13 Ready Stance (2/2)

”Haha, you talk as if you haven't done exactly the same thing,” Leonard couldn't help but burst out, laughing.

Ryan's smiling face turned confused after Leonard spoke. ”Did I? Agh!” The moment Ryan asked his question, he let out a scream while clenching his head. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead and his hand shook.

The trio stood concerned in front of Ryan.

”Hey, are you okay?” Shesmu asked.

Ryan caught his breath before stopping Shesmu with his hand. ”Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry for your concern.” He took a few breaths in and out before finally standing upright. ”It's just that I don't remember what happened. The last thing I recall is Shin touching my forehead and this bolt of electricity running through my body.”

Shin scratched his chin for a second, deep in his thoughts before saying, ”I haven't heard of any case of memory loss due to Resonance, but it shouldn't be too problematic since it was just temporary.” He then gave Ryan a serious look. ”Either way, you should definitely not attempt it again in a short period of time. It is already mentally taxing as it is.”

Ryan nodded at Shin absentmindedly. His eyes weren't focused on him, or anyone in particular. They kept darting around until finally.

”Ehhh!”

A look of shock was plastered all over his face.

”I need to go sorry. My friend is waiting for me!”

Ryan bolted out of the training ground and off to the distance. However, just as he was making his way out, Shin's question stopped him dead in his tracks.

”Do you even know where your friend is?”

After decelerating to a halt, Ryan looked back at Shin and scratched his head awkwardly. ”Ehm, sorry, can you tell me which way is the main gate?”

”Haha,” Leonard laughed. ”No need for that, let's all go together. That's our final destination afterall.”

Shin smiled and added, ”That's right. There were a few techniques that I wanted to show you before you go, but Resonance took all of our time.”

Remembering the subject of time, Shesmu immediately asked, ”Since we brought up the subject of time, for how long have we been unconscious?”

”About half an hour or so,” Shin replied.

”The other outworlders, or players as you call yourself, already formed their team and entered the Forest of Beginning. We might want to cut down on the talk and get to the main gate so that you form your team and be on your way.”

Shesmu looked at Ryan for a few seconds, scanning his future teammate. While he didn't really care for the quality of his teammates, as he could easily carry with his future knowledge, Shesmu did like to have an understanding of those he will be playing with.

”Hey, Ryan. Mind going for a spar, just for five minutes.”

Ryan got startled by that suggestion, not expecting it to come out of nowhere. ”Eh, now? I mean, my friend is already waiting for me. And it's been so long already, I promised-”

”Just tell him to come here,” Shesmu cut in. ”It's not like we can go anywhere without forming our team first. And I will not team up with someone I don't know the fighting level of.” Shesmu's look turned serious as he said those last words.

”Ohh, I like this! Some competitive spirit is in the air! Young'uns like you should definitely let loose and battle up!”

While Leonard was cheering for the two to battle and worked as a hype man, Shin just shook his head while sighing.

”Teens and their hotheadedness,” He muttered under his breath.

”Humu, okay, we can do it. Just wait for me to send a message to Leo and I'm with you.”

Hearing the name Leo, Shesmu's eyes widened. No, wait, this could be a different Leo. Don't get too excited, Shesmu. He then took a deep breath and focused on Ryan. The two unsheathed their weapon, and readied for a clash.