Harmony

Rowan was prepared to pull up his status screen to see the changes that he had gone through when he heard the footsteps approaching him, not from the direction of the building. Rowan looked up to see a man no older than him, but just as handsome. There was a scar over the bridge of his nose that extended to his left cheek. He wore some type of uniform that was a blazer , a bow tie , dress shorts and long socks. The colors seemed to swap between white and black as he moved.

His black hair glittered with what looked like starlight and was cut to not go past even his shoulders. He smiled as he approached, but ultimately stopped about a hundred feet away. Rowan was really getting tired of this whole surprise battle thing. It was at the same time that he had that thought that he felt an odd pang ring through him, almost like his whole body was resisting the thought. "Alright, so who are you and what is it this time? I'm past the point of taking prisoners today."

Feng shook his head from side to side and raised his hands in surrender. "I am not with the people that attacked. If I'm being honest, I'm not even from this planet, but my reason for approaching you is twofold. Firstly, I think that I would like to be your friend, and second, to help you with something before it becomes a real problem while also giving you an opportunity." Rowan didn't know why but for some reason, he could simply tell that the man in front of him had not told a single lie, it's almost as if the mana in the air conveyed his truth to Rowan in a way that he would be able to feel it.

Rowan nodded to him, interested in everything that had been said. Feng put his hands back down and walked closer, and he pulled out a table and two chairs. He smiled at the wide eyed Rowan. "It's just the system inventory, it will allow you to store things rather efficiently. You should get a quest for it in the near future." Rowan nodded his head. "So how did you get here if you are from a different planet?"

Feng slowly poured a steaming black liquid into two glasses. "Drink it, it will help your mana recover and improve. I sometimes forget that a tier 0 soul is supposed to adapt easily. You take the knowledge of a larger world in stride." Rowan shrugged. "No logical person would think there was life only on a single planet while countless others exist, just 1+1 honestly, nothing to adapt to." Feng smiled and nodded "I guess that is correct then this will all be easier, the system is not just an entity for your planet but countless ones, birthed to give us the ability to fight against the zombie scourge that threatens many worlds and has for countless years. Your planet is just one of the newest to join the war, but we have been at war with the zombies for over 100 years."

"There are intergalactic forces dedicated to preparing the younger generation to take up the same battle that they take up now, while most planets have a means for you to reach the outer worlds and join the main forces. There is a place called an interstellar academy where countless talented individuals are sent to. It's competitive and at times even dangerous, but it also gives a person access to resources and can put you at the forefront of the real battle." Rowan nodded his head and finally sipped the drink and noticed the strong taste of licorice. "So then, what brings you here, of all places?"

Feng smiled and sipped the drink as well. "Complete accident actually, I was found by my master who also happens to be a professor at the interstellar academy and a tier 0 soul just like the two of us." Rowan's eyes widened at that information "I thought the system said that tier 0 souls were supposed to be rare, like extremely. Feng nodded his head.

"They certainly are but, whether it's the influence of the system on the worlds or not, more of them have been born in the past two generations than ever recorded. We are still incredibly rare, but we are all also incredibly unique and talented in our own right. Now where was I again?" Rowan took a bigger gulp and could feel his mana recovering as it swirled through his mana space. Rowan waved a hand.

"You and your master got here by complete accident." Feng snapped his fingers. "Yep that, someone sought to set my master up and in the process, two years ago he found me and I have been under his tutelage ever since. We came out this way for another assignment, he brought me because it will be another three years before the interstellar academy will open to our generation and I was in between tutors he had found for me. We are specifically here in front of you, though, because that creepy mayor thinks we are from a neighboring city here that's become a real shit show. We intercepted him requesting help from this other city to have you killed , we then came out to find you because of the master and we saw your fight with those idiots and then the bone collector and while we were both amazed we noticed some things and both came to some conclusions."

A professor is only able to admit one student on special admission and, of course, my master has given that spot to me, but I got him to agree to give you another opportunity. In a year and a half, an event known as Trial World will take place. It's a world of challenges that offer amazing rewards to anyone capable of completing the challenges allowing them to soar in strength while at the same time since it is viewed by so many people it is a chance to be scouted directly by the academy or taken as a disciple to a professor. Most importantly, it's a direct path into the real war with the zombie race, which I think matters to you." Rowan shook his head. "I don't want to just do nothing but fight there…"

Rowan never finished because Feng held up a hand. "That's the other help I came to offer you. How long are you going to keep denying who you are? You are powerful, extremely, with one of the most fearsome attunements I've ever even heard about. You take three basic elements and turn them into a force on par with a creation element. Your soul affliction, known as the battle, Gene, makes you not only good at it, but your very soul craves it and the excitement it brings. I know it may not be what you want to hear Rowan Raid, but people like you were put into this world to reap the lives of others. The more you resist that, the more you harm yourself. I think it's time you finally become who you are meant to be and, as a tier zero, you are simply squandering your own potential by fighting who you are supposed to be. The battle gene does not make you an evil person, it simply makes you more inclined towards situations that put your life on the line and makes you adept at getting through them."

Rowan was honestly too stunned to speak. He could feel the kindness through the mana. He could tell that the man who had not even bothered offering his name was truly saying these words as a kindness. Rowan did not know it at the time and nor did Feng, but the feeling that they got was from both of them being Tier 0; it enabled a level of communication that they could both feel with their souls. If either one of them was to lie, it would be clear as day, there was no hiding their intentions; they simply had to speak, and the mana in the air would resonate and convey that to the other. Rowan's shoulders slumped as he looked at Feng. "I get the gist, but why are you helping me? Is it because of your soul affliction that you talked about earlier, like my battle gene?"

Rowan felt the air wobble with uncertainty; he knew that it was no longer the battle gene but had evolved into the berserker gene. He just had not got a chance to look at it yet. Feng raised an eyebrow at that, but ignored it ultimately. He too had felt the air wobble at that. "I have no friends, I train and when I'm done training, I travel with my master and unfortunately most people from our generation either envy or outright hate me for being a tier 0. You represent an opportunity as a real friend and truthfully I've never had one of those." He poured another glass for them both as they both took a long drink and sat in silence. Rowan finally spoke up after he got halfway through the glass.

"What is this stuff, by the way?" Feng shrugged. No clue, actually, I stole it from master's private stash of drinks in his house. It may actually be dragon piss." The silence that followed his words was deafening, but all of a sudden, they both broke into laughter. Rowan stopped laughing first and wiped a tear from his eye. "Alright, so how are you going to help be my true self?"

Feng smiled at him. "The same way we are going to convince the other professors that you rightfully deserve the pass to the trial world, they are highly sought after and just giving you it would cause massive issues for my master." Rowan nodded. , if someone set up his master just because he didn't like him, imagine what could happen if the man actually pissed off someone. Feng stood up and dusted himself off before waving his hand and making the table and chairs and cups vanish into thin air. He offered his hand to Rowan. "I am Feng Bo Shi, the last of his world and a tier zero, I would like to request a duel with one Rowan Raid to offer as proof to the school board in order to give you a token to enter the trial world a year and a half from now."

Rowan could feel something different thrum through him as the lines on his body that were currently hidden by his storm armament slowly crept up towards his jaw before they pulsed and stretched past his jawline, finally settling. Rowan took Feng's hand in his own and shook it. 'It would be my pleasure."