บท 16: Novel 5-Alpha Centauri
This novel was one of my older ones. Like, something from over two years if not three... Maybe even a little more. So the style will be SEVERELY different from the other ones so far.
Anyhow...
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'It was a sunny day like any other day of summer.'
'Deep in the mountains, somewhere close to a waterfall, the sun shined brightly on the back of a young man.'
'This young man was quite strange, he had extremely defined muscles and short blond hair.'
'His eyes were closed and his knees were bent, he was in a strange stance with the front of his body turned towards a large mountain wall.'
"Phew… Third stance… Burst!"
/Swup!/
/BAM!/
'In a sudden turn of events, the young man's arms turned into afterimages as he struck his two fists against the mountain wall.'
/Crack!/
'The rocky wall cracked, creating a 2-meter wide crater, displaying the superhuman strength of this boy.
He certainly wasn't a normal person...'
'He opened his eyes and gazed at the damage he had done'
"... I am still a little bit short. The form should be fine, but my body is still too weak for me to properly execute this move. Another useless technique for the current me. Sigh..."
'Surprisingly, the man wasn't satisfied with his results! What the fuck is happening with the world?'
/Buzz Buzz/
'From the side, on top a small rock, near a dropped bag, a small device similar to hand watch continually buzzed'
"Hm? Didn't I set that to silent mode? Is mom calling again?"
"Who is it?" He said to the air
"-Your brother is calling you sir-" Replied the mechanical male voice
"Ah! Thats rare now!"
If he is calling me it means…
He got what I wanted!
"Accept the call!"
/Beep/
'The device suddenly beeped and a full-scale colored holographic image of a man appeared in front of the boy.'
'The man was wearing formal military clothing, he even had a few badges on his shoulders'
"How's it going, bro? Did you get that?"
'The man on the other side had a constipated expression'
"Is this the first thing you say to me after three months?... No "How are you doing brother" or "Are you fine in the military" kind of question?"
"I know you will be fine! In any case, how's big sis?"
"She is..."
"Heyo!!"
'Before the man could finish, a girl jumped right into the hologram. She looked young, around 25 perhaps?'
"How are you doing little Luiz?"
"I am fine, sister. How is everything going with big bro? Is he behaving well?"
"Oi! Am I a dog?..."
'But he was cut once more'
"He is doing fine! He even rose a few ranks now! Tell him your rank now!"
"... 32nd."
"That's… Incredible brother!"
I am not being ironic. Brother entered the River State Military Elite School.
Every year, At least a Million young students will try to join this school. And even so, there are only 1000 available spots.
And more importantly, Brother has already graduated and has entered the Official rankings of the Military University.
This means he is competing against other Military universities country-wide.
And a rank of 32nd means he is the 32nd best country-wide!
Although in the rankings of young prodigies…
There are many ranks out there, and Brother wouldn't even qualify to enter those top powerhouses ranks.
Perhaps in 20-30 years when his age matches those old dudes…
"And I'm not too far behind! I am now ranked 68!"
"That's great sister Lin."
Lin Sudong, this is the name of my big bro's wife.
"In any case brother, I came here to tell you that I got what you wanted. It sure took some work… You are getting more and more abusive with me!"
"Come on! I sent you all of the money needed and even some 'incentives'!"
"You make it sound illegal!" He replied
"In any case brother. I won't be able to talk with you for a while. So no more requests… Even if you send me money, I won't be able to get you anything."
No way…
How the fuck am I going to train if I cant get acess to the military techniques!
The ones you can get from the Nexus are all trash for the current me…
"Arg… What happened?" Asked Luiz
"There will be a special event soon, and this will open big opportunities for both me and Lin. So we will spend the next few months in hard training so that we can both get good results."
"So in the meantime, no more 'transactions'."
"Shiiit."
"Language young man." He said towards his younger brother
"... Sigh. If this is true then it means I will have to advance soon..."
"WHAT?!" X2
"Have you finaly decided to advance and stop being a lazy fuck?!"
"Shut up brother, I am not being lazy, I am strengthening my foundation..."
"Whatever you mean… You have been limiting yourself to the First stage of Strengthening for 3 years already! Get a fucking grip!"
"I am still ahead of most people though..."
"Most people aren't everyone. Although I will admit you are strong as you are, it is already way past the due date for your transformation… I will send some materials for you via Transmat later to help with the process."
"There is no need brother, I have been preparing for years, all the materials are ready"
"I have to do something otherwise Mom and dad are going to kick my ass later. Sell them late if you wish."
"Send me the news when you undergo Physical transformation."
"Goodbye little Luiz~" Said Lin
"Until next time you two. Good luck."
'The two waved and the hologram closed'
"-Call closed-" Said the mechanical voice.
"-You have received a new mail-"
"Open it"
'A new hologram opened, Multiple lines of strange symbols and numbers appeared... It was an encoded email. '
"The code is 12/10/2489 my brother's marriage day."
/BEEP/
'The numbers disappeared, being replaced by a few lines of words.'
[WARNING CITIZEN!
This is a Classified email!
It will self destruct in T-Minus 10 minutes
Tier-5 Movement Style> Continual Marching
Open?]
"Not now..."
But finally… I finally got my hands on a Tier-5 Martial art!
'In order to understand the significance of this, we need to go over a little bit of history.'
400 years ago, in the year 2030, the triple-star system Alpha Centauri suddenly went "Boom"
To be exact they went supernova even when they shouldn't in at least several hundred Million years.
It took around 40 years for the explosion to reach Earth from their current location, 4.3 light years away.
That was already very, very fast.
Nevertheless, the light of the explosion was eventually detected by advanced observatories set around the edges of the solar system. After all, light is faster than the speed of the explosion right?
(Let's not be too scientific here. Although I would like to hear some of the knowledgeable opinions. I am not a physicist.)
The governments of the countries tried to maintain the secrecy of this information, yet, for the technological world of the time, it took less than a second for information to travel across the entire solar system.
It was obvious what happened… If the world was going to end soon, why hold yourself back?
Humanity's true nature was unleashed and chaos soon reigned across the entire solar system…
Because of the chaos, people didn't notice, but the planets had started to change.
Let's jump to what happened after the Chaos since a lot of history was lost during those times...
It was only a few decades after, or 400 years ago, in the year 2070, that they finally noticed what was going on.
This only happened since this was the year that was predicted for the end of the world to happen.
But it never came.
The history books explain the event as if a wave of light suddenly washed over the entire sky…
From that moment on, it was the end of the Chaotic Era and the start of the Era of disasters.
For the next 100 years, as order slowly settled, Humans tried their best to rebuild the lost civilization, but they failed each time due to the constant environmental disasters happening all across the different planets.
All humanity had to eventually retreat back into Earth since life in other places was impossible.
But Earth wasn't safe either.
Tsunamis, tornados, storms, volcano eruptions. All sorts of disasters happened in sequence and constantly.
The world was changing in a radical way.
Somehow, the Humans lived by aggregating in regions with more stable geological activities.
And with the stop of the changes, a new world opened for humans 100 years later.
It was the start of the "Sun Era", to symbolize a new brighter era… But that was a lie. A terrible lie.
After all, this era is also called, "The Warlord Era".
The thing is that, while the world was on the brink of destruction, some Humans actually mutated.
They got strange superpowers and could do incredible things. These people took control of the governments and when the disasters finally ended… They showed their fangs.
A brutal regime that would span 100 years started.
Many things happened during this period but I will only talk about the development of martial arts.
It's obvious that in a period where superpowers were the focus of society, all kinds of mystic and ancient rites would resurface as a way for people to gain even more power.
Satanism, witchcraft, magic, and all of that were brought back.
Many resulted in nothing at all, but some did bring results.
Martial arts being the most prominent one.
And this was what marked this era. 100 years of bloody wars and tyranny, an era where the strong reigned over the weak.
What could a normal person do against a warrior that can run 80Km/h and make an elephant faint with a punch?
Remember, technology regressed massively due to the previous two eras.
Thankfully, all ended when nature finally stabilized.
Although the people at the time would disagree with this...
… Humans weren't the only ones evolving.
Plants and animals and all other forms of life, even minerals, were changing.
And after 240 years of evolution, they had finally stabilized their ecosystem.
At the start it was only some outcast animals… But it soon grew to giant monster waves.
Almost all small villages were immediately destroyed and even bigger cities were wiped out.
Humans had to gather in small areas in order to better protect themselves against the beasts. Hence the previous system of Warlords and their territory was soon abandoned.
The ones who tried to keep it going soon fell to the endless hordes of monsters.
But why would the animals attack the Humans?
Simple.
Humans tend to build their cities in the most suitable places.
Near water and fertile land, or in places with large amounts of "natural energy" so they could train.
And well… Most animals would also like to stay in those places!
If they can't get a spot in the deep wilderness, they can only dispute with the Humans.
And this was the next brutal period in the history of mankind. The Era of Beasts.
The first time since Humans had claimed Earth as its dominant species… The very first time they lost their throne.
In fact, it had been over 2 centuries already since they stopped being the rulers.
They just didn't know.
This period lasted another 100 years until the Humans figured out what made these animals so special.
And after deep research, the current Martial arts were born! Although they were still rather crude…
A new era came to replace the old bloody one. One that would last until today.
The Era of Martial arts!
And this year marks its 123rd year anniversary.
"And it's currently December 1, 2493"
The world started to change in the year 2070, and this era started in the year 2370.
"With that out of the way. How about I take a look at this technique?"
'Hew clicked a few buttons and opened the folder containing the technique'
[Continual Marching
Tier-5 Movement Style
Quick introduction: A movement technique made for quick movement over long distances while using the least amount of energy.
It's recommended to be at least an Accumulation Stage Martial artist in order to properly train in the technique.]
"It's very decent..."
'The young man suddenly looked at the air and smiled, before raising his hand and swiping to the side.'
"I will look at that later."
Although I do not meet the requirements for this technique, that doesn't mean I can't practice in it.
As long as I am proficient enough, I can use this technique for a small period of time.
"That's because from the lowest to the highest, Humans have classified themselves in 4 stages after hundreds of years of trial and error."
Human Awakening
Physical transformation
Energy Accumulation
SuperHuman Master
These are the names for the 4 stages of martial development.
The first stage is very simple. It's the preparation of the Human body for future transformation. This stage also includes normal Humans.
Everything from a newborn baby to an adult on the verge of entering the Physical transformation stage is classified to be on the stage of Human Awakening.
Physical transformation is as the name says, the modification of one's flesh and bones. The hardening of one's body through various means.
Energy Accumulation is a giant step. Long ago, Humans noticed that beasts could gather energy into their bodies, and by imitating that, this stage was created.
It involves gathering a lot of energy in one's body and transforming it by following a certain way.
A martial technique made to change your body... A Cultivation technique.
And finally SuperHuman Master… I don't know anything about that. That's very confidential, unfortunately.
"This was a very quick run down from all 4 main states, but it isn't over yet"
Just like Humans are classified into 4 stages the techniques developed by them are also classified into Tiers.
From Tier 1 to 8
The lowest to the highest.
Tier 1 and 2 are meant for the Human Awakening
Tier 3 and 4 are meant for the Physical transformation
Tier 5 and 6 are meant for the Energy Accumulation
Tier 7 and 8 are meant for the SuperHuman Master
If there is anything beyond that, then it is not disclosed to the public.
"There is also Tier-0, but that's a special classification meant for day to day techniques… They aren't hard to learn and they aren't special in any way. In fact, this classification will soon be purged from the school books."
"I am currently in the pinnacle of the Human Awakening and have been in this state since I was 15… Three years ago."
"At that time, I was a promising student that loved martial arts. But that was all."
I did not devote all of my time to martial arts like my brother used to do, nor did I suffer through incredibly painful methods in order to grow stronger.
I studied a lot, but I had a clear line between my private fun time and martial arts training.
"But it all changed when we went to Hunt beasts during the school trip three years ago..."
/Small flashback narration/
3 years ago, I was nothing but an above-average high schooler.
I was popular in school due to my grades.
I had a nice circle of friends.
And my martial progress was decent since my brother was always there to help me with my questions and give me some tips from time to time.
Like any school these days would do, in order to make the students more used to the life of martial artists. They would bring them to the nature reserve of the city to see monsters from up close.
What if someone didn't want to become a martial artist?
Are you dumb?
Who wouldn't want to live longer and have a more promising future?
And in any case, if you abandon martial arts, be sure to live a poor life.
If you can't even perform a basic sequence, you won't be contracted and finding a job will be impossible.
Between a normal ass Human, that guy who can lift 2 cars seems much cooler…
If you are a construction worker of course.
Each job has its own requirements.
Back to the nature reserve.
In there, being the hot-blooded youth I was, requested to spar with the beasts. The lowest tier one of course.
And the teachers accepted of course! That was their reason for bringing students here in the first place, and I was the brother of an already graduated Martial artist!
Someone in the top 100 of our country's Military Elite School ranking!
Youth Ranking... But still!
The brother of a prodigy!
Well… It was exactly because of this fact that I used to be a brat…
Because I was always compared to my brother, I ended up becoming a small-time delinquent.
Nothing too big, I never bullied anyone.
But I did partake in several… "High-risk" activities.
Going into restricted areas, messing with dangerous equipment, going to illegal places…
And my favorite, "The sneaky peaky day" where I went to take a look at the girls taking a bath in the lake and managed to flee without anyone noticing. And I took some photos.
All are deleted now of course. It would do me no good having nudes of 16-year-old girls.
… I was a kid okay. That was over 3 years ago sheesh.
So it was obvious that I would challenge a monster!
And I killed it pretty easily! I had many years of training under my brother after all. Ans the creature was weakened to boot.
But it all changed when 'that' started…
[Absorbing energy...]
[Booting...]
[DNA matches with the one in the *****]
[Assimilating with Luiz Carter]
Pain took over my body at that time.
I wasn't a protagonist yet, so I obviously screamed and panicked.
The teachers thought I had been poisoned by the beast and took me to the infirmary where I took many medications.
Yet the pain didn't stop.
[Assimilation completed]
[Modification is in progress...]
[Fusion with the Soul has been finalized]
[Nameless has fused with Luiz Carter]
[You have hunted one Morning Tail Hound(Weakened) and gained one Point]
[Please name 'Nameless']
I was confused and disoriented due to the sudden images, the pain, and the drugs the doctors gave me. So I don't remember much of what happened.
But I know of one thing… That I passed out.
I woke up in my bed several hours later since my parents had gone to fetch me up.
And from that point on I forgot I had this ability… What? I just passed through a traumatic experience, it's obvious I would forget some things.
Until one hour later when I stepped on a bug.
[You hunted a Moth(Larva)]
[The difference between you and the creature is too big to award you with a Point]
I was confused but I quickly regained my calm.
The first thing I did was to follow the novels I had read.
I went to my room and tried all sorts of names and things in order to invoke something I didn't even know existed.
That served more to calm me down rather than to open the 'Vital Sheet'.
Hence, after half an hour of trying, I decided to stop and "talk" with my parents.
In truth, I went around the house looking for bugs and other insects.
I wanted to test if my parents could also see the window tabs…
And the result was pretty self-explanatory. They didn't.
I even went as far as to pick a beetle and crush it near my father so that the window would pop out right in front of his face.
Thankfully he didn't notice it, otherwise, it would be a pretty awkward situation to explain.
But that left me bewildered. What was I supposed to do now?
Was that an illusion or was it real?
So I went back to my room and continued to try and invoke the 'legendary Status'
It was only at night after hundreds of trials and errors did I managed to say it:
"Life Notes,... Vital Statistics,... Vital Sheet."
[Opening Nameless]
"What?... FOR REAL?!"
Thankfully my scream that time didn't attract anyone since my parents went for dinner at a nearby restaurant.
This was what I saw:
[-Vital Sheet-
Points: 1
Mind> 3
Physical> 5
[LOCKED]
[LOCKED]
[LOCKED]
Martial arts learned:
Fast fist Style- Grasped
Three steps Defence- Grasped
]
I saw something I was rather used to…
"It's just like those VR game screens..."
[It has been detected that you have one Point remaining]
[Would you like to spend the Point?]
"... How do I do that?"
But the system never replied to me. So I had to figure out things on my own.
So I will cut to the chase and tell you how it works.
I gain points by killing creatures, the stronger it is compared to me, the greater the chance of me gaining 1 Point. Just 1. Never 2, even after 3 years and killing creatures much stronger than me, I never gained 2 Points.
I can invest these points into all of my stats and raise them up all the way to a certain limit.
I can also spend these points to increase my familiarity with any Martial art I had already learned.
Higher Tiered Martial arts require more Points.
And that's "all".
What is familiarity? It's the term for your level of mastery over a technique.
Introduction-Grasped-Adept-Mastered
Each determines just how well you are at using a technique and how much of it you can use.
Someone who has mastered a technique is clearly going to be able to use it in any situation as long as it's not something impossible like trying to run in the water.
You need a proper technique for that.
How did I find that I could do that?
So… By sheer luck, I decided to focus on those two skills, and...
[Invest one point to raise Tier-1 Fast fist Style to 'Adept']
And that's when my life changed.
...
'After his long and meaningless flashback, Luiz picked a small blue bag and crushed it above his head.'
/Splash/
'A foamy substance fell from within right onto his head, and using his hands, he slowly spread it around his body.'
'After a few minutes, he jumped into the waterfall and cleaned his body.'
"These military soaps aren't that bad..."
'With everything out of the way, Luiz put on some clothes and strapped his bag around his waist.'
'After doing all of that, he suddenly disappeared from his location.'
…
'A few meters away, you could see Luiz moving at an incredible speed amidst the forest. He was nimbler than a monkey and faster than a car.'
"Sigh, thankfully, soon enough I will enter University and I will be able to hunt in those prohibited places."
Although Humans have slowly grown and conquered Earth again, there are still some areas that are incredibly dangerous for Humans.
"Now that I think about it, that's pretty much everywhere."
These areas are where wild beasts normally grow, in order to access one you need the right papers and identification.
"I managed to enter this Rank-2 danger area all thanks to my brother and my friend's influence. The only problem is that I have to go soooo far away. Even if I use flying cars it still takes hours to reach this place. Precious time I could be using training."
All areas are divided in ranks, from Rank-0 to Rank-7.
0 means it's perfectly safe.
1 means the highest danger is a beast with the same strength as a Human Awakening expert.
The same thing happens for Rank 2-4.
So what about the higher ranks?
Well, you see, although there isn't a stronger creature than a SuperHuman Master, a group of such creatures can still make easy work out of one.
And worse, creatures tend to grow smarter and even more dangerous the higher their strength.
"Although it's not official, creatures ended up being ranked in the same way as areas are due to actions of civilians"
Meaning a Rank-1 beast is equivalent to a Human Awakening expert.
And a Rank-4 beast is equivalent to a SuperHuman Master.
There isn't anything above that.
So Ranks 5, 6, and 7 are meant to delimitate areas where even SuperHuman Masters could easily die.
"That's nothing for me to worry about. Once I enter Uni, I will have access to those sweet Rank-2 areas just outside of my dorm room!"
I think it's self-explanatory, but for me, having access to monsters right outside of your doorstep is incredibly valuable.
"Not only the Points but also the money and other things that can be gained through it"
And that has been my routine in the past three years and is why I never underwent my first Physical transformation.
I kill strong monsters and get some easy Points since the difference between our strengths is high.
I sell the monster parts and get money.
I buy new and possibly stronger techniques.
I use these points to level these techniques if needed while also training in them.
Now that I am stronger, I can try taking on even stronger creatures!
And since the system works by calculating the strength between me and my opponent… If I hunt a creature that is in a stage significantly higher than me, I can guarantee Points for every kill.
"That's why I stopped raising my stats three years ago… Currently, I am stacked with dozens of martial arts from Tier1 to Tier-4 and now one Tier-5."
I can completely stomp anyone at my Level and easily kill Physical transformation beasts.
Although some late-stage Physical transformation beasts might be troublesome, I can guarantee I am capable of killing weaker Energy accumulation creatures.
"My original idea was to continually repeat this process until it wasn't possible anymore. And I think I have reached this limit. Just by looking at it, I can see that I would be barely capable of even using this Tier-5 technique a few times before tiring myself out."
And that's not ideal in a fight in the wild.
"My second Idea was to stack hundreds of points and carry them to my next Stage… But that died pretty quickly since I can only store 100 Points at a time."
"Sigh… There is nothing to fear! Now that I have managed to join that University, I can hunt monsters in the Rank-3 risk zone without needing to go through hours of driving every day."
Yes, I am 18, of course I have a driving license. I didn't even need to use points to master driving.
As for my car? I bought it with my own money of course!
My family knows I hunt frequently, so there is no drama to be seen there, otherwise, it would be hard to create a story as to why I leave home for several hours every single day.
Although they don't know how strong I truly am.
"Only my brother and those two know that... Some people know that I am talented but they are in the same situation as my parents."
'Luiz started the car and told the AI to rush full speed back towards his home'
'Although Humans had their ups and downs, technology still developed greatly ever since the start of the era of Martial arts.
Or did it recover? A lot was lost during the initial few hundred years...'
'Gravitational technology might not be commonplace since it's rather expensive, it's still nearly everywhere.'
'The rich can even have their own "Cruise ships", giant spaceships that are bigger than a house block, or even use the Transmat network to traverse across the planet instantly.'
"However, outer space is still out of reach..."
The reason for this is that no one wants to go out there when all of the Martial treasures are here on Earth.
If the rich don't want to go to space, then they won't go to space.
"Those spaceships are only there for those boastful people to have their pride filled"
Although they look pretty cool.
Some are fully equipped with all sorts of things. And recently, it has become a trend among the rich to live in their spaceships.
"As if they were living in the skies like true Gods…"
A bunch of assholes that don't have what to do with their money.
In an era where your value is determined by your level of martial arts, it's obvious that there is going to be a hierarchy between people.
"The rich receive better resources so they can easily make their talents bloom to its maximum potential, while the poor can only make do with themselves"
Even if they are talented…
"Although the government has been trying to increase the help towards those people… Not to the rich's displeasure."
But I don't care about that.
I can be considered to be extremely privileged since my brother is a fucking Unit of a person and I have access to a System…
But I never cared about those people's business. I never praised or criticized their actions.
Call me a hypocrite, I don't care.
My motto is simple, I will do things at my own speed since I know I have limitless potential.
I don't care if I am surpassed by those geniuses or whatever.
"I am an 18-year-old and soon to be a Physical transformation expert. I don't care if you are a 20-year-old SuperHuman Master. Suck these nuts."
Although if I met such a person, I wouldn't be daring enough to say such things Cough!
"If I have access to those Higher risk areas I can easily become an Energy Accumulation Expert within a year... No, a few weeks should be enough since my rate of progress is based on how fast I can hunt."
Although I would never do that.
"I will make things at my own speed, there is no need to attract unnecessary attention like those people in the novels."
/BEEP!/
"-Unidentified flying object is fast approaching, what should I do?-" Said the mechanical voice
"What? Open the map, now!"
'A green hologram showing the topography of the area suddenly appeared in front of Luiz'
"This symbol on the flying car… Raiders? Again?"
Raiders are the name given to the Scum who decided to live like criminals.
They normally live in the periphery of cities and they prey on anyone that leaves its confinements.
They are like hyenas but without any order.
"I don't have the patience to deal with raiders again, full speed ahead."
"-Understood-"
/Uwoooon!/
'The motor of the flying car did a strange noise as it speeds up into the horizon'
…
"Tsk, he fled. Is that truly a Tier-2 Hunter? How does he have such a fast car?" Said a man using some strange VR goggles.
"He must be the son of some rich corporate..." Said a big-armed man in the back seat of the car.
"Hum… It says here he is the target though." Said the man with the VR goggles
"Really?! So did we fail our mission? Boss isn't going to be happy." Said a third man, this one with a large cloak on his head, he was also sitting in the backseat.
"Hum… I can try disabling his car, but I would require me to use our Destabilizing tool… And those aren't cheap. It's not worth the price for this hunt at all." Said the VR goggles man.
"Call the boss and tell him what happened, the target has the habit of going in and out of this danger zone. So we should have enough time to set up a proper trap. We have more than enough time." Said the man with the cloak
"I will call Boss right now..."
'What they didn't know is that Luiz was hearing their entire conversation.'
'He mastered many martial arts, but it's obvious he was going to master hacking skills in a society where machines are completely integrated into day-to-day life.'
'He needs it to protect himself and his family.'
"... Shit. Is someone aiming for my life?"
If so, these guys aren't raiders, they are either assassins or mercenaries. But who are they?
They came disguised so they are decently prepared...
It's normal that in a society like this, assassin groups and mercenaries are much more common.
They are pretty similar to raiders but the difference lies in their organization and discipline.
Assassins will most likely kill their target and be done with it, mercenaries might loot their bodies while raiders… Will most likely try and have some "Fun".
"What is it this time? I never left any evidence when I killed the previous raiders, so it can't be any of the gangs coming for revenge..."
"Unless my parents have some shady past, it can't be them either..."
"So only my older brother is left."
My brother had quite a complicated life…
In truth, we don't completely share the same blood.
Father used to have a family, but his wife died due to illness when my brother was really small and he remarried to my mother.
And that resulted in this perfect me.
He is 11 years older than me, meaning he is 29 this year and he married 4 years ago.
"The problem comes all from his lineage… My lineage"
"We are nothing more than normal citizens, yes we have a decent amount of money, but that's mostly from my brother and me."
Yes, I make more money than my parents combined. That's how profitable hunting is.
"Because we are a normal family, some people don't really like seeing my brother all the way up there."
This is the true face of this society.
I told my brother to not attract attention but he never listened to me.
"And he isn't the only one with such problems, many talents around the globe are often bullied by those richer bastards."
"If brother didn't have the help from his wife, he would have… Arg"
Just thinking about it makes me sick.
Thankfully he married a good girl, she has a decent amount of political influence and money, while her father only cares about talent, that's why he easily accepted their marriage.
Brother is someone who is almost guaranteed to become a SuperHuman Master.
"After all, he is an Energy Accumulation expert and he isn't even 30"
Liu even helped me with some things… She is truly a good sister in law haha.
"-Would you like a coffee sir?-"
"Hum… Give me one, with milk, you know how it is. Turn on the radio and search for some Metal music."
"-I am on it-"
'Small mechanical arms appeared from within a hole in the car's front and printed a paper cup for Luiz.
They filled it with some nice and hot coffee just the way he liked.'
/Pa ran ran ran… Ba tun ts.../
"A classic"
/Sip/
'With his blond hair in the wind one arm in the door and another with his coffee on hand, Luiz felt at the top of the world.'
"This is life..."
'Luiz enjoyed the beat and his coffee as the car made it's way back into the city.'
…
"-We arrived sir-"
'The car stopped in front of a large 3 story tall house'
"Is everyone home?"
"-Contacting house AI… No sir. Your parents have left a message for you. Play message?-"
"Do it"
"-... Hey son! We didn't know when you were coming back, so we left this message for you in case we didn't meet. Me and your mom will be going to your aunts' house..."
… So they went to the party.
"This means I have the entire house for myself. Good."
'Luiz went to the door and it opened automatically.'
'Behind Luiz, his car started moving on its own as it parked somewhere in the ceiling of the house.'
'The interior of the houses wasn't even that extravagant, it had a rather modern yet rustic feel. Perhaps because of the wood?'
'Luiz didn't stop as the first thing he did was go to his room.'
"Finally, let me test this..."
Open Vital Sheet
[DING]
[-Vital Sheet-
Points: 100
Mind> 9
Physical> 9
[LOCKED]
[LOCKED]
[LOCKED]
Martial arts learned:
Tier-4 Hard Metal Boxing Mastered
Tier-4 Nimbus Light feet Style Mastered
Tier-4 Flowing Spear of water Mastered
Tier-4 Nameless Footwork Mastered
Tier-4 Nameless Boxing Mastered
Tier-4 Nameless Defensive technique Mastered
Tier-3 All Absorption Mastered
…
Tier-1 Alliance fast Hacking Technique Mastered
Tier-1 Fast Driving Mastered
… (Some Tier-0 and some Tier-1)
]
"3 years of hard work… A little bit over that since I got this power around the middle of the year so… 3 and a half years of work."
If you are wondering why there are three locked portions… I can speculate on that.
They are probably the Energy and Spirit status if we go by order.
Humans have long ago created the habit of attributing values to stuff. So it's obvious that things such as body and energy would receive values.
Mind refers to one's pure brainpower. Having a 10 in mind doesn't mean that you are 10 times smarter than someone else, it just means your raw brainpower is 10 times that of a normal person.
Physical refers to a person's body, muscles, flesh, bones, organs, etc. It's pretty safe to assume that having a 10 in physical means you are 10 times stronger than a normal person.
That isn't always the truth since you can be weaker than that and still have a 10. This means you have an area that you are exceptional at, like having super regeneration.
Energy is a gauge used to determine the quantity and quality of a Martial artist's energy. The reason it might be locked in the System is that I am still at Human awakening.
So it isn't being shown because it's something beyond my stage
Spiritual is a more recent find, it's a value used to determine the strength of your spirit and affinity to spiritual arts. There isn't a lot of research in this though as it's kind of recent.
What are the Spirit and spiritual arts?
I don't know, the explanation given by the government is lackluster.
"My system stats are actually very close to the current Human alliance values."
But there is one missing. The last [LOCKED], and I have no idea as to what that may be.
"In order to unlock those I have to most likely advance. However, I am not sure."
I will agree with some that I could have progressed faster if I had been a little more… Showy.
Although many dangers come from showing off your talent, it's undeniable that you would receive some sort of support from bigger powers.
Although most of the rich may not like the common citizens rising above them, this country's government isn't so stupid as to bring down their own citizens from showing and developing their talents.
If they did so they wouldn't have any capable soldiers after all.
"But I don't need their support to grow, do I?"
Look at how far I have gotten. I mastered some Tier-4 techniques even though I am pretty much a "normal" Human.
"I even created a few from combining other martial arts."
They are those without a name since I can't be bothered to name them.
Nevertheless, I am still below the requirements for those techniques, even though I mastered them all.
"As soon as I Master this Tier-5 footwork, I will start my preparations for the advancement."
The process to go through each level has been transformed and perfected many times over the centuries.
The current method has been in use for over 4 decades and it's incredibly stable.
And that method is the use of the Advancement Cabin… A pretty boring name.
"From Human Awakening to Physical transformation there isn't any super fancy method. You only need to consume certain supplements, go into a specialized medical cabin and let your body do the rest on its own."
As you saw in my stats, they are stuck at 9. This is the limit of the Human Awakening stage.
Once you have the physical raw strength 10 times that of a normal person, you can be considered to have entered the Physical transformation stage.
Simple.
I could use my points to advance, but that is a waste since I can easily do that with available materials.
"The better materials you have the easier the process is and the higher the chances of it succeeding."
And if you use high-quality materials, your raw strength at the end of the process may grow.
For example, instead of you going from 9 to 10 like in a normal advancement, you might go from 9 to 13.
It might look small but that is a massive change.
"Although the process changes when you are going from Physical transformation to Energy Accumulation. But that is for another day."
"It's time to learn it now…"
[Spend 100 points to learn Tier-5 Continual Marching?]
"It's so costly… If a Tier-5 is this much, how much will a Tier-6 cost?"
I won't even be able to pay for it with my 100 point limit.
"Sign. Do it, I will fill those points again tomorrow."
I won't go to those mountains again of course. It's best to avoid trouble.
[DING]
[You have learned the Tier-5 technique Continual Marching]
'A lot of information suddenly filled Luiz's head. He passed through this process multiple times before but it hurt a lot this time.'
"Arg!... Phew… What a headache. It hurts most during the first time... That sounded wrong."
"I think I got the principle right… But I am certain, I will never be able to master this technique with my current body."
I can use Points but that will be meaningless, my body can't follow the movements since it doesn't have the requirements.
"I still have a month and a half before the start of University, more than enough time to hunt and master a few more techniques..."
/BUZZ BUZZ/
"-Master, 'Red ant' is currently calling you-"
"Zhong? Accept it."
/BEEP/
'The wall of the room suddenly opened, revealing a television'
'The TV flashed, revealing the face of a handsome red-haired young man. He was on top of a large be and his chest was showing. He looked like one of those male characters from those girls' books.'
"What's up Zhong? Did you consume all of your energy with those girls during the last week and you finally decided to talk with your Bro?"
'The man smiled as an extra slender hand came from the side outside of the camera view and caressed Zhong's chest.'
"I knew it, you can't remain even one moment without a girl."
"Fuck you, Luiz. I tried calling you earlier but you didn't answer. Were you training in the Rank-2 mountains again?"
"Yes, I was… If you are calling, it means you are ready right?"
"Of course dude, just tell me when you are ready and I will talk with 'Skinny'."
"Go call him, the earlier we start the better the end result will be. Also, prepare some advancement cabins."
'The man on the other side was stunned and his face stiffened.'
"Are we finally advancing?!"
'His face suddenly covered the entire screen as he screamed.'
"It's time already, Uni is just around the corner and we need to be in top condition after all."
"Hell yeah! If that's the case, I will talk with Skinny and have him bring his own advancement cabin, since his company just released a new model. Do you have your own materials?"
"I have some decent ones, I have been preparing for years. I just need to wait for the last package and..."
/BEEP/
"-Receiving transmat delivery, accept?-"
'Luiz smiled'
"I am all ready now."
"Great! I am pumped up now! I will be ending the call now, do you need a car?"
"Would be good, my parents just left and I wouldn't want to let my car go back on auto mode."
"I will send a car in one hour then… How about at 3 Pm?"
"Fine by me, I will just ring my parents and organize my stuff."
"See you later man."
"... Time passed so quickly."
It's finally time to advance…
'Luiz had a rushed life ever since he got this power.'
'In the first 6 months, he learned how to properly maximize his gift's effects.'
'He slowly stopped playing video gaming and going out with his friends, they weren't as dedicated in martial arts as he was, so they eventually stopped talking when he switched schools.'
'He used to go towards a private school, but ever since he got this power and started hunting, he decided it was best if he went to a school fully dedicated to martial arts. An Elite Martial school.
In there he got access to many higher rank martial arts'
'But life wasn't easy for him. He was a commoner in a school meant for the rich kids.'
'He was a constant target for bullying, although he always managed to avoid trouble. It was best to just avoid the bullies than to punch one of them and offend some of the powerful.
That was his way of living.'
'But all of this changed when he met Skinny.'
'When he met him, he was truly skinny. A true bag of bones, but no one messed with him because he was the son of a powerful magnate. Someone who owned a large portion of the city's medical products and facilities.'
'Initially, I approached him as a way to get resources. I taught him martial arts and he gave me money. This was a perfectly balanced circle that helped me in getting stronger faster while also making Skinny stronger.'
'Over time, we became friends and the trio was completed when Red ant joined us.'
'Red ant was the son of a General, but he had trouble with martial arts because he was a womanizer and… He had a phobia with his size.'
'There is a reason why his name is Red ant. He used to be half of our size. Even though his parents were tall.'
(I know what you thought... NO HORNY)
'We formed a perfect group where one would give medicine and supplements, another would give us Military techniques, and the last one would help the other two in progressing.'
'A perfect friendship was formed.'
"When the two reached the peak of Human awakening, they didn't advance since they didn't want to leave me behind."
And for over 2 years they remained at this level.
"I lost count of just how many times their parents asked for me to advance… They are good people and they respect me a lot for helping their children."
But even such understanding parents have their limits.
"Sorry aunties and uncles. This time we are going to rise."
After I Master this Tier-5 technique of course…
...
'One hour after receiving the call, a black flying limousine parked in front of Luiz's house.'
'Luiz was ready to leave, he had already called his parents and prepared all of his baggage.'
'He opened the door outside, there was a butler waiting next to the car.'
"Is it you Sebas? It's been a while since we last met."
"To be precise, we last met during young master's Zhong coming of age party"
Oh yeah. During that guy's birthday...
"Allow me to help you with the luggage."
"Thank you, there is a little bit more left. A couple of Compression bags"
"I see, the limousine trunk uses the most recent Compression technology, so there shouldn't be any trouble."
'Among the many advancements of today's era. There is the famed and praised Compression technology.
This technology refers to the capability of storing a bigger volume of items in a space smaller than the actual object.'
There are many ways of doing such a thing, from compressing a small object to distorting space. The ways of storing things in today's era couldn't be easier… And pricier.
'After placing all of his luggage in the trunk, Luiz entered the car.'
"This car has high priority, so we should be arriving at our destination soon."
"Ho? How generous of him."
Priority. An immense luxury.
In a society where flying cars are everywhere and transit is controlled by AI's, the system of priority was made.
From a normal person's car to an ambulance. All have an innate priority.
This makes it that the AI that governs the transit system will always prioritize having the vehicle with higher priority pass over others.
Such as making the red light turn green, so a firefighter can easily pass through, and well… Fight a fire.
The problem is that having such a priority is extremely hard to get, it's not something that can be bought with money. Otherwise, this system would be a joke and a failure.
"That guy isn't holding anything back."
"The young master is really excited after all. He immediately booked the entirety of Gianseng Mountain for today." Said the butler on the front seat.
"Sigh, what a waste of money. Wait… Isn't Gianseng mountain..."
"Yes, it's family property."
"So it's explained"
'Luiz rested his head as he waited for the car to arrive at its destination.'
…
'20 Minutes later, the car stopped near a camp. The place was heavily fortified, this was the gate to the Gianseng mountain, a private hunting area for the rich.
The mountain is considered a Risk-2 area, but in truth, it's a Risk-3.5.'
'3.5 means that there might be Rank-3 creatures very close to becoming a Rank-4 Monster.'
'As for how that's possible, let's leave that for later.'
'As for how this mountain can be Rank-2 yet be considered Rank-3.5… That's because this mountain extends all the way to the deep wilderness.'
We are currently in the periphery so the monsters are weaker partly due to the lack of resources, but if we go deep enough we would start to see stronger monsters.
The reason why there isn't a stronger monster in this area is because of the constant hunting of the military, or should I say, due to the hunting done by the Zhong family.
Although this is considered to be the property of the Zhong family, they book this place to others constantly.
Of course, they leave all Rank-2 creatures and below, otherwise no one would like to book this place to hunt.
They need to maintain a suitable ecosystem in order to make this place lucrative, otherwise, the monsters would die.
This includes checking monsters' birth to introducing foreign monsters into the forest from other places. During the breeding season, they even prohibit the killing of female monsters.
'Luiz got out of the car and with the help of Sebas loaded all of his items into a floating cart.'
'Sebas led him across the periphery outpost without stopping for a single moment.'
…
'After going over several hallways and doors, they finally arrived at a trolley'
"This is where I stop master Carter, I still need to welcome master Hu."
Skinny huh... He is quite late.
"Alright, I will see you later Sebas. Have a nice day."
'Luiz got inside the trolley, which in sequence, lit up and took of into the mountain.
It was only then that Sebas stopped bowing.'
"It seems the time has finally arrived, once young master advances he will be qualified to learn some of the family exclusive techniques, and since his enthusiasm has been rekindled due to his friends, his progress will be unmatched."
"Although it was a little later than scheduled, the young master foundation is much stronger than we expected. Together with his new friends, he will grow and become truly phenomenal."
'Sebas had a kind smile on his face as he turned around and disappeared in the darkness of the corridor.'
…
/5 minutes later/
'Luiz had finally arrived at the camp.'
'The camp was rather fortified with several automatic turrets around its perimeter.'
"That guy loves to attract attention… Speaking of him, where is he?"
'Luiz couldn't see nor hear anyone in his vicinity, so he just attributed that to Zhong being inside one of the structures of the camp.'
'The camp was pretty "simple" since apart from the wall with the turrets, the only thing it had was a large house that looked more like a small fort.'
'Luiz hopped into the levitating cart and drove it inside.'
/BEEP! BUZZ/
'One of the turrets beeped and shone a strong red light on top of Luiz, but after a beep, the light turned green and the door below it opened.'
"That fucking scared me, having an Anti-monster 10MM Autocannon aimed at you isn't funny at all."
These things can shoot several hundred shots per minute at their lowest configuration, I might be able to evade one bullet by pure luck, but I would immediately die soon after.
Only stronger martial artists are fast enough to evade such a thing with ease.
"Sorry sorry. I forgot to calibrate some things, you arrived pretty fast after all." Said someone coming from inside the house.
'He had red hair and was wearing a loose shirt, sandals, and flower-themed shorts.'
It was Zhong Tien, son of Zhong Gulivar, the military general of the River state private military army.
Since Earth changed, the old concept of a country changed many times if not completely destroyed.
Although recently, since the new era started, countries have started to reappear.
They are divided into 5 main countries, or should I say Federations.
America Federation, englobing all of the American continent.
Eurasia Federation, englobing Europe, the Northern part of Africa, and the western part of Asia.
African Federation, englobing… Africa.
The Motherland, also called the Russian Federation, a survivor from times before the collapse. It englobes all Russia, some parts of Asia, and the extreme cold North.
And finally, The Southern Federation, englobing Australia and some of the islands near it.
We are currently in the place that used to be Brazil, meaning, we are in South America.
Brazil was and still is one of the most stable geological areas in the world.
As for other areas of this continent…
They are completely unexplored. Although the American Federation has several colonies on the coast of what was once the US and Central America as an attempt to reclaim those zones.
We are currently in an area called "The American Center", or "The Center" for short.
The Center is just a symbolic name for the area that used to be the Southeastern portion of Brazil.
And this area is divided into many smaller areas, called states.
Autonomous areas with an autonomous government.
There are 12 such areas currently in The Center. With one of them being the River state, to pay homage to the city that used to be here. Rio De Janeiro.
Although that's old history is meaningless in today's world. Pretty much all history was lost during the chaos of time...
Even if this country didn't have to deal with Earthquakes and tornados, weather storms, wars and conflict still destroyed what little survive from the past.
'While he thought, Zhong picked a small cup of water and made his way to Luiz.'
"Hey man, what are you thinking so deeply about? Relax and have a cup of ice water."
"Just thinking about how much of a Golden spoon you are."
"Thanks." He said with a smirk
"That wasn't a compliment." Said Luiz as he took a sip of his water.
"HA! But for me it is… In any case, come inside. Skinny will take a while to arrive so there isn't any need to stay out here."
'Zhong led Luiz inside the house.
The place was pretty bland, with lots of grey and white. This was certainly a military outpost, not a place meant for rich guests.'
"Everything is ready. Skinny will bring the capsule and a few other materials, although I think it's unnecessary... I see you brought some of your own. Is everything already processed?" Asked Zhong as he sat on a couch.
"Not all, some things need to be processed"
"Alright, leave it to me."
/Snap!/
'Zhong snapped his fingers and a maid entered the room.'
'She was a beautiful blond maid with green eyes, her appearance was top-notch, she was perfect in all areas.'
'But Luiz didn't care, since he knew this was one of Zhong's "Girls". She isn't a whore, please.
Although Zhong is a womanizer, he is one that takes good care of his lovers. And as far as I know, this girl is the private maid assigned to him, they've known each other for over a decade already.'
'Even if she was single, Luiz doesn't care about love, at least for now.'
"Bro, do you remember Wendy? Just give her what needs to be processed and she will have it done."
'Wendy bowed towards the two of them.'
"It's been a while, Wendy, you were sick during this guy's birthday. It's good seeing you safe and sound. I am sending you a list of the items that I need to be processed. No need to be hasty since we will probably not be advancing today."
'Zhong was stunned. The same thing for Wendy, although she quickly recomposed and picked the floating cart, leading it out of the room'
"Oi oi! Not today?! What do you mean by that?!"
"... See you later Wendy." Luiz completely ignored Zhong
'Wendy turned around and bowed with a smile.'
"Don't ignore me!"
"Sheesh. Don't scream, you are going to scare all of the beasts in the mountain range with your screech."
"Then answer me, bastard."
"I want to test a few things, and that will require heavy physical activity. We also need to get ourselves warmed up and ready for the procedure. Did you really think we could just enter the capsule and wait?"
"We need one or two days of preparations. We also need to take some supplements, that will take some time as well."
"Oh… I see… You are right, I forgot about that. But what is that you want to test?"
"Keke… I got my hands on this new technique… A rank-5 one."
'Zhong sat on the couch and said:'
"Another one... WHAIT! OI! And you didn't even tell me?! Show me right now!"
'Zhong couldn't believe what he heard! A Tier-5? That's already something on the Level of an Energy accumulation expert!'
Because my father doesn't allow me to see any technique above Tier-3 in the family vault, I have to rely on Skinny and Luiz to see higher-ranked techniques.
But Skinny is in the same situation as me, so our only source of technique is through the Nexus or buying them privately.
There are other sources but they aren't reliable.
We got some through this method but they were either too expensive or too trashy.
Our parents don't give us a high allowance exactly because of this. They don't want us wasting our money acquiring techniques too high ranked for our current level.
So we have to make our own money to buy techniques, but even then, there is a legal block impeding us, Human Awakening Martial users, from buying such higher-ranking techniques.
Only Luiz can somehow acquire those through his brother.
"The technique is called Continual Marching. A light style movement technique."
"OHHH! Come! The training area is right on the side." Said Zhong as he ran
'Zhong quickly went to the arena, when Luiz arrived, Zhong had already switched clothes.'
…
"... You are fast. Give me one of those sets as well."
'Zhong threw a small disk to Luiz.
He picked the disk and placed it in his chest. The disk suddenly burst into a large gray cloud. By the time the cloud dispersed, Luiz's old clothes were on the ground while in their place was a new dark set of skin-tight training clothes.'
"Alright. I think this is good enough." Said Luiz
"I want to at least reach Grasp this technique before we advance."
"WHAT?! You want to grasp a Tier-5 while being only an Awakened Human? Don't fuck with me Luiz!"
(Remember that there are 4 Levels of mastery over a technique Introduction-Grasped-Adept-Mastered)
"He. You know just how important it is to challenge oneself as much as possible before advancing. I have already reached the Introduction stage. Give me a few days and I will be ready."
"What?..."
Damn! I forgot this guy is a fucking monster when the thing is martial arts…
I could barely catch up with him even when he taught me, how the fuck am I going to train in a Tier-5 technique when Mastering one Tier-4 almost took me my soul?!
"Scared? You looked pretty excited a minute ago."
"Just do it! I want to see it with my own eyes."
"..."
'Luiz posture became fully straight, he placed his left foot in front of his other one and placed one arm behind his back and another one in front.'
"..."
'Zhong could feel the energy radiating from Luiz. It wasn't strong, but it was controlled.'
Shit, is this guy really capable of pulling this off? It's already incredible that we can use Tier-4 techniques, but this guy…
His control of energy is so perfect that he most likely surpasses even some Energy Accumulation experts.
I thought I was close, but he widened the gap again… Don't be cocky! I will also reach the Grasped stage!
'Suddenly, Luiz disappeared, the only thing that was left behind were faint footprints glowing on the ground.'
'As time passed, the glowing footprints became more and more obvious until the ground was fully covered in them.'
'This was the AI system marking Luiz's entire move set.'
"Phew… That was tough."
"This is it, the full movement sequence. I am by no means a master, but this should be enough for you. According to military laws, I can't teach you anything directly, otherwise, your father would beat both of us up if he saw you using it."
"But there aren't any rules saying it's forbidden for you to learn by seeing hehe. The cameras and data should be more than enough, I am here if you need any questions answered."
"... Shit. Just fucking watch!"
'Zhong's "aura" suddenly changed as he became incredibly focused. He watched the steps and concentrated.
In the corner of his eyes, a hologram with a slow down video was being replayed over and over.'
'After 5 minutes, Zhong took his first step, and another one, and another…'
/BAM!/
'But after the 10th step, he slipped and fell on the ground'
"Arg! I think my leg is cramped!" Said Zhong as he rolled on the ground.
"Look at you! You did almost a fifth of the entire set in one go! Perhaps you can actually do it!"
Zhong has talent, a lot of it. But he wasted most of it being a womanizer over the years.
He was always so far from his competition that he never really cared about improving.
Only in the past few years did he start to pay attention to martial arts once again.
"I will tell you what you did wrong while you rest..."
…
'Time passed while Zhong and Luiz practiced.'
'But even though Luiz mastered so many techniques, he couldn't really feel that he was being watched by someone.'
'Or should I say, two people?'
'A little further away, on top of a small hill, a pair of a man and a woman watched the training of the young boys through a hologram.'
"..." The man was silent.
'He was wearing a dark blouse and pants. His hair was also dark and his eyes were sharp.
He looked like a strict person.'
"Look at you, aren't you proud? Come on! Say some encouraging words to him! Don't be shy!" Said the girl on the side.
'She was beautiful, having full red hair that seemed to shine under the sun. She was rather tall, being over 180 Cm. She was wearing a red dress that went all the way to her knees.'
"... He is just doing what he was supposed to. There is no need for me to interfere." Said the man with a small smile on his face.
"Ohhh! Look at you! You say that, but you are clearly ignoring the fact that the boy is learning a military technique in an illegal way right? Look at your smile... Don't be so stiff." Said the woman as she tapped his back
"...Sigh. You tire me sometimes."
But she is right, he grew up huh.
I used to be worried that my son would grow up to be a good for nothing, but since his grades and everything seemed alright, I never interfered.
But it all changed thanks to those two...
'His sight switched to the other boy, Luiz'
He is indeed talented.
I remembered when he mastered a Tier-3 technique, at that time I thought he was only a prodigy, but it was when he successfully helped my son master a Tier-4 that I noticed he was a talent.
A talent that is purposely hiding… The only thing I can do is ignore you for now. The current elite society wouldn't accept such a talented individual without a background...
I used to be bothered that my son didn't want to advance, I thought he was wasting his talent, but in truth, he was simply following his heart. So I didn't interfere much.
Looks like it was the right choice… Once they grow up, together with the son of that fat bastard, they are going to become a powerful and influential trio.
Tien is only going to rise from now on, there isn't anything else to do but to watch his rise.
He will come to me soon enough to ask about the family techniques. By that time I will finally be able to properly act like a dad.
As for the other kid… Should I introduce him to my older daughter? She has been single forever and I am starting to fear the possibility that she will remain so for a long while.
Hum… If I could make this young man enter my family, he would get access to all of our secret techniques, I wonder how fast he would master them…
But wouldn't that interfere with Tien's growth? He might switch from being a good friend to a competitor to the family inheritance...
I will think about this later.
/BRUMM!/
'From the sky, a loud horn echoed.'
'A large spaceship suddenly descended from the clouds, announcing its presence to the world.'
'It looked incredibly bulky, and the technological guns on the sides don't look friendly'
'The ship was red and white with a few touches of dark and blue.
There was a cross symbol being displayed via a hologram right behind it like a flag.
It read: Cosmos Medications.'
"... That fat bastard is here..."
'As if waiting for this, a blue beam suddenly formed behind them and a nice middle-aged fat man appeared from inside the beam.'
'He wasn't overly fat, it looked more like a… Healthy fat.
He looked like a gentle uncle. Although his eyes betrayed that. They were incredibly sharp.'
"You are here too, fatty." Said the man
"I couldn't miss the day my son advanced after all. Isn't that why you are also here?" Said the fatty.
"..."
Your lies won't take you anywhere. The kids still need to take their medications before advancing...
"In any case, I won't take much of your time, I am already cutting a few things out of my schedule just to be here."
'He took out a small cube-shaped device.'
'A hologram suddenly appeared from within.'
"This Is the list of everything I brought today. Only the highest quality materials as per my son's request."
"I don't want you to pester me later so here you go."
'The man took a look at the list and was surprised.'
"You truly didn't hold anything back!" Said the girl on the side.
"Of course! It's our son's future we are talking about here."
"... I will send the bill for some of the materials later… But what about the third boy?"
"Are you talking about young Carter? Pfft! Who do you think I am? I am going to pay for him of course!"
"It was thanks to him that my son changed so much! And for me, that's priceless. If he can continue to encourage my son to advance, hah. They might even become Energy Accumulation experts before their 20's."
"You are putting a lot of faith in them." Said Zhong's father
"Aren't you too?"
'The three talked for a little bit more before the fatty disappeared in a blue beam of light and the pair also left in a flying car.'
'Let the children figure things out by themselves...'
...
.
.
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Notes
That's about it.
Here's the synopsis for it:
404 years ago, Alpha Centauri A, B, and C, the closest stars to Earth, suddenly went Supernova at the same time.
There was no way for the people on Earth to know that since the stars are located over 4 light-years away from Earth.
Time passed as the people continued with their lives without knowing that their days were numbered...
A few years after the event, the many and advanced satellites sent into outer space noticed this phenomenon, and the world was turned upside down.
Yet, destruction never came... Instead, a new era came to take over the previous one.
The world shook as something started to change deep in its core, the seas turned as the tectonic plates moved.
Animals started to show weird behaviors and the plants started to mutate.
Humans fought against a myriad of strange things and over the generations grew used to this new Earth.
400 years since the event. The world had changed and the people's priority became others. Now, the strengthening of one's body was the top priority in all Human's lives.
Beauty, fame, wealth, power. All could be acquired as long as one became a Martial artist... If they had the talent for it.
...
... Somewhere deep in the mountains, a young man destroyed another large boulder with his fists.
"This should be enough for today right?"
'The young men turned around and left the area, if you looked behind him you would notice several such boulders scattered around the area...'
Let's follow his story in uncovering the true cause for the destruction of the triple stars that started this new era!
...
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง