by Aaron Oster
Doragon felt a small thrill of fear at that and immediately picked up his pace. The blood smelled fresh and carried with it the tang of desperation and fear. Could Leroy have been killed in the attack, or did the Sovereign dispose of him before running off to fight the Cavern Beast? If so, if the Sovereign’s son was dead, Doragon knew his life was good as gone.
There wouldn’t be a place in the world he could hide from Herald Duncan, especially once he became a Scion, which was only a matter of time.
Doragon burst into the castle, inhaling deeply as he searched for the right direction. The scent of blood was stronger now and coming from right down the hall. He dashed forward, already fearing the worst, but when he dashed through the slightly ajar door at the other end, he found only a pool of blood.
He sniffed the air a few more times, noting that a second scent was now very prevalent, this one extremely familiar as well.
“Well, well, well. What are the odds of that?” Doragon wondered out loud.
The son of the Sovereign had somehow come into contact with his old friend’s daughter. Aika’s scent would have been recognizable anywhere. He’d been around her enough to recognize it immediately. She’d been quite young when he’d left, and he knew that she’d be a young woman by now.
For many, a single pool of blood and no people would have been quite worrying, but Doragon noticed drag marks, as well as a clear trail of blood leading off in another direction. Both scents vanished as soon as they reached a certain spot, and experience told him that this was a sign of a test.
The real question was where they’d been up until then, as their scents simply appeared only in this room.
Doragon shrugged to himself at that and sat down to wait for their return. He had a quick escape planned and was sure that Leroy could fill him in on all the details. And, if Aika should happen to return first, he could have the pleasure of killing her while he waited. A wide, predatory grin spread across his lips as he thought of torturing the old man with the knowledge of his only remaining blood relative’s death.
Today was a good day indeed!
42
Roy sat bolt upright as his body was instantly pulled back together, the shattered and broken form healing in the span of a second.
“Geon, what just happened?” Roy asked, looking at his surroundings.
He’d been semi-conscious when he was hit by the Elemental and couldn’t really remember what had happened after that.
“I believe we are inside the Trial for your Green-Belt,” Geon informed him.
“Aika got us in here, after all,” Roy said, feeling a grin spread across his face.
He would have to make sure to thank her when they returned. He’d already lost count of the number of times she’d saved him, and while he might have resented her once for seeing him as weak, now, he was just grateful.
“So it seems, though I don’t exactly know where ‘here’ is.”
It was only then, once Geon pointed it out, that Roy really began to look around, noting the very familiar landscape.
“Don’t you, though?” Roy asked, getting to his feet. “After all, this was where you spent your entire life.”
“Wait…Do you mean…?”
“Yes,” Roy replied, looking around at the tall trees and familiar twisting paths. “It seems we’re back in the Waterwood.”
Roy felt oddly conflicted about being back here, even with the knowledge that this was a test, and therefore, fabricated. The forest looked exactly as he remembered it, down to the last tree and blade of grass. Not that he’d really be able to tell if something that minute was out of place, but still.
“So, where do we go?” Geon asked as Roy turned a slow circle, gaining his bearings.
“Back to the clan, I guess,” Roy replied.
He could feel his Core, thrumming and full of Essence, and in the very center, a bright sphere of Qi. There was far more there than he could have gathered on his own, but at some point, he’d felt his body become flush with Essence, pushing him to the brink of advancement and adding to his meager supply. Whatever this test would entail, he was fairly confident he could handle it, even if he had to fight the entire clan.
A test was never so hard that he couldn’t pass, so even if the whole clan came for him, they’d be much weaker here than they were in reality. Roy began to walk, heading down the all too familiar path on his way back to the clan. He passed several flags, all planted in the ground, marking the areas he’d gathered gravel for the clan’s cultivating pools. As he made his way through the woods, his memories came rushing back.
These were memories of a life long past, a time when he’d been a sad excuse of a human being and was miserable as a result. He was just passing by a familiar stream when something flitted by, running in the opposite direction. Roy felt his breath catch in his throat as he turned, seeing a much younger version of himself, running through the woods, pack slung over a shoulder and a look of determination in his eyes.
“Is that you?” Geon asked as Roy watched his younger self pause at the stream, then leap straight in, heedless of getting his clothes wet.
“Yes,” Roy replied, watching the small boy pulling himself from the stream.
“But both of your legs seem to be functioning just fine,” Geon replied, clearly confused.
“That’s because I wasn’t always crippled — at least, not in the physical sense. I think I know what I’m going to have to do,” Roy answered, turning to follow the brave but ignorant child.
“And that is?” Geon asked.
“Face my greatest fear,” Roy said. “The monster that haunted my dreams for years. The boar who shattered my leg and crippled me for years.”
Geon didn’t say anything in response, and Roy was glad he didn’t. The last thing he needed now was pity. Taking a deep breath, Roy set off after the smaller boy. He could already hear others in the distance, the Shah clan chasing down their favorite punching bag. In retrospect, he realized that he did indeed owe them his life.
After all, had they not followed him, the boar would undoubtedly have killed him years ago. Had they chased him for the right reasons, he might have even been grateful. However, the Shah’s intentions for saving his younger self were less than noble, and Roy remembered the weeks of punishment he’d had to endure after the attack far too well.
He followed his younger self for several hours, and after trying and failing to get his attention, Roy realized that until the actual fight came, he was just an observer. This wouldn’t be easy, especially when having to witness the actual act and the moment in which his already horrible life became even worse.
The forest began to darken, and soon, Roy was tailing his counterpart closely, as the boy stumbled through the thick underbrush. Roy recognized this area well, noting the massive tree stump up ahead where the boar would be rooting around. The younger Roy, too preoccupied with getting away, didn’t notice as he stumbled past the large stump, hand slapping the boar’s flank and getting its attention. His attention was only caught when the boar let out a squeal of rage, and he turned to face it.
Roy was forced to stand on the sidelines and watch as his younger self tried to run. The small boy dove to the ground as the dark boar charged past, slamming into a tree. The smaller Roy backed up quickly, scrambling back towards the tree trunk as the boar turned, shaking its head and snorting loudly.
He could see the fear and panic in his eyes as the boar faced him once again, white tusks gleaming and red eyes glowing in the near darkness.
Roy wanted to do nothing more than jump in, attack the boar, and save his younger self from years of misery and ridicule. As much as he wanted to, he knew that there was nothing he could do. The past was the past and no one had the power to change that.
The boar charged, letting out another squeal of rage, and the small boy tried to dive to the side. His foot slipped on a loose stone, and instead of clearing the charge, the boar slammed into him. There was a crackling sound of broken bones as th
e boy’s leg was caught between the charging boar and the tree trunk, bending the wrong way and sealing his fate.
Small Roy fell to the ground, screaming in pain and clutching at his leg. The boar shuffled back, shaking its head and snorting loudly. It pawed the ground a couple of times, preparing to charge the defenseless boy, when a figure dressed in flowing robes came dashing out of the darkness.
Roy recognized the much younger face of Shah Korgo, who’d still been an Orange-Belt at the time, and in the process of being trained as the next head of the clan. He slammed into the boar, sending it tumbling end over end, its hairy black body disappearing into the darkness. Instead of chasing it, Korgo merely crouched next to the young Roy, eyeing him critically.
“This is what happens to weaklings when they leave the protection of the clan. Perhaps next time you’ll think twice about running away.”
Korgo motioned then to one of the other two who’d come along with him, and they’d hoisted him up, still bawling, over their shoulder. There was no kindness in their eyes. There was no compassion and no care for how they treated the injured youth.
“Should we go after the boar?” asked the other boy.
“Leave it,” Korgo replied. “It’s a shame it didn’t finish the job, but we can’t very well kill it, not after it taught the freak here such a valuable lesson.”
The other Martial Artist snickered, and together the group headed back to the Shah clan, deaf to the wailing Roy’s cries of agony.
“That was horrible,” Geon commented as Roy watched the group go.
“That’s the Shah clan for you,” Roy replied with a shrug.
Strangely enough, he didn’t feel the same burning anger as he had a year ago. Perhaps his time away had just numbed him to the fact, or maybe, just maybe, he was growing out of his thirst for vengeance. Roy immediately dismissed that notion, because while he may have been content to stand and watch the events of the past unfold, he still burned with an inner fire to see the Shah clan destroyed.
Roy stood where he was, watching the retreating backs of his former clan members as they disappeared into the gloom. Had this been real life, he suspected he’d have done something, but as it stood, they weren’t part of this test. The real challenge was trotting back into the clearing and was growing larger it neared.
The boar had its eyes trained squarely on him now, those two beady red spots boring into him as though they could see into his very soul. Seeing as this was a test administered by some unknown entity, that may very well have been the case. The boar was now around six feet at the shoulder, muscles bulging and rippling as its body lengthened and widened. The tusks grew longer, jagged, and serrated, extending out a full foot and curving to wicked points.
Its hide grew even darker, the wiry hair on its body taking on an almost metallic sheen. Its legs now bulged with muscle, and its hooves widened and darkened to the size of small dinner plates. The worst part about it was its Core, swelling and growing until it clearly reached Green-Belt, and a small spec of black Darkness Qi burned in its Core. The boar snorted, expelling a dark cloud from its nose, which made its eyes, already red and glowing, appear even more frightening.
“You always bring me to the nicest places,” Geon commented as Roy spread his legs out into a fighting stance.
“At least we stand to gain something this time,” Roy replied, feeling his heart rate increasing by the second and a sheen of sweat break out across his brow.
It had been one thing to face this boar when it was manageable and relatively small. Now, though, when his childhood nightmare was staring him down and had the ability to do some serious bodily harm, Roy was far less confident, especially seeing as it was so much stronger than him.
While the difference between 4th Dan Orange and Base Green might not have seemed like much, in reality, advancing to Green brought with it a strength that those stuck at Orange could never even imagine. Roy, thanks to his early use of Qi, did understand. He understood that he’d be facing a Beast with abilities far beyond his own. This was a creature with the power to crush him, utterly and completely, while being mostly safe due to its much higher damage resistance.
Becoming a Green-Belt didn’t just unlock the ability to safely use Qi. It also came along with an entirely new body, one forged in Qi to reinforce that ability. A Qi-strengthened body wasn’t so easily damaged as one made of simple flesh and bone. While Roy’s Armorer technique might hold up well, it was nothing in comparison to Aika’s bare skin. She could take more punishment without suffering so much as a scratch, while the same attack would shatter his technique and might very well kill him outright.
“So, how are we going to handle this?” Geon asked as the boar began slowly circling, acting more like a predator that had cornered its prey than the plant-eater that it should be.
“Fight really hard, and hope we don’t die?”
“Well, normally I’d disparage such a simple plan, but seeing as we’re not exactly flush with options, I’ll let it go this one time.”
“Gee, thanks,” Roy said sarcastically.
“You’re welcome.”
While this might normally have aggravated him, Roy found himself smiling instead. Some things never changed. No matter the circumstance, Geon would always act a certain way, and that was somewhat reassuring.
The boar let out another snort, black smoke blowing from its nostrils. It then did the very thing Roy had been waiting for. It pawed at the ground two times, the scrape of hoof on dirt audible in the still night air.
Well, here we go, Roy thought, widening his stance and raising his hands.
His Armorer technique flared across his body, golden triangular plates tracing a pattern across his skin. Then, the boar lowered its head, let out a loud squeal, and charged.
43
Roy braced himself as the massive hog came charging towards him, blackness billowing behind it and hooves thundering against the ground. He began channeling Essence into his arms, legs, and back, preparing two techniques at once. The boar drew near, lowering its head further and speeding up, leaving Roy with less time than he’d anticipated to enact his strategy. Not having much choice, Roy used his Shockwave and stepped hard to the side, golden light trailing his body as the pig’s tusks passed within inches of his chest.
As he did, he planted his back leg and struck with a powerful punch from the Unaru Kuma. His Exploding Fist detonated as it slammed into the boar’s side, ejecting a bubble of force and throwing the massive creature’s back end to the side and spinning it all the way around. Roy’s follow-up came from beneath, his second blow catching the oversized pig beneath the chin. There was a loud squeal of pain as the second attack hit, Roy straightening from his crouch and putting his entire weight behind the punch.
The boar’s head was rocked to the side, and Roy followed with another strike, this one an elbow, right into the boar’s jaw. The Beast twisted at the last moment, and Roy’s elbow slammed into its shoulder instead, doing minimal damage, even with the power of the Exploding Fist behind it. The boar bucked its head and Roy retreated, taking a big step back that carried him five feet away.
He was lucky he’d retreated when he had, as the shadows beneath the boar shot out in all directions, shaped in long sharpened spikes. Roy grimaced as he noted that his attacks had done absolutely nothing. Still, he knew that this wasn’t an impossible test. All he needed to do was keep a calm head.
The boar vanished, sinking into the ground and momentarily disappearing from sight. Roy froze, looking around for some sign of the Beast, only to have it explode from the shadows of a nearby tree, tusks flashing in the pale moonlight. Only Roy’s reflexes, coupled with his still-unnamed Armorer technique, saved him from being skewered. Though he was safe, it was a closer call than he would have liked.
A red-hot line of pain traced along his left forearm as the tusk sliced through his technique, leaving a red streak that was several inches long. The attack hadn’t been designed to shatter the technique, but rathe
r to cut through it. This made it that Roy’s technique started to replenish itself slowly, while he had to throw up a shielding technique to cover himself.
“This isn’t working,” Roy said, taking a breath to calm himself. “This thing is too tough, and I doubt its even shown us half of what it can really do.”
“Oh, it definitely hasn’t,” Geon replied. “Just think about what you’re missing. How can this fight be made easier for you?”
The boar vanished into the shadow of another tree, coming out to his left. This time, Roy was expecting the attack and dodged to the side, slapping the boar’s wiry hide and ejecting a blast of Power Essence. It wasn’t a technique, so it didn’t really do much more than annoy it, but it gave Roy no small sense of satisfaction.
“Those vanishing attacks are too unpredictable,” Roy replied, taking a quick glance down at his bleeding arm.
The cut wasn’t all that bad and was already scabbing over, but that didn’t mean he’d be able to keep dodging this Beast’s attacks forever. He knew it would be impossible once the beast started to actually take this fight seriously.
“So, pin it down.”
Geon’s words hit Roy with the force of a charging boar – figuratively speaking, of course.
“A Containment technique!” Roy realized, dodging once again as the boar charged past.
It missed by a much smaller margin this time, and judging by the gleam in its small red eyes as it turned back towards him, Roy had a feeling that it wouldn’t be missing its mark again. The boar vanished, and Roy dashed in the opposite direction, using his Shockwave to get some distance. He heard a squeal of rage from the boar when it completely missed what was supposed to be a sure attack, as he dodged behind a tree and suppressed his Core.
The only way he was going to beat this thing was if he could pin it down long enough to get in a few good shots. It was still debatable if he could win once he did, but the trick to beating the last test was by being able to attack multiple opponents using the Constellation, and it only stood to reason that this was the answer here, too.