Chapter 22: Side Effects Can’t Be Mild

The Mayor crossed his fingers.

"You are talking about something important, Levi. You must understand the job of the other Guilds is to make sure Dark Guild members can’t affect the lives of normal people."

"You don’t need to worry about them."

Levi nodded, but then he remembered some of the movies he had watched. He remembered something about the villains and said.

"Mayor, you must remember that I am also a talented Martial Apprentice. Those guys won’t just be satisfied with talentless people."

"There are several movies where the villain uses assassination or accidents to kill the hero’s parents, slowly pulling him to the dark side."

"Considering superpowers can be unique and distinct, what if they attack my family and promise to resurrect my family using the power of an old human?"

Hearing that, the Mayor couldn’t help but touch his head.

"Are there movies like that?"

Levi wasn’t surprised.

"Yeah! Some directors and story writers are getting creative with villain and hero dynamics."

"Since Martial Artists are mostly busy with their training, only people of my age should’ve watched those movies."

"There were a total of three movies."

Hearing that, the Mayor coughed.

"I see! If those people also watched those movies, they might get the idea. I will talk about this to others."

"As for your question, it’s not easy to spot the Dark Guild member. If there is one, it would be the difference in their killing intent and blood energy."

"Since Dark Guild members do not train like Martial Artists, their blood energy level will be low."

"But they are still involved in a lot of killing, which will exponentially increase their killing intent."

"Of course, there can be exceptions to this situation. So, you mustn’t attack first. Only after confirming their situation, you should take action."

"Besides, they will not be easy to defeat. So, the first thing you need to do is call someone important like me."

The Mayor took the phone and made a call.

"That is my personal number. If something happens, you can make a call."

Levi nodded and asked.

"Mr. Mayor, I have another question. From your story, I believe that man has a strong willpower. At least, he shouldn’t be someone who will serve those old humans, right?"

"Knowing their threats, why does he still want to summon those old humans?"

The Mayor shook his head.

"We don’t know. Although we believe that plan is made by the other two people, we haven’t confirmed yet."

"Until then, we have no choice but to believe that he has completely lost his mind just like the old humans."

Levi shook his head.

"If the old humans have regained their minds, how could someone with such willpower be influenced by the side effects?"

"Maybe he wants to use old humans to destroy new humans and absorb all the genesis energy to make himself a powerful being."

The Mayor looked at him with a serious gaze and said.

"Levi, you must not underestimate the effects of mutation. Whether it is direct or indirect mutations, there will always be an effect."

"Why do you think anyone who reaches Martial Artist Rank goes to the wilderness? Haven’t you been feeling the urge to fight after improving your blood energy level?"

When he said that, Levi’s eyes shrank rapidly.

Was that the side effect? He thought it was just an afterthought to earn resources for his sister.

The Mayor noticed the change in his expression and nodded.

"That’s right! The urge to battle, the urge to end every conflict with a fight, losing control of emotions, and becoming more volatile are all side effects of the blood energy."

"It’s just that once we fight, those side effects get toned down significantly. That’s why your parents have not improved their blood energy level."

"After all, for them, reaching Grand Martial Master Rank wouldn’t be difficult; the only true difficulty is Grandmaster Rank."

"But once they do that, they will have no choice but to leave you two behind and either enter the wilderness or the dimensional war."

"Naturally, both of them are dangerous. Not wanting to die is a normal feeling of a living being; not being able to see you and your sister grow up will be their greatest regret."

"To make sure that doesn’t happen, they just choose not to make any improvements."

"Of course, those side effects aren’t immediate, but they exist. That’s only because we’ve chosen the best method of improvement."

"But the primitive mutation method makes you completely lose your mind, feel no emotions for your actions, and try to do anything to improve yourself."

"This led to their exile through the help of the Spirit Trees. Enough about the Dark Guild! If you manage to join the top university, you will learn more about them."

"For now, I need you to focus on your current situation. I am not going to force you to do something, but if you manage to complete those two conditions, you can join this year’s competition."

Hearing that, Levi nodded his head.

"Do you have any other questions?"

The Mayor was very patient towards the genius of their city.

"How do I use that crystal?"

Levi asked the crucial question.

"That’s why I gave you that book. By the way, you don’t know much about techniques, do you?"

The Mayor said.

Levi shook his head. The Mayor had no choice but to explain.

"The techniques come in many forms. In fact, Martial Techniques are also a part of the technique."

"Some of the forms of technique are Body Technique, Martial Technique, Secret Technique, Energy Guiding Technique, and Energy Refinement Technique."

"In fact, at the Fourth Grade, Energy Guiding Technique and Energy Refinement Technique are merged into one."

"Energy Guiding Technique is something that Martial Artists use, while Energy Refinement Technique is something that Martial Masters use."

"That book records a Fourth Grade Technique which can be used to absorb the star essence from the crystal."

"By the way, you can’t show this book to your parents. Regardless, you must keep it with yourself all the time until you learn it. Then you can burn it."

Hearing that, Levi’s eyes lit up. He was getting more and more excited after learning new things about the Martial Artists.

Seeing his expression, the Mayor laughed and asked.

"So, are there any more questions for me?"

"No, Mr. Mayor!"

"By the way, you can use my name in front of me."

Levi paused for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Tony!"

"Good! Now, I have to leave. You also have to go to school. Do you want me to drop you off?"

Tony asked.

"No, no, I can go by myself. I am also leaving with you."

Levi said as he picked up the suitcase and ran to his room.

But upon reaching his room, he opened the suitcase, picked up those things in his hands, and thought.

’Store’

In an instant, the items disappeared from his hands and appeared inside the System’s inventory.

After placing them there, he closed the suitcase and placed it inside the cupboard before leaving his room with his bag.

The Mayor hadn’t left. Both left the house together as he closed the door.

"So, you are gonna run to school?"

Tony asked.

Levi nodded and said.

"It’s more fun using the speed of Five Beasts Form to travel between the school and home."

Tony laughed.

"That’s certainly true."

But his laughter calmed down as he said.

"But you mustn’t forget one thing. Martial Arts are the secret trump cards for a Martial Artist. You mustn’t reveal them in public."

"Since the information about Five Beasts Form is already out, you don’t need to worry about this, but from now on, you need to be careful, okay?"

Levi nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Tony!"

"Alright! Best of luck! I will keep an eye on your progress."

Tony didn’t hide his intentions of stalking Levi’s progress, and Levi didn’t care. He had already received a lot of benefits.

Besides, the major trump card would always be the Martial Arts. So, that’s all he needed to hide.

That being said, martial arts themselves weren’t secret since they needed to be bought from certain stores or websites.

These would be recorded by the officials from the government.

So, what he needed to hide was his mastery of the Martial Arts.

As Tony entered his car, Levi increased his speed, running on the ground as if he were sliding.

Tony watched the entire process from the window and chuckled.

"Our city finally has a new genius. Now, let’s just hope he can keep this progress."

"It seems like you are optimistic about him, sir!"

The driver smirked as he started the car.

"Yeah! The kid got sharp mind. More importantly, I can sense his spiritual energy. That’s definitely a powerful physique."

"Oh? Do you think he can be compared to Young Master?"

The driver curiously asked.

Hearing his words, Tony burst into rage.

"Don’t mention that bastard! If he had taken Martial Arts seriously instead of running around women and partying, I would be laughing in my sleep."