Chapter 19: The first test
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Chapter 19: The first test
The proctor chuckled and took a few steps back into the training arena. Earth gathered around his feet and wormed up his body, forming into rugged armor around him. In seconds, he was completely covered.
This part of the exam will end when all of you are rendered unable to move or surrender, Johnathan said. Are you prepared?
Chance opened his mouth to ask another question, then closed it when Bella and Yeo shot glares in his direction. He gave them a sheepish grin and walked into the dirt arena with his teammates, lowering his urumi in a ready position.
Were good, Yeo said. Hope youre ready to get your ass kicked.
Begin.
Bella leapt forward, black water slithering down her arms and forming into a large axe. She brought it down in a powerful swing at Johnathans shoulder. Earth rippled around the proctors feet and a pillar of stone erupted from the ground, slamming into Bellas stomach and sending her flying into the air.
Chance whipped his wrist to the side and the urumi extended with a dozen rapidfire clicks. The snakelike blade shot out and bit into Johnathans shoulder, cutting a few inches into the stone before coming to a stop.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.
The ground beneath Chance rumbled. Yeo thrust his shoulder into him, knocking Chance to the side as a pillar of earth nearly launched him. He tumbled across the ground, losing his grip on the urumi, and leapt to his feet just as Bella came crashing down on top of Johnathan, leading with her axe.
Stone cracked and Johnathan staggered. He spun, catching Bella in the side with the back of his hand and launching her across the small arena. She hit the ground, skidding for a foot before slamming into the wall with a grunt. Yeo flicked his sickle out and it whipped around the proctor, growing faster with every loop as it tightened and bound the man.
Does restraining you count as a win? Yeo asked.
Johnathan raised a hand and grabbed the metal links. There was a loud crack and Yeos weapon went slack as the older man literally tore it apart. He flexed his arms and the chains binding him popped and snapped, falling to pieces.
Yes, Johnathan said. Provided youve actually restrained me.
Well, that was rude, Yeo said, pulling a second kusarigama from his pouch. Chance had no idea how he fit the weapon in there, but now wasnt the time to ask. You broke my toy. Luckily, Ive got another.
While Yeo had him distracted, Chance edged towards his urumi. Johnathan glanced in his direction and extended a hand. The ground beneath Chances feet rippled and he started to sink into it. Cursing, he flung himself into a roll and grabbed the hilt of his weapon, retracting it with a snap.
A bolt of black water leapt from Bellas hands and splashed into Johnathans armor, soaking into the dirt. The proctor glanced in her direction, nearly catching a massive watery blade to the face.
At the last second, a wall of earth erupted from the ground before him and blocked the Essence. He let it fall, then shifted his stance. Bella took a step forward and tripped, falling flat on her face as stones bound around her legs.
A little luck might be good, Yeo yelled. Metal Dragon Art: Twin Heads!
He extended his hand toward the shattered remains of his first kusarigama, narrowing his eyes in concentration. The fragments shuddered, then leapt to his command, reforming into chain links and attaching themselves back to the sickle. Yeo pulled the blade back, spinning the second weapon in his other hand, then sent them both flying at Johnathan.
Essence of Metal, eh? Johnathan asked, an earthen shield forming on his left hand. He batted both sickles away. Not used to seeing it used like this. Wouldnt making yourself into an armored warrior like I do with my earth be better?
Youre all over the place. I occasionally saw you do something that I would attribute to experience, but then youd blunder it all up. Something tells me youre a solo fighter. Fix that.
Bella started to nod, but Johnathan wasnt done.
On top of that, theres one major flaw I saw with your fighting style. The boys both had a clear purpose behind their moves. Even though theyre far from masters of their Essence, they both had direction. You feel like youre copying someone elses moves rather than using your own. Keep that up, and youll never advance past Foundling.
Johnathans gaze fell on Chance. The boy swallowed.
Youre new. Your strikes dont have any Essence real strength behind them. Despite landing several blows on my armor, nothing you did went through. You need to integrate your Essence with your fighting style more. Relying on your opponents aura being too weak isnt going to get you very far. On top of that, your movements are amateurish. Its very clear that youre new.
Im sure you feel thrilled about stomping a bunch of unranked Shikari, Yeo said, crossing his arms.
Johnathan burst into laughter. Oh, youre a competitive one. Hate losing, do you? Get used to it, boy. You arent the biggest fish in the pond. Now shut up I wasnt done talking.
Yeos eyes narrowed, but he closed his mouth with a snap.
Your fighting style is overly flashy, but if you cultivated more and put more Essence into your strikes, similar to Chance, theyd likely do a fair amount of damage. Its difficult to keep track of those sickles as they fly around, Johnathan said, tapping his chin. And your technique was surprisingly adequate for someone of your level. Some practice, tighten your moves up a little, and cultivate more you might get decent.
Johnathan pointed at Bella. Your progress in cultivation is much farther along its path than I would have expected. If you actually put yourself into it rather than just using some pale mimicries of what are clearly someone elses techniques, youd be a powerful cultivator.
He turned his gaze back to Chance. And, as for you, your biggest issue is inexperience. You were asking some very important questions before we started, and your Essence has a lot of potential. Ive never fought something like it not to mention your control over that whip sword is fairly decent for someone who only just started using it.
They all stared at him, baffled.
Now Im done, Johnathan said.
So we passed? Yeo asked.
Johnathan snorted. Yes. This was only to determine if you have the ability to keep yourselves alive in the most basic of situations. Id say youve got that, so consider yourselves all Foundling ranked Shikari from this point on. Your teamwork needs some improvement, though.
They all grinned at each other. Chance walked back to the practice field and grabbed his urumi from the ground where it had fallen when hed been hit.
Dont get too excited, Johnathan said. Youll need your wits about you for the individual rankings. You might have made the bare minimum, but I trust you want to shoot for more than that.
You better believe it, Yeo said, thrusting his chin out. And well see just how inefficient my moves are against other people my age. Where do we go for the next part of the exam?
Theres around two hours until it starts, Johnathan replied. Itll take place on the other side of the training yard. Dont be late, but youre free to do whatever you want until it starts. Ill be letting Gibson know your updated rankings.
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Chapter 19: The first test
The proctor chuckled and took a few steps back into the training arena. Earth gathered around his feet and wormed up his body, forming into rugged armor around him. In seconds, he was completely covered.
This part of the exam will end when all of you are rendered unable to move or surrender, Johnathan said. Are you prepared?
Chance opened his mouth to ask another question, then closed it when Bella and Yeo shot glares in his direction. He gave them a sheepish grin and walked into the dirt arena with his teammates, lowering his urumi in a ready position.
Were good, Yeo said. Hope youre ready to get your ass kicked.
Begin.
Bella leapt forward, black water slithering down her arms and forming into a large axe. She brought it down in a powerful swing at Johnathans shoulder. Earth rippled around the proctors feet and a pillar of stone erupted from the ground, slamming into Bellas stomach and sending her flying into the air.
Chance whipped his wrist to the side and the urumi extended with a dozen rapidfire clicks. The snakelike blade shot out and bit into Johnathans shoulder, cutting a few inches into the stone before coming to a stop.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.
The ground beneath Chance rumbled. Yeo thrust his shoulder into him, knocking Chance to the side as a pillar of earth nearly launched him. He tumbled across the ground, losing his grip on the urumi, and leapt to his feet just as Bella came crashing down on top of Johnathan, leading with her axe.
Stone cracked and Johnathan staggered. He spun, catching Bella in the side with the back of his hand and launching her across the small arena. She hit the ground, skidding for a foot before slamming into the wall with a grunt. Yeo flicked his sickle out and it whipped around the proctor, growing faster with every loop as it tightened and bound the man.
Does restraining you count as a win? Yeo asked.
Johnathan raised a hand and grabbed the metal links. There was a loud crack and Yeos weapon went slack as the older man literally tore it apart. He flexed his arms and the chains binding him popped and snapped, falling to pieces.
Yes, Johnathan said. Provided youve actually restrained me.
Well, that was rude, Yeo said, pulling a second kusarigama from his pouch. Chance had no idea how he fit the weapon in there, but now wasnt the time to ask. You broke my toy. Luckily, Ive got another.
While Yeo had him distracted, Chance edged towards his urumi. Johnathan glanced in his direction and extended a hand. The ground beneath Chances feet rippled and he started to sink into it. Cursing, he flung himself into a roll and grabbed the hilt of his weapon, retracting it with a snap.
A bolt of black water leapt from Bellas hands and splashed into Johnathans armor, soaking into the dirt. The proctor glanced in her direction, nearly catching a massive watery blade to the face.
At the last second, a wall of earth erupted from the ground before him and blocked the Essence. He let it fall, then shifted his stance. Bella took a step forward and tripped, falling flat on her face as stones bound around her legs.
A little luck might be good, Yeo yelled. Metal Dragon Art: Twin Heads!
He extended his hand toward the shattered remains of his first kusarigama, narrowing his eyes in concentration. The fragments shuddered, then leapt to his command, reforming into chain links and attaching themselves back to the sickle. Yeo pulled the blade back, spinning the second weapon in his other hand, then sent them both flying at Johnathan.
Essence of Metal, eh? Johnathan asked, an earthen shield forming on his left hand. He batted both sickles away. Not used to seeing it used like this. Wouldnt making yourself into an armored warrior like I do with my earth be better?
Youre all over the place. I occasionally saw you do something that I would attribute to experience, but then youd blunder it all up. Something tells me youre a solo fighter. Fix that.
Bella started to nod, but Johnathan wasnt done.
On top of that, theres one major flaw I saw with your fighting style. The boys both had a clear purpose behind their moves. Even though theyre far from masters of their Essence, they both had direction. You feel like youre copying someone elses moves rather than using your own. Keep that up, and youll never advance past Foundling.
Johnathans gaze fell on Chance. The boy swallowed.
Youre new. Your strikes dont have any Essence real strength behind them. Despite landing several blows on my armor, nothing you did went through. You need to integrate your Essence with your fighting style more. Relying on your opponents aura being too weak isnt going to get you very far. On top of that, your movements are amateurish. Its very clear that youre new.
Im sure you feel thrilled about stomping a bunch of unranked Shikari, Yeo said, crossing his arms.
Johnathan burst into laughter. Oh, youre a competitive one. Hate losing, do you? Get used to it, boy. You arent the biggest fish in the pond. Now shut up I wasnt done talking.
Yeos eyes narrowed, but he closed his mouth with a snap.
Your fighting style is overly flashy, but if you cultivated more and put more Essence into your strikes, similar to Chance, theyd likely do a fair amount of damage. Its difficult to keep track of those sickles as they fly around, Johnathan said, tapping his chin. And your technique was surprisingly adequate for someone of your level. Some practice, tighten your moves up a little, and cultivate more you might get decent.
Johnathan pointed at Bella. Your progress in cultivation is much farther along its path than I would have expected. If you actually put yourself into it rather than just using some pale mimicries of what are clearly someone elses techniques, youd be a powerful cultivator.
He turned his gaze back to Chance. And, as for you, your biggest issue is inexperience. You were asking some very important questions before we started, and your Essence has a lot of potential. Ive never fought something like it not to mention your control over that whip sword is fairly decent for someone who only just started using it.
They all stared at him, baffled.
Now Im done, Johnathan said.
So we passed? Yeo asked.
Johnathan snorted. Yes. This was only to determine if you have the ability to keep yourselves alive in the most basic of situations. Id say youve got that, so consider yourselves all Foundling ranked Shikari from this point on. Your teamwork needs some improvement, though.
They all grinned at each other. Chance walked back to the practice field and grabbed his urumi from the ground where it had fallen when hed been hit.
Dont get too excited, Johnathan said. Youll need your wits about you for the individual rankings. You might have made the bare minimum, but I trust you want to shoot for more than that.
You better believe it, Yeo said, thrusting his chin out. And well see just how inefficient my moves are against other people my age. Where do we go for the next part of the exam?
Theres around two hours until it starts, Johnathan replied. Itll take place on the other side of the training yard. Dont be late, but youre free to do whatever you want until it starts. Ill be letting Gibson know your updated rankings.
Chapter 19: The first testThe proctor chuckled and took a few steps back into the training arena. Earth gathered around his feet and wormed up his body, forming into rugged armor around him. In seconds, he was completely covered.This part of the exam will end when all of you are rendered unable to move or surrender, Johnathan said. Are you prepared?Chance opened his mouth to ask another question, then closed it when Bella and Yeo shot glares in his direction. He gave them a sheepish grin and walked into the dirt arena with his teammates, lowering his urumi in a ready position.Were good, Yeo said. Hope youre ready to get your ass kicked.Begin.Bella leapt forward, black water slithering down her arms and forming into a large axe. She brought it down in a powerful swing at Johnathans shoulder. Earth rippled around the proctors feet and a pillar of stone erupted from the ground, slamming into Bellas stomach and sending her flying into the air.Chance whipped his wrist to the side and the urumi extended with a dozen rapidfire clicks. The snakelike blade shot out and bit into Johnathans shoulder, cutting a few inches into the stone before coming to a stop.This chapter was first shared on the Nvl1n platform.The ground beneath Chance rumbled. Yeo thrust his shoulder into him, knocking Chance to the side as a pillar of earth nearly launched him. He tumbled across the ground, losing his grip on the urumi, and leapt to his feet just as Bella came crashing down on top of Johnathan, leading with her axe.Stone cracked and Johnathan staggered. He spun, catching Bella in the side with the back of his hand and launching her across the small arena. She hit the ground, skidding for a foot before slamming into the wall with a grunt. Yeo flicked his sickle out and it whipped around the proctor, growing faster with every loop as it tightened and bound the man.Does restraining you count as a win? Yeo asked.Johnathan raised a hand and grabbed the metal links. There was a loud crack and Yeos weapon went slack as the older man literally tore it apart. He flexed his arms and the chains binding him popped and snapped, falling to pieces.Yes, Johnathan said. Provided youve actually restrained me.Well, that was rude, Yeo said, pulling a second kusarigama from his pouch. Chance had no idea how he fit the weapon in there, but now wasnt the time to ask. You broke my toy. Luckily, Ive got another.While Yeo had him distracted, Chance edged towards his urumi. Johnathan glanced in his direction and extended a hand. The ground beneath Chances feet rippled and he started to sink into it. Cursing, he flung himself into a roll and grabbed the hilt of his weapon, retracting it with a snap.A bolt of black water leapt from Bellas hands and splashed into Johnathans armor, soaking into the dirt. The proctor glanced in her direction, nearly catching a massive watery blade to the face.At the last second, a wall of earth erupted from the ground before him and blocked the Essence. He let it fall, then shifted his stance. Bella took a step forward and tripped, falling flat on her face as stones bound around her legs.A little luck might be good, Yeo yelled. Metal Dragon Art: Twin Heads!He extended his hand toward the shattered remains of his first kusarigama, narrowing his eyes in concentration. The fragments shuddered, then leapt to his command, reforming into chain links and attaching themselves back to the sickle. Yeo pulled the blade back, spinning the second weapon in his other hand, then sent them both flying at Johnathan.Essence of Metal, eh? Johnathan asked, an earthen shield forming on his left hand. He batted both sickles away. Not used to seeing it used like this. Wouldnt making yourself into an armored warrior like I do with my earth be better?Youre all over the place. I occasionally saw you do something that I would attribute to experience, but then youd blunder it all up. Something tells me youre a solo fighter. Fix that.Bella started to nod, but Johnathan wasnt done.On top of that, theres one major flaw I saw with your fighting style. The boys both had a clear purpose behind their moves. Even though theyre far from masters of their Essence, they both had direction. You feel like youre copying someone elses moves rather than using your own. Keep that up, and youll never advance past Foundling.Johnathans gaze fell on Chance. The boy swallowed.Youre new. Your strikes dont have any Essence real strength behind them. Despite landing several blows on my armor, nothing you did went through. You need to integrate your Essence with your fighting style more. Relying on your opponents aura being too weak isnt going to get you very far. On top of that, your movements are amateurish. Its very clear that youre new.Im sure you feel thrilled about stomping a bunch of unranked Shikari, Yeo said, crossing his arms.Johnathan burst into laughter. Oh, youre a competitive one. Hate losing, do you? Get used to it, boy. You arent the biggest fish in the pond. Now shut up I wasnt done talking.Yeos eyes narrowed, but he closed his mouth with a snap.Your fighting style is overly flashy, but if you cultivated more and put more Essence into your strikes, similar to Chance, theyd likely do a fair amount of damage. Its difficult to keep track of those sickles as they fly around, Johnathan said, tapping his chin. And your technique was surprisingly adequate for someone of your level. Some practice, tighten your moves up a little, and cultivate more you might get decent.Johnathan pointed at Bella. Your progress in cultivation is much farther along its path than I would have expected. If you actually put yourself into it rather than just using some pale mimicries of what are clearly someone elses techniques, youd be a powerful cultivator.He turned his gaze back to Chance. And, as for you, your biggest issue is inexperience. You were asking some very important questions before we started, and your Essence has a lot of potential. Ive never fought something like it not to mention your control over that whip sword is fairly decent for someone who only just started using it.They all stared at him, baffled.Now Im done, Johnathan said.So we passed? Yeo asked.Johnathan snorted. Yes. This was only to determine if you have the ability to keep yourselves alive in the most basic of situations. Id say youve got that, so consider yourselves all Foundling ranked Shikari from this point on. Your teamwork needs some improvement, though.They all grinned at each other. Chance walked back to the practice field and grabbed his urumi from the ground where it had fallen when hed been hit.Dont get too excited, Johnathan said. Youll need your wits about you for the individual rankings. You might have made the bare minimum, but I trust you want to shoot for more than that.You better believe it, Yeo said, thrusting his chin out. And well see just how inefficient my moves are against other people my age. Where do we go for the next part of the exam?Theres around two hours until it starts, Johnathan replied. Itll take place on the other side of the training yard. Dont be late, but youre free to do whatever you want until it starts. Ill be letting Gibson know your updated rankings.
