Danger everywhere

Seeing the excitement on Siddharth's face, Mr. Rick smiled faintly and muttered. "Hm, where should I begin?" 

A moment later, he asked, "You know about the third world war, right? How bad do you think the situation was back then?"

Although Siddharth didn't understand why he asked this, he responded after thinking for a moment,

"From what I know, everything was too chaotic back then. Not to mention the chaos in the countries directly involved in the war, those uninvolved countries were more than chaotic. The people had become lawless, which resulted in mass killings, robberies, arsons, rapes, etc."

"You are right. But the situation was worse than what you described." Mr. Rick nodded, 

"Now, in olden days… a few thousand years ago, our world suffered from a disaster. During that time, the situation was hundreds if not thousands of times worse. In less than a decade, almost 99% of the population vanished from the face of the earth. Those who survived didn't know how long they would last."

As he said this, Mr. Rick's expression had turned grave before he took a deep breath and smiled. 

"But as they say, tough times make the people strong. So, many strong people emerged. First, they stabilized the situation. Then, to help ordinary people get stronger and face the disaster, they created various types of exercises–which are now called martial arts."

After a pause, he continued, "After a few decades, or maybe centuries, of fighting, the disaster finally passed. As time passed, the world was repopulated. Since martial artists saved the human race from destruction, they were hailed as heroes and became kings and overlords.

"But not everyone could practice martial arts and were fated to remain ordinary. With time, the number of such people far surpassed martial artists. Ultimately, a huge conflict between the two erupted. Martial artists could easily suppress it, but for some reason, they decided to fade into the shadows."

"Without martial artists… Well, there is no need to go into such details. What you need to know is, whenever there were problems that our governments couldn't solve, the martial artists directly or indirectly would get involved and resolve them. The same happened in the third world war… But this time, the situation was a little different. Previously, they would disappear after resolving the problem, but this time, some of the martial families have come out and decided to take control of the world." Mr. Rick finished with a sigh.

Siddharth was silent for a while. Mr. Rick didn't disturb him because he thought Siddharth needed some time to digest the information. 

But just a moment later, Siddharth asked, "So, you are saying those three companies that ended the war and stabilized the world have martial backgrounds?"

"Yeah. If they didn't, how could they have forced the world governments to stop the war?" Mr. Rick asked.

"You are right." Siddharth nodded in agreement.

"Now that you know all this, let's talk about the main thing." Mr. Rick said, coming back to the main topic. Siddharth nodded and waited for him to speak.

Mr. Rick looked him in the eyes and slowly said, "I saw your transformation… from an obese man to your current self. It was astonishing, to say the least."

Siddharth's expression changed when he heard this. He especially paid attention to the cameras and avoided them. He was also sure apart from Divya, the receptionist, no one in the gym saw him before his transformation.

Seeing his expression, Mr. Rick chuckled, "Are you wondering how I saw you when you were so careful?"

"Yes." Siddharth sighed as his shoulders slumped. 'Now things are going to get tricky.'

Mr. Rick acted as though he didn't see his desolate expression and said, "I happen to be quite familiar with martial medicinal potions. So, when you opened the potion bottle and its scent spread out, I sensed it. When I came out to look, I saw you drinking it."

When Siddharth heard this, his lips twitched. Although the physique refining potion indeed had a scent, it was too faint. Besides, he had drunk it almost immediately after uncorking the bottle. So, the scent didn't have much time to spread out, but this guy sniffed it from his office. Right now, he really wanted to ask him if he was a dog in his previous life to have such a sensitive nose.

Suddenly, Mr. Rick narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you calling me a dog in your mind?"

"Ye–No! I only thought you had sharp senses. Nothing else." Siddharth was caught off guard and almost nodded.

Mr. Rick's face turned dark, but seeing how awkward Siddharth looked, he just snorted in displeasure and didn't pursue the matter. 

Seeing this, Siddharth sighed in relief. From how upset he looked, he knew other people must have called him a dog in the past.

To dispel the stiff atmosphere, he spoke, "So, Mr. Rick, you want to ask about the potion I used?"

Mr. Rick shook his head. "Not only I want to ask about the potion, I want to conduct a trade with you. If you have any extra transformation potion, I'll give you a generous price. If you don't have it, you can just tell me where you got it, I'll still reward you for the information."

Although Mr. Rick's expression remained the same, Siddharth could feel the faint fluctuations in his voice, despite him trying to not sound excited. It was understandable he would be excited. After all, something that could make an obese person healthy and fit was nothing short of a miracle.

Siddharth thought for a while before he said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Rick. I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. I have no more of that potion, nor do I know where to find it because that was something a homeless old man gave me some time ago, along with a martial technique."

He lied, since he couldn't tell the truth. "Initially, I thought he was pranking me, but when I practiced according to the martial skill, I felt myself getting stronger. Only then, I decided to use the potion according to his instruction and managed to transform myself."

"Do you know where that old man is?" Mr. Rick asked.

"No. After practicing the marital technique, I tried to look for him but couldn't find him." 

Mr. Rick gave him a suspicious look when he heard this before he sighed in disappointment. "That's too bad. But you are a very lucky guy to receive something so precious. Not to mention the potion, just a beginner martial technique is priceless and ordinary people can't even buy it even if they wanted."

Hearing this, Siddharth's heartbeat quickened because he could tell Mr. Rick was suspicious of his claim.

Just when he was getting worried, Mr. Rick reclined back into his chair and said, "If you happen to run into that old man again and receive more of that potion, contact me through Divya. I'll pay a good price for it." 

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind." Siddharth nodded before he stood up and bade farewell, and walked out of the office.

When he got out, his back was drenched in cold sweat. 

'Thankfully, this guy isn't bad like those people in the novels, otherwise I would be doomed.' He thought, feeling relieved. But suddenly, his expression changed. 'What if he was just acting and would try to kidnap me later?' 

As this thought crossed his mind, he felt chills run down his spine. He knew if this was really the case, he would become ugly. After all, not even the police could keep him safe from a martial artist.

When he walked by the reception, he looked around but didn't see Divya. So, he walked out of the building, took a taxi and departed for his home. 

His face was dark as he sat in the taxi's backseat. After a while, he let out a depressed sigh. 'I'm in danger in both worlds.'

A moment later, he clenched his fists and his gaze became determined, 'No. This won't do. I have to become stronger as soon as possible. Once I'm strong enough, these people won't be a threat."