Upon finishing up their sword practice, Andrew had felt that he now had a very decent grasp of the basic moves.
To him it seemed a bit slower than he initially expected, however he knew this was only because he was comparing himself to Zachary, the 'protagonist' with unknown mysteries that would push him to the top.
"Pretty solid work for today, don"t you agree Andrew?" Zachary asked with a smile on his face, sitting down on the grass up against a nearby tree, wiping the sweat off his face.
"Yea, I guess in some ways..." Andrew responded, slightly disgruntled as he already felt he was somehow falling behind even with his ridiculous comprehension speed.
He looked at his stat panel, seeing the new skill being "Beginner Sword Skills [High]", making him feel a bit less frustrated.
"Yo, Zachary... what exactly allows you to learn so fast? I mean, not to pry on your secrets per say, but i guess i'm just curious because i feel like i'm already pretty far behind." Andrew asked blatantly, sort of out of nowhere.
He was hesitant to ask this question, mainly because he already had the idea somewhere in his head that there was a secret he probably would never speak to anyone.
Surprisingly, Zachary actually gave a response, which was far out of Andrews expectations.
"Hm, well I guess i can kinda trust you... But all i can really say is i've received an out of the ordinary blessing in disguise--an opportunity if you must say." Zachary muttered quietly, whilst looking up towards the sky.
"What kind of opportunity was it?" Andrew asked back, curious and casual, as to not alarm Zacharys defenses.
"I guess you could say I managed to receive the teachings of a very powerful man, beyond the comprehension of anyone who lives on this planet..."
"Reaching a level of martial arts unknown to us all... Thats all I can say though, he's a very secretive man. You must not tell anyone about this, as you should know." Zachary said with a stone cold serious expression.
"Yes... I understand! Your secrets completely safe with me." Andrew responded, putting a hand on his heart, as if to swear an oath to secrecy.
"Well, lets not get too caught up chit chatting. It is already quite late, we both need to get home and get ready for school tomorrow." Zachary said with a smile, as he started to get up from where he was sitting.
"Alright, I guess were gonna have to head in opposite directions then, lets catch up a bit at school in the morning. Ill catch you later, Zachary!"
"Likewise, ill see you at school tomorrow bro!"
.....
Upon departing from Zachary, Andrew began to ponder.
"Hmmm, he has a super powerful Master that just so happens to have come into contact with him? It doesn't really make any sense though, he might have latent abilities, but they shouldn't be so powerful they caught the attention of a big shot..."
Andrew stroked the subtle peach fuzz on his face, a habit that had accompanied him from his past life when he sported a goatee.
"I mean, he is the protagonist after all, theres no need for me to ponder this too much, his secrets are his secrets after all. Its not like he asked me to reveal anything about myself even though my progress hasn't fallen too far behind, even though I should be far less talented."
"Whatever, the truth will come eventually at some point anyway. Best for me to stay in my own lane for now and just focus on getting stronger before I really do start to fall behind."
....
Meanwhile, across town in a low quality slum area, Zachary had just arrived to his "residence", being a subtle trash heap among the many.
"So, master… do you think i said the right thing?" Zachary pondered while slightly nervous.
"I mean, I cant say you said exactly the right thing, but the situation did require a bit of an explanation. After all, you can only keep secrets as such before people start asking questions…"
"I would say it was a reasonable answer though in the given situation, at least he shouldn't suspect too much more, especially being such a young kid." The master responded, slightly pondering inside the soul space.
"I wonder though, that kid must also have some untold secrets he cant reveal. After all, it makes no sense that even I cant see through his destiny, and his sudden surge of power."
"Theres a very high chance he also has received the teaching of a powerhouse, however im confident that powerhouse must not be more powerful than I am. The gap between efficiency of cultivation should become more obvious the higher the understanding is required…"
"However, if he still manages to keep up regardless, then it must be the case that his master shouldn't be any weaker than I am. The only thing i fear is not knowing who exactly this could be." Zacharys Master spoke, his voice resounding in Zacharys consciousness.
"Well regardless of the case, he should be a solid ally for me to keep by my side. After all, you did see the power he evoked against the foundation establishment master." Zachary said, his voice filled with a subtle certainty.
Zachary quickly set up his bed, ready to hit the sack for the night.
His bed being a trash-bag filled with cotton and another industrial trash-bag to act as his blanket for the night.
"We shall see what the future has in store…" Zacharys masters voice resounded once more, before everything went quiet upon Zacharys slow breathing being the only audible sound.
…..
The next day at school, Andrew approached the schools gates, in his hands was a sheet of paper with the classes he would be taking starting this school year.
He took a glance at it, a resolute expression on his face.
3 of the 4 classes he was to take would be martial arts classes.
"I cant say i'm not excited, but I hope these classes wont be a waste of my time…" he thought to himself, pondering slightly before moving towards the school slowly.
Just then, he caught a shimmer of light through his peripheral vision.
He quickly darted his head towards his right, and immediately became somewhat unable to speak out of shock.
"Beautiful…."
This was the first word that flashed through his mind.
What his eyes lay upon ended up being a beauty, with the most unique appearance and aura he had ever experienced.
It was a girl, about five foot 6 inches tall, a slender waist, a beautifully proportioned lower body and a bountiful chest.
A face so beautiful he stopped mid stride, with eyes seemingly as white as snow.
He only managed to see this for a split second before she had already passed him, and in her hand he noticed a similar piece of paper to the one he held, as well as other passing students.
The further she walked, the more every student seemed to pause in disbelief.
Young men almost had to stop their eyes from bulging out of their heads, the young women seemed to look upon in subtle envy.
"What the fuck… since when did we have a girl like that at our school?" said one student to his friend in bewilderment.
"Never…. But i did hear something from my dad the other day. He's a professors assistant in the martial arts department, he said there was a new transfer student from an unknown background that got admitted in less than a day…" responded the student, shaking his head slightly whilst biting his lip in immediate admiration.
Overhearing this, Andrew suddenly felt something was wrong.
"Isn't this… too cliche of a plot development?"
He started to scan the students all walking into the school, and he immediately pinpointed a particularly dirty looking student, hair draped over his eyes, a figure that spoke of untold trauma and despair.
Zachary looked behind him, as if to feel a subtle gaze.
He quickly spotted Andrew, ready to approach him to say hello with a subtle expression of joy.
However, upon taking a couple steps forward, he realized that someone had gotten in front of him without him noticing.
A light wind blew, exposing Zacharys eyes and soft but almost perfect facial features.
His eyes that seemed to inhabit the essence of darkness itself, and they came into contact with eyes that seemed to be able to expel darkness through purity.
"Oh shit… theres no way…" Andrew thought to himself before he started to chuckle to himself out of disbelief.
It only lasted for a couple seconds, but the moving figure of the young lady seemed to have paused.
Although she didn't spare a glance at anyone else the whole time she walked towards the school, she actually stopped to look at Zachary.
From Zacharys perspective, he noticed she gave a faint smile before pivoting around him and continuing forward.
"Did… she just smile at me?"
…..