27/05/1164

The Cottage in Front of The Unnamed Lake

With a leap, Samuel charged towards Zack. Because he had flinched, Zack wasn’t able to react in time. His eye closed as he raised his hands in front, preparing to face the brunt of the incoming attack.

However, the attack he expected never arrived. Mid-leap, the fierce glint in Samuel’s eyes disappeared as soon as he saw the reaction he wanted, being replaced by a crafty glint instead.

A grin formed on his face as he landed right in front of Zack with a thud. Next, he worked a little on his expression as he waited for the reaction.

A few moments later, Zack’s eyelid opened just a crack as he looked in front of himself. A few inches from his face was the face of his adversary, an ugly wide grin going ear to ear plastered atop it.

Involuntarily, he took a step back.

The grin on Samuel’s face thickened. He took a step forward, lessening the gap that formed immediately.

Zack blinked in a mixture of confusion and hesitation as he took another step back.

The process kept repeating until Zack felt a coarse sensation through his back. His heart felt heavy as a bad feeling assaulted him. A gasp escaped his mouth as he looked down before slowly picking his head up.

He saw the line used to mark the ring off in the distance and his opponent slowly walking away from him, a pleased smile on his face. Inwardly, a sense of annoyance filled him.

‘I lost. All he did was walk and… No. I can’t stop here. I can challenge him multiple times. Yeah. So what if it’s just one loss? I’ll just fight him again and again until I win!’

Clenching his fist, Zack looked at Samuel with a burning gaze as he said, “Again!”

He walked towards the ring before stretching a little. He breathed in deeply, the resolve within his eyes burning intensely.

“Are you ready?” Zack asked as he raised his fists.

Samuel’s Perspective

I took my position before waving my hand at him, gesturing for him to attack. Taking in a breath, I concentrated as the world seemed to slow down. He ran forward, raising his right fist high.

His fist was on a one-way trajectory to land on my chest while the rest was full of countless openings just waiting to be exploited.

Ducking below his right arm, I used his collar and corner of shirt to raise him up the ground before putting him down, just past the edge of the ring.

I rubbed my hands against each other as I let out a sigh. ‘Dad is too hard on him. He should be a bit easy-going in these matters. Still, he said it’ll help Zack. I can only believe him.’

“So, it’s over,” I said, extending my hand to raise him up.

He took the hand, pulling himself up from the ground.

‘Ok, enough Samuel, I… I can’t keep up. You’re too strong.’ Is what I expected him to say, like he did back in the day.

Instead, he spoke, “Once again.”

His eyes burnt with a fervour I had never seen in him before.

‘So this is what dad meant by the desire to become stronger.’

My eyes gleaming, I nodded before taking up a stance.

Zack took his stance and said, “You attack first this time.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

He nodded seriously as his gaze fixed on me, growing stern by the moment. I sighed helplessly as I strode forward before attempting to land a punch to his chest.

He ducked below my arm, trying to grab me from behind.

A snicker flashed on my face.

What I did was a feint.

Spinning on my heels, I grabbed him by the shoulder before pushing him out of the boundary.

“That was better than before.” I praised before reminding, “But remember, you can’t go around using my tricks against me.”

Zack gritted his teeth before he got up and shouted, “Again!”

My brow twitched a little before I nodded and took a stance.

‘This much determination… I don’t remember ever seeing it in Zack from the past. Just what happened yesterday for him to be…’

While my thoughts occupied me, a punch landed on my chest, causing me to take a few steps backward. My brows jumped as I saw Zack coming at me with a follow-up.

Using the momentum from the punch earlier, and using my left leg as an anchor, I evaded the blow. At the same time, while spinning, I grabbed his fist lightly, transferring a bulk of the momentum onto him.

The new momentum transferred onto him, coupled with his own momentum and a lack of a target, made him unable to stop and he ended up outside.

I sighed to myself as I thought, ‘That was close. He almost got me there. I shouldn’t get complacent.’

Flicking my sleeve, I turned my head back to look at him. He was getting up from the ground.

As if feeling my gaze, he said, “Again!”

I sighed as I said, “That’s enough for now. Just take a look at yourself. You’re tired and are gasping for breath. If you fight me in this condition, I’m sure that after a few bouts, you wouldn’t even be able to get up. Besides, you still have a whole month. What’s the rush?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” He said in a dark tone.

“What?” I spoke, my brows furrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

He shook his head as a smile appeared on his face. He spoke, “Nevermind that. You are right. So, what would you say that I should work on? Like, what is the thing I am most lacking as of now?”

I contemplated for a bit before speaking, “I think that you should focus on stamina for starters. Besides that, I’d say you should meditate to integrate with your Ki. It would also boost your physical capabilities to an extent.”

“About Ki…” Zack spoke. His brows were knit together as his voice was full of concern. “I tried almost everything that book said. But I still couldn’t feel anything resembling that description.”

“About that,” I replied. “Mom said that normally, people can take anywhere from a week to a month for feeling their Ki if being lucky and maybe even seasons if unlucky. Better not rush it.”

‘Now that I think, I took around half an hour for that… Heh, I am an unmatched genius after all.’ While I thought, a sense of satisfaction and smugness filled my heart.

“I see,” Zack said while nodding in understanding. He clenched his fist as a resolute expression covered his face.

He walked back inside before sitting down. His brows were knit together as he sat there, unmoving.

I sighed before I left the cottage. Outside, I lay down on the grass next to the lake, watching the clouds.

‘Yeah, he was right. Watching clouds can also be fun. Always free and drifting around without any care.’

Before I knew, my eyes turned heavy before I slowly drifted off to sleep.