The Deceitful One

"Boss, what are energy particles? How do I gather them?" Bryan asked.

Detective Watson smiled and explained, "Energy particles exist in all things. They are ever-present in the air we breathe, the land we walk on, the cloud that floats, and the water that flows. You can think of them as the building blocks of life. In order to gather them, you will have to visualize them. Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, calm your mind and follow my words. I'll help you meditate."

Bryan nodded and closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths and calmed his mind letting go of all distractions.

"Follow the breathing method mentioned in the meditation technique. Two short breaths, one long breath, three short, one long, four short, two long…" Detective Watson's voice trailed off.

The room quieted down and only the faint sounds of Bryan's breathing could be heard. His chest moved with an undulating pattern and his expression was calm, with only slight restless movements underneath his eyelids.

"Imagine the energy particles around you like they're fireflies." Detective Watson's voice was heard again, "Now slowly visualize the fireflies flying to you. Attract them towards your head."

"Slow and steady."

"Gather the fireflies in your mind and form the first rune." Detective Watson said faintly.

Around an hour later, Bryan's body shuddered a little and the muscles on his face twitched But soon he returned to his peaceful state.

After some time, Bryan opened his eyes.

"Congratulations! You have advanced to a rank 1 Apprentice." Detective Watson smiled.

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Bryan beamed, "Thank you, boss!"

"Seeing how I was the one who introduced you to the Transcendent world and guided you into becoming an apprentice, I wish to take you in as my student. Are you willing?" Detective Watson asked with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

After all, Bryan was a fine sapling. With his supreme-grade spiritual aptitude, he had a very high chance of becoming a mid-string Transcendent.

Bryan was slightly taken aback, "What's the difference, boss? Will I get paid more?

Detective Watson's lips couldn't help but twitch, 'This brat..is he always thinking about money?' He cleared his throat and said, "Bryan, once you become my student, I will impart you with mysticism knowledge and teach you all the spells that I know. Also, if you want to earn more money, then you will have to put in the equivalent work. After all, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Especially in the Transcendent world."

"Alright boss, I agree!" Bryan replied without any hesitation.

Detective Watson chuckled, "Good. Also, call me teacher from now on."

"Yes, teacher." Bryan smiled. Then he asked eagerly, "Teacher, can you teach me some spells now?"

"Spells are useless for the first two ranks of Apprentice. You don't have enough spiritual force to cast even half a spell. Only when you become a Rank 3 Apprentice, can you use Rank 0 spells. However, you will only be able to cast a few spells before your spiritual force runs dry." Detective Watson replied.

"Then what should I do now? Just meditating all day is too boring." Bryan had a bored look on his face.

"Bryan, although meditation is boring and tedious, it is the foundation for becoming a Transcendent. You must persevere in this and meditate every day." Detective Watson advised him seriously.

"Fine.." Bryan replied nonchalantly.

Seeing that Bryan was not convinced, Detective Watson added, "Do you know why meditation is so important to a Transcendent? It's because if you don't, you will lose control and become a monster. Without meditating diligently, the mental imprint brought from the potions will turn you into a monster. That is where a meditation technique shows its usefulness, it cancels out the negative effects of the potions. Potions strengthen the body, whereas, meditation technique strengthens the mind, forming a delicate balance."

This time Bryan was shocked. He was scared stiff, 'I'll turn into a monster if I don't meditate!?' Bryan knew there were negative effects from potions, he didn't think it was this bad.

"I understand, boss. Uh, I mean, teacher. I'll meditate every day from now on." Bryan replied hurriedly.

"It's good that you understand." Detective Watson chuckled, clearly satisfied. "Now I must warn you, although it took you about an hour to form the first rune, it gets progressively harder. So based on your aptitude, you should take about one month to advance to Rank 2, then another two months to advance to Rank 3. During this period, I will be teaching you mysticism knowledge."

"I'll increase your wage to 4 pounds a week. You will still need to report to me daily about the happenings in the city." He added.

"Yes, teacher!" At the mention of money, Bryan's eyes lit up. Then he remembered something and said, "Speaking of which, I happened to hear something really disconcerting last night at Ricky's Bar. I feel like like it's most likely something related to a Transcendent."

"What is it?" Detective Watson's expression turned serious. Although Bryan was giving him a report of his daily findings in the city for the last two weeks, none of them were related to Transcendents.

Bryan repeated what he heard last night, word for word.

Detective Watson wore a pensive look after he finished listening to Bryan's report. After a long while, he replied, "Good job, Bryan. If this is what I think it is, then the slums aren't safe anymore. It would be best if you moved out of your place by tonight or latest by tomorrow. You can choose to live in my villa or rent a new apartment, preferably one that's closer to the church or the police station."

"Thank you for the offer, teacher. I don't wish to burden you, I was going to move out and rent a new place anyway." Bryan's heart warmed. It felt nice to be cared for.

"Alright, as you wish. I have to go to the Church now. You can take the rest of the day off." Detective Watson got up and proceeded to leave.

"I'll leave too then." Bryan nodded and followed his teacher out.

Since it wasn't even 12 pm yet, Bryan decided to go to the real estate agency and look for new apartments. One that at least came with a personal bathroom.

They exited the villa and walked together under the shade of the parasol trees planted throughout Augustus Street. Bryan asked for some pointers regarding meditation and things to look out for. Detective Watson happily gave him some advice and shared some of his experience.

They chatted for about 10 minutes, then they each went their own way. The real estate agency was about a 5-minute walk from where Bryan was currently.

He reached the agency and stated his purpose at the reception. After waiting for a few minutes, a young lady with brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing a yellow dress came forth and greeted him with a smile, "Hello Mr Bryan, my name is Leah. If you're free at the moment, I can show you a few apartments down the block that meet your requirements."

This young lady had a really nice figure and her twin peaks were abundant, to say the least. Bryan couldn't keep his eyes off them. Leah noticed Bryan's gaze but she didn't mind it. Instead, she giggled and puffed her chest out even more.

Bryan snapped out of his daze and smiled awkwardly, "Please lead the way, miss."

Leah smiled coquettishly and left for the nearest apartment.

After about an hour of touring different places, Bryan finally decided on an apartment in a three-storied white building, in a decent neighborhood on Robinson Street where middle-class people lived.

He was living on the first floor. There were 4 apartments on each floor. His room was quite spacious. It had a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and most importantly, a bathroom.

The rent was 5 pounds a month, something which Bryan could currently afford with this 16 pound per month salary. Most importantly it was 10 minutes away from Detective Watson's place.

After finalizing the apartment, Bryan followed Leah back to the real estate agency to pay the deposit for the first month, sign the lease, and take the apartment keys. After all the paperwork was done, Leah walked him out of the agency in a happy mood.

"Mr Bryan, if you don't mind, I can come by your place tonight and show you how the amenities in the apartment work." Leah whispered into Bryan's ear.

Bryan froze on the spot. For a moment, he didn't quite understand what Leah meant. Then it suddenly dawned on him and his face turned red.

"S-sounds good." Bryan stuttered.

"Alright then, see you after dinner." Leah giggled and waved him goodbye.

Bryan watched her leave in a daze. Then he started thinking about perverted things in his head with a smirk on his face.

He left for his apartment on DeShawn street. He had to take a few clothes and some leftover groceries from his room and shift them to his new apartment. He had already paid his overdue to his landlord, Mr. Carter, but he still had to get some payback from that pig for all the time he had made things hard for him.

'Hehe, just you wait. I'll leave you a very nice present.' Bryan's lips curled up into a mischievous smile as he thought of his landlord.