Chapter 9: The Fact He Neglected
"How...?" Ardelt found that was the first thing he uttered after recovered from his stupor. Just before, he clearly saw Exia is exhausted and looks like he had no more power. Then, in a blink of an eye, he heard the smashing sounds once again and noticed Exia was in the middle of giving a blow to the gauntlet. Considering Exia's build, such a feat was bound to be impossible for him. And now that impossible thing was proven to be achievable directly in front of his eyes. How could he not get shocked by that outcome?
Bernard, who also regained his sense, immediately rubbed his nose and said with a hint of pride, "See? I brought you a genius as I promised."
Glaring at him, Ardelt retorted, "You were also dumbstruck just like me. Stop bluffing!"
Retracting his gaze, Ardelt turned to Exia and asked promptly, "How did you manage to accomplish that?"
"What do you mean? Of course, I just exert all of my strength." Exia lied smoothly as naturally as he breathes and proceeds to blink his eyes innocently. Needless to say, Exia wasn't going to reveal the truth that he was actually secretly helped by an invisible orb. This secret would be known only to him because it's related to his transmigration and probably the matter he didn't know yet.
"Are you a tribesman?" Ardelt subconsciously asked in doubt.
"Tribesman? What's that?" Exia replied confusedly.
"It's a race similar to human but tougher, stronger, but less-smart. Their speciality was they able to draw a unique ability from their bloodline. And what you did just now really looks like the power of bloodline displayed by tribesman." Ardelt explained as he eyed Exia's figure suspiciously.
Not noticing Ardelt's stare, Exia fell into his own world upon hearing Ardelt's explanation. After his encounter with the orb, he already starts to suspect the world he resides in currently wasn't simple as it seems. And now being told a race that could release a special power do exist, Exia's interest piqued, "So, is there a magician?"
"Are kids these days really that ignorant?" Ardelt helplessly remarked and adding quickly, "Answer my question first."
"Oh! I'm pretty sure I'm 100% a human." Exia replied after recalled that he never activate the so-called bloodline power.
"Just to make sure, Bernard, go inspect his body," Ardelt ordered.
"Who do you think am I? Your lackey?" Bernard refuted but nevertheless stepped forward as he was also curious about the source of Exia's burst power.
Since it concerned his body's identity and the probability of him owning a hidden power, Exia complied with them obediently.
Just then, Bernard suddenly halted his steps and spoke warily, "Let's go inside first."
Although Exia was confused, he still followed him along with Ardelt.
Brought inside, Exia was positioned in the centre with his hand stretched forward. Lifting his skinny-hands, Bernard inspected it thoroughly before said, "There is no trace of marks."
'Marks?' Exia thought in puzzlement. As if knowing his thought, Bernard elaborated, "Each tribe had different marks or tattoos to be recognized. For example, there is this tribe that used a wolf tattoo as their representation sign. They usually painted it over their hands and the corner of their neck to make it easier to discern."
"Well, unfortunately, neither those parts on your body got tattooed. I guess you are a genuine human after all."
Exia couldn't help but get a little disappointed after hearing that.
"But if you weren't tribesmen, how do we explain your sudden power improvement earlier?" Ardelt said ponderingly from the side.
"Hahaha, I probably just transcend my limit. Sir Bernard and teacher Ardelt ought to know that there are some cases where humans would surpass their body capacity due to certain circumstances." Exia laughed nervously and ended up blurted out whatever he was thinking at the moment.
"That sounds plausible." Ardelt nodded his head in agreement.
"Well, since you've got a new teacher, I'll be going then since I got another matter to attend," Bernard said to Exia.
"Thank you very much, sir Bernard." Exia bowed his body slightly as a gesture of gratitude.
Nodding his head at Exia, Bernard turned to Ardelt, "Take care of him."
"Definitely," Ardelt replied with a smile. After witnessing how Exia was able to pass his test, Ardelt's impression of him improved slightly.
Watching Bernard's figure walked away from the store, Ardelt spoke thoughtfully, "Let's start by arranging our study schedule first. Since I need to run down my shop from 10 a.m until 5 p.m, we can study outside those hours."
The night was the most suitable time for him to learn something, but under mister Braun's strict supervision, Exia doubted he'd be allowed to go outside above 6 p.m. Not wanting to attract unnecessary trouble, Exia said hesitantly, "How about 6 a.m? Are you available?"
"Hmmm, probably yes," Ardelt answered positively to Exia's relief.
After that, both of them went silent. Exia wasn't a talkative type, and Ardelt was awkward being around a child. As the silence prevailed, Exia suddenly remembers, "Ummmm, teacher. Wait, I can call you teacher, right?"
Ardelt snickered, "Weren't you kept called me teacher before? Why did you suddenly ask about it now?"
Scratching his head embarrassedly, Exia answered, "Hehe, I was too excited and just said that without thinking."
Shaking his head at him, Ardelt shortly replied, "Address me whatever you want."
Hearing his approval, Exia chuckled awkwardly before inquiring, "So teacher, can you telling me more about the things like tribesman? Maybe, a magician? Is magician really exist? Is our world had magical things? Magical beast? A city in the sky?"
Received a stream of questions, Ardelt felt his head went dizzy while silently thought, 'This is why I hate children.'
"One question! Only one question at a time!" Ardelt yelled weakly while pointing one of his fingers upward.
"Eh? Okay. So, since people like tribesmen where they had special power do exist, is magician also exist?" After mentioning the word of magician repeatedly, a conversation from two days ago surfaced on his mind. That time, his mind couldn't think straight and eventually brushed the important fact off. That fact was,
"Yes, magicians do exist, and so the magic."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone