"Hmmmm, so your saying that you went from throwing a 160 km/h ball to a 170 km/h ball in a month?"
Asked by Ken, Fred nervously answered
"Ye-Yes!"
"… Have you tried with other balls?"
"Hm? Other balls?"
"Yes, preferably a smaller ball with more weight, I want to see the extent of your gift so if my hypothesis turns out to be correct you will pass."
"Hypothesis?"
"Ah, sorry for using hard words all of a sudden, you can think of it as a guess."
"hmmm… but aren't you able to see my gift? Why do you ask?"
"My gift, other than giving me the name, only gives a rough description so if it is a gift that is vague I have trouble understanding it."
"oh ok…. um this ball is the only one in the orphanage. It is a softball that the previous head nun used to have, we don't have anything else."
"wait a moment, hey Jake!"
"What!"
"If I remember clearly, you have a baseball in the car don't you? Get it for me, I need it to test the kid."
"Sure, I'll be back in a while."
After returning with the ball on hand, Jake threw it to Ken who proceeded to give it to Fredrich.
Readying his speed gun, he once again asked Fred to use his gift and the results satisfied him greatly.
Unlike when he was using the softball, using the baseball Fred's throw manage to reach 200 km/h, a 30 km/h difference from the previous attempt.
"Hahahaha great! This means that the overall speed is a result of initial speed plus the boost from your gift. I was worried that your gift would only allow you to throw objects on a speed of 170 km/h, which although strong on its own right, is not as preferable as what you have now."
"Why?"
"Well, if you can use your gift on any projectile, then maybe in the future you can use it on a bullet from a gun. Can you imagine? A bullet enhanced with your gift, flying straight to an enemy?"
Hearing the enthusiastic words coming from Ken's mouth, Fred felt a little proud of himself and his gift. If he really was as amazing as the man in front of him say he is, then there is no reason for him to not be happy.
"Now then, it's finally the stars turn."
"…"
"Hm, what's wrong?"
"…you already have full understanding of my gift, don't you?"
" .?... well, your gift is quite specific so…"
[Physical Breaker]
[Unlimited Physical Growth]
These are the words that appear on Jericho every time Ken looks at him.
"…can I have a minute, there's no point on hiding it anymore so… I want to at least tell them beforehand."
"of course, you can take your time."
"thanks"
Ending our conversation, I immediately went to where Millie and Fred were.
Although they were surprised by my actions they immediately became serious after I told had something important to say.
I told them about my gift and its effects. I also told them why I hid it from them, and how sorry I was for betraying their trust.
After telling them everything both of them were extremely surprised at first, but quickly calmed down after a few minutes. It seems that they were already suspicious of me from the start due to how inconsistent my excuses were from my current strength.
Being the first one to calm down Millie only asked me one question
"Did… you tell anyone the truth before us?"
"Only sister Teresa."
"why?"
"because she's strong."
"…I see."
"…"
Millie head dropped and she was quiet for a while, it seems that she was hurt because I didn't trust them enough to share my secret.
"It's not that I don't trust you, it's beca—"
"it's because we are weak. Too weak to keep a secret"
Her face suddenly straightened as she said so. Although it could still be seen that she was a little angry, her eyes were much clearer than before.
"I'll make sure to train harder, I promise."
"… thank you…. Fred, how about you?"
"I… think that it's fine. I don't really understand why you kept it a secret but… I know you have your own reasons."
Said Fred in a confused manner, it seems that the conversation was too hard for him so he gave up.
"…Heh... thanks."
"What about Orson and the others, you planning on telling them as well?"
"…I'll ask Sister Teresa to tell them when she thinks their ready."
"Ok"
Done with my business, I went to Ken and the others to take my test
"to be honest, we already know what your capable of after that whole knife fiasco so you don't really have to do this."
"It's fine, I only managed to do that because of luck anyway so… I want to prove myself."
Satisfied with the answer of the boy, the three men had wide smiles on their faces.
"Heh… since he says so, why not let him. I wanna see it to, his current abilities."
"If someone says something with such conviction, we can only respond in kind."
"then it's unanimous then, Jericho, the stage is yours"
"Phew"
Exhaling loudly, Jericho pumped himself up. He closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling loudly as if he was preparing for a performance. After a few deep breathes his eyes suddenly opened and he began his presentation.
Using everything he had to jump, the five-year old's body went high into the air.
While in the air he released a series of attacks, punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. He used every strike he knew of in fast speeds resulting in wind to blow slightly.
After his feet touched the ground he unleashed an attack that chilled the spines of the three men, especially Jake.
It was the same attack Teresa used to knock out Jake, a roundhouse kick that's as fast as a whip. Although not as sharp or fast as Teresa's, the posture and timing was the same.
Swoop! *
"hah….hah…..hah…..hah."
As the air was cut, only the breathing of Jericho could be heard as everyone spectating was in awe.
After telling Teresa about his gift he had been receiving secret training from her, which is why he was able to do some moves that she could.
"Wow." (Teresa)
"What?" (Jericho)
"I knew you had good memory, but to think you could perfectly recreate moves you've only done once before, what a cheat."
"…I can clearly remember the movements my body makes when I release a good strike. As long as I am able to do it once, I'm confident I can recreate it time and time again."
"Really now, then let me teach you some combo's then, if you do it in front of the others I'm sure they'd be shocked."
Said Teresa excitedly.
Teaching a student that learns so fast was quite fun so she became too into it and ended up teaching the 5-year-old a series of moves.
To the point that he'd probably destroy a pre-gift teenager.