The true world

20 minutes later, Siddharth was sitting in the gym office, dressed in fresh gym clothing.

Across him sat a handsome man who looked to be in his early thirties. He was the gym owner, Mr. Rick. Right now, he was preparing tea with the utmost concentration. After a while, he was done and poured Siddharth a cup and then poured one for himself.

"Here, try this. I'm sure you'll like it." He said while sliding a cup toward Siddharth.

Siddharth nodded and picked up the cup. As he inhaled the tea's aroma, he felt refreshed and couldn't help but take a few more sniffs.

Noticing this, Mr. Rick revealed a small smile. "Take a sip."

Siddharth took a sip. Immediately, his taste buds rumbled in joy and he couldn't help but smack his lips.

"This is very…" Just as he was about to say how delicious it was, his breathing grew heavy, his face turned red and, like a drunken man, his body swayed.

Grabbing the chair to keep his body stable, he closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths. After what seemed like a long time, he regained his bearing.

"How was it?" Mr. Rick asked, a small smile playing on his lips as he slowly sipped the tea from his cup.

Siddharth thought for a few moments, but couldn't find the proper words to describe it. So, in the end, he could only say, "... Incredible!"

Not only did it make him feel refreshed, it also seemed to have a nourishing effect on his internal organs. Finding something like this on earth was indeed incredible.

When he remembered how strong that guy he beat up was and how easily Mr. Rick stopped his attack, he could feel this world wasn't as simple as he and everyone else thought. 

Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Mr. Rick, may I know what you want to talk about, sir?"

Mr. Rick took another sip before saying, "We can talk after you finish your tea. But drink slowly, savor it. Who knows when you will have the chance to taste it again since it's not something normal people can get their hands on? Then again, you are not normal. So, maybe it may not be long."

Siddharth paused. From Mr. Rick's words, he knew his previous conjecture was correct. This world was indeed not normal. At the same time, he became curious about this man whose status he was unable to see. 

Not bothering to think more since he would soon get answers to some of his questions, he started drinking the tea. After each sip, he had to wait for a while for the tea's effects to subside before he could take another sip. 

Half an hour later, he finally emptied his cup. When he glanced at Mr. Rick, he saw him sitting there with his eyes closed. His cup and the teapot, which was 70% full after pouring two cups, were empty–clearly, he finished it all. 

'How impressive!' Siddarth thought. He barely managed to finish a cup while this guy downed almost 6 cups and seemed completely fine, unlike him, who had become somewhat drunk.

As if sensing his gaze, Mr. Rick opened his eyes and extended his hand, "Let me re-introduce myself. I'm Rick, the owner of this humble establishment."

Siddharth shook his hand, "I'm Siddharth. Nice to meet you. Also, thank you for helping me back there."

"It's alright. That guy is too violent and doesn't like when any man talks to Divya. He is obsessed with her. Fortunately, he is sensible enough to not force himself on her. If not, things would've been too troublesome." Mr. Rick said in frustration.

"Why don't you just ban him? That way, he won't be able to bother anyone here." Siddharth asked. If he was the gym owner and some member was causing trouble for other members, he would immediately kick him out and ban him for lifetime.

Mr. Rick revealed a helpless expression and sighed, "I want to do that, but it'll bring me more troubles than benefits."

"He is not someone simple, huh?" Siddharth probe.

Mr. Rick gave him a look that said 'Since you want to know about him, just ask directly'. Nevertheless, he nodded, 

"Yeah. He isn't simple. He comes from an old martial family. However, it has already declined, so I don't fear it. The troublesome thing is; he is a subordinate of someone very influential, who I don't want to offend."

Hearing this, Siddharth's expression turned grave. He never expected he would offend someone so troublesome the first day his life changed for good.

A moment later, he let out a sigh in his heart. 'There is no benefit worrying about it now.'

At the same time, he also realized that this guy, Mr. Rick, didn't fear Rahul's backing, no matter how impressive it was. The reason he didn't want to get involved was simply because it was… troublesome.

"Since that's the case, let's not talk about him. Why don't you tell me what you want to talk to me about?" Siddharth came to the main point. He was confused because he didn't know why he invited him to his office and even gave him his precious tea to drink.

Mr. Rick was silent for a while before he asked, "You don't know much about the martial world, right?"

Hearing this, Siddharth's heartbeat grew faster, and he subconsciously exclaimed out loud, "Martial world?!"

Mr. Rick smiled, "Although I had already guessed it, I'm really surprised you really don't know about the martial world. I wonder how you became a martial artist?"

Not waiting for Siddharth to say anything, he added, "I only expressed my curiosity. There is no need to tell me. After all, everyone has secrets." 

"Hmm." Siddharth nodded while letting out a sigh of relief. If he really wanted to know, things might've become ugly because he surely wouldn't tell his secret to anyone.

"Hm, it seems I need to tell you some things about the martial world, our true world, before we can talk about why I brought you here." Mr. Rick muttered. 

Siddharth's eyes shone with interest when he heard this.