“I’m just going to ask to be sure,” said Senator Alexandre, “but is she going to participate in the practical segments of this class?”

“No, sir,” replied Gaius. “She doesn’t want to be separated from me.”

“Yeah, I’m just here to cheer big bro on!”

“A good enough reply, Harvester…?”

“Gaius, sir.”

“Harvester Gaius, eh? How much experience do you have with short-bladed weapons?” asked the senator.

Gaius thought back to his memories as an assassin, and then swiftly concluded that the good senator wouldn’t believe him if he said decades. “Four years, sir.”

It was the truth…well, if one accepted that Gaius just lopped the digit 0 off the end.

“So, you think you’re experienced, then?”

Gaius nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Well, at least you’re confident.” Senator Alexandre passed a wooden knife over to Gaius, its end dipped in red ink, and then gripped one of his own. “We can start whenever you’re ready.”

Gaius examined the knife, and with a practiced motion, balanced it on his finger. This was a practice tool…one that he clearly had used before. As he pretended to assess the knife, Gaius’ vision warped, and the surroundings changed.

He was in yet another memory.

Except this time, he was facing off with a teen clad in black in a wrestling ring. Gaius tried to move, but the moment he tried to wrestle for control, his opponent’s body flickered.

Gaius’ body moved on its own, grabbing the opponent’s knife-wielding arm at the wrist to press it downwards, pulling his opponent close. At the same time, his right leg kicked out at an impossibly odd angle, connecting with the opponent’s shoulder and sending him flying.

“Good try. But your attacks are too straightforward.” A voice erupted from Gaius’ mouth, a low baritone that compelled authority. At these words, Gaius realised that he wasn’t the trainee in the scenario — he was the trainer! “Even novices expect a stab to follow from an unguarded angle after the enemy vanishes from sight, no matter how fast he or she might be.”

“Yes sir.”

“Next.”

Hundreds…no, thousands of similar memories layered themselves over each other, and Gaius’ consciousness reeled backwards as they all came crashing into him. The time, place, opponent and even weapon might have changed, but one thing stayed the same.

The memory of the assassin teaching his protégés, over and over again. He could vividly feel his muscles move in a precise, mechanical fashion, recall the thoughts that flowed through his mind as he looked at his students and re-experience the fearsome intuition, he had been gifted with on Earth.

The black void vanished as Gaius grasped the crystal of memory firmly, and he was back in Heritage Basestation again, facing off against Senator Alexandre in the Sheltered Duelling Grounds.

Gaius smiled gently, like the teacher he had been. The wooden knife was comfortable in his grip, and as the knife danced around his hand, Gaius felt some semblance of safety for the first time in Orb. The wooden knife vanished from his hand, and in the next moment, his entire body had vanished into thin air, leaving only the sounds of rushing wind in his wake.

Senator Alexandre’s expression abruptly changed, as though as he had sensed a predator awakening. Qi churned within him, while his body wheeled around to confront the enemy at the back — and then a prickly sensation ran up his back. His hand flew out to intercept the incoming stab, but his eyes widened as someone else’s hand grabbed his and pulled him closer.

Red streaked across his vision, but before it drew close enough, it vanished, and then the fleeting silhouette of Gaius vanished with a solemn finality. Senator Alexandre trembled as cold red ink splattered across his throat, while at the same time he felt another eight slashes paint his back red.

The force of these slashes combined to form a greater whole, overwhelming his attempts to balance himself, and by the time he recovered from his stumble, Gaius was pointing an ink-free wooden knife at his neck. There had been no time for him to use any qi in this fight at all…and a quiver of fear ran up the senator’s spine at that realisation.

Gaius stowed the knife and bowed towards him. The boy was beginning to feel a tinge of regret at bullying the senator so openly. Defeating an instructor in a fight was nothing compared to outright dominating a senator in close combat…especially when said senator had no chance to use his cultivation base at all.

Senator Alexandre got up, a complicated expression on his face. “Talented doesn’t even begin to describe you. Perhaps only a handful of Knights could face you, and that’s if they employ their cultivation base entirely. But you…you haven’t even gotten past the first step!”

His expression flickered as he realised that the entire duelling grounds had fallen silent. The other Harvesters had all noticed his defeat too, and for a moment, the urge to dig a hole on the spot and jump inside it was overwhelming. But it seemed that it wasn’t just the senator’s defeat that had silenced the other Harvesters.

“He…didn’t even use any qi.”

“How did he move that fast without qi?”

“It’s like he’s the lecturer for this class…”

Murmurs like these began to flood the area, and it was at that point that Nakama puffed her chest and said, “As expected of big brother! He just went whoosh whoosh, and even Mister Senator fell down!”

Someone broke out in laughter, and then soon the whole class was bent over, wheezing and giggling. Even Senator Alexandre couldn’t help just smile, and soon the entire duelling grounds was full of uproarious laughter.

“A kid defeated the Senator!”

“A kid made the Senator fall down!”

Cheers of this nature rang out, and for a moment, Gaius wondered if his classmates had been extensively bullied by the Senator in previous lessons, such was the uproar. But as it turned out, even the Senator was genuinely making fun of himself.

Gaius couldn’t help but wonder at the closely-knitted class, and at the teacher who helmed it. He could only think back to the fragmented memories of his. Was Gaius himself a good teacher on Earth? And…what happened to his students?

“Harvester Gaius, no. Gaius. Have you considered taking over my role as a close combat instructor? Senator Alexandre asked.

Ah…he truly cares for this class. Gaius smiled as that thought ran through his mind. He could feel sincerity and care emanating from every fibre of the senator’s being, a set of emotions that Gaius found nostalgic. There wasn’t any malice, any burning desire to avenge himself. Just...concern.

“Senator, sir,” said Gaius, “I am truly humbled and grateful for your offer…but I believe you are the best teacher this class can ever have. After all, I am just eleven years old.”

His voice, crisp and clear, carried across the shocked class. A second passed by, and then another, before Austen stood up. “Senator, you can definitely beat him! One day!”

“Yeah!” shouted another Harvester. “Don’t be discouraged, you’re the best teacher we can hope for!”

“You can win with your qi!”

Other shouts rang out, as though as the class wanted to comfort a beloved friend who had just lost his confidence, and for a moment, Gaius wanted to flee the scene. He had been winging it the moment the senator had made his offer, and the last thing he wanted was to offend the entire class.

The senator looked around at the outpour of support, and his shoulders quivered slightly as he wiped at the corner of his eyes. “Thank you, Gaius, for showing me the value of my work. Still, even though you refused my offer, it is forever open to you, should you wish it.”

“Thank you, sir,” replied Gaius, who was still nervous. He bowed towards the senator again, and then sat down beside Nakama, who promptly peppered him with questions.

The senator opened his mouth, and then closed it, his expression placid.

Gaius smiled as he answered Nakama’s questions methodically, his body relieved of some unknown burden. After all, Gaius finally felt confident to walk independently in Orb, when he finally left this place. If…no, when his premonition came true, he wouldn’t be a lamb to be slaughtered. Not anymore.