It had taken a few minutes of convincing, but Seth was finally able to persuade Kong that they were in no shape to continue their little adventure. To be exact, Seth was the one exhausted, Kong apparently had energy to spare as he had spent most of the fight in the Earthworm’s throat. Thet ime spent arguing with Kong also allowed Seth to recover some of his energy. It didn’t bring him back to full strength, but at least he wouldn’t be completely helpless if something sprung up.

It was during this talk that Kong finally revealed his Awaken ability. It was more of a slip of tongue on Kong’s part, but Seth was able piece together what his true capability was. Kong had a powerful physique and was probably considered one of the strongest for his age. His Awakening allowed him to boost his strength by a factor of two. Doubling your strength was considered a common Awakening, but Kong’s was different.

He could boost his strength more then once.

There was a limit, but Kong hadn’t revealed what it was. He had only mention that the boost doubled his strength each time until his body could no longer take it. It was quite the powerful ability, enough to make Seth jealous as he didn’t have own Awakening yet. The only thing special about him in his eyes was that he could use chi for his body and combat. However, that had taken years of dedication and training. Awakenings would give a person new power that would take time to control, bit at most it would only be a period of adjustment. A martial artist on the other hand would need to spend years and resources to be able to complete with an actual Awaken.

That might explain why there were so little people who knew about Martial Artist in the first place. It just took too much effort to become one.

It took dedication, time, and effort for martial artist to hone their skills. Seth would not consider himself a true Martial Artist as he never took part in formal training. His master only considered himself a semi-expert in combat skills and passed them onto Seth.

Everyone had their own path, but that was the only path open to Seth at his young age when Seth had discovered his master as Seth had never Awaken any special abilities. If he had Awaken any special powers, his master had said he would help guide him.

Seeing Seth’s state wasn’t perfect and his own body covered in blood, Kong finally relented to Seth idea of retreating back to the city. Kong had thought o dragging the corpse back but gave up in the end as that would attract numerous predators who smelled the blood. The Earthworm hadn’t exactly died a clean death as blood still trinkled out of the part Seth had cut off. Not to mention there was a hole where Kong had burst free at the end.

Dragging the body back would be perfect for Kong who was always seeking for combat, but less than ideal as Seth was still weak. The worm was just too heavy for him to carry. If they ran across anything as they made their way back, then it would be left to Kong. That was the major reason why Seth was able to convince Kong that they should return.

“You know, you never did tell me why you brought me out here with you,” Seth asked Kong as they made their way back to the city.

Kong scratched the back of his head and spoke “...You’re the only one my age that I’ve seen that can match me in a fight. I thought it was a pity that you were in a slump, so I decided to take you out to fix that. No point in moping, just go out and hit things is the best way to fix a slimp.”

Seth was shocked. It seem that Kong had sharper s eyes then he gave him credit for. He grinned. “Thanks man. I guess I needed this trip. I do feel a lot better.”

“Who cares about you? I didn’t want the only person who can keep up with me to be such a drag. I need a partner when I come out beyond the wall and you're the only one who fits the bill,” Kong huffed and picked up the pace, walking ahead of Seth.

“Sure, sure.” Seth said as he followed along, this time content to let Kong take the lead.

***

The next morning, Seth reported to Jacks at the Federation base, feeling much more refreshed. He could have taken a few more days off to relax, but Seth saw it as a waste. However, he had no doubt Kong would be taking advantage of this as he seemed to be an expert in playing hooky.

“Are you sure your fine Seth? There's no need to rush back. You are only an intern so you can take a few more days off.” Jacks said after staring at Seth.

“It’s fine. I’m feeling much better,” Seth replied.

“Suit yourself. I was told to tell you to report to Room 304 when you do come in. I wasn’t expecting you toreturn so fast though. Do you know where that room is?”

“ I’m sure I can manage, but why up there?” When Jacks was giving the tour of the place, he had only mention that the third floor was for the upper brass and avoided showing them anything else.

“Beats me. I’m just the messenger. I’ll let them know you’re coming. Go on, shoo! ” Jacks said as he waved Seth out of the room.

Seth immediately left Jacks’s office and went to the third floor of the Federation base. Finding the room itself wasn’t difficult as there were arrow signs placed for people to find offices or room numbers.

301,302,303....ah there. Seth had passed a few rooms before locating the room he needed to report to. He had wondered who was looking for him. It wasn’t because he signed up as a mercenary yesterday was it? He hadn’t done anything that would break the rules recently either. It was then he located the room and noticed the golden plaque right below the room number.

No way, Seth thought. The golden plaque on the door had two words on it in bold letters.

BASE COMMANDER.

Was his eye tricking him? Seth had already begun to think he had made a mistake and was about to walk to Jacks office to confirm. However before he could turn around, a voice rumbled out of the room.

“Come in.”

Whoever was inside knew he was right outside their door. It was too late to back out, so Seth entered the office. He knew who the Base commander was, but had never seen the person himself. The base commander was an illusive figure in Seth’s mind as he never expected to meet the person as an intern. He had figured that unless a disaster occurred, the only chance to meet him was if he was higher ranked in the Federation.

He entered and saw a normal looking office. What caught his eye immediately was the person completely dress in red armor writing away on a document. It was completely different from Federation standard uniform. The person wore a helmet with iron plate on the side. There was a menacing face mask that hid the persons face. Seth could see armored plates covering the shoulders and arms. If he hadn’t known better already, Seth would have thought this person was prepared to head off for battle.

It was the famed protector of Oasis city himself.

The man, the myth, the legend himself.

Red Lightning.