"I've been praising you pretty high over here. You better not let me down and lose. You'll make me look bad in front of the other immortals." Bwiri was getting Tower pumped up for the battle today.
She decided to let him know what was going on in case things go too weird. Tower was already used to these types of situations.
"Don't worry, I won't let you down, Bwiri," said Tower. Tower ended his mental conversation with Bwiri to focus on his upcoming match. He was matched with a person named Marlo Higgins. Marlo was a foreigner from another continent. Tower was excited to face someone from another continent. It's not like this happens every day.
Malkus came into the waiting room along with his brother, Paneneko, and his friend Aerun. Tower saw the man but didn't think much about him. Maybe he was another helper, or could he be a friend of the Gun Brothers?
"Hey Tower, this is my friend Aerun, he wanted to watch the competition," Paneneko said.
"How did the two of you meet?" Tower asked.
"You know my brother, he can't help but be a nosy troublemaker." Malkus laughed.
"I wasn't being a troublemaker, Aerun and his girlfriend were being bullied so I helped out," Paneneko said.
"It's fiancé, and you helped out, but I could have handled it by myself," Aerun corrected.
"I don't know, it sure did take you a while to take down Bilk and he's pretty weak," Paneneko said.
"What do you mean, took me a long time? I only spent like three seconds on him," Aerun defended himself. Tower and Malkus shrugged and went about doing their own things. It seemed they agreed with Paneneko, three seconds was a long time for someone like Bilk.
It's not that the three had ever fought Bilk before, it's just that one of the benefits of their training is their sensitivity to auras and power levels. They could also give a rough estimate of a person's skills based on how they moved their bodies. Bilk's movements were sloppy. They all met Bilk at one of the contestant gatherings and already sized him up. For someone like Bilk, it shouldn't take more than a quarter of a second to defeat him.
"Don't worry about it buddy, you'll get better." Paneneko tried to console his friend, but Aerun felt like he was wronged on a deep level. All three of these guys, including Paneneko, thought he was a weak fighter.
"Oh, Aerun would like to travel with us, he also plans to attend the Water Rock Sect," Paneneko said to the two.
"Can he even get into the Water Rock Sect, it's a Supreme Sect, he may not be up to it," Tower asked Paneneko.
"He says that his Master is an immortal and he's confident in his chances. Besides if he comes we would have another person along, he's a fun guy." Paneneko said.
"I only worry that he's going to get himself killed along the way. Our training isn't so easy. I don't think he can keep up." Malkus said.
"That's it! I'm not some weakling. Everyone around here can't stand up to me at all! I'll show you guys, come here, one of you come spar with me!" Aerun insisted.
"Sure, I've got some time until my first bout," Malkus said.
"Go easy on him Malkus, I don't think he's ever been in a real fight," Paneneko said.
Aerun gave Paneneko a look as if saying, 'you too, even you don't believe in me?' but Paneneko seemed really concerned for him.
"Don't worry, I'll be nice to him, but he should know just how weak he is so he doesn't get himself killed," Malkus said.
"I understand brother, but he's a really sensitive guy, he cries even," Paneneko said.
Malkus looked over Aerun and shook his head.
"I'll try to not make you cry," Malkus said.
Aerun blinked and was really mad now. Taking a fighting stance, Aerun was ready to fight. He was even more serious about fighting now than he was when he fought Bilk.
"Cute kid, is he one of yours?" Bwiri's voice came behind Jek Alto's ear. Jek was hiding off to the side observing everything. He had a grin on his face. Finally, this kid was being told what he needed to hear.
Bwiri's voice startled Jek and he was about to kneel when she waved him off.
"Let's not disturb the young men because of some silly ritual of men," Bwiri said.
"I'm curious how this will turn out," Bwiri said amused.
The pair looked back to the battle that was about to take place.
"Ready, Aerun?" Malkus asked.
"Yes!" He said resolutely.
"Okay," Malkus said.
Malkus immediately flew at him with a punch. Aerun managed to dodge the first punch, but immediately after he was knocked out by the follow-up punch.
"No wonder he didn't take part in this contest, he's even weaker than I thought," Paneneko said.
"He's a lot stronger than Bilk. He was able to dodge one of Malkus's punches." Tower said.
"He's got some potential, but he's never fought a real fight before and he needs to upgrade his strength," Malkus said.
"You think sister-in-law will let us take him with us? I'd love to have him along, but I don't know if he could survive her training." Paneneko said.
"Maybe I'll ask Bwiri to come up with something a little less strenuous for him, if you really want him to come along," Tower said.
"Yeah, I like this guy, but I wonder if he plans to bring his girlfriend, she might make things inconvenient," Panenko said.
"Can she cook," Malkus asked.
The three young men continued in their discussion. Bwiri was smiling at the conversation. These three monsters didn't realize how powerful they were. One of the reasons she made them keep their training belt and bracelets on these days was to keep them from going too wild. If they knew how much stronger they were over normally fighters, they might lose their will to fight like this boy had.
"I don't mind bringing this kid along, but it will be pretty tough. He might die." Bwiri said to Jek.
Jek let out a sigh before answering Bwiri.
"The truth is, I believe he needs some experiences. He needs to face some life and death battle and learn some humility. He has a lot of talent but he's weak mentally. He should be twice as strong as he is now, but he became overly prideful in his little bit of strength. I think if he really applied himself he could make it into the Water Rock Sect, but right now he's just too weak.
Bwiri thought about it for a few moments before speaking again.
"I'll tell you what, Paneneko seems to like the young man. I'll bring him with us and make sure he's strong enough to get into the Water Rock Sect. I'll even protect his life along the way as much as possible. In return, you make sure his girlfriend doesn't come along. A guy like this needs some hardship and the women here are weak. She would never be silent watching her man suffer. Plus, I don't want to bring along anyone who isn't training." Bwiri said.
"Princess Bwiri, thank you for your offer, as his master I accept. Please make things as tough on him as possible. I owe him for some comments he made earlier, and he could use the mental conditioning." Jek Alto smiled as he thought of the suffer...er...training his disciple would undergo.
Bwiri nodded her head in understanding.
"I'll just tell the three young men that you sold him to us," Bwiri said with a laugh.
Jek was startled for a moment and began laughing as well.
"Princess, you are so understanding! Hahaha." Jek said.
Jek left the tent laughing contentedly and then stopped.
"Princess, I wonder if it would be too much to ask you for help with a different matter." Jek suddenly asked.
"It doesn't hurt to ask, please tell me what you have in mind," Bwiri said.
Bwiri and Jek left together plotting something. While they were off chatting about something, Paneneko took Aerun's unconscious body and placed it on a bed.
"Brother, I thought you were going to go easy on him," Paneneko said.
"I let him dodge the first punch, I thought that was pretty decent of me. You sure do like this guy why are you so concerned with him." Malkus asked.
"He's a good guy. He went back to save his girlfriend even though he knew it was hopeless. He was prepared to give up his life for someone he cared about. I don't know, I have a lot of respect for someone like that. I want to help him get strong so that he can protect the ones he loves." Paneneko said with a sigh.
"It's just like you brother, you're so sentimental. It's fine, I don't mind him coming along, but he seems like a slacker." Malkus said.
"If he comes along, Bwiri won't let him be a slacker. This guy's in for a life of Hell." Tower said.
"Yeah, but if his fiance had been taken from him, how much hell would he be in after that. Right, brother?" Paneneko said as he looked at Malkus. Malkus's face became dark and determined.
"Right, you're right brother. Let's help him get stronger. I don't want him to be like Beigoss."Malkus said.
"Whose Beigoss?" Tower asked.
"He was Malkus' best friend growing up. He had a woman and she was taken from him. He tried to save her but he was killed by the kidnappers. They were just looking for some fun they said. Malkus and I went and killed this guy and his followers. We were exiled from the Clan. It turned out, he was related to some big shot who couldn't be offended. We were told to run for our lives. It was the best the Clan could do for us. That's why we're here." Paneneko said.
Tower was very solemn and thoughtful. He couldn't imagine what would happen if someone tried to take Bwiri from him. Could he stand up to anyone strong enough to take Bwiri? Of course not, he wasn't even close to being as strong as Bwiri. Tower's focus on training became more fanatical and determined at that moment.
"Ok, I understand, we'll make this guy into the fourth strongest warrior in this world," Tower said.
"Fourth strongest?" Paneneko asked.
"Well, he'll never be a match for any of us," Tower said.
The three men started laughing. They all turned back to their work to get ready for their bouts. Unknown to them, Aerun had woken up and heard their words. He suddenly realized what an idiot he was. His master was right, he was too weak to have a woman.
Aerun also thought about these three men, these were true and worthy friends. He decided that he must always fight along with them. He would become strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with these three. Friend or servant he didn't care as long as he could travel with these three from now on.