Chapter 1: A true teacher

"Come here, kid."

Josh landed a dropkick on a training dummy, and let out a heavy sigh in exhaustion. He had been training for almost two hours.

Josh walked up to a man sitting on a bench, "What's up old man." Josh grinned at the handsome middle-aged man with an athletic build.

The man smiled kindly, "Come sit here." The man patted the space beside him.

Josh didn't think too much and took a seat beside him.

Seeing that Josh was seated beside him, the man began, "What did I tell you about people coming and going out of life?"

Josh raised his eyebrows at this question, why was this old man suddenly asking him such a question?

"People come and go out of this world," Josh began, "live the kind of life that when you're gone from this earth, you'll still be alive in people's hearts."

"I would make a good poet don't you think?" The old man smiled.

"That's like saying I'll make a good teacher." Josh chuckled.

He had never even tried teaching, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't be too pleased with the idea of teaching a seniors class in high school.

"I think you'd make an excellent teacher," the old man disagreed, "a good teacher is a good listener. He is able to understand what the student is saying, and try to see it from the student's point of view."

"Perhaps I would." Josh shrugged.

There was an awkward silence between the both of them.

"How did we meet again?" The old man asked.

"Are you already having dementia old man?" Josh chuckled.

"The brain does get fuzzy sometimes." The old man smiled.

Josh looked up to the ceiling, "that was the best day of my life."

_____

"Look how you're walking so confidently just because you topped a stupid exam." A boy scoffed at Josh.

 Josh turned to him and said with a wide grin on his face, "If it's that easy then why is your age higher than your score? Oh, I forgot, you can't count that high."

"You little piece of shi!" The boy's face turned red in anger.

The boy punched Josh's face with a frightening force that could not be considered normal and pressed him against a locker.

"If beating up someone weaker than you soothes your ego, then I'm afraid you're nothing but thrash." The boy was about to land another punch on Josh's face but paused on hearing the bold and calming male voice.

When the boy's eyes met his, the man said in a domineering tone, "let him go, now."

"What if I don't want to?" The boy contorted his face in annoyance. Who was this whimp of a teacher to tell him what to do?

"As you know, or perhaps you may have forgotten. I am a member of staff and by disobeying me you're going to get into a little bit of trouble." The man replied calmly.

The boy looked at Josh and reluctantly let go of him.

The boy looked at Josh with contempt, "Daddy's not going to save you next time little piece of shi-"

"You are not allowed to curse in my presence." The man put a finger on the boy's lips.

"And just so you know, I'll be keeping an eye on you." The man warned.

The boy scoffed and went his way.

"You okay kid?" The man put a hand on Josh's shoulder.

"Pretty much." Josh nodded.

Josh looked at the man with gratitude. No one had ever come to his aid, who would? After all, he was a poor thrash who couldn't use mana. If he complained to the school authority they would just look the other way. Of what worth was he compared to a mage?

All his life week in-week out he had been a constant victim of bullying. And his appearance didn't help much in that aspect. He had the choice to be a lap dog to some awakened kid, at least that way he wouldn't get bullied. But his pride wouldn't let him.

His biggest dream was to create a serum that was able to damage the mana core of mages and warriors, rendering them useless.

The difference between mages and warriors was that; warriors could use mana, but that mana could not be manipulated into an element but could be channelled through a treasure. Mage,s on the other hand, could do both.

Creating a serum that would rid the "Awakened" as they called themselves, of their power would finally bring balance to the world.

"Good." The man removed his hand from Josh's shoulder.

Danny looked at the boy and sighed, he reminded him of himself in his high school days. Unable to use mana, morbidly obese and to top it all, had no friends. Saying his life in high school was miserable was an understatement. He was depressed, and the only thing he consoled himself with was that when he got older he would be able to secure a high-paying job.

It wasn't until he started putting actual effort into getting fit that he started to gain confidence in himself.

He took this job so he could mentor the younger generation. A golden opportunity to change a kid's life forever stood before him, and he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night if he let it slip through his fingers.

"I like you." Danny said to Josh who looked at him as though he had horns coming out of his ears.

Danny facepalmed at his mistake, "I didn't mean it that way."

"Then what do you mean sir?" Josh asked confused.

"Not many kids dare to stand up to bullies. They accept that they are trash and let the bully feed on their fear." Danny explained.

"You're saying it like I did a noble thing," Josh chuckled, "I did get hit really hard on the face you know?"

Danny smiled, "The fact that you refuse to be thrash makes you stand out from the rest."

"Standing out from the rest hurts... A lot."

"You can't stop the bullies. The least you could do is get stronger and take even harder hits."

"You're asking me to commit suicide." Josh chuckled.

What nonsense was this man spewing? No matter how hard he trained, he still could not use mana. Even if he trained hard a built the physique of a professional bodybuilder, he would still be lacking behind an E-rank warrior. Being able to take on spells from a mage was a whole different ballgame. So why even bother? He was stubborn and proud but he was not stupid.

"If you're willing to I can make you become a better version of yourself." Danny offered.

"How is that going to happen?" Josh asked.

"You'll come to the gymnasium after school to work out, and in addition maybe I'll teach you a few tricks." Danny replied, "What do you think."

Josh thought about his offer hard. He really needed to change something in his life. Maybe if he took care of his appearance his outlook on life would change. He had never taken any steps to lose a few pounds. But now that he thought of it, he would at least not be thrash among normal humans. He would still stand out from the crowd.

"I accept."

_____

"Ah, memories." Danny sighed with a smile on his face.

Ever since then, he had taken Josh as his son. He was proud of the man that Josh had grown to become, from that little fat kid to a complete Chad. He had accomplished his task as a teacher.

"Although sometimes you try to kill me, I'll always love you old man." Josh said to Danny.

"You're going to make this old man cry kid." Danny dabbed his eyes with his hand.

Josh rolled his eyes.

"I have something to tell you." Danny said in a serious tone.

"What's that?" Josh asked, a little startled by his sudden seriousness.

Danny looked into Josh's eyes, almost tearing up, "I'm going to die in a few days." Danny dropped the bombshell.

Josh burst into a fit of laughter.

"You're joking a little too much old man." Josh said, refusing to believe what Danny had just said.

"What makes you think I'll joke with my life?" Danny smiled wryly.

"Your dream is to have a boxing match with a kangaroo." Josh chuckled.

"I guess I'll never get to fulfil that dream will I?" Danny looked into Josh's eyes, "I'm being serious here son, I've had a heart disease for years, it's already a miracle that I was able to live this long."

"Y-you're being serious?" A drop of tear fell from Josh's eyes.

Danny put his hand on Josh's shoulders, "You have to be strong son."

"What do you mean I have to be strong!" Josh flung Danny's hands from his shoulders and got up in rage.

Danny got up and looked at Josh with tears in his eyes, "I can't live forever son."

"You can't die this early!" Josh yelled in grief.

"I am, and we can't do anything about it," Danny sighed.

"Now look at me son," Danny instructed, Josh looked into his eyes in tears.

"I believe that the dead can watch us from heaven or wherever you call it. When I'm gone, I want you to make an impact on this world. And most importantly live a fufiled life." Danny said, wiping the tears off Josh's face.

"When are you going to leave?" Josh avoided using the word die, as he felt it would remind him again that he was about to lose the only father-figure in his life.

Josh just couldn't believe it. Why did the heavens have to be so cruel? He had lost both parents, and his only remaining relative was his aunt. He couldn't say he was totally pleased with living with his aunt, as he had long dreamt of the day he would leave to go to the compulsory two-year military course and make a name for himself.

Before he met Danny, he had just been living a life of self-pity and self-loathing. Danny showed him that there was more to life than being; strong, powerful or smart. He was his friend. His first and only friend.