In the dimly lit room, Kiernan sat on a chair while facing a computer screen. His nearly-healed right hand rested on the mouse as he browsed through the Internet.
"I understand a little more about this world…" He mumbled to himself. "From the age of 18, everyone would enter a stage of their life that is called the Age of Growth.
"During that stage, people would experience a rapid increase in power, and their bodies will undergo transformation, allowing them to reach their full potential.
"I couldn't find anything about my father's disease. Maybe he has a hidden injury?"
Kiernan closed the Internet browser and shut down the computer. The room turned dark as curtains covered the windows, and it was already night.
He slowly stood up from the chair and rubbed his neck. It was slightly stiff from sitting in the same position for hours.
And then Kiernan brought out the system interface and looked at it silently for a moment. This system could be a shortcut to even greater power.
Perhaps he could even reach greater power than in his previous life.
'I watched some videos of martial arts tournaments.' Kiernan frowned. 'This world's martial artists are crazy. Those at the top have godlike powers. I guess Martial Soul has access to all sorts of powers.
'Right, I was able to awaken my Martial Soul rather easily.' Kiernan touched his chest and felt his heart beat steadily. 'I guess Martial Soul awakens instinctively. It can tell when the person is ready to advance.
'I tried to study about Martial Souls, but even this world's population is a little bit lost in understanding them. One word usually came up—instinct.'
Kiernan picked up his phone from the desk, slipped it inside his pocket, and walked out of his room in his t-shirt and shorts. He needed to clear his mind, and there was only one way to do so.
He left the house and entered the backyard. It was modest-looking, with a small garden and a hammock hanging between two trees.
Kiernan walked over to the tree and placed his fist against its rough bark. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt the wind on his back.
Then he slammed his eyes open.
A small crack appeared on the tree's rough bark.
"Iron Smash…" Kiernan touched his fist, which didn't get injured this time around.
Since he didn't swing his fist, Iron Smash only had a fraction of its real strength. It was a type of punch that focused all of the strength at a single point.
'I'll need to condition my body so it can handle my Iron Style.'
Kiernan moved to a fighting stance and faced the tree. Then he started punching the bark one after another. First, his right fist, then his left fist. It didn't take long for his knuckles to start to bleed.
He still didn't stop throwing punches.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Kiernan emotionlessly continued to throw punches. It was a boring and painful exercise, but he had done the same training for decades. It had been etched in his memory.
On the top floor of the house, Karma peeked into the backyard through the curtain.
He then closed the curtain and sat back down on his bed. He then took a look at the ring on his finger, which was softly glowing like a star in the darkness.
"Talent is what matters." Karma sighed. "If only hard work could shine as brightly…"
The following morning.
The birds chirped, and the morning sun's rays filled the sky.
Karma walked down the stairs, yawning while scratching his stomach.
As he went to the kitchen to get a cup of morning coffee, he heard a strange noise, and then he looked through the window. To his shock, his son was still punching that same tree!
His sweat glistened against his skin as he continued to punch the tree with bloodied fists.
"He is still going…" Karma whispered in shock.
He knew that his son's work ethic was second-to-none, but this was ridiculous.
'Is it because he lost his match?' Karma wondered.
Karma stopped brewing coffee and entered the backyard. The sound of a fist hitting a tree was rhythmic and relentless, echoing through the quiet morning air.
At that moment, Kiernan stopped punching, picked up his shirt from the ground, and wiped his sweat with it. He then turned to his father, showing his exhausted face.
Kiernan's body wasn't as well defined as some other young men of his generation. However, there was already some muscle peeking underneath the skin.
He had messy, sweat-glistened black hair that flowed down his back in tangled waves, and he was a pretty average-looking young man with a normal smile.
His charm was often hidden, as the former Kiernan always looked serious and even depressed. However, the current Kiernan had a strange glow on him—he looked confident and carefree, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"It's morning already…" Kiernan looked to the sky and asked, "Do I have to go to the school?"
"Yes, I had washed your school uniform; it should be in your wardrobe." Karma said and looked at his bloodied knuckles. "Do you need bandages?"
"Sure, thank you." Kiernan accepted some bandages from his father and bandaged them around his knuckles. He winced as he wrapped them tightly.
"Study hard," Karma said as Kiernan returned back indoors to prepare himself for school.
At that moment, Karma turned to the tree, and his eyes widened in shock. The tree had two fist-shaped holes in its trunk.
'When he was punching, he didn't punch randomly, but instead he punched at the exact same point, probably thousands of times!'
Karma turned around to see his son enter the house.
'That needs ridiculous accuracy and willpower to do so for the entire night!'
'Son, what happened to you yesterday?'
With the wind on his back and the sun on his shoulders, Kiernan walked down the street with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He was following behind other students from his school, all of whom were heading toward the same destination.
They all wore similar uniforms—a white polo shirt and white trousers with patterns of black flowers on them. It looked very nice and neat.
After a short walk later, Kiernan turned his attention to the school gate's and to the school buildings that lay beyond. He noticed the bright white sign with the school's name on it.
There were three school buildings in total for the classes—they were shaped like large rectangles with big windows and brick walls.
Then, there were some smaller buildings for club activities—most of them were different martial arts clubs with different styles of fighting, and a few others were for things like the drama club and the school band.
And then, lastly, there was a beautiful open-ceiling stadium that was used for school assemblies and sporting events. It was also where the ranked matches were held to decide the school's hierarchy.
In Karuza High and in many other schools, strength mattered.
Without strength, one wasn't worth anything.
'Who shall I challenge first?' Kiernan grinned and stepped through the school's gates.
Without anyone knowing, a beast had just entered Karuza High.