--

"That’s crazy..."

The corners of Derek’s lips twitched when he saw Jules and Kaycee taken out just like that.

He felt nervous when he sensed that Jules was approaching earlier, but before he could even come close, he was already dealt with by his teammate who’s practically at the opposite side of the field.

Furthermore, the sniper was down, too. The ranged threat was dealt with and won’t be a threat anymore.

Both Jules and Kaycee were technically out of this fight already. And even if they weren’t, something tells them that it wouldn’t have made a difference; Ren would handle them just as easily until they truly can’t stand anymore.

Now, all Ren needed to do was to help Derek deal with Jen, and this spar was over.

This made Derek smile wryly because he felt a little embarrassed. He told Ren that he got his back, but it turned out that it was him who needed Ren’s support instead.

Well, that’s the plan at least.

Unfortunately, Sir Justin had a different idea. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Jules, Kaycee, out of the field. Derek, Jen, you two against Ren—go!"

Sir Justin took Jules and Kaycee out of the fight and switched the situation. Now, Derek and Jen would be against Ren.

Derek and Jen looked at each other and nodded. The ones that had been fighting fiercely just now suddenly became allies.

They immediately charged towards Ren. Jen’s speed left trails of heat in her wake while Derek moved like a phantom that phased in and out of existence.

The sudden switch didn’t faze Ren at all. He also didn’t feel like throwing stones at these two, so he dropped them on the ground.

Instead, he went into a stance and waited until they came close enough.

Jen led the charge, and Derek stalked from her shadows.

As Kaycee and Jules helped each other to the side to rub the pain out of their injuries, they were watching closely.

Jen blazed with her scarlet chakra, and Derek felt like an enigma with his dark blue chakra. Meanwhile, Ren’s was pure, neutral white. It didn’t enhance him, nor does it contain any special traits. It’s just pure chakra emission caused by the smooth and stable flow—a natural cause of his chakra flow, if you will.

But somehow, Ren’s chakra radiated brighter than both Jen and Derek combined.

Jen arrived with her sword practically blazing with heat. The scarlet chakra in it looked and behaved like flames, but they weren’t real flames, just an imitation. But it does contain temperatures high enough to leave searing wounds.

Derek slithered out of her shadow like a viper. His daggers were like fangs coated with dark blue poison, striking at Ren’s jugular. It was certainly sinister, and Derek didn’t look a bit hesitant to strike with such lethality for some reason.

No Bone Forging martial artists would dare to take both of these head-on; that’s no different from suicide.

But Ren was no ordinary bone-forging martial artist. He’s way stronger.

Once they came to a certain range, Ren exhaled. Then, he threw a straight punch from his stance.

All of a sudden, everybody’s vision was filled with nothing but Ren’s punch. Then, a loud sound shattered the silence.

It’s as if a canon was fired from Ren’s position. The impact hit the sound barrier and shook it hard.

Derek and Jen were blown away by the impact. It happened so fast and so suddenly that none of them were ready for it. They heard the sound, then felt the impact, and suddenly, they were flying away.

Both of them felt pain all over their bodies. Their chakra flow was interrupted at the worst time, and it caused their chakra root to feel the pain too.

The impact was felt all over the field. Even Kaycee and Jules felt it, but certainly not as hard as the way Jen and Derek felt it. By the time it arrived to them, it felt no stronger than a strong gust of wind coming out of nowhere.

"What the hell?" Jules was gobsmacked. Kaycee too, but she was more elegant about it.

Jules stared at the source of everybody’s shock.

Ren stood at the same spot, unruffled and utterly calm. In a single punch, he concluded the fight. And judging by the brightness of his chakra, it’s obvious that he hasn’t spent much with that.

And that makes it even more absurd. How is this person so strong? It doesn’t make sense! Where did Sir Justin find him?

Ren looked like a marrow-cleansing martial artist instead of a bone-forging one. But Derek wouldn’t lie to them, and Sir Justin wouldn’t lie to Derek. So why is he this strong?

Matter of fact, why is it looking for a party with this much strength? It really doesn’t make sense. Parties should be fighting for him to join them, not him searching for parties.

What exactly was going on here?

Actually, even Justin was surprised.

He already saw Ren’s skills yesterday, but that was just a glimpse. Today, he really wanted to see more of what Ren was hiding; that’s why he suddenly turned both Jen and Derek against him.

And as expected, he wasn’t disappointed. Ren was indeed strong, much stronger than he should be for someone at his level.

That technique just now must be something he learned and inherited from his clan. It’s a special one, that’s for sure.

But even with all this, it wasn’t enough to make Ren go all out. Justin could tell that the young man was still hiding a lot.

However, he’s in no position to pry. Ren’s secrets are his own.

At the very least, though, Ren wasn’t some selfish prick.

This exercise could be said to be a success. Ren was capable of working with a team. Although he still needs to be paired with others to get him more used to it, at the very least, his willingness to try was there.

The way he didn’t hesitate or forgot about Derek even though the other was far away from him was enough indication of his willingness and a glimpse of his excellence.

He’s paying attention to the whole battlefield, not just the one before him. That vision wasn’t something that could be taught easily; sometimes, it even manifests as a special talent.

And Ren has it.

The Green Tea Party was lucky to have him. Now, he could only hope that his brat would behave. Otherwise, it’ll truly be the end of this party.

**

"Am I really that scary?"

These were the very first words that Ren spoke to Jules, and it’s a straightforward question too.

Justin has concluded today’s team-building exercise. He did give Derek a look before excusing himself, which meant that he wanted Derek to force the team to bond with Ren.

Derek got the message and forced everybody to stay back for an extended meeting. The others got the message too and stayed behind.

They sat at the benches together, and it had been silent and awkward. Derek tried to slowly chip away at the ice by helping Kaycee and Jen nurse their bruises.

But Ren once again caught Jules staring a little too hard at his tats, and when he caught him staring again, the guy immediately averted his eyes and pretended that he wasn’t looking.

So, tired of this indecisiveness, he took the initiative this time and asked a straightforward question.

"N-no! Of course not, I’m just..."

"...probably wondering where or why you got all those tattoos."

Surprisingly, it was Jen who assisted Jules to express himself, not Derek.

"I myself am curious as well, but do excuse him; he’s a little bit of an introvert if you couldn’t already tell."

It’s rather nice to see Jen trying to be civil. Kind of uncharacteristic from all the aggression she greeted Ren with, but it’s a welcomed change.

"I’ve noticed..." Ren smiled, amused for a second there when Jules’ ears reddened. But then, he looked at Derek and asked, "...but I thought you’ve got my file?"

"We do," Derek nodded. "But it’s in Sir Justin’ office. I viewed it because he showed it to me. As for them, well...they haven’t got the chance to check it out just yet. They had to come to Sir Justin for that, I think."

There was a lot hidden in there; Ren noticed that. Especially since the others flinched ever so slightly at the implication of his words. But Ren didn’t pry. He’s not that close to the party yet to know more about their secrets and troubles.

"I see, well, hmm...ah, I know. Can I borrow your shield for a moment?" Ren asked Jules.

This made Jules puzzled, but he handed it over anyway, not thinking much about the request.

They then saw Ren placing his palms flat on the shield, and then he began speaking:

"I didn’t get these tattoos because I felt like it," he started. "I was born with them; everybody in our clan is born with the same tattoos. They’re not even tattoos actually, more like a mark."

"A curse mark, to be exact."

And although it was all a little difficult to see, bruises were starting to appear on Ren’s right arm, the one he used to touch the shield.