Chapter 2: Genius (1)

"GRANDPA!!!" screamed Adam as he jolted awake, cold sweat evident on his forehead. He rubbed his eyes and gazed around, trying to shake off the strange dream that had just troubled him. But something felt different. He reached for his neck and his fingers brushed against a foreign object - a cross, attached to a long necklace.

"What in the world?" muttered Adam, confusion evident in his voice. He remembered seeing his grandfather, Zeke, wearing this very same necklace. Suddenly, memories of his dream flooded back to him and he wondered if this was all just a nightmare.

"Isn't this Gramps' necklace?" Adam thought, still trying to make sense of it all. He decided to go ask his grandpa why the necklace was now around his neck. But as he stepped out of his room and into the quiet house, his gut told him something was wrong.

Adam tiptoed towards his grandfather's room, his heart racing with fear. He pushed the door open gently, peering inside. The room was empty. He let out a sigh of disappointment. "Is he still sleeping?" Adam wondered, but a quick check confirmed that Zeke wasn't there.

"Oh, he must be in the field crops," Adam muttered to himself, turning around and running outside the house. As he sprinted across the street, he was greeted by several people who called out to him.

"Morning, Adam!"

"Run carefully, Adam!"

"Hello, Adam!"

Adam smiled and politely waved back, his kindness and good looks earning him popularity in the village. He was the grandson of the village head, but more importantly, he had a big smile on his face that could light up a room and bring joy to those around him.

When he arrived at the field crops, he scanned the area, but there was no sign of his grandfather. He approached a middle-aged woman and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen my grandpa?"

"Oh, good morning, Adam!" replied the woman, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "No, he hasn't come here this morning. Maybe he's at the farm?"

"Yes, that might be it," Adam said, his voice filled with hope. He thanked the woman and took off towards the farm. When he arrived, he checked in with the farmers, but still, there was no sign of his grandfather. He asked around and checked a few other places, but Zeke was nowhere to be found.

Adam felt a pang of sadness in his heart as he made his way back home. He needed answers. When he entered the dining room, he noticed two letters on the table and a small bag filled with gold coins.

"What's this?" he said out loud, his curiosity getting the better of him. He picked up the letter that was under the bag of gold and began to read.

"My dear boy, I'm off to visit a friend of mine who is ill," the letter read. "I will not be around for some time, but I know you are big and smart enough to take care of yourself without me around, so I'm not worried. I left you some money in case you need anything."

Adam's eyes widened as he counted the gold coins in the bag. "This is a lot of money, Gramps. How long will he be gone?" he thought, his mind racing with questions. He knew that one gold coin was enough to cover a small family's expenses for an entire month. He let out a sigh and continued reading the letter.

"Please give the second letter to Raoul. Take care of yourself until I'm back, and don't skip meals. Love you! Your dear grandpa, Zeke."

Adam's eyes were filled with tears. He wanted to cry, but he realized that his grandpa trusted him enough to leave him alone. "Oh Raoul," he thought. "He promised to train me today." He looked at the second letter, which was sealed, and became curious about its content. He tried to open it, but to his surprise, he couldn't unseal it. "Okay, never mind," he thought. "I should go hide this money first." He went into his room, put the bag of gold under his bed, picked up the second letter that he had left on the table, and ran towards the forest.

A little deep in the forest, a man in his mid-thirties was training. He was shirtless, and his well-defined muscles and scars were visible to all. The man was drenched in sweat, repeatedly punching the air with his fists, and his body was letting out a faint aura. He stopped and looked back when he heard Adam's voice.

"What is it this time?" asked the man named Raoul, with an annoyed tone.

''Mr. Raoul, don't you remember yesterday? You promised to teach me some moves if I was brave enough to stay here alone,'' Adam said with a tremble in his voice.

Raoul grumbled under his breath, 'Yeah, for you to let me train in peace.'

''You really have a knack for interrupting my training,'' Raoul said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

''A promise is a promise, Mr. Raoul. If you break a promise, bad luck will follow you until you die,'' Adam said with a smile, trying to hide his nervousness.

Raoul sighed and walked over to Adam.

"Even if I wanted to keep my promise, I can't train you," said Raoul.

"Why is that?" asked Adam.

"What I'm practicing is martial arts," said Raoul.

"So?" asked Adam with a confused look.

Raoul let out a sigh and finally replied, "As I told you before, you are too young to train in martial arts. You need to be at least 12 years old for your body to feel 'mana', and you are only 8. You are four years too early. How am I supposed to train you? The only thing that you can learn at your age is swordsmanship, but as I told you before, I don't know any and you are also too young to form a contract with elements to become a meister."

"Even if I can't feel 'mana', it doesn't mean that I can't train. I don't care about feeling 'mana'. I just want to learn your martial arts. It looks so cool," said Adam.

Raoul annoyed stood quietly, his thoughts wandering as he watched Adam hold a mysterious letter. The energy emanating from the letter was faint, but it was enough to catch Raoul's attention.

"What's that in your hand?" Raoul asked, with a curious tone.

"Oh, that? My Grandpa left it for you," Adam replied nonchalantly.

"For me?" Raoul said while walking towards Adam. He was intrigued and couldn't help but reach for the letter. As soon as he touched it, he infused a bit of mana into it, causing it to unseal.

"Oh so it was like that," Adam thought to himself as he watched Raoul effortlessly unseal the letter.

Raoul frowned as he read the contents of the letter. It was from Zeke, Adam's grandfather, and it was asking Raoul to take care of Adam. Raoul was taken aback by the request. He had owed Zeke his life and was more than happy to repay the debt, but taking care of a child was not what he had in mind. He couldn't help but grumble, "Crazy old man! How do you expect me to take care of this annoying boy just because you saved my life once?"

As he continued to read, Raoul's frown deepened. Zeke had disappeared and left Adam in Raoul's care. Raoul couldn't believe it. "Where the hell did he run off to? Does he think I'm a nanny?" he muttered to himself.

In a fit of frustration, Raoul filled his hand with more mana and burned the letter. He was about to go back to his training when Adam interrupted him.

"Oh cool, how did you do it? Teach me!" Adam exclaimed with excitement.

"Which part of me saying that you can't feel mana at your age don't you understand, you little brat?" Raoul was annoyed by the content of the letter and even more so by Adam's enthusiastic personality.

But then, an idea suddenly popped into Raoul's mind. "I know how to occupy this brat, and it will give me enough time to train in peace," he thought to himself joyfully. He went to pick up an old book that was lying on the ground.

"I will teach you, only if you are able to memorize this book," Raoul said, as he threw the book towards Adam.

Adam jumped a little bit and caught the book that was thrown at him. "12 Gates Sutra Martial Arts," he read out loud, looking at the cover of the book.

"Oh, so you know how to read," Raoul said, with a surprised tone.

"Of course, I know how to read!" Adam replied with a hint of annoyance.

"Good! Now read and memorize everything, and don't disturb me until you have memorized every single page of this book. Understood?" Raoul instructed.

"Okay, got it. Is the 12 Gates Sutra Martial Arts what you have been practicing?" Adam asked genuinely curious.

"Yes, it's a lost martial art. When mastered fully, even late-stage Meisters can't defeat you," Raoul said with a hint of pride in his voice.

Adam's eyes lit up with excitement as he heard this. He quickly opened the book and started to read.

Watching this, Raoul was happy. Finally, he thought to himself, he could train in peace. However, in the back of his mind, he was a bit worried about Zeke.

Raoul owed his life to Zeke and he intended to repay the debt by protecting Adam. However, Raoul was not sure against what he needed to protect the young boy.

A few hours went by, and as he trained, Raoul was deeply focused, as if he was in a trance. Suddenly, a loud scream shattered the peaceful silence.

"Mr. RAOULLLL !!!" Adam cried out.

The sudden interruption frustrated Raoul and for a moment, he felt the urge to rip Adam's head off his shoulders. "What?! Didn't I tell you to only talk to me once you've memorized every single page of that book?" Raoul said with an angry tone.

"But I did," Adam replied with a curious look on his face.

Raoul's mind went blank for a split second. "You did what?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"I've memorized every single page of the book," Adam replied with a smile.

"Are you trying to play tricks on me, you little brat?" Raoul cut the gap between them with a few quick steps. Adam raised his arms in defense, noticing Raoul's sudden movements, and began reciting the sutra from the first page. Raoul stopped, shocked, and listened to Adam with a look of disbelief on his face.

After a few minutes, Adam continued reciting the sutra written in the book. "Impossible," Raoul thought to himself. "How can a young kid like that memorize hundreds of pages in just two hours?"

"Alright, I trust you," Raoul said, giving in.

"Phew, I thought you were going to beat me," Adam said, the worry evident in his voice.

"I have to admit, I underestimated you a bit. You're quick and smart for a kid, but it doesn't change anything. You're still too young to feel mana, and I can't teach you if you can't feel it," Raoul said.

"Hmm, just show me the meditation movement," Adam asked, showing Raoul the passage in the book that described it. "In the book, the description sounds a bit weird."

"I guess I don't have a choice," Raoul sighed. "Okay, look carefully." Raoul took a strange position, lowering his center of gravity and stretching his hands forward. He recited a sutra and focused deeply.

Adam was mesmerized by Raoul's movements. His hands turned in a circular motion as if trying to capture the air. After a few seconds, Adam could see the atmosphere around Raoul changing. An invisible yet palpable pressure formed around his body, and blue particles began to form and enter Raoul's body.

"Wow," Adam exclaimed, astounded by what he was witnessing.

After a few minutes, Raoul stopped and took a deep breath. "Alright, now don't disturb me. I kept my part of the bargain," Raoul said, trying to resume his training.

Suddenly, Adam stood up and began imitating the meditation movement that Raoul had shown him. "I told you, it's useless. You're too young to feel the mana. The human body must be at least 12 years old to be able to feel it," Raoul said with annoyance.

Adam didn't reply, too busy reciting the sutra. "Suit yourself," Raoul sighed and turned around to resume his training.

After about 30 minutes, Raoul began to feel a strange pressure behind his back. When he turned around, what he saw defied common logic.