"Sorry Ivan, it's more of a forced choice than an offer--woops! Either your talent in your Xin core, which is currently pretty high, goes down to 40%--though wait, there is a benefit; I will increase your martial arts talent to the highest possible."
"Koji's" face explained the offer with a wide smile on his face; it was clear he was enjoying making Koji pick between two things that would both make him diverge from the path he was currently walking on.
"The other choice is that I erase all memories of the Soul Mantra that you have, and also make your talent 70%--though, I will reveal to you the most important secret of Martial Arts; this secret, was even something I could not comprehend, and only know from an extremely coincidental circumstance that one could even call a miracle."
Koji's eyes went wide as "Koji" kept speaking; no matter which one he chose, his talent would decrease, not only that but both of these options seemed like the downsides weighed more than the upsides!
More martial arts talent, or an incredibly important secret.
Indeed, both of these choices had their interesting implications; though, for Koji he already heard all that he needed to hear--no contemplation, no thought was needed.
Though Koji may prefer understanding and contemplating a question before deciding to give an answer, especially if it involved him--this one needed none of that.
Koji looked at "Koji" with a determined look in his eyes, and spoke without hesitation; his decision was already clear, and he felt it needed no further reason added to it than he had already thought of.
"I pick the secret."
...
"Oh my god this ribbon is so cute!"
Vera admired the pink ribbon that she bought from a shop; currently, she was in a kingdom called Veylith--where she had been for awhile now, and has not found any clues about an otherworldly threat.
'I should probably leave Veylith soon, but it's so beautiful here! The people are so nice too... They even had a festival with flying dragons; I do have to leave soon though, I can't stay here forever; at this point, it's obvious that the otherworldly threat most likely doesn't reside here.'
Vera had searched far and wide for any signs of an otherworldly threat; she had asked government officials if anything had seemed odd lately, she had investigated families in the area to see if they had kids with unusual behavior or intelligence at a young age--she had done everything she could!
She had gone to multiple schools to see if any kids were oddly talented or intelligent too; yet, she failed to find anything that couldn't be explained.
Vera sighed and decided she would leave Veylith tomorrow, as she knew it wasn't conductive to her mission to keep staying in one place where she knew her target wasn't at.
...
"Oh? The secret, interesting choice Ivan. Are you sure you want that one?"
"Koji's" eyes narrowed and slightly smiled, and it was obvious he was toying with Koji.
"It was the only choice."
Koji was still sure his answer was the best one; his eyes were still narrowed, and his stance was firm; clearly, no matter what "Koji" said, Koji's confidence would not be wavered.
"You seem very sure of yourself, Ivan--well, if that's what you choose I'm not one to criticize."
"Koji" spoke as if he was disappointed that Koji gave an answer so quickly without much time to think, obviously he had expected Koji to fall into deep contemplation.
Koji didn't respond to him, clearly waiting for an explanation of the choice that he decided to pick.
Even after a couple seconds of utter silence, Koji simply stood still.
"You really are boring Ivan, well the secret is pretty simple; there are nine levels to martial arts, and the ninth is the Balance Mantra; this then diverges into a normal Mantra that can be developed--though, if you do reach it your Transcendental state is reduced to Miniscule. Even if you are an immortal, if you reach balance then you will be completely reset."
Koji's face contorted in pure disappointment as "Koji" kept speaking, he just lost talent--not only that but his memories of the Soul Mantra would be gone.
"That's it? You took away my talent and my memories to spout some bullshit about a fucking Mantra that is a complete detriment to anyone who decides to use it?"
Koji, of course knew the information was most likely useful--though, he still felt disappointed; this guy could have at least given more context!
All he basically said was that it existed, and gave no further information on it.
"Oh Ivan, by the way--a cat-girl named Vera is after you, just so you know."
And with that, the dream closed.
Koji woke up in the small bed, and looked at his surroundings which were now back to normal--this fucking guy, he just leaked more important information with no actual context!
'Fucking bastard, eh whatever.'
'So a cat-girl named Vera is after me, though that guy--what do I even call him? Creepy dream guy who impersonates me--right, that's a great name for him. He did say that he placed an artifact that prevents me from being found, though I should still be on lookout.'
'He could at least tell me what she looks like.'
Though, he was a bit surprised that he at least gave him her name; if he was asked, he would definitely bet on him giving that information.
Though, now Koji's thoughts shifted back to the secret he was told.
'Balance? I mean I've heard of that Mantra years ago in that one book; I didn't expect it to come up again, especially in this situation. It has to be useful if it costed me a whole Mantra of memories, and my talent! Balance, hmm... Why is it linked to Martial Arts? This is probably an insight I'll only have once I reach it; though, it could be linked to how Martial Arts works with the user and the weapon.'
Koji of course, was ignorant of the true meaning though he could still theorize.
...
After waking up, he ate breakfast with his family as usual and headed to Cecilia's school again--today was no different, he still further developed his skills in martial arts and tried to create more unpredictable traps he could lure little kids into.
Combat traps, so he could win the duel; not another type of trap that would land him in a cell.
Weeks went by like this, and eventually months went by--finally, it was time for the tournament.