The Magician of Sound

*Bang Bang Bang!*

Everyone thought it was a terrorist shooting at them, but the reality was different. On the other side of the door in their left echoed a series of gunshots.

"Hmm?!" Tasha narrowed her eyes and tugged Kai's hand.

Kai nodded and pushed the door open without any change of expression, finding Evan inside.

"Ya! It seems you all have finally returned from your mission." Evan waved his hand and put the gun down.

Kai almost jumped out if he pointed the gun at them. Although he doubted Evan would shoot them, it was for safety reasons.

"What are you doing?" Kai asked while glancing at the gun.

"I am training to use guns. At the very least, I will be able to participate in a fight actively instead of watching from the sideline." Evan smiled.

"But aren't your magic…" Kai furrowed his eyebrows.

According to Evan, he had tested it before, and every time he incorporated magic into his bullet, the water would just heal the wound it just made, so he couldn't understand why Evan suddenly wanted to do that.

"I am not going to use my magic. Instead, I will properly use magic bullets. Before, I don't want to burden my family that much because this will be very expensive, but I believe with you here, everything is covered." Evan chuckled.

He didn't mean to say Kai was the source of money. Instead, it was the mission that would be given to him. Due to his special status, Kai's mission was a very high level one, resulting in millions of dollars in a single mission.

The bullets might be expensive, but he should be able to cover it even with the money split into five.

"If you are getting those bullets, you will need the best one, you know."

"Yes. I have settled my bullet choice. Due to the huge amount of magical beast core infused into the bullet, each bullet cost five hundred dollars each. The result is also great as it will be able to penetrate A rank magical beast without difficulty. Considering I can get a few hundred thousand every mission, I think I should be able to maintain my wallet." Evan nodded, giving a confirmation that everything had been under control.

"I see. Since you have thought it through, I won't say much. In that case, how about buying from our own group?" Kai turned around, facing Ayaka with a grin.

"That's right. Kudo Group is producing weapons and ammunition." Evan understood his intention. "Well, I don't mind buying them with the market price."

"It's fine. Since you want to do this, I will just sell them at cost price. Though, I want you to test the bullet ability, including the types that will come out in the future. You can say it is an investment." Ayaka waved her hand.

"I don't mind." Evan nodded. "I can also save up some to buy other things."

"In that case, we have a deal." 

They then shook hands.

"I will keep practicing then."

"Sure." Kai then brought everyone outside, idling around in the main room.

He looked at them before taking out his device. It should be the usual time for Haruko to send a message, but it seemed she had gotten a little bit too busy.

Only after another two hours that the message finally came.

'Ya, I am sorry since I am a bit too late this time. How are you? I hope you are fine. I have been following your news this whole time, and I am really proud of you.

'I have been joining the army since a few months ago, but considering the conflict between the Katsuragi Family and the Southern Family still continues, there is no big movement yet.

'And I also apologize since I can't really give you any information about their war because I am in Korea right now, fighting to raise my ranks just like you. Well, I am training my squad to have the ability to help you in case you are returning here to solve all the grudges and gratitude you have here.

'Anyway, I believe we will have a big movement after winter because the conflict will slowly be lessened and turned into a cold war instead. During this time, I can't do anything because they are going to protect everything about their information and the moment I dig it up, they will catch me.

'Hence, I am biding my time to build a personal unit to handle that situation, allowing me to help you in the future. And don't worry about me, tell Tasha and the others to keep getting stronger, because I might overtake them.

'Last but not least, there is a rumor that Ayaka's grandfather is still alive. I believe it is coming from the southern family's side, but I think this is credible.

'Considering the power of Kudo's group in Tokyo, there were many families that wanted their power. However, they were too strong, considering they were once a number one weapon producer in the base.

'I think they never wanted to extinguish the entire Kudo Family because it is one of the chess pieces that can take down the tyrant of the south. If my speculation is correct, then they are keeping Ayaka's grandfather as a weapon when the Kudo Family enters United Asia again.

'And when you began showing your prestige in US Base, they started to place more importance into it. This is still a rumor though, so don't expect much. I will try to confirm the information.

'Talking about rumors, there is another rumor that the Katsuragi Family has absorbed every family in the north of United Asia and started expanding toward the south. In other words, they may take over Aomori, Akita, and Iwate soon. But this is also just a rumor, I need to find whether it is true or not. After all, if it were true, the Southern Family wouldn't be able to stay still any longer.

'In any case, this is all I have to say. I wish you luck. See you later.'

Kai pinched the bridge between two eyebrows and contemplated this matter.

"Kai?!" The girls obviously noticed and put down the matter at hand.

"Did grandfather give you another trouble?" Michelle asked. The one who usually made Kai like this was her grandfather, so she thought it would be the case.

"Nothing. Change of plan, I will be coming to Ayaka's house today."

"Eh?!"

"I am sorry, but this is an urgent thing. I don't know if it's possible though."

Ayaka thought for a moment and said, "I will call my parents first."

She then rose and called them in the corner.

Meanwhile, Tasha and Michelle stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

"There is a big movement in United Asia. Just like how I am improving both of my influence and power, the Katsuragi Family does the exact same thing. They are biding their time to turn every situation in their favor.

"As much as I want to increase my influence, I can't rush it because the citizens here will distrust the government, making my reputation bad. When the time comes, I can't use most of my plans. Hence, I am planning to increase my strength for the time being.

"You can say there is only one more mission before we can have a nice holiday. However, I want to use this vacation to train myself because the time is near and the problems are too much for me to handle." Kai sighed.

"Train…" The girls looked down, contemplating this matter.

"My father said okay." Ayaka had returned from the call and overheard his intention. She continued, "I don't have a problem with that. I think we should separate for the time being, so we can improve our individual ability."

Tasha glanced at Ayaka's expression and finally nodded. "I understand. I can probably ask for a personal training room and practice this technique that I always want to complete."

"True. I can ask my family to do that as well, because I do feel something is pulling me back, as if something is telling me to complete certain magic in my mind first before doing everything else. There is also a new fighting style that I am currently refining." Michelle also gave confirmation.

"I have no problem too." Ayaka nodded in agreement. "I have a thing that I want to try. Not gonna tell you what it is though."

They then turned to Sofia, the only one who had yet to answer.

"I doubt I can train here. Considering the timing for Julia, I will need to return to the base first with her during this holiday. However, I promise that I won't slack in my practice and return after three months," said Sofia with a downcast look.

To be honest, she had no help in this base if she wanted to practice her magic. After all, many high ranking people wanted her to stay away from Kai, so she didn't snatch him from them.

So, the best way to get stronger was to return to her base. This also meant that she needed to sacrifice three months from their agreement. But when one thought about it, they would think it was a good deal since she would gain Kai's trust this way.

Kai, on the other hand, added something that shocked the others. "During the training, I might probably have no time to reply to your message, so I apologize in advance."

"Eh?" Michelle suddenly felt something was wrong as she realized what Kai wanted to do. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I am going to practice with my teacher again, so it's going to be a death march for me." Kai let out a long sigh, thinking the nightmare would soon start.