《glory seeker》 -1 explination @@ i am a new author and plan on making a better book later and i would love informative feedback so that i can make it better when i start doing this seriously please and thank you also, I forgot to include the different element mastery in the world in the world and they''re subcategories (sub cat for short) air higher air (sub cat) mid-air (sub cat) lower air (sub cat) fire higher fire (sub cat) mid fire(sub cat) lower fire(sub cat) earth higher earth (sub cat) mid earth (sub cat) lower earth (sub cat) water higher water (sub cat) mid water (sub cat) lower water(sub cat)@@ 1 Small Beginnings In the catacombs of a bleak forgotten ancient temple seeming to eroded by time, hushed whispers can be heard; permeating throughout rusted mold-ridden walls. "Come grasp me & you will have all the glory & riches beyond your wildest dreams". A shaking hand came from the darkness, to grasp the glowing orb which is etched with unknown symbols; that was the only source of light in the pitch black darkness "I want to be stronger than anyone" ... **************************** [Two days Earlier] Upon the peak of a mountain Layden with snow at its summit, within one of the 13 countries named Zephyr; lays a Shoulin Warrior monk temple. Within that temple, two boys stood parallel to each other on the building''s side. *THUD* The fragile little boy hit the ground; his small frame trembling all over, after hitting the wet muddy ground flat against his spine.This young boy''s name is Tanda Shin. He is well known for being a smart-ass. Having distinctive look about himself; considering his piercing green eyes, pitch black hair & pale complexion which complimented his sharp jawline & handsome features. Although he had a meager frame with his bone clearly visible he dreamed of glory and to be completed in the memory of everyone never forgotten and now he''s in this situation bc he was attempting to converse with the sister of a disciple one rank higher than him *cough* Shin was breathless. Another boy smirkingly smiled at Shin in a taunting manner. "that''s what you get. if i ever see you talking to her again ill kill you, it''s not like anyone would care your own parents didnt want you" Shin then gritted his teeth he knows this is a snake eat snake world where power was absolute and since he was weak he was told to not sully anyone by speaking to them, but none the less Shin smirked back at this boy. He painstakingly lifted himself off the ground & dusted his clothing of the dust and gravel; just before he gave the boy his retort. "At least the temple wanted to keep me NOT paid to put up with me, and last time I checked; your parents left you here too, Runza," Shin said. "they left me so that i may become a great fighter and be remembered for my prowess, You, however, will be forgotten due to your weak disposition, no glory will ever come your way" Runza replied sharply. "I WILL BE REMEMBERED MORE SO THEN YOU EVER WILL JUST YOU WATCH"Shin responded "that''s is something that is unbelievably stupid coming from you since you have been here the longest and are still the weakest only ever making it to mortal class" runza scoffed "Oh but i will and when i do your sister will be the first thing i claim as my own"Shin said as he made gestures with his hands Runza has had enough! How dare this underclassman, treat him as such a minor threat. After consorting with his sister, Runzas face now reddened with rage, he cocked back his arm to land a titanic blow.Shin could feel the intimidating aura bringing him down and braced himself for the impact that he knew his weak body couldn''t take. Luckily to his surprise, it never came. He opens his eyes merely to see runza struggling against an unknown force; a voice rang out from behind shin. "It is prohibited to fight on temple grounds" Shin turned briskly, to see none other than the temples grandmaster; Shu Ken. A 30-year-old man with the majority of his hair gray with few black streaks due to stress. Ken''s eyes were as blue as the water of Pacific and his body looked like that of someone much younger, he can catch on to a lie quicker then a bullet could appear before them. Both boys bowed and apologized immediately, Shin acted quicker however and told the grand master. "I am a well-behaved disciple & Ruza has been picking on me, a poor weak orphan" Shin said through fake yet realistic sobbing The grandmaster looked at runza with burning eyes. A Shiver went up runzas spine;as cold as the sweat that went down his pale face. Only one thought seemed to appear within Ruza''s mind. "This j*ckass of an Actor; he is just as much to blame for our confrontation" Shu began to speak with his voice filled with strict authority & frustration; "How dare you pick on a younger disciple, within my own temple." Runza began to stutter feeling the weight of grandmasters gaze is as if being run over by 76 carriages "bu-bu-but he..." "ENOUGH!" Shu proclaimed sharply. "I need no excuses. You are to go to the training grounds; runza you shall do 50 laps of the perimeter. Since there is an overabundance of energy to bully those of lower rank." Shin smirked while still holding his hands to his teary eyes; thinking this is the best acting he has achieved in a while. A sly chuckle escaped his lip like the hiss of a snake. "That''s what you get you uncultured swine, have fun sweating your heart out beneath the boiling sun," Shin said through his gaze which penetrated runzas head and made him feel like a rush of hot water boiled his skin. runza left within a huff. Shin silently celebrated internally,but he was cut short by getting hitting the top of his head from an enlarged palm causing him to kowtow on the ground. "He''s gone; stop acting like an idiot. You know better than to talk to his sister" Shu smirkingly said knowing those crocodile tears he has used before. "well in actuality she''s the one who tends to seek conversations with me. Besides, you heard what he said that "i will be forgotten" you know how upsetting that is to me". Shin didnt even see him move or get behind him for that matter. Though that is to be expected from the grandmaster; his nickname was "the scarlet blur". That being due to always wearing his favorite crimson red gi which seemed to reflect the light off itself and into the eyes of the enemies as he ran by in a flash to attack them "He was bullying me!" shin exclaimed "Yes, i also heard what you said. Which escalated the situation which caused me to have to step in" shu said while giving Shin a look filled with a condescending attitude. Shin sat silently. He knew he was caught and could do nothing more about it. Shu looked over at him and took pity on him the boy, he released a deep sigh. "hahhhh fine come with me i got something to show you" grandmaster exited the ally and shin closely followed behind curiously after a few minutes they arrived at the grandmaster''s home a type of two-story temple which seemed like of a japanize style temple with the ends of the roof-protruding outward that had a flag on its spike with a lion with a snake tail on it. it was a small organizedroom which lay bare except for a sleeping mat, one table and two mats to sit "sit," the grandmaster said pointing at the brown pillow shin took a seat and waited after a short while the grandmaster sat across from him with a box made from a very elegant and expensive wood carved with the etching of a dragon on it in hand and placedit in front of the shin and said "open it" shin quickly opened the box elated at what he found two daggers blood red in color that seems to glow in the light they looked a bit heavy but shin didnt mind he was happy just to look at themagnificent blades "where did you get these" shin exclaimed awestruck by the craftsmanship of the blades they had two dragons with ruby eyes on the hilt as well as slightly curved blades which seemed to bend light "a wandering trader from the luthandor was passing by and i saw his wears i decided to buy them they cost me a pretty penny im might add," shu said looking at the boy jump with joy at the sight of the blades" they are called the crimson dragons do you like them?" "THESE ARE AWESOME" shin said loudly "then they are yours," Shu said while nodding his head "really?" Shin said with an inexplicableamount of joy coming off of him " yes on one condition," said shu holding up one finger "what is it I''ll do anything" Shin jumped at the thought of gaining this "you must defeat me in a spare one on one barehanded"Shu stated plainly 2 the wager "huh" shin said blankly not believing what he just heard, did he really hear that?!?! survive was only a mortal rank and couldn''t beat runza who is a lower type and let alone the strongest fighter/mage in the temple who is a higher fire rank an he is to spar with me?? all of this made it feel as if a bucket of ice- water was dropped on Shin''s head. "huuuuuuuuuuuh?!?!?!?" he yelled in disbelief "let me continue "i will not use full power and i will be restricted to physical attack no magic since you only know how to heal minor injuries and make a small ball of energy, only technique. I''ll be honest you''ve been here a long time and frankly, you haven''t been the most remarkable disciple nor the most well behaved " shu sent a glare his way sending shivers down shins spines "but" shu continue "if you were to defeat me even if i was holding back they may see you in a much different light you see?" shin felt the weight of the fact that he truly had no choice and he did want to be remembered so why not be known for beating the grandmaster. "how long do i have to prepare?" shin said "one-month" shu replied "only a month? you want me to get better than you in a month?!?!?" shin screamed "would you rather it be a day? " shu glared one eyebrow raised "no no no a month is fine" shin replied quickly "very well then you are to leave here tonight" "huuuuh? why today?" shin said worriedly "because i think you need time away from the temple" shu said while walking to the door "....yeah that''s fair" shin sulked "i want you to go gather the things you leave at sundown, and a word of advice, don''t be so nonchalant about everything you may get into trouble, also be sure to stay hidden when you, train," shu said while opening the door for shin ''damn party pooper'' shin whispered "WHAT WAS THAT?" "NOTHING GOT TO GO BYEEE" shin made a swift exit and shu smirked as he heard the rushed footsteps *** tandas room he began to gather all the equipment he might need and want for the journey clothes, water, food, etc and began to ponder his course of action "i don''t really know where to go in terms of training and since i have a map I''ll try to figure it out" Shin began to prep to leave when he heard a knock at the door when he went to opened it he saw the grandmasters messager a short man with green hair and brown eyes named Jin" the guild master has asked that you be careful because the beasts have been acting strange lately" "what do you mean strange?" Shin raised an eyebrow questionably "I don''t know he just said they just avoid a certain part of the forest and suggests you steer clear from it, also to go somewhere secluded to train where no one will bother you," Jin said shrugging "ok I''ll do that then," Shin said jin left and with that shin began his journey as he passed the gate to the temple and waved to the guild master the words "be safe Shin" rang out in Shu''s head before leaving down the mountain seeing the sun as it goes down as he descended it turned to night and the bitter cold started nipping at his heels and he began to think "if he was so worried why did he send me this very night with no godd*amn warning and why did he look so sad?" he continued on his way and set up camp along a stream he found where he fished and started a fire with some dry twigs he found he began to stretch and made himself some food he then decided to go to sleep so he set up his tent next to the biggest tree he could find, which was thick enough to make him go around it to fasten his tent to make sure its sturdy and went to sleep "I''ll become stronger for those knives shu and you can''t stop me" he smirked and fell asleep dreaming of holding those knives and how he would become so much stronger *** two hours pass shin was awoken by a loud crash in his camp he began to wonder "am i getting my stuff stolen by raccoons??" so he stepped outside with a pan in his hand to scare away any unwanted guests "scram no good little s*its" he screamed only to find three 6ft tall water wolves stare back at him with killing intent shin damn near p*ssed himself at the sight they all looked at him and lunged at him with its huge claws, but Shin was quick on his feet and dodged but in horror saw the huge tree behind him snap like a twig under the force of its huge paws, and began to run deep into the forest not looking back it was as if he could feel the claws about to touch the back of his neck so he made quick turn one of the wolves had tried to flank him by the left but shin jumped over it and hit a tree and snapping it in two with its weight a "holy shit" escaped his lips and continued to run like a bat out of hell "s*it s*it s*it son of a w*ore " Shin why trying to think what to do about the situation when suddenly they stopped chasing shin looked behind still running wondering why they stopped when he felt his foot hit the air and was propelled downward into a huge hole the size of a football field Shin fell far and hard into the hole and was knocked out by a rock to the head leaving him unconscious *** 6 hours later Shin awoke feeling his head pounding with pain as he heard a soothing ancient voice calling out to him beckoning him closer Though the pitch black darkness " come closer child come closer" He began to follow the voice but could not stand he had broken his leg on the fall he even saw the bone sticking out. he looked around he could barely see anything but where he sat which was eliminated by moonlight. luckily he found a stick and crawled his way near it he grabbed it and ripped a piece of his pants off then moved around to a pile of rocks near his body and grabbed the biggest one he could find and he went to work he moved his body against a wall and began to best the bone back into his leg. *thwack* "aghhhhhh" *Thwack* "aghhhhhhhh" The bone was barely out now and shin only needed one more hit but the pain was so overwhelming he began to fatigue and lose his consciousness but a single memory rang out and made him resolute to survive ********end chapter******* 3 i will have glory in the temple, a teary-eyed boy stood near the grand master with bruises on his face "what happened?"shu asked in a soothing tone but anger present in his voice "the other kids said that I''m so weak im better off being forgotten and that my parents left me here and forgot me because of I''m weak" the boy cried "all of you only pity me and nothing else you all hate me and think im weak" the boy sobbed the grandmaster was taken aback by the boy after a few moments of silence he sat next to the boy and said do you seek to be remembered? the boy looked up from his hands slowly "do you seek to be looked up too?"shu continued the boy nodded his head and the man proclaimed "then what you seek is glory so that people may mention you glory of a difference you made if you want to always be remembered" he looked at the boy in the eyes now "then seek glory" the boy sat there stunned at what he just heard and so he thought that this was true for one to be remembered you need glory "then i will find glory and become great and everyone will love me" the boy wore a smile ear to ear. the grand master chuckled and replied"settle down settle down, for now, you have to survive to be there when the chance is there ok "the boy sat down "...o..ok" a smile appeared on shu''s lips "just promise you will stay alive to remember me ok?" *** shins eyes shot open now filled with energy and one sentence repeated again and again "i will find glory no matter what" and with that, he hit his leg with the stone once more the bone crackled into place and shin put the stick next to his leg and tighten the broken piece of shirt around the leg and stick then used healing magic to stop the bleeding although it will only hold back the blood flow and not fully heal the leg and used an energy orb to light the room it was then he heard it a whisper coming from the darkness again and it said "come to me and you will find what you seek, come here my child" it seemed to come from a corner of the room shin got up and began to follow the voice into an opening across the room with some difficulty due to his leg down a passageway with one hand on the wall supporting his walking and as he walked the whispers got closer and closer shin couldn''t explain it he felt like he needed to go toward it and the whisper continued to beckon him closer until the passage opened up into an ancient city with roman type pillars and houses he continued on longer walking across the whole city before appearing in front of a catacomb where he could see a small glowing blue light which seemed to be the source of the whisper and it said "if you grasp me all you want will belong to your power, money, glory, it will be yours you need only grasp me" the orb flickered it blue base shining, but filled with the strange etchings all over it shin shivered with excitement at the mere mention of the word glory, to be remembered shin went the orb and grabbed it with a shivering hand he brought it closer "vrrrrrrr'' it began to vibrate and found that it was turning into liquid and entering every pore of his body causing him to shake violently and feel immense pain the orb was completely in his body at this moment and shin began to run away trying to escape the pain but he fell to the ground hit his head and knocked himself unconscious *** 2 hours later shin woke up again scanned around the landscape and remarked "how many times can i hit my head in the same cave d*mn it" he got up and found something weird his leg has completely healed no scar, wound no nothing as if it was never there in the first place he then began to notice he could see clearer in the darkness than before this was all very weird to him he was dumbfounded by this development he was beginning to think it a dream until he heard a soothing voice "assimilation complete subject survived operation magical affinity, body, mind, regeneration enhanced commencing the introduction I am #1 the prototype of the people known as the power mongersstate your name in order to enter it into the database" "where the f*ck did that come from????" shin looked around trying to find the source "i am prototype#1 i am connected to your cerebral cortex please state your name," it said coldly shin didnt know what to do so he just stated his name just to see what would happen "name tanda shin is now in the database now commencing information exchange i am prototype #1 i was made to enhance human capabilities beyond the normal standard in order to create better warriors and i have melded with your body and now we are linked forever i have already enhanced you" shins head was spinning with awe and confusion he thought he may have gone crazy but he saw that he was healed and his vision was enhanced so, in other words, this thing is telling the truth and he just hit a jackpot "what did you do to my body?" shin asked it while feeling a new sense of hope it responded promptly "i have enhanced your vision, your musculature, as well as your mind and will affect your psychology " "my phycology?" shin wonders what that would mean going forward but for now that was not at the forefront of his mind so he decided to focus on what''s happening now "ok well what can i do now?" shin asked "well why don''t you try it out" it replied 4 IsM ALMOST OU shin began to wonder what he could do with these"enhancements " so he began to put them to the test and began to run, jump, punch to test his power and he found the he can run at three times the speed he used to as well as jump high enough to hit the stalagmites of the cave which was at least 10 feet high after that he began to crush rocks with his bare hands with one punch as well as his grip but his appearance has not changed "why am i still the same?" shin said and he heard a response "in order to safely make your body bigger food is required in order to convert into muscle" well he got his answer and now shin began to wonder if he could get out of this damn hole so he asked "can i jump out of here?" he said looking at the jump in front of him which was at least 20 feet high "affirmative," it said mechanically shin was relieved but then the system said something else "but the food is needed first" shin frowned and looked around to see nothing but empty cave so he went back to the ruins to see ifhe could get any so he began to walk around in hopes of finding something to eat the system intervened with the search "it will benefit you more to eat something you kill as you can convert its abilities or abilities it has seen into your own," it said shin was interested in this development and decided to try he found a rat and killed it with nothing but his grip although effective he was left with just mushed rat so he tried again and this time didnt crush it and ate it then heard the system *1/10 rats eaten*" please continue and after completing the requirements you may leave the hole" shin felt weird it was like his biology was slowly changing over time with the systems help although he had to eat rats for it "ok then rat diet it is" he began to slaughter rats everywhere he went in the abandoned kingdom of dust *** 30 minutes later "10/10 rats eaten you now have met the requirements, "the system said right after he killed the last rat shin felt different his body changed too he was slightly more beefy which made him look and feel stronger now he felt energy coursing through his veins like wildfire he was ready for war without question this system was amazing to usehe began to walk back to the center of the hole to get out in his way he found a book it was a spell book!! these were rare not many could afford than in their lifetime and even then there was no guarantee to learn from it shin picked it up and began scrolling through the pages turns out the whole book was for one spell *earth manipulation* while shin was reading through he saw its an earth level skill and heard the system say "would you like to learn the spell" shin was awestruck again he couldn''t believe it he could learn this spell right now?!?! it said it could move mountains if you learn it right he quickly said yes and the system responded "ok beginning cultivation of spell" it beeped in response shin began to feel a pleasant glow come off his body as he felt the information enter his mind in droves he understood it all the theories the incantations everything it was a wealth of knowledge enters him like a wave and then suddenly it stopped "system could not cultivate fully due to requirements not being met the spell cannot be cultivated fully" shin was confused what were the requirements he had to reach in order to cultivate such a spell? as if reacting to his thoughts the system responded "need to kill 50 mid earth type creatures to gain complete efficiency " "50 mid-EARTH TYPE?!!??" damn that was a steep price to pay the way creatures were ranked is like this air (higher air, mid-air, lower air) fire(higher fire, mid fire, lower fire) earth (higher earth, mid-earth, lower earth) water (higher water, mid-water, lower water) mortal the elements are equal but it depends on mastery like if you were a lower fire then you could shoot fireballs mid fire, however, could condense them into arrows and shin couldn''t begin thank what a higher fire could doI am a mortal type which means this needs me to kill things two levels above me of an element i have never controlled what does this think i am i could even beat one of the wolves who were lower water types"how do i get stronger" shin asked the system and the system replied "eat animals that are stronger then you and i will incorporate their DNA into your own. alternative ways are learning skills in battle or spells though books as well as practicing skills already obtained in order to boost proficiency in that skill" shin was very very happy about this because it meant he could get stronger a lot faster than before as well as learn something new quicker meaning he would not need a month to fight grandmaster he could go down in the history of the temple with this and maybe even be heard of outside the temple as well now shin continued to the opening of the cavern with an extra skip in his step because of this new information and now he was ready to get out of this god damn hole of ancient relics and look towards the sun once more 5 high jump "Finally" Shin thought when he saw the sunlight penetrating the bleak darkness of the cave indicating where the exit is. he walked to it and asked the system "i can make this jump right?" Shin said one eyebrow raised high "affirmative" the system responded Shin prepared to leap getting down in a squatting position with one hand on the floor, braced his muscles for the push he closed his eyes and jumped hard feeling the floor crack like a spider web under him, it took him a second to open his eyes but when he did he saw the outside he had got out of the hole!! but now he was falling and didnt know how to land, luckily the system seemed to make him automatically brace for impact and he landed on his two feet "Awesome" Shin screamed happily before attempting to take a step and falling to the ground face first before hearing themessage from the system "Body power output exceeded the time needed to recovery 02:00:00" "g*d. f*cking d*mn it" he said weakly pain rippling throughout his body no choice but to wait ******************************************* back at the temple the grandmaster Shu is standing on the second floor of his home in the room with the blades wondering what shin is doing right now when he gets a message from lin who rushed into his room with utmost urgency "GRANDMASTER!" jin said gasping for air sweating like he was in a marathon with pleading eyes he continued "TH-THE KINGDOM OF LUTHOR HAS BEEN DESTROYED" the grandmaster stood there stunned how could this be?!?!? the kingdom has been there for hundreds of year and protected our beliefs and our practices, it even pardoned the grandmaster of his sins in war times andnow his enemies would have nothing holding them back what was he to do he couldn''t endanger his students his enemies might already be on the way here he pondered for a moment and with sulking expression said "immediately commence evacuation using emergency scrolls everyone must get out of here ill hold them off while you do so" "but what about shin," jinsaid worriedly looking to the bottom of the mountain "I''ll go get him," said the grandmaster "ill bring him here and evacuate him too i will not forget him, i promised i would not," he said looking to the distance with determination in his eyes ***************************** "time to regeneration 00:00:00 regeneration complete " "finally i can move again," shin thought while waving his arm in the air and stretching all his limbs andfeeling his stomach rumble loudlyhe remembered that he hadn''t eaten since the rats in the cave so he decided to find a real meal "let''s see what we got then," he said scanning his surroundings for any sign of life in his vicinity after a quick look around he found a boar with huge tusks behind a tree about 5 yards away the system beeped and called out "target for nourishment spotted going into attack mode" the system stated suddenly Shin felt his body go into a super focused mode where time itself seem to slow to a crawl but to Shin, he was walking at a normal pace in his view Shin was baffled by this "what is this" Shin asked the system looking around the world around him "attack mode enhances fighting ability by 100% can only be used when needed to survive "the system responded "ok then," Shin said with a grin bubbling up from his gut knowing how strong this could make himas he ran at the boar full speed he closed the gap in seconds and attacked the boar but time seemed to speed up quickly and the boar ran but shin pounced on it before snapping its neck with a resounding "crack" coming from it and panting from exertion of body that felt like never before and asked the system "why did time speed up?!?!" "entering attack mode overclocks the brain and causes fatigue, therefore, you are only able to use it for 5 minutes for now until cultivation essence is acquired " the system explained "what is cultivation?" Shin asked " it is the training required to be able to upgrade skills as well as obtain them and enhance the body" "how do I get it?" he said while picking up the boar and walking to find his camp "unknown needs more information" the system responded "where do i find it?" "unknown" Shin was getting annoyed he couldn''t get stronger without this "cultivation essence" but he had no idea where to find it or where to get it, and unless he finds it he can''t put things into motion "well there''s nothing I can do" Shin shrugged, and began looking for his camp when he heard something begin to growl behind him. *******end chapter****** 6 new abilitys? ******start****************** "good luck grandmaster," the attendant at the gate said as he waved goodbye at shu''s back disappearing down the mountain away from the temple grounds "Hope he is still alive" Shu uttered in a half-joking manner he was worried about his disciple since he was the weakest of the bunch of them in the beginning, and up until now that still rings true where normal disciple could defeat 1 water type at least, but he has trouble with mortal type monster but there''s one thing he has that the others don''t determination and an attitude that even to those stronger than him by leaps and bounds couldn''t match. if there is one thing he has its resilience and a fire in his eyes when he wants something, and Shu respected that because he saw himself in his eyes. a boy with something to prove. "just stay alive.....if you can. just a bit longer please," Shu said with sadness welling up inside "please Shin" *********************************** meanwhile Shin felt a shiver down his spine hearing the snarl from behind him "enemies inbound" "yeah i f*cking noticed," Shin said turning to face the three water type wolves from yesterday, they were standing all around him each blocking his exit routes "escape without injury impossible" the system analyzed the situation coldly shin was s*iting himself at this moment and didnt know what to do and but the system rang out "Suggested action use the boar to distract targets" Shin was angry about this development since he was sooo damn hungry~ but nows, not the time to think about that, and knowing his predicament tossed the boar across the way distracting two of the wolves except the leader Shin began to run and the leader gave chase into the forest ***************** Shu has just made it down the mountain "haven''t been down here in a while" Shu scanned his surroundings to check for any sign of where Shin went, but for now he would just aimlessly walk through the forest while thinking of his memories with shin and how many times he has to save Shins from bullies, pissed off brothers, as well as bear when he played with her cub, and let out a wry chuckle "doesn''t matter if your animal or human that boy pissed of everyone" Shi shook his head " oh well even then his still like a little brother to me" Shu grinned "Don''t worry Shin your brothers on his way" Shu began to walk a bit faster ******************** Shin was still running with the wolf hot on his tail no matter how many twists and turns he made he couldn''t escape it somehow it always found him "F*cking a" shin could feel it getting closer with every second and was thinking in his head "I found a way to get stronger and now i die???? this is bulls*it" he was still running but felt somethingclick in his head "Entering combat stance" when the system finished this sentence Shins body moved on its own and he was in a battle ready stance, the wolf took a leap at Shin which shin responded with ducking under while landing a blow to the body of the wolf "Did i just do that?"he said looking at the wolf also get on guard, Shin noticed its movements seem slower, and his own was faster by a large margin. He was so engrossed in thought didnt notice the fact that the wolf was ready to attack and swiped at him with feral intensity just barely whizzing past his head as he quickly sidestepped out the way but in his moment of confusion got a deep gash on his arm he stepped back and asked the system "Can I beat it?" "Affirmative but an external instrument needed to dispose of the target" the system promptly responded and Shin immediately assumed the "external instrument" was some type of weapon so he quickly scanned his surroundings, he quickly picked up a log and bashed it against the wolf''s head With a loud "crack" he saw his weapon snap in two, although it broke it did leave the wolf in a dazedstate he quickly took another look around and found a large rock and gripped it and began to hit the wolf violently with it "THWACK" the first hit landed and created a slight dribble of blood from the wolf''s head "THWACK" the second it seemed to turn the dribble into a flow "THWACK" with this the beast seemed to stop moving bur Shin was not convinced and continued to whale on the monster of an animal "THWACK" THWACK" THWACK" after three more hits he saw that the beast''s head has turned to mush, it was dead Shin let out a sigh of relief before the system said "Congratulations on killing lower water type wolf behemoth" "I did it?!?!?" Shin was stunned he killed a wolf water type Shin has never beaten a water type in his life no matter how much he trained he was elated with the fact that he did this, he was more confident with himself about the duel now but the sad thing was he was still dying of hunger and the system said "In order to gain its skill and power eat your kill and be upgraded to water type" Shin heard this and thought about how he never thought he would make it to water type in his lifetime but here he is with a system telling him that just from eating this one creature he would progress to the next level right now! " If you say so," Shin said with hungry eyes looking at the corpse of the wolf and picked it up to try to make a fire and the system stopped him "If you cook it nothing will be gained by eating it, it must be ingested raw" "Why?" Shin said with a confused expression "In order to process its skills its brain must remain intact and cooking will contaminate it" Shin shrugged and sulked, there was nothing he could do he wanted power so he began to chow down on the raw wolf **********end chapter****** 7 new progress ********************** shu having just looked around wondering where the hell this disciple could be "damn it, Shin, where are you," shu said gritting his teeth the sound of distant wolves howl *********************** Shin is sitting on a log while picking at his teeth with a stick he found while looking at the wolfs bones when he heard a beep from his ear "body acclimation engaged samples needed for next transformation 2 mid water type" Shin then felt his body begin to glow like a light bulb and he felt as if things were moving under his skin while the light grew with intensity "body acclimation complete" Shin felt his whole body and the first thing he felt was his muscles, they were much more defined and he was slightly taller as well but what was really important was the next thing said by the system "accessing wolf memory....skill found: water blade lower water type skill" Shin was floored he got a skill?!?!? just like that?!??! and it was a spell type skill at that "how did this wolf get this attack," Shin asked the system while jumping giddily at what he just got with a smile ear to ear "This wolf witnessed this skill in its lifetime and the skill was fresh in its mind so it could be extracted, "the system said Shin didnt really care he was so happy that he finally had a skill but the system rang out again cutting his joy short "one essence of cultivation need to unlock skill"the words of the system killed Shin''s mood causing him to become angry and scream at the system "HOW IN THE F*CK DO I GET THE ESSENCE OF CULTIVATION?!?!?!" Shin shouted at the top of his lungs but stopped when he heard a bush moving he looked at the bush and grabbed a rock and began to put up his guard "Shin you idiot I''ve looked everywhere for yo-" Shu''s words were cut shorthe looked at shin then the wolf then back at shin then back and forth and looked to shin as if to say "did you kill that and Shin looked him in the eyes and say what he wanted to ask as if he had just said it verbally "I''m the one who killed it," Shin said his chest puffed out due to his pride swelling up insidebut tried to act cool at the same time in order toact like it was nothing the grandmaster was stumped and dumbfounded '' how can a mortal defeat a water type monster???'' shu shook his head no that''s not important right now " Shin, we have to evacuate the temple the kingdom of Luthor has fallen and we need to go find safety we will go to the temple and pick up some supplies and then we are leaving stay with some allies to the north " shu said with urgency "understood" Shin knew of these enemies because he knew shu the best out of anyone and he knew they would slaughter the temple and everyone in it to get to shu "let us go now, while we still breathe," shu said while walking back in the direction of the temple Shin followed close behind but they were stopped in their tracks when they heard a voice in the woods "did you really think you could hide forever old friend"Shin watched as all the color drained from shu''s face " RUN NOW" shin shouted with cold sweat dripping from every pore he sent the forest ablaze, grabbed shins hand and ran fast and far "YOU CAN RUN OLD FRIEND BUT YOU CAN''T HIDE" the voice boomed out behind them ******************* at the base of the temple shin and shu panted as they began to ascend the stairs leading to the temple but not before shu cast a spell called *all-encompassing firewall* which surrounded the temple in order to buy them time to escape when they made it to the temple they noticed there was a ghost-like quiet in the temple everyone was gone shu felt like shedding tears ''all my life''s work gone'' shu knelt to the ground defeated as he wept when he felt a warmth on his shoulder, Shin, grabbed his shoulder and began to console shu "grandmaster what you have achieved no one will ever forget ill make sure" Shin said with eyes filled with sympathy shu wiped his tears away while standing up silently before saying "Shin come with me" "yes grandmaster " shin responded ************* at the base of the temple, four people stood waiting for the fire to die down in order to pass their figures blurred by the fire ************** shu and shin arrive at their destination shu''s home "who is attacking," Shin asked while looking at Shu''s back in a curious voice "the four great sages" shu said in a passive tone while preparing everythingthey would need "THE four great sages are attacking us?!?!?!" shin was thrown through a loop the four great sages are the only other people other then grandmaster to attain the rank of a high master of an element in order to become a high element master it took a life for any given person master was the youngest to attain it and his is already 45 "why are they after you?" shin asked his thoughts flareing like a wildfire "no time to explain take these" he gave shin the box containingthe blades from before "keep them on you at all times after this ok" shu said shin was elated to have them "shin there is only one scroll left take it" shu tried to hand him a scroll "no im not leaving you here" Shin said with determaned eyes he would never leave his friend behind he was his only family "Shin there is no time take it" "NO" shin now screamed "fine" shu knew how hard-headed shin was and knew that he couldn''t stop him or change his mind shu looked down the mountain "the flame has gone out" shu said worried and began to hurry out of the room and was now in the courtyard parallel to the gate when it swung open "bam" something punched the door open "Shin," the grandmaster said"what" shin replyed "remember me," shu said putting the scroll to shins chest activating it with sorrow his blue eyes as he closed them "NO!" shin screamed but it was too late he was already in it "goodbye shin" the last words the grandmaster said 8 I WILL GET STRONGER In the kingdom of medtron, the King aceton, and his advisers in black robes sit in a room with lavish decorations with golden dragons atop 4 pillars surrounding a seal with many runes and await the arrival of grandmaster Shu. Shu would help them protect themselves for the war to come with the 4 grandmaster mages. "My King" One of the advisers spoke up. "What if the grandmaster decided to run to a far corner of the world, and forget of us." The adviser spoke with worry present in his voice. "If he so pleased he could leave us high and dry." The King spoke. "You dare doubt those who i trust?" The King boomed. His eyes so filled with malice. If looks could kill, then this adviser would have just been annihilated from one look. The adviser shivered violently and stepped back as far as he could. In order to not face the wrath of the King "He will come" The King stated while putting his eyes back on the seal. "Vrrrrrrr" The runes began to vibrate. A bright light appeared before the King and his men. "There he is now," The King said as he began to walk toward the light with arms open to welcome his friend, and war buddy, the light was dissipating now. "always the dramatic one somethings never change" but when he got to the light a body landed in his hands, but not that of grandmaster shu, but of a young boy with green eyes and black hair. He was in the nude except for some blades around his waist. "Mhhmmm" Shin began to open his eyes. Shin looked up to see a man in his late 40s holding him like an infant, and was about to ask what was going on when Shin realized "what the- way am i naked??you shameless person taking advantage of me in this state!" shin screamed and smacked him while he jumped off the man''s arms. "Hey!" the king exclaimed that didn''t hurt, but the more present thought in his mind was. ''what do you mean shameless? how dare he say that to me? I''ve never done anything shameless he''s the one who is running around naked.'' the king was distraught. "how dare he say that to the king?!?!?!" one of the advisers exclaimed. "such insolence" another scoffed. "he should be killed." "who are you? where am i? where is grandmaster Shu? what have you done to him?" shin shouted while holding the dagger out, it was then the king noticed ''those daggers aren''t they?'' he thought when shin let out another shout and ran at the king dagger in hand. Shin lunged at the king with full force, but the king dodged the boy''s dagger and grabbed the hand holding the dagger. He flipped the boy over, taking the blade from his hand. "It is isn''t it wow he finally found one worthy huh," the king said taking a closer look at the blade, Shin didn''t stop though, he began attempting to kick the back of the man''s legs, but couldn''t even make them budge as they were hard as steel, "agh" Shin exclaimed after hitting his legs, the pain didnt stop him, however, as Shin then jumped up and tried to stab at the Kings eye, but he was restrained by three guards wearing black armor. while being held down he couldn''t move an inch against the guards restraining him. the King came to down to Shin''s face looking at him deading the eyes and sighed ''he always did do the most difficult things''. "Calm down kid think sometimes warping messes with the brain when you are not ready for it, the King said in a calming voice " i mean you no harm" the King gestured to the guards holding Shin and they loosed their grip on him allowing him to stand. "I''m a friend of Shu''s and you have no need to fear me ok my name is Aceton Leon what is yours," the King said while he gave shin his blood red cape. " M-my name is Tanda Shin," Shin said in a scared tone while he slowly got up and covered himself with the cape given to him." What happened?" The King asked with worry in his voice " Where is Shu?" the King asked Shin in a calm voice. "I-i don''t know the last thing I remember was him and I standing in the temple ready to face someone, and...then he said he teleported me here without me knowing by placing the scroll to my chest," Shin said looking down with sorrow filled eyes as he slowly remembered what happened to the grandmaster. "WAIT HE IS STILL THERE THE TEMPLE! HE CANT BEAT THEM BY HIMSELF I MUST GO BACK " Shin shouted the King asked "Who???" "The four grandmasters" Shin replied. Everything stopped the King and the advisers as well as the guards all stopped and felt a chill up their spines and they''re blood run cold, the King began to speak "Stop..." "What?" Shin responded the King looked with eyes now serious and focused. "Did the grandmaster give you these blades?" the King asked while he stared directly into Shin''s eyes. "Yes," Shin stared back dumbfounded at the atmosphere after he mentioned the 4 grandmasters. "then its too late he is already dead and gone, "the king said with a painful expression "no! he can''t be I was just with him! if i go back now i can help him get away" "STOP" the king''s voice boomed he once again looked shin in the eyes. " it has been 2 hours since then" the king said "No i was just with him how could it have been that long-" the king cut him off " it takes two hours to get here from the temple with the scroll and even if it did what would you do against one grandmaster let alone four of them you would be like an ant in front of a bear" the king said coldly "But-" Shin stopped. He realized what had happened he realized that there was nothing he could do. would have been trouble for the grandmaster even if he stayed. he felt so weak, his legs felt like jelly, as he fell to the ground. the King caught him with his arm and sat him down "He really is gone." Shin felt a sense of sadness well up from within like never before. he could barely squeak the choked up word out of his mouth. "He is gone but you live on." Shin looked up at the King as he said those words "And frankly your the one who is gonna save us from war since your the one he chose for it" The King grinned "w-what do you mean im too weak to do anything against anyone." Shin was sobbing at this point "Not at the moment no" the King said "But soon enough you will be very strong" the King grinned happily at what he discovered. "What makes you so sure?" Shin muttered looking at the king with eyes red from sobbing. "these do," the King said holding the blades in his hand "You see grandmasters have a custom that not many people know of" the King continued with a smile from ear to ear What''s that?"Shin was interested if his master had left him something in the blades. "When a grandmaster gives you his weapon you become his one and only student because he has, and will train you. because he saw something in you and i plan on finding out what." the King said as he stood up and held a hand out to Shin. He wanted to cry more than ever now ''Did the grandmaster really have that much trust in me and my ability is that way or'' suddenly a memory came back to him it was the grandmaster saying"just promise you will stay alive to remember me ok?" those words rang out in Shin''s head. making it even more difficult to stop the tears already flowing. the King stood there awaiting shin, suddenly Shin stood silently, and grasped the King''s hand. " I will honor and memory and bring glory to his name." "Good," the king said. 9 water logged "Good you have a nice head on your shoulders I like people like you" The King grinned while smacking Shins back in a hardy manner, while Shin rubbed his sore back the king turned around, He held shins hand in the air in a triumphant manner while facing the advisers "THIS IS THE DISCIPLE OF SHU AND HE WILL BE TREATED AS A GUEST OF HIGHEST HONOR!" the King screamed at the top of his lungs at the advisors across the chamber which spanned about 50 feet wide only illuminated by torches, Shin was dumbfounded by this change ''Is this man bipolar?'' Shin thought "Shin is it? by the looks of it, Shu never got around to properly training you so in honor of my friend I will be you master henceforth" The King said while shaking Shin''s hands vigorously " now then follow me" the King said with an authoritative voice as if he was a teacher Shin was taken aback by this man''s changing emotions, and couldn''t tell what he would do next. they went to a large stone door. the advisors also followed behind closely worry of Shin''s appearance and of what will become of him. The King opened the door and there was a stairway leading up to a light at the end and they both began to walk up to it together. "How do you know shu," The King asked while keeping his eyes on the end of the stairway. "He is the- he was the grandmaster of the temple that took me in as a child," Shin said with pain in his eyes, and a stutter in his voice. He could feel the tears about to make an appearance once again. "He was my only family" Shin looked to the ground pensively as if holding back a dam of emotion that could break at any moment. the king slowed his steps "Would you like to know how I met him?" Shin looked up and stared at the King and nodded. "When I was in my 20s before I was King, I was in the army which opposed Shu''s army. I was part of an operation of which, the objective was to evacuate the civilians in wartime, and we were attempting to evacuate everyone we could, but we were slow and left a girl behind. We loaded the civilians into the truck, and i went back to the burning rubble to find the girl. I busted into the house and began to look for the girl everywhere. When the roof caved in, and to my surprise, I was not crushed by the rubble. Instead, the girl fell into my hands from the second floor. When I looked up to the sky above i saw that the fire seemed to burn a hole in the rubble perfectly, and I was so shocked by this i forgot to move, I felt something pull my shirt collar and take me out of the house it was none other than your grandmaster." Shin was in awe. the story the king told of his grandmaster''s empathy and bravery was amazing, but the King continued "Even though he was an enemy and had no business saving our people. He was the one the burned a hole in the roof, and pulled me out, and saved my life. I never forgot that kindness" The King and Shin reached the top of the stairway, and brought him out to the light which hurt Shin''s eyes causing him to cover them "Because of that man, I had the chance to attain grandmaster status, and bring my country out of wartime, and build all of this" Shin''s eyes adjusted to the light and he looked at the King. who was grinning wide and looked forward at the world in front of him "Woah..." Shin was awestruck. "Welcome to medtron," The King said with one hand over the balcony facing the thriving metropolis. The whole city was on the water! The buildings floated, and the people got around by boats and some even had trained monsters to ride on. It looked like Venice and Atlantis had a lovechild, and amazingly it seemed to still be moving on the water on the back of some gigantic creature. "What is that thing holding the city up?" Shin looked at the beyond huge beast holding up the whole city"That is mine his name is Triton. He is a grandmaster water beast we keep him under us in order to ward off sea monsters. We tamed him when he was young so he is docile enough" "Enough? what do you mean enough?" Shin asked worried " Just don''t piss him off," the King said blankly "Come, Shin, we have much to do" the King called on Shin to follow " What is this place?" Shin asked closely following the King "I already told you medtron, the most advanced water-based civilization in the world we boast the best fish as well as healers. We are a passive country, but we have plenty of offensive capability as well" The King said every word with pride suddenly a buoyant carriage appeared in front of them. "We will talk about this on the way get in." The King gestured to the carriage with some type of magic runes keeping it buoyant even with the gold it was covered in, Shin sat in the lavish carriage. And the king sat across from him. "Go where?"Shin asked with a raised eyebrow and tilted head " The palace we will arrive shortly" The King then said, "Shin there we will train you." 10 Weird people After a short ride on the carriage. They come to a stop in front of the palace. The huge palace was beautifully made and ordained with the pillars holding up the entrance being studded with pearls and clam shells. There were huge statues of different sea monsters and animals. Ranging from a starfish to a shark to something akin to the Kraken in its figure. "We have arrived," The King said with a jovial tone and toothy smile. Shin was entranced in the extravagance of the palace. He looked at the front there were over 50 windows and there were these amazing lifelike etchings in the stone. "You can get out you know?" The King said. In his gawking at the palace he failed to notice that he hadn''t left the carriage. Shin sheepishly exited the carriage and began to walk with the King while gawking at the passing grandeur. As they walked the King asked," what do you see." the King pointed to himself his beard reaching his chest. his face chiseled with a strong jawline, and long wavy hair. "The King?" Shin responded wondering why he asked "Yes. a King but i was once a commoner as well as a soldier." The King began to explain" before i was King this Kingdom was land bound and had many wars torn places. because the original king cared not for the people. senseless war after war and I was sick of it. but there was nothing I could do and I was weak." they entered the palace at this point and shin could see the huge dome roof with all types of paintings on it and they stood in the middle. "what did you do?" Shin asked curiously. "I began to train. train harder than ever before i trained till i was bloody and bruised. I became stronger and when i attained enough strength I defeated the King and his corrupt men" The King said with a puffed chest of pride. Shin was dazzled and amazed." but i didnt do it alone. you see the last grandmaster took a liking to me and trained me to seek justice. i wouldn''t have any of this if not for him." "The King looked to the side reminiscing but quickly snapped back to reality. "And you Shin shall also receive training from a grandmaster, and access to the studies you need to progress" They began walking again down a hallway. "you see without being taught you really can''t progress correctly. i will be your mentor but not your teacher just yet." they slowed down in front of a door and the grandmaster opened it to reveal a man with 3 other students sitting in a room "she will be your first teacher." there was a little girl with blue eyes, short hair and a bow in her hair."her name is Monsoon and sh-" a loud clap can be heard the little girl had snuck up behind the King and hit him in the head witha stool breaking it in the process "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT INTERRUPTING LESSONS?" She screamed at the King with a roar. "and she has a bit of a temper" the King said spiting splinters out of his mouth. Shin was stunned. The little girl walked up to him and looked him over. "Who''s this statue?" "The girl said "Monsoon he is your new student" The King responded with a jovial . "really? well im happy to have you. The names Monsoon" the girl put out her hand to shake Shins. after a moment Shin put his hand to her''s. "My names Shin." Shin said still taken aback from her actions. "nice to meetcha." monsoon said as she turned around to face the King and said" What did I say about interrupting lessons didn''t i say not to interrupt your son''s training? And where did this new student come from?" "Calm down i didnt come here to ruin my son''s training again i just wanted to introduce you two we will take our leave now. Come now Shin." the King gestured to Shin to follow. as they walked away Monsoon closed the door behind them. "She has a temper but only because she is passionate about what she teaches, and very good too which is why I allow her to teach my kids. Please do forgive her temper" The King said apologetically. "Now then I take it you must be tired from your journey, and I take it you need time to adjust to your situation. so I''ll show you to your room shortly but before that, I have something to say." The King stopped mid hallway and turned to face Shin with a serious expression. "I put trust in you because you were shu''s student. but," The Kings expression hardened and Shin felt a pressing aura that felt like a being crushed by a boulder assaulted his body."If you have the gall to step out of line. Do something against my will. Or hurt one of my sons. Your end will be swift and painful". "Understood?" the King said. The weight felling heavier by the second. "Y-yes i understand," Shin said scared out of his wits. This man emitted an aura that could have made even a sea monster flinch. "Good," The King said "Sorry i just need you to understand your position. now let''s get going" the aura left as quick as it came and Shin felt the crushing weight leave his body, and let out a sigh of relief ''this man can not be taken lightly'' Shin thought "here is your room. I hope you rest up well." the king gestured to the door and Shin went in. it was a large room and a king bed and a few books shelves " Thank you King" Shin bowed "Call me Aceton. Good night Shin" The King left and Shin collapsed onto the bed and began to sob. 11 I canst even begin to comprehend Shin sobbed silently with his face planted to the pillow attempting to muffle his cries. "Why," He said between the tears and sobs. "Why didn''t you let me stay. why did you stay? why make someone weak your pupil. why." His cries turned to whispers."why me? There were so many better people could have been chosen" Shin sat silent for a while. He began to remember his master and began to think "He knew...he knew that I wanted glory and he gave me the chance to get it."Shin''s sniffled and wiped away his tears. " I cannot waste this chance given to me." Shin steeled himself. He must make the most of this. After a few moments of thanking Shu in his heart. Shin went to bed now exited for the classes to come. *********** In a chamber above Shin''s room. a round table in a large room in occupied by 7 individuals. The large frame King was one of them sitting in the middle. One of the men in a black cloak began to speak. "Is this information reliable? I mean he is nothing but a child! How could we trust him?" The man said. The King spoke "Shu would not give his blades up willingly. He chose this boy to take his place" The King said calmly. "It could have been forcefully taken. The boy could be a spy from one of the grand master''s." The man said worried for his King''s judgment." there is something you all don''t know about the other grand master''s and I." The King said. "We, of course, have abilities beyond normal and some of us can even enchant." some of the men looked to each other in disbelief. Enchanting is a rare ability which takes concentration, and endurance.a country is sometimes measured by who has the best enchanters. "Shu was one such person" The King continued "and he enchanted the blades with powerful enchantments. It is called *Message infusion* and something unknown at the moment." He stabs the knife into the table, and the bottom of the blade began to light up. A Video began to come from the light. it was the moment when he first showed the blades to Shin, up to Shu''s death. "Do you all understand now?"The hooded figures began to nod their heads. "Good. Now that you understand I will be teaching the child from now on any objections?" The King looked around the room. No one objected and silence enveloped the room. "Good. Lessons will start tomorrow with Monsoon. That is all." the hooded men began to leave the room. *************** Shin who lay sleeping in his room sneezed himself awake " huh mhm" and jolted up before falling asleep again. ************* The next morning. Shin woke up confused for a moment and then remembered the events if yesterday. Shin got up and got dressed in the clothes provided to him, but they were too big on him "I''m gonna have to talk to the king to see where I can get some smaller clothes" when he finished his sentence the clothes shrank to fit his body. "neat!" Shin said. Shin was still getting ready when he heard a knock at the door. Shin opened the door to see a Buttler in a blue suit and a tall figure. "Hello, master Shin I have come to accompany you to class by order of the King." The butler was bowing. "But before then." The butler put his arm out. " You must be starved. Please follow me to the dining room." The butler turned around and Shin followed and asked "Excuse me" "The butler looked at Shin "Is something not to your liking?" The butler asked. "No no, I just wanted to ask where my daggers are," Shin said waving his hand in a hasty manner. "Oh, you will be receiving them soon. Is that all?" The butler said with a grin. "yes thank you, mister..." "Sebastian" The butler cut Shin off while fixing his black hair. After a short walk, the butler stopped next to the door leading to the dining room "The King awaits you inside I shall wait here." Sebastian bowed and pointed to the door "Thank you Sebastian" Shin said as he entered the room. As Shin entered he smelled a delicious aroma exiting the room. Shin''s mouth began to water and his stomach began to growl. A voice rang out through the spacious room "Shin I''m glad your here" The King waved him to the other end of the table. "Here" The King passed the blades over to Shin. "these belong to you," The King said "Thank you," Shin said while putting the blades on."Now I''d like to speak to you about something" The King said "About what"Shin said curiosity present in his voice. "what do you know about spells?" The King asked. "Not much" Shin replied. Since Shin only knew a basic healing spell he couldn''t say that he was well versed on the topic of magic. "Well since the class is gonna start soon I''ll explain something to you quickly," The King said. "And that Is?" Shin asked one eyebrow raised. "That there is one thing a magic wielder must do in order to use his gift. All magic relies on comprehension without that magic won''t work. low-level spells take a small amount of comprehension to learn but much more to enhance and learn better versions of those skills. keep that in mind when trying to study, or training a new spell. The better you comprehend the more likely you are to succeed. Understood?" The King explained the rules to Shin and add that Shin could visit the library if ever needed. "Thank you Aceton this information will help me greatly" Shin bowed and politely excused himself from the dining room. Shin then followed Sebastian to the classroom. "Have a good day master Shin" Sebastian bowed. "excuse me Sebastian" Sebastian turned his head to look at Shin "Please just call me Shin master seems pretentious" Shin said with a smirk. Sebastian blinked in surprise and then let out a chuckle "Ok then Shin. You''ll fit in quite well here" Sebastian said remembering a young prince asking him the same. "Well have a nice day Shin." "Thank you," Shin said opening the door to the class. 12 A tempermental metor Shin walks into the class to see three empty chairs and a large board parallel to it. "Shin comes to take a seat," Monsoon said in a sweet tone of voice. Shin took the middle seat and looked up at monsoon. the light coming through the window in stark contrast to her short pitch black hair. she had a weird bow-like thing in her hair the same blue color as her eye which seemed to shine in the light. Shin looked at her and thought ''she looks like she is about the same age as me'' which she did she looked no older than 17 to 19 years old, but she was really quite short. *Slap* She closed the book on her desk "Now then" she said pulling her hair over her ear. "I''d like to know. why the king has taken a special interest in you?" She said curiously. Shin stayed silent. one of the rules given to him by aceton was that he stay quiet of his past. "Very well then," Monsoon said while giving out a sigh. "what do you know about medtron as a whole" Monsoon said. "truly i know nothing about the region and would really appreciate someone of your caliber to teach me, "Shin thought that if he bootlicked enough she would forget the question of his past. "Flattery will get you, nowhere boy," she said coldly "Now let me explain. You are in the water capital of the world. this place is well known to be a prosperous place, this is the best place for cultivation in the world when it comes to water. and the people are very prideful about this capital so be wary of arrogance." monsoon said while walking closer to Shin "We practice water day in and day out" She said walking slowly. Shin felt something wet on his foot and it slowly went up to his leg. he looked down in a panic to see a tentacle of water grabbing his leg up to his knee. Shin tried to move away but its grip was tight, and before he knew it he was upside down with his while body bound by water. Shin struggled but couldn''t move an inch. he tried to scream but the water covers his mouth like a hand."Now then I am sorry to be rude. but just understand i don''t take kindly to disobedient students. so next time I answer a question you answer do you understand?'' She said with a wry smile on her lips. Shin nodded "Good. now let''s begin the lesson" As she said that the water lost its grip and dropped him to the ground and evaporated. "I am going to teach you how to use magic and how to cultivate as well as help with comprehension." she handed him a book." This is what you will learn first" Shin read the title *introduction to magic* "Your real lessons will begin one month from now. i expect you to exercise a lot during this period. the use of magic is very draining and your small, skinny body couldn''t handle it." Monsoon stated "But you''re like half my size. how come yo-" before he could finish his sentence. a blade of water passed by his ear at blinding speed "what was that??" Monsoon said glaring daggers at Shin "NOTHING!" Shin yelped "Now then. Here follow this to the letter. Do not skip a day. Understood?"Monsoon added, "Yes teacher." As Shin left the room he looked at the paper given to him it was nothing but an exercise regiment "Does she think I haven''t tried this before?" but the last thing on the page was a book she listed for Shin to check out of the library *introduction to cultivation* Shin thought back to the wolfs he needed cultivation essence back then was this the way to get it? he was about to rush to the library but stopped. because he didn''t where it was. "Need help, Shin?" Sebastian chimed in "Oh yes thank you" Shin was surprised he didn''t even see Sebastian in the hall and didn''t hear him walk up. "what do you need?" Sebastian asked"Oh to the library" Shin responded with haste "ok follow me" Sebastian lead the way and Shin followed. 13 TIME TO TRAIN After a short while, Sebastian, and Shin arrived at the expansive library "Thank you, Sebastian," Shin said looking at the black-haired butler. "Have a nice day Shin" Sebastian bowed Looking at the library In front of him Shin was giddy "I can learn from these books faster than anyone." But his giddiness died down "But i need cultivation essence and comprehension first" Shin sighed and stepped forward. "What the?" Shin said as he bumped into something while staring up at the books "Watch where you''re going you beanpole," A young boy with round glasses and small stature said while picking up his books. the black haired boy got back up on his feet and began to walk away "Yeah whatever you say short stack" Shin remarked "What did you just say?" the boy stopped in his tracks and turned to face Shin "I''m surprised you heard that from down there munchkin" Shin quipped "WHAT!!!" The boys face turned red with anger "HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH THINGS TO ME!" The boy began to whisper something after that. Shin began to feel a chill up his spine. [Attack Imminent] Shin did not ignore the warning and quickly dodged to the right rolling into a combat stance. when he looked back at where he was standing when he saw a large ice spike collided with the floor. "Are you trying to kill me?!?!?!" Shin shouted at the boy. "SHUT UP!" The boy shouted and began to whisper again but was cut short "STOP IT NOW CAIN!" The boy stopped his whispers. Both Shin and the boy turned to face the voice and what they saw was a tall man with just the beginnings if a beard long brown hair and bright blue eyes. "Cain, how many times have i told you to not let your pride control your judgment?" The man roared at the boy "What would father say to this behavior?" The man walked to the boy. A shiver went up through the boys back as he heard the word ''father'' "T-This man insulted me" the boy stuttered as he spoke. " And so your reaction is to break the floor of the library with an icicle. that is no way for a prince to act!" The man stood next to the boy now and asked: "And honestly tell me who said something insulting first?" "I called him a beanpole." the boy looked to the ground silently while the man stared daggers at him "very well then." he turned to Shin''s direction" You there come here for a moment." Shin took a short jog to the man and the boy and asked " Yes prince" bowing "I want both of you to apologize to one another promptly" the man said. Shin saw this as a chance to not make an enemy of the prince and hopefully not get any consequences from the king, and so he complied promptly "The dearest prince I deeply apologize for my actions here today and would very much appreciate your forgiveness" Shin bowed and said trying to sound as sincere as possible while doing so. "Your turn Cain" the man looked as if his eye shot fire. the boy reluctantly bowed and said "I''m sorry for calling you an ape it was uncalled for. please forgive me"The boy quickly stood up and said" happy?" "Yes," The man responded. The boy turned and walked out of the library. "I''m sorry for my brother his a bit temperamental he gets it from his teacher," the man said with a chuckle. "It''s fine I should not have made the situation worse with my mouthing off," Shin said with one hand behind his head. "But that aside. Who are you?" The man said with a puzzled face. "My name is Tanda Shin I''m new to the kingdom and I''m starting class with you all in a month. nice to meet you. may I ask your name?" Shin asked courteously. If he was to make a bad impression with both princes then he would be at a loss. "Leonidas but you may call me Leo as we are classmates. My father told me of you his new disciple correct?" "Yes" "Well if all i heard was true then. I am truly sorry for your loss" the prince said nodding his head. "Thank you." A light of pain flashed through Shin''s eyes but the prince interrupted. "The boy you saw was cain. My, little brother. He is a bit prideful so try not to talk about his hight and please while you''re here don''t make problems. Did you come here for something specific?" Leo said while looking around the room. "Oh yes. I came to find a book called*Introduction to cultivation* do you know where it could be?" Shin didn''t want to waste time looking for it. "Yes, I do actually. you see my brother has just checked it out since he is re-reading it." Leo said with an awkward smile "Oh" Shin was screaming in his brain ''that munchkin looking boy took it? damn it why does that dwarf need it'' "Would you like me to pass it along to you?" Leo asked "Yes If at all possible. thank you." Shin bowed, ''I like this guy he seems nice.'' Shin thought "Well ill pass it along in three days. I''ll be taking my leave now, but before i go" Leo lunged forward and punched Shin in the gut knocking all the wind out of him leaving Shin gasping for air *cough cough* Shin with one hand on the ground began to speak "What was th-" "Sorry I just wanted to see why my dad chose you but it seems I overdid it well I will be going now." Leo said while quickly walking out the door. "I really need to train if im gonna survive here," Shin said as he propped himself up with both hands on a nearby table and began to wobble unsteadily before walking through the door on his noodle-like legs "It''s time to train." 14 S**ty prince. [Three days later.] Shin lay doing pushups on the training grounds that the king allowed him to use. "100!" Shin finished his push-ups and got to his feet. He began to dust off his hands and clothes,and his next destination was the library "Leo should have the book by now" he said walking into the palace. as he walked he began to notice how much more toned albeit only a little, but more toned then one should be after 3 days of exercise. "Could it be the system or just me?" Shin pondered this for a while as he walked into the library "What is this system doing to me exactly. Am I going to become a monster of flesh if I exercise too much?" His thoughts were interrupted by a big man with a grizzly beard and huge frame with a stoic expression. "Are you Shin?" The man asked with a deep and rough voice. "Yes" Shin responded timidly. ''Did that munchkin send a guard'' he thought. Surprisingly the man bowed to Shin and handed him a book. *Introduction to cultivation* "the prince told me to pass it along because he had business to attend to" The man said his arms behind his back. "Oh thank you" Shin said surprised. And with that the man bowed one more time and walked away. his visage disappeared into the distance. Shin looked down at the book in his hands and felt a tingle of joy in his heart ''Finally'' he thought. Shin retreated to his room and took out the book and began to read though it after a short while the system said. [Would you like to learn this skill?] "Yes" Shin responded almost instantly Shin could feel the light about to envelop him and the book began to move, but everything suddenly stoped Shin was dumbfounded. [Cultivation of the skill failed. It is due to the body not being strong enough.] The system said. Shin sat cross legged on the floor starring blankly at the wall on thought rang out from his head. ''This system is s**t'' he thought with no emotion just blankly. ************ The King sat in the room with the round table and with Leo beside him. The King looked at the prince and asked "what did you call me for?" "We need more blacksmiths" the prince Leo said with pleading eyes. *sigh*"Son I truly have no one to spare in my military, and not to mention how hard it is to learn. by the time they learn it will be to late for them to be useful." The King said dejectedly. Leo felt a surge of emotion. "Father you know just as well as I that without more blacksmith and enchanters we will be eradicated." The king could not retort What the boy said is true every word. The king sat there silently for a moment before speaking "I will call a meeting to discuss this." " thank you" the prince said taking his leave. Once his son was out of view acetone held his head in his hands "I don''t know what I''m gonna do." ************** Downstairs Shin was still sitting blankly until he snapped out of it and began to think ''wait with the way I''m advancing right now it shouldn''t be long before he reached the requirements of the system.'' Shin got up from his sitting position and stretched and said "I can do this" and walked outside to begin exercising again but was stopped at the door by none other then prince Cain "hello" Cain said in a dignified manner. "Oh hello prince Cain," Shin said condescendingly as Cain pushed Shin aside to enter Shins room. "I''d like to speak with you over the matter of what happened the other day" cain said with concern. "what about it?" Shin said while preparing for a fight. Cain sat down and asked "How did you dodge my attack?" "excuse me?" Shin said somewhat confused. "my attack in the library I was sure that would have killed you. You couldn''t have known there was an icicle above you so how?" "I have good reflexes." was the only response Shin could think up. "No. That couldn''t be not with my ability. Not even my father can sense my magic unless he hears me whisper and even then he doesn''t know where it will come from because of my ability since my magic energy is almost invisible. You would have to be incredibly well versed in the arts of magic sensing more so then anyone I have met before." Shin sat silent he couldn''t think of anything to say in return. Not without letting loose the secret of the system "or you are very sensitive to magic energy" Cain said pensively "But that would mean you are a very rare talent among talents" Cain talked to himself. Shin saw his chance to take advantage and get respect from the kid "Yes I am" Shin gave the boy look as if to say ''you figured me out'' [Attack Imminent.] The system said. Shin dodged before he could figure out what was going on and saw an icicle impale the wall behind where he was "COULD YOU NOT." Shin screamed "SORRY. I just had to make sure" Cain waved his hands. "I apologize for what I just did and what I had done in the library." Cain was about to bow but Shin stopped him "enough of that. Why don''t we be friends and call it even" Shin said this but intended to get payback when he got stronger "Don''t get ahead of your self. I only apologized because I recognize your talent but until you can do something worthy oof my friendship. you are not my equal." with that Cain stood and left the room. "what an a**hole" Shin said as he looked at the open doorway. "He''s a shitty prince." 15 Kings summon [two weeks later] "where are we going?" Shin asked the king. perplexed as to why the king woke him up before sunrise and told him to follow. "Shin your master was an enchanter" The King picked up his pace with a quick "I want to see if you hold any information on the subject." with that the king turns a sharp turn down the hall and Shin struggled to follow him around. ''dammit stop going so fast'' Shin thought "Here," the king said coming to a door and opening it Shin followed close behind. the room was quaint and had a sofa a weirdly placed bookshelf and a bed. The King went directly to the bookshelf and pulled a specific book and it opened up into a passage. "come along now" The king said looking at Shin with his hand stretched to the darkness of the passage. Shin was hesitant but stepped inside nonetheless and began to walk after a few turns and a flight of stairs, they came to a metal door and went inside. "hello there Shin. how you been?" Leo said. inside the small room with three chairs, they all sat down. there was visible tension in the faces of those present. No one said a word Shin was begging for anyone to say anything till Leo broke the silence "What do you know about enchantments." Shin was taken aback but quickly answered "Not much. to tell the truth, the only time i ever even heard about it was from master shu. why?" The King and Leo exchanged glances for a moment before theKing said: "Had Shu ever mentioned a friend who would enchant or a master that he had that taught him to?" Shin thought back for a moment in silence when Leo interrupted "What about a place he learned from?" "OH" Shin jumped and looked to the both of them, "he said he learned in a place called igniculus" The King and Leo shuddered at the mere mention of igniculus "Are you sure that''s where he said he learned It?" The King asked cold sweat bearing down his face "Yes absolutely why is there something wrong with that place?" Shin asked one eyebrow raised "Well yes they are our sworn enemies due to our conflicting views and way of life they are one reason we keep to the seas as to not cause war" Leo explained "it is where the grandmaster of fire lives the same grandmaster who helped kill your teacher" The king interrupted "And the same man who was able to deal me this" The King lifted his head to one side to reveal a scar from his chin to his shoulder which looked like that of a burn. "due to this I would not like to cause trouble with them" The King looked at Shin seriously "we cannot search for this man if he resides there" The king tells Leo."I got an idea" Shin said with a weird look on his eyes" the kingdom hasn''t seen me and no one but you guys know who I am so what if I go?" "no." the King responded immediately.his eye looked as if to shoot daggers "if you were to go how would I face shu in the afterlife" he stares into Shin''s eyes "if you were to die I wouldn''t live it down" The King was resolute in his decision "Shin if you remember anything then tell me. other than that you may leave." Shin reluctantly walked towards the door "Leo guide him back" The King said. Leo stood and bowed after which he walked out the door "I WILL find a way" the king muttered under his breath. *********** "Shin" Leo said while grabbing a torch "Dont take it personally he hates that place and allows no one to set foot in it. Does he just mean to protect you" Leo looked at Shin with a smile "well what if I can prove to him I would be safe there? If I prove I am strong enough" Leo was taken aback who was this boy who thought himself so strong as to go to the kingdom of fire " so what do you think?" Shin said with confidence in his eyes "well" Leo chuckled "Then I''m sure he would allow it then. But I''m sure his standard would be high" Leo said finding it humorous that this boy thought he could get that strong. "very well then" Shin said. Leo looked at the boy who has seemed to have had a fire now lit and burning with his eyes "I will get strong enough" Shin said with a confident expression and a visible determination pouring out of him Leo looked at him astonished at what he sees and began to laugh and laugh "whats so funny" Shin asked angrily at the way his declaration was treated "nothing you just reminded me of my little brother just now" Leo said wiping away a tears of joy "Very well then if you want to get stronger then for now i''ll train you this month" Leo said with a large grin "really?" Shin asked with stars in his eyes "Yes now then lets get going. Come along now" Leo said and with that they exited the dungeon *********** 16 trainning day in the middle of a large square arena behind the palace shin and Leonidas stand facing each other Leonidas began to speak "I heard that when you got here you struck my father how did that feel?" "Like hitting a concrete wall with a baseball bat," Shin said as he recalled the pain in his legs and shuddered Leonidas smirked, "That is due to an ability he possesses called Its a stong ability that makes the body incredibly resistant to physical damage and he will teach you it." As Leonidas said this Shin stood there dreaming of one day being able to learn that from him. Leonidas continued "But you can''t learn it" Shin''s heart dropped and he thought '' then why even get my hopes up you posiden wanna be'' "not yet anyway" Shen snapped out of his frustration "Your body isn''t ready for it yet if you learn it now you are to drop dead from its use. You see your body is like a battery taking in energy to be used, But if your battery is overcharged it''s likely to explode. So to better use abilities upgrade the quality of the battery and be able to store more energy and the more energy you store the better your abilities" As Leo spoke Shin sat taking in the information and attempting to comprehend it. "Does that mean i can''t learn anything yet?"Shin asked "No there is one skill you can learn for the time being to help strengthen your body. Its name is its a skill so basic they teach it at elementary schools" Leo replied "you should be able to take that strain since your body...um need development" Leo looked away for a second ''is he comparing my body to an elementary schooler'' Shen thought to himself. "Well anyway" Leo continues to speak as if nothing had been said "the way these skill works is absorbing energy and letting your body get used to it, and as you get used to it you continue to raise the amount of energy in your body getting your body physically and mentally stronger through using the skill i shall teach you how to use this skill first you focus on absorbing the energy around by hunting your eyes and feeling it surround you sit and try it now" Leo pointed to the ground and shen sat with his legs crossed "Now close eyes and feel the energy" Shen shut his eye and focused. he felt warm glowing spots all around his body it felt as if he was in the shade with only some parts of his body hitting the sun. It made him feel calm and almost sleepy. "good now try to absorb it by breathing in deeply and slowly to absorb in through the nose." when Shen breathed in he felt a warm energy enter his nose and it caused a chill to run down his spine it felt like it was getting hotter and hotter. "hold it in for a moment then let it go with a deep sigh, Leo said in a soft voice. Shen held his breath for nearly 15 seconds then he released it through his mouth and he felt something click in his head. "Energy absorption complete new skill learned one cultivation essence earned." Shin took a second to catch up to what the system just said and immediately stood up in disbelief and dropped his jaw in shock. "Good job Shin you did it on your first try to-" Shin cut Leo off "Thank you very much for the lesson but i must be going i am very tired and hope we can continue this tomorrow" Shen had caught Leo off guard and you could see it on his face "U-uh sure see you tomorrow then" Before Leo could finish Shin had already bolted for the palace leaving Leo standing there dumbstruck. ********** At Shins room Shin is jumping up and down "YES I''m one step closer to getting stronger" Shin grabbed the book and threw it at the wall "don''t need this trash anymore ok so how do i learn the skill what was it called again? Water something" "water blade eligible to be learned would you like to learn it? yes/no" "YES YES YES" Shen felt his body begin to glow and change. He could see the motions he needed to do tose the technique his body was buzzing with excitement "water blade is a blade constructed by forming a liquid into a curved blade one cup of water needed to perform Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Oh,i need water" Shen quickly opened the door to rush to the kitchen but was stopped by Sebastian "do you need anything, sir?" "oh yea i need a cup of water" "I''ll bring it to you now sir" Sebastian responded While Sebastian went to go get a glass of water Shen began to wonder how Sebastian was always around when needed in the morning, when he needed directions to the library, and even now that he needed a cup of water "here you go sir" Sebastian returned quickly "Sebastian how so you always know when i need something?"Shen asked curiously "your clothing sir it tells me when you are hungry, thirsty or confused of where to go" Sebastian responded quickly. "Oh well thank you Sebastian" Shen was surprised by the answer. "Anytime sir" WIth that Sebastian left Shen went back to his room and placed the cup of water on the floor he then put his hands together and said water blade with the confidence of a general nothing happened "Water blade i choose you. to me my water blade?" Shen didn''t know how to activate it and tried for a good hour till he just thought '' why can''t i use water blade " would you like to use the water blade? yes/no" the system responded Shen immediately said yes and suddenly the cup of water began to shake violently and the water shot out and into his hands the water in a flash took the form of a blade and shen noticed that it even felt like an iron blade in his hands "hell yea! lets test this out " he admired the blade for a moment and moved it around he put the cup it came in on the marble nightstand and got into a stance and held the blade with two hands "ok let''s see how good this blade is" he lunged forward and slashed downward at the cup and the cup was cut in half "wow it cut the cup-like water" just as he said that the nightstand also split in half causing shen to jump like a scared cat shen then realized what happened" wow this is really strong i should be care full" the system began to speak "maximum energy expenditure reached shutting down host body" "What?" Just Then Shen collapsed on the floor and went unconscious with his face to the floor and butt to the ai 17 first class Shu woke up in a dark dungeon with chains on his arms strapped to the ceiling badly beaten and bloody. "You''re Awake how nice, you have quite the sturdy body, But no doubt your years as a mentor made you weaker. Now tell us who it was who you gave the scroll to and what are they capable of?" the mysterious voice called out from the dark. "You will never break me isn''t this what you trained me to endure? You know I''ll never tell you Ignus'' he said with a shaky voice. Footsteps begin to ring out from the darkness one after another step, step, step revealing, And the old man with white hair and beard with a scar on the left side of his face over his glazed over the eye. "I also know that i didn''t teach you everything i know and that i will break you. it''s just a matter of when." the man out a glowing hand on Shu''s face and Shu begin to scream. ************** Shin wakes up on the floor of his room groggy and is greeted by a system message. [energy restored.] Shin looked at the message and remembered why he was knocked out. he decided now was the time to test out the system to know what he is dealing with. He began to think about how he summons it in the past And remembered that it responded to his thoughts. ''System I need answers'' Shen attempted to communicate in his thoughts and after a few seconds. [What would the host want to know?] It responded. "What are you?" Shen asked. [I am prototype one of the system of power] The system responded promptly. "Why did you knock me out before?" Shen continued to ask questions. [Host energy capability not sufficient for prolonged use of skill water blade.] "Why didn''t you tell me before used it then" Shen was getting frustrated. [Would you like to calibrate the system for easier use? yes/no] The system asked. Shen was stopped dead in his tracks. Could he have done this all this time? WHO IS THE IDIOT WHO MADE THIS MACHINE!?! "Yes," The second that shen said this a screen popped up in front of him causing him to jump back on the screen were settings to be turned on and off the list went as follows. [Enemy detection On/off] [Energy meter and information On/off] [Health updates On/off] [Threat analysis On/off] [Trainer mode On/off] [voice activation on/off [Custom mode On/off] [Gain knowledge to unlock more settings and upgrade existing ones] Shen was surprised by all the things the system could do, But most of all he was interested in the idea of gaining more, But, for now, he just turned on all the settings that he could except trainer and custom mode and would explore more settings later. [Enemy detection on, Energy meter and information on, Health updates on, Threat analysis on, voice activation on,] As soon as shen did that he saw another screen pop up the screens detailed how much energy he had, And how much health he had. [Energy 10/10] [Health100/100] Shen looked at his energy and frowned ''why is my energy so damn low???'' Shen was about to collapse from sadness his chest felt like a black hole of which no happiness can escape. [Would host like increase energy stores? Yes/no] Shen saw a ray of hope and immediately said yes and the system responded. [To increase energy storage the host must train an energy manipulation skill. example for the next five hours for a total of 50 mana] the system responded. Shen looked at the message and was elated ''yes i can improve'' As soon as the finished looking at his stats he began to set to work using And a timer began to count down. [4:59:59] **************** On the other side of the castle in Cain room cain and Leo discuss over Shin "I don''t trust him at all and i don''t know why father does, "cain says with anger present in his voice sitting across from his brother on a chair where his feet barely touch the ground "You distrust anyone and anything that crosses you, But i must admit he was acting strangely yesterday but it must be the fact that he is still settling in its only been two weeks"Leo replied trying to console his brother. "If you''re so sure he is not up to something how about we go check in on him, And see what he is up too he has not left his room in over a day And id like to see what he is up too" Cain had Sebastian keep watch on Shin''s door to gather information on him. "Cain!, How could you treat a guest of our fathers this way? With contempt and suspicion" Leo said angrily at his brother''s rudeness. "Just one peek and I''ll stop watching him I swear but you have to come with me and we do it quickly it won''t matter aren''t you curious as well" After a few seconds, Leo thought it over and agreed to the terms "Fine but only if you promise to stop spying on him got it?" "I promise," Cain said with his fingers crossed behind his back. Cain and Leo both exited the room and made their way to shins door, and slowly pull it open just a crack, and they both saw Shen sitting in his room legs crossed practicing . they could feel the energy moving in the room and opened the door a little more. "That''s the I taught him yesterday he must have practiced all day look his form and focus is perfect," Leo said with surprise. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "But how that technique takes at least a month to learn correctly even I took two months before I could perform it perfectly-" Before Cain could finish his sentence both him and Leo were picked up from the ground by their neck collars. "What might i ask are you two doing? Invading the privacy of our esteemed guest" Aceton roared holding the two kids in the air "It seems like you two need to learn manners and i know who would love to teach you them" Cain and Leo''s faces went pale white and their blood ran cold "I''m taking you two to ms monsoon "No father, not her anyone but her! It was Cains''s idea." Leo pleaded. Cain began to explain "Father we were just checking if he was ok he hasn''t been out of his room for a while you see and-" "Stop it with the lies cane your tongue may be made of silver but my ears are made of gold come now we have to teach you guys manners," Aceton said sternly and carried them both to their punishment as they left kicking and screaming. Shen smiled as he had felt their energy when the system had alerted him to their presents, and now that they were gone he continued to practice. 18 traininng \"Okay everyone takes your seats its time to start,\" Monsoon said with a sweet smile and a ruler in hand. Shen felt awkward he was sitting in between the two princes so he felt out of place, And not only that but both of them looked like they had been beaten to a pulp their eyes were swollen and their lips looked like duck lips and he could even see ruler marks so defined it seemed as if he could read the numbers Shen felt a chill run up his spine thinking about it ''Was this monsoon''s doing?'' \"SHEN!\"Monsoon called out. Shen nearly cr*pped his pants from fright HE sat up as straight as he could and responded quickly \"YES MISS MONSOON.\" \"You better pay attention to this next part your gonna need it,\" Monsoon said while facing the board. \"Yes miss monsoon\" Shen sighed in relief after hearing he wasn''t next on the hit list and began to listen Monsoon began to teach \"Do you know the physical body types?\" \"No miss I wasn''t much of a student,\" Shen said as respectfully as he could I barely know about magic from my grandmaster '' Cain, Leo, and Monsoon turned to face him in disbelief. They all looked at him as if to say \"Is this guy for real? That''s so basic! Were you thought by wolves??\" \"Ahem well then I''ll give you a quick rundown of the different types In order of power from weakest to strongest mortal apprentice practitioner master grandmaster As a person progresses they can be described as being a lowest lower middle higher or peak of any class as they get more powerful\" as monsoon spoke she wrote it down on the board \"The difference in power in the different levels is great for example two lower mortals would be beaten by a middle-class mortal If no magic is involved and the power escalates as well a peak mortal class can beat about a dozen higher mortal class \" As Monsoon was talking shin began to think about what the system had said after he finished training for the five hours [Middle mortal class unlockable One middle-class beast needed] and after he finished the system told him he could keep the blade activated for about thirty minutes now Shen wanted to try and see if he could find a beast range or something to get stronger quicker but for now he is stuck where he is. the only thing he can do is try to learn more skills from the library ''I wonder how strong everyone else is '' Shen began to wonder [Threat analysis engaged] As soon As he looked at the room around him he noticed a screen on his left and the screen were the stats of everyone in the room Shen shrugged and started to look it over. [Leonidas: middle intermidiate class] [Cain: higher intermediate class] [Monsoon: middle masterclass] Shen was flabbergasted. Everyone here in this room is a hundred times stronger than him. ''Cain is even one step away from master class \"I have to get stronger fast I''ll talk to Aceton after class to see if he could find somewhere to battle beasts for me\" Shen understood that to make progress he needed to take advantage of the system but It will have to wait till after class ******* Outside the castle in a covered boat. Sat two figures in cloaks one in blue one in green. \"Will they buy our story?\" The one in blue asked the green one. \"Don''t worry about that all you need to do is be near the king when to time comes we only have one chance today\" The green cloaked man responded quickly \"Now go fill your post. and when the time is right to strike\" With that the conversation ended, they stopped at the market where all of the sellers were screaming about their products towards the boat, And the man in blue got out \"good luck,\" the one in blue said The man in green only nodded and continued down the market in the boat \"Such a lovely city\" He paused and began to chuckle \"I can''t wait to burn it to ash\" A sinister grin appeared on his face ************ After finishing class Shen immediately asked Leo where he could find his dad \"He should be training right now I''d check the training arena\" Leo answered with a confused look \"OK thanks bye\" Shen was quick with his answer and quickly ran there immediately ************* Aceton was sitting with his legs crossed and sweating and straining he couldn''t understand why he couldn''t break through this bottleneck. \"I''ve been stuck at lower grandmaster for so long\" Aceton began to fear that he peaked in power. \"Your majesty mister Shen needs to speak with you\" a guard bow to the king and exclaimed. \"Let him through\" Aceton decided he had trained enough today it made no difference. Shen approached the king and bowed \"Hello grandmaster Acetone I have a favor to ask of you\" \"Speak Shen\" The king said in a jovial tone. \"Is there anywhere I can battle beasts in this place?\" Shen was straight forward and to the point with it. The King was taken aback. \"Well no. But why would you want that? We have more than enough training materials and partners.\" \"Y-yes but you see I need practical experience as a form of growing.\" Shen quickly lied to the King because he feared that he treated as insane or used for a weapon in war if he told him the truth. The system would make him a force to be reckoned with in the future, But for now, he must keep a low profile. \"Ah I see That is important\" The King rubbed his chin for a moment running his finger through his beard \"How about next time we go to port you get off and hunt for a few days?\" \"Go to port?\" Shen asked curiously \"Yes even though we are almost fully self-sufficient we still need to stop due to the grandmaster beast needing rest and needing supplies. We also sell our meats and recruit warriors. follow me.\" aceton said while walking into the palace ********** Aceton and Shen arrived at a room with maps all over the walls and a big round table in the middle of it. Aceton stood in front of the table and put his hand on it and it began to glow blue \"Next port!\" The map began to move and search along the Continent before landing on a large port on the north side of the large Continent. \"That'' where we are going. We will get there about 1 week from now, when we arrive you can get off and go to the forest to the east. There you can train\" Aceton said pointing to the map \"Thank you Aceton.\" Aceton nodded and walked out of the room with shin and they parted ways. After parting ways, Shen began walking to the library \"Let''s see if I can learn anything before the week is up to make my hunting easier\" Shen has been training and it helped his energy but he wanted to also know if he could increase his heath as well. ****************| Shen arrived at the library and began to look for some type of directory to find out where the books he needs are. He didn''t even know where to start the library was huge there were at least a thousand bookcases here and the room was at least a mile long. It had long tables, leading up to the back of the room. He searched until he found a podium with a book on it listing all the books in the library. Shen started to turn the pages of the book and found where he needed to go \"ab 76\" He walked down the aisle and found the bookshelf he needed. he then began to rummage through it to find something he could use but every spellbook he found he couldn''t learn because the system wouldn''t allow him to. [Constitution not high enough to learn skill.] Shen was annoyed by the fact that he couldn''t learn any of the skills he wanted to because of his weak body The first one he found that he could learn was a book titled \"sword fighting for beginners\". [Would you like to learn this skill? Yes/No] Shen was surprised he thought that he could only learn spells from the system \"Yes\" After he said yes, The book began to glow bright green and vibrating violently in Shen''s hands after a few seconds it stopped and he shen began to understand sword techniques and types of attacks as well as feeling like he had a new understanding of how to fight with a blade. \"This is amazing! \" He exclaimed \"If I focus on skills instead if spells for the time being then I could get stronger without having to rely on spells alone\" He had only a small amount of energy so the time being he couldn''t do any spell attack without exhausting himself quickly. so he came here to figure out how to get energy but now he can focus on martial arts for now and let his energy build up with over time. He started to see what else he could learn After a few moments, He found another book \"Iron body\" And he learned it too but that one didn''t teach him how to fight but how to train for defense and power meaning he could also learn defense from these books shen smirked and began to read as much as he could 19 sparring Shen was in his room, He Sat on the floor in the middle of the room with his legs crossed. He had a huge grin on his face from the skills he gained and their effects Its a skill that makes his knuckles harder then they would normally be and heavier too! This skill actually boosted his health by 50 points! He would have learned more but his body isn''t ready but still! He was looking at a screen that stated the skills he had learned and he couldn''t wipe the grin off his face [Energy 50/50] [Health 150/150] [Active Skills] [Water blade] [Energized body] [Iron fist] [Passive Skills] [Sword fighting for beginners] [Iron body] [Comprehension level one] \"This is more than I ever learned alone!\"He had been looking at this screen for about an hour with an ever-present grin on his face and pinching himself to see if he was dreaming. \"With this I could be a grandmaster in no time!\" Shen was shivering with anticipation. \"No time to waste! Time to start practicing.\" Shen began to use After which a timer started again [5:00:00] ************* Cain sat in his room reading a book When Leo came though the door \"Brother you should be training just because your advanced in magic doesn''t''t mean you can skip fighting practice.\" Leo said Cain stayed quietly reading his book \"Brother if you don''t beef up then when the tournament comes you won''t be strong enough to face him. please, brother,\" Leo said with pleading eyes Cain stayed silent Leo sighed and left the room \"I''ll beat him just you wait,\" Cain said though his gritted teeth ****** After the five hours were up, Shen got up from the floor and stretched his legs. [Training complete] The system chimed in \"Awesome!\" Shen exclaimed and opened the profile screen in the system to check his stats [Tanda Shin] [Energy 80/80] [Health 150/150] \"Yes! Another thirty points!\" He said pumping his fists in the air in excitement. and got a system message [Energized body can now be upgraded due to extended use Middle mortal body needed to upgrade] Shen looked at the message and was caught off guard he quickly responded to the system \"So just by using a skill I can get better at it?\" [Affirmative] Shen couldn''t control his excitement \"does this work with other skills?\" [Affirmative] Shen immediately ran out of his room and quickly ran down the hall leading to the training area ********* Aceton was walking down the hall thinking about the daily problems of the kingdom when all of a sudden Shen ran past him at full speed \"Woah slow down Shen!\"Aceton shouted Shen stopped running and bowed to Aceton \"I''m sorry your majesty, I''m just in a hurry to go train\" he said \"Really?\" Aceton felt Shens energy was stronger and different than before and Looked like he rose in power \"Well, in that case, I''ve been meaning to test you in combat since I need to gauge your skills?\" Aceton said in a happy tone \"Sir aren''t you a bit to um...Strong for me?\" Shen said sweating, one hit from him and Shen would die on the spot! \" I''m still in lower mortal class your majesty!\" \"Nonsense I''ll lower my power to equal yours and only lower mortal spells how about it?\" Aceton replied Shen was hesitant but seeing as he also wanted to test himself he agreed \"I would be honored your majesty\" Shen bowed once more \"Wonderful\" Aceton said to Shen as they started walking together to the training grounds ******** Aceton and Shen stood 10 feet across from one another and there was a guard in between them Aceton had given shin a practice sword for the duel. Shen felt the sword and even though he had never practice with a sword it felt comfortable to him and like an extension of his arm. Shen smiled because he knew this was because of the system. Aceton stretched his legs and lowered his power down to lower mortal class and asked Shen \"If you knock me down or make me raise my level you win. Are you ready?\" Shen nodded and Aceton nodded to the guard The guard stepped out from between them and began to count down from three \"THREE!\" Shen flowers his stance and shuffled his feet \"TWO!\" Aceton cracked his neck side to side \"ONE!\" They Both tensed up \"BEGIN!\" As soon as those words left the guards mouth Aceton went on the offensive and began to run at Shen with a flurry of ice bolts. Shen deflected them with the sword Aceton responded by creating an ice lance and charging at Shen full force Shen ran at him and they met in the middle exchanging blow after blow Shen was just barely scraping by when fighting head-on and decided to change the flow of the duel Shen threw his sword at Aceton Aceton deflected it but in that split second Shen got under his guard and began to send a flurry of punches his way the king had no choice but to let go of the lance and duke it out Aceton threw a jab forward and Shen ducked under it Aceton responded quickly and threw a knee at Shen while he was ducked down Shen just barely dodged it and took a quick leap back \"You are surprisingly fast,\" Aceton said Shen thought back to the years of bullying that tempered his fighting skills and responded \"I was very well trained\" Shen ran at Aceton full force Aceton put up his guard and prepared himself. Shen activated iron fist and threw the punch straight for his guard and broke through. ''His hands, was that iron fists he used'' in that split second he activated water blade and aimed it right at Acetons chest ''Wait how could he use water blade that''s a middle water skill!'' Aceton didn''t have time to react and quickly rose his level and hit Shen away to protect himself by reflex he hit Shen with the power of a higher mortal and Shen was knocked down to his feet and Aceton quickly came to his aid \"Shen I apologize it came as a reflex to me and i-\" \"It''s fine\" Shen coughed \"I win!\" He said now laying on his back with his hand in the air. Aceton looked at the boy in disbelief '' I just hit you with a hit that could have killed you and your reaction is to say I win?'' Aceton thought to himself. Aceton began to laugh and said \"You Really are Shu''s student!you''re exactly like him!\" Aceton laughed harder and picked up Shen by the arm and dusted him off. \"That''s enough for me today I have somethings to attend to but your welcome to keep training\" Aceton said patting Shen on the back \"Ok you majesty thank you for the sparing session,\" Shen said trying to hold back the pain \"No thank you i haven''t had an all-out spar in a while!\" Aceton said good and walk into the palace and as soon as he did Shen collapsed on the floor and started groaning \"Damn he hits hard,\" He Thought to look at his stats [Health 100/150] Shen felt his blood go cold \"He took off a whole fifty points?!?!?!?\" He was almost shaking ''if he would have gone up two more levels he would have killed me in one shot!'' Shen then looked at the next system message. [Iron body upgrade available] 20 Regrets Shen was floored! \" was upgraded!? Just like that??\" Shen was only hit once by Aceton but with just that the skill was upgraded! \"How did it upgrade so quickly??\" The system responded to answer his question [The Iron body skill is upgraded when the one using it is hit enough times or with enough power. is now level two.] Shen was fascinated by this message and asked a question and checked his stats. [Energy 80/80] [Health 100/160 healing in effect time to full healing 00:10:00] \"Only ten points?\" Shen was underwhelmed \"Seems like I need to upgrade this skill a lot before it can make a difference.\" \"How much do I have to be hit before it gets another upgrade?: Shen asked with his hand on his chin. [Would you like to have system reminders to see skills as they get better? Yes/No] Shen said yes and a screen appeared that showed the amount of times he had to be hit. [ Hits from a mortal lower class or higher needed to upgrade.] Shen saw this and began to think about how he could take advantage of this skill. He scanned the area to see if he could find anyone he could spar with but he found no one near him. Shen was walking back into the palace when he had a sinister idea. \"This is gonna be fun,\" He said with a smile from ear to ear. ***** Cain had just finished his study for the day and was exiting the library with his daily haul of books and thinking about the time that Shen had insulted him in the library and he was forced to apologize to him just thinking about it made his blood boil. \"Hello Prince short stack.\" Cain whipped around to see who had insulted him with reddened eyes and saw Shen down the hall. He just ignored him and walked away. Shen called out \"Can you not hear me down there?\" Shen began to laugh and continued to insult him \"I guess the Prince truly thinks he is above me just because his power is high\" he joked. Prince continued to walk away silently \"Or maybe he knows that if we were equal in power he couldn''t beat me\" As soon Shen said this Cain stopped walking and asked \"What did you say?\" Cain asked through gritted teeth. He felt the rage bubble up from his stomach at this point. he wanted to destroy this man and be done with it \"I said that without your power and magic you couldn''t beat me in fact I''ll even let you hit me first and you would be able to take me down\" Shen taunted him by putting his face forward and tapping on his cheek. \"How dare you?!?!\" Cain exclaimed. \"You are nothing but an ant to me and you think you can beat me?!\" He was breathing smoke at this point from anger. \"Fine! If you believe you are so damn tough then let''s go to the training grounds and find out shall we?\" \"Fine by me, munchkin if you can handle it!\" Shen was holding back his laughter at this point ''This is too damn easy'' He thought ''It''s like tempting a bull with a red cape. \"Come on then!\"Cain said walking in the direction of the training grounds. Shen followed close behind him. **** Cain and Shen were standing across from each other in the square. Shen checked his health. [Health 160/160] \" Go ahead and drop to lower mortal and let''s see if you can put your money where your mouth is\" Shen was going all-in he needed to get stronger and this was the quickest way. \"Fine! Let''s begin\" Cain lowered his rank to lower mortal. \"Alright then I''ll give you the first hit than\" Shen put his face forward. \"Don''t be so damn cocky!\" Cain said while rushing at shen. Shen got a system message. [attack imminent.] Shen didn''t move an inch. And let him get close. Cain began to throw a flurry of punches and kicks directed at shens body each one connecting with his chest and face. Shen started to get system messages. [Health -5.] [Health -6.] Shen health started dropping fast and he was getting worried ''Hurry up and upgrade already'' he thought. Cain looked at shens face and saw the disappointment in his eyes and thought ''Is he looking down on me??? He is not even fighting back!'' Cain started hitting harder and faster to destroy this punk. Shen continued to look at his health and it kept dropping faster when he got the message. [ upgraded.] Shen smiled ''finally I gotta tell the prince to stop'' but before he could Cain stopped attacking and drop to the floor on his knees in tears he began to punch the floor even cracking tiles from the force. \"I can''t do even this?!?!? How weak am I!?!?\" Cain began to sob with his hands on his eyes like a boy his age would if they were throwing a temper tantrum \" All I ever wanted to be was strong to protect the Kingdom.\" Shen felt a knot form in his stomach and felt sympathy for Cain. \"Listen kid it''s ok-\" \"No! It''s not! What kind of prince can''t even beat a mortal rank?\" Cain said trying to stop the flow of tears Shen knelt down next to him \"Listen, Cain, you are strong in your own way!\" He said trying to console the child. \"Not many people your age could have made it as far as you have in cultivation, I mean you''re already a prodigy in your own right!\" Shen put his hand on Cain''s shoulder. \"Yes but only in spells. My combat skills were never as good as Leo''s\" He said sniffling and wiping his tears with his knees to his chest. Shen thought about it and came up with a plan so they could both get what they want and smiled sinisterly. \"Cain how about we spar every week, That way I can teach you how to do combat.\" \"Why would you do that for me? I''ve done nothing but be mean to you since we met! What would you get from training me?\" Cain responded. \"I don''t need anything from it just knowing you will get stronger is enough for me!\" Shen lied through his teeth, in reality, this arrangement meant that he could level iron body even more from this point forward and improve his relationship with Cain as a result. \"Really? That''s all you want?\" Cain said looking into shens eyes. \"Yes. I''m in the same boat as you. I''m weaker though\" He responded. Cain wiped his tears away with his sleeve And chuckled \"Yea i know that much is true\" Shen felt a bit offended by that comment but let it go for now and extended his hand to cain Cain took his hand and got up \"Fine but don''t tell anyone what you saw here today or else I won''t lower my rank next time\" He pointed a finger at Shen. \"Of course my Prince not a word\" Shen made a motion of locking his lips with a key. \"Alright then! I''ll be taking my leave then!\" Cain said in his familiar prideful manner and walked into the palace. \"That kid reminds me of someone I just can''t put my finger on!\" Shen shrugged his shoulders and walked into the palace. 20 Taking advantage Shen was floored! \" was upgraded!? Just like that??\" Shen was only hit once by Aceton but with just that the skill was upgraded! \"How did it upgrade so quickly??\" The system responded to answer his question [The Iron body skill is upgraded when the one using it is hit enough times or with enough power. is now level two.] Shen was fascinated by this message and asked a question and checked his stats. [Energy 80/80] [Health 100/160 healing in effect time to full healing 00:10:00] \"Only ten points?\" Shen was underwhelmed \"Seems like I need to upgrade this skill a lot before it can make a difference.\" \"How much do I have to be hit before it gets another upgrade?: Shen asked with his hand on his chin. [Would you like to have system reminders to see skills as they get better? Yes/No] Shen said yes and a screen appeared that showed the amount of times he had to be hit. [ Hits from a mortal lower class or higher needed to upgrade.] Shen saw this and began to think about how he could take advantage of this skill. He scanned the area to see if he could find anyone he could spar with but he found no one near him. Shen was walking back into the palace when he had a sinister idea. \"This is gonna be fun,\" He said with a smile from ear to ear. ***** Cain had just finished his study for the day and was exiting the library with his daily haul of books and thinking about the time that Shen had insulted him in the library and he was forced to apologize to him just thinking about it made his blood boil. \"Hello Prince short stack.\" Cain whipped around to see who had insulted him with reddened eyes and saw Shen down the hall. He just ignored him and walked away. Shen called out \"Can you not hear me down there?\" Shen began to laugh and continued to insult him \"I guess the Prince truly thinks he is above me just because his power is high\" he joked. Prince continued to walk away silently \"Or maybe he knows that if we were equal in power he couldn''t beat me\" As soon Shen said this Cain stopped walking and asked \"What did you say?\" Cain asked through gritted teeth. He felt the rage bubble up from his stomach at this point. he wanted to destroy this man and be done with it \"I said that without your power and magic you couldn''t beat me in fact I''ll even let you hit me first and you would be able to take me down\" Shen taunted him by putting his face forward and tapping on his cheek. \"How dare you?!?!\" Cain exclaimed. \"You are nothing but an ant to me and you think you can beat me?!\" He was breathing smoke at this point from anger. \"Fine! If you believe you are so damn tough then let''s go to the training grounds and find out shall we?\" \"Fine by me, munchkin if you can handle it!\" Shen was holding back his laughter at this point ''This is too damn easy'' He thought ''It''s like tempting a bull with a red cape. \"Come on then!\"Cain said walking in the direction of the training grounds. Shen followed close behind him. **** Cain and Shen were standing across from each other in the square. Shen checked his health. [Health 160/160] \" Go ahead and drop to lower mortal and let''s see if you can put your money where your mouth is\" Shen was going all-in he needed to get stronger and this was the quickest way. \"Fine! Let''s begin\" Cain lowered his rank to lower mortal. \"Alright then I''ll give you the first hit than\" Shen put his face forward. \"Don''t be so damn cocky!\" Cain said while rushing at shen. Shen got a system message. [attack imminent.] Shen didn''t move an inch. And let him get close. Cain began to throw a flurry of punches and kicks directed at shens body each one connecting with his chest and face. Shen started to get system messages. [Health -5.] [Health -6.] Shen health started dropping fast and he was getting worried ''Hurry up and upgrade already'' he thought. Cain looked at shens face and saw the disappointment in his eyes and thought ''Is he looking down on me??? He is not even fighting back!'' Cain started hitting harder and faster to destroy this punk. Shen continued to look at his health and it kept dropping faster when he got the message. [ upgraded.] Shen smiled ''finally I gotta tell the prince to stop'' but before he could Cain stopped attacking and drop to the floor on his knees in tears he began to punch the floor even cracking tiles from the force. \"I can''t do even this?!?!? How weak am I!?!?\" Cain began to sob with his hands on his eyes like a boy his age would if they were throwing a temper tantrum \" All I ever wanted to be was strong to protect the Kingdom.\" Shen felt a knot form in his stomach and felt sympathy for Cain. \"Listen kid it''s ok-\" \"No! It''s not! What kind of prince can''t even beat a mortal rank?\" Cain said trying to stop the flow of tears Shen knelt down next to him \"Listen, Cain, you are strong in your own way!\" He said trying to console the child. \"Not many people your age could have made it as far as you have in cultivation, I mean you''re already a prodigy in your own right!\" Shen put his hand on Cain''s shoulder. \"Yes but only in spells. My combat skills were never as good as Leo''s\" He said sniffling and wiping his tears with his knees to his chest. Shen thought about it and came up with a plan so they could both get what they want and smiled sinisterly. \"Cain how about we spar every week, That way I can teach you how to do combat.\" \"Why would you do that for me? I''ve done nothing but be mean to you since we met! What would you get from training me?\" Cain responded. \"I don''t need anything from it just knowing you will get stronger is enough for me!\" Shen lied through his teeth, in reality, this arrangement meant that he could level iron body even more from this point forward and improve his relationship with Cain as a result. \"Really? That''s all you want?\" Cain said looking into shens eyes. \"Yes. I''m in the same boat as you. I''m weaker though\" He responded. Cain wiped his tears away with his sleeve And chuckled \"Yea i know that much is true\" Shen felt a bit offended by that comment but let it go for now and extended his hand to cain Cain took his hand and got up \"Fine but don''t tell anyone what you saw here today or else I won''t lower my rank next time\" He pointed a finger at Shen. \"Of course my Prince not a word\" Shen made a motion of locking his lips with a key. \"Alright then! I''ll be taking my leave then!\" Cain said in his familiar prideful manner and walked into the palace. \"That kid reminds me of someone I just can''t put my finger on!\" Shen shrugged his shoulders and walked into the palace. 21 The Real Training Begins [one week later] Shen sat in the middle of his bedroom and practiced after the timer was up he checked his stats while he stretched his arms over his head. [Energy 400/400.] [Health 200/200.] [iron body level 3.] He looked at his stats and couldn''t complain. \"I wish I had more time to better prepare myself for the hunt but I''ll take what I can get\" He sighed. Shen wanted to be sure he could match the beasts that he was about to face but as fate would have it today is the day they are arriving to port, ''guess I''ll have to make do with what I got'' \"Well might as well go ask the Aceton about the time of arrival we will arrive\" Shen shrugged and left the room. ***** Aceton was in his throne room solving the kingdoms daily problems and preparing to arrive at the port, when his advisor came up to him and whispered in his ear \"Is it true? \" Aceton raised his eyebrow The advisor nodded \"I see\" Aceton put his hands together with a serious expression on his face. \"I''ll tell Shen before we arrive,\" Aceton said with a grim expression. \"I''d advise against it, your majesty. He may be a threat to our secrecy and give something away to the enemy!\" Aceton remained silent for a moment before answering \"Very well, We will keep this from him for the time being\" \"Very well your majesty!\" The advisor bowed and walked away Aceton sat there silent. The advisor smiled sinisterly after turning the corner and pulled out a crystal and spoke into it \" The fish took the bait\" \"Good..\" A voice answered from the other side. The advisor continued to speak \"I think we could-\" ***** Shen was about to enter the throne room when he was bumped into by a man in a blue cloak who dropped a weird cristal when they collided \"You idiot! Watch where you''re going- \" The advisor began to scold whoever ran into him but stopped when he noticed it was the king''s guest. \"Oh I''m sorry\" Shen said, putting a hand behind his head. \"O-Oh it''s nothing forget about it,\" the advisor said waving his hand \"Oh it seems you dropped something let me get it for you\" Shen got down on a knee and picked up the crystal which was cracked in half \"Oh I''m sorry I didn''t mean to break your crystal thing.\" Shen bowed while apologizing. The advisor''s face went pale from the sight and felt a sharp pain in his chest '' that crystal is worth more than my house!!'' The advisor swallowed his sorrow and bit his lip \"It''s fine master Shen\" The advisor quickly picked up the pieces and left. \"Weird\" Shen said as he enters the throne room The king looks at him and remains silent \"Hello, your majesty may I ask a question of you?\" Shen asked courteously \"Proceed\" Aceton said \"Are we near the port?\" Shen asked \" yes\" Aceton answered sharply \"Thank you \" Shen responded he began to walk out of the throne room \"Shen stop\" Aceton spoke suddenly Shen turned around and asked \"yes Aceton? \"Shen I''ve been meaning to ask you something,\" He said \"About what?\" Shen responded curiously \"How do you feel about what happened to your master?\" Aceton responded The room became a shroud of silence. Shen gritted his teeth \"do you want to know?\" \"Yes\" Aceton felt the temperature in the room rise by a few degrees. \"Fine then I''ll tell you\" Shen took a deep breath in \"At first I felt the world crash around me. I felt alone and afraid. I felt like it would have been better off dying instead but now\" Shen gripped his hands tight enough to make his hands bleed and he could feel his blood boil like water on a stove Aceton could feel the energy coming off him and it felt like a sea of emotion was being held back by this boy ''interesting'' Aceton though \"I feel like getting revenge. And I''ll do anything for it.\" Shen said that and it looked like he was about to kill someone with his eyes \"I see\" Aceton replied coldly, \"And what makes you so sure you will get it?\" \"Because I know I will,\" shen said plainly but the answer seems to have been the roar of a lion. Silence once again took the room which was followed by laughing by Aceton. \"What''s so funny?\" Shen asked his face changing from one anger to that of confusion. \"That Shu somehow found his clone and made him his student!\" Aceton howled \"Shen I give you my blessing to use the resources of the kingdom to get stronger. you need only ask!\" Shen''s anger faded and was replaced with gratitude and a tear found its way down his cheek he bowed to hide the tears. \"Thank you. Your majesty. Thank you\" \"Go Shen go and have your hunt but understand the real training begins when you return!\" \"Thank you my king\" Shen wiped his tears and left the hall in high spirits and ready to face the obstacles ahead! 22 Port Carstone Shen left the palace with a guard to guide him. The light breeze coming from the sea immediately rushed to his nostrils. He took a deep breath, before slowly exhaling. This sort of fresh air could only be encountered near the sea. It felt different than the mainland, almost mind calming. Shen forgot himself and stared at the seaport city of Carstone engrossed in his thoughts. The sun shone on his face and exposed body, while the breeze cooled him ever so slightly with its caressing touches. The scene in front of him was beautiful. \"Master Shen?\" The guard asked concernedly while tapping his shoulder. \"Um yes?\" Shen replied, a bit confused by the tap. \"Is everything alright?\" The guard asked again. \"Oh! Yes, everything''s alright. I just got lost in my thoughts for a while. Shall we continue? \" Shen replied and started walking forwards again. As they drew closer to the Port Carstone, Shen noticed that loads of people from the mainland came to Medtron. Moreover, when they arrived at the Port, there were hardly any people from the Water Kingdom. The people from the mainland were dressed in bright blue clothes the men wore a type of blue suit that looked expensive, on the cuffs they had pearls and the women wore sundresses with open-toe shoes and some had a sun hat and all of them had expensive Perl and shell necklaces everyone looked as if they were waiting for this visit. \"Why is no one leaving the Kingdom?\" Shen asked with a puzzled expression. \"Well our kingdom was always participating in many wars and that time is still fresh in their minds\" The guard explained \"If you take this road you will reach Carstone woods. Here this will help you.\" he pointed to a long road down a stone street. Before leaving the guard gave shen a crystal and said \"This is a location crystal it has a map of the woods I recommend keeping away from the black spot in the middle, it is the resident sacred ground for the region\" He bowed and quickly returned to Medtron Shen watched him walk away. Shen turned around and began looking for the woods as looked at the port he noticed that the city seems to be completely reliant on the Medtron kingdom visit there are signs all over the streets celebrating their arrival. As Shen walked the streets he began to notice that the farther from port he got the more poverty he saw in the city At the entrance of the Carstone city, there were lavish decorations and beautiful pastures but as you got deeper into the city it became more of a slum with scattered houses and people in rags with their bones clearly visible Shen knew what these people were they were just like him they were treated as less than human. \"Ah\" A little boy falls in front of shen he scoffed his arm on the stone street and got some mud on Shens clothes Shen tried to help\" Are you ok kid? Seems you scratched you kneel bad-\" \"I''m sorry sir! I didn''t mean too please don''t hurt me! Please!\" The boy shouted \"I won''t hurt you kid I only wanna help you\" Shen tried to console the kid before a man came up to shen and got on his hands and knees and began to beg \"PLEASE don''t hurt my son! Take me instead and I will work hard for you! Please!\" ''What is this situation? He only got mud on me what''s so bad about that?'' Shen thought \"Listen it''s fine just let me see you wound please,\" Shen said in a soft voice. The boy and the dad both looked and thought ''is this noble so sick so as to enjoy seeing me wounded'' The dad nodded and the boy showed his knee which had a long scrape that was bleeding. Shen got down on one knee and cast a healing spell on it and it slowly closed up until all that was left was a bruise the boy and dad sat there shocked that a noble would do this for them Shen finished the spell and told the boy and man to stand up \"Now then why did you think I was gonna hit you?\" he said The boy was the first to speak \"We thought you were a nasty noble\" the man covered the boy''s mouth \"We can''t speak here please come with me!\" the man walked into a hovel barely being held up by the support beams shen followed them inside where there was only a small table with one bowl in the middle of it with two pieces of stale bread in it And the man let go of the boy and told him to go play in his room and he sat with shen at the little table and the man began to speak. \"I''m sorry for all thing sir it''s just that the nobles have eyes everywhere and they will punish us if they know we told an outsider, my name is Victor Hobs and my son''s name is Ben,\" The man said worried looking all over the room. \"Told an outsider About what?\" Shen asked. \"How they treat us\" Victor whispered,\" They treat us like animals and if we look at any of them wrong they beat us!\" Shen began to feel his stomach turn \"Does the water kingdom know about this?\" \"No, they would kill us if we even got close to the port this time of year\" The man looked away as if he was looking a thousand miles away. \"That''s why...that''s why they kill my wife.\" at the edge of Victor''s eyes tears began to form, but he wiped them away. Shen gritted his teeth and gripped his fists. \"What did she do?\" The man finished wiping his tears and looked at the table. \"She believed in the water kingdom. That they would protect us but when she tried to get to port to show them but..\" He paused \"They got to her before she could get there and used her as an example. We couldn''t even have the body!\" Shen sat there silent but full of rage at the actions of the noble people. \"They threw her in the fake religious burial ground and no one can get in there since it''s protected by law and a shield of people without noble status.\" The man controlled himself and said, \"Please sir if you are a noble or if high status can you please bring me her body I know I barely know you, but I''ll give you everything I have if you just try-\" \"I''ll do it,\" Shen responded interrupting the man. \"I''ll do it for free.\" Victor was stunned and began to cry and sob till he could barely say a word. Shen sat there waiting for him to finish and after he did the man said \"Thank you, sir, Thank you! Please please join us for dinner to repay you please\" Victor offered Shen one of the stale pieces of bread on the table. \"No, thank you I have a prior engagement and I must be going but I promise to find out about your wife,\" Shen said and said goodbye and he left the home. Shen was furious but he had no power to do anything now but he could gain it. Shen began to walk to the forest the only thought in his head ''I''ll get stronger and I''ll have the power to save them\" His knuckles almost turned white from the force he was exerting in his grip. He arrived at the forest and it was was not as huge as the temples but it was still a big place and it was full of trees at least 8 feet tall filled with life and lush with fruit and birds. it was nice. Shen made his way into Carstone forest. ***** After about 6 minutes he found a few lower mortal types but no middle mortal types. Shen figured that it was most likely a preditor who would be middle mortal clas. So He thought maybe he could lay a trap, so he went up to a boar and killed it to use it as bait he threw the boar in a clearing and waited in a tree for a preditor. After about 40 minutes the system chimed in. [Threat nearby.] [Engage threat analysis? Yes/No] \"Yes\" Shen crouched down on the branch he was on and waited with bated breath and didn''t see anything [Giant howler monkey: middle mortal class.] ''Finally I found a middle mortal class.'' He thought \"But where is he I should be able to see him¡­\"Shen said Then it clicked ''Wait did it say howler monkey?'' [Attack Imminent.] 23 Suprise Attack [Attack Imminent] As Shen read the message a chill began to run through his spine. Shen jumped off the branch, and in the process smashed a weird creature into pieces. The creature looked like a fusion of a kangaroo and a monkey. This creature had the body of a monkey, but its legs were that of a kangaroo. Its tail was that of a monkey too, but seemed different, longer for some reason. Another such creature emerged from behind the trees, and jumped toward Shen. He was unprepared this time, and the creature landed only a few feet away from Shen. Without a second of warning, the monkey-like creature banged on its furry chest and rushed at Shen. \"Damn, it''s fast!\" Shen exclaimed before jumping out of the way, barely avoiding the creature rushing at him. Shen thought he was in the clear, but the creature used its tail to grip one of the trees, quickly turning around for another try. Shen had no way of escaping such a surprise attack. The creature smashed into his back. The force behind the kick was so great that Shen flew through the air before smashing into a tree where he then fell to the ground. \"Ugh..\" Shen grunted while slowly picking himself up. \"Fucking chimp,\" he cursed and checked his health status. [Health: 150/200] ''Just one hit caused 50 damage!'' Shen exclaimed in his mind, and found his footing. He had to be quick, if he wanted to survive this. Of course, the creature didn''t just stand idle. While Shen was picking himself up, it attacked again. With the use of its long tail, the creature grabbed a tree and jumped around gaining momentum. A few laps around the tree later, the creature launched itself towards Shen with a major momentum gain. Shen saw this at the last possible moment and dashed to the side. Still, the creature was tricky, and this time it used its spring-like legs to jump onto the side of a tree where it bounces back *Bam* Again, Shen was outwitted by the creature and for it lost some more hit points. [Health: 110/200] \"Ugh! Damn Bastard!\", he uttered angrily, yet didn''t try to pick himself up; instead he rolled on the ground. *Bam!*, the creature jumped onto the spot Shen rolled away from. He had gained some time, and so got back to his legs. \"Water Blade!\" Shen lifted one of his hands and exclaimed. \"Now you''ll get some\", Shen said while rushing towards the creature. The monkey-like creature only smiled and tapped its feet on the ground. [Health 60/200] Shen grabbed a tree and pushed himself to his feet and the monkey was getting ready for another attack Shen put himself against the tree if he didn''t think of a plan he would die here The creature once again prepared its self for another attack and hooked its tail around another tree and grabbed a rock and putting it on his head And shot itself at shen who tried to use to block Shen could barely move and the attack hit its target with a force that even left a dent in the tree behind shen [Health 40/200] Shen now had a hole in his shoulder and was bleeding hard the creature had retreated to a safe distance and observed shen and began to bang its chest Shen could barely think let alone stand so he came up with a plan and put it in action \"Come on you piece of S*it\" The creature didn''t understand and turned its head Shen slowly raised himself against another tree and began to bang his chest mocking the monkey The creature saw this and became enraged it prepared to attack Shen put up his arm and gave the finger to it before it attacked The creature launched off the tree splintering wood off its surface \"Water blade\" Shen smiled A blade of water appeared in shens hand and the creature had no way to attack or dodge and hit face-first into the blade cutting its head in two and ending its life \"I''m the king of the jungle bitch,\" Shen said under his breath as he kneeled next to it and used minor healing magic to heal his wounds [monkeyroo defeated] After that he used the blade to skin and cut the beast before he cooking it *** After cooking the beast he ate it and got a system message [Skill aquired] [Requirements met upgrade available for two skills and body enhancement active] Shen felt a familiar glow overtake his body as he felt his body change when it was over he looked a lot stronger than before and he felt it too his vison was noticeably better and his movements were stronger and faster as well. He went up to a tree and punched it and his fist put cracks in the tree shen was jumping with excitement at this before he got some messages [skill upgrade available for iron body] [skill upgrade available for water blade] Shen got both upgrades and got another message [new skill acquired charged rush] Shen looked at the screen and noticed that the skill was the main attack that the monkey was using in their fight and the skill that almost killed him. Shen felt a chill up his back and checked his sats. [Energy 800/800] [Health 520/520] [Active skills] [Waterblade (2)] [Energized body] [Iron fist] [Charged rush] [Passive] [Sword fighting for beginners] [Iron body (6)] ''Holy crap what a jump!'' Shen was astonished his heath was up bt three hundred and his energy by four hundred if he could make more jumps like this he could be a grandmaster in no time at all \"System what do I need for the next jump?\" [Two middle-class beast are needed for next upgrade] Shen was confused\" wouldn''t it have to a higher mortal?\" he asked [host body must be upgraded before allowing it to become higher mortal or host body would be unable to survive the jump] \"Why does everything end with me having to die!?\" Shen was frustrated by this system and the way it worked whoever designed it was an idiot \"Why don''t you come with an instruction manual damn it!\" Shen let out a sigh and looked up at the sky it was getting dark \"I guess I''ll go find some more beasts tomorrow then, for now, I gotta keep my promise to victor and the kid\" Shen pulled out the cristal and opened the map to find the black spot **** Shen got to the spot and saw a huge holy temple that seemed to be in use \"They couldn''t possibly be something like what Victor said here it''s just a normal temple!\" Shen was confused maybe this was some sick joke by the man and his son Shen decided to enter the temple to see what''s going on but as he got closer his head began to buzz and he got a headache just from approaching it and jumped back. \"The hell was that?\" [Illusions barrier active] The system replied. [Counter spell needed to destroy it] Shen looked at the message and became furious in an instant. ''They would use a temple to hide their darker deeds? How sick are these nobles! Now Shen knew it! It had to be true, those nobles had killed all those people! And they did it just to have money and objects! Is human life so worthless to them? Those aren''t people. They are demons! Shen decided that he was gonna get strong enough to make a difference and he had to do it before the week was up and if he didn''t, he knew he wouldn''t forgive himself if he didn''t so he left the temple and began to walk into the forest to find the two creatures he needed next 24 Family Shen walked through the forest and he was confused and annoyed. In the past 8 hours, he couldn''t find a single middle mortal beast, just lower mortal types. It was already daylight. Shen was starting to get hungry and was saving his appetite for a middle mortal class of beasts. *Growl* Shen clutched his stomach and had bags under his eyes from not sleeping Shen sat down next to a tree and put his head against it. \"How come I can''t find a single middle-class beast in this whole damn forest!\" Shen shouted out in frustration tapping the back of his head against the tree. And was planning to leave and ask around in town but just then he heard a scream come from behind him. \"Help! Please, someone! Anyone! Help please!\" It sounded like a little kid! Shen stood up and ran to the source of the voice. He found a small dark brown-haired child hiding in a tree with a hole in the middle just big enough for his short size, He was being attacked by a creature that was a giant hornet trying to break into the trees using its stinger stabbing into the tree and breaking off chunks of wood. Shen saw what was happening and rushed to save the boy and blindsided the monster with the But it whipped around and stopped it with its stinger and they began to stab at each other back and forth. The hornet attempted to stab Shen''s face but the beast''s movements felt slower than the monkeyroo. He dodged out of the way while activating iron fists and punching the beast in the face which caused the creature to be thrown into a tree. As it tried to recover Shen stabbed it into the tree pinning it into it a bit of blood splashed on his face. [Congratulations on defeating giant hornet: Middle-class beast.] [Skill Upgraded.] Shen couldn''t believe what just happened. '' That was a middle-class beast??? Why was it so easy?'' He thought that it must have been a level lower than the monkeyroo since it was so slow But now he thought maybe it wasn''t the creature! Maybe it was him! His boy must have sped up and made it easier to kill for him. \"T-Thank you, mister\" A voice interrupted Shens thoughts and caused him to turn around quickly. The child behind him was wearing rags and looking at him with brown eyes which were red with tears. The child flinched and said \"Thank you for saving me sir!\" The Child bowed and looked up at Shen like he was a monster since in the kid''s eyes he looked like one he just killed a middle-class beast like it was nothing. \"It''s fine, are you hurt?\" Shen said with a smile trying to seem endearing to the child. \"J-J-Just a scratch sir\" Now the kid was terrified the man smiled even though his face has blood all over it! ''This man is not sane!'' The child thought nearly wet himself in fear. \"Let me see\" Shen put out his hand to the child. \"O-ok\" The boy sheepishly put his arm in the man''s hand and closed his eye and Shen saw a shallow scratch along the forearm of the small child reaching his elbow. Shen cast some basic healing magic and the wound went away, not even a bruise. Shen was surprised ''Did my healing also get better?'' Shen thought. The boy opened his eyes to see the scratch was completely better, no scar, not even he could see where the cut used to be. The boy''s face brightened up and he looked at Shen with gratitude. \"Thank you mister!\" The boy said with a joyful smile. \"It was nothing but I have a couple questions if you don''t mind answering them for me\" Shen knelt close to the kid''s face. \"Sure! I know a lot about these parts.\" The child said pridefully \"Ask me anything.\" \"Ok,\" Shen said, \"Let''s start with your name.\" \"My name is Julius masters.\" The boy responded. \"Why was this beast after you and where did you find it?\" \"At the cave not too far from here. It''s forbidden to go there but I went in because my friends dared me too,\" The boy said, \"They said I was too afraid to go in and I went in to prove them wrong and I did!\" \"And what did that gain you?\" Shen said simply remembering how Shu used to scold him. \"...Nothing.\" The boy said looking down to the ground. \"It almost killed you do you know how stupid it to do something like this?\"Shen said scolding the boy. \"But I just wanted to be Brave!\" The boy cried out. \"It won''t matter if you''re brave if you''re dead! There is a difference between being brave and being stupid! You just did something damn near suicidal! And for what your friends think you''re cool?\" Shen Shouted at the boy. \"I-I-I\" The boy could barely speak. The man was right and the boy was almost pushed to tears. \"Do you have a family kid?\" Shen asked and the boy nodded his head slightly. \"Then go and spend time with them, not with those stupid friends who will get you killed for fun.\" \"B-B-but i\" Tears ran down the boy''s cheeks. Shen sighed and looked at the boy in the eyes. \"Then make them understand. Your life is important and they would miss you if you were gone.\" Shen said calmly. \"Listen I''ll walk you back home after I eat and mark this cave on my map.\" Julius and Shen sat down on two logs while he cooked the hornet on a spit and they began to talk. Shen found out the boy had two brothers and one sister and he was the oldest. He said that his real dad had left him and his stepdad was more of a father than the one he used to have but he was working all the time and couldn''t be there for him. \"What about your siblings?\" Shen asked with an eyebrow raised. \"My sister judged my friends and I got mad and didn''t talk to her anymore,\" Julius said, crossing his arms in a huff. \"That''s not right, you should always try and make up with family! I was alone for most of my life with only my grandmaster to take care of me and talk to me. Without him I would have been dead a long time ago. Either by the people who hated me or...\" Shen said looking into the forest with eyes that looked a thousand miles away. \"Well I wouldn''t have made it this far,\" Shen said, coming back to reality. Julius sat and gripped his rags tightly in his hands and softly sobbing. \"What''s wrong\" Shen was perplexed. \"They won''t take me back. I said something horrible to my mom and sister and they hate me now\" Julius said through thick tears. \"That''s not true they are your family! And I''m sure that if you go back and apologize they will take you back!\" Shen exclaimed. Julius began to wipe his tears away. \"Really? You think they will?\" \"I know they will because family is something you can''t take for granted and mothers always love their kids no matter what they do,\" Shen replied looking into the fire. \"That''s why I wish I had one like yours because a family that argues with you, cares for you.\" The boy looked at Shen who was looking into the fire and saw a tear form at the bridge of his eyelid before Shen wiped it away and began to speak. \"The food is done, let''s eat.\" Shen cut a piece of the beast and gave it to the kid and ate a piece himself. [Skill upgraded basic sword fighting. (2)] [Skill acquired frenzy assault.] [One more middle-class beast needed to upgrade.] \"Nice,\" Shen said and the boy heard him. \"What sir?\" \"Oh I mean it''s nice to have a family and a place to go home to,\" Shen responded. \"You know people who listen to you when you talk. I never had that I was by myself I only ever had master Shu\" \"Yea it is..\" Julius felt bad for everything he did and wanted to go home and see his family again. **** After they ate their fill Shen got up and walked Julius home. After a while they stood at the front door of a dirt home which was small but well maintained. \"I don''t think they will take me back,\" Julius said sheepishly. \"Ok well let''s see\" Shen knocked on the door and after a minute a woman with red eyes from crying Answered the door \"Yes\" She said. The boy was hiding behind shens leg and walked forward. \"Hi mom,\" The boy said. \"Mom I''m so sorry-\" Before the boy could finish the mom hugged him and started to cry holding him. In her embrace, he began to cry too. After a moment a little girl came out of the house and saw them and ran into the hug while crying. \"Big brother your back!\" She shouted through her tears and the little boys had much the same reaction. They all cried together for a moment. After they were done the mom stood up and told the boy to go inside so that his father would talk to him later and the boy''s face went pale and caused Shen to chuckle in response. The women went up to Shen. \"Thank you for bringing him home,\" The mother said, wiping her tears. After talking for a few minutes Shen left the family and went back to the woods to find the cave the boy was talking about and thinking about how Shu was when he was that age. \"Ha\" Shen let out a chuckle \"I was such a handful always getting into trouble and trying to escape the temple. He was my father, mother, and brother.\" He let out a bit of a smile \"I miss those simple times. I miss you Shu.\" \"I''ll get revenge for you Shu. I promise.\" *** In a dungeon under the Igniculus prison. Shu was in a cell with his foot chained to the floor pulling on the chain trying to get free \"I''ll get out of here.\" Shu laid with his back against the wall. \"I''ll get back to you Shen Even if it kills me.\" \"And when I do I''ll tell you the truth.\" 25 Monsters Shen passed a Fake Temple on his way to the cave. Although he knew this was a Fake Temple, Shen was stunned by its quality. Vines surrounded the Temple, its statues and wall carvings. While his eyes wandered around the building, Shen''s ears caught something in the distance. \"Hey, you sure someone knows about this Fake Temple?\", a male voice said. \"Yea, I''m sure, now get moving, will you?\", a female voice replied. Shen''s interest piqued, he intended to listen in on their conversation a bit more. [Use stealth mode? Yes/No?] Shen didn''t have time to curse at the machine. He simply whispered \"Yes\", and masked his presence. Shen quickly climbed one of the trees, and listened in. \"I have a reliable source. The guy told me he caught Victor and the kid talking to a Water Kingdom noble. If news gets out, our economy will collapse!\" The female spoke. Shen looked towards the Temple, and noticed the pair coming closer. The man had a well-chiseled body, while his face looked tough but handsome. His head was full of black hair, trimmed just enough not to obstruct his eyes. The woman on the other hand, wore a white mask devoid of any features. Other than the opening for her mouth and eyes, nothing else was there to be seen. Her tanned arms were visible thanks to the pure white and blue sleeveless dress she wore. Her white cloak fluttered in the light breeze, giving her more charm. [Threat analysis? Yes/No?] Shen glanced at the message before muttering \"Yes\". As soon as he accepted, another message popped up. [???: Middle Apprentice Class.] [???: Higher Mortal Class.] Shen looked at the two, as if looking at some sort of beasts. Even the weaker of the two, was a level higher than him. ''These guys are stronger than me, better stay quiet and observe. I wonder what they''re up to?'' Shen asked himself. \"Let''s just get this over with,\" The male said looking at the masked female. \"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.\" The masked woman replied while rolling her eyes. Once they stood in front of the Fake Temple, the woman cast a spell. Without any noise, the Temple slowly faded into nothingness. As if it was never there. What appeared in its place, was a deep pit filled to the brim with bodies. Some of the bodies were completely rotten, others seemed fairly fresh ''That can mean only one thing. This has been going on for a long time.'' Shen thought. The smell was appalling. He could smell the bodies from where he stood. The sudden urge to vomit overwhelmed him. ''How could humans do something like this!? They aren''t humans, they are monsters!'' Shen exclaimed in his mind. He tried his best to stay quiet, but it wasn''t easy for him. All sorts of emotions flooded his mind. Sorrow, for the lives that were lost. Anger, for what others were capable of. Then there was disgust, pure disgust from the sight he saw. Shen held back his feelings and watched the scene unfold. \"There, nothing''s been touched. Now, put up the barrier before someone sees us,\" The man said looking out into the forest. \"Alright.\" She placed the barrier back up, and both of them walked back where they came from. Shen waited with bated breath for them to leave. Once they were out of sight, he let out a sigh of relief. [Attack Imminent] Shen almost got a heart attack, when the message appeared in front of him. He quickly jumped off of the tree, and into some bushes beneath. He was barely able to avoid a bolt of lightning slamming into the tree, charring it to a crisp. \"Why did you do that?\" The masked woman asked, confused. \"Shhh! I feel like someone here.\" The man said, placing his hand on the woman''s mouth. ''How did he know?\" Shen held his breath and waited for them to leave. \"You''re so paranoid you know? If there was anyone, you''d sense their energy already\" The woman said frustrated. \"Yeah, I guess you''re right. Just in case, do me a favor and cast a locator spell on the area before we leave.\" The man responded. ''Shit! Shit! Shit!'' Shen needed to get out of there, and fast. The problem was the lack of a way out. He knew that running out into the open was pointless. They would catch up to him before he could get anywhere. Shen''s mind sieved through multiple possibilities, but none of them seemed viable. He just waited with bated breath, while the woman chanted the spell. Suddenly a blue flash illuminated the forest surrounding all three. Shen felt a chill up his back and thought ''this is it where I die! I''m sorry Shu I''ll make it up in my next life!'' \"Nothing,\" The woman said with an annoyed expression looking at the man who responded. \"Yeah whatever better safe than sorry!\" They turned back to the forest and Shen waited at least 30 minutes before getting up from his prone position. He began carefully looking around after confirming they were gone and breathed a sigh of relief. \"That was close! I need to be more careful, also since when did the system have a stealth mode?\" Shen said annoyed that the system always has some features that he doesn''t know about. \"System is there any way I can know all the modes you have?\" [Affirmative.] \"Well tell me!\" Shen said annoyed. As soon as he did, a screen popped up. [Enemy detection On/Off] [Energy meter and information On/Off] [Health updates On/Off] [Threat analysis On/Off] [Trainer mode On/Off] [voice activation On/Off] [Custom mode On/Off] [Stealth mode On/Off] [Gain knowledge to unlock more settings and upgrade existing ones.] \"When did I get that??\" Shen asked. [Stealth skill was acquired when the host body was upgraded to middle mortal class.] ''I see'' Shen thought ''Looks like this system needs to be checked every time I upgrade the person who designed this is a dumbass genius'' Shen shrugged his shoulders. \"But now I know who I''m up against..\" Shen looked into the forest where the man and woman were He felt a pit drop in his stomach from remembering what he saw. \"They are not getting away with this!\" Shen looked at the temple with rage welling up inside him and turned away into the woods towards the direction of the cave. **** As Shen got closer to the cave he could see there weren''t any beasts anywhere near the cave it seems that even the animals avoided it. As he came to the cave he saw that the entrance was about 15 feet high and 20 feet across as he was about to enter there was a roar coming from the cave. Shen sat behind a bush near the cave and turned on stealth mode and looked on to the entrance and saw something exiting the cave. It was a bear and it''s on fire! Shen quickly looked around the bear to see if it was being attacked but he didn''t see anyone but the bear looked so calm. Shen asked the system to do a threat analysis on the bear. [Cinder bear: Higher mortal class.] Shen looked at the name of the bear and worked out that his name was probably describing the fact he is on fire. The bear seemed to be leaving the cave to go hunt and Shen waited for it to leave before entering the cave. \"I should get a middle mortal class quick and maybe when the bear comes back I can kill it too\" Shen let out a smirk, Everything is coming together Shen ran into the cave and looked around despite there being no light Shens eye adjusted faster than it would have before. \"Wow it does enhance everything when you upgrade.\" Shen looked into the cave which seemed to stretch for miles even with his enhanced eyes he couldn''t see the end of the cave so he walked in deeper and still saw no end in sight. \"Wow,\" Shen said as he saw the cave was expanding as he entered and it got darker as he walked. When he got to the end of it he noticed huge stalagmites were hanging from the ceiling and a huge underground lake. \"This place is huge!\" Shen''s jaw nearly dropped at the sight \"But where are the monsters? I thought the kid said this place was crawling with them!\" Shen was looking around but found it was a bit dark even though he enhanced his eyes since there was barely any light from the outside so he used an energy orb and lit the room As soon as he did he noticed that he had walked into a room of sleeping cinder bears. They all looked like the same bear that exited the cave except two were noticeably smaller And Shen noticed the small ones were kids and the big one must have been the mom who had the two smaller ones nestled close to her. Shen looked at the three and cast threat analysis to see what danger he was in. [Cinder bear: higher mortal class.] [Cinder bear: Middle mortal class.] [Cinder bear Middle mortal class.] [The smaller bears will allow you to upgrade. action is recommended.] Shen looked at the message and looked at the cute bear cubs. They looked helpless and he couldn''t even think of hurting them. \"No, I''ll find another way. I won''t take someone''s family.\" Shen looked at the cubs for a moment and the room seemed to light up a bit harder ''did the upgrade also affect my light?'' But then shen noticed that the light he saw was a different color than the blue orb and seemed orange and shen realized what it was. \"Oh Shi-\" [Attack Imminent.] 26 Cave Dwelling He jumped out of the way of the cinder bear''s claws but couldn''t find his footing and fell on the cold cave floor, His heart pulsated from the jolt he received. Though aching he tried making it to his feet with a steely determination in his eyes as he stared at the bear. He could hear the system pang in his head. [-20 Health.] \"Crap it''s surprisingly quick\" Shen began to hurry to his feet but he wasn''t fast enough because the bear closed the distance, Slashing at his face with a feral intensity. Shen activated the water blade collided with the bear''s claws, barely holding it back. The bear opened its mouth, a burst of flame began to billow out from it. [Attack Imminent.] Shen lashed out using iron fist, creating an opening for him to gain distance, As he did the bear''s mouth shot a red hot fire out that would have burned him to a cinder. After getting away, Shen took a breath, trying to get his bearings on the situation \"Thing is thing is strong!\" He had to come up with a game plan if he wanted to survive this, he looked around the room, scanning the area for anything of importance, but as he did the beast was on him, lashing out at him with its furious swipes that shen could only narrowly evade. The beast swiped at shen with the intent to kill and shen was trying to get away to counterattack but this beast didn''t give him a second to breathe. The beast opened its mouth once he could see the flame radiating from its gullet, Shen had no time to think only act. He called out his water blade with one hand and with the other called out iron fist The beast slashed at Shen again its paws cutting through the air with a satisfying sizzle, before it could make contact with shens body it was blocked by the water blade, the beast responded by opening its mouth, shooting out a pillar of fire, Shen punched the bear in the snout causing the flame to illuminate the cave as it flew upwards After jumping away from the bear he looked around the room for solutions while the flame still brightened the cave \"The river!\" He shouted returning his sight to the bear and focusing on what he had to do The bear looked back at him eyes gleaming with anger as he shot smoke out of his nose Shen looked at the bear and called to it mockingly causing it to run at him full force, he ran away from the bear and began to move in a zigzag pattern \"That''s it follow me you big teddy bear!\" He screamed out, Its eyes were red it charged at him, Shen stopped spun around and jumped out of the way of the charge, it didn''t have any time to stop though it tried to its paws slipping on the wet floor, before crashing into the lake, it got back up to counter-attack but when it tried to shoot flames nothing came out but smoke. Shen took the chance, he was about to attack with the water blade but then he felt something tug on his pant leg, he stopped and looked back to see two small cubs pulling him away from their father, small plumes of fire on their backs, their teeth biting his pant legs. Shen looked at the cider bear, then back at the cubs \"I can''t take someone''s family\" He sighed and took back his water blade, and walked away, as he did he saw the cinder bear get out of the water, greeted by the small cubs yipping at him happily, \"I''ll find another way.\" He looked around the room and saw an opening in the wall for him to go deeper into the cave **** Shu was still chained to the floor waiting in silence for the next round of beatings \"The grandmaster will be back for you soon so don''t get comfy in there\" The guard chuckled as he saw an enemy of his nation looking like he had been chewed up and spit out like a wad of gum. Shen sat silently not moving an inch, as still as a statue. \"Don''t you get it your gonna die here\" The guard said in annoyance at the prisoner not even recognizing his insult Shu remained silent. \"Whatever. Grandmaster Vulcan will take care of you in due time. As long as you are shackled you don''t stand a chance.\" The guard scoffed at Shu and shut the metal plate on the door Shu smirked when the guard left '' i won''t be here for long, you''ll see'' Shen got close to a wall and began to silently break off pieces of the walls And put them in his sleeves *** Shen kept going deeper into the cave, it seemed to go on forever he was getting tired again and hungry \"Why can''t I find any damn middle-class beasts.\" He muttered \"Wait I think I see something\" Shen looked forward and saw a blinding light at the end of the cave, he began to run to it, but this light was weird it started to move away from him at an alarming speed and when he stopped walking, it did too He couldn''t figure out what this was, but it seemed to have a life of its own \"Leave me alone asshole!\" A high pitched voice called out in anger Shens eyes couldn''t adjust to the source of light but he could swear that he saw a little woman''s figure ''What the hell is that?'' [fairy: lower mortal class] ''Holy sh*t it''s a fairy!'' Shen only ever heard about them but he had never seen one! Shen tried to talk to the creature \"Hey I don''t wanna hurt you so please calm down, I just wanna pass, ok?\" \"Do you think you can punk?\" The fairy responded proudly crossing its arms while fluttering its wings behind itself \"Excuse me?\" Shen was less insulted and more confused than anything. ''Was this little fairy threatening me?'' He couldn''t help but smirk at the thought of this tiny creature attacking him \"PFT Yeah whatever. I''m gonna just go\" Shen walked past the fairy \"No, you don''t come back and fight me you coward\" The fairy followed behind Shen and came up to his face. He could see the figure better, she had fiery red hair that seemed silky to the touch, her ivory body was covered with thin rough leather armor that complimented her petite figure ''if she was my size she would be a princess!\" \"Stop following me I need to find something-\" Shen was annoyed but his words were cut when the system spoke [Attack Imminent] Shen grabbed the fairy and dodged to the left, \"Hey! What do you think you''re doing?\" The fairy hollered, They saw a dark blur pass their vision. It stopped right in front of them. It looked like a frog mixed with a grasshopper. It had frog legs with a grasshopper head. [Froghopper: lower mortal class] \"It''s here! I''ll kill it!\" The fairy struggled against Shens hand. It turned around, Jumping fast to attack the fairy who Shen had in his hand, he cast Water blade and skewered the creature on the tip of the blade \"You killed it?!?!\" The fairy said in disbelief \"You killed it¡­\" The fairy whipped around and looked at Shen \"HOW DARE YOU!! That was my kill!\" The fairy was filled with rage looking at Shen, its tiny body shaking in their air. \"How about some gratitude for saving your sorry ass!\" Shen put his finger in the fairy''s face'' causing it to back away The fairy responded \"...your right¡­. I''m sorry\" It looked sad. \"It''s fine just tell me why you are here?\" Shen was curious because Shu always told him that fairies are rare since they tend to live in the realm of fae and don''t interact with humans much. \"I-I came here to become a warrior.\" The fairy looked embarrassed, its face as red as a tomato \"A fairy warrior? Aren''t you guys like mages?\" Shen was confused since one of the only things he knew was that fairies don''t like conflict which is why they stayed in the fae realm away from humanity \"Just because I''m a fairy doesn''t mean I have to be a mage!\" The fairy huffed, crossing its arms Shen rolled his eyes \"Well that''s all fine and dandy but my question was how did you get here?\" \"...I got lost following the creature you just killed\" The fairy said, embarrassed at her mistake. Her white face went as red as a tomato and turned her face \"Which I would have killed if you hadn''t killed it.\" The little fairy looked like a sad porcelain doll Shen held back a smile, looking at the little fairy \"What are you gonna do now? \"I...I-I don''t know\" The fairy looked worried and a bit frightened even though it tried to hide it behind a poker face \"Wanna follow me then?\" Shen could take advantage of the fact that it tracked a creature this far meaning it knows how to hunt at least and he could use the help, \"Why would I want that? So you can steal my next kill too!\" The fairy looked away from shen dismissively and turned around \"Have it your way\" Shen shrugged his shoulders and picked up the dead creature and walked deeper into the cave \"Good luck with the cinder bear at the entrance!\" The fairy''s face went pale \"Cinder bear?!?\" Shen felt a tap on his shoulder and looked to his shoulder to see the fairy sitting beside his face \"You know maybe you need some help, you do look a bit weak so I''ll tag along for your safety!\" The fairy explained. \"Yeah sure let''s go\" Shen continued deeper into the cave.