Normally, he would be wary of people he barely met that's why he'll either pull pranks on them to figure them out or he'll observe them closely.

A bad trait he still had ever since his childhood…

But somehow, he had that strange feeling that he could trust her.

And the last time he had that feeling, was when he saw Raghnall when they were kids.

Suddenly, he felt a strong magical disturbance by the distance. He hurriedly grabbed Inna's hand as he gave a quick excuse to the others about continuing their training elsewhere.

Orion and the rest didn't seem to notice the strangeness in their actions as they happily bid them goodbye.

Rhys managed to drag Inna to his favorite secret hiding spot which was actually a cliff at the heart of the mountain forest west of the Oak dorms. Then, panting hard, he let go of Inna and sat on the cliff's end as he tried to calm his erratic heartbeat.

Half of the reason why he's breathless was because he was scared.

The other was because he was trying his hardest in dragging Inna who was grabbing everything she can reach in order to stop him from taking her further into the woods.

Inna looked at him with visible confusion. There was a hint of fear and nervousness in her tone as she asked.

"What was that for? Why did you bring me here? Are you going to…"

Rhys sighed as he tried to spy on the Oak dorms from where they were. He couldn't see who it was but he can feel that it was most certainly Master Azai. Seeing that they were at a safe distance, he decided to relax and appease Inna while casting a healing spell on Inna's splintered hands since she basically grabbed every tree in existence just to stop him from dragging her further.

"No, I'm not planning to do anything to you. Sorry if it was abrupt but we had to escape. A very important… professor… was teleporting inside the dorms and I had a feeling it was someone… you wouldn't want to meet."

Inna raised her eyebrows in shock.

She didn't expect him to help her hide when just moments ago, he literally blackmailed her by threatening to expose her if she wouldn't fight.

Seeing the disbelief in her expression, Rhys sighed as he gave her a flat look.

"I know what you're thinking and you really didn't think I would do that, did you? To think you would actually call my bluff and think that I was really blackmailing you... Seriously... If I wanted to expose you, I would've done it the moment I saw you in the Oak dorms."

He rolled his eyes as he patted the s.p.a.ce beside him to gesture for her to sit down.

Inna narrowed her eyes in suspicion but she sighed and eventually gave in when she saw Rhys patiently smiling at her while tapping the spot incessantly.

"I don't understand you at all. Earlier you were this a.s.shole that had anger issues who blackmails people to make them do what he wants. And now, you're just…"

Rhys leaned back in a relaxed pose as he t.i.tled his head to face her.

"I'm what? Sweet? Charming? Endearing?"

Inna scrunched up her face as she spat.

"No. Annoying."

Rhys raised both his eyebrows in shock. Then, a second later, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Okay, I have to admit I had that one coming. But you see, I'm only an… 'a.s.shole'… as you would put it, a.s.suming from your tone that it's a derogatory word, if I'm in a bad mood. And it just so happens that after someone asks a favor from me without even giving me details about it, I arrive in the dorms and see my whole room smashed. Now, who wouldn't be a little angry from that, little idiot?"

Inna glared at him when she heard his nickname for her and she was about to spit out some insults when Rhys stopped her with a finger on her lips.

"Tut-tut. I'm speaking. Okay, where was I…"

"Oh yes, I was angry from people messing up my things. Then, I saw you and I somehow had the urge to vent my anger on you. Too bad. Wrong place, wrong time, I guess. Besides, you were just too cute getting riled up with a few of my pranks."

Inna didn't seem to appreciate the compliment he gave her as she crossed her arms in irritation.

"Oh, and what explains you letting go of the rope I was using to go down that wall? Don't tell me that the rope slipped off your hands and that it was an accident?"

Rhys laughed and then he spoke to her in such an obvious tone.

"What? Of course not. I did it because it was fun. I wanted to see how you would react."

Inna tried hard to stop herself from instinctively hitting him.

"So, you decided to let go of the rope that was still being used by someone you just helped seconds ago to see how they would react to falling down? What the h.e.l.l is wrong with your brain?! Are you actually crazy?!"

"I have no idea why 'h.e.l.l' is brought into this topic but let me just say that you're the one who's crazy for trusting a stranger that offered a rope to you out of the blue."

Inna curled up her top lip as she growled out.

"I was desperate, okay?!"

But Rhys countered her growl with a charming smile.

"And I was bored. So, see? All is justified in the end."

Inna groaned out in frustration.

This guy!

He was by far the most frustrating guy she ever talked with.

It's like he's saying that he absolutely had no faults!

Inna didn't want to stay for a second longer so she s.h.i.+fted her legs to leave when Rhys suddenly spoke.

"But I'd have to thank you for curing that boredom. It's been so long since I've actually had a proper fight. My master has been doing a neglect play on me recently so I was pretty lonely."

He batted his long eyelashes as he pouted.

Inna grimaced at the beautifully disgusting sight and it made her momentarily forget that she was planning to leave. But after a few seconds, she remembered and she hurriedly stood up.

Rhys didn't want her to leave so he grabbed her sleeves as he spoke.

"Hey... I might've been joking when I said you were my tutor but now, I kind of want it to be real."

The sudden seriousness and sincerity in his tone made Inna freeze and stare at him curiously.

What with the sudden mood swing?

And was he saying what she thinks he's saying?

Rhys looked at her intently, the earlier amus.e.m.e.nt was completely gone in his expression.

"Can you be my tutor?"