3/23/2019

  5 PM

  "I stand corrected," Daniel said as he sat down on the couch in the living room. Moments ago, most of the living room and the kitchen were trashed. Only to be amazed by the restoration demonstrated by Empress Cai and Daiyu, who changed the entire living space in various movements through footwork and arm articulation. Just like martial arts training and presentation.

  It wasn't finished yet, because they went beyond fixing and restoration of the furniture. The interior of his house was changed from the walls to the frame. He stood up, watching Daiyu painting the walls with the palm of her hand. "Incredible."

  Daiyu partially turned to his attentive curiosity. "Battling and fighting isn't the only thing we do. We strive to help each other out to build a successful society."

  "Which means qi is a daily life routine."

  "That's right."

  It was like a builder feature in a video game. Like clicking the right buttons to access a certain feature in the program, this all relied on the movement and mental precision. Two things. That was it.

  The conversation with Empress Cai would continue after the restoration of his residence was completed. So, Daniel walked over to Mother Elaine, who was in the kitchen. He went to grab his two books and joined her at the counter. She was focused on some bookkeeping, so her attention was locked in without acknowledging his arrival.

  He opened his copy of Hilde’s ‘Die Verbonte Kampfkunst’ book and continued to the last page he stopped.

  About ten pages in and two pages of notes written, he looked around the area of the kitchen and went back outside to the lawn. Alone, he took a few deep breaths. When his internal energy began to boil, Daniel tried a jumping crescent kick. “Woah.”

  He reacted after two seconds in the air before landing back on the lawn. Ahead of him was a wave of energy speeding away from him. It was heading upward to the sky since he did it at an upward angle.

  Kaboom!

  "Oh, boy…That's gonna leave a mark," Daniel muttered as bits of energy dropped to parts of the city like a meteor storm.

  "So, you did read my book."

  Daniel turned around. "Yes, I did; that was from the first ten pages."

  Hilde walked out of the house. "Letter C…The easiest letter other than the letters O and I. You made it look easier than what's been written."

  "Adaptability has its use."

  "No denying that. It takes others days to do their first ever performance."

  "With more experience than I?"

  Hilde nodded. "I sometimes wonder how Lian chooses the representative for this planet."

  "All I know is that she followed me for at least a few days…But anyway, how would you rank that first attempt?"

  "If you can do it at any speed, the better."

  Despite it being miles away, Daniel heard the sounds of fire trucks and ambulances swarming. Hilde told him that his senses were enhanced and more sensitive. His mind would work its way to adapt, which would allow him more control of what he wants to smell, see, hear, taste, and touch. Experience will make it faster to achieve.

  6:10 PM

  The house restoration turned into a renovation project, diverging from the objective. It took longer to complete. By this point, Daniel couldn't care less if they entered the bedroom or bathrooms. He was already too focused on gaining hands-on experience with the "Die Verbotene Kampfkunst", and it was his next thirty minutes.

  Less bleeding this time. The sores came back. The duel between him and Hilde was about to conclude. Daniel had only one shot as his body was strained. His knees were shaking, but his balance was saved by his enlarged calves. Sky blue aura erupted from his body, giving him a temporary boost. He clenched his jaw. His teeth gritted. Enough to fill his blood in his mouth.

  Hilde pulled out her sword, wielding it for the first time in the match. A heavy bass shockwave erupted from her feet. So loud and visible that any tiny living organisms were obliterated and evaporated. Tiny vapors briefly appeared from the lawn. A more presentable and powerful boost that came from wielding a blade, fueling Daniel's jealousy and desire.

  “A little more,” Daniel mumbled, forcing his body to release more into his aura. His footing sank a bit due to his weight increase.

  There was no countdown. One went, and the other did. They went into a clash, but Daniel slid like he was skating, moving to the right. Hilde's blade pierced his forearm as he moved away. However, he was like a flash of light. By the next second, Daniel was already behind her, raising his right leg upward at a near one-eighty degree angle. "Buchstabe I!" He yelled an incantation. Daniel's heel struck Hilde's head and her back, triggering a line of qi that was released out of his foot.

  The impact sent Hilde a few meters forward. She crashed headfirst to the floor but remained as she rolled away as Daniel was about to do the second step. That made the latter's soul boil, and the momentum remained high. He went on a dash, tripling an average human running speed. A jackpot. Right upfront to her, he went for an uppercut. His fist struck her chin, lifting her upward. Daniel then leaped into the air. "Buchstabe T!" He swung his fist and struck her jaw. After the impact, out of nowhere, a sword made of qi was summoned out of his hand.

  Splatter!

  A part of her face bursted, creating a blood pool. She tumbled to the ground, splashing in her own pool of blood.

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  Daniel also tripped, losing his balance, and fell right into the same pool. He wiped his face and scooch to a dried spot. When he sat flat on the lawn, he looked at Hilde, who wasn't dead and appeared fine. "You okay?" He asked in such denial and disbelief.

  Hilde nodded. "I never thought I would get sliced open again. It's always the damn head…Now you can take a look." She moved her head for Daniel to get a vivid view inside her head. Bits of her brain were on the floor, and the left temple was exposed, leaving her brain visible. However, she was partially immobile because of this wound. Her upper body was unaffected. Her lower section was useless.

  Smoke erupted from the surface of the open wound. The bits of Hilde's brain in her pool of blood disintegrated. Daniel watched as the missing pieces of her skull were regenerating. Same for her brain and the skin. And he watched her body heal all of its wounds. Within two minutes, the smoke fizzed, and her head was patched up. Hilde stood up from her pool of blood. A snap from her fingers cleared all the mess on the lawn.

  "Holy shit. So can anything be healed?"

  “It depends. The higher qi capacity and more experience, your healing rate also improves and is more efficient," Hilde said, walking up to Daniel and offering her hand. "Need help?"

  Daniel grabbed her hand with his left, pulling himself up. His new sword materialized into an authentic blade. Its energy-like appearance, based on his sky blue qi, faded away. "What do you call this?"

  Hilde stared at it as Empress Cai came outside. "To be honest, I don't know. This is as unique as it gets." She then turned to the latter. "My head bursted again."

  "Really? Again?" Empress Cai asked, then looked at Daniel. "Are you telling me he did it?"

  "Yes. His Buchstabe T was a complete variant. At the end of his fistful strike to my face, a sword made of qi was summoned from within." Hilde snapped her fingers. "By the next second, I was struck and sliced open."

  "Yinhai…Lian and Mother Elaine called you crazy, and they're not wrong."

  Daniel could only chuckle. "I'll take it as a compliment. And you were watching for a while, did you?"

  "Yinhai…Yinhai. You're really something. Come on, get in. The renovation is done. We're going to get dinner, too."

  3/26/2019

  11 AM

  Daniel had gone off from a phone call on more insider information. His side of the evidence and findings was nearly complete. He would get the final bits in about an hour.

  All of his staff had gotten their own rooms, thanks to the renovation. No longer a single-story house but two. The portion of his home that was blocked off by concrete was open, leaving it to future planning. His residence now was "qi compatible" under Daiyu's standards and protocols she had put in place. The interior looked reminiscent of an imperial palace during the many dynasties, with modern touches that Daniel requested to keep. It felt like his home but with added makeup.

  Everything in the residence, now manor, was qi compatible. Daniel checked his weight earlier before the call, revealing it to be one hundred-ninety six. A twelve-pound increase in muscle over three days. One of the symptoms of being a magic wielder. All the furniture being compatible raised its durability tenfold. The times of qi in the body that are not fully stabilized at rest could raise the weight significantly, so luckily, they came prepared in detail. Logic was thrown out of the window once magic was involved. Anatomy foundations didn't make sense either. Raal magic was made to defy Earth's established knowledge of physics and many subjects. Daniel figured that part out on the second day of training. He couldn't anticipate anything further on what to expect. Other than local government life, it has been a while since daily boredom has been so minimal.

  As of right now, Mother Elaine was having her second day of training with Rebecca and Helda. Seth, Jacob, and the rest of his staff started their first day yesterday. Later today, Janet would get her taste.

  Daniel leaned toward the couch, taking in all the events unfolding. He had lost the number of assassination attempts on him ever since taking the position of Chief of Operations. Colemond's second-highest level of office intended for Daniel to take all the dirty work while Mayor Burman took all the credit. If it weren't for Dr. Annia and Mother Elaine's advice, he would have been bound.

  The living room table was a mess of papers. He reorganized it into a few stacks, and the front double door opened. Janet came in with grocery bags. "Hey."

  "Oh, hi. You're here early."

  "I'm hungry, and today, I want to cook up lunch here."

  "Sure, go ahead, but I have to warn you, once you start training, the knowledge of diet goes bye bye."

  Janet pulled out a two-pound tray of ribeye steak. "I'm not sure I'm following what you said."

  "I ate seven thousand calories yesterday."

  That was when she looked around the new kitchen. "Jesus fucking Christ, how much do you guys fucking eat?"

  "Well, I ordered two fifteen-grand refrigerators yesterday. It will arrive tomorrow. French Door and custom built."

  "You do the cooking?"

  Daniel nodded, standing up from the couch. "Yes, but Daiyu took over in an iron fashion. So, if you want to cook lunch, then do it now before she gets the chance to see it."

  Long and behold, Daiyu walked into the kitchen from upstairs. "I heard that, and it's true. But you got a lucky day today," she said while looking at Janet. Afterward, she headed to one of the cabinets. "Do you two want any drinks?"

  "I'll take your iced coffee," Daniel said and sat on the counter stool. Janet denied her offer and went on to cook her ribeye steak. The former continued. "What's your lunch for today?"

  "I'm making fried rice. I read something about Yangzhou Fried Rice."

  "What ingredients are you planning to add?"

  "I don't know yet; I'll think of something as I make this." Daiyu used some kind of cooking magic with the given ingredients. A bag of ground coffee, sweetened condensed milk, and ice. Daniel requested a large glass cup, so she used a lot of the ingredients. He watched her use only her hands to brew the coffee. The heat didn't faze her one bit as she channeled the liquid into the cup. Afterward, she poured the condensed milk and put the ice before stirring it up with the gesture of her index finger. Daiyu was using controlled wind to stir it well. Daniel's eyes weren't fooled. Everything in the glass blended well and smoothly.

  Afterward, Daiyu added an ingredient that looked like salt or sugar, summoned out of her hand. Only a few drops before handing the iced coffee to Daniel. "Enjoy…I'm thinking of roast pork, char siu, and shrimp. How's that?"

  Daniel took a sip of the coffee. "Mmm. That's really good, thank you. And yes, please. Also, what did you put in this?"

  "Like salt, in Raal, there are many kinds of minerals that we intake for our health. The one I just gave was Rasal, meaning Raal salt. Many of our magic wielders and those with knowledge of magic eat food every day with Rasal because it is like protein, but for our souls and energy."

  "Had you been putting Rasal in our meals?" Daniel asked as he took a gulp.

  "Yes, since two days ago."

  It explained his gain in muscle in such a short period of time. Not only for the benefit of the soul and usage of energy, but also for retention.

  Daniel didn't disturb Daiyu and let her cook as he enjoyed her iced coffee. The three outside training under Hilde and Empress Cai concluded; they came inside drenched in bloody sweat. Dirty like in a mud bath.

  He shouldn't be caring about this, but it was a rare exception today. "Y'all need to go take a shower. The blood is smelling up the entire kitchen."

  That was when sweating Lian came in. Face all red but clean of blood. "And you are coming with me. Empress Cai and I will need to share with you the knowledge of watering…We won't take no for an answer."

  Daiyu turned around. "You guys go. The food won't be done for like an hour anyway."