Finishing his ore trajning protocol, he glanced around his apartment, realizing it looked like some wicked shit happened.
There was dark black and brown goo covering the floors, and it smelled absolutely horrid.
Andrew had to hold his breath coming out of the focus state, it was too much to handle.
He quickly got bleach and cleaning supplies and furiously started scrubbing.
"Phew, holy shit…. I gotta be more mindful the next time i do this, definitely gotta lay down some plastic sheets or something…" Andrew exhaled.
He immediately hopped in the shower after this, frantic to get the goo off his skin before he feared it would permanently stain his skin.
Stepping out of the shower, he started to feel around his body to examine it.
It felt as if his entire body was supercharged just from one session.
He felt light as a bee, he felt looser than ever before. those hidden injuries he accumulated and forgot about? Completely gone now.
He quickly checked his stat panel, eyes filled with anticipation.
"Status,"
[Status: Andrew Clancy
Strength : 45 (Average = 5)
Intelligence : — (Average = 10)
Endurance : 45 (Average = 5)
Agility : 45 (Average = 5)
(Locked)
(Locked)…
Talents: Talent : Low Grade - Level 1 Space-Void Body - (2X ALL Stats, Low Affinity to the Space-Void dimension)
Skills: Full Body Manipulation (Mastery), Meditation (Mastery), Pain Tolerance (High),
Lowest Grade Innate Energy Arts (High)
]
…
Seeing these stats, Andrew felt a hint of excitement and contentness.
All his visible stats had improved from 30 to 45.
He felt this round of training alone had broken past a crucial bottleneck, pushing his Innate Energy Arts from the mid level to the high level of comprehension.
Not only had that skill improved, but 2 of them had even reached mastery, and the other one hit high grade.
He felt greatly accomplished already, even within this short time span.
He quickly went to the mirror to admire himself.
Here he could see a difference for certain, not so much that he looked like a different person, but now he looked even more refined.
His body had surprisingly actually gotten more lean, but he didnt view this as a bad thing.
To him it felt like all his muscles were densely packed like the spring of a car's suspension, just waiting to burst out with an unstoppable momentum.
"Cant get too complacent…. Might be strong now, but compared to those true global geniuses, my talent and stats are still nothing…"
"Especially for those who have already been training, the old monsters that control the world through absolute power… this is just one step in the right direction…"
After steadying his heart, Andrew steeled his resolve.
"Right, let me get my pre workout shake ready for the 'protagonists' training session. Hopefully ill learn something for this."
He already felt in tip top shape even after busting ass, however he needed a little edge boost.
He quickly whipped up a concoction, packing it with all types of stimulants and over the counter performance enhancers.
Andrew had mastered this formula in just the right order of properties per compound to ensure max return with little stability risk.
Alone they might not be much, but all together thats where the magic happened.
"If you cant afford the expensive shit, gotta use what you can."
Shaking the bottle, he looked at the time, noticing it was already 6:45.
He quickly downed what he had, and then got a few bottles of water with a few packets of his hydration formula before sprinting out the house.
He knew Zachary probably wouldnt mind him being a bit late, but he didnt want to.
He knew he wanted to make a good impression and be there as soon as possible.
Sprinting down the road, Andrew felt as light as a feather.
He felt that if he ran just a bit faster, he would turn into the air itself.
Upon arriving at the park, it was relatively empty except for a few kids and parents.
A lot of people stopped what they were doing to stare for a few seconds unconsciously at Andrew.
The young kids looked with curiosity, the middle aged men with jealousy, and the middle aged moms with curiosity seemingly mixed with desire…
To these people, Andrew looked like a super model.
Andrew could feel the gazes as he walked over to the meet up spot past a patch of nearby trees with a clearing.
Here he saw Zachary, seemingly already hard at work, and he appeared to have been doing so for quite a while already.
He held a wooden sword, swinging it with extreme precision.
Andrew was kind of dumbstruck upon observation, he realized every swing seemed to contain power and sharpness that shouldnt even be possible from a wooden sword or its wielder being a high schooler.
"Yo, whats going on Zachary, already hard at work?" Andrew hollered out, breaking Zachary's attention away from his practice.
Zachary exhaled as he relaxed and put the sword down. Approaching Andrew, he wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve.
"Yea I felt that I was going to have a breakthrough in my swordsmanship after school—I decided to come here a few hours ago to stuff in some extra reps." Zachary said with a smile.
"Very nice… I also had a slight breakthrough in one of my techniques as well, except it was just a simple one i downloaded off the internet."
"I cant see through your technique, what exactly did you have a breakthrough in?" Andrew asked with faint curiosity.
"Its called sword intent… I didnt expect you to already have gotten a grasp on it so soon. The younger generation really will surpass us in no time." an old melancholic voice spoke.
Andrew immediatelt got on guard, he hadnt sensed this man before, but upon him coming out of the shadows, he realized who it was immediately.
"The old man that took Zachary as a disciple! I couldnt even sense him…" Andrew thought, his eyebrows slightly raised.
"Master!" Zachary yelled as he quickly got on one knee.
"Now now, theres no need to bow to me. With how things are going, at this rate ill be bowing before you in a few years." the old man said wirh a soft smile.
He turned his attention towards Andrew.
"I heard you might have some potential, Zachary recommended you to me…"
"However i dont really know if your suitable for my teachings or not," the old man said as he got right in front of Andrew.
"I need to test you first. I want you to throw a punch at me. As hard as you can, dont hold back, you can utilize any technique you want to…"
"Now, lets not waste any time, show me what you can do." the old man said, hands still clasped behind his back casually.
Andrew said no more, he knew there were no free lunches in this world.
He quickly got into his stance, similar to the one he used on the placement exam.
He focused on his entire body, he started to invigorate the innate energy within him.
The old man sensed this and his eyes widened for a split second before he slightly grinned.
_______