Ning woke up early in the morning and still found the improvement in his senses surprising.
He could now feel the faintest difference in every single one of his senses. The sense also didn't overwhelm him at all. Sounds didn't get too loud, lights didn't get too bright.
Or maybe they did, but his body also improved to accommodate the changes which were why he was having such an easy time sensing everything.
He snapped his finger in front of him. Not only could he hear the crisp snapping, but he could also hear the slight scratching sound before and after the snap.
He could feel the coarseness of his skin as they rubbed against each other and could feel the heat created by the friction of his skin.
"Thank god I can ignore it," Ning thought. "It would have been annoying if this was all I could feel and think about."
His stomach growled and he realized that he was hungry. "Huh, I haven't felt hunger in a while now," he thought. "Is it because I used up everything last night while collecting Essence?"
He left the room afterward to get refreshed and have some breakfast.
He had a little more than just bread and water this time around, adding some eggs into the mix as well. Once done, he went out to exercise a little.
The backyard was full of people already training, so he just had to find a small place for himself to train as well.
He started off with some exercises and found out that his body felt surprisingly light. "Huh? Did my body get stronger again?" he wondered.
There was definitely a difference, but Ning had a hard time judging if his body had gotten better or if his senses were playing a trick on him.
He looked toward the black crystal to the side and decided to test. However, before he could go there, he heard the faintest breathing from behind him and turned around.
A man was about to speak up to grab his attention, but his turning around made the man pause in his words.
"Hi," Ning said with a cheerful smile. "How's it going?"
"Good," the man said. "You the new guy?"
"I joined yesterday, yes," Ning said. "Can I help you?"
"For a newcomer to directly be invited to a place like this, you must not be someone random. What's your secret?" the man asked.
"Nothing really," Ning said. "I joined through a recommendation."
"No wonder you did it wrong. You didn't think about greeting your seniors?" the man asked. "As a newcomer, you should work to impress your seniors. How about taking everyone here out to lunch?"
Ning looked at the man and smiled. "I would love to, but I have no money at all. If you can lend me some, I will definitely treat you all to lunch," he said.
The man frowned a little. "You don't have any money? How could that possibly be true?" he asked.
"I mean, I have some, but it's nearly not enough to take you all out on lunch," Ning said. "Maybe some other day then."
"If you're not going to treat us to a lunch, then at least entertain us with a fight," the man said. "I haven't had a good fight in a while and am already feeling rusty. How about that?"
"I would love to," Ning said. "But are you alright fighting with a newcomer?"
"I'm fine with that," the man said and turned around. "Everyone, please make some room. This newcomer has decided to fight with me, so be ready to be entertained."
"Oi Frank, why do you always go after a newcomer?" one person asked. "Is beating newbies that fun?"
"What do you mean fun? I'm simply trying to show them the difference in our capabilities so that they show us some respect," Frank said. He went over to a pile of weapons and dug through it to bring out a sword.
"What's your preferred weapon?" the man asked.
"Something long with a weight to it," Ning said. "Maybe a staff, preferably a spear."
The man paused and looked at Ning. "Are you sure?" he asked with narrowed eyes.
"Of course," Ning said. "Why would I not be?"
"You aren't choosing a random weapon to act like you weren't fighting to your fullest potential when you lose against me, are you?" the man asked.
"That's exactly what I'm doing, brother Frank," Ning said. "How did you find out?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the man clicked his tongue and brought out another sword. "You don't get to hold back, not against me."
Ning grabbed the sword and nodded. "Very well," he said as he weighed the wooden sword in his hand. 'So light.'
"Come, attack me whenever you are ready," the man said as he stood with a sword as well.
"Here I go then," Ning said and moved forward.
The man sneered after seeing Ning's slow dash that came his way. He could tell that Ning wasn't very strong, so he swung his own sword to attack Ning.
However, at the last moment, Ning's speed suddenly changed and so did the direction of his attack.
The attack landed on right next to where the man was holding the sword and was forced to let go in fear of hurting his hand.
The sword dropped to the ground and Ning stepped back.
"Would you like to continue?" he asked.
"You bastard! You made it look like you're bad with a sword," he said.
"I am bad with a sword," Ning said. "But that's still miles better than any other person. So, another round?"
Frank picked the sword up and shouted as he swung again.
Ning saw the sword drop and simply moved his own sword, which sent the incoming sword in a slightly different direction, completely missing the target.
At the same time, Ning stabbed the wooden sword into the man's stomach lightly, but still strong enough to hurt.
The man fell back in pain and cried.
"Come on, senior," Ning taunted him. "I'm still waiting to see the difference between our capabilities."
