Real World, Soaring Continent.

Main Region, Central District, Capital City.

Springfield Household.

s.h.i.+n in his room and is currently sitting on the floor beside his bed while having a deep thought. Around him are a bunch of piles of books regarding the combination of Martial-Arts and Mentalism.

Sigh~

s.h.i.+n releases a helpless sigh after his deep contemplation. "This study is really quite hard. Combining the systems of Martial-Art and Mentalism are not as simple as one plus one, yet these guys managed to come up with their own theories and able to realize some of them."

"If I look at all of these the people that stood out the most are "Alberto Gonzalez" the first to discover the "Unified Strengthening" Technique and "Henry Cortez" the author of "The Book of Secret Arts"."

"Without a doubt, Alberto"s Unified Strengthening Technique is more successful than the other researches, but Henry"s theories regarding Secret Arts are quite solid too. And the theory that is closest to reality is the "Martial-Mentalism Relativity Theory"."

"This theory discusses how to create a personalized Secret Art by combining the current Martial-Art Skills and Mentalism Techniques of the user. But this is only applicable to Dual-Practioners."

"He said that if a Practioner managed to create his/her personal Secret Art through combining his/her Martial-Art Skill and Mentalism Technique, then it is also possible for him/her to create a "Worldly Origin" that be used with those Secret Arts."

"This theory is quite simple if you look at it, but it is easier to said than done. It is safe to say that the Martial-Art and Mentalism of a Dual-Practioner are comparable with each other. But it doesn"t mean that those two can be easily combined."

"Because almost all of the Dual-Practioners are practicing their Mentalism in a "Psychic Mentalist" discipline while their bodies are properly nurtured by their "Internal Qi" and not by their Mental Energies."

"And because of that, their bodies can"t use any Mentalism Technique that falls on "physical" discipline. And therefore, their Martial-Arts and Mentalism combination are quite impossible to achieve."

"They are not like me after all, who can use both Physical and Mental techniques of my Mentalism despite having a body nurtured by my Internal Qi. And that is mostly thanks to my "Spiritual Embryo" Special Body. And–...."

s.h.i.+n suddenly paused when he reached this point. It is because he suddenly realized something.

Then he blurted out as he suddenly shot up from his sitting position for finding the missing key! "That"s Right!!! That is the answer why no one managed to achieve the desired result of this theory! It is because they don"t have a suitable vessel to use a Secret Art that Henry was saying."

"Wait! I think I read something similar this earlier." muttered s.h.i.+n before sitting down once again and rescanning the books around him as he tries to find something.

Few moments later, he finally found the book that he is looking for. The t.i.tle of the book is "The secrets of Alberto Gonzalez". s.h.i.+n flipped the pages of the book while scanning it one by one.

Then his sight landed on a certain phrase on the book before reading it out loud."I"m not a genius actually. I"m just a Dual-Practioner with a special type of body that lets me experiment more on the field of Martial-Arts and Mentalism. And with that, I managed to discover this new technique of ours."

s.h.i.+n stared at that for few more seconds before muttering to himself. "So that was it. Alberto Gonzalez might also have a "Spiritual Embryo" special body just like me. That is also one of the main reasons how he discovered the Unified Strengthening."

Then he looked at the book written by "Henry Cortez" before muttering to himself. "If only he was still alive when Henry Cortez emerges, or the other way around, then they might really succeed at combining Martial-Arts and Mentalism together."

"Tsk! Too bad that Alberto died during an exploration mission, or else he might still alive until now. And with that, he and Henry might meet and create another history."

After that, s.h.i.+n read Henry"s profile from one of the books around him. "Henry Cortez, a genius researcher in the field of Martial-Arts and Mentalism."

"He might not be gifted at the two respective practices but a lot of members of the "Elder Council" respected him because of his amazing researches."

"He is currently working at the "Magical Ace Academy" as a guest teacher and acting as the head researcher of the "World Research Center" of the Soaring Continent."

Then s.h.i.+n fell on a deep contemplation. "Magical Ace Academy? That is one of the best schools around the world. And together with the "Top Military School", they are called the twin genius producer of the Soaring Continent."

.....

The "Top Military School" a school that is famous for its orthodox way of strict teaching together with its harsh environment. The death toll of the students here is quite high because of the missions issued by the school for their exams are pretty much dangerous.

But all of the graduates of this School are dragons among men. And all of the major organizations around the world are going crazy just to recruit one of them.

On the other hand, the "Magical Ace Academy" is its counterpart. This school"s way of teaching is quite unorthodox because they are discussing different kinds of fields. And it covers all the topics around the world.

What"s more, most of the teachers and instructors of this school are internationally renowned individuals that are famous in their respective fields.

That is also the reason why some of the most talented individuals from the other countries are coming to the Eastern Sea Region just to enroll in the school.

Some of the international organizations are even enrolling their most talented younger generation because of that reason.

...

After comparing the two schools, s.h.i.+n finally made a decision. "The start of the school will be on next month. Maybe I should start some preparation for it. And since I"m High School now, maybe I should send my application for the entrance exam of Magical Ace Academy."

"I might find some answers if I go there. And I"m sure that they have some topics regarding the combination of Martial-Art and Mentalism since Prof. Henry Cortez is in there."

"That Old Geezer and Old Fatty might able to teach me how to become a powerful Martial-Artist and Mentalist, but they can"t help at the field of combining the two as much as this Prof. Henry."

After that, s.h.i.+n opens his Advance Watch and dialed the number of Old Plum to discuss his plans. His master supported his decision as it is a good idea, and it is going to be more helpful in his progress exploring the "path" that he chose.

After ending the call, s.h.i.+n dialed the number of "Madam Foxy", this is how he named Madam Springfield or "Cristina Jane", the wife of Captain Bernard, in his Advance Watch.

When the call connected, s.h.i.+n shared his thoughts about going to the "Magical Ace Academy" for his High School. Madam Foxy didn"t say much and just also supported his decision since it is really a good school.

After talking to her few more moments, s.h.i.+n immediately ended the call before sending his application for the entrance exam of the "Magical Ace Academy". Then what left for him now is to wait for it to be approved so that he can take the exam.

And after doing all of that, s.h.i.+n suddenly felt tired. He felt that a lot have happened today so he immediately collect all of the books around him while organizing them.

Then he take a quick trip to the kitchen to look for something to eat. And after eating, s.h.i.+n immediately went back to his room before laying inside his VR Gaming Cabin.

"Alright, enough for Martial-Arts and Mentalism for now. Let"s get back in the game and do some adventures."

s.h.i.+n closed his eyes as the Cabin closes itself. Then he said. "Initiate Login!"

******

Swoos.h.!.+s.h.i.+n is back in the room of the Church. Then he took a quick look at his in-game clock and saw that more than a day and a half have pa.s.sed here since he spends almost half a day outside.

After that, he immediately opened his friend list and contacted Lawless. Fortunately, the call immediately connected and showed the smiling face of Lawless on the virtual screen. "Heh, so what"s your problem now, Brother Sickarius?"

s.h.i.+n clicked his tongue and said. "Tsk! Do you honestly believe that I"m that kind of person?"

Lawless laughed out loud and said. "Hahaha.... Didn"t you are only contacting when you need something?"

This time, s.h.i.+n suddenly become guilty after hearing that. Well, he can"t say anything about that, it is true after all.

Seeing s.h.i.+n"s guilty look, Lawless suddenly change the subject to lighten up the mood a little. "If your are feeling too guilty, then how about joining my team instead? With that, you don"t have to feel this way."

s.h.i.+n shook his head and smiled bitterly before apologizing. "Sorry brother Lawless, but we already discussed about that."

Lawless curve his mouth into a grin while saying. "If you are still worried about being weak, then that is not necessary anymore. Those "Top Dogs" of the Powerhouse Guilds are already wracking their heads as they try to figure out how to recruit you after you defeated those three famous guys."

"Alright, Alright. Move on~. Let"s discuss the main topic already. Are you and the others available now?" said s.h.i.+n.

Lawless thought for a moment and said. "If it is about hunting some high-leveled monsters, then we might pa.s.s this time. Hunting monster bosses might be bountiful, but we can always hunt them down anytime."

"On the other hand, these kind of quests are hard to come by. There is a saying in this game that said "Monster bosses give you the equipments and materials while Quests grant you levels and points"."

s.h.i.+n knitted his brows and said. "Why do I feel that what you said is wrong? Didn"t the right one is "Monsters hone your skills and techniques while Quest gives you strength and influence"?"

"Anyway, I didn"t call you for that. I stumble upon a High-Ranking quest. It is also related to the Church. I can"t tackle it alone so I"m asking for some help."

Lawless suddenly became interested and said. "Oh~♪ A High-Ranking Quest? Is it also the same as the one being given by your Church or a different one?"

"Of course! It is different. Mine is kind of a personal quest." said s.h.i.+n almost instantly.

Lawless fall on a deep thought before asking. "What type of quest and how is the difficulty?"

"A Hidden Investigative Quest with Master(SSS) difficulty." said s.h.i.+n without second thought. Then he immediately added after. "And I think it is a chain quest, and somewhat related to my other quest."

"A chain quest that starts with "Master-grade" difficulty?" muttered Lawless as he fell on a deep thought. Then he look at s.h.i.+n before asking once again. "What about your other quest?"

s.h.i.+n replied without thinking twice. "A Hidden Main Quest with h.e.l.l(SSS+) difficulty."

Cough! Cough!

Lawless suddenly chokes with the words that he is about say after hearing s.h.i.+n"s reply. Then he said after recovering himself. "What the F*ck! Why the h.e.l.l are all the good things keep coming on your side. Can you at least lend your lucky star to me so that I can experience it too?"

s.h.i.+n ignored that and immediately asked. "Enough with the that. Are you guys free or not?"

Lawless clicked his tongue and said. "Tsk! What a coldhearted b*st*rd! Me and Faker are already free since just finished the SS-grade quest that we got from the church, and about to submit it."

"But we are also planning to accept the Master-grade quest that had been posted on the church quest bulletin board since we already met the requirements for it. And it is better if we s.n.a.t.c.h it from the hands of the powerful Guilds."

Then s.h.i.+n immediately replied without further ado. "Then take it too! We can clear the quests altogether since they are all interconnected! In fact, I"m the real reason why the church is issuing those quest."

"You–!....." Lawless was frozen in place after hearing that. It took him some time to recover himself before started cursing s.h.i.+n. "D*mn it! G.o.d, F*cking d*mn it! What kind of b*st*rd creature are you? You are not only a sh*thead lucky guy, you are also a motherf*cking source of trouble!"

s.h.i.+n stared at Lawless placidly and asked. "So what now? Are you guys coming or not?"

Lawless took some effort to clam himself down. Then he look at s.h.i.+n and replied. "Alright, we are joining. But! We have some problems. Master-grade Quest are not like the other quest that can cleared alone or with some random team."

"We need to balance our team"s cla.s.s composition so that we can avoid some accidents. We didn"t lack in physical DSP area. Me, you, and Faker are more than enough for that."

"We also don"t have to worry on the supporting area, as we have Stephanie, and she is more than enough for that role."

"But we are lacking on two respective areas. We don"t have a main tank, and we don"t have enough firepower in magical DPS(Damage per Second) department. And even if Morgan have a rapid magical damage, he is lacking in terms explosiveness."

"If we have Ember and Ravier, then that is not a problem. But those two run off to somewhere, saying that they have to do something in Real World. For all I know, those two might only be dating."

"I might be able to find a suitable tank for our team by asking some of my friends. But I don"t know anyone that can fill the magical DPS spot."

Now, s.h.i.+n fell on a deep thought. He doesn"t have may connections in the game. So aside from the couple in Lawless group, he only have a single person that magical cla.s.s in his friend list. But he doesn"t want ask some help from her because he is going get trapped on another debt if he does.

s.h.i.+n is racking his brain while looking at his friend list. Then a certain name caught his eyes. Immediately after that, an idea enter his mind.

He look at Lawless on the screen before saying. "Hey, brother Lawless. You take care of finding the tank while I"ll try looking for a magical cla.s.s. And immediately take the Master-grade quest issued by Church before others steal it."

Lawless looked at s.h.i.+n skeptically and said. "Are you sure about that? If you take a random Mage on the street, then I"m going to beat you up for ruining our quest."

s.h.i.+n clicked his tongue and said. "Tsk! You don"t have to worry about that. I"m not that idi*t to ruin my own quest. Just finish up all the things on your side before we meet up at the coordinates that I"m going to send to you."

"What"s with the rush? Can"t we rest for a little?" said Lawless.

"Of course! You can. But we need to immediately move out after that. We need to finish one of my quest as soon as possible, or else some accidents might happened." said s.h.i.+n with a little impatience.

Lawless clicked his tongue and said. "Alright, I get it. Just make sure that you are going to find a good Mage, OK?"

s.h.i.+n nodded his head before ending the call. After that, he switched his "caller ID" before dialing a number from his friends list.

....