Martial Arts Worlds

Chapter 37 Reborn

"Hmph!" Muriel, after arriving back at her cottage, stomped to her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Oh, what happened?" Johan said while sweating heavily as he was holding the heavy piece of furniture above him.

While others went to check out the schools, Johan was forced to stay behind to train. It irked him to no end, but he knew that they had Martial Academia business to attend to there.

Cadell sat down on the sofa with an irksome expression and crossed his arms with an angry frown.

"I can imagine it now." Johan scoffed and looked at Cadell. "This jealous behavior of yours is pretty sad. I know you like her, but do you think this makes her look at you in a positive light? If she finds out, you'll never date her."

"Quiet down." Cadell said coldly. "Gotta make sure she doesn't find out then, right? If she finds out, I'll suspect that you said something, and then I'll snap your neck."

Godfred went over to her door and knocked gently. "Miri, you shouldn't be upset. Humans are pretty insensitive fools; you should forget about him!"

"But you are also a human grandpa." Muriel's voice came from the other side of the door. "Are you also insensitive?"

"I am different!" Godfred hurriedly said. "I am your grandpa!"

No other sounds came from the door except the sound of clothes dropping to the floor and the shower turning on.

"Sigh..." Godfred's head drooped low, and he slowly walked away with a face that seemed like all happiness was sucked out of him. "That fucking brat, I should kill him. No, that would make Miri hate me..."

"I can kill him." Cadell offered with his arm raised.

"No, we are here with the Martial Academia business." Godfred sat down. "It wouldn't look good if we killed one of their students."

"Who cares about what tier-4 country think?" Cadell scoffed. "We, Martial Academia, don't need any of them."

"Hey." Johan called out in annoyance.

"Let's just forget about it." Godfred said with a sigh. "She'll forget about him as well soon enough. After all, he is just average even among humans."

...

The sky turned dark as a storm rolled in. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and immediately afterwards, rain began pouring down in sheets.

"Let's return inside!" Jin shouted while sheltering himself under his jacket.

Everyone rushed back inside from the backyard, except one person—Kiernan.

"Kiernan!" Jin shouted out. "You'll get sick; come in!"

"A moment..." Kiernan placed his fist against the wooden dummy. He started doing techniques with lightning speed and precision, completely focusing on his training.

The rain poured down around him, soaking his clothes and hair.

"Iron Style, Rendering Edge." Kiernan clashed against the wooden dummy's wooden frame, feeling the satisfying impact.

At that moment, he grabbed one of the wooden dummy's "arms" with his fingers and whispered:

"Iron Style, Anatomical Bind."

It felt like he could control the wooden dummy to move as he wished. However, as he continued to practice, he began to notice a strange tingling sensation in his fingertips.

'I can't use that skill much...' Kiernan frowned and slammed his palm against the wooden dummy. "Iron Style, Sceneric Shift."

With a snap of his wrist, he threw the wooden dummy over his head and then slammed it into the ground, causing the grass to dig up around him in a cascade of dirt and grass.

At that moment, Kiernan's body started suddenly changing—thats what it at least looked like to onlookers—it was as if his body soaked up all the rain and he turned into a creature of water.

"Easier said than done." Madigan said with a wry smile. "Ryan, if he had a few more months, maybe, but it is too late now."

Kiernan put down his water bottle and cracked his neck. It was as if he took that as a challenge.

At that moment, his soul had another layer forcibly ripped off. The diamond-looking soul started to have other colors peek from underneath its shell—there were striking shades of purple and blue that glistened in the dim light.

"Ah!" Jin and Madigan cried out. "Y-you advanced?!"

[High Stage Martial Soldier Achieved]

[100 XP Acquired!]

Kiernan's blood churned and pumped with excitement. Then, his veins rose from underneath his flesh and started pumping his body with strength and power.

After that, inside the depths of his very being, another layer slowly peeled off from the soul—like a bandage being slowly ripped off the wound—and as soon as the layer was gone, the diamond soul turned into rays of beautiful blue and amethyst light that danced and sparkled in the darkness.

"T-that's impossible!" The coach and the assistant coach shouted. They were seeing something impossible—double advancement!

[Low Stage Martial Fighter Achieved!]

[150 XP Acquired!]

"Whoo." Kiernan breathed out heavily and then moved his hair back up, his face looking radiant and devilishly handsome. "Well, it looks like we have a Martial Fighter in our midst."

***

[Name: Kiernan Hunter]

[System Level: Beginner]

[Martial Rank: Low Stage Martial Fighter]

[Age: 16]

[Level: 3]

[SP: 0]

[Gold: 0]

[XP: 270/500]

[Strength: 30]

[Agility: 25]

[Stamina: 20]

[Vitality: 27]

[Charm: 25]

[Quests]

[Shop]

[Inventory]

[Lottery]