Seth increased his strength all the way to a Level 3. He also changed to an armor with defense of Level 3 Body Awakener.
Varian took the initiative and closed the distance in a breath.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Seth punched back, and Varian was forced to dodge.
He couldn't take on a Level 3 punch with his current strength. Not yet.
Seth's punch compressed the air in front of his fist and exploded it into shock waves.
Varian turned to the defense and this time, Seth took the initiative.
"Boom!"
Varian dodged once again.
"Varian, don't lose momentum." Seth said and kicking at Varian's chest.
Varian side stepped and barely dodged.
"Boom!"
Seth's attack landed on the floor. It would have broken a military vehicle, but the white floor was resilient.
He punched at Varian the next moment.
"Boom!"
Time flowed and Varian slowly adjusted to facing a Level 3.
His unique advantage over his peers and enemies in general, combat experience, was not enough in front of an experienced Seth.
So he couldn't bridge the gap between their stats. Thus, Varian was always at the receiving end and was suppressed in the battle.
However, despite not having an upper hand, he got better at dodging.
Varian's performance improved at a visible rate. It both shocked and scared Seth.
He was in the Adventure Guild and military for long. He saw many geniuses and powerhouses.But only Varian was this monstrous.
Seth was sure Varian would be able to catch up with his combat experience in two years. He felt he overestimated, but in a few days, he'd know it was a gross underestimation.
The training on the first day ended with Varian failing to land even a single punch.
"I honestly feel more like your sparring partner than your combat teacher." Seth sat on the ground and looked at the young man in front.
He was panting for breath and drenched in sweat. Each of his muscles was chiseled to perfection through years of hard work.
"Just how long were you training?" He asked out of curiosity but also a bit of frustration.
Maybe Varian didn't need him as much as he thought. Whatever lessons he imparted were all things Varian was already trying to incorporate and was in the middle of accomplishing. If anything, he was only a catalyst for Varian's growth.
"Around... Ten years." Varian replied in short breaths while glaring at Seth. This old man really beat him up.
Varian took a few direct hits and felt the bones in his body almost break.
Thankfully, he used the reaction speed of a Level 7 Body Awakener and controlled his strength in the last moment, saving Varian from injuries.
Else, a direct hit from level 3 would be dangerous for Varian. But that didn't mean he had to suffer less.
"10 years…"
"I don't remember much... it's vague. I was just fighting all day, every day. I wanted to get stronger. Awaken. But it was too late." Varian smiled like he didn't care.
In fact, he did. More than anything else. His past was a living thing for him. However, he would rather not talk about it.
"Let's see what your future holds." Seth got up and offered his hand.
Varian took it and got up. He smiled mysteriously. "You never know."
True. Seth didn't know. Neither did Varian.
[+5 Xp
Body Path Level 2: 70/200]
Varian returned to his room and took a good bath.
In the latter half of the day, he was engrossed in the specialization classes.
Then came meditation.
[+5 Xp
Body Path 2: 75/200]
The next morning, he had the combat training again.
This time, however, he was able to land a single hit.
Then specialization class for a few hours. After dinner, he sunk into meditation.
Rinse and repeat and soon, two weeks passed.
Varian's absence sparked rumors in the first years.
His peers thought he 'learnt' his lessons and gave up on his career. There were even some articles stating how he spent all day in his room with little regards to academics.
He became the antithesis of a model student.
A few fanatics even gave an open warning that whoever approached Varian would be attacked outside the academy.
All in all, Varian became the student who everyone thought would go nowhere.
However, they didn't know that he was improving every day. His progress in a few days surpassed their progress of months.
The most scared and elated for Varian's progress, Seth. Varian went from not landing a single hit to be able to land at least 30 hits during the battle without taking a fatal attack to himself.
What was even more alarming was his Divine Path progress.
On the fifteenth day, Varian reached the training hall and dragged out the lazy Seth who was still sleeping under his pile of weapons.
"Why are you still sleeping?" Varian said in amusement and confusion. He didn't know why, but Seth was first excited then he was kinda ... scared?
"Lemme sleep, you brat. You can train by yourself anyway. I'm fired and have no job. I want to spend my spend my days in peace." Seth said and buried himself in the heap of weapons.
"If you don't fight, I'll tell Wendy you want to date her." Varian threatened.
A few days ago, Varian was injured and had to heal in the infirmary. There, he learnt that Wendy and Seth were high school classmates. Seth accidentally revealed that Wendy had a crush on him.
Thus, blackmail material, ahem, important evidence was found.
Seth jumped out of the weapons' heap, and face palmed. "Today, the missions start. Your team will go on a mission in a few hours. Let me sleep."
He went back into his cold, dark mountain. He felt that getting fired was not a bad thing after all.
Seth's voice came out of the weapons. "Just listen to the captain. You'll get lots of mp. Remember to buy me a nice sword pillow. I'm too broke."
Varian rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Yes."
"If the captain didn't accept, I wouldn't be able to get you a spot. You don't know how lucky you are to go with these second years on the first mission."
"I shared the details. Now go. Lemme sleep." Seth's snoring filled the room.
Varian exited the room and called in his mind 'Status.'
[Body Path level 2: 120/200
Space Path Level 1: 100/100]
He was stuck in trying to advance to Level 2 in Space Path. He didn't find any quick solutions, despite an intensive search and multiple specialization classes.
On the other hand, he progressed in Body Path every day. However, the improvement rate was varied and was slow. Despite that, Varian was confident in breaking into the next level in a month.
If he did this one mission well, he'd get one month of breather. Then, he could easily break into Level 3 and from then one, even be able to take on a few missions individually.
He opened his comm:
"My first Mission."