“That was how I met Nicole. So did the person you meet seem like the same Nicole I told you about.”

“Yeah she did. At first I thought she seemed like a cold person but she was very nice and she even told me to call her Big Sister.”

“Hahaha. That does sound like Nicole and I guessed I rubbed off on her in a good way. She is going around calling herself a big sister now.”

Jane laughed at Nicole’s imitation of her but from her expression Kan could see that she was feeling melancholic. She was reminiscing on the times she had spent with Nicole.

“Don’t be sad Aunty Jane.”

“Hmm. I’m not sad Kan, just a little angry that she didn’t come say hi to me if she knew I lived here. It has been so long since I met her and I bet that she is a beauty by now. I wonder if she ever grew up to ever trust other people. Haahh, it really has been a long time.”

Although Jane said that she wasn’t feeling sad, Kan could see that she was. It has been almost 20 years since Jane had met Nicole and Kan could see that the both of them were really close to one another. Being unable to stand the sad look within Jane, Kan came up with a plan to make Jane feel better.

“Aunty Jane, let’s look for her. I think she may still be Clear View.”

“Haha, maybe she is. I’ll keep an eye out and if you do see her, lure her back to the clinic. When she gets here i’ll give her a piece of my mind for not coming by and saying hello to Big Sister Jane.”

“Ok, I promise i’ll find her for you Aunty Jane.”

Jane smiled at Kan’s enthusiasm for wanting to find Nicole for her but she didn’t really have any hope of Nicole actually being in the village. Jane had decided that if Nicole had not come by to say hello, then she must have a reason not to.

Kan could see the doubt in Jane’s eyes but he knew that Nicole was still in the village. He knew that Nicole had been in the village in those memories and she was most likely the ones who rang the alarm bells. Kan could only assume that Nicole has been living within the village if she knew where the alarm bells were and her being there already before the attack even began.

“Kan. Kan. Where are you?”

“Oh, that sounds like Claire, Kan. Let’s go to her and show her that you’re safe.”

The both of them walked outside of Jane’s room and saw Claire across the hall. The clinic wasn’t really big so most of the rooms were close to one another.

“Oh there you are Kan. Daddy has something he has to teach you today. Do you think you can walk to the backyard by yourself?”

Kan’s eyes glittered as Claire told him that Clive had something to teach him. The only thing that popped into Kan’s head was that Clive was going to start teaching him how to become a combat locksmith. Immediately Kan let go of Jane’s hand and sprinted to the door that led out back.

“Kan’s such an energetic boy.”

“Yeah he is. I wonder who he takes after.”

……

In the backyard of the clinic was an empty field. The clinic had an empty backyard because there was once a time where the clinic had too many patients and they needed space for them so the few trees there were taken down.

On the empty field was a single person. It was Clive and he was sitting down adjusting his breathe while his muscles were bulging. His muscles looked like they would explode at any moment but in the next second they relaxed and Clive’s eyes opened.

“It seems that my limit has improved. It has increased by 5% and I can open it up to 45% now. I can’t believe how much that Blue Heart grass helped me improve my limit.”

“DADDDYYYYY!!!!”

Kan came running out of the clinic at full speed towards Clive. Not slowing down at all, Kan tackled into Clive who was sitting down.

“Hahaha, Kan I know you’ve been waiting for this day. Are you ready to become a combat locksmith.”

“Yes!!!”

“Ok, first calm down. We don’t want you messing up.”

“Ok.”

“Let me tell you a few words before we start Kan. Becoming a combat locksmith is not easy at all and there will even be many times where you will want to give up and you can give up. But if you do give up, I forbid you from ever becoming a combat locksmith again. Being a combat locksmith doesn’t mean just training your body, it also means training your soul and mind. Many combat locksmiths will only teach their students how to train their bodies but this is incorrect as a combat locksmith. What use is a strong body if you are unable to have courage in using this power to help others and what use is a strong body if you don’t know how to use it effectively. This is why as a combat locksmith you must train your body, your soul, and your mind. Do you understand Kan Lock.”

Kan was in shock and awe. This was the first time he had ever seen his father act so serious and with such a stern tone. This made Kan feel a sense of pride swell up inside of him that he was the son of such an amazing person.

“YES!!!”

“Ok, good job Kan. I will be teaching you how your grandfather taught me so be prepared. Your grandfather was a strict and harsh person that would push a person to their absolute limits and I will be the same. I will push you beyond your limits.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Ok, good. For now since you are still not fully recovered yet, we won’t begin your training immediately. All we will be doing today is to get you to be able to feel the powers of a combat locksmith.”

“No, Daddy. I can do more today, look my body is completely fine.”

Kan began jumping and and running around to show Clive that his body was completely fine.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! DO YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE!!!”

Kan was frighten out of his mind. This was the first time his father had ever raised his voice on him and he was scared. Scared that he had done something wrong to anger his father. Kan was on the verge of tears.

“Listen to me Kan, I am not teaching you to become a combat locksmith just for fun. I want you to become a combat locksmith so you can live in this world. You have only lived in the village of Clear View your whole life so you may not know it but we live in a dangerous world. Everyone in Clear View are all nice and friendly people but outside of this village you must be aware of danger. You never know when you are attacked my monsters, beasts, nature, or even other humans. I want you to be able to protect yourself but most importantly the people precious to you. There will be many times you will feel powerless and lose all hope in being able to protect those precious to you, so I want to give you the power to change all of that. I want you to become a combat locksmith so you can reach your hand out and help others and help yourself. Do you understand me Kan Lock!”

Clive was struggling to keep his stern attitude. He couldn’t bare seeing Kan on the verge of tears but he had to do it. He had to teach Kan these lessons before it’s to late. Clive didn’t know whether Kan would understand or not but he had to set him on the right path.

Even with tears in his eyes, Kan could see that behind his father’s stern attitude was sadness and pain. Wiping away his tears, Kan thought back to all those memories he had seen in that darkness. Every memory he had seen, he had felt so hopeless and weak and all he could do was watch as everyone was slaughtered. Clive’s words rang true as he thought of all those memories. He needed power, he needed the power to protect himself, but most importantly he needed the power to protect those dear to him.

“YES!!! I UNDERSTAND!!!!”

Clive smiled at Kan’s response. Looking at Kan he knew that his words had reached him. Clive could see a certain determination within his eyes and this made him incredibly happy. His son was started to grow up into a man.

“Good response! From today onwards we are now Master and disciple. Whenever we train, you will refer to me as Master and follow my orders.”

“Yes, Master!”

“Ok good. Today I will help heal your body and see if you can feel the change in your body. I will be unlocking your body’s natural healing power so you will heal faster. The goal for you today is to see if you can feel the changes.”

Clive walked towards Kan and they both sat down. Clive sat down behind Kan and put his hand against Kan’s back and began unlocking Kan’s body. Since this was Kan’s first time ever feeling his body be unlocked, Clive only opened a very small percentage.

“What you a sensing for is a change in your body. Look for where your body needs healing the most and sense it heal at a faster pace.”

Kan closed his eyes and began sensing around his body. He didn’t know what he was looking for so he searched anywhere that felt different. After a while he still didn’t feel anything and he began getting worried.

“I...I don’t feel anything Master.”

“Good. You’re doing fine. I haven’t unlocked anything so you shouldn’t be able to sense any changes. Now you are aware of how to sense for any change, so be ready.”

In that second that Clive told Kan to get ready, Kan felt an immense heat overwhelm his body. His body was getting hotter and he could feel that he was sweating profusely.

“My body suddenly got hotter Master.”

“Good, feel it. Specify where it is getting hotter.”

Kan began to concentrate even more and felt that everything in his body was like a raging fire. His blood was coursing throughout his body rapidly but he could only see that it was everywhere. Kan couldn’t tell where his body was healing the most but then he thought of the problem he had for the past week. Immediately he began sensing the muscles within his legs and he was correct. This part of his body was the hottest and healing the most out of everywhere else in his body.

“Dad...Master, I sense that the blood in my legs are more intense than everywhere else.”

“Good, but you aren’t 100% correct. You are correct that the blood flow in your legs is more intense but it’s not just the blood that is working harder, it’s also the muscles fibers and bone trying to heal itself too. Besides your legs is also your arms, heart, and head. Both your legs and arms were something you used in your everyday life but you were asleep for a month so they had weakened considerably. Now the most important part of your body is your heart and your head. The head is instructing your entire body to work so it uses the most energy while the heart creates the energy that is pumped throughout your body. Since we are trying to heal your body faster the head must instruct where everything goes while the heart has to pump even more energy than normal. Do you understand Kan?”

“Yes, I think I do Master but I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Can’t you just heal me completely? If you unlock more of my healing power than wouldn’t I heal faster?”

“That’s a good question Kan. Tell me what you think after I return your body back to normal.”

Clive stopped took his hand off of Kan’s back and stopped unlocking parts of his body. In the moment that Clive took his hand away, a sense of exhaustion overwhelmed Kan and Clive had to catch him before he fell onto the ground.

“What do you feel?”

“I feel really exhausted.”

“What you are feeling right now is the drawbacks of unlocking more than your body can take. Every combat locksmith has a limit that they would set for themselves because if they go over it, they can cause serious damage to their body. Since this is your first time ever unlocking your body, you felt exhaustion because your body is trying to adjust back to its normal state. You only felt exhaustion because I only unlocked a very small percentage over your limit but in some cases where you go way beyond your limits, you could end up permanently damage. That is why earlier I didn’t want you doing more than your body could handle, so never go way beyond your limits unless absolutely necessary.”

“Ok Master I will not go way beyond my limits unless I need too. Wait Master, then will my limit always be the same?”

“Another good question Kan. Your limit will never stay the same unless you face a bottleneck. When you first start off as a combat locksmith, you limit will be very little but as you go beyond limits little by little then you limit will increase. For example let’s say your base strength starts at 1 and your limit is 1.1. Whenever you unlock your strength at 1.1 and above you feel exhausted, but this also trains your body. If you keep on unlocking your strength at 1.2 then eventually unlocking your strength at 1.1 no longer makes you feel exhausted. Your new base strength is at 1.1 and your new limit is at 1.2.”

“Ok, I understand Master. So I should train a little over my limit so I can become stronger.”

“Yes, when you completely heal up I will push you to your limits and make you stay at it until you get used to it.”

“Kan. Clive. Come and eat breakfast before it gets cold.”

Both Kan and Clive had been training for about an hour and Claire had come out to call them in for breakfast. Neither Kan nor Clive had eaten breakfast yet.

“Let’s go Kan.”

Clive was squatting down and was in position for Kan to climb onto his back. Clive smiled at Kan to get onto his back. Clive had loss his stern face and was back to his everyday self. Kan didn’t hesitate and got onto Clive’s back. At this moment they were no longer Master and disciple but just father and son.

“Yeah, let’s go eat, Daddy.”