'I remember now! They are my memories. I lost them after the rebirth process and couldn't remember. At the rate this is going, all my lost memories would come back!'
Jake shivered at the thought of recovering all his memories.
To any other person, it would be a good thing, a blessing, but to Jake, it was the opposite!
There was a reason he lost some of his memories. In truth, those lost memories were not the target of his memory wipe. They were just part of the casualties.
During his rebirth process, he went through some things that could scar him. He saw some things that were above him, and just the memories of them could destroy Jake.
Yes, the memories had that much power!
Such a scenario was akin to staring at the true nature of a god with one's mortal eyes.
'What do I do? I thought I had permanently wiped it,' panicked Jake.
'Shit! I should have realized that the word, "permanent", does not exist when it comes to affairs of the mind.'
Jake could understand the reason why his memories were coming back. It was due to him cultivating.
Cultivating would bring out the best in oneself, repairing all his/her deficiencies as one progresses further.
Jake was like a torn blanket. It was decrepit and needed a lot of repairing for it to become wholesome.
No wonder, his memories were coming back. They were the holes in the blanket that needed filling.
'This is a serious situation. On one side, I can finally be repaired, becoming perfect. On the other side, I would have to face the full brunt of the forbidden memories.'
Like a salted earthworm, Jake's brain coiled around, to and fro, before deciding on one option, the most dangerous one.
Since it is said that cultivation is limitless, I would bet my life on it. If I can acquire the strength of a god, perhaps, I would be able to face the forbidden memories, but for now, I would need to delay the recovery of my memories, to be specific, the forbidden memories.'
It was at this point Jake started to miss the Dungeon of Miracles.
The Dungeon had a library that possessed almost everything one could think of.
Jake was sure that he could find the answer he was looking for there, but sadly, the dungeon is not in this world.
To delay the influx of his memories, Jake would need something to stop it temporarily, as he was sure it could not be permanently stopped.
As his knowledge of this world was still deficient, Jake set the matter aside. He could only hope he found what he needed before it was too late.
Noticing the ray of sunlight on his skin, he moaned, "Hmmm, where am I?"
Standing up, he recognized the structure of the place he was at.
It was his room at the guest house!
"They must have carried me from the stadium after I fainted," Jake thought out loud.
"It is already morning. The last time I was awake, it was mid-evening. So, I slept through the whole night," reckoned Jake.
He took off his current clothes. It was the suit he had worn for the King's celebration.
After wearing it for a long time, he felt stuffy in it.
Jake stripped down to his underwear.
He picked up a morning robe provided by the guest house and wore it.
As he was set, he strode out of his room, down to the dining hall.
...….
"Hey, Jake. Congratulations!" shouted Gavin the moment he spotted Jake.
He was very happy and that could be seen as he stood up from his seat to hug Jake.
"For what?" asked Jake, still feeling lightheaded.
"You qualified for the next stage, can't you remember?" Gavin quizzically looked at Jake.
"Oh!" uttered Jake.
If anything, he wasn't excited about his qualification.
Before the event yesterday, he had predicted his qualification. It wasn't a matter of confidence. It was purely based on his strength.
The Preliminary stage weeded out the weak ones and only left those average and above. Jake was sure he was at least average, but he wasn't sure about being top.
Yesterday, he wasn't the only one to effortlessly resist the pressure of the King's aura.
Plus, judging by the positive faces of Gavin, Nico, Jaya, and Lola, he reckoned that they had also qualified.
Jake could tell from the look of Andrew's face that he didn't make it.
Wanting to confirm his thoughts, he asked, "How many?"
Despite Jake's insufficient words, Gavin could understand him, "Just five! Unfortunately, Andrew...."
He stopped his sentence hinting for Jake to understand.
"Hmmm," Jake replied.
It was his business whether Andrew passed or not. It didn't affect him any bit.
Still feeling groggy, he tried to remember the reason he came to the dining hall.
The moment he recollected, he asked Gavin, "I heard there was a court for practicing techniques somewhere nearby. Do you know where it is?"
"Oh, that place. It's just around the corner. Take three left turns…." said Gavin as he gave out the directions.
Upon hearing this, Jake nodded as a way of thanking him.
He left the hall to put on his combat outfit, not bothering anymore with whatever was going on in the dining hall.
"Arrogant," scoffed one of the teens.
"I think he is cool. Dashing, cold, and elegant," said one of Jake's simp.
"Bleh. He is just disrespectful," scoffed another anti-Jake.
"You are just sad he didn't talk to you," argued No.2 Jake's simp.
The argument dragged everyone in as they quarreled about Jake's character.
...…..
Three hours later.
Jake found himself at the front of a large building.
"It should be here," smiled Jake.
He walked into the building and was astounded by the aesthetics of the inside.
With no time to waste, he shrugged off the amazing impression as he scouted the building.
As soon as he saw a receptionist stand, he walked up there and conversed with the receptionist, "Hi, I would like to rent a courtyard."
The receptionist, a tall, beautiful, and well-endowed woman, smiled back at him, "Did you say you want to rent a courtyard?"
"Yes"
Wanting to confirm, she puzzled, "For what purpose do you need a courtyard, young sir?"
"Practising my technique," replied Jake, indicating as he shook the handle of his sword.
Quickly, the receptionist realized her mistake. Jake was not the first customer to ask for a courtyard. There were many others of similar age who rented a courtyard for practicing.
So, she should have noticed he has the same goal as he was dressed in light armor.
"Pardon me, young sir," apologized the receptionist.
She continued, "May I ask what size courtyard do you want?"
"What are the different sizes and their unique qualities," inquired Jake.
"We have a small size which is the same size as an accurate room. It is soundproof just like the others and can be installed with [Low-Earth rank] training items.
We have a middle size which is estimated to be equal to the size of two small rooms. It has the same benefits as the previous one, except that it can be installed with [Mid-Earth rank] training items.
Finally, we have the large size courtyards which are times two the size of a middle size courtyard. It is extremely big and is mostly used by a group of people who want to train together. Also, it can be installed with [High-Earth rank] training items. There are only two of such rooms as space and resources required to maintain it is quite high."
As it was Jake's time to decide, he struggled to find the most suitable choice.
Actually, the three choices fitted him. Sadly, he could not choose everything.
He had no problem with space.
Deciding he needed further details, Jake asked, "What are the prices of the three sizes?"
"Glad you asked. The small size is 1 gold coin. The middle size is 2 gold coins, and the large size is 4 gold coins.
The prices are constant regardless of the installments made, but keep in mind, there is a limit to the number of training items one can use."
'Hmmmm,' Jake thought as he deconstructed the information.
Swiftly, he replied, "I will settle for the middle size!"
"Ok. Can I ask what type of training items will you be needing?"
"Those pertaining to swords," replied Jake.
He was asked some further questions and asked to wait a bit for the courtyard to be prepared.
....
30 minutes later.
"Finally," uttered Jake.
It had taken a long thirty minutes for the courtyard to be prepared and now he was in it.
So, there he was, standing in a massive green field with a pond at the center. The courtyard also had various metal dummies installed, even one at the center of the pond.
"Now, let's get to work," smiled Jake, as he brought out his sword from its sheath.