Thomas’s face was rosy, his eyes twinkling like stars. The arm that had previously been draped around Samuel was now wrapped around Nova, who already held a cup in his hand.
Thomas raised his cup and happily shouted, “Let’s toast to our friend Nova, whom we haven’t seen in more than nine years!”
Everyone in the room raised their cups with smiling faces.
Then he downed his wine and stared at Nova, who was holding his cup, his body feeling as heavy as lead.
“Drink, drink!” he said cheerfully, prompting Nova to give him a weak smile before he drank it all as if on auto-pilot.
No sooner had Nova emptied his cup than it was filled again, and Thomas quickly urged him to drink once more.
Meanwhile, the others exchanged glances, their lips tugging into smiles as they quietly set their filled cups on the table. This time, they hadn’t even taken a sip of it.
Success!
They all thought in unison.
At long last, they had found someone to replace them in accompanying Thomas and could finally take a breather. One meeting with no drinking, only a heartfelt moment to share between friends.
But, afraid he might realize that, they didn’t dare drop the act and kept raising their cups along with him.
Half an hour later, two loud snores echoed through the room.
Jack chuckled as he looked at Nova and Thomas, who had collapsed against each other, their expressions peaceful.
He turned his head toward Samuel, Rachel, and Amelia. “What did I tell you? As long as we keep finding someone to drink with Thomas, we’ll always be safe.”
“Yeah, we survived today, but I don’t think it’s going to last once Nova finds out how these ‘meetings’ always go.” Rachel sipped her juice, her expression complicated. “At least when others found out, they never came back.”
Amelia nodded. “I don’t think we should put all our bets on him. If we could find someone else to invite who can share some of the burden with him, then maybe they won’t be so overwhelmed that they stop coming.”
Over the years, they had invited many of their friends, but all of them, without exception, had shown up no more than a handful of times. Some had joined once and never again.
After all, they were promised a meeting to share important details, not a drink party.
“Do any of you have someone in mind?” Jack asked.
Rachel thought for a moment before saying, “What if we ask Colin and Ren? We just need them to keep Thomas busy while we finally have a real meeting.”
Jack smiled bitterly and shook his head. “They’ve already tried. I highly doubt they have any intention of coming back.”
Rachel fell silent again, lost in thought.
Samuel and Amelia also thought hard about the people they knew.
All of them wanted to return to their old meetings, but none of them wanted to disappoint Thomas either. They were stuck in a difficult position.
With all of them busy thinking how to avoid the situation from occurring again, Jack decided to speak up.
“Our next meeting won’t be tomorrow, there’s no need to think about it right now.” Jack’s expression grew slightly more serious.
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“Have any of you made any progress toward Force?”
Samuel, Rachel, and Amelia’s eyes sharpened with focus.
This was one of the reasons they wanted to meet with each other. Apart from spending time together as friends, they used these gatherings to share their experiences and speed up their training.
The process was beneficial for all of them as, during it, the one who explained had the chance to sift through their knowledge and sort it out while the others gained new insights.
Amelia threw her hands into the air and sighed. “I’m still far from reaching that level, but I did make some minor progress.”
She raised a finger, and a small amount of Force converged at the tip. The amount was so small and volatile that it couldn’t stay still despite the absence of wind.
Jack smiled at her. He already knew how far she’d progressed and wasn’t surprised about it. He offered a few words of encouragement that made Amelia smile brightly before he turned toward the others.
“Hehe, I can finally show off some of my skill today.” Rachel puffed up her chest. She held out her hand, and an amount of Force that was easily double Amelia’s formed on her palm.
Beside her, Amelia’s eyes widened.
The last time they had compared their progress, Rachel had been only a tiny bit ahead but now…
Amelia couldn’t even begin to imagine how long it would take her to catch up.
But she wasn’t envious. She was happy her friend had progressed so much.
Samuel raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Are you the same Rachel I know?”
A smug smile was plastered across Rachel’s face. She smiled mysteriously and said, “Maybe I’m not.”
When she said that, Samuel nodded. “Mhm, you’re the same Rachel.”
Jack was also pleasantly surprised. “If you keep up this pace, it won’t be long before you reach the threshold and achieve Force.”
Rachel was about to answer Samuel, but Jack’s words stopped in her tracks and made her sigh. “I feel like I’m still far from it.”
She felt a small hand grab hers and turned.
Amelia was staring at her with eyes full of fighting intent. “You’re so far ahead of me now, but I won’t lose.”
For a moment, Rachel was at a loss for words, but she soon smiled. She cupped Amelia’s hands and nodded. “Then you’ll have to work hard, because I won’t stop improving.”
The two quietly chatted among themselves while Jack turned to Samuel and said, “What about you? If I remember correctly, last time you were already more than halfway there.”
Samuel nodded and flipped his palm. Force gathered there, taking the shape of a miniature sword.
At first it looked firm and steady, but every now and then some of the energy would spill out, throwing the sword into chaos. He quickly stabilized it, but seconds later another part would erupt and dissipate, repeating the same cycle.
“This is as far as I’ve gotten…” Samuel muttered bitterly as he closed his hand, dispersing the strand of Force he had gathered.
Jack smiled, genuinely pleased with his friend’s progress. But from Samuel’s expression, it was clear he wasn’t happy at all.
Seeing that, he couldn’t help but say, “Why do you look so dejected? You should be happy, you’re on the verge of achieving Force any time now.”
“I hoped to show a completed Force at our next meeting, but I didn’t manage to. You, Thomas, Victor, and Cassie have already achieved it, and I feel like I’m falling further and further behind.” Samuel sighed.
Only he knew how hard he had trained in hopes of catching up to his friends, but it seemed he still needed a little more time.
Jack patted Samuel on the shoulder, causing him to look up.
“You don’t need to feel that way. Understanding Force is partly about comprehension, but opportunities and luck matter too. The fact that you’re so close, despite most people on Earth not even knowing such a concept exists, just proves how talented you are. What’s there to fuss about understanding Force a few months earlier or later?”
“He’s right.”
From the side, Rachel spoke up. “If you feel dejected, then how should I feel?”
“Me too! I’m the slowest of us all!” Amelia raised her hand.
Samuel’s expression grew complicated, but seeing the two girls’ antics, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Lia, you aren’t the slowest,” Jack said, drawing everyone’s attention. He pointed toward Nova, who was soundly asleep, and added, “He’s the slowest.” A chuckle escaped his lips.
Samuel, Rachel, and Amelia couldn’t help but smile too. It would be a miracle if Nova had even come close to Force after entering a Purple portal so early on, causing him to miss out on so much time.
After a round of laughter, the group refocused on sharing their insights. Jack did most of the talking, recounting his experiences in understanding and controlling Force but the others sometimes chimed in, sharing their own insights.
And with that, time passed.
Morning flew by, and soon it was afternoon.
Nova’s eyes fluttered repeatedly as he tried to open them, but they seemed as locked as gates. It took more effort than he had ever imagined to gradually push them open.
When he did, his gaze moved around the room, and he realized he was lying on the sofa.
There wasn’t even a shadow of anyone else in the room.
He tried to move his body but gave up halfway through, finding it too bothersome and heavy, and thought, ‘Did I come to Jack’s house just to sleep?’
Perhaps it was because of his previous exhaustion, or perhaps because he had just woken up.
Right now, though, he couldn’t remember anything that had happened after he left his house.
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