Demo and Ten make their way into the gym. Through a glass door, they see several members sitting in a lotus pose meditating. The moment Ten and Demo open the door all of the members open their eyes and turn their heads towards Ten and Demo. All of them look angry, as Ten and Demo disrupted their meditation. Demo looks calm and unfazed but Ten isn’t used to so much animosity and takes a step back. The has several pictures on the wall next to scrolls with motivational sayings. The pictures are of previous students who have either passed on or become famous in their own right. One of the members stands up, and walks towards Demo and Ten, he then raises his hand and the other members then return to their meditation.

“Can I help you with something?”

Ten feels extremely awkward actually being in the famous gym and doesn’t really know what to do. He goes to bow but stops midway and instead does a fist-palm greeting he then turns into a palm-to-palm greeting. The gym member chuckles as he gets that Ten is nervous.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to bow or anything. How can I help you?”

Ten stands up straight with a nervous smile on his face as he introduces Demo.

“He wants to join the gym.”

As the gym member switches his focus on Demo, Ten takes a step back.

“Aight, I have some things to so …”

Demo looks at Ten, and with the biggest smile of gratitude on his face.

“Thank you.”

Ten nods and starts walking towards the door. He takes one look back at Demo and then steps outside. Back inside the gym member continues asking Demo some more introductory questions.

“What type are you, IT or TT?

Demo looks confused as he answers.

“IT, TT?”

The member looks confused as well, as these are the standard abbreviations used. Demo not knowing them is what he would consider a red flag. But out of politeness, he feels he needs to explain.

“Instinctual Type or Theoretical?”

“Oh, yeah, well I didn’t understand a word Ten was saying and he said I was likely Instinctual, so IT.”

That comment clarified the fact that Demo wasn’t from here.

“You have never learned about or practiced how to use Higher Reasoning?”

“You mean using Numbers Magic, Right? Then no.”

The gym member looks a bit startled because this is extremely uncommon. Even the poorest of households will have learned how to use Higher Reasoning.

“I’m very sorry, but the bare minimum needed to enter our gym is the ability to use Higher Rea…”

Before he can finish his sentence he is interrupted.

“No, no, no, no, no, no.”

An old man with a white beard and a bald head in an all black loose fitting outfit, comes from behind one the doors and the gym member immediately bows.

“Master.”

The old man is the master of the gym. His aura and body language show his confidence in his ability and the respect of those around him make it clear he is strong. The old man walks up to Demo with a smile and stands in front of him and looks him up and down.

“We are here to teach people. And I don’t remember making that rule that you have to be able to use H.R.”

The gym member raises his head and with doubt in his voice he speaks.

“But master Li-On”

Li-On raises his hand to silence the gym member.

“What’s your name young man?”

“Demo.”

Li-On gestures Demo to follow him.

“Come with me Demo, I’ll teach you how to  use … what did you call it … Numbers magic.”

Demo and Li-On walk up some stairs to a private room with a table in the middle of it. On the table, there is a rock. Li-On gestures Demo to take a seat. And Demo does and then Li-On takes a seat on the opposite side.

“Demo, have you ever seen someone use Numbers Magic?”

“Yes, I have, my friend Ten used it to make my clothes.”

Li-On smiles gently.

“That’s nice of him. So when you saw that, what did you think was happening?”

Demo looks up as if to visually recall the event.

“It looked like he turned leaves and stuff into something else using some kind of magic.”

Li-On nods as it seems Demo got the gist of it.

“This world is a collection of facts and rules. These all come from the energy of life. If you know or understand the rules and facts, you will gain access to this energy.”

Demo nods.

“So the more I know and understand the more access I get to the energy?”

“Indeed. Simple right?”

Demo nods again. Li-On smiles as he knows he is about to complicate things a bit more and hopes Demo can follow along. He places his hand on the rock.

“The first rule is simple. Nothing comes from Nothing.”

Demo looks confused. Li-On recognizes it and quickly continues.

“It basically means that to make something you have to use something. If you want to cook food, you need ingredients. Same thing applies here.”

Demo nods. Li-On continues.

“Let’s say I want to turn this rock into a diamond. There are two ways Number Magic is done. Theory or Instinct. Theory means you know exactly what the rock is made of and how each part works together with the other parts and they are interconnected. First, you would visualize the rock in your head, and deconstruct it using math. Then you break it down into pure energy using the proper formulas and then use the energy you created to turn it into a diamond using the right set of formulas and equations.”

Demo looks at him with sheer amazement.

“So I would need to know what a rock is made of and what a diamond is made of?”

Li-On smiles and nods, he then picks the rock up.

“Instinctual Theory is a bit different. With this, you simply accept that it’s a rock. You would then visualize it in your head, dive into the rock and forcefully strike each connection and sever all the ties within the rock itself. Forcing it to deconstruct like pulling on strings to tear a shirt apart.”

The rock in Li-Ons hand starts to glow and comes apart as if its molecules were struck so hard they came loose. The energy born from the rock swirls above Li-On’s hand. Demo looks on with the delight of a small child watching a magic show. Li-On seems to enjoy Demo’s enthusiasm.

“Now this is where things get tricky. Because you don’t know exactly what a diamond is made of, you will have to fill in the blanks using your own imagination. The stronger and better your imagination is, the better the final result.”

Li-On guides the energy in his hand along a path and the energy starts to reassemble. Once the flow stops there is a small flash of light, and there is an actual diamond on the table. Demo’s eyes pop open.

“Wow.”

Li-On smiles like an old man would seeing a kid learning something.

“Want to try turning this diamond back into a rock?”

Demo looks up with nothing but excitement as he almost screams.

“YEAH, I do.”

Demo starts his training to learn how to use the powers of this universe. Meanwhile, Ten opens the door to his apartment, takes off his muddy shoes, and jumps onto his bed.

“I can’t believe I met an illegal alien today.”

He looks at his hand.

“Mai, I’m sorry. You risked helping me for nothing. I wasn’t able to get a piece of a meteor or anything. I’m still in debt with no way out.”

His palm lights up as Mai is turned on.

“That’s ok. It was impossible to know what was out there. We took a chance. But at the very least it seems like you’ve made a very powerful friend.”

Ten looks at the dresser beside his bed. The sight of the picture of him and his mother at the peak suddenly feels heavier than it used to.”

“You think?”

Ten grabs the picture and looks at it a bit more attentively.

“Perhaps I should go visit her tomorrow.”

Mai, is slightly startled at that sudden statement.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen her.”

Ten looks at the picture with sadness, as the look in his eyes show how much pain it’s causing him to simple look at the picture. Mai decides to be proactive and help Ten a bit more.

“I’ll call in sick at work so you can go during visiting hours tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Ten lays down on his bed with the picture on his chest.

“I wonder how she is doing.”

As his mind strays, his mother is sitting in an empty room in a rocking chair, peacefully rocking back and forth. With eyes completely devoid of any kind of life.

Chapter 6 Fin