...
Ace City
Shin and David arrived at the entrance of the Magic Ace Academy and quickly get off the car.
There were already a lot of students coming in and out of the academy as the new school year was about to start. The first semester was starting a few days later, so most of the students were already moving into their respective dorms.
"It has been a while since I feel this kind of atmosphere," muttered Shin as he looked at the entrance.
David closed the door on the side of the driver's seat before looking at Shin. "I will be going now. Be careful when you are driving home."
Shin turned his head at him and slightly nodded before replying. "Don't worry, I am not a showoff, unlike Arthur."
David stared at him for a moment before asking. "Are you sure that you don't want to look around? The semester is about to start on Monday, you will not have time to look for them later since you guys are going to be busy with your respective classes."
Shin casually waved his hand at his senior brother as he answered. "That will not be an issue. And we can also take a lot around while we are going from a class to another."
"Isn't it more interesting to do such things? We can feel the school life that way," he added as he headed over the other side of the car.
Then he made a shooing action with his hand before saying. "You can go now. You said that Big Brother Elijah is waiting for you, don't let him wait for that long. After all, the state of one's mind is also pretty important when it comes to sparring with other people."
"Tsk! You don't have to tell me about that. I at least know that much," said David while clicking his tongue.
After David quickly jogged his way towards the academy while waving his hand at Shin. "You should come outside from time to time and socialize with other people. Staying at home all day is quite boring, you know?"
Shin didn't reply as he opened the door of his car and prepared to leave. But as he did that, he suddenly heard an old voice behind him.
"Ho-ho! I agree with that young lad. You should come out of your cave from time to time. Sometimes, taking a casual walk from time to time is also good for calming your mind. It is also a part of training."
Shin didn't need to look around to know who was it as he had seen that old man for quite some time already. He closed the door of the car and turned before bowing at the old man who was walking towards him. "I greet the professor. I hope that you've been well."
Professor Henry who was walking over Shin laughed when he saw the latter's actions and waved his hand. "Rise little kid. Such ceremonies are not suited for this old man. You can just treat me as an old man at your home, I prefer a casual greeting than formalities like this."
Shin slightly nodded his head as a response before standing up straight once again. And right after that, he suddenly felt a gaze that seemed to be trying to unveil all of his secrets.
Seeing the surprised look on his face, Professor Henry couldn't help but smile mysteriously before asking. "What's with the surprised look? Didn't you already suspect that those rumors are not true the moment you see me for the first time that other day?"
The corner of Shin's mouth suddenly twitched when he heard those words. 'So, he did it on purpose. Don't tell me he is spreading those rumors that he is not an expert in neither of those two disciplines.'
After that, he took another look at the old man standing in front of him, trying to assess the professor's strength. But to his surprise, he couldn't perceive anything from the professor. It was as if he was looking at an ordinary person who never learned any kind of discipline. The air around him was too ordinary compared to the other old experts that Shin had encountered so far.
As if the old man could read what was running inside Shin's head, the professor suddenly smiled even more mysteriously while saying. "Kid, there are a lot of dangerous things in this world, and being knowledgeable in a lot of fields is one of them."
"Imagine, if someone that knowledgeable is also well versed in fighting? How do you think those people sitting on the throne will react?"
Shin was suddenly taken aback by those words as he was not expecting that. Moreover, the old professor was also giving a profound look as if there was another meaning to his words.
'No, there are a lot of meanings behind them. But what are they exactly?' thought Shin to himself as he looked at the old man with a knitted brow.
Seeing that got the interest of the young man in front of him, Professor Henty gave Shin another meaningful smile before asking. "Are you curious? I can at least answer one of them if you want since you are going to be a part of the Research Department Family."
Shin was tempted but he also felt that he should ask anything for now due to some unknown reason. It was as if there was something within his heart that was preventing him from inquiring further.
'So, it is still not time yet,' thought the professor to himself when he saw the hesitation in Shin's eyes and quickly said. "If you feel that you are still not ready, then you don't have to force yourself. The right time will come for everything."
Shin felt that there was another profound meaning behind those words. He further knitted his brow as the curiosity that he had became more intense. Though, he still managed to hold himself up and did not ask anything.
Professor Henry slightly nodded his head when he saw that and asked. "Are you going somewhere, kid? Come with me for a second if you still have some time."
"Eh? Do you need me for something professor?" asked Shin unconsciously.
The professor gave him a quick glance before answering. "I heard from your seniors that you seemed to be having second thoughts about joining our department. I will show something interesting that will convince you that you make the right choice at choosing us."
The corner of Shin's mouth twitched once again when he heard those words, especially when he heard the word seniors. It was reminding him of the time when he first encountered those strange and scary members of the Research Department.
"Then I can give you a ride there, professor!" he responded after recovering himself.
"Ho-ho! Unfortunately, this old enjoyed take a little walk in the school grounds," answered Professor Henry which made Shin knit his brow once again.
The professor ignored the look that Shin was making before pointing at the parking lot a few distances away. "You can park that care of yours over here. This old man can wait for you here."
Shin stared at the old man for a moment before nodding his head.
...
After walking around the school grounds, Professor Henty brought Shin to an open field where no one was around.
Aside from the calm field and cozy blow of the wind, Shin didn't see anything special in the place. Then he turned his attention to the old man, waiting for the professor to say something.
"Kid, how is your progress in combining your Martial-Arts and Mentalism?" asked Professor Henry all of a sudden.
"Eh!?" Shin couldn't immediately give his reply as he was suddenly taken aback by the old man's question.
Seeing the surprised look that Shin had, Professor Henry immediately said. "Don't be surprised, kid. I am a long-time friend of your masters. That old monster maybe a little older than me, but we are indeed friends when we are still going to the same school. It is the same for that old fatty."
"Ah!" Shin immediately realized that Professor Henry was currently talking about Professor Plum and Grandmaster Benn.
"We spend quite some time researching our style together during those times. We also exchange some pointers from time to time. Did that old duo tell you that we suffered some setbacks during that?" added the old professor with the same profound matter that he had earlier.
Shin got the gist of time since he heard from his masters that they suffered a lot during their younger days. Their ideals were rejected by both circles of Martial-Arts and Mentalism due to how crazy their ideas were.
Professor Plum was treated like a crazy person for attempting to train a pair of opposing Qi within his body on top of harmonizing them. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Benn was isolated by his peers due to him having the idea of combining all of the Mentalism paths in a single training method.
Both old men were treated badly during their younger days but they managed to persevere and able to succeed in the end.
'Is Professor Henry is also the same?' thought Shin while looking at the old man standing a few meters in front of him.
Then the corner of his mouth suddenly twitched before saying to himself. 'Looks like I got entangled with another old monster of the Martial-Art and Mentalism world.'
...…
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