Returning to the Mysterious Era

He looked in front of him. Tifa showed no signs of abnormality as she punched, so the legendary antique probably had nothing to do with her.

Cassius shuffled over to the right and glanced outside. Almost immediately, he noticed Phil and Milo standing not far from the hall entrance.

Could it be them?

Perhaps sensing Cassius's gaze on them, Milo and Phil turned their heads, pretending to be thoroughly engrossed by the students hitting the sandbags on the right.

"Is my form correct, Instructor?" Tifa's crisp, but slightly hoarse, voice came from beside him.

Cassius turned back around and said, "It's fine, but you should exaggerate your movements a bit more to fully utilize your muscles."

"Like this?" Tifa demonstrated again.

"Yes, that's good. Keep practicing like that while I go to the bathroom. Don't you slack off," Cassius instructed before leaving. Tifa continued practice her punches by herself in the left partition.

As soon as he stepped out of the partition, the bitter taste in Cassius's mouth intensified. Compared to the Wind Elephant Tusk Pendant he sensed in the ruins, the taste was about one-tenth as strong. But it was there and Cassius could clearly taste it.

As he moved closer toward the door, the bitterness grew stronger, making Cassius all the more certain that one of these two boys had a legendary antique.

In the hallway, Phil and Milo were beginning to sweat. Instructor Li Wei was walking straight toward them. He must have realized they had been spying. Phil scratched his back and was about to speak when Cassius unexpectedly beat him to it.

"Are you two here to learn martial arts at Gray Seal Martial Arts Hall?"

"Huh?" Phil was taken aback, but then nodded. "Yes, Instructor Li Wei. I saw you sparring with Instructor Kosia earlier, so I signed up for a class for tomorrow at six. I saw you teaching Senior Sister Tifa just now so I came to watch. She's from our school's Combat Club."

"I see." Cassius stood still. "Since you're both going to be my students, why don't you come over and familiarize yourselves with the training? Maybe watch how your Senior Sister Tifa practices combat moves?"

Naturally, Phil happily agreed. Next to him, Milo nudged his arm and turned his head to whisper, "Phil, I didn't sign up for a class. Should I wait outside for you or go home?"

"It's alright. I'll go up to the front desk later and help you sign up for the class the day after tomorrow," Phil whispered to Milo as he trailed after Cassius. "Besides, I'm going to sign myself up for a couple more days. Come and keep me company. It’s a little awkward doing this by myself."

"What's the point in me learning hand-to-hand combat when I use a sword to practice?" Milo had a dark look on his face. "You little rascal, you only want there to be your wingman. You really..."

"A month's worth of dinners."

"...know how to negotiate!" Milo instantly did an about-face and beamed, shaking Phil's hand firmly. "Deal!"

Cassius, who was ahead of them, had sharp hearing and caught most of their conversation, despite Phil and Milo's lowered voices. So these two kids are only here to pick up girls, huh...

Ten minutes later, on the left side of the hall.

By evening, the sunlight had turned into yellow blocks, casting a grid pattern on the floor through the window glass. The shadows of two boys sitting in the corner, one tall and one short, gradually elongated.

"I told you yesterday—stay within the framework of basic combat. You're here to perfect your foundation and not to learn a quick technique like the others. Once your foundation is solid, everything else will fall into place," Cassius said.

He glanced out the window. He had crammed a ton of modern combat knowledge into his mind in the past ten days. That, plus his memories of double training, meant he had no problem teaching a student at the non-professional level.

"But if you're curious, I can demonstrate an Explosive Technique." He regarded Tifa. "Come at me."

"Yes, sir." Tifa immediately took a basic combat stance, with one foot in front of the other. It was the best position for generating power.

She took a deep breath and charged. Waist and shoulder twisting, she punched straight at Cassius's right shoulder. It was so fast that it looked like a blur to Phil and Milo. ʀα₦ÓΒЕş

Swish!

A black shadow suddenly flashed through the air.

"Ah!" Tifa cried out, her brows furrowing in pain. She staggered back four or five steps, quickly pressing her right hand against her left shoulder. Sharp pain shot up from her joint. She stared up at her opponent.

Instructor Li Wei hadn't moved at all from his original place. One of his arms was extended into the air, his five fingers pinching together to form a pointed cone. It was this finger cone that had struck her joint.

When did Instructor Li Wei throw that punch? Tifa thought back to what had happened. She hadn't seen it coming.

"Amazing..." Phil sniffed excitedly as he looked around from his corner. This was why he had come to Gray Seal Martial Arts Hall—to improve his combat skills and learn that thing Instructor Li Wei called an Explosive Technique!

Nothing much changed in the remaining time that they had; Cassius taught, Tifa learned, and Phil and Milo watched. This went on until the sky outside gradually darkened.

Edelweiss Middle School finished at 3:30 p.m. which gave students plenty of time for club activities. It was now past 5 p.m., and the clouds were tinged with red as the sunset gradually approached the horizon.

"Huff... huff... huff..." Tifa panted heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Instructor Li Wei's Combat Techniques drained a significant amount of her stamina.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Cassius cracked open the window. He glanced at Phil and Milo, who were practically drilling holes into his back from the corner, and asked, "Have you had dinner?"

"No," Tifa said, wiping the fine sweat from her white neckline.

"No," Phil said decisively, looking up.

...? Then what did we just eat? Milo swiveled around to stare, wide-eyed, at Phil who stared back at him. Milo coughed twice. "No."

"Dinner's on me. Let's go."

Cassius learned more about Milo and Phil over dinner, and they gradually grew more comfortable around each other. Tifa's presence seemed to bring out an earnest and straightforward side of Phil. Whenever Cassius brought up a topic, Phil would blurt out everything that came to mind.

At this point, Cassius was certain that the person with the legendary antique was Phil. His brother, Matthew, had recently collected some antiques and had given Phil a Purple Wood Cane to play with. This was the only antique Phil had come into contact with recently.

The only thing was, Cassius couldn’t figure out if Phil wanted to show off or appear magnanimous. When he revealed that he was somewhat of an antique enthusiast and asked if he could take a look at the cane, Phil unexpectedly offered to give Cassius the cane tomorrow, and that he also wanted to book a month's worth of classes.

Was he doing this to impress a girl? Or had he genuinely been enticed by those combat techniques earlier? Was this him showing his sincerity before becoming a disciple? Cassius couldn't tell.

But he wasn't going to refuse a legendary antique brought right to his doorstep. It didn't really matter what Phil's intention was.

"Thanks, Phil. I appreciate it."

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