Chapter 144: I will not give up!

On the emerald green lawn, in the back yard of Granny's cozy little hut, two figures could be seen standing just a few steps away from each other. 

One of them was a female woman seemingly in her thirties, dressed in a simple white linen shirt with khaki-colored linen pants. Her shoulder-length silver fluttered in the wind. She had a small, friendly smile on her face as she looked at her eager opponent.

"Are you ready, Aiden?" She asked the boy in front of him. "Remember, your goal is to successfully land a hit on me. If you do so before I can successfully tire you out, then you can be considered the victor."

"If I win, will you allow what I asked?" The boy asked with a questioning stare. "You promised to us before!"

Hearing his question and retort, Number 3 chuckled a bit before answering.

"Yes, of course, Aiden. I will stay true to my word. If you can win, then you have my and Granny's permission to get back to the city. Although I have to tell you, I have no idea what is so interesting in that place..."

"I want to see more of the world, Master." He answered, after a moment of thought. "I don't want to stay inside and train all the time… The Guild Hall that Lily talked about sounds really fun, I want to experience that life a bit." 

He gave an honest sounding answer. While it was true that he wanted to see more of the world, the real reason behind his push to let them go out was to gather more information about the location he needed to find and visit for his main quest. There was a timer on that quest after all, and he had already spent a full week with this training. 

Even if this week of training wasn't a waste and that he benefited a lot from it, he still made zero progress on the matter. His first idea, to gather information about it in the Goblin Village was a dead end too. The new leader had even less of an idea of what was going on. Their whole tribe was used merely as pawns in a big chess game.

While Aiden got into his starting poise, Number 3 stood calm and collected, without any apprehension at all. With the same smile, she reminded Aiden.

"Remember, no transforming this time. Try to rely on yourself and reflect on your gains from your meditation! Otherwise, there's no point to our little bout!"

Nodding, Aiden agreed to his Master's words. Then, just as how Number 3 taught him, he cupped his fists and bowed slightly towards her as a show of respect. 

Number 3 repeated the motion with a smile. Smilingly, she gave the order.

"Come Aiden, show me what you got!"

A momentary golden light zapped through Aiden's eyes, as he smiled in anticipation. He planted his foot in the ground, contorting, stretching the muscles in his calves. 

In the next moment, with incredible speed and momentum, he launched himself forward, kicking off a handful of dust and greenery in the air. As his figure vanished from his starting spot, Number 3 made a simple upside swing with her hand in the air. Her hand left several afterimages in its arc. As her open palm reached the peak of her movement in a fraction of a second, it made contact with something solid. She gently pushed back on the solid matter, revealing Aiden's fist as it revealed itself. He had to take a few steps back in response to her simple parry. While it seemed harmless, it still carried a tremendous amount of force.

Both movements were incredibly fast to the naked, untrained eye. Lily only saw as his brother vanished and then at the same moment got thrown back by a simple movement from her Master.

"Wooaaah! Look at that boys! Brother and Master are fighting again!" She exclaimed with sparkling eyes, plopping down to the ground. Sam and Biggy took their spots on her sides, lying down and silently enjoying the battle of these titans.

Although his first attack failed, Aiden immediately jumped into action once again, vanishing from his spot and kicking off another handful of dirt and grass. 

Number 3 swung her left palm sideways around her hip. Once again, the movement looked incredibly simple, yet, it seemed to distort space, leaving behind several afterimages along the curve it took. Upon reaching the end of the momentum, it once again hit solid matter that just took shape in the form of Aiden's right shin flying towards her with great speeds.

She once again gently pushed the leg back, while also giving a thrust with her right open palm on Aiden's chest, causing the boy to violently flung back several meters in the air, only to crash and thumble more in the ground.

Silence ensued over the yard after Aiden finally stopped rolling. Lily looked with a stunned expression at her master, unable to believe her eyes. She really had the urge to jump up and assist her brother, but she knew that this was their business, and none of them would appreciate her meddling. In the end, she could only clench her fists and look at her brother lying on the ground with an eager, hopeful expression.

"Use your energy Aiden. Relying on your own speed will not get you further than this." Number 3 sighed, trying to give some advice to her eager pupil

"I know, Master…" Aiden replied as he jumped up, without any sign of damage. He was slightly dirty, but besides that, he was still in tip-top shape. "I just wanted to test the waters a bit first…"

Focusing on his system, he quickly activated the [Mystic Martial Arts] skill. Feeling as how he could feel the energy flowing, streaming relentlessly in his body, he inhaled a large amount of air and closed his eyes.

Holding it in for a moment, he engorged himself to this feeling… He slowly exhaled all the excess air he still held in his lungs, clearing his mind. Suddenly, a thin golden layer of energy formed around him, creating a sort of transparent, shiny bubble. Letting go of all the stress in his body, he simply took a step forward.

Contrary to the expected result, he once again vanished from his spot, but this time there was no dirt lunged in the air. It was as if he truly vanished. In the next instant, his figure appeared just a few steps in front of Number 3.

Number 3 smiled and nodded approvingly at this change. With an eager expression on her face, she spoke.

"Come, it's time for round 2!"

"Gladly!" Aiden answered with a bright smile, both of them vanishing in the next second.

---

Lily had a pouting expression as she watched the two blurry figures clashing against each other at high speeds. She couldn't make out anything, everything happened too fast for her eyes to follow. Seeing how far behind she was compared to her brother, she only clenched her fists even tighter. 

In the past, she probably would turn sad, maybe even depressed seeing how big of a chasm there is between herself and her brother in terms of power. But that was in the past, she will not be left behind any longer. She will not let herself get into trouble, only to wait in frustration to be rescued by her family. No. Not anymore.

"I need to get stronger. At this rate, I'm just a burden to him... I'm only holding him back…" she muttered to herself. Remembering her master's words, a newfound determination surfaced in her heart clearing any doubt she previously had. 

"I can't falter, I will not give up! I will stand beside my brother and not behind him!"

Changing her position, she returned to the cross-legged meditating position just how she was instructed. Inhaling a large amount of air, she closed her eyes, and slowly exhaled, relaxing her troubled mind and heart. She no longer had any desire to watch the spectacle in front of her, it no longer mattered. She wanted to catch up, close that chasm, and be able to stand closer to her brother. Even if their styles are different, she still wanted to be as close to him in terms of power as possible.

Sam and Biggy as if feeling Lily's newly formed zeal, also closed their eyes and slumped slightly closer to their master, resting their heads on her knees. 

As the seconds slowly passed, soon the disturbing noises from the outside started to fade. It was as if she was in a separate space, unrelated to everything around her. Her mind calmed down, there were no needless thoughts, only the desire to get stronger. The disturbing images and visions faded, only leaving Lily with newfound clarity. 

As she continued to calmly meditate, and focus on this feeling, this calming emptiness, the darkness that surrounded her heart started to crack, similar to how a chick would crack its shell when she was about to be born. A mixture of white and green light escaped through the cracks, shattering the previous empty void, creating a new world that did not exist inside her before...