THE SECOND STEP OF THE HUMAM REALM
1050 Words
MONITORING ROOM, EINKO CORP...
A couple engineers all in coats sat by monitors, a larger screen was placed at the center of the spherical room that displayed codes. Standing before this screen was a fairly old man, probably in his 70's, he keenly observed the log before him and had an ugly expression every now and then.
"Talk to me fools, what is going on?" He finally voiced out his frustration. "What or who is tampering with my programme?".
Another set of engineers came in and one approached the man at the centre of the room.
"Mr Einko sir, the programming has been hijacked." Sweat dripped from his forehead.
"Hackers?" Einko was a bit bewildered, that should be impossible.
"No. Somehow, one of the minds of the participant had another programme that resonated with our data base." The engineer adjusted his glasses.
"What do you mean?" Einko was intrigued.
"Immediately his mind was extracted into the reality, it already contained an information the programme understood. Like he had had participated before now. It really is amazing." The nervous engineer finally let out a smile.
"I see, so the foreign data from his mind has been integrated into the data base." Einko still doubted his ears. "So how ugly is the overview?".
"New characters and appearance of new landscapes. I can say it more incredible, looks more realistic. Like people already went through the programme. That Benjamin kid really is something." The engineer now spoke freely, he even gestured for a cup of coffee.
"Oh, that is his name?" Einko asked and they nodded in confirmation. "Keep an eye on him."
BACK IN THE MYTHICAL REALITY.
The exam drew nearer and nearer, the tension in the branch family homes began to rise, a lot of youngsters had accepted defeat. Matero's parents were worried, not just at the fact that they felt like their son couldn't make it, but at the fact that he showed no signs of giving up.
"With this much effort, my baby will be heartbroken when he fails." His mum once said,to her husband with tears.
Everyone else was having a tough time, only few extremely talented geniuses were showing signs of succeeding. But nobody knew what was going on with Matero, no one could measure his progress, no one knew he could step up any time he wanted. He had the insights of an ancient master.
Progressing in rank had to do with a lot of factors, a strong foundation, talent, luck and comprehension. This was the start so Matero was taking his time to build the best foundation, he had methods on how to attain top notch talent, reincarnated with this much insight and knowledge, who could have better comprehension? Who was luckier?
Matero cultivated (i.e. trained and meditated) in isolation, he wanted to keep out of sight for the mean time not to draw too much attention. He could already feel energy compressing within him, even right now he was already stronger than most people of the same step and when he would step up, he knew he would be able to clash with even those at the third step. Another perk up his sleeve was that at this level, they had no moves or techniques as they were not yet disciples, but Matero had all the knowledge from his past life and knew so many techniques and skills to perfection. He was almost a god in his past life, you could only imagine how much he knew. He was confident he would succeed.
Just a week to the examinations, while Matero's mother sat and brooded over what would become of her only son, the door sprung open and Matero walked in briskly. Confidence engulfed him like a garment. The atmosphere of the entire building changed and even his father had to rush in to see what had happened to his son.
"Wait... So powerful, not yet at the second step but with this much strength. You've already made us proud Matero." His father spoke with pride and joy written all over his face.
"Son, waiting one more year won't hurt. You will probably qualify next year. I'm impressed already." Her worried countenance dimmed by half and she spoke with uncertainty.
"Dad, get ready. We are going for the examination." Matero chuckled and closed his eyes and with just two breaths, his aura disappeared and suddenly a new one broke forth. More stronger, more condensed and less chaotic.
"You...."
"You actually stepped up?" Staring at the impossible feat her son achieved, she shrieked like she met a monster then ran to embrace him.
"Just 14 years and I feel like I'm in the presence of an ancient master. Is my son the descent of some god...?" Matero's father Zhao Hakun questioned in his heart.
A day before the start of the screening examination, Hakun and Matero left for the main family village, the branch families lived at the outskirts of the Zhao village. The main family contained the rich and wealthy, while peasants and the poor occupied the branch families, the standard of living was different. Matero wasn't shocked by the drastic difference in the way the main family lived, with the knowledge from his past life he knew the entire family, branch or main were still servants of other greater families and they were the weakest in their clan. He knew that even the entire continent he was in at the moment was nothing but trash to the rest of the world.
He decided to get his very first sword before registering, he could recognise his first blade from his past life and there it was again in it's sheath. He remembered the fact that it was actually a powerful weapon that was sold cheap by the ignorant shop keeper and it repeated itself. Matero received his blade with a smile and with his father headed for the exam grounds. He was about to start writing history.
- Writer
