a large grin on his face, "Good job, Aurora. 50 points for making it within the time limit!"
At his words, Aurora smiled. She was glad for once to go through normal training. Although her body was aching currently, it couldn't be compared to the brutal training her father subjected her to.
After resting for a few minutes, Aurora and Atticus left the training grounds and started walking back to Atticus's room.
Aurora was still conflicted and scared that she might run into her father if she went to her room, so Atticus decided to let her stay with him for now.
As the duo was making their way back, their path was suddenly blocked by a man.
Aurora, seeing this man, instinctively hid behind Atticus as if seeking protection.
Atticus looked at Finn, his gaze frightening.
He hadn't met Finn before, but seeing the way Aurora reacted when she saw him, there was no other explanation needed.