Chapter 19: Overthinking Brings Bad Dreams

’Nothing is free.’

’There will always be a price.’

Levi found himself in front of a marriage ceremony. A beautiful-looking woman wore a white dress, standing next to an ugly, fat guy.

When she turned around, there were two lines of blood falling down her eyes.

"Brother?"

Her voice was a bit evil, but it was filled with resentment.

Levi turned his head and saw his parents’ heads on the table. Two staplers were used to mold their lips into a smile.

"Now, new weds shall share a kiss!"

As those words rang, Levi saw that guy moving his face towards his sister.

"Nooo!"

Levi’s anger boiled.

But nothing happened. He saw his parents’ heads turn towards him as they started speaking.

"Smile, Levi! This is your sister’s marriage. Look how happy she is!"

"Come on, Levi! You should give a blessing to your sister. After all, thanks to you, she is marrying this gentleman."

His parents’ words were like curses in his ears.

Levi couldn’t understand what was happening. When he saw his sister’s head tilt forward, he saw the same blood tears fall down her cheeks.

At this moment, his eyes suddenly opened as he woke up from his nightmare.

"Haa! Haa! Haa!"

He clutched the bedsheet as he harshly took deep breaths.

"Levi?"

He saw his mother’s head near the door. When he didn’t see her body, his eyes widened as he shouted.

"Noooo!"

"Oh, my dear! Levi, what happened?"

Only then did Sera open the door and rush towards his bed.

Sera pulled him into her embrace and patted him on the head.

"It was just a nightmare, dear. It was just a nightmare. You are fine, Levi."

After feeling the warmth of his mother’s embrace, which was opposite to the cold air he felt in that nightmare, Levi came out of his shock.

He rubbed his face on her shoulder, wiping away the tears in his eyes.

"It was just a nightmare, baby. It was just a nightmare."

Holding her son in her arms, Sera consoled him.

At this moment, Morgan came forward and knelt next to the bed.

He didn’t scold Levi; instead, with a calm tone, he asked.

"Levi, do you know what the most admirable quality of a Martial Artist is?"

Levi sniffled before removing his head from his mother’s shoulder, which made Sera glare at her husband.

This time Morgan didn’t give up. He stared Levi straight into his eyes as Levi tremblingly replied.

"It’s courage..."

Morgan sighed. He patted Levi’s cheek and said.

"You are speaking out of logic, not out of emotions. But that’s how you are, Levi. You are a logical kid."

"Nightmare, bad omens, curses- they are just illogical parts of the world. As a Martial Artist, one should fearlessly face them and tear them apart."

"That’s the admiral quality of a Martial Artist. No matter how difficult the situation might be, they will find a path forward."

"Many lose their lives in this journey, but they never give up."

Levi wiped away the remaining tears with his hands and nodded.

"Good! That nightmare of yours is just nonsense. You have awakened amazing talent, Levi. There is nothing that will stop you."

Morgan smiled as he patted his son and stood up.

Sera remained in his bed and pulled her son into her embrace once again.

Unlike Morgan, she had some extra thoughts. She had been suppressing those thoughts because she shouldn’t remember them.

That’s the only reason why she used the Memory Erasing Charms.

Sera brought her lips closer to his ears and whispered.

"Levi, no matter what happens, you will always be our son, our dear Levi."

Saying those words, she moved him away from her embrace and shook his hair.

"Goodnight, son!"

Morgan nodded as both of his parents left his room.

Levi fell flat on his back. His right hand was above his head as his eyes fell on the ceiling.

’It’s just a dream, nothing more.’

At this moment, he took a deep breath, realizing he must take an unusual path towards the top.

[Host, Good and Evil are part of the world. Where Good exists, Evil must also exist. You can not outrun evil because it always exists within you.]

’Shut up!’

Levi roared in his head.

He knew this. He knew good and evil were the opposite sides of the same coin, but that didn’t mean he was willing to accept the evil.

He was Levi Quincy. He was never going to become a slave to his emotions, to the nature of the universe.

He would conquer them and bend them to his will.

At this moment, his eyes turned red as he was reminded of that law.

’I will no longer bend it. I will break it. Humanity, survival, nothing matters more than my family.’

’Now, go to sleep!’

He closed his eyes.

Hoo-Haa-Hoo-Haa!

In a few minutes, Levi fell asleep.

———————————

Next Morning;

Levi woke up late, or rather, Mirai woke him up just like before, jumping on his stomach.

This time, Levi didn’t throw her. He picked her up and said.

"Mirai, do you want to start training?"

"But....Mom said if I practice now, it will be bad for my future."

Mirai hesitated. After all, her mother had given a proper lesson yesterday.

"Don’t worry, I will find a way to make sure that doesn’t happen."

Levi laughed.

Yesterday’s nightmare was no longer his problem.

The idea still haunted him, but he found he could just go around it.

As long as his sister showed potential far beyond anyone else, could anyone truly even force her?

No!

Since a child from their birth could achieve the blood energy level of ten, why couldn’t his sister raise her blood energy level at the age of twelve?

Isn’t it simply because practicing martial arts burned energy faster than they gained, making their body growth slower?

From the age of twelve to fifteen, every child would hit a growth spurt.

That’s why, despite being only sixteen, he was already six feet tall.

As long as he could provide her with enough nutrition like a D-Grade Blood Energy Pill, why couldn’t she train?

But a single C-Grade Blood Energy Pill cost a hundred thousand federal dollars.

So what?

Couldn’t he just go into the wilderness and hunt monsters, using their bodies to rack up enough money to buy resources for his sister?

At this moment, Levi truly felt confident.

His father was right. Martial Artists should be fearless. No matter how difficult the situation was, there would always be a solution.

Even if that solution was fighting all the time.

"Really?"

Mirai excitedly asked.

"Yes, but this is a secret between us. You mustn’t tell Mom and Dad. Though they might have already heard us."

As he said that, Levi’s tone was filled with helplessness. He almost forgot about his parents’ insane hearing ability.

"Hurray! You are so good to me, Levi."

Mirai excitedly kissed him on the cheek and jumped down from his embrace.

Since her parents could hear them, she didn’t have to hide this.

If anyone’s gonna take the blame, it would be her brother.

She was just a sweet little innocent girl.

She couldn’t help but snicker when she left his room.

Levi shook his head and entered the bathroom. After taking a dump and taking a bath, he walked out of the bathroom and wore his uniform.

"Mom, is it Fish curry today?"

He smelled the fishy aroma while walking towards the dinner table.

"Yeah! By the way, Mayor just reminded me. He will be visiting you in half an hour. We need to finish our meal before this meeting."

"Oh?"

Levi couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.

Wasn’t this too fast? He had only shown his talent yesterday.

Morgan showed him news on his tablet.

[Ashok from Worid- 125 City has officially reached Perfection in Five Beasts Form in the first month of his third year.]

[Paul from Xito- 129 City has officially reached Perfection in Five Beasts Form in the first month of his second year.]

[Levi from Wuto-126 City has officially reached Perfection in Five Beasts Form in the first month of his second year.]

[What’s going on? Three different geniuses have emerged from three cities simultaneously. Although Ashok is a bit behind, one shouldn’t underestimate his talent.]

[Paul’s situation is quite simple. He is the son of Mayor Harris Well. With such excellent genes, it is no wonder he has inherited such talent.]

[Levi Quincy’s situation is quite unexpected, isn’t it? His report showed he had made no progress in his blood energy level for a whole year.]

[But within just a single night, his blood energy level doubled, reaching six. While it might not be amazing, it just shows the mastery of his body technique.]

[According to Levi himself, he had awakened some kind of special body that allowed him to reach enlightenment.]

[It must be a special Innate Physique.]

[Unfortunately, Ashok will be leaving the high school this year; otherwise, we would see the competition of scores between three geniuses of three cities.]

[That is true. But would their school make an exception, allowing second-year students to graduate?]

[After all, this competition could lead to the rebirth of their city.]