"Strength does not come from the body. True strength is the resilience of the soul, the unwavering determination in the face of adversity, and the courage to rise after every fall."
A tall figure was bolting back home after his usual evening training,while repeating the words from his Master and Mentor.He was getting nervous, his palms cold with sweat.The night was pitch black there were no stars, no clouds even the moon wasn't there, the wind was freezing cold even though it was the middle of the summer and the lights of the lantern were flashing
He is tall, very tall, 2.10 m (6f 10), with bulking muscles popping out of his black overall, white eyes and white hair and a handsome face.
While running he was thinking about everything he has accomplished in his life, his martial arts training and his family or rather his non-existent family members except his big brother
They both grew up in the same orphanage, so while they were not related by blood, they were even closer than blood brothers.
Normally he would not think about such things, but today was different, the whole day felt weird,as if something was going to happen, something bad…
The whole day he had a feeling of dread, as if death was looming over his shoulder watching him and mocking him because he couldn't do anything.
My sweat is still cold, he contemplated after touching the nape of his neck. In Fact he had cold sweat all over his body the moment he woke up.
"I hope nothing happens" he mutters with his mind racing.Normally he would trust his instinct, and he is trusting them, but there is no threat, no nothing, as if something was deliberately blocking his senses . It doesn't make any sense.
After some time, Michael reaches the front of a medium big house with a large courtyard in the middle of the city, even though this house may not seem as much, but it is probably the most guarded place in the city.
.
He went through the gate, and was immediately greeted by the sight of 2 guards, behind the gates, guarding them, and checking everyone that wanted to come in.
The guards bowed and said in a loud, voice "Greetings, Instructor"
Micheal looked at them with a small smile and,greeted them back, "Hello, number 47,42 and 49"
His big brother was a businessman, and as you can see a very successful one at that as he is the head of a private military company called Starhaven International, and each of the guards are members of the company and have been to war with him.
He walked through the doors and was greeted by his brother who was, 30, 12 years older than him.
His brother was not a very tall man, 1,75 (5f9), with black raven hair that had a few silver strands and black eyes, as black as the abyss that sometimes seemed to shine silver under the sunlight. While he was average looking, his thick, luscious, beard made him seem like the epitome of masculinity.
Kaleb thought to Micheal, hopefully nothing happens to him with sweaty palms and a fake smile.
"Michael!" shouted Klaeb with a wide smile." You are finally back, I have been waiting the whole day." While thinking He looks worried, did something happen?
"Hi Kaleb! What's going on?" answered Micheal, still wearing his fake smile.
"Well today we are going to have a big treat," said Kaleb with a big grin to his face.
"But before that, say… is something bothering you? You look as if someone had stolen your life savings." Inquired Kaleb with a face that would put even the most worried mother to shame.
"Well… you know how my instincts are… normally they are never wrong, or rather they have been never wrong… but today it is giving so many different signals" said Micheal with an equally worried face, while it may seem foolish for most people to be worried about something like their gut feeling, Micheal was different, his gut feeling saved the lives of Starhaven members countless times.
"Hmm that indeed is worrisome, do you know what exactly your instinct is warning you from? Can you pinpoint the issue?" asked Kaleb, now with a serious face that most Starhaven members are familiar with.
"No, it is as if the whole world is crashing down on me. I get the feeling from everything and everyone, and it is not even a feeling of threat or potential danger that I get. I get the feeling of death from everyone I have met… No death is the wrong word for it, it is as everyone has the possibility to die… even the Starhaven member… and you… Kaleb." answered Micheal in a serious voice .He was completely honest, without telling any lies or dishonest intentions.
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"The feeling is coming from everywhere. We are surrounded by it. So please do me a favor and send all Starhavens back to base, if there are any on mission also tell them to stay inside till I tell them otherwise." told Michael in a serious voice.
So it is really something serious if Michael wants all Starhavens back.
"All right I will tell them to stay inside, luckily there aren't any Members on missions"answered Kaleb in the same tone.
"Since something may happen, how about keeping our minds and bodies sharp?"asked Kaleb with an amused face yet serious tone.
"Sure let's do it but let me Meditate beforehand. Maybe I will find something." said Michael with an excited tone .One might think Michael is excited to spar with his brother but that is only partly true. While he is excited to spar, the true reason for his excitement is the feeling he gets.The feeling of death.It has been a long time since something felt like it could threaten him.
Life was getting boring for Michael.
So while it may seem Michael was getting nervous it was actually excitement. Sure he is worried about his Brother and he is worried about the members but that is not a feeling he was unfamiliar with. They all have been in dangerous situations together and if they couldn't handle their weight they would have died a long time ago.
**********
3 hours Later
21:00
I feel better thought Michael while walking towards his brother.
"Let's go to the courtyard." said Michael and Kaleb only nodded
Kaleb walked to the cold weapons and took a wooden sword, while michael was standing there and waiting while being unarmed
"Are you ready?" asked Michael with a big grin on his face.
Standing 5 Meters across him was Kaleb with a cocky smile on his face,and his wooden sword sheathed
"This time I will defeat you.It has been 6 months since our last spar and I have been training harder than ever." said Kaleb excitedly, but deep down he knew it was only fake confidence.I mean the last time he couldn't even last 5 seconds so how are 6 months going to change that?
Without saying anything Micheal smiled and dashed towards Kaleb.
Fast thought Kaleb while his hand went to his sword,with an excited smile, but I can react to it.
The moment Micheal entered Kalebs range, Kaleb drew his sword so fast that even trained people would only see a blur, aiming at Michaels neck.
This is the result of my training, thought Kaleb Maybe I will win. The sword being only 10 cm away from Micheals neck.
He got faster though Micheal camly but … why ….? Is it so slow? He slowly put the back of his hand up and while the sword was only a couple centimeters away from touching his neck, he redirected the sword with one move while using almost no force.
The tip of the sword hit the ground and a loud clang was heard.
Wha- thought Kaleb before seeing Micheal getting into his boxing stance and his right fist striking him. His fist slowing down and being only centimeters away from hitting him straight into his chest, when Kaleb even registered that he was counterattacked.
He got even better?! thought Kaleb while mentally preparing for impact and trying to shift his bodyweight back to reduce the damage he would receive
But before the fist connected, Michael stopped and shifted even more of his weight onto his left leg and kicked with his right leg towards Kalebs head. Before Kaleb could even process what happened Michaels foot stopped right before the left side of his face.
"Close your mouth, before a fly comes to meet your uvula" said Michael with an amused tone. "By the way, you got better. You could probably compete with some of the highest numbers maybe even spar with Team Gamma and not get completely destroyed"
"I got better?!" said Kaleb in a slightly louder voice than usual. "Then what about you?! The members of team Gamma would probably not even last 10 seconds against you and THAT WAS MY ESTIMATE FROM THE LAST TIME WE SPARED!"
Kaleb raised his voice even more. For an outsider it may seem as if Kaleb was getting agitated and unprofessional but only they knew that Kaleb was truly happy and excited for his little brother.
"What about now? Are the members of team Beta not even going to last 1 minute and the members of team Alpha not even 10? What kind of monster are you becoming?" Kaleb was truly getting more and more happy with every word he said.
Michael only smiled slightly but people who know him really well knew that this was truly a rare sight.
"Well there is a reason why I am the Instructor"
"Let's go again.I get the feeling that we may not spar again in near future." Said Michael still smiling.
The only response he got was a smile and a nod before a punch was thrown to his face.
*****
25 minutes later
21:30
"I am going to meditate now, tell the members to be ready and meet me at midnight" announced Michael.with an big grin on his face
*******
2 hours and 20 minutes later
22:50
Micheal walked into the basement, it was a big spacious space with everything there could be, a shooting range, a big space for sparring and group training, weapons of all kind whether it were swords, spears or rifles there was everything. On the other side of the room there is a door which leads to the living spaces of the Basement of the rest of the members
There were about 100 loyal members living here with their family and ready to do everything that needed to be done
"All right since everyone is already here, I will start early. I want everyone to be down in the basement. Nobody is allowed to leave the perimeter.It doesn't matter if they are on guard duty today or whatever." Michael announced in a tone that left no room for discussion and an emotionless face.
He talked for another 10 minutes making sure everything was set in place.
"Alright since everything is now set, I want everyone to go back and stay safe- '' But before he could finish the clock turned to midnight, a new day began and a strong earthquake hit them making everyone fall down except a couple people.
[System integration in process…]
[Integrating Multiverse-256 into the System]
[Planet earth-367… at brink of breaking into F-Rank]
[Searching for 10 other similar planets…]
[Found!]
[Combining planets]
[Process started…]
[Player is going to be sent into the Tutorial]
[Welcome to the System!]