The First Technique

It had been four months since I had begun my training with Mr. Nomusana, and safe to say it has been the best time of my life. We had first started off with some basic exercises and endurance training through running before moving on to weight training. When I was finally deemed worthy enough to begin learning Karate, I put my heart and soul into the martial art. Judging by the continuous stoic expression masking my master's grin that appeared whenever he thought I wasn't looking, I would say I made pretty good progress.

Mr. Nomusana also helped me modify my already strict diet so I received the necessary proteins and nutrients to bulk up and build muscle. I had also used my aunt's connections to contact a lot of food nutritionists to get a better understanding of the effects of different diets. After reviewing the information packet made by the team of nutritionists, a new skill popped up on my status. I also received a Title after completing a month of training under Mr. Nomusana.

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[Status]

Name: Kuzan Rosan

Age: 13 years

Title: [Martial Novice]

Strength: 17/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Stamina: 15/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Intelligence: 20/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Dexterity: 15/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Will-Power: 30/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Perception: 20/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Skills: [Willful Eye (50/100)] [Battle Aura (50/100)] [Face Mask (30/100)] [Concealment (45/100)] [Dodging (40/100)] [Anatomy Mastery (1/100)]

Techniques: [Karate (85/100)]

Genes Synced: [Locked]

[Martial Novice]: A student with a heart dedicated solely to the pursuit of martial arts, taking their first steps on this profound journey. Your unwavering desire for strength fuels your progress, pushing you to train harder and learn faster. The deeper your passion and commitment, the greater your potential for growth.

[Anatomy Mastery (1/100)]: Grants the host the ability to absorb and retain vast knowledge about medicine that a martial artist could ever need. When used correctly, you can instantly apply your medical expertise in combat, exploiting vulnerabilities with surgical precision and maintaining your own peak condition. Understanding how the body works grants you unparalleled insight into both healing and harm. This skill transforms you into a formidable opponent, capable of delivering devastating attacks and achieving rapid recovery.

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Besides [Battle Aura], this was the skill I was most excited about receiving, and I believe it has the most potential for growth. A fighter who is also a master of medicine is perhaps one of the scariest opponents you can face. They know exactly how to hurt you the most with the least amount of effort possible. 'After all, its easy to break things, but it takes a true expert to put them back together.'

Interestingly, nothing appeared when I focused on the techniques tab—no explanation, nothing. I was able to figure out that techniques require a lot more time to train compared to skills. However, considering I had only been training in a martial art that people have devoted their entire lives to for a few months, this was acceptable progress for now at least.

'I have already gotten close to understanding a basic foundation of the martial art, and once I do the rest is up to practice. I need to look more into how much of my rapid progress can be explained by natural talent and how much of a role the system Title is playing into all of this. I also may need to switch teachers pretty soon. Recently, no matter what I learn from Mr. Nomusana's lessons, the progress has not gone up on the system's tab.

"Kuzan, I think we are coming close to the end of my time being your teacher. Your progress in such a short amount of time can only be described as nothing short of genius. The only thing I have left to teach you is Goutaijutsu, however even I am only an intermediary in it at best. I will teach you the basics behind it and you can continue your training of it from there."

Gotaijutsu, also known as the Iron Ball technique. Any movement of the human body, whether it be a karate chop or a simple punch, requires the use of dozens of joints to move at the same time. Dozens of joints, means dozens of cushion sets that work as shock absorbers, which are the biggest obstacles for hitting and kicking power. If you can make that cushion maintain a completely stable posture by stiffening your body to its utmost limits, you can gain the power equivalent to a high speed iron ball weighing as much as a human.

"I also have some contacts and friends who would be happy to take you in as a student considering your talent. Have you heard of the Shinshinkai Karate School before,..."

[2 Weeks Later]

I had finally finished my training in Gotaijutsu, and I had to say that it was a pretty easy technique to use once you got the hang of it. Due to the extensive infrastructure and complexity of the design, the underground base of operations was still under construction, but was nearing its completion in the next week or so.

'As much as I don't want to go back to the mansion, I have to make sure that everyone is updated about my future plans. If I want to move abroad for such a long time, I have to make sure that they are aware beforehand. Although I could have told them about it over a phone call, apparently according to Aunt Elizabeth, Melissa has been growing more upset and acting out since I've stopped coming back home for the night. The previous Kuzan would have definitely come back home after hearing that his dear sister missed him.'

During my training I had practically lived in Mr. Nomusana's Dojo, training till I passed out and missing many nights due to just that reason. 'Maybe I can make it up to her by chopping a bowling ball in half, I'm sure she'd be impressed with stars in her eyes.' I drew a small smile while thinking about the kid. Although she was a bit annoying, she did come every day to the Dojo to check on me, not that she would admit it, instead always using some sort of weird excuse.

At first it was because I had forgotten my gym towel, then my spare set of socks, my earphones, and eventually even forgetting my water bottle that I had never bought. Weirdly enough, it seemed as if Melissa was reluctant to give such a gift away since she would always take it back and hide it after I had placed it in my bag and was ready to go to my lessons. Then she would have a quick change of heart and decide to bring the bottle to me later in the day. It was a routine that we followed every day for months but had a tacit agreement to never mention it.

'I wonder if this is just how Melissa works, or if it's just how they are sometimes.' I thought while walking through the front doors of the mansion.

I was broken out of my questioning after my honed instincts screamed at me to doge, thus nearly avoiding a fist that was coming straight at the top of my. "Now what was that for Melissa." I asked with a playful smile on my face. Instead of answering my question, she decided to focus on the fact that I had been able to dodge her blitzkrieg attack.

"Wow Kuzan, you really learned a lot from that Karate master didn't you. You can even avoid an 11 year old's attacks from such close range, I think Fabio Gurge might need to make some space for you to sit on the championship throne." I could tell that despite her remarks, she was incredibly happy to see me.

After pulling her in for a brotherly hug, I asked again while she was shackled by my grip, "Come on now Melissa, you still haven't answered my question."

"You tricked me! I was an innocent 11-year-old girl who was up all night waiting for her brother to get back, worried about his health and wellbeing, and you pull her into a trap! I can't believe this, I'll make sure the local newspaper—"

"Looks like I will just have to call a trusted adult to deal with this issue, Aunt Elizab—"

"Ok, ok stop, I just felt like you had some rude thoughts about me so I wanted to get even, I swear," defended Melissa while putting up her hands in defeat.

"Now that that is out of the way, how were you even able to reach my head?"

"Well, I knew that you were coming home soon so I moved the couch ahead of time behind the door to attack—I mean, uh, you know, to surprise you?" said my sister, catching her mistake in the process.

"Sure," I said slowly while giving my sister a side-eye enough to make the cat from my old life jealous. Mr. Whiskers was always a moody kitty. "...and who was it that helped you move the couch."

Before my sister could reveal her partner in crime or deny their existence, I heard a familiar voice from the kitchen, which was soon followed by similarly sweet aromas of food. "Young master, it's good to see that you are in good health after such a long time. If the young master and the young miss are not busy, dinner is ready to be served. Lady Elizabeth and Mr. Albert are still getting changed for tonight's Gala, so they will be a few minutes late to dinner; they said to start without them."

"That sounds good, you know we have to get changed after eating too, right?" I stared at my sister's less than dazzling clothing.

"Speak for yourself, you are still going to be showering while we are in the car ready to leave," spat my sister.

"By the way, Melissa, I have to get Mr. Nomusana to introduce you to some assassins, you almost caught me unprepared at the door."

"Oh, shut-up Kuzan!" shouted my sister, taking my comment as a joke since she was not able to even graze me, instead of the praise as intended.

"LANGUAGE, young lady," reprimanded Uncle Ikaria sternly. There were not many times that Uncle Ikaria lost his temper, but swearing at the dinner table, especially from Melissa, was definitely a good enough reason.

"Sorry, Uncle Ikaria, I won't do it again," apologized Melissa while dropping her shoulders and sniffling into the sleeves of her pajamas.

"It's okay, young miss. I am so sorry for shouting. Now that you have apologized, how about I serve some frozen yogurt as some early dinner dessert."

"That sounds like an amazing idea, Uncle Ikaria! And I want gummy bears, and sprinkles, and..." my sister continued to list off her favorite toppings with Uncle Ikaria using a small notepad and pen to record every detail, despite having memorized her order since she was 8. She was practically jumping out of her chair while listing off the items, looking like a 5-year-old who just suffered from a serious sugar overdose.

"Looks like to me that she has already had enough sugar for today."

"Sh— I mean, that's not nice, Kuzan!"

"Now that's better, young miss," said Uncle Ikaria, acting like a father proud of his daughter's achievements.

Looks like I was growing more comfortable and starting to feel more natural in this family atmosphere. 'It's not too bad honestly, sad that it will all be over so soon.'

"So Melissa, how much do you know about China?"