12 Chapter 12 - Martial Arts?

The air quaked in front of an illusory dragon's path.

Both the red beams of light and the tyrannical electrical spear were akin to nothing but paper to Dolian's attack.

They both stared with a blank gaze at the fearsome attack and only managed to regain their senses when the dragon neared them.

Jumping to the side, the two barely managed to avoid its path and they looked back at Dolian with blank gazes.

'W-What was that…' Alastor gulped as he felt fear stem directly from within. He felt his legs churn and rattle, and he felt his heart palpitating similar to what his father described when he greeted the gates of death.

'Was I going to die if I didn't dodge that attack?' Alastor felt his neck tighten and found it hard to breathe. Struggling to calm himself down, Alastor was about to speak when Aleksandra beat him to the punch.

"You…" Aleksandra stared at Dolian with a dumbfounded look, "What was that?"

Laughing at her reaction, Dolian walked up to them and answered her question, "It's nothing special. Although you can say it was martial arts rather than a normal punch because I borrowed some of Kyokushin Karate's moves in that attack."

"Martial arts?" Alastor mumbled and exclaimed in disbelief, "What do you mean martial arts?!"

"Yeah, there was no way that was martial arts," Aleksandra added, her previous animosity with Alastor was all gone as her previous near-death encounter made her heart calm down.

"You didn't let me finish. Martial arts allow humans to exert more of their strength than rough punches or crude kicks."

"All I did was just focus and gather all of my superhuman strength, and punch it out in one swift strike. The air then carries over the kinetic energy of my strike and produces a shockwave that has devastating prowess." Dolian pointed at the long trail of destruction behind the two.

"But!" Alastor struggled to stand up, "That's normal martial arts regardless!"

Staring at Alastor with a smile, Dolian snapped his fingers and explained, "Let me ask you this. If a person with enough strength to shatter a boulder into pieces with their bare hands learns how to perfectly handle their strength, learn martial arts, and gain the ability to exert strength beyond their natural limits, do you wanna know how strong a single attack of theirs would be?"

The previous scene flashed through Alastor's mind and he immediately realized what Dolian was trying to say. 'Even though the punch looked simple, it was in no way ordinary. With that punch of his, he manipulated the airflow and created a smooth pillar of air that shot forward, condensing the kinetic energy of his strike into a cylinder instead of spreading it out like a wave.

"I see…" Alastor stared at Dolian. 'If I were to learn martial arts, would I perhaps gain more power?'

Aleksandra thought the same as she knew that her raw strength was even greater than Dolian who has the blood of dragons running through his veins.

As he read their minds, Dolian commented, 'If Aleksandra were to gain the same level of skill as I do in any random martial arts that I know of, then she'd instantly raise her level of strength to a terrifying degree. As for Alastor, he would just be wasting his time.'

'While yes, his body has been enhanced by his quirk, he's still more of an emitter. He should focus more on developing the power of his quirk than his physical body.'

'What use is there in punching well when you can cause a tornado to appear?'

Dolian walked up to Aleksandra and helped her get up, but as he did so, he turned around and glanced at Alastor who was already walking away.

"Hey!" Dolian shouted and Alastor paused, "Where are you going?"

"It's none of your business." Alastor didn't even bother to look at Dolian and continued walking, before then promptly disappearing as a blur as the wind carried him forward at immense speeds.

Watching him disappear, Dolian turned towards Aleksandra and wore a wry smile, "Sorry for intervening like that…"

…

Students walked through wide hallways and entered their classrooms one by one. Just like them, a duo passed by numerous students without being noticed, and the two seemed to find this normal already as they weren't bothered by the fact that they were invisible to others.

"I didn't know your psychological invisibility has already reached this level. If I had my focus on somewhere else or was particularly tired or relaxed, I wouldn't even be able to notice you!" Aleksandra praised as she observed the students around her with interest in her eyes.

Dolian chuckled as they arrived at the entrance to their classroom and he lowered the effects of psychological invisibility, increasing their presence to normal levels.

Not giving the people around them enough time to realize that they were there, the two hurriedly entered the classroom and locked the door.

Of course, their fellow classmates can now see them too, and they easily exploded into loud murmurs.

"No way!"

"We're in the same class as those too!"

"The irascible Alastor Cohed, the valiant and heroic Aleksandra Glory, and even the mighty dragon Dolian Tatori!"

"That trio is in the same class!"

"And that class is in the same class we are in!"

As the sound of their voices turned louder and louder, the teacher at the front slapped the blackboard with a loud *pack*. The students soon turned silent as they were met with the fierce glare of their teacher.

Turning his head to them, the teacher nodded his head and said, "You two may take your seats."

As the class settled down, the teacher coughed and pointed at the blackboard.

"As this is our first time meeting each other, we'll proceed with the usual and start introducing ourselves."

"I'll go first." The man pointed at himself, "My name is Clayton Bell. You may know me as the pro hero Nano."

Within an instant, the whole class reeled back in shock as they couldn't believe what they just heard.

'He's Nano?! A hero that can be said to be within the top 100 of the country?!'

'I heard that he was super smart because his quirk was only utilized to its full potential because of his intelligence!'

'This man is our teacher from now on?'

Ignoring their obvious reactions, the man named Clayton Bell continued, "My hobbies are programming, and learning about technology and science. I like coffee, tea, or any other beverage that gives a boost to my energy levels but not those kinds that would destroy my health."

"I particularly dislike arrogant bastards and dumb baboons that think they are smart but are, in actuality, stupid." Clayton pulled back the chair behind his table and sat down.

"Now, we're taking turns in an alphabetical manner so first up is…"

Soon, the students introduced themselves one by one as they got to know some surface-level details about one another. This is a procedure that would eventually allow these students that are just random strangers to one another to open up and slowly build friendships and long-lasting relationships.

"My name is Alastor Cohed. My hobbies are training to get stronger and working out at the gym. I like being stronger. I dislike being weaker. My goal is to obviously become the strongest."

"My name is Aleksandra Glory. My hobbies are reading books, singing, and art. I like sweet food, black coffee, and books about romance. I dislike books that lead to tragedies or books that make me sad. My goal is to become the number one hero."

Finally, it was Dolian's turn.

Staring at the people around him, Dolian wore a pleasant smile and slowly stood up. His back was straight, and his eyes had an unwavering confidence to them.

"My name is Dolian Tatori. My hobbies are reading, martial arts, working out, art, singing, and other stuff. I like matcha latte, psychology, Japanese songs, and spending time with friends. I dislike bad guys, and people who hurt others." Dolian then deepened his smile as his voice seemed to suddenly have a mystical flair to it.

"As for my goal? My goal is…" His eyes seemed to turn into a magnetic whirlpool that sucked in the souls of anyone who looked at them, "My goal is to become the greatest in the world!"

His voice resonated throughout the entire room and his words echoed into the far distance. Even after he sat down back in his seat, everyone was still processing his resolute words that seemed to have been embedded deep into their memory and could never be forgotten.

At that moment, they finally realized just how resolute the person named Dolian Tatori was. Unlike them, he has a goal he firmly set out to achieve.

"Ahem…" Clayton coughed and put out the others from their blank state.

On the other side of the room, Alastor took a glance at Dolian who was already talking with Aleksandra who sat beside him, and muttered, "So this is the resolve of the number one in this school."

…

RINNGGGGGG!

The school bell rang throughout the entire room to signify that it was now lunchtime. Upon hearing this, the teacher in front of the class nodded their heads and grabbed their belongings.

"Everyone may now take their lunch. Remember to prepare for tomorrow's lesson and read about the fall of Yufemia."

As they left the room, Dolian yawned and stared at Aleksandra, "So, where do you want to eat lunch today?"

Hearing his question, Aleksandra blinked before she then thought, 'Is… Is he asking me out on a date?!'

'Even back in primary school, we would usually eat lunch with at least three people in our group. But now, there are only the two of us…' Aleksandra paused as she held back her instinct to stutter her words and said with a blank face, "I think eating outside in the fields would be nice."

"Hehehe, I thought of the same thing too!" Dolian smiled and grabbed a large black bag beside him and stood up.

Grabbing her lunch, she was about to follow Dolian as she struggled to hide her blushing face when she suddenly noticed Dolian walking up to Alastor.

"Good afternoon, Alastor~" Dolian greeted with a smile.

Even Alastor, the guy famously known for his grumpy attitude, couldn't be angry at Dolian's genuine attitude. So, without snapping back, he said, "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry what happened this morning, I had my own personal reasons to do that, ya know?" Dolian rubbed the back of his head and bowed to show his sincerity.

"Sigh…" Alastor let out a turbid breath, "You don't need to say sorry. I was the one who started that mess."

"Really?" Dolian inched forward and pointed at the empty seat beside Alastor, "It seems like you have no one to eat lunch with."

Hearing his words that poked straight at his loneliness, Alastor stiffened his smile and said, "I don't need to eat with anyone else. I'm perfectly fine eating all alone."

"Hey, humans are social creatures by nature! Besides, eating with friends is more fun than eating alone!"

"So, do you want to eat with us two?" Dolian pointed at Aleksandra who was grabbing her lunch.

Upon hearing his words, both Alastor and Aleksandra stared at one another, and he instantly saw the dense killing intent in her eyes that just seemed to scream, 'Don't ruin my moment!'

He hastily averted his gaze and looked back at Dolian with cold sweat on his back, "I don't think she wants me to eat with you guys."

"Aleks? No way! Isn't that right?" Dolian turned to Aleksandra with a smile, and her face instantly shifted to an innocent smile.

"Y-Yeah!" She responded weakly, clearly unconvinced of her own answer.

"See?" Dolian snapped his fingers.

Dolian's presence was way too strong for the inexperienced Alastor. Even though he was a famous kid, his grumpy attitude made him lead a lonely life with no friends to speak of, so Dolian's methods were way too overbearing, even for him.

Unable to refuse Dolian's puppy-like eyes that just begged him to accept his proposal, Alastor relented and ignored the pair of eyes that shot daggers at him, "Sure."

And so, Dolian once again made a lonely kid eat lunch with him, turn him into a friend, and eventually…

'And eventually, lower his mental barriers enough so I can fuck up his mind and slowly do the same thing I did to Will. How nice it really is to have two geniuses land right into the palm of my hands.'

AN: This chapter has 2120 words.

Oh god do I wish for you guys to just see what I have in store at the end of Arc 1. Volume 1 would take such a 1080 degree turn into the Chaos Sea and the plot would just go wacky, but the mystery would only be slowly revealed after each arc until we finally learn the truth of this matter.

(March 25, 2023 - 485th day of writing)