The Gift That Keeps On Giving

[Kuzan POV]

It had been four months since I finished my training with Mr. Nomusana and began my search to diversify my techniques. I was currently on a private jet with my family travelling to the nearest airport to Heilong-Jiang. 

Every day, I had traveled across the city to different dojos, training under a variety of masters. Most of the instructors welcomed me with open arms, but that had more to do with my family's wealth than anything else. After all, dojos, like gyms, needed members to survive. However, I could tell that the majority of them treated it more as a business, rather than focusing on the teachings. They were still teaching martial arts, but it felt impure.

I was hesitant to learn from those who were undoubtedly not the best, but I had to remind myself that any teaching was good for a beginner like me. Still, I worried about developing bad habits and wasting time correcting them later. 'Am I being too eager with my approach? Maybe I should be patient until I travel to China over the summer, but I don't want to waste time.'

While contemplating, I decided to give training a try to make a more informed decision, and I was glad I did. God must have been in a good day, because he gave me one suprise gift after the other, making my decision much easier.

For one, I discovered a surprising number of hidden masters in the dojos around the area. The lessons available to the public, taught by mediocre instructors, were only to earn the dojos some wealth. The real students with talent were taught personally by the headmasters of the dojos.

Apparently, the martial arts community was more tight-knit than I could have ever imagined. Once word of my talent and apprenticeship under Mr. Nomusana got out, a number of old but robust men wanted to see me for themselves to verify the rumors. As I was taught by an increasing number of the marital artists, my reputation only grew and I eventually got used to hanging around the elderly gentlemen.

After all, they weren't just seniors in age; they were also my seniors in training. I had watched enough anime and read enough manga to know that once a buff old man appears on screen, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.

Anyone else might prefer a group of hot young blondes in short clothes chasing them, but I much rather preferred the group of white-haired old men in robes who kept screaming me every second of my day.

However, it was the second gift that seriously made me consider going to church on Sunday to thank the Lord for His blessing, despite not having a religious bone in my body. I had discovered a new function of the martial system.

Previously, I knew that the system allowed me to progress by leaps and bounds compared to other martial artists. It was like a talent booster, making it easier to learn new things. In addition to giving me a selective photographic memory for fighting techniques and being a good indicator of my progress on my martial path, it also provided an organized view of my skills, making it easier to pinpoint my shortcomings.

However, the new function I discovered overshadowed all previous aspects of the system. I had learned that I would not progress at all in a martial technique if I was taught incorrectly or if there was no substance to the teaching.

'This is a game changer.'

The martial system essentially had an in-built barrier that protected me from walking down the wrong path in my training. 'It continues to coddle me to no end.' This was the most important function I had found to date.

What was the number one thing that martial artists feared? It wasn't getting hurt, dying, or even losing a fight. It was the thought of making no progress on their martial path. It was the fear of getting stuck in training and not knowing how to move forward.

If my "points" in any martial arts technique ever stopped improving or started reaching a plateau, I would know right away that I needed to change my training. Even during my time with Mr. Nomusana, I had already started to realize that my training under him was coming to an end before he even knew it. 'The amount of time I will save with a clear indicator of my progress is immeasurable.'

'I knew I shouldn't have put off researching the system for so long.' I had initially planned to begin my research into the martial system within my underground base once it was completed, but I got sidetracked when I started immersing myself in a variety of martial arts.

The feeling of getting a bit stronger every day was addictive, more so than any drug I had ever been given. Plus, even if my base was complete with all the necessary training equipment, medical tools, and research instruments that money could buy, it was still severely lacking in one aspect: knowledge.

The martial system was my greatest secret, and there was no way in hell I was going to reveal it to anyone, no matter how close they were to me. That meant all the research, tests, and experiments would have to be conducted by myself.

I simply did not possess enough knowledge in the scientific or medical fields to make any real progress. I was able to perform some simple examinations, like getting an MRI and an X-ray while saying "status" repeatedly in my head, but they all showed nothing abnormal.

If the "Genes" tab worked as I thought it did, then I would need to be prepared to study my body on a much deeper, microscopic level. 'I would be the biggest joke in the martial community if I died from a genetic disease caused by the rejection of genes, rather than in a fight.'

'Still, disregarding everything other than training for the past 4 months has undoubly had its benefits.'

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[Status]

Name: Kuzan Rosan

Age: 14 years

Title: [Martial Novice]

Strength: 25/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Stamina: 26/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Intelligence: 24/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Dexterity: 24/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Will-Power: 40/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Perception: 28/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Skills: [Willful Eye (90/100)] [Battle Aura (80/100)] [Face Mask (50/100)] [Concealment (60/100)] [Dodging (70/100)] [Anatomy Mastery (5/100)] [Goutaijutsu (intermediate)]

Techniques: [Karate (95/100)] [Kick Boxing (50/100)] [Boxing (40/100)] [Judo (40/100)] [Muay Thai (60/100)] [Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (60/100)] [Wrestling (40/100)]

Genes Synced: [Locked]

Note: Some martial skills with a lower potential for improvement may be ranked in three separate categories, depending on the host's mastery and understanding of the skill: (learned), (intermediate), and (master).

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This was another interesting aspect of the system: it knew which skills had a lower limit to improvement and thus put a cap on the ability of the skill itself.

'I wonder if it's trying to dissuade me from spending too much time trying to master this skill. After all, if there was a similar "experience bar" for Goutaijutsu, I would be much more motivated to improve my mastery of it as well. But considering that I don't know how much time it'll take to upgrade it to the next level, and that I can't find any better practitioners of it than Mr. Nomusana, I'll just have to put it off for now.'

It can also mean that there is a hard limit on the skill, unlike techniques like Karate, which have been continuously improved by different masters and practitioners for almost 500 years. 'I wonder if there is even a limit to how proficient one can get in a martial art.'

Still, the amount of progress I have made in such a short amount of time is nothing to scoff at. Although it might not be much for now, it wasn't what I had learned, but the amount of time it had taken me to learn all these new martial arts that mattered, especially compared to when I learned Karate.

I had noticed that as I grew more experienced with an increasing number of fighting styles, learning new ones, no matter the similarity to movements from before, became much easier.

It was like a boxer learning Kung-Fu for the first time and trying to use their boxing training to help them learn. Other than having better control of their body's movements, their past skills in boxing would generally not transfer over to the different techniques taught in Chinese Kenpo.

'A punch is a punch, sure, but learning new martial arts isn't that simple. I am sure that if I were to re-learn Karate from the start now, under Mr. Nomusana's teachings, it would take me less than 2 months.' It was as if the system was a hungry beast, incentivizing me to devour more and more martial arts.

'I wish I could have also learned Jeet Kune Do, but I was unable to find a master of the art in L.A.' I had also not spent any time learning Kung-Fu as I was gonna learn it in a few months anyway.

I could barely contain my excitement for when I reached China. 'A whole new way of thought regarding the martial arts to explore.' Unfortunately, my daydreams were cut short by a small, slender arm, attached to a small hand that was currently being used to pinch my cheeks.

'Huh?'

"Come on, Kuzan, you're scaring me with that look on your face. Did hanging out with all those old geezers get to you? I can't even escape since we are over 40,000 feet in the air, but I'll use the emergency parachute if I have to." questioned the girl in a supposedly frightened tone.

"Really Melissa, don't you know that it's rude to pinch someone's cheeks?" I instructed my sister while swatting her hands away. After all, in her real brother's absence, I had to take the responsibility disciplining this little brat.

"Oh yeah, then why does Aunt Lizi do it to Uncle Albert all the time, huh?" replied the girl while raising her head up high and closing her eyes, as if having won the argument beyond any doubt.

"That's different. Anyway, Melissa, mind telling me what you really want?"

"Kuzan, why did you pick Heilong-Jiang of all places to visit in China? I heard there are a whole lot of other places we could visit if you wanted to try the natural hot springs in the mountains," asked my sister, finally letting out her real reason for disturbing my peace of mind.

"It's a surprise, Melissa. You're just going to have to wait until we get there," I replied, pushing the problem onto the future me.

"Humph, fine."

I would have believed her too if she hadn't been jumping in her seat the entire plane ride after that, constantly asking herself questions out loud like, "It couldn't be because of..." every 15 minutes, hoping that I would chime in to correct her. I did not give her that pleasure and spent the rest of the ride with a sleeping mask over my eyes, pretending to sleep.

We finally landed in Heilong-Jiang at a local airport after a few hours since our last stop and exited the gates.

"So Kuzan, since it's your vacation, and you didn't let us book any hotel rooms in advance, what do you have for us now?" asked my Uncle Albert, holding my aunt's hand tightly and surely more excited about the trip with his wife than he was letting on. Uncle Ikaria had decided not to come since he would rather watch over the mansion until we got back.

"Don't worry, Uncle. Tonight we are staying at a luxury hotel to store our luggage and rest, but tomorrow is when the real fun begins," I replied confidently to my uncle's concerns. "You guys can take the day today to explore and see their culture. I have to leave you guys for today to make arrangements for tomorrow's outing."

"And what do you mean by that, young man! Where are you running off to?" asked my Aunt in a serious tone. You know she meant business when she called me 'young man.'

"Come on, Aunt Elizabeth, I'm not a little kid anymore. Plus, you know from Mr. Nomusana and from my recent training that I'll be fine by myself."

"Fine, just don't go too far from the hotel or into the forest. I know that you can take care of yourself," replied my aunt in defeat.

"If you really believe that, then you would call off the security team following us from afar. I need my privacy, you know, as a growing young man," I whispered to my aunt, making sure that Melissa was out of earshot, currently distracted by which restaurant she should try first.

"You are really growing up, Kuzi. You don't even need your dear aunt anymore," cried out my aunt in an affectionate, but sad tone. I am sure that had I been anyone else, I would have been caught by the emotional blackmail of this vixen.

I stared at her wordlessly, waiting for her to give in.

"Fine, fine, Kuzi, you win. I'll tell them not to follow you today. But if you end up getting hurt, or if I learn that you're doing something naughty, you're going to be under house arrest for the next 10 years, young man!"

"Deal. Now let's get moving." I shook hands with my Aunt as if just completing a multi-million dollar business deal. I then grabbed my sister, who had somehow made her way to the airport's frozen yogurt dispensing machine. I grabbed her shirt collar as she was abusing the poor machine with her gargantuan order, and we made our way to the nearby hotel.