The next day, Andrew walked to school with Zachary and Dylan.
As he reflected on the prior day, he couldn't help but have a large smile on his face.
After finishing up Christian's awakening, he quickly got all the attention off him because of the commotion he caused.
The elders and dojo master quickly switched priority from him to Christian, with no follow-up words, as if he didn't exist.
He scoffed, remembering this, but was thankful for the development that mitigated a lot of problems.
He bid farewell to Christian relatively soon afterwards, but of course not before he got his contact information.
He began to laugh greedily, remembering the treasure that had made its way to him.
"Why are you laughing like that? Did something amazing happen?" Zachary asked curiously, snapping Andrew back into reality.
"Huh? Oh, nah… I'm just laughing because I remembered that I feel that I'm soon to make another breakthrough in my swordsmanship…" Andrew replied, covering up his behavior with fluidity.
"Damn… Y'all are so cool with your swordsmanship… I wish I had a talent for the sword," Dylan said with a sigh.
"Yeah, I mean anyone could do it, just gotta have the desire to learn and you will eventually."
"Speaking of, I forgot to tell you guys, but I recently just entered the body cultivation realm!" Zachary spoke exuberantly, subtly gauging the other two's reaction.
"Bruh… They haven't even begun to start teaching us that shit yet!" Andrew replied with annoyance.
Andrew remembered something and quickly pulled up Zachary's stat panel.
[Status - Zachary Yueler
Stats - unavailable
Talent -
[Status - Zachary Yueler
Stats - (unavailable)
Talent : Low Grade - Level 3 Space-Void Body (Growth Type) - (4x ALL Stats, Low Affinity to the Space-Void dimension)(Unawakened)
]
Andrew's face twitched upon seeing this.
"Of course, why wouldn't he be growing this fast… damn!" he thought to himself, as he felt a bit of energy drain from his body.
He shook his head, slightly sighing. He knew this was a protagonist's destiny, but somehow he felt like he was already falling behind.
"Whatever, a short-term lead won't affect my long-term trajectory…" he thought, as he continued his way to school.
….
The day wrapped up smoothly, with nothing new occurring in terms of classes.
However, they received an announcement that there would be a senior year competition to take place in exactly 2 weeks from the day.
They would be tasked with sparring against a few other high schools in a fairly large competition.
The top 10 winners would receive a special prize, with the top 3 being able to make a special request for anything within a limit.
Andrew thought about it and decided it was best to show off a bit in this; he was aiming for third place.
He put some thought behind this decision, and considered that there's no way anyone would be truly exceptional at this competition.
Plus, the competition was 4 days after his 2nd talent could be copied, in which he was thoroughly prepared to make a decision that could fly under the radar if they suspected anything.
Arriving at his house, he went up the elevator of the apartment complex and unlocked his door.
He felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough for his innate energy technique, so he wanted to lock in on this for the day.
He set his bag down and took a seat next to the window, with a few towels set around him to catch any possible gunk.
"I'm quite curious what the effects of mid accomplishment in comprehension will have on my physique…" he thought, as he closed his eyes and delved into the depths of his body.
Time passed slowly for Andrew; however, he was in no rush.
Eventually, as the sun moved over the horizon, a pink haze filled the room.
Andrew began to slowly open his eyes, a faint gold tint present.
He got up, stretching his body.
He smiled, clenching his fist as a golden aura began to extend outwards.
"So… this is what mid accomplishment looks like!"
"Extension of the innate energy outside one's body, quite remarkable indeed!" he thought, beginning to focus on morphing the barely visible energy into different shapes.
Andrew already had numerous ideas about how he could most efficiently use this power; however, he'd need to do some real-world testing.
He looked at the time, and realized he had about 30 minutes until he was to meet with Zachary and Master Quazo.
He quickly made a thick concoction, which slid down his gullet like a snail.
Upon brushing his teeth, he set out to the park.
….
It only took about 2 minutes before Andrew arrived, moving at substantial speed.
The pedestrians he passed who weren't paying attention only noticed a gust of wind blow past them and the apparition of his fleeting body.
Andrew stood in the open clearing surrounded by trees, spotting a figure only about 15 feet away from him.
Just as he was about to say what's up to his fellow disciple in training, he paused for a moment before his eyes went wide.
"No way, this kid broke through his swordsmanship again?!"
Andrew couldn't believe what he was seeing, or rather sensing.
Every movement of Zachary's carried ferocious power not belonging to a fresh body tempering martial artist.
Extraordinary precision and speed, while Zachary almost seemed to just be playing with the sword like a kid's toy.
Andrew didn't say anything, keeping his distance to observe.
He began to decrypt his movements; he began to understand Zachary's emotional intent, followed by the subtle twitches of muscle fibers.
Andrew wasted no time, quickly grabbing a tree branch.
He watched closely, as he began to slowly move with slightly rugged movements.
It only took a few moments before Andrew began to adapt Zachary's movements to his own body; he began waving the stick in hand with increasing precision.
Slowly but surely, he began to flow between movements, seemingly becoming one with his intent.
He began to close his eyes, as he entered a strange state of comprehension.
Zachary noticed Andrew's arrival; however, didn't heed too much mind to it, as he was very focused himself.
In the midst of his own training, his ring master's voice boomed in his head to pause what he was doing and quickly look at Andrew.
Zachary watched for some time, maybe ten minutes, maybe twenty; he didn't know how much time passed, nor did he care.
"That kid… is indeed extremely special," Zachary's master's voice resounded in his head.
Zachary had a serious look on his face as he nodded, somewhat devoid of words.
"To think he could reach this level just by observing. And the innate energy within his body is far more abundant than someone who hadn't even taken a step into body tempering yet…"
"It seems like you'll indeed have some competition, Zachary. Maybe not now, but in the future."
"He could become your biggest ally or your biggest threat; it's going to be up to you to decide what you want."
Zachary's master had his own thoughts on the situation but kept it at this.
He had seen countless geniuses, but he had an odd suspicion about Andrew.
"…"
Zachary didn't immediately respond; however, he began to also have some thoughts regarding this.
As of now, though, he was just to observe and ponder.
….
Andrew began to slow down at some point, after an unknown time had passed.
He opened his eyes, breathing a long exhale.
He quickly realized he had fallen into a trance for God knows how long. He quickly looked for Zachary and Master Quazo, hoping he didn't miss his training session.
It didn't take long for his eyes to land upon them.
Quazo was sat underneath a tree with a soft smile on his face, Zachary next to him with a slightly astonished expression.
"Quite marvelous progress, my disciple," Master Quazo spoke, with a demeanor showing genuine enthusiasm.
"Thank you, Master. It was all thanks to Zachary at the end of the day; his training allowed me to have a breakthrough of my own."
"I suspect I'm at the mid accomplishment stage in basic swordsmanship; becoming one with the sword."
"Fantastic, the new generation will truly surpass the last!"
"I also sense within you a strong innate energy; I'm assuming you also broke through in that, no?"
Andrew scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
This tickled his ego in just the right way, but he didn't mind it.
"Yes, I did," he responded with a nod of his head.
"To think, you haven't even stepped into body tempering yet. Your foundation will be excellent! The both of you will be unparalleled within the same realm."
"However, I have noticed something, and because it has been brought to my attention, I can't just stand by," Master Quazo said, as he began to stand up, reaching into his robe.
Andrew was slightly puzzled, and so was Zachary, as they looked at each other in confusion.
"For you, Andrew, I can tell you are practicing the lowest grade of innate energy arts right now. It's not bad, but you should've realized by now there's a limit to how high you can go with it…"
Andrew nodded to this, as he realized that about one level prior.
Master Quazo continued; "And as for you, Zachary… I noticed that as of now you aren't actually practicing any foundational skills to boost your power within the same realm…"
"Which is why, I want to present both of you with a gift."
Master Quazo's arm began to come out from behind his back, and what he presented to both Andrew and Zachary made them ecstatic.
_____