Aaron Wells stood directly before Moon, staring at him with wide eyes.
Moon, simply stared back.
The guy had grown. He was a little taller than Moon rembered, and his fra had grown so serious muscle. He looked like a different person from the one Moon had shared the sa class with. Aaron appeared to be much older than their age, like he had grown several years in the past few months.
Aaron was a classmate of Moon's. They had never been close, but there were no bad feelings between them either. They were the kind of classmates who interacted during group projects and exchanged casual greetings in the hallway. Nothing more, nothing less.
But back during the awakening ceremony, Aaron had been one of the few who stood out like a shining star. While most of their year received average classes, Aaron had awakened a powerful, unique Guardian Knight class. He had been one of the bright stars in a dark sky that day. He was expected to reach the second Sanctuary in a few months, and join a powerful group that will help him in his journey to the top.
"Yes, it's ." Moon nodded.
Aaron let out a warm laugh that ca from seeing a familiar face. "Wow, man. You have really shattered every expectation out there." He shook his head in disbelief. "I have to say, I'm quite jealous. Your face has hit every news channel during the gate ergence a few weeks back. Going from a Null to an S-Rank Awakener, and now you're here to register your evolution? That's insane."
Moon nodded, brushing past the praise without acknowledging it. "Yes, I'm here to register. What about you? What are you doing here?"
Aaron scratched the back of his head. The bright expression on his face dimd slightly, and a sad smile took its place.
"Sa reason, actually. My evolution got delayed." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "I ran into so personal problems along the way. Things got rough for a while. But I managed to pull myself together, climb back up, and here I am."
He let out a short laugh, lighter this ti, like he was trying to convince himself as much as Moon.
"It certainly feels better knowing that soone with your kind of achievents is also this far behind our year. Makes feel less alone in it, you know?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sure we'll both manage to catch up eventually."
His expression changed, rembering sothing. "I heard that Marcus and his group advanced a few weeks ago. They also landed in one of the strongest human bases in the Second Sanctuary. If the rumors are true, they might have already filled up a dozen spiritual acupoints by now. Their progress would be a lot easier compared to most of the population because of the benefits that a human base provides. Especially one led by the monster of the Second Sanctuary."
He said it casually, but the reason behind the words was obvious. Marcus and his circle had always been ahead and now, the gap had only grown wider.
'Monster of the Second Sanctuary?' The title caught Moon's attention for a brief mont, but he filed it away and moved on. It wasn't relevant to him right now.
"It doesn't matter. We should just focus on ourselves. There's no use worrying about their advancent."
Moon had grown to understand this over ti. The progress of others had no bearing on his own path. It didn't slow him down, and it didn't speed him up. As long as he stayed focused on his own goals, his own ambitions, he would beco what he wanted to beco and achieve what he set out to achieve.
Spending energy tracking the progress of others was a waste of ti that yielded nothing in return. Aaron nodded slowly, but there was hesitation behind it.
"Of course. Focusing on ourselves is better. I agree with that. But these aren't just random people, Moon. They're our direct competitors. The Spirit Art Tournant is right around the corner. Just over a week away."
He held up a finger.
"One week. And they've had weeks of head start in the Second Sanctuary. They've already opened their spiritual acupoints and started filling them with spiritual power. That's a gap we can't close in a few days, no matter how talented we are."
The frustration in his voice was controlled, but it was there. Aaron wasn't the type to complain without reason. He was stating facts, and the facts weren't in their favor.
Moon looked at him for a mont.
"Well, just try your hardest. If you're destined to win, you will win." He paused. "And if not this version, there's always the next one."
Aaron opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. He stared at Moon like he was trying to figure out whether the man in front of him was suprely confident or simply didn't care.
After a mont, he let out a breath and smiled.
"You've matured a lot since the last ti I've seen you."
Moon remained silent, offering nothing in return.
"Can the both of you just... shut up?" An irritated voice cut sounded just a few slots ahead of them. "You're loud and annoying. Nobody wants to hear about your little reunion."
Moon and Aaron turned at the sa ti.
A man stood a few paces ahead in the registration line, one finger jamd in his ear, rotating it slowly like he was trying to dig out the sound of their voices. He looked at them as if they were an eyesore in his vicinity.
He wore a leather jacket with the collar popped up, black jeans, and multiple diamond necklaces layered around his neck.
Aaron's brows furrowed imdiately, as a frown took the place of his smile, "Calm down, dude. There's no need to be rude about it. You could just ask politely."
The man pulled his finger from his ear and tilted his head. "Ehh? What if I don't?" He stepped out of his spot and walked directly up to Aaron until they were almost chest to chest. Staring down at him, he said, "What are you going to do about it?"
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