...
Shin was currently sitting on top of his bed and meditating. He was trying to adjust his body to the new state of his mind. He spent quite a lot of time in meditation before he could finally able to move without awkwardness.
He still felt a little stiff at doing simple movements, but at the very least, he could only treat them as some sort of training weights that he could use to improve himself.
After jumping up and down inside his room and throwing a couple of punches in the air, he felt that he could at least move a little normally right now.
He tried to move a little more to make sure that he could get used to the current state of his body before his sparring match with Zero, or rather Dylan White in the real world. And after a few moments, he quickly walked out of his room and headed toward the backyard.
When he arrived there, he immediately the boys waiting for him. Arthur and Leonard were currently chatting with each other while they were watching the brief exchanges between Vincent and Jerimiah from the sidelines.
On the other hand, David was currently checking the barrier that he set up in the backyard as the two fought inside it. From the looked of it, he was checking whether the barrier was sturdy enough to endure the exchanges between the two.
Shin looked around for a few moments before asking Arthur after seeing that the girls were not around. "Where are Cloe and the others?"
Arthur clicked his tongue when he heard those words before answering. "Tsk! Is there even a need to ask? Whenever girls are together and go outside, it can only mean a single thing. They are going to have some fun."
"They said that they want to relax a little after all of the stress that they've got inside the game," said Leonard, chiming in.
"Anyway, this is not the time for you to think about what they are doing, you should worry about yourself since this is an important occasion for you. If you fail to properly stabilize your current state, then the foundation that you build for your swordsmanship will suffer greatly," said Arthur with a smirking tone but also carrying a hint of worry.
"Oh! And who is the person that you ask for this sparring match? Are you sure that you are fine with him?" he added while frowning his eyebrows.
Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but grin mysteriously before answering. "You actually know him inside the game. Actually, you also know him here in the real world since you already him in person."
Arthur suddenly raised his eyebrow when he heard those words. He was about to ask Shin who was it when the latter immediately added. "Though, he was using a different persona inside the game."
A few moments later, Vincent and Jerimiah were already done with their quick sparring match and walked out of the barrier that David had set up.
"Alright, everything seemed to be fine," said David as he looked at Shin before asking. "So, what time is your sparring partner going to arrive?"
He was also curious who was the person his junior brother had invited to be his sparring partner. He already had an idea who was it since he could only think of a single person who had a peerless talent when it came to swordsmanship.
'It must be Mr. Eugene White's son,' thought David as he waited for Shin to respond.
Shin looked at his clock to check the time and quickly answered. "It is about time for him to arrive."
"He also said that he is going to bring an expert who will oversee our match," he added after a brief moment of pause.
David was about to say something when he suddenly felt a few people coming in their direction. And quickly turning his head toward those people, he immediately saw Nathan, Eugene, and Dylan, who were calmly walking towards them.
'I knew it,' thought David as he walked toward the three and quickly greeted Nathan and Eugene.
Seeing that David was bowing at them, Eugene slightly nodded his head while Nathan also did the same.
In the meantime, Jerimiah and Vincent couldn't help but look at the scene with strange looks on their faces before exchanging gazes with each other. It was not their first time seeing a pair of peerless experts just like Nathan and Eugene.
After all, they were a part of one of the most feared Assassin Families in the whole world. But despite that being the case, they still couldn't believe what they were seeing from the two experts.
What they could see from their perspective was a huge golden dragon that had a majestic figure and an immortal person who was wielding a sacred sword.
Moreover, the respective pressure that was coming from those figures was too suffocating for the two of them to endure. It was as if they were being crushed physically by the auras that were being emitted by those imaginary avatars.
"Heh! These kids have pretty keen senses," muttered Nathan quietly before tuning to Eugene. "What do you think about it? This generation of talent is quite remarkable, isn't it?"
"Heh!" Eugene seemed to smirk a little when he heard those words before replying briefly. "Maybe."
Nathan let out a brief laugh when he heard those words before saying them. "Hah! But from what I can see right now, they are already about to surpass us when we are their age."
Hearing that, Eugene swept his gaze at the young men in front of him before slightly smirking. "We will see about that."
He was in the middle of talking when he suddenly felt a strange aura that suddenly came out from Shin's body. It only appeared in a very brief moment but that it was more than enough for Someone like Eugene to sense it clearly.
"Huh!?" Eugene squinted his eyes and focused his gaze on Shin and studied him. But after observing the latter for a few moments, he didn't find anything strange.
"Is it just my imagination?" muttered Eugene with a quiet voice before turning to Nathan. But then the moment when he did that, he also saw the latter wearing a deep frown while staring intensely at Shin.
"Did you also feel it?" whispered Eugene.
Nathan didn't reply to him but still nodded his head heavily. And after a few more moments, he retracted his gaze away from Shin before turning to Dylan. "Kid, I have a favor to ask."
The young swordsman was confused at the quiet conversation of the two experts. And it further intensified when he heard those words from Nathan. Regardless, he still listened to what the latter was about to say.
…
Meanwhile, Arthur and Leonard were quite surprised when they saw Dylan. How could they not recognize him when witnessed the four-way battle that took place in the Magical Ace Academy during the special entrance exam.
"That guy?" muttered Arthur as he stared intensely at Dylan.
"Now that I think about it, that guy is really similar to Zero. The same posture, the same style in battle, and same aura – aside from their appearance, those two really looked the same," commented Leonard after having a closer look at Dylan.
Dylan, on the other hand, slightly nodded his head to them before turning to Shin. And the moment when his gaze landed on the latter, he immediately felt the changes in Shin's aura compared to the last time that he saw him.
A moment later, he suddenly remembered the favor that Nathan had asked him earlier. 'I guess I need to take this more seriously.'
'From what I heard, this guy is a Battle Genius, so he would be able to adjust himself with a new state of his mind and body,' he added to his thoughts before fixing the strap of the sheathed longsword behind him.
At the same time, Shin put his left hand on the pair of katanas hanging on the left side of his waist. He could feel an intense excitement in this match.
...
Shin and Dylan entered the barrier that David had set up earlier and stood in the middle of it right across from each other.
At the same time, Eugene was standing in the middle of the two with his hands crossed behind him. He shifted his gaze between the two before saying. "You are not allowed to use any kind of power in this match."
He then paused for a moment and turned his gaze at Shin before continuing. "The purpose of this duel is to help you stabilize your current state, understand?"
Shin slightly nodded his head before closing his eyes and stabilizing his breathing. He was trying to keep his focus so that he could still go all-out despite his current state.
And while he was doing that, the world around him seemed to pause for a moment as if the time suddenly stopped moving.
Hu~!
The moment when opened his eyes, the aura surrounding himself instantly changed which surprised both Eugene and Nathan.
"This kid is really something," muttered the Sword Immortal while staring at Shin full of surprise.
...
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