The disciples all looked at each other in stunned silence.
They felt it hard to believe the result of the exchange.
"…Yes?" One of them responded in hesitation.
"Okay, perfect then, let me go and fetch my friend so we can fulfill our bet." Andrew replied with a soft smirk, as he quickly made his way out of the dojo.
Once he was out of sight, chatter began to fill the empty silence.
"…That really happened, right?" One of them remarked.
"I mean, we were all watching the fight go down. He clearly had an advantage in terms of mobility."
"Yea, and his movements were so pristine; his control over his body was remarkable!"
They all began to look at each other, and with a nod of their heads, they came to an unspoken agreement.
One of them jumped into the ring, directing other disciples to get a bucket of water.
The one in the ring quickly dumped it over the head of the still unconscious disciple.
He awoke startled, frantically looking around.
"Wha-what the hell happened?!"
"You lost the fight bruh, that's what happened." The disciple who woke him said, shaking his head.
"Regardless of the result, call the elders… we need to recruit this young man!"
"Huh? Uh, okay I guess…" he fumbled in his pockets for a moment before pulling out his phone and dialing a number.
….
On Andrew's side of things, he made his way out of the building, spotting the young genius sitting on a nearby curb.
He seemed to be muttering inaudibly to himself, his leg quickly moving up and down.
"Its been quite a bit of time… What the hell's happening inside right now? This anticipation is killing me." He muttered, glancing at the time on his phone every few seconds.
"Yo! Christian!" Andrew yelled over from the doorway.
Christian quickly whipped his head around, and upon spotting Andrew's slightly disheveled appearance, he began to assume the worst.
"Well… did you lose? You lost didn't you… it's all my fault, I shouldn't have let you go in there!"
"Shut the hell up," Andrew spoke, cutting him off.
"I won dumbass, get over here. I have a gift for you waiting inside."
Andrew waving him over with a smile completely broke Christian's expectations.
His eyes went wide as he mechanically stood up and walked towards the entrance.
Inside the building, Christian was shocked by the fancy interior.
He had never actually made it past the front reception, so this was a pleasant surprise.
He looked around like a kid in a candy store, as Andrew led him deeper into the complex, through the training grounds under the watch of many hesitant disciples.
They arrived before a door, Christian immediately realizing where he had been brought.
"Is this… what I think it is?" He asked slightly reluctant to continue fourth.
"Yea bro, don't hesitate. Walk in and awaken that talent if you wanna have a shot at not being a loser…" Andrew replied with a smile.
Christian swallowed hard, focusing back in the door, as he opened it and stepped inside.
What greeted him was a sight that he couldn't imagine.
A massive talent awakening crystal!
"This thing has to be at least 3-4 times bigger than the one at school!" He thought with marvel looking at the rough cut stone in front of him.
It even had a slightly different color compared to the one he had originally tested on earlier in the year. This was a deep shade of purple with luminescent white specks hovering inside of it.
He never saw anything quite like it before, although he was slightly familiar with there being different grades of awakening stones.
"Well, here goes nothing…" he muttered, before placing his hand on the side of the stone.
As soon as he did so, he felt a force surge into the depths of his body, seemingly tugging at something indescribable.
….
Outside of the room, Andrew stood by the door with expectancy.
He wasn't sure what kind of effect this kid would produce from awakening his ability.
He was quite certain that it would be even more powerful than Zachary's awakening.
After all, it was a high-grade talent right from the get go.
Andrew stood in anticipation, before he began to hear a slight commotion coming from behind him.
He turned around, and what greeted him was 3 figures in black robes walking towards him.
They were all middle-aged men who carried an authoritative presence.
Behind them following in suit, was a man in golden robes, with the depiction of a white dragon, followed by a black belt.
"Of course… why wouldn't they call the higher ups of the dojo…" he thought, shaking his head in annoyance.
It only took a few seconds for them to get beside him, and they immediately began to talk.
"Hello youngster. We are the elders of this dojo, and it has been brought to our attention that you had an altercation with one of our disciples…"
Another one followed up, "We understand things happen, however you should also understand you have intruded upon our sacred area of training… you understand what this means correct?"
"So, what you really want to say is that I must join you, or else you'll cause me trouble?" Andrew responded plainly with little expression.
"Well, we won't necessarily cause you trouble… however anything can happen in this world, as you should know."
"Unavoidable accidents happen all the time to talented individuals after all."
Andrew took a glance at the leader still standing behind these 3 elders, who had a smug expression all over his face.
He had yet to say anything, but Andrew knew these henchmen of his would be the only ones speaking for him.
"Typical cliche…" he thought with slight grievance.
Just then, before anyone else had the opportunity to say anything, the entire building began to inexplicably shake.
At first it was subtle, but it slowly began to build in intensity.
"What the—" one disciple yelled.
"Earthquake!!" Another yelled.
"Shit! Everyone, calm down, the building is specially reinforced for these exact situations." The leader finally spoke with an authoritative tone.
However, as he was saying this, by the second, the building began to shake more and more.
At one point, it felt as if the entire building wouldn't be able to hold out anymore.
The shaking became so powerful even Andrew felt himself circulating his innate energy art to maintain stability. Outside the dojo, it was becoming even more chaotic.
In a full one kilometer radius, it was becoming apparent not everyone was prepared for this.
Street shops began to shake violently, screams began to ring out, civilians scrambled for cover.
Just then, when it felt like it reached its peak, a powerful pressure began to build, sucking the air out of everyone's chest.
In the dojo, this effect was even more pronounced, the pressure was so powerful even the elders began to sweat profusely.
Andrew was no exception of course, he was almost brought down to his knees because of this.
Then, the feeling of impending doom began to propagate.
It was as if the world was ending, nobody understood what was happening.
"Shit!! This kid's talent is way more terrifying than I imagined!" Andrew thought trying to back away from the room.
However, deep within him, even through this inexplicable aura, he felt profound happiness.
"I really cashed out the right connection this time around!"
Just as things reached their limit, the loud sounds of numerous beasts began to reverberate through the area.
"Leader! This seems like a powerful beast has appeared somewhere in the town!"
"What should we do?!" The elders yelled frantically.
Everything settled in an instant, as if it had never happened in the first place.
People began trying to collect their bearings, however it was obvious how shook everyone was.
Then, there was the sound of a door opening.
Everyone quickly turned their heads towards the talent awakening room.
The door slowly creaked open, a figure appearing in the opening.
Everyone stood in horror as Christian slowly walked out.
His eyes were closed, yet everyone could tell something had changed.
Andrew could intrinsically feel a sense of danger using his senses.
Christian slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pattern of a multitude of colors, a fierceness hidden within.
He slowly turned to Andrew, laughing cheerfully.
"I succeeded!"
______