3 The Trio gathers

'One hour after receiving the call, a black flying limousine parked in front of Luiz's house.'

'Luiz was ready to leave, he had already called his parents and prepared all of his baggage.'

'He opened the door outside, there was a butler waiting next to the car.'

"Is it you Sebas? It's been a while since we last met."

"To be precise, we last met during young master's Zhong coming of age party"

Oh yeah. During that guy's birthday...

"Allow me to help you with the luggage."

"Thank you, there is a little bit more left. A couple of Compression bags"

"I see, the limousine trunk uses the most recent Compression technology, so there shouldn't be any trouble."

'Among the many advancements of today's era. There is the famed and praised Compression technology.

This technology refers to the capability of storing a bigger volume of items in a space smaller than the actual object.'

There are many ways of doing such a thing, from compressing a small object to distorting space. The ways of storing things in today's era couldn't be easier… And pricier.

'After placing all of his luggage in the trunk, Luiz entered the car.'

"This car has high priority, so we should be arriving at our destination soon."

"Ho? How generous of him."

Priority. An immense luxury.

In a society where flying cars are everywhere and transit is controlled by AI's, the system of priority was made.

From a normal person's car to an ambulance. All have an innate priority.

This makes it that the AI that governs the transit system will always prioritize having the vehicle with higher priority pass over others.

Such as making the red light turn green, so a firefighter can easily pass through, and well… Fight a fire.

The problem is that having such a priority is extremely hard to get, it's not something that can be bought with money. Otherwise, this system would be a joke and a failure.

"That guy isn't holding anything back."

"The young master is really excited after all. He immediately booked the entirety of Gianseng Mountain for today." Said the butler on the front seat.

"Sigh, what a waste of money. Wait… Isn't Gianseng mountain..."

"Yes, it's family property."

"So it's explained"

'Luiz rested his head as he waited for the car to arrive at its destination.'

…

'20 Minutes later, the car stopped near a camp. The place was heavily fortified, this was the gate to the Gianseng mountain, a private hunting area for the rich.

The mountain is considered a Risk-2 area, but in truth, it's a Risk-3.5.'

'3.5 means that there might be Rank-3 creatures very close to becoming a Rank-4 Monster.'

'As for how that's possible, let's leave that for later.'

'As for how this mountain can be Rank-2 yet be considered Rank-3.5… That's because this mountain extends all the way to the deep wilderness.'

We are currently in the periphery so the monsters are weaker partly due to the lack of resources, but if we go deep enough we would start to see stronger monsters.

The reason why there isn't a stronger monster in this area is because of the constant hunting of the military, or should I say, due to the hunting done by the Zhong family.

Although this is considered to be the property of the Zhong family, they book this place to others constantly.

Of course, they leave all Rank-2 creatures and below, otherwise no one would like to book this place to hunt.

They need to maintain a suitable ecosystem in order to make this place lucrative, otherwise, the monsters would die.

This includes checking monsters' birth to introducing foreign monsters into the forest from other places. During the breeding season, they even prohibit the killing of female monsters.

'Luiz got out of the car and with the help of Sebas loaded all of his items into a floating cart.'

'Sebas led him across the periphery outpost without stopping for a single moment.'

…

'After going over several hallways and doors, they finally arrived at a trolley'

"This is where I stop master Carter, I still need to welcome master Hu."

Skinny huh... He is quite late.

"Alright, I will see you later Sebas. Have a nice day."

'Luiz got inside the trolley, which in sequence, lit up and took of into the mountain.

It was only then that Sebas stopped bowing.'

"It seems the time has finally arrived, once young master advances he will be qualified to learn some of the family exclusive techniques, and since his enthusiasm has been rekindled due to his friends, his progress will be unmatched."

"Although it was a little later than scheduled, the young master foundation is much stronger than we expected. Together with his new friends, he will grow and become truly phenomenal."

'Sebas had a kind smile on his face as he turned around and disappeared in the darkness of the corridor.'

…

/5 minutes later/

'Luiz had finally arrived at the camp.'

'The camp was rather fortified with several automatic turrets around its perimeter.'

"That guy loves to attract attention… Speaking of him, where is he?"

'Luiz couldn't see nor hear anyone in his vicinity, so he just attributed that to Zhong being inside one of the structures of the camp.'

'The camp was pretty "simple" since apart from the wall with the turrets, the only thing it had was a large house that looked more like a small fort.'

'Luiz hopped into the levitating cart and drove it inside.'

/BEEP! BUZZ/

'One of the turrets beeped and shone a strong red light on top of Luiz, but after a beep, the light turned green and the door below it opened.'

"That fucking scared me, having an Anti-monster 10MM Autocannon aimed at you isn't funny at all."

These things can shoot several hundred shots per minute at their lowest configuration, I might be able to evade one bullet by pure luck, but I would immediately die soon after.

Only stronger martial artists are fast enough to evade such a thing with ease.

"Sorry sorry. I forgot to calibrate some things, you arrived pretty fast after all." Said someone coming from inside the house.

'He had red hair and was wearing a loose shirt, sandals, and flower-themed shorts.'

It was Zhong Tien, son of Zhong Gulivar, the military general of the River state private military army.

Since Earth changed, the old concept of a country changed many times if not completely destroyed.

Although recently, since the new era started, countries have started to reappear.

They are divided into 5 main countries, or should I say Federations.

America Federation, englobing all of the American continent.

Eurasia Federation, englobing Europe, the Northern part of Africa, and the western part of Asia.

African Federation, englobing… Africa.

The Motherland, also called the Russian Federation, a survivor from times before the collapse. It englobes all Russia, some parts of Asia, and the extreme cold North.

And finally, The Southern Federation, englobing Australia and some of the islands near it.

We are currently in the place that used to be Brazil, meaning, we are in South America.

Brazil was and still is one of the most stable geological areas in the world.

As for other areas of this continent…

They are completely unexplored. Although the American Federation has several colonies on the coast of what was once the US and Central America as an attempt to reclaim those zones.

We are currently in an area called "The American Center", or "The Center" for short.

The Center is just a symbolic name for the area that used to be the Southeastern portion of Brazil.

And this area is divided into many smaller areas, called states.

Autonomous areas with an autonomous government.

There are 12 such areas currently in The Center. With one of them being the River state, to pay homage to the city that used to be here. Rio De Janeiro.

Although that's old history is meaningless in today's world. Pretty much all history was lost during the chaos of time...

Even if this country didn't have to deal with Earthquakes and tornados, weather storms, wars and conflict still destroyed what little survive from the past.

'While he thought, Zhong picked a small cup of water and made his way to Luiz.'

"Hey man, what are you thinking so deeply about? Relax and have a cup of ice water."

"Just thinking about how much of a Golden spoon you are."

"Thanks." He said with a smirk

"That wasn't a compliment." Said Luiz as he took a sip of his water.

"HA! But for me it is… In any case, come inside. Skinny will take a while to arrive so there isn't any need to stay out here."

'Zhong led Luiz inside the house.

The place was pretty bland, with lots of grey and white. This was certainly a military outpost, not a place meant for rich guests.'

"Everything is ready. Skinny will bring the capsule and a few other materials, although I think it's unnecessary... I see you brought some of your own. Is everything already processed?" Asked Zhong as he sat on a couch.

"Not all, some things need to be processed"

"Alright, leave it to me."

/Snap!/

'Zhong snapped his fingers and a maid entered the room.'

'She was a beautiful blond maid with green eyes, her appearance was top-notch, she was perfect in all areas.'

'But Luiz didn't care, since he knew this was one of Zhong's "Girls". She isn't a whore, please.

Although Zhong is a womanizer, he is one that takes good care of his lovers. And as far as I know, this girl is the private maid assigned to him, they've known each other for over a decade already.'

'Even if she was single, Luiz doesn't care about love, at least for now.'

"Bro, do you remember Wendy? Just give her what needs to be processed and she will have it done."

'Wendy bowed towards the two of them.'

"It's been a while, Wendy, you were sick during this guy's birthday. It's good seeing you safe and sound. I am sending you a list of the items that I need to be processed. No need to be hasty since we will probably not be advancing today."

'Zhong was stunned. The same thing for Wendy, although she quickly recomposed and picked the floating cart, leading it out of the room'

"Oi oi! Not today?! What do you mean by that?!"

"... See you later Wendy." Luiz completely ignored Zhong

'Wendy turned around and bowed with a smile.'

"Don't ignore me!"

"Sheesh. Don't scream, you are going to scare all of the beasts in the mountain range with your screech."

"Then answer me, bastard."

"I want to test a few things, and that will require heavy physical activity. We also need to get ourselves warmed up and ready for the procedure. Did you really think we could just enter the capsule and wait?"

"We need one or two days of preparations. We also need to take some supplements, that will take some time as well."

"Oh… I see… You are right, I forgot about that. But what is that you want to test?"

"Keke… I got my hands on this new technique… A rank-5 one."

'Zhong sat on the couch and said:'

"Another one... WHAIT! OI! And you didn't even tell me?! Show me right now!"

'Zhong couldn't believe what he heard! A Tier-5? That's already something on the Level of an Energy accumulation expert!'

Because my father doesn't allow me to see any technique above Tier-3 in the family vault, I have to rely on Skinny and Luiz to see higher-ranked techniques.

But Skinny is in the same situation as me, so our only source of technique is through the Nexus or buying them privately.

There are other sources but they aren't reliable.

We got some through this method but they were either too expensive or too trashy.

Our parents don't give us a high allowance exactly because of this. They don't want us wasting our money acquiring techniques too high ranked for our current level.

So we have to make our own money to buy techniques, but even then, there is a legal block impeding us, Human Awakening Martial users, from buying such higher-ranking techniques.

Only Luiz can somehow acquire those through his brother.

"The technique is called Continual Marching. A light style movement technique."

"OHHH! Come! The training area is right on the side." Said Zhong as he ran

'Zhong quickly went to the arena, when Luiz arrived, Zhong had already switched clothes.'

…

"... You are fast. Give me one of those sets as well."

'Zhong threw a small disk to Luiz.

He picked the disk and placed it in his chest. The disk suddenly burst into a large gray cloud. By the time the cloud dispersed, Luiz's old clothes were on the ground while in their place was a new dark set of skin-tight training clothes.'

"Alright. I think this is good enough." Said Luiz

"I want to at least reach Grasp this technique before we advance."

"WHAT?! You want to grasp a Tier-5 while being only an Awakened Human? Don't fuck with me Luiz!"

(Remember that there are 4 Levels of mastery over a technique Introduction-Grasped-Adept-Mastered)

"He. You know just how important it is to challenge oneself as much as possible before advancing. I have already reached the Introduction stage. Give me a few days and I will be ready."

"What?..."

Damn! I forgot this guy is a fucking monster when the thing is martial arts…

I could barely catch up with him even when he taught me, how the fuck am I going to train in a Tier-5 technique when Mastering one Tier-4 almost took me my soul?!

"Scared? You looked pretty excited a minute ago."

"Just do it! I want to see it with my own eyes."

"..."

'Luiz posture became fully straight, he placed his left foot in front of his other one and placed one arm behind his back and another one in front.'

"..."

'Zhong could feel the energy radiating from Luiz. It wasn't strong, but it was controlled.'

Shit, is this guy really capable of pulling this off? It's already incredible that we can use Tier-4 techniques, but this guy…

His control of energy is so perfect that he most likely surpasses even some Energy Accumulation experts.

I thought I was close, but he widened the gap again… Don't be cocky! I will also reach the Grasped stage!

'Suddenly, Luiz disappeared, the only thing that was left behind were faint footprints glowing on the ground.'

'As time passed, the glowing footprints became more and more obvious until the ground was fully covered in them.'

'This was the AI system marking Luiz's entire move set.'

"Phew… That was tough."

"This is it, the full movement sequence. I am by no means a master, but this should be enough for you. According to military laws, I can't teach you anything directly, otherwise, your father would beat both of us up if he saw you using it."

"But there aren't any rules saying it's forbidden for you to learn by seeing hehe. The cameras and data should be more than enough, I am here if you need any questions answered."

"... Shit. Just fucking watch!"

'Zhong's "aura" suddenly changed as he became incredibly focused. He watched the steps and concentrated.

In the corner of his eyes, a hologram with a slow down video was being replayed over and over.'

'After 5 minutes, Zhong took his first step, and another one, and another…'

/BAM!/

'But after the 10th step, he slipped and fell on the ground'

"Arg! I think my leg is cramped!" Said Zhong as he rolled on the ground.

"Look at you! You did almost a fifth of the entire set in one go! Perhaps you can actually do it!"

Zhong has talent, a lot of it. But he wasted most of it being a womanizer over the years.

He was always so far from his competition that he never really cared about improving.

Only in the past few years did he start to pay attention to martial arts once again.

"I will tell you what you did wrong while you rest..."

…

'Time passed while Zhong and Luiz practiced.'

'But even though Luiz mastered so many techniques, he couldn't really feel that he was being watched by someone.'

'Or should I say, two people?'

'A little further away, on top of a small hill, a pair of a man and a woman watched the training of the young boys through a hologram.'

"..." The man was silent.

'He was wearing a dark blouse and pants. His hair was also dark and his eyes were sharp.

He looked like a strict person.'

"Look at you, aren't you proud? Come on! Say some encouraging words to him! Don't be shy!" Said the girl on the side.

'She was beautiful, having full red hair that seemed to shine under the sun. She was rather tall, being over 180 Cm. She was wearing a red dress that went all the way to her knees.'

"... He is just doing what he was supposed to. There is no need for me to interfere." Said the man with a small smile on his face.

"Ohhh! Look at you! You say that, but you are clearly ignoring the fact that the boy is learning a military technique in an illegal way right? Look at your smile... Don't be so stiff." Said the woman as she tapped his back

"...Sigh. You tire me sometimes."

But she is right, he grew up huh.

I used to be worried that my son would grow up to be a good for nothing, but since his grades and everything seemed alright, I never interfered.

But it all changed thanks to those two...

'His sight switched to the other boy, Luiz'

He is indeed talented.

I remembered when he mastered a Tier-3 technique, at that time I thought he was only a prodigy, but it was when he successfully helped my son master a Tier-4 that I noticed he was a talent.

A talent that is purposely hiding… The only thing I can do is ignore you for now. The current elite society wouldn't accept such a talented individual without a background...

I used to be bothered that my son didn't want to advance, I thought he was wasting his talent, but in truth, he was simply following his heart. So I didn't interfere much.

Looks like it was the right choice… Once they grow up, together with the son of that fat bastard, they are going to become a powerful and influential trio.

Tien is only going to rise from now on, there isn't anything else to do but to watch his rise.

He will come to me soon enough to ask about the family techniques. By that time I will finally be able to properly act like a dad.

As for the other kid… Should I introduce him to my older daughter? She has been single forever and I am starting to fear the possibility that she will remain so for a long while.

Hum… If I could make this young man enter my family, he would get access to all of our secret techniques, I wonder how fast he would master them…

But wouldn't that interfere with Tien's growth? He might switch from being a good friend to a competitor to the family inheritance...

I will think about this later.

/BRUMM!/

'From the sky, a loud horn echoed.'

'A large spaceship suddenly descended from the clouds, announcing its presence to the world.'

'It looked incredibly bulky, and the technological guns on the sides don't look friendly'

'The ship was red and white with a few touches of dark and blue.

There was a cross symbol being displayed via a hologram right behind it like a flag.

It read: Cosmos Medications.'

"... That fat bastard is here..."

'As if waiting for this, a blue beam suddenly formed behind them and a nice middle-aged fat man appeared from inside the beam.'

'He wasn't overly fat, it looked more like a… Healthy fat.

He looked like a gentle uncle. Although his eyes betrayed that. They were incredibly sharp.'

"You are here too, fatty." Said the man

"I couldn't miss the day my son advanced after all. Isn't that why you are also here?" Said the fatty.

"..."

Your lies won't take you anywhere. The kids still need to take their medications before advancing...

"In any case, I won't take much of your time, I am already cutting a few things out of my schedule just to be here."

'He took out a small cube-shaped device.'

'A hologram suddenly appeared from within.'

"This Is the list of everything I brought today. Only the highest quality materials as per my son's request."

"I don't want you to pester me later so here you go."

'The man took a look at the list and was surprised.'

"You truly didn't hold anything back!" Said the girl on the side.

"Of course! It's our son's future we are talking about here."

"... I will send the bill for some of the materials later… But what about the third boy?"

"Are you talking about young Carter? Pfft! Who do you think I am? I am going to pay for him of course!"

"It was thanks to him that my son changed so much! And for me, that's priceless. If he can continue to encourage my son to advance, hah. They might even become Energy Accumulation experts before their 20's."

"You are putting a lot of faith in them." Said Zhong's father

"Aren't you too?"

'The three talked for a little bit more before the fatty disappeared in a blue beam of light and the pair also left in a flying car.'

'Let the children figure things out by themselves...'