28 Putting yourself up front

Goldy seemed like he was really interested in having a talk about the skills, however didn't like where we were. Like, I could sense people staring at me because I had been staring at the Cat Burglar's poster for the longest time without doing anything. So, for some reason, the ancient gold dragon itself felt uncomfortable about the stares directed towards us… me to be exact. I guess staying inside a damn cave for many years made him a shut-in of sorts.

Sensing this, I walked back to my house. My parents were worried that the Cat burglar might try to rob something from me. However, after making them understand that we are piss poor, so "he" won't rob us, I headed back to my room and closed it. As I was about to have a conversation with Goldy, a knock was heard before my door.

When I opened it, it was Ao, asking me to play with him. Although I had stuff to talk about, I couldn't ignore my little brother's request. And it's not like I can say that I'm busy and people will believe it anyway. So, I just took a glance at Goldy, because I felt like I was somewhat offending him at this point. However, when I saw him being fine with it, I happily followed Ao.

We ended up playing tag- the extreme version, if you ask me. When I became it, I was unaware that Ao would use his Qi to boost his speed. I realized it when I saw this gap being formed between us with each passing second. However, I wasn't ready to give up that easily. Even though I haven't any skills that would let me use my Qi on agility… Well, I haven't learned any skills in general, but I had physical strength. And I knew that my current physical prowess can easily topple a ten-year-old kid like my little brother. However, it was not like I can easily show off my strength like that since it's obviously a secret. But for some reason, Goldy allowed it. Maybe it was because Ao was still a child and my parents might just think that he is over-exaggerating when he says that his sister is super-fast. And with that, I continued to destroy Ao (not literally, of course!). Like, whenever I was it, I would quickly catch him and whenever he was it, I would run up to a point that he couldn't catch me anymore. It was not my style to damage the self-confidence that a ten-year-old kid has after learning a skill or two, but I was hella competitive that I forgot about the age of my opponent. I only realized it when I saw him looking down. I thought that I might've broken his spirit. But that wouldn't be that bad now… At least, he wouldn't become the right-hand man of Wang Lei now!

That's what I thought… However, the kid wasn't dejected or something… Instead, he was really excited for some reason. Like, he wanted to do this more some other day when he gets even stronger. I won't understand why he wasn't sad that a supposedly weak person like myself thoroughly defeated him. Not only didn't he feel bad about it, he didn't even feel anything was weird about it. He acted as if me running at that speed was a totally normal event, which means that I'm the only one who felt uncomfortable about this event. Anyway, it seems like Ao's road to being the villain's right-hand man is continuing without a hitch, contrary to what I expected to happen.

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After the game of tag with Ao, I returned to my room and just jumped onto my bed. I wasn't tired or anything. I was just processing how calm that kid acted with all the events that happened around him. Lately, weird things have been occurring more frequently, and I am having difficulties trying to process this shite.

"Are you done with whatever you're doing right now?" Goldy asked as he sat on the only chair in the room, waiting for me to finish processing the events. However, I'm an idiot and my brain seems to get circuited really quick, so I took some more time.

"You, an idiot? Well, that wouldn't be the right term to describe you. Annoying? Yea. Idiot? Not really. You really seem to understand what I try to say even though you take time to do that. And that sheer effort you put places you above the idiots that I know of." Goldy replied as he heard my inner monologue. I kinda felt happy that the guy tried to cheer me up when I bad-mouthed myself. I kinda agree with his assessment of me being annoying though. Anyway, peeking into my monologues… Well, he seems to be doing that really frequently these days. What if that's a skill or something? That'd be really cool, right?

"It's not a skill. I naturally developed it because I'm special. I wasn't kidding when I said that I'm kinda special. It's my personal skill. No one can emulate it because even I don't know the mechanics behind it. Anyway, there's also the fact that we share a bond, which makes it really easy for me to peek into your thoughts and stuff." Goldy replied.

"Hmm, I see. That's fine though. You're special, right? So, that was kinda a given." I spoke. It looked like me agreeing with him on his special existence isn't something he is familiar with, so it was fun seeing him slightly blush when I talk about him being special.

"Yea… Anyway, let's talk about skills." Goldy spoke, making me really excited about it.

"Yup! Lets. How am I gonna learn all those skills from you and what are the skills?" I asked.

"You're not." He replied.

"Huh?" I didn't get what exactly he was saying no to. I didn't think that no was an answer to the questions that I asked, however it seemed like that was a perfectly fine answer for it, weird as it is.

"I mean, you're not gonna learn all those skills. Instead, you'll learn just one from me." Goldy replied.

"But, why? Wouldn't it be simpler if I learned it all from you? And don't I have to level up soon for you to revive to your old strength?" I asked.

"I guess what you're saying is right. However, right now, don't think about me, but think about yourself. Look, you're getting a golden opportunity here. You're not restricted by your sect because no one knows of your strengths. No one bats an eye about the things you do and even if you do something massive, you're the last one that they would actually suspect. You understand what I mean?" Goldy asked.

I kinda understood but decided to act stupid with it. "What do you mean?" I asked. After all, there's a chance that we're not thinking the same thing. It's better to clear your doubts early, right?

Goldy sighed. "Look, when I was your age, I was hailed as a prodigy by my sect… Hell, I was called a prodigy even earlier than that, if you ask me. You might think that's a good thing, but trust me it's not. It only acted as a limiter to me. Had I or my parents not acted as if me being pretty skilled isn't a big deal, the sect wouldn't have cared either. But since they cared, they instilled their teachings on me. This meant I had to learn all ten skills which are exclusive for my sect. I still regret that I actually accepted to learn all that, because it was garbage. Nine out of the ten were absolute garbage skills, but I had to learn it because I was the prodigy of the damn sect. So, I am kinda jealous of you. Had I got this opportunity, I wouldn't have been special, but something more… Ultra special or something! And now, you got this opportunity. Although you won't be ultra special, you will be special than most of the people you know if you decide to only learn the most special skills." He explained.

I thought for a while. What Goldy said made complete sense when I thought hard about it. I couldn't refute it. However, there was one concerning factor. "So, you want me to learn the super special skills, huh? You know how long it will take for us to steal all those skills from various sects?" I asked.

"Yea, it might take time, but if you got them and developed them at your current stage of Qi level, don't you think it'll be pretty cool?" He asked back.

"I mean… I can't deny that. But what about your revival and stuff? Won't that take time as well?" I asked.

Goldy sighed again. "Okay, listen to me. When you get a great opportunity, don't squander it for someone else because it might end up biting you back when you think about it the least. So, rather than thinking about me, think about yourself. So, are you ready for that?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. "Yes!" I replied enthusiastically.

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