THE OLD BOX

I was ten years old when I first started my training in physical arts. My sister was busy practicing for the upcoming ceremony and hence I would use most of my time to go through the manuals left in the library. Our parents were accomplished hunters and hence they did manage to collect a huge trove of art.

In general, a hunter would have a certain amount of magical energy with the concentration being higher in some aspects of the body than the other. It soon led to the development of various paths on which the hunter could walk. An example was the huntress. Her magical energy was concentrated in her body and hence she chose the path of speed. Ultimately she became one of the top-tier assassins in the world.

The rarest type of hunters were those with multiple abilities. Mia was such a type of hunter. She could wield dual body and mind's abilities at the same time. On top of it, her magic concentration was SS-rank and hence she was classified as the highest tier hunter in China.

Our parents too had their own unique abilities, but they decided to collect skills that could be practiced by all classes of hunters. It was to prepare for the potential class their children might wake up in. I decided to go through all the books stored. Although I wasn't able to understand most of them, I still decided to continue reading.

The first book which I was able to make sense of was something called 'basic core training'. It was a normal exercise routine which was previously used by the military to train their soldiers. It was before the invasion occurred and hunters came into existence. Since I was going to start preparing for the awakening ceremony anyway, I decided to start early.

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The first few days were a nightmare. I couldn't even complete the whole training regime. It took me around 5 days to even complete the 1st level routine. It included some basic exercises like running, skips, sit-ups, push-ups, and other cardio training. I could feel my muscles getting sore after just a single set. It wasn't until the fifth day that I could keep up with the whole schedule. I continued to persist through the training and finally, my efforts started paying off.

Around ten days later, my muscle finally started building up stamina, and the exercise started to feel comfortable. I decided to switch gears. The manual listed that the intensity could be increased by increasing the number of sets. I decided to add a set to my training schedule every week.

It wasn't until the third month that the benefits which I got from regular exercises began to diminish. I decided to jump to the second level. The second level involved the usage of weights to add resistance rather than adding sets. I found it was a more effective way to improve my physical condition.

My body started reaching the limit and I had to make modifications to my diet. I started eating muscle-building foods and hence my body began to grow up.

While I was training, a figure was standing near the window of my house-

"The physical training your brother is doing is quite taxing for a normal human being but completely useless for hunter training. I only allow him to do that because his age is not yet ripe to start the magic training." Huntress commented on looking at my schedule.

"It seems that my hastiness affected him too. He must have been concerned about me and started training himself too. all I want for him is a good life."

"You don't need to be so impatient while drawing any conclusions. We won't know that your magical strength might have resulted in him becoming unable to use it."

Mia turned around to face the Huntress: " I could feel my magical strength. It was higher than what I felt from dad and mom. I am sure about reaching the S-rank. Could you still say that my efforts are a waste of time?"

Huntress didn't have an answer to this statement. It was true that a pair of siblings affected each other's magical strength. Even a hunter's body had a limitation to it, and hence if one of the children turned out to be too powerful, the other one suffered a wasted fate.

"If it affects his future, I guess this would be the only category of training he could do. He would be living like a normal human being from then on. You need to be prepared for the worst and become stronger for your brother's benefit." Mia was feeling awful at the moment, but she decided to move forward for her brother's sake.

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I was still in the physical training domain while my sister went through the awakening process. When I heard that she was categorized as an SS-rank hunter with strength and mind coercion abilities, I couldn't help but be extremely happy. She finally achieved her dream, and we partied a lot that day. It was the first instance after a long time that I saw a smile on her face.

My body training came to an end a week before the results were declared and I was searching through the library for other arts which I can start learning. Most of the skills were those practiced by hunters and required one to have awakened and hence were useless to me.

The results obtained by my sister rained a huge amount of pressure on me. How would I protect her if I was not even stronger than her? I remembered how hard she trained before the awakening ceremony and hence I decided to increase the intensity of my workouts. My body was already chiseled out due to the resistance training, and I could be said to have reached the maximum possible growth stage for my age.

It was during this time that Mr. Han arrived. " I am impressed by the current status of your body. You seem to have put a lot of effort into physical training. You have managed to develop your body quite well. I couldn't imagine what sort of hellish training regime you follow. Your parents would be proud if they were alive."

"But it's time for you to start the real training. I want you to switch the physical training to your free time. I will be training you in the magic training designed for humans who have not yet awakened. You will go through the same process as your sister. I hope you can make us proud, just like her." Mr. Han's words meant a lot to me. He and Huntress were the closest people to me after my sister.

"Hunters are categorized based on our magical strength and hence we need to train it to gain strength. The training schedule which is designed for humans is to help them train their body, enhancing its ability to vessel magic power. The process of awakening marks the point of time when you are finally able to exert magical powers. Once awakened, it is virtually impossible to improve the capacity of your vessel."

"The training regime prepared for you is to help improve the capacity of your body, enabling you to reach the highest rank possible with its potential."

The training most involved me sitting in a meditative position and practicing my ability to sense magic power. Mr. Han would occasionally touch my back and a strange power would flow into my body, and he instructed me to try and rotate it around my body.

My training days for the ceremony began.

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High school years-

It was a mandatory rule in the society for everyone to complete high-school and hence the awakening ceremony was also called the graduating ceremony as it would decide what path a child is about to follow. I tried my best to become a model student and made a few friends.

I was an introvert by default and hence spent most of my time browsing through the various skills left by my parents. I was browsing through it when I found a wooden box stashed high on the shelf. I took the box out and opened it. There were only two contents within it. One was an old yet pristine book, while the other was a thin pendant with a strange circular symbol.

What intrigued me was the condition of the book even after the box was left to rot. I opened it up and began reading.

"Breathe" were the first words written on it. Although the word was simple, the feeling coming from it was quite unnatural. I decided to continue. There was a short note on a set of breathing exercises. Each diagram was a special one and had a detailed description of how to perform it. Although I was able to memorize all the pictures, all I could understand was the first set of exercises. The last page mentioned that wearing the pendant was a necessity for performing the art.

I followed the instructions and wore the pendant. When I finally began to practice the breathing technique, I could feel my body being filled with some unnatural power, but it vanished as soon as it formed. I continued the action for around half a day, just to have the same feeling.

When I finally opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that the box along with the book had vanished and it was the morning of the next day. I rushed to school forgetting the events related to the box.

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Kaiser, in one of the secluded chambers-

"How is David's training progressing?" Nathan asked.

"It seems the theory is true. Although his body could absorb some magic power the rate of growth is extremely slow. His vessel is quite small, barely passing the lowest rank. I guess that he is the unfated sibling between the two." Mr. Han's words had a feeling of grief in them.

"We will try our best to improve his condition. I will give you access to use the potions. Use it to help improve his magical absorption abilities."

"Although I want the best for him, it is a huge waste of resources to use it on him. " Mr. Han felt sad for David, but he couldn't let the company incur such losses.

Nathan turned around. Although his voice was low, it was youthful and firm. " I owe this to my master. I will give my best to nurture his abilities till the awakening process. If he is still not able to achieve proper results, I would allow him to gain the fortune left by his parents and help him get a high ranked civil job"