Returning to the mansion, Alfred went searching for Xavier to seek some advice about his awakening tomorrow.
Although he knew that he would awaken on his birthday, he still didn't know much about the process since he had no interest in being a martial artist. Whether his aptitude was poor or not didn't affect anything since his dad was already here and hellbent on kidnapping him regardless.
But since It's come down to this, he thought it would be best if knew a little rather than to run in blindly.
After searching fruitlessly for a while, Alfred started contacting Xavier through his communicator.
"Eh? You only know you have a brother when your awakening ceremony is coming?" Xavier's sneer could be heard coming from the earpiece.
'Who would want to interact with a martial idiot like you?' Alfred rolled his eyes secretly.
"Brother, don't mind that. Please tell me the process of the ceremony tomorrow and I will owe you one" Alfred said calmly.
"Spar with me first!"
'Do you love getting beaten that badly? Are you a masochist?' Alfred's lips twitched, almost giving voice to his thoughts.
"One round. Nothing more than that. Dad reminded me not to do anything strenuous for the day" he acceded. Besides blowing off some steam isn't bad. Just seeing the smug face of that old man has been annoying me these last two days (- _ -).
"Good good. Come to B1 room 5, we'll be waiting."
"We? Your two cronies are there again?"
Xavier was vexed. "Mark and Aubrey aren't my followers, we're brothers from another mother."
"Whatever you say..." Alfred teased him. "Fine fine, I'll be there in a while."
Quickening his pace, Alfred hurried off. Since he could get the info and a free punching bag with it, who would refuse?
...
"Yo!" Alfred hailed Mark and Aubrey upon entering the room.
Currently, they were on a battle arena in the middle of a lake with a 3 meters wide wooden walkway leading from the door to the arena a hundred or so meters away.
"Haven't seen you for a while, Alfred!" Exclaimed the handsome Mark with a smile.
"How can you see him if he has been eating and sleeping on that boat every day for the last 3 weeks? I bet if dad didn't go drag him off of there, he would even miss the ceremony tomorrow" Xavier grumbled.
Pushing up his glasses and cocking his head to one side, Aubrey asked "how do you feel about tomorrow? Nervous? Excited? How about it?"
"..."
"I don't know how the process works, so what should I feel about it?" Alfred shrugged.
"..."
Aubrey was speechless. "No one told you about it?"
"Isn't that why I am here now?" Alfred looked at him.
"Shouldn't you have at least researched or at least Koodle it?" Mark smiled bitterly. 'How can he be so carefree? when every other scion of high society is trying their hardest to train and increase their body's receptivity to Origin Qi, he is wasting his time doing nonsense. If he fails his awakening, Uncle John will definitely butcher him!' Mark looked at Alfred with pity.
It's not that Alfred was too carefree. It's simply that he didn't care about being a martial artist. As far as he was concerned, he would be best suited to walk the path of a Mage like his mom.
As someone who had been struggling since childhood and fighting on the streets for the latter half of his life, he had no interest in being up close and personal with anyone.
Accidents happen. And a martial artist's life can be gone with the snap of a finger if they were slightly unlucky. So why would he willingly walk such a dangerous and unforgiving path? Isn't it better to live life leisurely for 10 years and wait for his abilities to awaken naturally?
He couldn't be so unlucky to not awaken one right? Isn't he a transporter? Shouldn't he be like those protagonists? He isn't asking for much. Just enough to get by and live free from worries. After all, according to books and the internet, the only dangers in this world are Wild Beasts and other humans with nefarious intentions.
How far away from him were those things? It's not like he is going out of his way to court death right? As for his aunt's mission? Isn't it enough if he wait a few years and accomplishes it once he becomes a stage 6 Wizard?
No rush, no rush.
...
"Alright, fight me first then I'll explain the process to you." Seeing them go off-topic, Xavier was getting impatient.
"Let's go" Alfred agreed.
Seeing them taking their positions in the centre of the arena, Mark and Aubrey stood off to the side.
...
The two of them stood opposite each other 10 meters apart. After being beaten up by Alfred a few times, Xavier has no choice but to take him seriously and treat him as a true rival.
Noticing the seriousness on his face, Alfred also got serious.
'This kid really is a martial arts talent. No wonder father appreciates him so much. Compared to our first fight 4 months ago, he is a lot more stable and grounded. I'll have to take him more seriously from now on.' Alfred nodded in appreciation.
Xavier took a few small steps forward until they were about a meter apart.
Testing the waters, he did a few quick jabs with his left while keeping a close eye on Alfred's feet.
Seeing his movements, Alfred smiled cunningly. He kicked his left foot back while leaning his upper body forward, shifting his weight onto his right foot; aiming his right fist for Xavier's left jaw. Unfortunately, the elegance of such a move was totally destroyed by his heavy rotund figure.
Feeling the danger from the incoming superman punch, Xavier hurriedly retreated while glaring at Alfred fiercely. 'To think he would still use this type of move!'
Ignoring his glare, Alfred lowered his center of gravity while dashing forward in a boxing stance while weaving left and right.
Xavier brought up his knee initiating a Kao Loi.
Because of his lack of proper coordination and slow speed, Alfred couldn't dodge and had to block it with his elbows. Suffering the elbow shock, he couldn't help but wince and retreat.
After connecting his move, Xavier pressed forward with excitement in his eyes. His blood was pumping wildly. He could feel the rush.
'This is it! Finally, I can return some interest!'
Xavier pressed and pressed. Not giving Alfred the slightest chance to catch his breath.
How could he allow it? Wasn't he suffering beatings upon beatings for the last few months? Didn't he train so hard for the chance to pay it forward?
How ironic. Xavier seems to have forgotten that he was always the one bullying Alfred. But such is the case of selective memory when you feel grievance towards injustices you have suffered.
...
As Alfred had put on a lot of weight in the last few weeks, naturally he could only passively take a beating. Did he think he was a protagonist? Why would plot armour come to a lazy bum? While he was busy enjoying life, others were busy training. While he was being washed away by the current, others were fighting tooth and nail to reach the top. Without a foundation how can he achieve success? Instant success is only temporary gratification.
...
And so, after pummeling his arms a few rounds, Xavier took the opportunity when Alfred was covering his face to swing to his side and give him a good knee to the waist.
As he was still in the heat of the moment, he was about to charge in for round 2 when he was stopped by a tall figure in a blood-red battle suit.
Waking up from his frenzy, Xavier observed his surroundings. Seeing his father giving him an approving look and the unconscious Alfred, he had mixed feelings.
John nodded at the trio and took the unconscious Alfred to the medical bay.
...
Done settling Alfred in a silver pod with green medical fluid, John looked at him with a tinge of guilt.
"Kid, don't blame this daddy. It's for your own good. This world is crueller than you think. If you want to live the leisurely and carefree life you so desire, how could you lack strength? Don't think that with my meagre strength I can protect you forever. I won't always be by your side, so I hope you learn something from today's incident."
Walking out the door and leaving the nurses to do their thing John murmured. "Take the rest of the day off and don't worry about tomorrow, you'll be awakened by then anyway. Regardless of your talent, you're still I, Blood Marshall Gibbs' son. So long as I am alive, I'll train you well and help you build a solid foundation."