Chapter 18 - 18 : Title Arius the Student

The morning had begun to announce its radiance and the fog was fading slowly from the green mountain slopes Arius climbed the mountain with steady steps with no trace of hesitation in him He did not carry his school bag today but rather carried one goal in his heart to learn And when he reached the ancient shrine he saw the old man standing there waiting for him in front of the wooden door inhaling the morning air with deep looks Arius with a respectful greeting said Good morning master The old man smiling replied Good morning boy I see you have come early Are you ready Arius firmly said Yes I want to learn everything about Rezo and I start from today Before the teacher could respond to him light footsteps rose from the bottom of the stone path leading to the shrine A boy and a girl were approaching carrying two small bags their features indicating familiarity with this path When they approached the old man raised his hand in greeting The old man said Oh at the right time as usual The two stood next to Arius one of them a boy with dark brown hair and sharp eyes and the girl with short pink hair and wide eyes radiating vitality The old man with a clear voice said Let me introduce you to each other He pointed to Arius first and said This is Arius he will join our training starting today Then he pointed to the boy and the girl saying Arius these two are Kondi and Rubina they are among my loyal students and they started several months before you Kondi looked at Arius with an analytical look then nodded to him quietly As for Rubina she smiled lightly and gave a short greeting saying Welcome with us Arius Kondi quietly said We hope you keep up with us Arius with calm confidence said I will Then the old man said while patting his cane Great now that you have met each other it is time to start the first stage of Raizo training He pointed towards the wide courtyard behind the shrine where trees were scattered and the air moved with a light heaviness and there the real journey would begin The old teacher stood in front of his three students in the training yard behind the shrine and they gathered around him with clear focus The breeze was gently caressing the leaves of the trees and silence dominated the place except for the sound of distant mountain birds The old man raised his right hand slowly then said in a serious tone Before I teach you the use of Rezo you must first learn something more important to feel it Silence prevailed for a moment before he continued while closing his eyes Rezo is an energy that is not seen but rather felt It is sensed from the inside from the depths of your soul Then suddenly the air around his body began to vibrate and a transparent aura appeared surrounding his body sending clear vibrations to everyone who was standing The old man said This is the energy feel it focus well The three closed their eyes trying to catch any vibration Heavy moments passed But at that moment Rubina turned to the teacher while pursing her lips in resentment saying with a sigh of distress I am sorry months have passed since my training and I have not been able to feel anything clear until now She lowered her head in frustration and Kondi followed her with a serious look commenting We are trying but we are still unable to enter the next stage because we did not understand how to truly feel it Arius opened his eyes and looked at the aura surrounding the teacher without speaking his eyes were following the movements of the winds and vibrations with extraordinary focus as if he saw what is not seen The old man suddenly smiled and said It is not easy to feel energy even some adults cannot do that but training is the way to feeling Then he turned towards Arius and said Come on Arius let us see if you have the necessary insight Arius clenched his fist quietly then closed his eyes and here the challenge of sensing Rezo began Everyone stood in the yard in total silence Arius sat cross legged eyes closed concentrating entirely on the inner feeling Minutes passed and he felt nothing only inner darkness and the sound of the wind Then suddenly a light flash as if something was breathing near him A weak vibration ran through the air around him it hesitated for a moment then began to grow stronger Arius quietly said Teacher you are there He suddenly opened his eyes then immediately pointed towards a shadow behind a large rock five meters away The teacher came out of it smiling calmly and said with quiet amazement Amazing it did not take you more than minutes to feel my position accurately This is very rare As for Rubina and Kondi they exchanged a look of frustration lowering their eyes slightly a sense of defeat began to creep into them But Arius stepped forward and placed his hand on each of their shoulders saying with sincerity and calmness Do not feel frustrated I also failed at the beginning but there is something I learned forget the world around you ignore the wind the sounds anger pride focus only on one small point inside you When you settle on it you will feel everything They exchanged looks again then sat down and closed their eyes Moments passed their breath calmed then their features began to change as if they felt something strange Kondi said in a low voice I feel as if there are waves passing through my body Rubina whispered Me too there is light pressure from this side The teacher opened his eyes with hidden surprise and raised his eyebrows then smiled The teacher proudly said Here the real journey has begun excellent Arius it is excellent that you listened to him Moments like these are not taught by force but by understanding calmness and faith in what is not seen and this moment was the birth of the first true feeling of Rezo among the three After that the teacher began training them on self defense arts and direct combat and indeed several days and weeks passed and they trained well on that and after a while the teacher finally began teaching them Raizo as he placed everyone in a quiet place and began making them focus on their internal energy In the wide quiet training yard where only the whispers of the wind and the rustling of trees were heard the three stood in the center of a circle of organized pebbles They closed their eyes and sat as the teacher taught them legs crossed back straight and palms on the knees The teacher with a calm and deep voice said Now listen to your hearts do not think just feel Raizo is not something created but something you awaken from the depths of your souls Long minutes passed their breaths became regular their minds emptied then Rubina opened her eyes suddenly and a light aura appeared around her body undulating like water Kondi also followed her moments later and his aura began to appear in a light blue color shining like a faint flash The teacher with a smile of pride said Well done but do not open your eyes continue in balance As for Arius he was sitting in silence no sound from him but his features indicated immense focus His forehead was covered with sweat and his hand shook slightly and suddenly boom The earth shook a little and a huge energy gathered around his body A massive aura came out of him so strong that it pushed the pebbles away and moved the wind around him His clothes fluttered and his eyes were still closed but he was in complete focus Rubina said in amazement and fear What is this aura Kondi looked with wide eyes saying It is his energy but it looks like a storm As for the teacher he stood his ground placing his hand on his beard calmly despite the clear expressions of surprise The teacher with an impressed voice said What a power for a child who has not exceeded seven years this is not an ordinary aura but a pure raw Raizo aura he does not only generate energy but his body seems to be a source of energy When Arius felt that his energy was becoming out of control he heard the voice of the system alerting him Warning the permitted limit for discharging raw Raizo energy has been exceeded psychological balance is required Then he breathed deeply opened his eyes and extended his right hand forward then the aura suddenly went out and total calm returned to the place Arius remained sitting opening his eyes quietly as if nothing had happened The teacher approaching him said Well done Arius but remember strength alone is not enough control is what makes the difference Arius with a serious tone said I understood I will learn how to control it no matter what it takes And with that the first day of mastering Raizo was an unforgettable day Arius entered the house dragging his steps with clear fatigue after a long training day and before he went up to his room he heard the voice of his adoptive father Jin calling him from behind in a tone different from the usual Jin quietly and seriously said Arius come we need to talk in private Arius raised his eyebrows slightly but did not show any objection He walked behind Jin in silence to the small office room at the end of the hallway where Yuna or Lina could not hear anything Jin closed the door behind him then turned to him put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his mobile phone Jin in a low voice said The school called me today and said that you have not attended for weeks A heavy silence prevailed Arius did not answer directly and contented himself with staring at the ground for a while Jin watching him with serious eyes said Arius my son if you are going through something or hiding something from me you can tell me I am not just your adoptive father I am on your side always Arius raised his eyes slowly towards Jin and a real hesitation appeared on his face but he said after a moment in an unconvincing tone I do not know maybe there is an error in the school records I went I think Jin was not convinced but he did not show anger instead he just remained silent for a while then sighed Jin said Fine I will let it be now but remember trust is built and lying destroys it do what you see is right just do not close yourself off my son Arius did not answer but turned his back quickly and said I am tired I will go to my room And he went out with quick steps leaving Jin standing in the middle of the room contemplating the closed door after his exit and whispering to himself This boy is hiding something big but what In the next morning Arius left the house heading to Mount Shao but he realized that Jin was following him this time so he could not go and he went to the school immediately frustrated that he could not go today and Jin followed him until he made sure that he entered the school but he placed some guards to monitor him wherever he went Arius entered the school yard with calm but tense steps as he was not used to returning suddenly after weeks of absence The students looks followed him from all sides then whispers began to multiply It is Arius He finally returned Was he sick He looks fine strange Before he reached the class Lina rushed towards him and she seemed very worried and she grabbed his arm Lina with a worried whisper said Where have you been all this time The teacher was very angry and I was really worried about you were you sick Arius with a calm coldness said I am fine just private matters He did not want to lie more but he was not ready to tell the truth He reached the classroom door and as soon as he opened it silence prevailed then the students stood up looking at him The teacher from in front of the board said Arius it seems you decided to return Arius nodded his head without a word then went to his seat and sat down The teacher with a sigh said Since you are here I hope you catch up with what you missed although you do not seem to need that Some students laughed lightly but the atmosphere remained tinged with questions and in a corner of the playground one of the men in civilian clothes was watching the school from afar specifically watching Arius through black sunglasses then he spoke into a small device The target is inside the school he has not left since he entered we continue monitoring As for Arius he sat in his seat his eyes staring at the board but his thinking was in a completely different place Arius inside himself said I could not go today I will find a way no matter what it was I will not let anything stop me now After that a period passed and the teacher screamed at Arius who was sleeping during her class and all the students were looking at him and laughing and then the teacher threw the chalk at him for him to catch it with his fingers then he woke up from sleep and then she screamed at him severely and after that Arius told her that he felt extreme boredom for her to tell him to go out and solve for her the problem that she was explaining to them about so he went out with all confidence and everyone expected that he would solve it but the shock was that he could not at all and then the teacher rebuked him and punished him by standing outside in the hallway and he listened to her words and went out Arius stood in the hallway quietly leaning against the wall crossing his arms and his eyes staring at the ground in contemplation The teacher voice was still echoing in his ear and he heard her harsh words from behind the door The teacher inside the class with anger said This is what happens when the student is arrogant and thinks he is above the law You may be smart Arius but this does not mean that you ignore my lessons as if you know everything Knowledge is not taken with arrogance but by listening The class buzzed with faint laughter and whispers but some students felt embarrassed too As for Arius he remained silent he did not seem angry but rather a type of deep thinking appeared on him Arius inside himself said I was confident that I would solve it I did not expect this did I make a mistake or was I simply not paying attention this is annoying Long minutes passed and the students inside continued the lesson As for him he heard from afar one of the guards assigned to watch him talking over the radio saying Arius is now in the third floor hallway there is no suspicious movement Arius raised his head quietly and murmured to himself Even you are watching me without knowing who I am He smiled with light irony then put his back back to the wall and continued standing waiting for the end of the class There was no anger inside him but a strange feeling a mixture of challenge and regret as if this simple lesson warned him that vanity even if justified may sometimes blind him